Burning Flames ¦ Evan Buckley

Chapter 74 - Just A Graze

Shots continued to fire as Buck protected El as best as he could, both of their eyes locked onto Eddie who was slipping away from them. Before El even had the chance to figure out the best way to save Eddie, Buck had already rolled under the fire truck, crawling towards Eddie, calling his name.

Worry ran through El as she watched Buck crawl under the thing that almost killed him before. Believing in him, El readied herself for when Eddie was in their grasp and away from the shots. "I-I got him" Buck yelled as he made it back in one piece, dragging Eddie from under the truck, he too yelled but his were yells of agony.

El quickly opened the door, allowing the other firefighters to get in but more importantly allowing Buck to get Eddie into safety and to a hospital as quickly as possible. Buck hoisted Eddie up into his arms and carried him into the truck. El was the last one into the truck however as she went to close the door another bullet fired straight at her, shattering the window but not hitting her. "Go! Go! Go!" El yelled as she practically dove into a free space in the back of the engine.

"Back up!" Mehta repeated as another shot was fired towards him. As the truck reversed the roaring flames of the Captains car they had brought to the scene threatened to singe El however Buck shielded her with his body wanting nothing more than to protect El.

As soon as they were in the clear from whoever it was shooting at them, they laid Eddie down and Buck ripped open his shirt, El making her way round to see also. Buck ripped open a bandage as quickly as he could and began to apply pressure to the gnarly wound on his shoulder, his features beginning to fade away. "Hey, no, no, stay with me Eds" Buck spoke.

"Are...are you two hurt?" Eddie asked, noticing the pair of them had blood on them.

"No, no, we're good. You just hang on" Buck reassured him.

"Hey come on!" El repeatedly yelled at the driver as Eddie passed out, her voice breaking. She couldn't lose Eddie.

The ride to the hospital felt like it dragged, nothing felt real, this whole situation shouldn't have been happening. Why was it happening? When the truck came to a holt El jumped out of the truck, there now being no door. Buck was right behind her, screaming for the doctors and nurses to hurry up.

El watched as they quickly rolled Eddie away and into the hospital, a silent tear running down her cheek, spearing the blood as it went. She turned to Buck who wore the same worried and sadden expression as her own. "He'll be okay..." El spoke gently, taking his hand which was covered in Eddie's blood.

-

The pair had made their way inside, leaving their contact information at the desk for any updates on Eddie's situation but the likelihood was that he would be in surgery for the next few hours at least. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up" El spoke softly, taking ahold of Buck's hand and leading him to the bathroom.

She grabbed a few paper towels and ran them under the tap before beginning to wipe the blood from his face, being gentle with every touch, "Eddie is strong, you and I both know that..." She spoke, the blood slowly wiping away.

"He-he was right in front of me..." Buck stuttered, his hand wrapping around her wrist to get her to stop. "I-It-It should have been me.."

"Don't" El shook her head, "Don't say that"

"But-"

"No Buck..." She shook her head, "For all we know this was a targeted attack on Eddie. There was nothing you could have done. Nothing!" She reassured him, being somewhat aggressive as she couldn't stand to hear him talk in such a way.

Buck released her wrist and sighed, knowing that she was right but it didn't help the way that he was feeling at that moment. Eventually she wiped all the blood from his face and neck. She threw the blood covered towels in the bin before unbuttoning his shirt, knowing he needed to remove it, luckily he had his LAFD tee on underneath. "Come on" He spoke and hoisted her up onto the counter to avoid bending down.