Empty Spaces

Crack'n Wood

When they arrived on scene it wasn't like anything they had seen in a while. Although it was only 2pm the streets looked gloomy, like a horror movie. The town had turned the streetlights on early to assist with vision.

When all the trucks and ambulance had stopped Sylvie stepped out of the ambulance, she was shocked, and her facial expression said it all. In front of them laid a large oak tree which was complete blocking off the road and had landed through the old, abandoned house opposite side of it.

They all rallied together around the front of the trucks. They had seen the addition trucks sent to help on the opposite side of the tree, working on securing gas mains and power lines and sorting through the victims on the opposite side, there didn't appear to be any major casualties Sylvie thought thankfully. "Alright 51 cut through some of this debris, grab out the saws. 81, check the first floor. Squad 3 on second. Brett and Foster, survey for victims."

Severide nodded, turning to his men and pointing towards the house. "Capp, Tony you guys with me on primary search of the second floor. Cruz stay with truck, have the saws ready." And they were off, into the house and up the stairs before anyone could say another word.

Casey turned to his own group and ambo who were still waiting to be cleared to go. "Kidd, you're with me searching bottom floor. Otis and Mouch check the surrounding area of the house, check for hazards. Foster and Brett, check the survivors around this side of the tree."

They all nodded and headed off to where they were needed. Sylvie noted that surprisingly there wasn't many victims that appeared visibly injured. She walked over to one girl who was roughly 16 years old and had a laceration on her forehead. "Hi sweet, my names Sylvie. you've got a nasty cut there. Mind if I take a look?"

The young girl nodded before she felt Sylvie wipe some of the blood off. The teen stuttered slightly, coughing a little as she spoke. "B-Bella..."

"Bella? Is that your name?" Sylvie asked, she was concerned with how out of it the girl was and suspected a concussion. She looked up quickly and made eye contact with Emily, waving her over.

"N-no, Bella. She's only young. Where's Bella?" The teen looked alarmed and panicky, before her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she began seizing. Sylvie laid her down and made sure she was clear of danger. She grabbed her radio quickly and called to the guys of 81 and squad three. "Captain, Lieutenant we have another possible victim inside the house. Girl, her name is Bella."

"Foster, get me 5mg of diazepam." Brett called out to Foster once she placed her radio back down, Emily jogged the rest of the way over and sat down the bag. Brett held the girls head to ensure no more damage was done. Her nerves were skyrocketing at the thought of another kid being trapped.

Foster administer the syringe and the girl immediately began to slow her convulsions. The back up paramedics arrived not long after Brett and Foster had put the young girl on the back board, and they took her away.

As soon as the ambulance pulled away Sylvie began walking back over to the front of the house that the tree collapsed into, she pulled her radio up and began speaking into it. "Any signs of the other girl?"

"Nothing yet Brett, we'll keep looking." Casey called over the radio.

Wiping her hands off on her pants, Sylvie only just realised that she was sweating. She was worried for the girl even though she didn't know her. She stood there for what felt like minutes but was really only 30 seconds waiting for something, anything to indicate what was going on. She knew she had to get back to assessing other patients, or at least ask around if anyone need any medical attention.

As she turned around to go back to the tree, she heard the radio click and Casey's voice come over the speaker. "Brett, we found her. She's okay. We're bringing her out to get checked out."

Releasing a breath, she didn't realise she'd been holding she grabbed her medical bag and began walking towards the front door. Suddenly a big gist of wind came, almost knocking her down and she suddenly got an uneasy feeling that the storm wasn't quite over yet. She noticed that the tree had been moved to the sides of the road where it was obstructing anything, but the weather was making it hazardous to stay outside.

She looked up against the force of the wind and saw Casey, walking out with this tiny girl in his arms, no older than ten. The young girl looked terrified and had obviously been crying but visibly she looked okay.

"Hi, you must be Bella. I'm Sylvie. I'm going to check you out, is that okay?" Sylvie gasps as the girl suddenly lunged at her, landing straight in her arms and wrapping her arms around Sylvie's neck. She smiled a little, locking eyes with Casey, who looked slightly shocked. "Okay.... Let's get you over here to the ambo."

Placing the young girl on the back of the rig Sylvie grabbed the blanket that Emily offered her, wrapping it around the young girls shoulders. "Bella? How old are you?"

"I'm 6." Bella stated holding up six fingers, smiling for the first time since the guys had brought her out of the house. It was then that Sylvie noticed truly how small the young girl was, only matching the height and weight of maybe a 4-year-old. She noticed Bella's face soon dropped and a look of worry washed over her face as she tried to get up. "Where's Ava? Is she okay!? She was going to find food for us."

"Woah, woah Bella you've got to stop and let me check you over." Sylvie reasoned, holding her hands on the girls shoulders. "Ava is okay. She was taken to Med with a nasty cut on her head, but she'll be out in no time. Are you two sisters?" She figured it was better she kept the major details under wraps, not wanting the girl to freak out at all.
"No.... She just takes care of me..."

Sylvie had just finished checking the girl over and was about to ask her what she meant when a call came through on the radio, it was one she wasn't quite familiar with but knew it was serious. She felt herself go into a slight panic but knew to keep on her poker face as not to scare the young girl.

"Main to 51. All units report back to base. Tornado is reaching hazardous levels, main power in station is compromised."

As soon as the radio call finished a crack of thunder ripped through the neighbourhood and all residents began retreating inside, no parents left for the child. "You heard main, everyone packs up the trucks and head back to 51!" Boden's voice sounded slightly worried, he walked over to the ambulance where Sylvie and Emily sat with Bella.
Sylvie looked up again to see Chief Boden walking over to them through the rain. He looked worried, but his voice was soft. "How is she?"

"She's okay, a little under nourished but she looks perfectly healthy otherwise." Sylvie said, looking down and giving Bella a warm smile.  She figured if she smiled enough the girl might ease up a bit more, know that Sylvie and the rest of the gang weren't a threat to her.

"Where's your parents young one?" Boden asked kindly, his baby/child voice was gentle compared to his chief voice. They all noted the way Bella flinched and curled herself into Sylvie's side.

"They left me alone for a long time..." Bella whispered quietly, a tear falling down her cheek as she closed her eyes. She felt Sylvie's arm wrap protectively around her and pull her close. Giving her some of the comfort she had longed for these past few months. Sure, Ava was great but sometimes it takes an adults hug and them mentioning it'll be okay for you to start to believe it.

"Well then, you'll have to come back to the fire station with us. It's not safe for the police to be coming down here in this storm, they can grab you from the fire house when its settled." Boden stated and with a nod he was gone, back to his car. The other trucks began loading up and taking off one by one.

"C'mon little one, I'll sit in the back with you." Sylvie said, smiling softly at the girl as she helped to pick her up and place her into the rig before getting in herself.

Emily got out of the back and shut the doors before heading around to the front and jumping in. She started the ambo and cranked up the heater before pulling out and heading back to the firehouse.