CAPPTAIN / Chicago Fire

To Save A Soul

Chapter 2

The fire engulfed the building, the walls catching flames as easily as oil-stained clothes near a stove. Capp pulled his T-shirt over his mouth and nose, breathing the moist, sweaty, oxygen trapped within him. He was used to the heat, feeling as if he was in an oven.

"Go outside!" Capp hollered over the roaring flames to some residents who were scrambling to their feet. "Stay low, you're almost there!"

The residents coughed, he couldn't make out who they were. Their silhouettes weaved through the flames, heading towards the exit.

Capp and Mazie's apartment was on the floor above, where the fire was spreading. He didn't know for sure but suspected the fire had started on the main level. People rushed down the stairs, stumbling over their own feet. Walking in smoke was like walking blind.

"Help!" a distant voice called.

Capp rushed up the stairs, taking two at a time, using nothing but his muscle memory of the building. He didn't dare touch the railing, knowing it was hotter than coals.

He searched for the voice, his eyes blinking rapidly in an attempt to flush out all of the smoke. "Call out!" he bellowed, sticking his hands out in front of him.

"We're in here!" another voice sounded. He took a sharp right, approaching a door which was shut.

"Help!" the voice screeched, louder now.

I need to get to Mazie.

In all his years as a firefighter, he rarely left a victim. Only in rare circumstances would he be ordered to leave by Boden. Even then, with a direct order, Severide and him would exchange a glance and continue their rescue. They needed to see their victim on a gurney or they wouldn't be able to sleep that night.

"I'm coming!" Capp yelled through the door. He jiggled the knob.

Locked.

He turned around, lifting his knee to his chest, his hands supporting him on the doorframe.

"Get away from the door!" he ordered.

He mule-kicked at the door, breaching it open with one strike. The door flew off its hinges, and the fire escaped through the top.

He ducked lower, coughing into his T-shirt. The room was a similar layout to his own apartment. "Call out!"

"Over–" a voice started.

He knelt to the ground, finding two little girls, pressed up against their couch. They couldn't have been over twelve. One looked him in the eyes, in desperate need of help. Tears were streaming down their faces, petrified with fear.

The other was lying on the ground, her chest rising, but unconscious.

"I don't know what happened–" the little girl squeaked, coughing with every word. He would ask her to walk, though, her body looked weary as if she might pass out too. Who knows how much smoke they had taken in?

Immediately, Capp carefully hoisted the unconscious girl over his shoulder, performing a fireman carry. The girl's sister watched in awe.

"Come on," Capp encouraged, opening his free arm to carry the sister. She clung to him, allowing him to scoop her up against her chest. He bent his knees, avoiding the smoke that was gathering near the top of the roof.

After rushing down a flight of stairs, he could hear the sirens approaching. Mazie was the only thing running through his mind while he shuffled out of the apartment, two girls on his sides.