From where I am sitting I can hear the roar of the fire collapsing the building and feel the heat rising at an alarming rate. I have my head curled up on my knees just waiting for it to be my turn to go down in the flames with all the others. Another copter is hovering over the building. I assume it is to pick up the remaining patients. Someone is touching my shoulder, I look up and see a kind doctor that I guess would be in his forties of fifties.
"Come on its your turn." He tells me softly, it is exciting to know that I am most likely getting off, but I am still terrified. There are more holes in the roof than I am comfortable with. Carefully I walk over to the ladder that is dangling from the helicopter. It sways frighteningly in the wind. Inside it is very loud but I am safe. The pilot takes me and some nurses down to the green area where they have taken all the others. I am the first out and start to run around asking if anyone has seen the band or the girls. No one has. I run to the far end of the grass and see Dani under a tree with Liam. Though they are only a few of the people that I am searching for it is an immense relief to see them.
"Em! You made it!" Liam hops off of the ground and wraps me in a huge bear hug.
"Yeah I didn't think I was going to make it but I did.. Have you seen the others?"
"Um yeah Lou is over there, they are loading him to take him to another hospital. He is most severe so he is one of the first to go. All of us will I guess. Zayn is over with Lou waiting to be transported. And Harry was in that direction, they sedated him cuz he was freaking out big time, so he should still be out."
"Is that it? Where is Niall? El? Perrie?"
Liam looks down, "We don't know Em. No one has seen them."
With that I told them to call me and continued to run around in a panic. Suddenly I think of that they would have headed to the front doors since they went down the stairs. Some firefighters tried to tell me that I couldn't go any closer and I ripped them a new one, then ran past them before they could stop me. There were a bunch of wounded people laying all over. I went carefully checking each face. Soon I was beyond the injured and to the deceased. Never did I want to look there but I was getting desperate. Behind me I hear the fire chief calling off the search for survivors, telling the firefighters to get out of there fast because the building was collapsing. I spun on my heel and got in his face. I know that I shouldn't have but I was completely scared and irritated. I was in the middle of yelling at him when I saw El standing next to Perrie. Mid freak out I ran through rows of people until I got to them.
It took me a minute to register that Niall was not with them. When I did I just sat down and started to cry with them. The fire chief was apparently concerned about me seeing as he followed me on my rampage. He knelt down next to me. He's an older man, probably about my fathers age.
He touched my chin and made me look up at him," You said something about someone being in there still? Do you know where?"
"Uh.. I don't but they do." I sobbed pointing to the other girls. El came over and told him where they lost Niall at.
"Okay girls you stay right here. I will send the men there on their way out to check there. If nothing else we can get you a ... body. So you can properly attend to a burial." He started sending out orders to the others. "I will stay here with you until we know whats happening for sure."
I looked up at him from my curled up position, "Thank you." We sat for what seemed like hours. It seemed like it was just us four waiting in the tension and that the whole world was separate and had not impact.
El was the one who broke the silence." Sir why are you doing this? Risking the lives of your men just for this one boy?"
"What is your name?"
"Eleanor."
"Well Eleanor you girls said that this boy is in his twenties, I had a son. He was in a warehouse fire, I got there too late to get even his body out. His girlfriend we later found out was pregnant. Now that baby has no dad and his mom will no longer talk. He had his whole life ahead. When I saw how terrified this girl was about getting your friend out I knew that she loves him, I couldn't knowingly let another girl be traumatized because I was to afraid to take a risk. I know I might lose men in there. One of my teachers when I was training told me that the life of one is not worth the life of many. I hated that man, and I disagree. Who am I to decide what that boys life is worth next the the mens'?"
I looked up at him. "Thank You." Just as the words were out of my mouth the radio crackled to life. "Chief? We found a male in his early twenties. We lifted a beam off of him, and are bringing him out now."
The expression on all of our faces was sheer hope. We got up and headed closer to the doors. There were two firefighters carrying Niall. Even through the blood and ash that covered his face I knew it was him. "He's alive sir."
