A Twist of Fate SERIES (Pentatonix)

(14) We Are Young

( KEVIN )

At around seven-thirty, forty-five minutes after I cooked and served dinner to the crew, we receive our first call of the night. The dispatcher tells us there's been a house fire on the other side of Arlington, that there's potentially several victims, and that they're sending in multiple ambulances.

"We're on our way," I say into the intercom after getting all of my equipment on. Rose, Leo, Tom, and I all pile into the ambulance, my being the designated driver for the night. I drive at full-speed, following the directions the GPS tells me, over to the other side of Arlington.

It's about a five-minute drive, and by the time we arrive, a helicopter is already circling the house in an attempt to put out the bright orange flames and black smoke that engulf the house. Two ambulances and firetrucks already line the street, along with four or five police cars.

"Oh, shit," Leo mutters, as I pull the ambulance to a stop behind another one. Immediately, the four of us hop out, and Rose dashes over to one of the police officers, while Leo, Tom, and I pull out a stretcher and an oxygen tank.

Tom glances up at the house, and shakes his head. "Man, that sucks. I hope everybody's okay."

I look behind my shoulder to see the house, parts of it starting to crumble. There seems to be less flames, but I can't exactly tell with all of the smoke. "They said there were many victims, right?" I ask. Leo and Tom nod in reply. "So, then...where are they?"

At that moment, Rose jogs back over to us. "The fire chief said they sent people in to see if anybody was in there." She shakes her head, hands on her hips, as she looks back over at the building. "They had to start putting it out, though, before it spread. So far, nobody's come back out yet."

My heart sinks. It's never a good sign when they have to start putting the fire out before firemen have cleared the scene. And it's also never a good sign when none of the firemen who went in have returned yet. I nod in confirmation, then hold my breath as I turn back towards the fire.

Ten painful seconds later, a dark clothed figure—a firefighter—emerges from around the back, carrying someone in his arms—a victim. Leo sighs in relief, and then starts running the stretcher over to meet them halfway. The firefighter lays the victim, who looks to be a young girl, on the stretcher, saying something to Leo, and then they both nod.

"Said he found her down in the basement," Leo says breathlessly as he runs back, pushing the stretcher beside him. Rose is quick to check her pulse, her eyes, and her lungs, while Tom hooks her up to an oxygen tank.

"She's inhaled a lot of smoke," Rose says, reaching for the straps. "And it looks like she's got some nasty burns," she adds, nodding to the girl's arms and legs.

Tom nods. "We're gonna have to take her to Arlington, but I'd say she'll be air transported to Dallas."

"Okay," I say, nodding. "Let's go, then." While the other three quickly strap the girl down, and then load her into the back of the ambulance, I glance over at the firefighter who brought her out. He's standing weakly, chest heaving, a couple of paramedics from the other ambulances surrounding him. I then watch him momentarily collapse to the ground, and avert my eyes. I've never been too comfortable in dealing with fires, especially when I see detrimental things happen to people like firemen, police officers, other paramedics.

I keep my head down as I run toward the driver's seat. "We all set?" I call, putting the vehicle into drive. In response, I hear Leo muttering her stats, Rose setting up an IV, and then Tom giving me a distracted "yeah!"

I switch on the sirens and drive at top-speed to Arlington Medical Center.

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