Matthew was sitting inside the moving firetruck and his heart was pounding harder than it ever had. He thought he would have been used to it by now; rushing into fires to save people, hosing down the flames, everything. He felt like he should be ready, and he has always been ready. But this time... This time he was terrified. He had never felt this way. One time he had been terrified, when he had to save an old woman, but even then he wasn't as terrified as he was now.
This time was different from the others. Other people he had saved were people he didn't know. But they were lives, and that was what mattered to him. He shouldn't have chosen this job if he didn't care about people their lives. However, this one life wasn't like the others. This was a life he had cared about since he had been a teenager.
This life was his life. His everything.
The firetruck pulled up to a way too familiar house. All of the men, including Matthew, jumped out and began to take their position. Some men ran to the hose, others began examining the area. Matthew rushed to the people standing outside and his hands began to shake when he heard the words ''Dominic is still inside''. That was all he needed to hear before rushing to the burning house. His team followed him quickly.
Matthew looked panicked around him as he walked carefully through the house. He gasped when he heard a loud crack and jumped away as the ceiling fell down, landing right in front of his feet. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and continued his walk around the house. He walked to the living room, and there he found him.
He froze for a second as he looked at Dominic's motionless body and bit his lip to hold back the tears. He rushed to Dominic and the man's body, but no reaction. He'd inhaled too much smoke. Without thinking, Matthew took off his helmet and oxygen mask, and slipped the mask over Dominic's mouth. He lifted the motionless body up, threw it over his shoulder and decided to go back through the way he came in.
He didn't take careful steps anymore. All he wanted was Dominic to be safe. He began to ran and cursed loudly as his way was blocked by a large fire. He quickly turned around and went back into the living room. He usually knew the way here, he'd been here thousands of times, but he was so panicked that he forgot everything.
He looked around him again and took a deep breath. Big mistake. He began to cough as the smoke began to burn in his throat. He couldn't think of a way back. The hallway was blocked, and Dominic was dying in his arms. There was only one way to get to the front door, and that meant he had to go through the fire. He knew his suit would help him, but he didn't know what would happen to Dominic.
He shook his head and walked to the window. He knew this would probably make the fire worse, but he didn't care. He needed to make sure that Dominic was safe. He opened the window quickly and slid Dominic's body slowly onto the ground, throwing the oxygen tank after him. Matthew's team mates ran to the window and they took Dominic with them. Matthew climbed out of the window and ran quickly away from the house. He began to gag and some black saliva dripped out of his mouth.
He returned to the firetruck when he didn't feel dizzy anymore and gasped as he saw a body bag being zipped up. His face felt wet and his whole body went cold, he started shaking.. No, it couldn't be him. It couldn't be!
Matthew rushed to the body bag and pushed his partners out of the way. He placed his hands on the sides of the gurney to stop the paramedics. ''Please.'' Matthew begged but the only thing he got was a look of empathy, before they moved the gurney to the ambulance.
''We're sorry, Bellamy.'' The captain of the team said as he came up to Matthew's side. He placed a hand on Matthew's shoulder, but it fell as soon as Matthew's legs gave out. Matthew fell onto the ground and curled up into a little ball as he began to hit his head on the ground. It didn't hurt. Not compared to the pain in his heart.
Dominic was gone. He was so close to saving him, but because of the stupid hallway he had failed. He failed to save his best friend. He'd lost him for ever.
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Matthew woke up with a start and sat up. He was crying and his whole body was covered in sweat. His heart was beating too fast and he could barely breath. It took him a few moments to calm down and he looked around him. He was in a bedroom, and it was just pas midnight. Matthew's eyes began to water again, and he rubbed quickly over them.
''Matthew?'' A whisper came from next to him, followed by a yawn.
He frowned and sniffled. ''Dominic?''
Dominic pushed himself up and rubbed over his eyes as he yawned again. ''Are you okay? You were crying.''
Without answering, Matthew wrapped his arms around Dominic and hugged him tight. Tears began to flow again and he sobbed. ''Dominic... I love you.''
''I love you too.'' Dominic replied quietly as he rubbed the smaller man's back. He knew what had happened. Matthew had these nightmares a lot since he had to save a little boy who looked exactly like Dominic. He smiled and pressed his lips against Matthew's temple. ''I'm here, Matthew. It's okay.''
