Trapped

That distracted him for a few minutes until he imagined himself running towards the fire station restroom only to find it locked. A blinking sign told him it was for staff only. He tried to tell them he worked there but no one seemed to be listening to him. Everyone looked concerned and worried as they all gathered around a tall man standing to the side. He wanted to see what was so important but he really had to find somewhere to pee.

Sounds came at him from everywhere. Loud and demanding voices asked questions but he never heard answers. A machine from somewhere close by beeped in perfect rhythm to the pulse in his bladder. He strained to block it out but letting go was all he could think of until — it was too late to stop.

Almost a minute passed before Todd realized his legs weren't getting wet. It was obvious they should since he was lying down, he deduced. He'd felt the relief as he'd emptied himself so that meant one thing. His earlier conclusion was right and he was dead. Todd saw his parents in his mind and knew how devastated they would be losing him.

Sadness hit him for all the things he'd never have a chance to do now. What happened to him anyway, he wondered? He thought back to see what he could remember of his last days at work. It felt like sweat trickled down his back as he searched for the cause of his demise. Maybe he'd never know, Todd told himself several minutes later when he'd about given up.

An awful blaring noise scared him so much he decided if he wasn't dead that it would have given him a heart attack. People shouted all around him and moved in close to his body. It struck him odd that they'd want to be near someone dead like that. He wanted to ask about it but his tongue couldn't move. Then he decided they wouldn't hear him anyway so why bother.

His eyes fluttered open but the glaring lights had them shutting again. So much heat radiated down on him from the bulbs that he imagined sweat dripping into his ears now. The tiny drops tickled as they followed the curve of his neck to land who knew where. He wished he had something to use so he could wipe it off his skin. No, Todd thought. That made no sense. Dead people didn't feel stuff anymore.

"Girl ..." The single word came out of his parched lips. Todd felt an odd sense of desperation as his scrambled head worked to remember more. He knew dead people often communicated with those still living and tried again.

"Todd, tell me again what you said," a dark-headed woman said.

"Girl ... get ..."

"Do you have a girlfriend? Someone will let her know, don't worry," the woman said as she turned away.

That didn't feel right to Todd, so he closed his eyes to think. He never realized how tiring it was to be dead. A soft feminine voice penetrated his musings to tell him the surgeon was on the way. The woman seemed to be reassuring him of this as she took the rest of his clothes off. His head began to throb with all the confusion in it from discovering he'd died. Todd emptied his mind to it all and imagined himself alive and at the beach.

****

It was a scene from the movies like he'd watched a dozen times before. Sick and injured people glanced over from the waiting area. Small children cried or slept as each parent listened for their name from the nurse to go in next. A tired-looking housekeeper pushed a broom down the halls and emptied trashcans. People hurried past doing their work. It all looked so normal.

Derrick hated it. The smells and sounds all seemed to represent gloom to him. There was a silence despite all the noise and confusion. He felt the spirits as they left lifeless bodies from car accidents, fights or illnesses. People cried and shook with sadness as they tried to piece together whatever news the doctors just gave them. His stomach churned when he thought of it all.

****

Every firefighter knew the risks of their job. Each one had training and equipment to carry out their assigned task. They chose their profession for different reasons. All of them understood that fires were unpredictable. Stories of injuries and deaths made their way around the stations. Derrick never imagined Todd making a mistake of going back alone into that building.

"Derrick," Mr. Ingram called out from several feet down the hallway.

"What have you heard?" Mrs. Ingram asked.

"He's messed up pretty bad," Derrick said. "They kept him really drugged up while they evaluated the damage. The last we heard they took him up to surgery."

Derrick introduced the Ingrams to the anxious group of men waiting. A few of them knew Todd's parents and hugged them close as they offered words of encouragement. Each confirmed their admiration and respect for the young man.

Roger Ingram knew the risks that went with his son's job. His brother had died while fighting a warehouse blaze in another state. He knew this was what Todd wanted to do and still supported him all the way. All he wanted right now was to hear that his son would be okay.

"I'll let them know you're here," Derrick said. Todd's parents looked at each other and nodded.

****

Todd felt himself drifting. He sensed that several things seemed to be happening in whatever place this was. Muted voices came from both sides of him and even behind his head. Something wet hit his thigh and Todd wondered if he was peeing again. None of his thoughts followed each other and that just confused him more.

A sharp pain in his leg had him swearing in his head. Todd felt hands on his skin and tried to find the significance of the words he heard. Frustration at his inability to figure anything out wore him out. He floated away and left the questions for those still alive.

****

Very little helpful information came through on Todd. A nurse informed his parents that the surgery was going as expected at one point. The emergency room thinned out and grew quieter for a short time. Members of the Colby Fire Department filled the room as they all waited. The clock never seemed to change yet it felt like they'd been there forever.

No one slept but neither did anyone talk much. What more could any of them say? They each knew it might be them lying in there someday. The reality hit hard but only made their decision to stand by as a group that much stronger. Someone would be there until Todd was out of danger.

The hospital bustled with renewed activity around six in the morning as Derrick stared into the halls. He looked at the weary crew and wished they were all sitting back at the station playing poker. Stacks of empty coffee cups lined the small table in the private waiting room. This wasn't where any of them ever wanted to be but Todd was their brother and they needed to be right here.

Derrick remained with Todd's parents as the others came and went with the shift change. Captain Joe Reade joined the group on his way into the station for the day. He'd been in touch during the night by phone.

"The investigators are on the scene," Joe said after he took a brief phone call. "They'll be in touch."

Derrick nodded at the news and hoped it gave them some answers to why Todd was in that building anyway. He'd gone over everything so many times it was a blur now but nothing jogged his memory. It made no sense. Todd had the same training as the rest of them. He knew better than to enter that structure alone. His head spun with all the questions he had.

Trey came in at the end of his night shift to check on Todd. They were from neighboring firehouses but that didn't matter. One of their own was injured. He listened to the latest report and tried to quell the uneasy feelings.

"Something's wrong about the fire," Trey said.

"What do you mean, Trey?" Joe asked. "Preliminary findings look like faulty wiring started the fire. The building's primary structure was wood with several additions to it. You see something there I should know about?"

"Sir, the explosion ..." Trey let his words drift off as he went back to the scene in his mind.

"The tenants said the manager kept some propane tanks for his gas grill in the storage area under the back stairs," Joe said as he watched Trey.

Joe knew of the young man and his desire to become an investigator someday. He remembered an older man trapped in his car that Trey rescued a while back. The vehicle left the road and hit some trees down in a ravine. Several people drove past the spot but no one noticed anything.

Something about how the weeds seemed pressed down in that area caught Trey's attention, though. He'd parked his truck to investigate and followed the tracks. His instincts ended up saving a life. Joe took Trey by the elbow and led him to a private corner. He wanted to hear this young man's thoughts.

"Sir, with all due respect, tanks have a specific pattern when they explode," Trey said.

"Go on, Trey," Joe said.

"Two tanks are the most anyone ever saw in that room according to those I questioned," Trey told him. "If you could also picture where that space is in relation to the area they found Todd."

"The storage room is on the complete opposite end and that building had eight apartments in it," Joe replied.

Trey nodded his head in agreement. He had no doubt the tanks exploded at some point in the fire. There was more, though. It was just a matter of finding what.

"The fire went through all the units," Joe said. "It left all the walls and ceilings unstable."

"I agree, but you felt the severity of the blast. Those two tanks didn't do it," Trey remarked.

"Gas lines, Trey."

"The area only has electric. I've checked."

"You have a theory, Trey?" Joe asked.

"Sir, it's too early for that. I'm sure the investigators will find the cause."

Joe watched as Trey turned back to the group of weary fire fighters. He talked to them for a few minutes before saying something about his report and left. Joe suspected he really was on his way back to the scene of the fire.

****

Andrea was so cold that she'd stopped shivering long ago. It took every bit of energy she had left just to breathe. Shooting pains in her chest made it difficult to want to do that anymore. She regretted her rash decision from the night before as she worried about the firefighter and his fate.

The assorted smells had long ago blended into one that stuffed her sinuses and made her head pound. Once during the night she swore an animal crawled over her and she tried to scream but her throat just didn't work. Andrea blocked out everything after that until she woke to voices outside. She could see a hint of light and knew it must be morning.

Hope flared in her as she realized help was near. The sluggishness of her brain didn't make it easy for her to work out a plan to get their attention, though. She gave in to the darkness before she could do anything more.

****

Trey talked to the head of the team investigating the fire as soon as he got to the scene. Tom Carson was getting ready to retire in a few years. He had a good feeling about Trey and encouraged him to follow his dream.

"I figured I'd see you this morning, Trey," Tom said with a grin.

"Did you find anything yet?" Trey cut right to business.

"This old building didn't have a chance, really. It has had little chunks added over the thirty years it's been here. The wiring was a disaster everywhere. We traced the start of the fire to an electrical box in one of the apartments."

"What about the explosion?" Trey asked.

"I'm not done checking but the tanks might be the culprit."

Trey shook his head but remained silent. He respected the older man but he knew something else was going on here.

Tom studied Trey's expression a moment before replying. "Talk to me, son."

They talked over the possible causes from outside the building until Trey asked if they could go inside. He wanted Tom to see for himself why there had to be another explanation. Trey led the way to where they found Todd the night before and looked around.

"We're on the opposite end of the building as those tanks, Tom. Todd was under at least three feet of rubble."

The older man stepped over beams and other debris as he studied the burn patterns. Chunks of burned plaster hung from the ceiling and lay in wet piles everywhere. He stopped at intervals and Trey knew he was processing the information in his mind.

"I'll get the full team on this right away," Tom said. "Is there anything else, Trey?"

"Why did Todd come in here? It had to be something so important he'd risk his life — that's it," Trey said in an excited tone. "Todd came back to rescue someone else. There isn't any other reason that makes sense."

"All the tenants living here were accounted for last night, Trey."

"It's the only thing that fits, Tom."

The men exited the building and found Joe walking toward them. A brief discussion caught them all up on the investigation to that point. It took only a moment for Joe to stop Trey when he began explaining about the possibility of someone still being in there.

"I heard some of the nurses talking about Todd this morning. One of them was in the emergency room when they brought him in last night and said she swore he tried to talk. The only thing she could make out was something like 'girl' or 'get girl'. She figured Todd had a girlfriend and wanted her there. Trey, that fits your theory," Joe said.

It didn't take long before more men arrived to search the areas close to where they'd found Todd. Trey was right there with them picking through the cold ashes. He stood back for a moment to picture the explosion in his mind. Different scenarios played through of Todd just entering or soon exiting the building. No one else was in the basement with Todd so Trey guessed the other person was behind him at the time of the blast.

What was left of the walls formed a teepee of sorts against one of the major roof beams that fell into the area Trey stood in. Every instinct in him said this was the place to look. It made sense if Todd was on his way out with the other person for them to run through this section to the exit just a short distance away. He needed to find Joe.

****

Andrea heard something but couldn't tell what. Her head hurt worse than before and she knew time was short for her. A slight shaking scared her but nothing happened so she forgot about it. Thoughts of all the things she wouldn't get to do in life overwhelmed her. Voices in the distance sounded like her parents calling her home as she lost consciousness again.

****

Joe sent a crew in where Trey pointed and the work began. No one said anything but they all knew the odds of finding someone alive were slim. The work was just as tedious as when they'd looked for Todd. One hour became two before a yell erupted.

"I see someone!"

One of the workers hollered for Joe as the others ran over to help him. Braces and supports went up and soon they had enough room for a paramedic to squeeze into the space they'd made. It didn't take long before they had the slender body of the unknown girl strapped to a board and on her way to an ambulance.

Joe stopped Trey with a hand on his shoulder. "You'll make a great investigator one day."

"This department will be fortunate to have someone like you, Trey," Tom said.

They watched the ambulance take off for the hospital with the girl inside. Her injured arm remained wrapped around the box that they found lying on her chest. Maybe it held some clues to her identity, they decided as they went back to work looking for the cause of the explosion.

****

Todd's parents sat in a private office with the tired surgeon and tried to understand his words. The operation to repair their son's crushed legs was delicate and tedious. Details went over their head but they asked a few questions. They would keep him heavily sedated to prevent both pain and movement, the doctor said.

He mentioned how lucky their son was not to lose one or both legs to be sure they knew the severity of his injuries. The three of them spent some time talking about Todd's immediate treatment and prognosis until the doctor's pager beeped. He excused himself after checking the message and ran from the room.

The emergency room buzzed with activity once more as another ambulance pulled up to the entrance. Data sent through earlier fluctuated from the current readings on their newest patient causing great concern to the techs. They passed the information on to the correct personnel as the paramedics rolled the stretcher in. Voices shouted for x-rays and tests while nurses cut clothing out of the way and attached more equipment.

Andrea heard what sounded like a group of people all talking at the same time. She wondered why the person in charge didn't tell them all to be quiet. Then it crossed her mind that things might be different wherever she was now that she wasn't alive anymore. A woman near Andrea didn't answer when she asked how she'd died. That seemed odd to Andrea and even a bit rude.

Images came to her of the firefighter and Andrea worried about him. She hoped that he wasn't in this place with all these loud people like she was. Andrea decided to move away but found she couldn't lift her head. That's when she heard what sounded like a drill. She became so confused she stopped trying to figure it out.

Nurses carried out orders and anticipated others on the young girl. Already the surgeons were scrubbing for the operation to repair the obvious injuries to her abdomen. Later her broken arm would be set and put in a cast. One of the orderlies leaned over Andrea and began to speak.

"My name is Bill, missy. Do you have any family around here?"

Andrea listened to the deep voice close to her and thought about his question. Something about it made her sad but she couldn't think what it was.

The voice sounded kind but Andrea panicked and tried to search for the special box. At least she thought she did. Somehow, it didn't feel as if her arm moved so she did it again. Her energy ran out, though, and she forgot what she was trying to do. Instead, Andrea saw herself as a child running through a field of flowers while her parents watched from a blanket nearby.

Andrea's surgery began soon after. Only this time the waiting room didn't have anxious family and friends of the patient in it. Mr. and Mrs. Ingram heard about the mysterious girl and tried to make sense of it all. Did she have anything to do with why their son was in that building when it exploded, they wondered? Todd would risk his life to save another but how did he know she was in there, then? The questions mounted but the two with answers weren't able to talk right now.

Her body felt strange again but Andrea couldn't tell what was wrong. She heard people talking and wanted to ask something but her lips wouldn't move. A masked face appeared above her before she could figure it out, though. An odd sensation took hold of her until she drifted off.

****

Back at the scene of the fire, the investigating team sifted through each room with renewed effort. Finding the girl that morning brought a new set of questions for what appeared to be a simple fire in the beginning. Now they searched for clues to who she was and why she was in the building along with the source of the blast. Each one hoped that maybe Todd would be able to give them some answers, too.

The day went on and no one knew anything more than they had that morning. Todd was still under strong medication and his doctor ordered no visitors except for his parents. Fear hit Roger Ingram as he stood next to Todd's bed and looked at all the machinery and tubes attached to his son. His cheek had a large bruise along with several scrapes and cuts. Todd's arms and chest had dressings covering gashes he knew from talking to the doctor. Any of the beams that hit his son could have taken his life, Roger now admitted.