SWNOVELS Chapter 43
CHAPTER FORTY THREE FIRE RESCUE
The sting of tears burned her eyes as the duffel strap slipped from her limp fingers, clattering at her feet. Jasmine sank to the curb, suddenly feeling as brittle and upended as the night her marriage crumbled
around her.
A harsh, skull–rattling explosion shattered the chaos. Jasmine gasped, her head snapping up to see shards of glass and chunks of burning debris raining down as a torrent of flames burst forth from the fifth floor windows.
Harrowing screams pierced the night as the ladder team scrambled to safety all but one firefighter still frozen amidst the scorching inferno.
The explosion rocked the area, a deafening boom that shattered windows and sent burning debris raining down. Jasmine covered her head instinctively as screams erupted from the gathered crowd.
“Mendez !!” A burly firefighter – his name patch read ‘Garcia‘ – charged forward, panic etched across hist soot–streaked face.
The ladder Mendez had been ascending was now a twisted, smoldering wreck lying on the pavement
But there, silhouetted against the roaring flames blazing from the shattered window, was the motionless figure of Mendez himself. He appeared trapped, slumped over the balcony railing in a daze.
“Oh god, he’s still in there!” Jasmine heard Mrs. Carpenter’s anguished cry behind her.
Garcia, face contorted in grim determination, grabbed for a coiled line and carabiner from the nearby truck. “I’m going up to get him!”
“Are you loco??” Ramirez, his partner, intervened with a restraining hand. “That entire floor could give way any second, hermano!”
But Garcia was already securing the line around his burly waist without hesitation. “He’d do the same for any of us! I’m not leaving him to burn!”
The two firefighters locked eyes for a tense moment before Ramirez gave a reluctant nod. “Then I’ve got your back, let’s move!”
Jasmine could scarcely breathe as she watched the daring rescue effort unfold. With Ramirez belaying the line, Garcia swiftly began scaling the smoldering brick facade like a fearless mountain climber.
Fiery embers and plumes of acrid smoke buffeted him, but he pressed inexorably upward with each meticulously placed handhold.
At last, Garcia pulled himself over the edge of the balcony, disappearing from view amidst the hellish inferno. The crowd collectively held its breath, the night air thick with dread.
Then, after an endless few moments, a massive shape burst forth from the blazing window – Garcia, cradling the limp body of Mendez in his bulky arms. He slammed backwards onto the balcony, grimacing. in pain from the impact, but didn’t hesitate.
Summoning every ounce of his waning strength, Garcia looped his arm underneath Mendez and hurled them both over the precipice.
༢༠
A strangled cry tore from Jasmine’s lips as the two men plummeted, falling…falling…only to jerk to an abrupt halt as Ramirez strained against the line, both arms locked in a Herculean effort
Like a scene from an action movie in slow motion, the two firefighters rapidly descended amidst a hail of debris and sparks, swinging wildly back and forth. But then they crashed onto the pavement, Ramirez and
a team instantly swarming over the motionless bodies.
A deafening cheer erupted from the crowd as Mendez was hauled upright, dazed but blessedly alive. Jasmine clutched her chest, tears of relief streaming down her cheeks as she witnessed the miraculous
rescue.
Over the roar of the flames, the chopping thrummm of a massive helicopter sounded overhead, casting the scene in a strobic flicker of harsh light. A daring roof–top rescue was clearly underway as more firefighters rappelled from the hovering bird onto the roof.
Despite the rapidly arriving reinforcements, it was clear the upper floors were unsalvageable. One by one, the windows burst outward like eyes cracking open, fierce fiery gales jetting forth into the night.
It was over. Her home, her life’s work…consumed by this nightmare blaze.
Jasmine awoke from her daze as an ash–smeared face loomed before her. It was Ramirez, the firefighter who helped evacuate her earlier. “Ma’am? Ma’am, are you alright?”
She nodded numbly, unable to find her voice as she took in the haunting scene one final time. Towering clouds of smoke billowed skyward, greedily devouring the stars. The building’s roof was partially collapsed, interior flames lashing out in an obscene ballet from the shattered husk.
“Come on, let’s get you gently, guiding Jasmine.
over to the triage area for some oxygen,” Ramirez ura to a waiting ambulance.
As her shaking legs carried her away from the smoldering ruins, the heavy weight of uncertainty descended over Jasmine like a suffocating shroud. Where would she go from here?
Jasmine sat huddled on the couch in Claire’s tastefully appointed living room, a frayed blanket clutched around her like a suit of armor. Her belongings – the few things she’d managed to salvage from the fire sat in a forlorn duffel nearby.
Claire bustled in from the kitchen, a mug of steaming tea in hand. “Here, drink this. It’ll help calm your
nerves
“Th–thanks,” Jasmine managed in a hoarse croak, gratefully accepting the hot beverage. She cradled the mug, savoring its warmth as Claire took a seat beside her.
“God, Jas…I’m so sorry this happened,” Claire murmured, wrapping a comforting arm around her sister–in- law’s shoulders. “That fire…you’re damn lucky to be alive right now.”
Jasmine could only nod numbly, the horrible images from tonight’s nightmare burned into her psyche. The roaring flames, the explosion, the panic and chaos…it was too much to process after her already tumultuous year.
But one thing was painfully clear – she had nowhere else to go. The apartment, the art studio where she poured her soul, the very life she’d built for herself here.all consumed in that inferno.
She was adrift, a wandering soul with only the clothes on her back and the few possessions clutched in that duffel.
As if sensing her despair, Claire gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Listen, you can stay here with me as long as you need to, alright? What matters is that you’re safe.”
“…I don’t know what to say,” Jasmine mumbled thickly, wrestling with a fresh wave of emotions. “Thank you, Claire. You’ve already done so much for me this past year and now…” She trailed off helplessly.
“Shh, hey – you don’t need to thank me,” Claire soothed, “We’re family.”
What was she going to do?