Hazardous Emergencies: Episode 8

Hazardous Emergencies
Episode 8

Aorta finished setting up the trampoline, and was beckoning for people to jump. Firefight glanced fearfully at the huge drop, and while he was wearing safety gear, falling from the roof of a five-story building was still scary. Beside him, Gauge was unconscious and not breathing, all the while stressing his need to get down quickly.
But…he couldn’t. Firefight had very little faith in the trampoline, and was one of the few firefighters on Fieria that advocated for the removal of the trampoline as an emergency exit. It was simply a piece of rubber that was stretched over metal poles to catch the falling victims. The trampoline diameter was not that big, and it seemed too weak to support a falling victim.
However, these problems were not what Firefight was concerned about. The trampoline was never designed to catch more than one person at a time. The combined weight of him and Gauge would be around 300 pounds. The trampoline was capable of holding up to five hundred pounds. So what was the big deal here? Gauge and Firefight had a bigger body mass than the projected five hundred pound man. That meant that the chance of either of them missing the target was incredibly high.
“Firefight!” shouted Aorta. “You have to jump!”
Firefight carried Gauge in his arms and glanced downward. The drop was awfully high, and there was no way he could accurately aim them towards the trampoline. “I can’t…”
“Dude, c’mon!” Wrench shouted. “We’ll catch you.”
“Why don’t I just drop Gauge down first?” asked Firefight.
“She’s unconscious.” Hydrant shouted. “She’ll just bounce onto the concrete and crack her skull.”
Firefight sighed. Hydrant may be a jerk, but he knew a good amount of body physics. Firefight gripped Gauge tightly and held his breath. He stepped off of the apartment and began free falling towards the ground. He shut his eyes tightly and braced for impact. When he struck the trampoline, the impact was stronger than he expected, and it caused him to lose his grip on Gauge. She flew helplessly out of his arms. Fear flooded his mind.
“Gotcha!”
Sprinkler ran forward and caught Gauge, saving her from smashing her face into the ground. Firefight sighed heavily before collapsing onto the ground. Hazard ran over to him and escorted him to the ambulance. He began providing oxygen to the flustered lieutenant.
“Jeez, you sound like you almost died…”
“I did!” Firefight snarled. “Gauge almost died because of me.”
“It felt worse than it actually was.” Hazard smirked. “I saw the whole thing from the truck. You were nowhere near death. And Gauge would’ve landed on top of you.”
“Then how the hell did Sprinkler catch her?”
“Look.” Hazard shook his head. “She’s safe. You did your job, and a good one at that. We’re all proud of you, as I’m sure Gauge is.”
Firefight sighed. “Let’s get her to the hospital right now!”
“What about the victims?” asked Hazard. “Shouldn’t you give them a little talk about what happened?”
“The Flare Brigade and the Flash Brigade can handle that.” Replied Firefight. “Let’s move!”
“Whatever you say…” Hazard whistled to Aorta, who transported Gauge’s body into the back of the amblance. The four of them sped off towards Fieria General Hospital.

“That’s it…breathe slowly.”
Gauge opened her eyes, and screamed. She was in a hospital room, with a doctor checking her heartbeat with a stethoscope. She was wearing a hospital gown and lying in bed. A huge bandage was wrapped around her head.
“Where am I?” she cried. “What’s going on?”
“You’re in the hospital.” The doctor explained. “The Flame Brigade has taken you here after your incident at the apartments.”
Gauge rubbed her eyes. “Is everyone alright?”
“Oh, yes.” The doctor placed his hand on her forehead and checked her temperature. “Your coworkers were really worried about you.”
“Where are they?”
“Waiting outside.” The doctor smiled. “I’ll let them in. They must be worried sick by now.”
He went outside. A few moments later, Wrench, Rope, Sprinkler, Hydrant, Hazard, Aorta, and Firefight entered the room. Sprinkler handed her a bouquet of flowers.
“How do you feel?” asked Wrench.
Gauge groaned. “My head hurts…what happened?”
“Doc says you got a concussion.” Hydrant explained. “Been out for about a day. Hit your head pretty hard there.”
Gauge sighed. “I guess so. Thanks for saving me.”
“Firefight leapt down from the building and saved you.” Aorta spoke. “If there’s anyone to thank, it’s Firefight. He was so scared when he jumped from the building.”
“Shut up.” Growled Firefight. “I did what I had to.”
Gauge smiled, then turned to the others. “Can you guys give me a minute alone with Firefight? I just wanna tell him something.”
“Of course.” The others nodded and left.
Gauge turned to Firefight. “So, umm…thanks for saving me and all.”
“Nah, it was no big deal.” Firefight shrugged and sat down on her bed. “I’m sure you would’ve done the same for me.”
“Yeah, I suppose so.”
Firefight rubbed her leg. “You know, you gave me quite a scare the other day. I really thought that something bad had happened to you. You have no idea how worried I was for you.”
“Really?” Gauge asked.
“Yeah.” He nodded. “You should be more careful next time.”
She giggled. “Okay. I’ll try not to be struck by burning pieces of metal.”
“You better.”
“Well, anyway.” Gauge smiled. “Were you really that concerned about me? Like, you really seemed to care about me.”
“Of course I was.” Answered Firefight. “You’re my best friend. I can’t really have you dying or getting hurt. Look, you saw how I reacted when I found out that little boy died in the fire. How do you think I would cope if you were to die besides me while I was trying to protect everyone?”
“I’m the chief, Firefight.” Gauge spoke. “I’m supposed to risk my life for the safety of others…just like you.”
“Well, maybe you can leave that to me.” Firefight suggested. “Or maybe risk your life after I die.”
Gauge glared at him. “Firefight! If you don’t want me dying, then you have to show me the same courtesy as well. How would I feel if I lost you? You need to understand that I can’t live without you.”
Firefight smiled. “Well, since you asked politely…”
Gauge giggled and hugged him. “Thank you.”
He nodded and was about to leave when Gauge spoke up. “Wait, Firefight…there was something I wanted to tell you.”
“What is it?” he asked.
She hesitated, and then sighed. “Nothing…I’ll tell you another time…”