Have you ever seen a real life criminal? Have you ever seen a real life armed criminal? Have you ever seen that criminal fire a gun? I have. I'm a fire fighter and in that line of work I run into arsonists more than I would like to. Sometimes we're lucky and they aren't armed. But most of the time they were smart about it and bring some sort of gun.
Without fail every time they fire it there's a look on their face before they do it. A look of uncertainty on their face before they pull that trigger. I call it the trigger warning. When you see it you know that something's going to go down.
After the trigger warning comes the band of the gun and the bullet flies out of the barrel. It either hits the target or it doesn't. Then there's a look of shock. Like they realized what they had done, or almost done at least. After this look shows up you usually have enough time and rush who ever has hurt to the hospital in time to get them stitched up so that they can live to see their family again. That how it always went down. Until the day that I got that call.
Without fail every time they fire it there's a look on their face before they do it. A look of uncertainty on their face before they pull that trigger. I call it the trigger warning. When you see it you know that something's going to go down.
After the trigger warning comes the band of the gun and the bullet flies out of the barrel. It either hits the target or it doesn't. Then there's a look of shock. Like they realized what they had done, or almost done at least. After this look shows up you usually have enough time and rush who ever has hurt to the hospital in time to get them stitched up so that they can live to see their family again. That how it always went down. Until the day that I got that call.
It seemed like a typical call in. The receptionist picked up the phone. "Nine one one, what is your emergency?"
"I'm trapped in a burning building. I can't get out! I think there may be someone in here with me." It was a child's voice.
"Okay. Please tell me where you are located so that we can get a dispatch to you."
"(I've removed this bit just in case.)"
"Okay. Just sit tight. They'll be there in a bit."
The receptionist called me over and told me the address. I immediately told the rest of the fireman to get ready. "I think that there may be arson involved. The kid said that there was someone else there."
"Okay then. Run a check on how many people live in that house."
It only took her a couple seconds to search up the house and its occupants. We have a very advanced system for these things. We have to if we want to get everyone out in time. "There's two parents and seven children. One of them has asthma though. You'll have to get there quickly."
We knew who was there. We knew where it was. What more was there to it? So we left the fire station immediately.
We arrived seven minutes after the call in. Which was five minutes after we had left. The top floor of the house had collapsed. Luckily the walls had fallen to the sides and hadn't damaged the rest of the house. Everyone there knew the other two floors could cave in at any moment. We didn't know if anyone had died yet so we had to get in immediately.
Walking over to the fire trucks we grabbed the equipment that we needed and got the hell out of there. The fire department only had three breathing suits so only three of us could go in. The only ones trained were me, Jack, Ron, and Jeremy. Jeremy decided to sit this one out since he had the least amount of training. He'd have to get the next one.
As soon as we got into that house things started to collapse all around us. The doorway topped over and rubble covered the entrance soon after we got in. Luckily we had planned for this. Prior to arriving we'd made out an emergency plan for if anything went wrong and decided that instead of leaving the old fashioned way we would jump out of the highest window still accessible and onto a trampoline.
"Guys." I said into the microphone. "The entrance is sealed off. You'd better be ready with that trampoline."
"Copy that." They replied into my headset.
"All right guys. We have to search the whole place for those kids. Jeremy, you can take the downstairs and Ron you can come with me. We'll need two of us to get the whole of the upstairs swept before it caves in on us."
"Actually I think I'll go with you instead" Said Jeremy.
"Sounds good to me." Agreed Ron.
"Great guys. Now let's move. This place could blow at any moment."
Me and Jeremy walked up the stairs carefully. They were on fire but and suits protected us. But you can never be too careful. We each went up one at a time to prevent them from falling before we could get out.
When we reached the top Jeremy and me went separate ways. He went left and I went right. Immediately after entering the room on the right I noticed that there was something wrong. There was a trail of blood on the ground leading from this room to the next. Someone must have gotten hurt.
"Jeremy, I need you over here. I think I've found something." I hears nothing but silence from the built in headset for a full three seconds before he replied. It doesn't seem like much on paper, but in reality it was like an eternity.
"Sure. I'll be there in a second. I think I've found something as well. Give me a bit to check it out."
With or without Jeremy I had to do this. Slowly walking towards the doorway I followed to trail of blood to what I hoped to be it's source. Passing through the doorway the trail of blood appeared to get thicker as I continued. Whatever happened to this kid it was bad. Really bad.
Turning the corner I found something that I can never unsee. It was one of the most horrible pictures that I hold in my mind to this day. Kneeling next to a child was a tall brow haired man in a leather jacked and jeans. He was just... kneeling there. Staring at the child while it cried.
Taking a closer look at the scene revealed that a large gash on the kid's leg was the source of all the blood. It pooled on the floor underneath him and the man.
Behind me I heard the creak of a floorboard. It must have been Jeremy. The man slowly stood up, turned, and looked straight at Jeremy. He had the coldest look on his face. Like a statue just standing there. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a gun. He pointed it at Jeremy and Jeremy had a look of alarm on his face as he shoved his hands up in the air.
I didn't expect him to shoot. Like I said before, everybody has a trigger warning. A look of doubt before they pulled the trigger. This man was the exception. He had no trigger warning. He had something else. Something even worse that will haunt me until the end of my days.
As the man pulled the trigger, he smiled.
A loud boom could be heard when the bullet flied through the air and hit Jeremy straight in the heart. When his body hit the ground with I thud, I swear the man laughed.
Then he turned to me ready to shoot, arm straight as a wooden plank completely unwavering. Then a look of recognition crossed his face and he let his arm down placing the gun in his pocket once again.
"I remember you." He said.
Who was this person? I didn't know him. I'd never seen him before in my life. Even if I had I would have gotten him arrested for being such a sick person.
"You know, I'm not going to let you die today." He said turning around. He took a running start toward the window on the other side of the room and jumped right through it.
I ran over to the window to see what happened to him. When I looked out of it he was nowhere to be seen.
I was abruptly brought back to reality by the sound of boards snapping. I looked up at the ceiling to see planks about to break on us. I ran over to the kid and picked him up, slinging him over my shoulder in a fireman's carry.
"Guys, be ready with that trampoline." I said in between tears. I hadn't realized it until I spoke. I was crying. Which isn't much of a surprise. One of my best friends had just been shot dead in cold blood by a murderer.
Swiftly I found the window that I was supposed to be jumping out of. Looking down I saw the firemen holding the trampoline below us. I threw the child down since I couldn't jump out with him. He landed safely on it bouncing up and down. His body was completely limp and I wasn't sure if he was alive.
Slowly I put my legs down on the edge so that I would have something to push off of. Before I could do so though, I heard a loud boom. I had no idea what it was at the time. Afterwards I was told that it was an explosion and if I hadn't jumped off when I did I would have definitely died. In what seemed like slow motion I pushed off of the ledge and made the leap onto the trampoline.
For three long seconds I wasn't sure if I was going to land on it. Three long seconds that seemed to last forever.
One. It looks really far away. Did I get enough momentum when I pushed off?
Two. I'm flailing through the air. I don't think I'm going to make it. The trampoline seems to be a million miles away from me.
Three. My legs make contact with the trampoline. I bounce up on down in what seemed to me like slow motion.
Finally I can breathe again. I got off of the trampoline, pulling the kid off with me. On his chest I notice a name tag stuck to his shirt. "Joseph" it says. I place his body down on the ground and check his pulse. Though I can barely feel it, I know it's there. A heartbeat.
At long last I have the chance to sit down and actually start sobbing. Two people I knew had died. There were six other children I didn't know that might have died as well. I had good reason to cry.
On the side I can see Jack running towards me. "What happened? Where is everybody else?" He asked frantically.
"They're dead." I answered in between sobs.
Jack's face fell. He was one of the few that didn't know Ron and Jeremy very well. He had worked with them though, and that brings a kind of bond to people. His bond with Ron and Jeremy had just been broken with their deaths.
"Oh god." He said, sitting down next to me and holding his head in his hands. Rubbing his temples like he was going through something extremely stressful. "How... how'd it happen?"
"There was this... guy in there. It killed them both. He shot Jeremy and I'm sure he set off the explosion that killed Ron." I was starting to recover my composure.
He reached over and put his hand on my back, patting it rhythmically "We have to tell someone about this. You know that right?"
"No! I mean, at least not the entire story. We'll just tell them that I saw the arsonist and what way he went. nothing more!" I yelled suddenly coming to my senses. I couldn't allow anyone else to know what I had seen. They'd think me insane. Send me to an insane asylum or something. Besides, they might try to stop me if they knew.
"But why?" He asked with a look of worry on his face. I could see that he was scared for me. Probably thought I was insane.
"They'll think I'm insane! I think I'm insane!" I yelled a bit too loudly. Some of the other people turned their head and looked at me. "I think I need to take a leave of absence. Tell everybody else. I'm leaving."
"Dude you can't just leave! There's work to do. Besides, you need to fill out the paper work. Two people just died so you need to take care of that. Plus you need to fill out the paperwork for a leave of absence!" He said. He did have a fair point.
"Ok. Uhmmmmmm.... I'll get this kid to the paramedics. Is there any way you could Email me that paperwork?" I asked him uncertainly. I was hoping that he could have done it for me. Clearly I was mistaken.
"Sure man. Are you sure that you don't want to let anybody know about this?" He asked once again uncertainly. He really didn't want to let up on this. I guess that once you know that something like that is out there you want to make sure that it's not going to come and get you.
"I'm sure."
After that I brought the kid to the paramedics like I promised that I would. Get got out of the hospital the next day with minimal stitching and a few burns from the flames. Nothing too serious though. At least physically. He ended up mentally scarred for the rest of his life. Never wanted to talk to anyone ever again. They had to check him out and make sure that his vocal chords weren't damaged. What happened to him was horrible, there's no denying that. but I'm sure it's a hell of a lot better than being dead.
I on the other hand filled out that paperwork and took my leave of absence ASAP. Which meant that I had to stay awake until the next morning filling the stuff out. There were two other fires that night. One was suspected arson as it was close to the previous one. Other than that nothing really eventful happened that day.
Actually, that's a lie. After telling them which way the suspected arsonist went the police went after him. They looked for a man of the description I gave out for days. Eventually they gave up in the search. They never did find that man.
"I'm trapped in a burning building. I can't get out! I think there may be someone in here with me." It was a child's voice.
"Okay. Please tell me where you are located so that we can get a dispatch to you."
"(I've removed this bit just in case.)"
"Okay. Just sit tight. They'll be there in a bit."
The receptionist called me over and told me the address. I immediately told the rest of the fireman to get ready. "I think that there may be arson involved. The kid said that there was someone else there."
"Okay then. Run a check on how many people live in that house."
It only took her a couple seconds to search up the house and its occupants. We have a very advanced system for these things. We have to if we want to get everyone out in time. "There's two parents and seven children. One of them has asthma though. You'll have to get there quickly."
We knew who was there. We knew where it was. What more was there to it? So we left the fire station immediately.
We arrived seven minutes after the call in. Which was five minutes after we had left. The top floor of the house had collapsed. Luckily the walls had fallen to the sides and hadn't damaged the rest of the house. Everyone there knew the other two floors could cave in at any moment. We didn't know if anyone had died yet so we had to get in immediately.
Walking over to the fire trucks we grabbed the equipment that we needed and got the hell out of there. The fire department only had three breathing suits so only three of us could go in. The only ones trained were me, Jack, Ron, and Jeremy. Jeremy decided to sit this one out since he had the least amount of training. He'd have to get the next one.
As soon as we got into that house things started to collapse all around us. The doorway topped over and rubble covered the entrance soon after we got in. Luckily we had planned for this. Prior to arriving we'd made out an emergency plan for if anything went wrong and decided that instead of leaving the old fashioned way we would jump out of the highest window still accessible and onto a trampoline.
"Guys." I said into the microphone. "The entrance is sealed off. You'd better be ready with that trampoline."
"Copy that." They replied into my headset.
"All right guys. We have to search the whole place for those kids. Jeremy, you can take the downstairs and Ron you can come with me. We'll need two of us to get the whole of the upstairs swept before it caves in on us."
"Actually I think I'll go with you instead" Said Jeremy.
"Sounds good to me." Agreed Ron.
"Great guys. Now let's move. This place could blow at any moment."
Me and Jeremy walked up the stairs carefully. They were on fire but and suits protected us. But you can never be too careful. We each went up one at a time to prevent them from falling before we could get out.
When we reached the top Jeremy and me went separate ways. He went left and I went right. Immediately after entering the room on the right I noticed that there was something wrong. There was a trail of blood on the ground leading from this room to the next. Someone must have gotten hurt.
"Jeremy, I need you over here. I think I've found something." I hears nothing but silence from the built in headset for a full three seconds before he replied. It doesn't seem like much on paper, but in reality it was like an eternity.
"Sure. I'll be there in a second. I think I've found something as well. Give me a bit to check it out."
With or without Jeremy I had to do this. Slowly walking towards the doorway I followed to trail of blood to what I hoped to be it's source. Passing through the doorway the trail of blood appeared to get thicker as I continued. Whatever happened to this kid it was bad. Really bad.
Turning the corner I found something that I can never unsee. It was one of the most horrible pictures that I hold in my mind to this day. Kneeling next to a child was a tall brow haired man in a leather jacked and jeans. He was just... kneeling there. Staring at the child while it cried.
Taking a closer look at the scene revealed that a large gash on the kid's leg was the source of all the blood. It pooled on the floor underneath him and the man.
Behind me I heard the creak of a floorboard. It must have been Jeremy. The man slowly stood up, turned, and looked straight at Jeremy. He had the coldest look on his face. Like a statue just standing there. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a gun. He pointed it at Jeremy and Jeremy had a look of alarm on his face as he shoved his hands up in the air.
I didn't expect him to shoot. Like I said before, everybody has a trigger warning. A look of doubt before they pulled the trigger. This man was the exception. He had no trigger warning. He had something else. Something even worse that will haunt me until the end of my days.
As the man pulled the trigger, he smiled.
A loud boom could be heard when the bullet flied through the air and hit Jeremy straight in the heart. When his body hit the ground with I thud, I swear the man laughed.
Then he turned to me ready to shoot, arm straight as a wooden plank completely unwavering. Then a look of recognition crossed his face and he let his arm down placing the gun in his pocket once again.
"I remember you." He said.
Who was this person? I didn't know him. I'd never seen him before in my life. Even if I had I would have gotten him arrested for being such a sick person.
"You know, I'm not going to let you die today." He said turning around. He took a running start toward the window on the other side of the room and jumped right through it.
I ran over to the window to see what happened to him. When I looked out of it he was nowhere to be seen.
I was abruptly brought back to reality by the sound of boards snapping. I looked up at the ceiling to see planks about to break on us. I ran over to the kid and picked him up, slinging him over my shoulder in a fireman's carry.
"Guys, be ready with that trampoline." I said in between tears. I hadn't realized it until I spoke. I was crying. Which isn't much of a surprise. One of my best friends had just been shot dead in cold blood by a murderer.
Swiftly I found the window that I was supposed to be jumping out of. Looking down I saw the firemen holding the trampoline below us. I threw the child down since I couldn't jump out with him. He landed safely on it bouncing up and down. His body was completely limp and I wasn't sure if he was alive.
Slowly I put my legs down on the edge so that I would have something to push off of. Before I could do so though, I heard a loud boom. I had no idea what it was at the time. Afterwards I was told that it was an explosion and if I hadn't jumped off when I did I would have definitely died. In what seemed like slow motion I pushed off of the ledge and made the leap onto the trampoline.
For three long seconds I wasn't sure if I was going to land on it. Three long seconds that seemed to last forever.
One. It looks really far away. Did I get enough momentum when I pushed off?
Two. I'm flailing through the air. I don't think I'm going to make it. The trampoline seems to be a million miles away from me.
Three. My legs make contact with the trampoline. I bounce up on down in what seemed to me like slow motion.
Finally I can breathe again. I got off of the trampoline, pulling the kid off with me. On his chest I notice a name tag stuck to his shirt. "Joseph" it says. I place his body down on the ground and check his pulse. Though I can barely feel it, I know it's there. A heartbeat.
At long last I have the chance to sit down and actually start sobbing. Two people I knew had died. There were six other children I didn't know that might have died as well. I had good reason to cry.
On the side I can see Jack running towards me. "What happened? Where is everybody else?" He asked frantically.
"They're dead." I answered in between sobs.
Jack's face fell. He was one of the few that didn't know Ron and Jeremy very well. He had worked with them though, and that brings a kind of bond to people. His bond with Ron and Jeremy had just been broken with their deaths.
"Oh god." He said, sitting down next to me and holding his head in his hands. Rubbing his temples like he was going through something extremely stressful. "How... how'd it happen?"
"There was this... guy in there. It killed them both. He shot Jeremy and I'm sure he set off the explosion that killed Ron." I was starting to recover my composure.
He reached over and put his hand on my back, patting it rhythmically "We have to tell someone about this. You know that right?"
"No! I mean, at least not the entire story. We'll just tell them that I saw the arsonist and what way he went. nothing more!" I yelled suddenly coming to my senses. I couldn't allow anyone else to know what I had seen. They'd think me insane. Send me to an insane asylum or something. Besides, they might try to stop me if they knew.
"But why?" He asked with a look of worry on his face. I could see that he was scared for me. Probably thought I was insane.
"They'll think I'm insane! I think I'm insane!" I yelled a bit too loudly. Some of the other people turned their head and looked at me. "I think I need to take a leave of absence. Tell everybody else. I'm leaving."
"Dude you can't just leave! There's work to do. Besides, you need to fill out the paper work. Two people just died so you need to take care of that. Plus you need to fill out the paperwork for a leave of absence!" He said. He did have a fair point.
"Ok. Uhmmmmmm.... I'll get this kid to the paramedics. Is there any way you could Email me that paperwork?" I asked him uncertainly. I was hoping that he could have done it for me. Clearly I was mistaken.
"Sure man. Are you sure that you don't want to let anybody know about this?" He asked once again uncertainly. He really didn't want to let up on this. I guess that once you know that something like that is out there you want to make sure that it's not going to come and get you.
"I'm sure."
After that I brought the kid to the paramedics like I promised that I would. Get got out of the hospital the next day with minimal stitching and a few burns from the flames. Nothing too serious though. At least physically. He ended up mentally scarred for the rest of his life. Never wanted to talk to anyone ever again. They had to check him out and make sure that his vocal chords weren't damaged. What happened to him was horrible, there's no denying that. but I'm sure it's a hell of a lot better than being dead.
I on the other hand filled out that paperwork and took my leave of absence ASAP. Which meant that I had to stay awake until the next morning filling the stuff out. There were two other fires that night. One was suspected arson as it was close to the previous one. Other than that nothing really eventful happened that day.
Actually, that's a lie. After telling them which way the suspected arsonist went the police went after him. They looked for a man of the description I gave out for days. Eventually they gave up in the search. They never did find that man.
The picture of the house on fire was made by WraeClast. It's actually what inspired this story. You can find the original picture here: http://wraeclast.deviantart.com/art/House-Fire-373878688 as well as WraeClast's artist page here: http://wraeclast.deviantart.com/ Seriously guys, you should check out these deviantart pages. These guys are very talented.