Fire in the Firehouse 15

As they walked and talked, they both silently took notice of the sky. It was stained deep by the smoke and was spreckled with hints of flames that jumped high enough. The smoke was mostly black. Here and there the was some white and gray smoke, indicating water was making contact with it. There were soft embers touching the sky and dying before touching the tender and scared Earth again.

They heard from people outside talking to their neighbors that all the highways in and out of the are were shut down, sans for the incoming emergency vehicles. It was scary. Basically if you were in the area you were trapped and may God have mercy on your soul.

For the most part the sky was awful to see. The air quality was poor and the walk made them gasp for a breath now and then. As the wind blew, you could see ash dance in the air on small air drifts as the light and burned material descended to Earth. It was surreal. Pieces of trees, grass, brush, whatever, that was once far away was finding a new home to rest several miles away. The matter was looking for a place to rest as it became part of the Earth again in death. 

The entire area that just weeks before was pristine had died off fast due to the heat and now was dying off all together by fire. It was a vicious circle, but was all part of the natural cycle of nature. Things are born, they die and sometimes a rather vicious death at that. This was a process that had been transpiring for thousands of years. Nature had found a way to control too much growth. Fire. Was there a more devastating phenomenon? Not likely.

The moments ticked away. Mitch was drinking more and more coffee. He needed his strength. He'd long broken off from Colby. It was draining him far too much. He needed to concentrate. An idea was finally born into his head. "Fuck it, I've got the money." He called a number in the phone book. "Hello? Hi, yes. I need to rent a helicopter. That's right. Where to? Ha, that's easy. I have friends and coworkers stuck in a ring of fire and they need help and I'm willing to pay the price to save them. Hello? Well, fuck you, too. They fuckin hung up on me. Hmmm." So Mitch feverishly made more calls. He tried to stay within a short range in terms of distance to the effected area. Not wanting to wait all that long. Finally after about ten calls he reached a guy in Sacramento. An adrenaline junkie. This was right up his alley. He took the job and was going to fly in to the area Mitch had described. They'd meet at the fire station. Mitch was going along-he had to.

Mitch quickly called Drake on his cell and informed them both of what he was going to do. Drake agreed with his choice and agreed, too that this guy seemed the right guy for the job. Mitch rushed out the door, got into his truck and sped off. He grabbed a Metallica CD and began immersing his mind into the heavy music. The roads were pretty clear. There were a few cops scattered throughout the city and surrounding areas. When one would try to chase him down, he'd get on his CB and inform them he was on his way to the fire and when they saw the sticker proving who he was, they backed off immediately. He lied saying he was on his way to the fire itself. He wasn't about to explain his true motive.

His mind was into the pounding music. For a while he thought it might be easier chasing down a Great White shark in the open ocean. The task before them was going to be rough, especially if the winds picked up. It mattered little. His lover was close to meeting a painful death and he was going to give all he could to save him.

Soon the brown haired young man was at the firehouse. He stood waiting outside his truck. His eyes coursed the surface of the sky. He was mesmerized by its appearance. It was scorched with pain. It seemed sick and injured, lacking its appeal. Not the pretty and clean look it was notorious for having in this particular region. He stared long and hard, blinking quite often as the dirty air stung his eyes. He occasionally coughed to clear his throat. The air was basically putrid. 

His thoughts shifted to his lover. He wondered how he was. He leaned back against his truck. And tried to make contact. "Shit, this won't work. I can't relax hacking my fucking brains out like this." He looked around. "Duh, the firehouse. I'll go in there and wait." He knew getting in would be a breeze. He had a key. He walked over, pulled his key out and walked inside. The air was clean and fresh and was also purified. This firehouse truly was state of the art.

He stood in the living room area. He recalled one of the last times he was in this room. He and his lover were snow bound. It seemed so long ago now. He reflected in thought again. He began speaking in his mind. This is so odd. Things seemed horrible then, now things are worse. I guess its true, things always look worse when you're dealing with them in the here and now. His mind raced away. He reflected throughout his life. He had to wonder if he was being punished for being gay. Does God punish gays? I mean, after all, look at the shit we've been through. Is this punishment? Would God do this to us? No. God is all loving. He tests us and sees if you can pass or not. And damn it, I'm passing this test and I'm marrying the man I love.

Mitch was deep in thought, his mind wandering. He had much to reflect on. He even tried imagining what his parents might say and how they'd feel about his being gay. His mind was getting away from him. Soon he heard the propellers of the helicopter. It was far enough off still, but he could hear its approach.

Back in the hotel, Nick was watching the news with beads of water still trickling of his mostly dry body as he sat wrapped in a soft, white terry cloth towel provided by his hotel. A news helicopter was flying over head and had a camera on Colby, Capt. Joe and the others. Nick's palms were sweating profusely. His pulse increased and his mouth dry as cotton. His lips were dry, too. He was never so scared, alone and empty. His son, his only surviving offspring, near death. He tried to imagine his son's fear. He was trying to put himself in this position. He got lost in his thoughts. He saw his son grow up in his thoughts. He also realized how much of this young man's life he missed working. Working to support his wife. The woman he loved and trusted and only to find out she'd been abusing his son. He sickened him in hindsight to know what his son went through. My poor son. Why? How? That Marie will pay, the fucking bitch she is.

Nick was easily shaken. He ran into his bathroom heaving his guts everywhere. Luckily 99% of it hit the toilet. He was a wreck. He wanted to give anything to insure his son's safety. He was at a loss. What could he do? Nothing. Pray. That was his last resort.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the country. A young man sat down to eat his dinner. He clicked on the news and saw the coverage of the fire on TV. It was on all the channels. He saw a picture, albeit briefly of a young man trapped in the fire. He stared long and hard at the screen. How could it be? Impossible. The image went by quickly. He stared, hoping they'd show it again. He flipped through the channels. He had to see this image again. Soon his room mate Tyler came in. 

"What's creeping you out man? You look scared shitless." The young man sat in silence unsure what to say. He continued flipping through the channels. They announced they'd be going live to the scene again. He waited.

As he watched and waited he spoke. "Watch this one guy. Tell me what you see." Tyler watched and waited with his friend. He was unsure what he was waiting for. The camera went right over and got a close up. Both men stood dumbfounded and looked at one another.

Tyler spoke, "What the fucking hell is that? That dude looks just like you Cory. That's unreal. You must be freaked dude. That's a trip." Cory sat in silence for a few. He began reminiscing. He knew he was adopted. He was told his Mom had died after giving birth to him. His adoptive parents had mentioned this to him but there were few other facts. It was a real gray area and they seemed to not want to get into the details much.

Cory got up, walked to his room, stared in his mirror and spoke to his own reflection. "The odds of that guy not being my twin brother are next to impossible. There's no way he can't be. That further explains the mystery my parents kept from me. If only they were alive today." Cory thought back to the day they died. They were on their way to the jungles of South America to do some research, they were both veterinarians and were going to do some research on primates when their cessna flew too low, clipped some trees and crashed into a lake. There was rumor they survived that, but it was either an alligator or a python that got them. The pilot made it, climbed a dense tree and called for help. He was semi conscious and wasn't too alert when Cory's parents were killed. There seemed to be no indication of foul play. This all happened when Cory was 17. His parents were paid well. They'd done work for The Discovery Channel and PBS. They were both in demand. Cory was well off financially. He'd done some local modeling before settling on being a chef. He loved working with his hands and had a true talent in the kitchen.

As Cory stood in his room he knew he had to get on the next plane out of there and to the California/Nevada area and fast. His brother was facing danger. Hell, he might be die soon. He prayed hard. God, please don't take him. I've no family left. I need my brother. I know that man is my brother. I feel it. He was deep in thought praying. He had to do it. He had to save this man. Tyler walked in, took into account what he saw and deduced why his friend was flying around the room packing his clothes. He'd have done the same thing. 

Cory looked to Tyler, "Bro, do me a favor? Get online and get my the next flight out of here and the cheapest 1st class seats you can." Tyler admired him. He had all this money, but he was oh-so-careful spending it. He got right to it. He felt he owed his buddy some help. He could see the wreck he'd become. The was the first sign of family Cory'd seen since losing his parents. All his parent's family had either died or remained in Italy or Greece, his parent's home country. 

Tyler harbored a secret and he was done keeping it. When he saw the face of his best friend, no amount of money waved in his face anymore could keep him quiet. He wanted to confess, but now was not the time. He knew what he had to do and was going to.

The young man picked up the house phone. He walked outside. He knew he'd have enough time to do this and still book Cory's flight. The phone rang three times and finally a woman's voice picked up. "Marie, enough of you and your shit. Cory's my friend and I love him like a brother. He just saw Colby on the news and is in a hurry to get out there to meet his twin. Your plan failed, bitch. Your money means nothing to me anymore. I've worked by your side for too long now and I'm not doing it anymore. I don't care what you feel. Your money paid my college fees, but that's over, too. You got your way. You had Cory's parents killed and guess what. He still got his inheritance. You've failed. You're a disgusting whore and I hope you burn to death in that fire. Eat shit and die!" He hung up. How he longed to have one of the old phones that were fun to slam down. But it wasn't to be in a modern world. 

Marie stood on the other end across the miles, her blood pressure must've shot through the roof. She was fighting a losing battle. People that had been bough off were now turning against her. She couldn't explain it. There was only one person with the answer: Mitch. He'd used a spell to bring out the liars and those out to hurt Colby in his life. And Marie was getting closer and closer to being exposed. Though she had no indication where this was all coming from. She'd planned for years, planning everything out flawlessly. Now it was all coming down right before her eyes. 

Back in the ring of fire, thought to be hell on Earth, Colby was fighting to stay awake. The smoke was begging him to give up his fight and just lie down and wait for death. Capt. Joe had run back to the tents and grabbed the air packs just in time, they didn't need them this second, but it might not be long. Fire had closed in. It almost seemed as though the dancing flames had it in for them. It seemed reminiscent of the snake charmer and the snake. The fire being the snake coming in for the attack. 

Colby pulled close to the others as they stood helpless. One of the other firemen, a young, dashing man spoke up, "Why isn't anyone saving us? What the hell? This is insane. We're gunna be burned alive here." The young man, Kristopher, Kris for short was a Navy Seal and came to the department after giving up that lifestyle. It was far too stressful. He was a striking man. One that easily could be seen in Time's Square in the latest Calvin Klein ad. But he loved being a man that could get out and make a difference. He was normally tough as nails, but facing down the gullet of death was even too much for him. His eyes watered and from more than smoke. It was hard for him to accept his impending fate. He didn't want to die. He'd just found the perfect girl. He'd inadvertently gotten her pregnant and was waiting for her birthday to ask her hand in marriage. He'd planned for the perfect American dream. The wife, the baby, the home, the white picket fence. It was all within reach.

Colby knew all this info about Kris. He felt his pain. Not like Mitch would, but he knew what it was like to be so in love and seeing how you were going to die with no way to change that fate. Colby was trying so hard to stay strong. He walked over to Kris, put his arm around his shoulder. "Don't give up man. We're gunna make it."

Kris snapped his head and faced him. "Easy for you to say fag. You're not about to become a Dad. I've got more to live for that when I'm going to get fucked in the ass again." Kris stopped. His mouth had gotten away from him. He looked at the sorrow wash across his colleague's face. He felt awful. "Bro, I'm sorry. I've nothing against you or your being gay. I mean that. I'm scared man. More scared than I've ever been in my life. Hell, I've been through a lot of shit as a Seal, but this far exceeds that." 

Colby walked back over, extended his arms and embraced him in a tight hug. He whispered in his ear, "Normally I'd kill for less than what you said. But, I feel your frustration. Its all good. When we get outta here, I'm gunna fuck you royally." Kris pulled back, looked Colby dead in the eyes. Colby tried to stay serious, but a smile cracked across his face. "I'm kidding. Well, mostly. You're buying me dinner AND the beers for that lil smart assed remark." Kris hugged him that much tighter, said nothing, but basically agreed that was the least he could do.

Colby was focused. He wanted to live, however if death was imminent, he was going to leave this world having made peace and even go out laughing. The moments became more and more surreal as the flames raced toward them all.

In the distance a helicopter could be heard. They all collectively assumed it was just another media chopper and they'd make the next hour's news cast. This time they could be no more wrong. This was going to be the one that came to save the day.