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| PAGE THIRTY NINE |
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Chet had rejoined his celebrating crewmates, the doctors and Miss Thorne, feeling much better after his hot soaking. He had just cracked his sodden towel at Johnny's butt when Mike's frantic yell reached them. All heads snapped up in the station and everyone's smiles evaporated. "What?!" Cap and everyone ran to the doorway, just in time to feel a great shuddering crunch impact less than a sixth of the way down the block almost immediately to the left of the garage's driveway. They ducked when metal railing shards began to rain down in the garage bay and onto them. Simultaneously.. they heard Manney, the courier firefighter's batman themed whistling break off into a scream. There was another sharp heavy noise over his frequency and the sound of squealing tires.. then nothing but static when the second half of the tower's top hit concrete. Cap snatched up Manney's HT and Mike's. "Stoker! Manney! Sound off!!" His heart was thudding wildly as he ran out into the street with the others into the cloud of dust left behind from the tower's impact onto the road. Cap coughed trying to see signs of any mangled tents or trapped people. There were none of either that he could see. "Roy! Johnny! Gil! Brice! Get in there! Chet, stay with Marco!" Then he started casting about for other signs of danger. Dr. Brackett burst through a cloud of dust and he joined Captain Stanley in searching the area. "Doctor, Stay by my side..No way in h*ll we're safe in this debris field." Cap ordered. "Keep within each other's earshot. Let my men search FOR you..They know what danger to look out for.." The two rescuers began to be joined by stunned but unharmed triage doctors, nurses and patients answering their shouts. Soon, it became clear that only a few might have been harmed; the two not answering hails. Again Cap lifted his HT. "Stoker! Manney!! Report!!" |
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***************************** From : "patti keiper" <pattik1@hotmail.com> Subject : [EmergencyTheaterLive] Breath of Life... Date : Thu, 14 Nov 2002 20:32:54 +0000 Offstory- Acknowledgements to the Nexxie's E Site http://www.nexxie.owns1.com/index.html For Episode Screengrabs Back In Story-- He was met with nothing but silence over his hand held. Cap let out a cry of frustration and he cast about for Roy and Johnny visually, making sweeps under the choking dust and debris. ::Where's the d*mned Santa Anas when you need them? I can't see a thing!..:: Stubborn morning stillness remained. He directed triage personnel to leave the area with their patients all the while getting information in snatches from them as they ran past. It was confirmed. No civilians were hurt. "Roy! Gage!" Captain Stanley called out loudly. "Yeah Cap?" Johnny shouted, appearing as a ghost out of the dusty gloom,running as he pushed aside metal debris and wiring from the remains of the fallen tower. "So far, no one's in trouble. See if you can birdeye Manney's car. I'll get people on Stoker's end. They're not answering hails." Johnny said, "No wait, Cap. Uh, Stone and his men can do that. I really think he's ok. The way he was describing his scene earlier makes me believe they are on the other side of the refinery grounds, Cap." Just then, Mike came over the channel. ##L.A. Station 8 and Engine 51. Still here.## Cap sighed. "Ok...., Gage. Let's move. Manney said he was about a minute away from the station. If he had been coming from the airport, his vehicle would most likely be to the north." Gage, Roy and Cap all looked north. A huge pile of tower and metal debris lay tangled, fifteen feet high across the boulevard, almost concealing the roadway lanes. The dust began to settle. Then Johnny saw red metal. "There he is!" Cap got on his talkie. "L.A. This is station 51. Advise area units we have a man down in front of the stationhouse trapped in an FD vehicle. Send for immediate assistance.." ##10-4, 51.## Cap only dimly heard L.A. find a company to respond to his incident. Johnny, Cap and Roy went running, jumping over poles and pipes and ducking under sheeting until they wormed their way deep inside the fallen skeleton of the refinery antennae tower. Gage quickly ran to the front of the red fire department battalion car. All of its windows were shattered and spiderwebbed and they couldn't see inside. Gage cracked open the clearest passenger side door window with his helmet as a battering ram. "Manney??" |
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A loud squeaking erupted at his call and something brown burst into his face and clambored out the window in a leap in prep to wing away. "Ahhh!!" Gage yelled in surprise. "It's one of the bats! Get her!!" The angry flying fox didn't fly, for one of her wings lay mangled at her side. She hissed until Roy captured her and bundled her up into his overcoat and he set it onto the ground. He weighed down the coat edges with debris to hold her captive. Johnny grimaced as he crawled around the partially crushed aircrate and he saw one more large dead bat lying across the seat. He shoved her to the floor to get to Manney. "Manney.. Can you you hear me?" He said struggling to get further inside the car to the front seat. All the while the remaining flying fox inside the crate chittered loudly in distress. "Cap! I can't get to him." Johnny handed the crate out to Roy. "Make sure this one doesn't get away, Roy, it's not injured!" "How is he?" Roy said, leaning in. "Don't know yet, this roof's jammed down tight!" He grunted as he struggled to get deeper into the car. Finally, he said. "Check him Cap..." Gage said, still fighting to get closer around crumbled car roof. "I still can't get to him." Outside, Cap climbed his way to the driver's door and he, too, cleared away the shattered glass. He saw that Manney was out, with his head flopped back over the car seat, his helmet off. Cap felt Manney's neck for a pulse. His heart just about leaped and his eyes almost refused to see the blue tinge to the fireman's skin. "Oh man.. Move him! Move him..! No carotid." Somehow, together, Johnny, Roy and Cap got him free and they stretched him out onto the street, moving their victim as easily as they could to protect his spine. Johnny began mouth to mouth. |
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