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“A Hero’s Heart”

**~A hero can live right next door to us~

**~Chapter Eleven- Left in Darkness~**

-August 16th 2001. 6:12PM. New York City, New York. Union Square, 14th street. Fire Company 4 Station.

The white misty smoke creeps along the air as the red engine abruptly stops. The smoke invaded their hearts making it difficult to inhale or breathe properly. Kevin opens the passenger side door and grabs his helmet. Brian jumps out the driver side door and races over to unroll the hose. Howie, A.J. and Nick leap off the back of the engine and help Brian unroll the hose.

Kevin’s heart pattered in anxiety as he blindly makes his way through the thick fog of smoke that clouded his vision. His emerald eyes water with stinging tears as the mist aggregates it. He could see some of the firemen from that company looking around lost and helpless as they stare at what once was their station that towered over that small community. Kevin looks for his friend among the crowd of firefighters from that station. Gently pushing through the large amount of burly firefighters his eyes landed on his friend or rather what was left of his friend. “Adam.” His voice cracked at the corpse of his friend who unfortunately was the first victim of the arsonist fire’s. The body was lying on the ground with a black blanket concealing the burnt form of the remains of the firefighter.

“We tried to get him out on time but he didn’t listen. He wanted to be the hero and get everyone out of the building before he did. He was the last one out and by then it was too late.” A young firefighter stated. The young blue green eyes of the firefighter that spoke to Kevin had stained tears. “Kevin he was a good man. I don’t have the heart to tell his family. I’m thinking since you were the closest to him and his family that you can tell them.” Jeremy, the young firefighter told Kevin.

Kevin nods his head as he hears the guys from his company calling for him.

“Kev. Come on man, we need your help holding this hose.” A.J. shouts as he, Howie and Brian hold the hose, spraying the rushing strong pressured water at the thick flames that was consuming the station. Nick was unrolling another hose as he tries to steady it towards the fire’s direction. Kevin runs over and helps Nick out, “Ok buddy I got it.” Kevin states smiling as Nick nods his head and holds the hose with shaking hands. Nick walks over to the fire hydrant and attaches the hose with the small opening in the fire hydrant.

After the fire was taken out, only the thick suffocating smoke lingers in the atmosphere, causing everyone to cough heavily. Brian drops the hose and walks over to the young firefighters from that station. He glances at the man named Jeremy who’s blue green eyes sparkle with anxiety. Fear lurked behind those big eyes of that man as he stands fidgeting in a white tank top and dark blue jeans. “Hey Jeremy, when the fire break out?”

Jeremy bits his lower lip and with his light brown finger, points to the lobby of the station, “It started about 5:35, I was in the lobby and one of the first out. I saw like a tiny black bomb like explosive crash through the front window. I tried to detonate it but I wasn’t fast enough. It started blinking and I screamed out to the others. The first twenty of us made it out without a scratch. The others were upstairs and Adam who was with me at first outside, decided to head back in the station to get the others upstairs. He…” Jeremy’s voice trailed off as a sob escaped from his throat. “He never made it out.” Jeremy finished as his shoulder rack with his wailing.

Brian thought his lost the ability to breathe for that one moment, “Adam’s gone. I can’t believe it.” He remembered how when he first joined the company, Adam and Kevin had a close friendship. Adam always looked at Kevin as an older brother and Kevin cared for him when Adam caught the flu. There was something about Adam’s attitude that inspired Brian. Adam gave the true meaning of a champion, he cared about others before himself. He remembered how bubbly and happy Adam was, always making everyone around him smile. And if someone was upset for whatever reason, Adam would do his best to get them to laugh or least grin. “Something is only as bad as you make it” was his motto. His presence brought the sunlight of God on people’s faces and that was so joyful. One couldn’t help but smiling whenever Adam was around and now that sunlight has left. Only darkness now remains and no one can fill that spot like Adam. His thoughts are interrupted by Jeremy, “Hey Brian, they’re calling you.”

Brian turns to see the little girl he saved a while back, Samantha, running up to him. Her big hazel eyes glimmer in the evening sunlight, her brown locks tumbling over her shoulders. She giggles and smiles when she spots Brian and he embraces the little girl in a hug. He bends down and looks into her soft eyes, she smiles and whispers, “Where’s daddy? Did you save my daddy? I know you did, cause you’re so good at that.” Samantha stated, her grin spreading across her face.

Nick walks over to where Brian and little girl are talking, he listens as Brian’s ocean blue eyes begin filling with tears. Something was wrong, very wrong and Nick couldn’t understand it. The little girl Samantha looks up at Nick and smiles, her soft peach colored complexion glitters in the soft sunlight. “Brian saved my daddy before. I know he did the same today.”

Nick smiles and gazes at Brian to see him shaking his head in grief. Something was very wrong. Howie pulls Nick aside and whispers that the only causality was of that man Adam who was the girl’s father. Now Nick understood why Brian was upset, the girl just lost her father and Brian had to break the news to her. Nick watches as Brian picks up the little girl in his arms and holding her in a tight hug, he whispers to her in her ear in a soft tone, “Sam, you’re daddy is sleeping right now. God wants him to do a special job for him, God is taking care of your daddy.” He states as his voice cracks in pain and grief. He places Samantha gently on her feet on the ash clouded street.

Samantha gazes sadly at Brian as small tears leaked out of the corner of her eye. “Why did God have to take daddy now?” She whispers to Brian. He smiles painfully and strokes her brown locks gently on her head.

“I’m not sure sweetie. Sometimes God sees something special in people that He needed them right away.” Brian whispers, tears now clearly rolling down his face. Nick watches on at the heartbreaking scene before him.

Samantha stuck out her lower lip and blinks back more of her soft tears. “But I need him, not God.”

A.J. Nick and Howie all watch the emotional scene with the girl and Brian and it broke their hearts to know that one of their finest firefighters are gone.

Kevin breaks the crowd of firefighters that surrounded Brian and Samantha and picks Samantha up in his arms. “Do me a big favor Sammy. I want you to be brave for all of us ok. You can do it. I don’t want your mom to be scared. I know you can do it.” He states and gently kisses her on her forehead before placing her back on the ground.

Samantha looks at Kevin and smiles softly, “Ok. I’ll be strong like my daddy.”

Nick smiles as he feels a cool tear roll down his cheek. It was time to go for now and Kevin and Brian decided to stay with the others and talk with the police about the crime. A.J. tugs on Nick’s shoulder and pulls him away from the crowd of people around Samantha and Brian. “Come on kid, let’s go. There’s nothing else for us to do here.”

Nick nods his head and gulps holding back the tears that would have overtook him watching the little girl learn about her father’s death. Howie looks grimly at the scene of the ruined station and at the sad expressions of the firefighters of that place. It would be an emotional weekend this week when the funeral will be held to honor Adam.

A.J. gazes his dark chocolate eyes at Nick and pats him on the shoulder. “What’s wrong Nick?”

Nick gulps and shakes his head, “I, I never saw a corpse before until today.” He speaks, his voice breaking off, as he seems lost and spaced out.

“I know what you mean. The first time I saw someone dead, I was in shock for like five days. It can get to ya. What’s sad though is this is part of our life. As firefighters we see people die.” A.J. states as he runs his tan colored hands over his face wiping off some soot that had settled on him.

Howie sighs and gets into the driver’s seat of the fire engine. He chews on his lower lip as he slides in the driver’s seat, letting the wet tears make their welcome down his face. He felt terrible today cause he only knew Adam for only a short time. But he knew Brian, Kevin and A.J. were the closet to Adam and were the ones suffering the most. A.J. walks over with Nick to the back of the engine.

“You wanna sit with Howie in the front? I think he needs the company and you can get to know him more.” A.J. states. He wanted Nick to go because he just wasn’t in the talking mood and he needed time to reflect on his own. Nick glumly smiles and heads over to the passenger’s side of the engine. A.J leaps on the back of the engine and stares at the crowd of firefighters, policemen, paramedics and media reporters that had gathered at the station. The engine pulls away and suddenly A.J lets the tears that he was holding back, release. The wet streaks stain his face as it rolls down pass his cheek. He feels the burning and stinging of the tears well up in his soft eyes as he unleashes the pain he had since coming here. It hurts him to know that one of his close friends, Adam, is now dead. He left behind an amazing wife and a precious daughter. A.J. drops on his knees as the engine rolls down the highway. The soft cool breeze stings his warm flesh as the tears continue flowing out. The sky lighted up in orange and yellow as it beams down on him. He clutches his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around it. He would cry for the entire ride, he knew it. The hurt was too strong and the pain will remain. He would call his mother when he reaches the station, he needed to call her. After this incident, he didn’t want to lose another opportunity. Life is too short for that and he needed to hear his mother’s soothing voice near him. Then he will call his fiancé later to tell her he loves her before it’s too late. He needed some light and she would be that light he needed. He was tired of always staying in the dark about the reality of pain, now more than ever, the light from his mother will be his comforter this evening.
~**~

**~To Be Continued…**~