Hot as Sun

By this time, nearby fire companies had begun to respond and were making an Herculean effort to knock down the flames. News vans started arriving soon after and reporters were questioning bystanders. Laura, Rachel and Diane declined all interviews.

Then Morgan Hanson arrived on the scene. Diane quickly filled him in on the situation and its implications.

"I heard it took the fucking fire trucks forever to get here!" he roared. "What the hell do we donate to these losers for? You see them around with their hands out all the time, but where the hell are they when really you need them?"

Two reporters heard Hanson's outburst and rushed to his side with microphones as their camera men followed. They managed to catch about two minutes of Morgan Hanson berating the local fire department and promising the wrath of hell in the form of litigation against the volunteer group. Rachel and Diane were horrified as they watched the scene unfold. They knew most of the men and their families in the department by their first names. How could anyone doubt the men had done their best? The misery in their hearts increased. Suddenly, Laura stepped in front of Morgan.

"Mr. Hanson is very upset. His son is in that inferno, along with my husband. I wish to make it very clear that we have nothing but the deepest appreciation and gratitude for the fine people of our local volunteer fire department. When my husband is able to speak to you, he will say much the same thing. These people are our friends and neighbors. They have done all anyone could ask, and more. They are heroes!" finished a teary-eyed Laura before she turned and walked away.

Once away from the cameras, Laura reached into her pocket, pulled out her cell phone, hit the speed dial. Then spoke quietly, "Sam, shut the restaurant down, make about five dozen sandwiches and a shit load of coffee and bring it to Ash Street, just past the high school. We have firemen working their asses off and they need some nourishment. Yes, Sam, we're all praying for Jeff and the little boy. You saw me live on what channel? Good! Yeah, he's an asshole! Now get down here as fast as you can. This looks like a long night."

Time dragged as the firemen slowly brought the fire under control, or more precisely, the fire pretty much exhausted its fuel supply. The news reporters continued to hang around looking for any interesting tidbits they could use on the eleven o'clock news. Laura made sure to speak to the firemen when they returned to the trucks for drink or a sandwich. She expressed her gratitude to every man and woman that belonged to the fire and ambulance corps. She knew that Jeff would want it that way.

Laura well knew the feeling of guilt and inadequacy they could feel if things turned out as badly as seemed likely. They did not need, nor deserve abuse and blame from a grieving parent or spouse. Her late husband had been a volunteer and had often expressed his pride in his company as well as his dread of losing someone in a fire. These men needed encouragement and praise, especially in the time of tragedy.

At eleven o'clock, the news channels began their broadcast with the story of the fire and how it could well be fatal. It pained Laura greatly to hear the reports. Diane was sobbing steadily while Morgan Hanson continued to bitch and gripe about fire inspectors, firemen, town officials, state officials and even the federal government. Rachel had turned to Laura for comfort and stayed close to her side, thanking everyone for all their hard work and dedication. Laura saw a lot of the same strength in Rachel that Jeff demonstrated. He could be proud of his daughter.

Suddenly an ambulance turned on its flashing lights and began moving toward the west side of the burned out structure. The remaining observers and news people quickly picked up on it. Then Laura and Rachel heard a man yell from deep inside the rubble.

"We found them!" was all they heard as they moved in the direction the ambulance had taken.

Jeff had wrapped an arm around little Morgan and started for the safety of the window when all hell broke loose. A section of the roof caved in just as the floor beneath him gave way. He clutched the boy to his chest as they began tumbling downward. It seemed like they fell for a couple of minutes, but Jeff knew it had to be more like a few seconds. He bounced off beams and burning boards as he and the boy tumbled down. Finally he slammed into something solid.

The heat was unbearable. Jeff knew he had to find some sort of cover soon or both he and the boy in his arms would perish. He looked around and realized he was in the basement of the old school. He had spent some pleasant hours in the very basement when his mom's brother was the school janitor. He often stopped in after school to chat with his uncle and even help him with some of his chores.

That was when Jeff thought of the coal furnace. He remember how huge the firebox was since it had to heat the entire building. He used to help his uncle perform maintenance on the furnace in the warmer weather. If the furnace was still in the basement, it would be just around a brick abutment. Jeff realized there were no other options so he decided to crawl toward where the furnace stood so long ago. That was when he realized his left leg was broken and his foot was facing backward!

Still, Jeff knew he had no choice so he used his empty arm and his good leg to drag himself and the boy around the old brick wall. To his relief, Jeff saw that the furnace was still intact. Sweating profusely from a combination of the heat and the pain, Jeff managed to reach the old coal furnace. He reached up and unlatched the door and swung it open.

Rachel and Laura had fearfully begun walking toward the now parked ambulance when they heard the man yell that Jeff and Morgan had been found. Part of Laura wondered why the fellow chose to yell the news rather than use his radio. Then they heard the same man yell even louder.

"They're alive!"

Tears streaked down Laura's cheeks as she hugged Rachel to her. Rachel was sobbing loudly. They felt the heat of the lights of the cameras swing on them as they again struggled toward the ruins of the old school. They were soon stopped by a fireman and told to wait as it was still extremely hot and very dangerous in the old foundation. It seemed to take forever but finally they saw several firemen carrying a backboard with Morgan Jr. He was restrained but his eyes were open and alert. Diane and Morgan stumbled past Laura and began talking to little Morgan, telling him how they missed him, had waited for him, and would take him for ice cream as soon as they could. The boy was carried into a waiting ambulance. Diane climbed in with him and the ambulance pulled out with sirens blaring. Laura watched Hanson hustle back to his car as a second ambulance backed up to the burned pile of rubble that had been the old school.

It took another ten minutes before Jeff was carried out on a backboard. A paramedic had an IV in Jeff's arm. Laura could see his left foot was pointing oddly and was cushioned with blankets. As they approached the ambulance, Ralph Evans suddenly appeared along side Jeff.

"Jeff, you're the man!" he grinned. "I knew if anyone could get out that, it'd be you. That was some amazing piece of work, Dude!"

"You saved my life, Ralph! I won't ever forget that," croaked Jeff. By this time, reporters were trying to reach Jeff as they shouted questions at him on live TV. The firemen just formed a line on either side of the ambulance doors and kept the reporters at bay as Jeff was gently placed inside. Laura was given a hand as she quickly climbed in with Jeff. No one even thought to suggest she not be allowed in the ambulance.

It was a day and half later before Jeff was aware enough to speak. He lay in the hospital bed watching the news. As it went to commercial, Laura squeezed his hand and smiled.

"Well, Jeff, it looks like you found a way to payback Hanson big time, as well as Diane. You got them good!" asserted Laura.

"How do you figure that, Laura? I'm here with a compound fracture while Jr. is up and running around already. How did I get them good, as you put it?"

"He stole your wife, Jeff, and it hurt you... a lot. Diane was unfaithful and that hurt even more. They took from you, Jeff. They took your family, your faith in people, and even your self respect. You even felt that you had lost your manhood. For far too long, you were ashamed and felt inadequate. You told me all this several times. Now look what you've done to them, Jeff.

"You've given them their son's life. You've repaid their betrayal with courage and an incredible act of heroism. You've shown your daughter how a real man conducts himself under stress. Diane has seen it, too. Now Morgan Hanson will spend the rest of his life feeling small and inadequate. He'll go to his grave knowing you're a far better man, Jeff. He'll know that Diane has seen it as well. Yep, Jeff, you really got him good!"