9-1-1 Scenarios

Point of Origin

Buck went over the report he gathered from the first-responders who'd beat us to the scene. "16 DOA so far. Mostly blunt trauma to the head or crushed by falling debris or other bodies. One victim impaled."

"What a way to start off a marriage..." I looked around us; a wedding party had fallen through two stories and, well, Buck covered the rest. 

D: "They fell through two stories? I won't be surprised if that number goes higher."

"What the hell happened here? I mean for one floor to cave in is rare, but two?"

Hen walked up to us. "Captain. The groom is devastated, his bride hasn't been accounted for yet."

D: "We'll find her. Buck, I'm gonna need you to go up top. Access to the second floor is blocked. We're gonna have to tackle this thing from both ends."

B: "Okay, Captain."

We made our way through the three stories of victims, luckily the people who were alive only had some broken bones or scrapes. Finally, after spotting the bride being rescued from some debris, I met up with the rest of the crew. 

Dad held a piece of metal in his hand. "Is the owner here?"  

H: "Uh, that's him right there. Why?"

But the question was pointless as he was already storming off towards the man Hen pointed at. "Hey! When'd you put on the third floor?" He asked the question again, this time much more angry. "You think I don't know what that is?" He threw down the piece of metal.

The Owner's eyes were wide. "What's the matter with you?"

Dad took the man by his shirt collar. "That's Kal-Pal! That stuff's been banned! You didn't reinforce the concrete with steel. Instead you used that crap! This used to be a two-story building. That floor that collapsed was the roof wasn't it? Wasn't it!?"

H: "Bobby!"

"Captain!"

D: "You know what you did, you son of a bitch! You're going to jail, that's manslaughter!"

I grabbed his hand to stop him from shaking the man madly. "Dad!"

He whipped his head towards me. "What!?"

"Step away." I kept my voice stern, but not a yell. "Hen,"

She nodded and practically dragged him away by his ear.

I turned to the owner. "Is he right?"

He only stared at me, shaken by the encounter.

"Is. He. Right?" I repeated.

He nodded sheepishly.

"Yeah, you're fucked buddy. I'd be on the watch for a lawsuit if I were you. Oh, and a jail cell. Bastard." I walked off, ready to be free of this death pit.

---

I reclined into the couch as Buck flew up the stairs, "It's a beautiful day, Henerita! My love. Kymberly, you look great today. Is that a new hairstyle?"

"Yes, actually..." I eyed him in confusion as he made his way to the kitchen island.

H: "Call me Henrietta again, you're going over the balcony."

B: "Okay, then. Bobby. Oh, captain, my handsome captain."

D: "What are you, high?"

B: "No, I'm not high."

"Wait, I know! You lost your virginity."

B: "Close! I met a woman. Two, actually."

"Oh, ew." 

B: "No, it's not like that. I met a woman and her mother, and I didn't even have sex with either of them."

"Congrats. Want me to bake you a cake?"

He scoffed and turned back around, "Ooh, why's is so cold in here?"

"Hm?" I looked back at them and noticed the rigid stances of both Hen and my dad. Before I could question further, the alarm blared.

We drove to the car wash where a man was wrapped in one of the brushes and the owner led us to him. "I've told him a million times, wait for everything to be shut off before you hose down the place. But does he listen? No. He doesn't listen. And you know what happens? This. This is what happens."

A man, seemingly in his mid-twenties, was wrapped in the large brush. 

"Sir, can you hear me?" Hen asked.

"Um, yeah." He nodded, looking out of it.

"Does anything feel broken?" She asked, dad going in to move him. "Uh, you want to maybe wait until I decide he's okay to be moved?" She snapped.

"Be glad when Chimney gets back." He murmured, stepping back.

"We'll all be glad for that." She responded, shooting him a dirty look.

Quickly, we assessed that he was fine and moved him onto the ambulance to be checked out further. I was putting away the last of our equipment when Buck's laughter rang through the parking lot. I looked at dad, "Do I even want to know?" 

He sighed. "Want to or not, we're going to." 

Hen, him, and I walked back into the car wash, Buck almost doubled over with laughter.

"Hey, Buck, what are you doing?" Dad demanded.

"This is a good one. You gotta see this." He said, wiping tears from his eyes and pointing to the TV. "Alright, play it, play it. One more time, one more time."

The owner reset the video and pressed play. I couldn't hold my laughter as we watched a hose be pulled into the brush, yanking our worker back and tying him to it.

"Buck, Kymberly, that man could've been seriously injured." Dad tried, though I saw a smile peek through.

"Listen, this is so..." Hen broke out in laughter, "unprofessional."

The four of us doubled over, laughing as he spun in circles. 

Climbing into the truck, there was a new found peace that laid over the crew. One that made me feel like this perfect little family could never be ripped apart.