Best Friend!

(A Few Hours Before the First Light.)

*Siren Sound*

"Attention all units, there is a 10-33 situation in the Hamilton area. Complete all your preparations and be ready to hit the road within ninety seconds at most!"

"Alright everyone, you heard the orders. You have a maximum of ninety seconds. I'll be waiting by the vehicles, hurry up."

"Yes sir!"

I was waiting by the fire trucks, ready, when my phone rang. When I saw the caller's name, I was surprised.

"Hey, what's up?"

"I'm good, buddy. I haven't heard from you in a while. What about you?"

*sigh*

"Sorry, my reports have been a bit behind lately. Fire incidents and earthquakes have been increasing recently. We have to work extra hours."

"Don't worry, Bryne. We all trust you. Hey, listen well to what I'm going to say. How about coming to Italy in a few days? We haven't seen each other for a long time, let's throw a party and drink until morning, what do you say?"

"Italy? Why?"

"Man, Italy is truly beautiful, peaceful, and relaxing."

"Tariq, are you avoiding your duties again?"

"Oh, don't get mad like the Commander. Duties are so boring, I want some action. Anyway, will you come?"

"I don't know, I'll try to come."

"Viva la vecchia paternità. Hahaha."

*Hangs up the phone sound*

All units arrived at the front of the fire trucks. I stepped in front of them and provided the latest situation reports. Without wasting any time, everyone got into the fire trucks and we started moving rapidly towards the scene.

When we arrived at the scene, I understood what was happening exactly. It seemed like someone had intentionally started the fire.

Trash bins and trees had been set on fire along the streets. If it's not brought under control quickly, the flames could spread to the buildings.

"First team, your primary task is to evacuate the streets as swiftly as possible. Second team, using your fire-resistant equipment, inspect the interiors of the buildings just in case and evacuate anyone still inside. Third team, we will work together to try and bring the flames under control as per my orders."

"Yes sir!"

The entire team split up and began to move as I had instructed. The streets were evacuated within a maximum of two minutes. Evacuating the buildings didn't take too long since more than half of them were already empty.

With the support of the police and ambulances, barriers were set up in the streets. Now we are entirely on our own. I need to be very careful when choosing the orders to give. The responsibility of everyone lies on me. Using high-pressure water hoses, we tried to intervene with the flames from the opposite direction of the wind. Some trees were falling due to the impact of the fire.

At that moment, I noticed a striking event. When I turned my gaze in the opposite direction for a few seconds, I saw a small crying child there.

"First team, weren't you sure that you evacuated everywhere? Why is there still a child here?"

"We're sorry, Commander Bryne!"

I immediately handed the water hose I had to the teammate next to me and started running to rescue the child.

If they're still not willing to move, they could hurt themselves.

"Little one, get away from where you are right now!"

They weren't hearing what I was saying. They kept crying and coughing, calling for their mother.

I immediately picked up the child and started running in the other direction. I needed to get the child out of the scene as soon as possible.

"Mom! Mom, she's trapped and she's going to die!"

"I'm so sorry, little one. It's all my fault!"

I quickly pulled the child out from between the flames and placed them into the ambulance.

It took us over an hour to bring the flames under control. All teams were ready, waiting for my orders.

I stood in front of all of them with a slightly frustrated expression, and remained silent for a while. It seemed like they were all afraid to meet my gaze.

"You did a good job today. Well done... However, be more careful next time." When they heard my words, they all let out a deep breath.

"Yes, Sir!"

A powerful shockwave shattered the windows of many buildings, and my cap almost flew off due to the intensity. Following a deafening sound, as we looked up to the sky, we saw a white light slowly descending to the ground.

The descent of the light took a few minutes. Despite being distant, it shone as bright as the sun. After it reached the ground, a second shockwave occurred. However, the second shockwave wasn't as strong. The shockwave continued to grow for a while and then gradually diminished until it disappeared.

"What's happening?"

My phone began to ring.

The caller was Tariq. I quickly answered the phone and asked if he had seen the light too.

"Yes, I saw it exactly as well. Moreover, it was closer to my location. What do you think is happening, Bryne?"

"I don't know, but I'm heading there right away. Set up a meeting."