Chapter 2 – Our Son? Arson?
Time – 2 days after Quiggle’s return home From The Center
Location – housing of the authors/editors for the not so prestigious e-magazine “Traveling Tunes”
Fire/Police Department and Paramedic Bomb Squad (F.P.D.A.P.B.S.) Commander Chuck was speeding down Grant St. in order to reach the burning apartment. Being a majority of the city’s civil servants, Chuck often had to make tough moral decisions. Like just now, when he chose to go put out the fire rather than save Mrs. Wagner’s cat, who was stuck in three and a half foot tall tree. Chuck had racked his brain from all previous experiences on this one, and he was pretty sure he had come to the right decision. Although speeding down the road, Chuck was perfectly safe. His multi-purpose utility truck was equipped with anti-crash detection. In fact, Chuck truly loved the feature. Many a few down-time hours were spent with Chuck in his truck going 150 and intentionally trying to hit other cars. To this day, he had only succeeded once.
Chuck peered through his windshield ahead, and saw the dim orange glow of the fire around the corner. When he arrived, he leaped out of his truck, clad in a multi-purpose uniform, and examined the situation. He took note of the size of the fire, a good twenty feet above the apartment itself. He noticed several people huddled by a car in the apartment’s parking lot. He heard a large explosion from inside the house. He sniffed the air for chemicals, and since Chuck knew he had no clue how to identify any, he also took out his multi-purpose PDA which told him the fire was indeed started intentionally with several illegal chemicals. After gathering all this information, Chuck did what he always did, ran straight in to the blazing flames, a devilish grin on his face.
Well, first he clicked the button on his polythermic protection bubble, which made it impossible for him to be harmed, and then he ran in. But something was wrong. As Chuck got closer to the base of the building, he felt, whats the word for it,HEAT! But, wait, he thought, what about my bub– Then it hit him like a bag of sand slung from trebuchet. He forgot to charge the batteries on the device! CRAP! Not once in Chuck’s whole career as a F.P.D.A.P.B.S. Commander had he forget something so vital! Several thoughts went through Chuck’s head then. Not necessarily in the following order, here they are:
1. There are people in danger
2. I am in danger
3. I should run
4. The people should run
5. I like running
6. I would look like a coward
7. Cowardice is bad
8. Death is bad
9. To avoid death I should run, thus becoming a coward which is bad
10. CRAP
Chuck’s thoughts were cut short when he saw a young couple run out of the building yelling “Our son! Oh nooo, our son!”
Chuck, a tad bit delirious from all that thinking, smiled and thought yep, they are right, the fire started is arson, ha ha, our son, arson, arson is bad isn’t it…
“F.P.D.A.P.B.S. Commander, you have got to help us, Our son–why are you smiling you sick freak!”
Chuck immediately snapped back into the situation. “Don’t worry,” he said with the conviction of someone who actually knew what to do, “your son’s gonna be okay!” And Chuck dashed into the apartment and up the stairs as if he did have batteries for his polythermic protection bubble.
Five long minutes later Chuck ran out of the building a hero, covered in ashes and embers, carrying a small child in his arms, yelling “I saved ARSON!”
The parents rushed to him and saw their child. They happily cheered, “Our son, our son, he’s all right!”
When the parents said to the child, “Come on, lets get you to the hospital,” Chuck stared the baby straight in the eye and said “You go, we go.”
The man then said, “Well, duh? You are the paramedic, so you will have to take him.”
Then the world span and darkness surrounded Chuck.
…
A few days later, Chuck woke up in a hospital safe and sound. When he read the travel e-magazine of the targets of the arson fire, he couldn’t help but think, “Oh boy, they were really asking for it!”
© Jacob S. Jarecki and WoooWooo’s Place, 2009.
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