Inferno

The speakers click and the lights turn on. Naruto sits up abruptly from his recliner and starts to run to the pole in the dorm as the dispatcher makes the announcement.

"Attention Engine 3, Engine 2, Engine 11, Truck 4, Rescue 3, and District 1 Chief… Structure Fire 714 Marine St, cross of Savanna St."

The dispatcher gives the information a second time and Naruto is already down the pole into the engine bay getting dressed in his turn-out gear. He throws his jacket on quick and hops into the ladder truck. Naruto turns to watch out the front window as the large fire truck makes its way through traffic. Lights flashing, blaring siren and air horn honking the other motorists clear out of the way for the big red truck. As they turn onto Broad St, Naruto looks up to see heavy smoke coming from the area where the house fire is supposed to be.

"Looks like we got a good one Captain!" Naruto says while glancing over at his Captain, Kakashi.

Kakashi glanced back, "Settle down Naruto and focus on what you need to do once we get there, I want forcible entry tools, a pike pole and the attic ladder staged at the front door immediately."

Kakashi turned back to watch out the window and Naruto turned back around to strap on his air tank and get his mask ready. As they pulled up to the house, police were already on scene. Engine 3 connected to a nearby hydrant and had laid in the first few attack lines. Naruto grabbed his equipment and ran to the front of the house. He put his mask on and prepared to follow his captain into the fully involved residence. Inside it was hot and extremely dark. Naruto and Kakashi kept low to the floor as they started a primary search down the hallway for anyone who might still be in the building, as they made it closer to the back there was less fire and smoke. The door at the end of the hallway was shut and Naruto thought he could hear someone coughing on the other side.

"Captain! There is someone in there!" Naruto yelled through his mask.

Kakashi nodded and radioed back to command, requesting that they get an attack line in there ASAP to put up a water curtain in the hallway, so they could get the trapped person out safely. Naruto tried the door handle, but it was locked. Naruto mentally cursed. Why did people always think a locked door would keep fire out? Naruto got close to the door and yelled as loud as he could through his mask.

"This is the Fire Department, get away from the door, I'm kicking it in."

Naruto hear a muffled response and assumed the person on the other side heard what he said. He flopped over on his back and aimed his feet toward the door. He reared back and with one solid boot thrust the door frame disintegrated and the door flew open. Naruto crawled in and look quickly around the room for any sign of fire or smoke. There in the middle of the floor laid a young woman, soot stained her face and nose, but she was still alive, though barely breathing.

Naruto climbed over her and told her to grab his neck. He started to drag her back toward the door when the ceiling in the hallway ahead of him collapsed in on itself. Naruto mentally cursed. He could hear Kakashi yelling from the other side of the debris, worried about one of his brothers.

"I'm fine captain! I'll see you outside!"

He maneuvered his charge to head back to the room where he found her. He was going to have to find another way out, and fast. Flames started to lick inside the door frame and were rapidly consuming anything within reach as they spread across the ceiling of the room. This was getting ugly fast and Naruto knew that if he didn't get her out quick she would either die from smoke inhalation or the heat would simply kill her. He grabbed a blanket off the bed and wrapped her in it as best as he could and looked one more time around the room. The only option was a small window, but the opening was too small to squeeze through. He started getting scared. His mind raced and the woman he was supposed to rescue was starting to choke violently. The smoke was quickly overtaking her. Naruto squeezed his eyes shut. What am I going to do? We are BOTH going to die! Suddenly, Naruto felt something. It started small, but quickly grew throughout his body. He felt POWERFUL. The presence kept growing and the seemingly most ridiculous idea completely made sense to him. He reached over and grabbed the dresser from the wall. It felt light as a feather to him. He reared back and threw it at the wall with the small window. The heavy dresser made a gaping hole in the wall. Still in a daze over what he did, he shook his head and grabbed the woman and jumped out of the new "exit" he had created and called for the medics. Once he handed the woman to the medics, he walked over to the ambulance. His shaky hands reached for a Styrofoam cup and walked over to the water cooler on the side of the fire truck. He placed the cup under the spout and then everything went black and he knew no more.

When Naruto opened his eyes next, he was in a small white room with a large curtain hanging from the ceiling, surrounding him and a bunch of beeping devices and monitors. He glanced around trying to make sense of where he was at and how he got here. The memories of the house fire came back to him, his search of the house and finding the woman, the roof collapse and the narrow escape. He thought about the strange presence he felt and how it helped him do something he would have thought impossible until then. As the memories flooded back he went to sit up. Pain instantly wracked his body and he fell back onto his bed with a groan of pain. The curtains quickly pulled aside to announce the entrance of the nurse, who heard him cry out. The blond headed girl smiled at him, before a scowl replaced it.

"You Firemen are all the same!" she chastised. "Always trying to play the tough guy; don't even THINK of getting out of that bed mister, you hear me!" She smiled again before turning to the monitor to read, whatever it was that she read on it.

"Your vitals are stable finally. You really did a number on yourself in that house. That woman was really lucky you were there to save her."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Is she ok? What happened to her?"

He went to sit up again and the nurse gently placed her hands on his shoulders, laying him back down on the bed.

"You worry about yourself first." Then she smiled. "The woman is fine. She is being treated for minor smoke inhalation, but she will make it."

Naruto sighed in relief. He looked at the nurses name tag. It read 'Ino.'

"Thank you Ino. I was really worried about her." He said and his head fell back onto the pillow. He succumbed to the unconscious.

Ino ruffled his hair. A Hero and Humble she mused. She smiled and was happy that there were still selfless people in the world like this man laying here in the bed. She pulled the covers up to his chin and walked out, closing the curtain behind her.