14. Kaia

14

KAIA

K aia paces the length of her apartment, her heart hammering against her ribcage with a dizzying mix of excitement and nerves. Hallie's message plays on a loop in her mind, each word a tantalizing promise.

I need to see you. Can I come over?

The text had sent a jolt of electricity through Kaia's veins when she'd first seen Hallie's name pop up on the screen, her hands shaking so badly could barely make out the letters at first. After weeks of agonizing silence, of trying to convince herself that she could live without Hallie's touch, her laughter, her fierce passion, Hallie had finally reached out. She wants to talk.

Just as she's buttoning a clean shirt with trembling hands, Kaia's phone buzzes with an incoming call. Her heart leaps into her throat, a giddy smile already tugging at her lips as she reaches for her back pocket.

But the smile fades as quickly as it had appeared as Kaia registers the caller ID. It's not Hallie, it's the station. Frowning, Kaia swipes to answer, her stomach already twisting with unease.

"Montgomery," she says, her voice coming out clipped and tense.

"Kaia, it's Captain Hewitt. We have a major emergency—all personnel are being called in. Get to the station as soon as you can."

Kaia feels the blood drain from her face, her heart stuttering to a halt in her chest. What could be so extreme that everyone off duty was being called in to help? The memory of the burning resort tower flickers behind her eyelids, making her wince. They haven't faced any major emergencies since, and Kaia hadn't realized until now how much that horrifying experience had stuck with her.

"I'll be right there," Kaia manages to choke out, already reaching for her discarded uniform. But even as Kaia tries to rationalize away the icy fear gripping her lungs, she can't shake the sinking feeling that something is very, very wrong.

With fumbling fingers, she dials Hallie's number as she rushes out the door, praying with every fiber of her being that the lieutenant will pick up. She could use some strong words of encouragement right now.

But the call goes straight to voicemail, Hallie's crisp tone echoing in Kaia's ear like a cruel taunt. Kaia fights to calm her racing heart as she sprints down the stairs of her building, her mind spinning with worst-case scenarios.

This is what you're trained for, Kaia. Calm the fuck down.

By the time Kaia screeches into the fire station's parking lot, her heart is pounding so hard she feels like it might burst from her ribcage. Hallie still hasn't answered her phone.

She leaps from her car and races inside, drinking in the controlled chaos erupting around her as her fellow firefighters rush to gear up and head out.

In the briefing room, Captain Hewitt stands at the front, his face grim as he details the situation.

"Listen up, everyone. We have a big job on our hands. Two passenger trains have collided head-on just outside the city limits. Initial reports indicate a signaling malfunction is to blame. We're looking at massive casualties and a highly unstable scene. Squads from Stations 1, 2, 5 and 7 are already on site."

Kaia suddenly feels like the floor has dropped out from under her, her vision swimming as the captain's words wash over her in a dull roar.

Train collision. Massive casualties.

Hallie was on a train. Hallie isn't answering her phone.

Kaia barely hears the rest of the short briefing, her mind stuck in a loop of paralyzing terror. She tries to focus on the rescue logistics, on the adrenaline-fueled energy of her crewmates as they prepare to head into the fray. But all she can think about is Hallie.

Hallie, who should be here with them all, barking orders and radiating that unwavering confidence that always makes Kaia feel like they can conquer anything as a team.

Hallie, who could be bleeding out in the twisted wreckage of a train car right now, alone and afraid and slipping away with every passing second.

As everyone starts to move out, Kaia grabs Art by the elbow. "Have you heard from Hallie? She was on a train this afternoon. She texted me earlier, but now she's not answering and I'm?—"

Kaia's voice cracks, the words sticking in her throat like shards of glass. Art's eyes widen with dawning realization, his brow furrowing as he shakes his head.

"I haven't heard from her. Shit, Kaia... You don't think...?"

He doesn't finish the question, but he doesn't need to. The same icy dread is written all over his face.

Kaia swallows hard, steeling herself against the wave of emotion threatening to drown her. She can't fall apart right now. Hallie needs her to be strong, to be the firefighter she's trained her to be.

"We have to get out there," Kaia says, her voice low and fierce. "Maybe she's not there. Maybe her phone just died."

Art nods grimly, his jaw tight with resolve. Together, they rush to join their crew, the weight of their shared fear hanging heavy in the air between them.

The scene at the crash site is like something out of a nightmare. Crumpled carriages lie along the tracks, the acrid smell of smoke and spilled diesel fuel burning Kaia's nostrils. Everywhere she looks, she sees injured passengers stumbling from the wreckage, their faces streaked with blood and soot.

But as Kaia surveys the devastation, her blood pounding in her ears, there's only one face she's desperate to find. The same face she's also praying she doesn't see.

Where are you, Hallie?

Kaia forces herself to take a deep breath, to slip into the focused headspace she's been trained to adopt. She can't afford to let her panic consume her, not when there are lives at stake. With a herculean effort, she pushes thoughts of Hallie to the back of her mind and springs into action alongside her squad.

The next few hours pass in a blur of adrenaline and sweat as seemingly every emergency responder in the city works tirelessly to extract victims from the mangled train cars. Kaia crawls through jagged openings and climbs over upturned seats, her heart in her throat with every new survivor she discovers.

None of them are Hallie.

As Kaia carries another barely conscious victim into a waiting ambulance, her muscles screaming with fatigue, she overhears a pair of paramedics talking in low, urgent tones.

"...Hunter, I think. Blunt force trauma to the head, nasty laceration to the thigh..."

Kaia's legs nearly give out from under her, her vision darkening as the paramedic's words sink in like poison darts.

She deposits her charge on a gurney and whirls around, grabbing the arm of the nearest paramedic with a white-knuckled grip.

"The casualty you just mentioned. Hunter. Do you mean Hallie Hunter? The lieutenant from Fire Station 3?" Kaia demands, her voice shaking with barely restrained panic.

"I… I don't know. She was pretty banged up, but it looked like her."

Kaia's stomach plummets, a wave of dizzying nausea crashing over her. She fumbles for her radio, her voice cracking as she calls for the captain.

"Captain Hewitt, do you have eyes on Lieutenant Hunter? I heard… I heard the paramedics picked up someone who looked like Hallie."

There's a pause on the other end of the line, an agonizing stretch of static that seems to last an eternity.

Then, the captain's voice crackles through, heavy with grim resignation.

"Montgomery... Yes, Hunter's been located. She was transported to a hospital in critical condition maybe ten minutes ago. Montgomery… I have to warn you… it doesn't look good."

The ground seems to drop out from beneath Kaia's feet. She staggers back a step, her radio almost slipping from her trembling fingers.

This can't be happening. This can't be real. She was coming back to me.

Kaia stands frozen amidst the ongoing chaos, her mind reeling as she tries to process the captain's words. Every instinct in her body is screaming at her to run, to race to the hospital and find Hallie, to hold her hand and beg her to stay alive.

But she's torn, a fierce sense of duty warring with the desperate need in her chest. She knows Hallie would want her to stay focused on the rescue, to put the needs of the citizens before her own. It's what she's trained for, what Hallie has drilled into each and every rookie from day one.

Kaia looks around slowly at the still-smoldering wreckage. It's impossible to know at this point how many more survivors need to be pulled out.

But then, Captain Hewitt's voice crackles through the radio again, this time softer, almost soothing.

"Montgomery, listen to me. I think I know what Lieutenant Hunter means to you. I've had my suspicions for a while now, and it's okay. You can go to her. We'll handle things here."

Kaia's eyes well with tears, her throat tightening with a surge of gratitude and relief. But still, she hesitates.

"But Hallie... she would want me to stay," she whispers, more to herself than to the captain. "She would put the job first, no matter what."

Beside her, Richards appears and places a gentle hand on her shoulder, his expression understanding.

"Kaia, you should go," he says gently. "We've got this. Hunter would do the same for you, and you know it."

"Thank you," Kaia mumbles, seizing Adam in a quick, fierce hug before sprinting towards the line of waiting ambulances. She spots one that's about to leave, two paramedics closing the rear doors while another leaps into the driver's seat.

"Wait!" Kaia cries out, waving her arms frantically. "I need to come with you. My... my partner, she was taken in on another rig."

The paramedic in the front snaps his head up, spotting Kaia and jerking his chin towards the passenger seat, a silent invitation. Kaia scrambles into the ambulance, her heart lodged in her throat as she fastens her seatbelt with shaking hands.

As the ambulance peels away from the horrifying scene, sirens wailing, Kaia closes her eyes and sends up a desperate prayer.

"Hold on, Hallie," she whispers. "Just hold on for me. I'm coming."

She presses her forehead against the cool glass of the window, watching the city blur past through a haze of tears.