Laric Tolleson

The FIre We Inherit Chapter 1

“The Fire We Inherit” Chapter 1 – First Day on the Job“Now that we know our kids will not succumb to the sickness as the rest of us have, many have wondered what their future holds once we are gone. Will they starve? Will they have to fight and kill for survival?“I’m addressing every Las Vegas citizen here today to tell you—no, they will not. We have a plan! A plan that will ensure that the future of our kids is bright. But this plan will not work without every available hand helping prepare the way. And I mean every.
“We have less than three years—three years to create ranches and farms for sustainable food. Three years to convert all gas-powered machines to electric, so our kids won’t be without power or transportation. Three years to build production, manufacturing, and storage facilities so our kids can create their own goods and be self-reliant. Many of the casinos have agreed to fund this endeavor, since their fate is linked to ours.
“But who’s going to run it all?... Our kids! We have three years to prepare them—to teach them the skills to keep everything functioning, to turn them into adults. They must be able to grow, produce, build, and sustain everything that will allow them to thrive—not simply survive. I
will not allow this city that I love to turn into a pile of desolate ash. Our days are numbered, but we can ensure our kids’ days are endless.“But we need buy-in from every adult, because if we don’t believe our kids can do it, our kids won’t believe either. So, believe… Believe that this will be the greatest achievement known to mankind. Believe… that this will be our legacy.”
—Mayor Cathleen Goodson, three years before the AfterThe AfterCountless times I’d been in this fire house before. I’d sat in that chair across the table for Thanksgiving. I’d played cards with my dad right over there. I could practically hear his laughter echoing through the station.Six years ago, he was exposed. Three years ago, his voice fell silent—just like every other adult’s.For a second, I was back in my childhood. Back in the Before. I shook my head, shoving aside the distant thoughts of the past to focus on the present, rolling my dad’s old black silicone wrist band between my fingers. The red stripe down the middle was faded from years of use. It was one of the last things he ever gave me—right before our world changed. I swore then that I would never take it off. Now, it was all I had left of him, a daily reminder to follow in his enormous footsteps.Today was the day I’d been preparing for the last few years. I was now a full-fledged firefighter assigned to Station 3. Though I had spent countless hours in this once-familiar place, I was now a stranger, the new guy. Everything looked the same, although the new “Station 3” sign hanging above the kitchen table reminded me that long gone were the three million citizens and the sixty fire stations from the Before.Only six stations remained—six stations to serve the 300,000 kids who survived.Standing where my dad once stood felt surreal, but the pressure weighed heavily on me. I had to make him proud. I stood tall in the corner of the room as the rest of the firefighters filed in for morning muster. Some brushed by me without a second glance, carrying on their conversations as if I weren’t there. Others studied me, looking into my soul as if they were determining my worth. A couple looked my age, but some were obviously a little older.I straightened up, hoping to appear confident despite my stomach’s churning.Captain Jefferson entered last, and the chatter died immediately. I snapped to attention, avoiding eye contact with everyone and staring at the wall. Even without his thick mustache—a rare sight in the After—this was the kind of man you listened to. If I hadn’t known he couldn’t possibly be more than two or three years older than me, his lightly salt-and-peppered hair would have convinced me he was much older. If ever there was someone who looked like a fire captain, it was him. His dark eyes, tired but kind, landed on me."Good morning, everyone," he said, his voice firm and raspy. "I'm sure you have spotted a new face with us today. Why don't you tell us about yourself, rookie?""Yes, sir."My voice cracked through my tightening throat. The rehearsed speech I had practiced so many times for my sisters felt clumsy and disorganized. I took a deep breath, attempting to calm my nerves."My name is Aiden Brann. I was born and raised here in Las Vegas, like most of you. I have two sisters at home. Aubrey is the oldest, and she is a 911 dispatcher for us. I bet you would recognize her voice. My younger sister, Ally, is a massage therapist and works out of our house. My dad, Ashton Brann, was a Captain in the Before at this very station." I paused, shoving down the emotions that attempted to boil to the surface. “I'm excited to follow in his footsteps and ready to help people the best I can. I want to learn everything you all have to teach me. And… I just turned 14 yesterday."A slow clap broke the silence. I met eyes with a gargantuan, freckled-faced, red-headed tank reclined in his chair. He leaned back, revealing his workout shorts, even though everyone else wore pants with their shirts tucked in. He continued to clap sarcastically, thoroughly
unimpressed."Quite the moving speech,” he said. “Must have taken you weeks to come up with it. Reed isn't buying it, though. You know this is the busiest station in the city, right? Reed has been here since day one and doesn’t think you are ready.”I flinched. Who was he talking about? Oh, he meant himself.“I think I…” I began, but Reed cut me off with a wave."You got any jokes, Rook?"Jokes? Of all the things I trained for, this wasn’t one of them. My hands began to sweat as I scrambled for something, anything, to say."Uh, why shouldn't you write with a broken pencil?” I asked with a pathetic attempt at a smile. "Because it would be pointless."Dead silence. I scanned the room, looking for even the slightest smirk from anyone. But none came. No longer standing tall, my once-confident demeanor wavered as they stared at me with judgmental eyes.Then I realized how dumb my joke was. We rarely used pencils anymore. There was barely even paper for us to write on. Even though the kids in the city produced all kinds of goods, paper products weren’t among them. No trees in Vegas = no paper products.In my distress, I attempted to explain the joke, as a bead of sweat ran down the side of my forehead."If you have to explain it, it isn't a very good one," the lone girl firefighter interrupted.All of us were above-average size for our age, but this girl was tiny. However, her thick black ponytail, dark skin, and deep piercing eyes commanded just as much authority as Captain Jefferson."Besides, we get it. It's just terrible. Do you think we are stupid or something?""Uh, no, sir, I don't.""Do I look like a sir to you?!" she shot back, standing up, though there wasn’t much of a height difference between her standing and sitting."All right, everyone, that's enough," Captain Jefferson interrupted with a smirk. "Brann, why don't you go make sure you have your gear set up the way you want on the engine, in case we need to run a call. We’ll come out and find you in a second to go over a few things."Grateful, I silently thanked him for his mercy and hurried out. The station bay housed one fire engine and a rescue, basically an ambulance. The early morning light gleamed on her waxed frame and polished tires. She was beautiful.I set up my turnouts, tools, and SCBA with military precision, peeking over my shoulder periodically to see if anyone was watching me. Everything needed to be perfect—I had to be perfect. My gear felt heavier than normal, as my own and others’ expectations began to bog me down. But I knew I could do this. I excelled in my training.Before I could finish, three sharp beeps blared through the station, making me jump. A robotic female voice crackled through the intercom."Engine 3, outside fire. Repeat. Engine 3, outside fire."It was already happening! I was about to fight a fire, within minutes of arriving at work. The embarrassing morning would be erased once I showed them how good I was at firefighting. I was lucky to be able to prove myself so early.I stepped into my turnout boots, nearly falling over as the rest of the crew sprinted out to join me. I threw on my jacket, which still felt unfamiliar against my skin despite all my training. Though the turnouts were remade for our smaller bodies, they were still thick, stiff, and heavy. Moving in them was awkward to me.The SCBA wasn’t much better. The large bottle weighed so much, I always felt like I could suddenly tip over backwards and become stuck like a flipped turtle. I’d learned to work through it though.Captain Jefferson sat in the front seat, and another firefighter slid into the seat beside me in the back. The bay doors opened and we sped off with lights and sirens blaring. I was still fumbling with my gear, my hands shaking as I tried to fasten my straps. Another firefighter sat
beside me, smiling as he pointed to the headset over his ears, reminding me I had forgotten to put mine on.After frantically searching, I found them dangling from a hook on the ceiling. When I placed them over my head, Captain Jefferson was speaking to me."Can you hear me, Brann?""Yes, sir, I can," I replied, already out of breath."Do you have your radio and seatbelt on?""Uh, no sir, sorry sir, I'll put them on now."I yanked at my seatbelt, feeling much more awkward than I’d hoped. I strapped in and beamed with a weird sense of pride in my accomplishment.Now belted in, I only needed the radio. I located it clipped onto the inside of the door, barely within reach. I placed it in my front coat pocket, wrapped the spiraled lapel mic cord around the back of my neck, and clipped the mic to the other side of my jacket. I was ready.I smiled, looking out the side window at the city speeding by in the background. Driving the streets, you would never know how different things really were. Vegas appeared much the same as the Before, minus the lack of heavy traffic.Suddenly, the engine turned hard, tossing my head to the side. I grabbed my seat to steady myself, and peered towards the front windshield. The engineer, who was the driver, slammed the brakes, jerking me forward in my seat. We swerved around a slow-moving car that blocked our path, sending my helmet sliding onto the floor in front of me. Who the heck was driving this thing?To my astonishment and terror, the tiny girl firefighter commanded the wheel. I instinctively grabbed my seatbelt with one hand and the bottom of my seat with the other. There was no way she was the Engineer. It wasn't possible.The fact she was a girl had nothing to do with my fear. My sisters were decent enough drivers. I didn't understand how she could control such a massive vehicle at her height. How could she reach the pedals? Could she even see over the dashboard? I inspected a little closer and noticed a booster seat, which still didn’t explain how she reached the pedals."Pull to the right, you idiots!" she screamed. "How can every single driver in the city be so stupid? These flashing lights mean get out of my way!"No way we weren't going to crash. My body clenched, waiting for the inevitable impact as she weaved in and out of cars at dangerous speeds. Yet, despite her size, she navigated the long-bodied engine with impossible skill and precision."So, Cap," she said in a sweet, casual tone. "Did you see the new episode of Loose Change yesterday? It was hilarious. Me and my sister were dying laughing.”I wasn’t laughing, but was convinced I would be dying. With one hand on the steering wheel, she continued this casual conversation with Cap, periodically yelling at anyone who dared get in her way. I remained glued to my seat, panicking and praying for us to arrive in one piece."There it is," Captain Jefferson said, pointing out the front windshield. "You ready, rookie?"Thick black smoke rose above the nearby buildings. My heart began racing. This was the most smoke I’d ever seen. The fire must be enormous. When we turned into the parking lot, I was surprised to see only a dumpster with orange flames licking out the top, releasing a
nauseating smell.I frowned, but no matter the size, this was my moment! The engine stopped with a hiss as the air brake engaged. My partner exited, and I attempted to do the same, but was pinned to my seat. I forgot to pull the tab to release my air pack.I struggled to find the yellow pull string. After what felt like an eternity, I yanked it with all my might. The pack released, and I attempted to stand again, but got slammed back into the seat.My seatbelt! I fumbled with the buckle, my stiff gloves proving impossible to manipulate. I grunted as I released the belt pinning me. Still stuck! Attempt after attempt, I ripped at everything in desperation to free myself. This couldn't be happening. I needed to prove I was a good firefighter, but they would never respect me if I couldn't even get out of here.I was alone in the engine now, though it felt like a million eyes were watching and judging me. I found the last culprit, which was my radio and corded lapel mic. Too entangled to fix at the moment, I abandoned my radio in the knotted carnage.Freed, I tumbled out of the engine and ran toward the dumpster fire, where a hose line had already been pulled. My partner waited with the hose in his hand, tapping his foot and pointing to his wrist. I reached for the hose, only for it to be yanked away at the last second."Beep," he said. "Times up."He faced the fire and began spraying water, using a smaller booster line that was easily manageable by yourself. I paced behind him, desperately looking for something to do. I had been dreaming of this moment, this opportunity, for so long. This was my chance to show them what I was made of, and I blew it. My dream of an epic first impression was up in smoke, much like that fire I didn’t get to extinguish. My dad would be so disappointed.While I paced, a delivery driver, probably a year or two younger than me, drove by us slowly, hanging his head out the window.“I hope the Children aren’t becoming a problem,” the young driver said, pointing to the wall behind the dumpster. “Thanks for what you do!”I nodded, though I didn’t feel deserving of his gratitude. I hadn’t done anything. Behind the dumpster, some graffiti was scrawled on the brick wall—something that had been popping up around the city for the last month or so. The symbol of the Children: a small “T” sitting in the center of a larger “C.”A pit formed in my stomach, though I wasn’t sure why. I wondered if they started this, which wasn’t like them. They were known for being lazy and unwilling to work, not for being destructive—but I couldn’t dwell on that now.My partner finished putting the fire out and returned to me while removing his helmet. He was slightly shorter than me, with slicked black hair that somehow remained perfectly shaped despite his helmet. He was not your typical rugged firefighter. He appeared clean, crisp, and
fresh even while wearing dirty turnouts, almost as if nothing could bother him."I'm Ryan Mitsuya, by the way," he said with a relaxed smile. "Most people just call me Mi, though. And yes, it's pronounced exactly like I said: "me." To remember, just think, you are you, and I am Mi! Anyway, I'm 15 and have been on the job for just over a year. It's probably a good idea for you to introduce yourself to everyone. Tradition matters around here, you see.”"Yes, sir, sorry sir," I muttered, still feeling puny. “I'm Aiden…""Yeah, I know your name. You told us this morning at muster."

Captain Jefferson left to speak to the building's owner to inform them what had happened, so I took Ryan's advice and introduced myself to the girl who had been driving like we were in a race car. She remained by the engine, wiping off a bit of smudge near the tires."Sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier,” I said, extending my hand. “I'm Aiden Brann. Nice to meet you."She stared at my hand as if I held something rotten, then shot me a piercing glare. She took another step closer to me, trying to get face to face, though she barely reached my chest. For a second, I thought she was going to punch me. Instead, her face broke into an uncontrollable grin."I can't do it anymore!" she blurted in tearful laughter.Ryan jogged over, groaning. "Come on, Mum. You couldn't even make it through one call?""I tried my hardest,” she gasped between laughs. “I promise. But I couldn't take it anymore. He looked so concerned, like a cute, confused little puppy. It was just too much."Ryan shook his head. "You're gonna have to pay for Reed's chow now.""I know! I knew I wasn't going to win.” She returned her attention to me, wiping the tears from her eyes. “I’m sorry. I'm Wendy Fisk, but everyone calls me Mum. I'm 16 and have been driving this engine here since the start. It's nice to officially meet you, Aiden."I grasped her outstretched hand hesitantly, still trying to process what had happened. Ryan was quick to explain."So, funny thing, Brann. Mum here is probably the nicest person on the entire planet, you see. Reed made a bet with her that she couldn't be mean to you all the way until dinner. Obviously, she lost.""Um, okay," I said, still confused. “So, you have to pay for… chow? What’s that?""Chow is our meals. We all pitch in money each shift and take turns cooking for each other. We call breakfast, lunch, and dinner ‘chow.’""So… you were just pretending to be mean?” I asked, glancing back at Fisk. “When you were screaming at all the drivers, was that a part of it?""Oh no, no, no," Ryan answered, turning me away from Fisk. "Sorry, I should clarify. Mum is the nicest person unless she is driving. Then she becomes… well… you saw for yourself."Before Fisk could defend herself, Captain Jefferson returned and looked over the scene."Fire’s out? You guys ready to go?" he asked."Yup, just finished picking up," Fisk answered, hopping back into the driver's seat."Brann!" Captain Jefferson said. "Me and you are gonna have a little talk when we get back to the station. Understood?""Yes, sir,” I replied, my stomach sinking.As we climbed into the engine, Ryan quickly inspected my gear. His eyes widened when he saw the mess of tangled cords on my seat."Oh, man. You left your radio?""It got tangled up, so I left it behind, sir. Is that bad?"Ryan smirked and shook his head in mock sympathy. "Nah. You’re lucky. Looks like you'll get to meet Greta sooner than we thought. You’re gonna love her.”I sank into my seat, dreading whatever Ryan found amusing. Whoever Greta was, I had a feeling I did not want to meet her.

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