Within The Families

1: The Next Chapter

Third-person P.O.V

Silence is said to bring solace, but when it follows the deafening sound of disaster all it brings is sorrow and suffering.

...

The rustling of the wood planks as the flams of the blast turn them to ashes matches with that of the morning winds blowing through the leaves of the encompassing trees who stand witness to the travesty that has engulfed the entire Santos family.

The heat from the burning mansion imbues the cool morning air with the haunting scent of destruction.

With blaring of sirens and screeching tires, two fire trucks and a hand full of cop cars, and three ambulances pull up to the scene momentarily.

The hissing of water leaving the hose under extreme pressure is the only audible noise in the dead silent vicinity for the next couple of minutes as the smell of burning wood and clouds of crushed-up concrete is thick in the air.

Men sporting heavy fire-resistant wear march into the ruins of a structure bravely as adrenaline fuels their every cautious step.

They push past fallen walls and duck past blowing flames of red hot fire.

"There's someone here." A firefighter howlers to her companions as she pushes past the barrier of wood compressing the person under its weight.

"Found someone here as well," another calls out.

"Three more this side!"

In swift urgency-fueled moves, they pull get to work, and try freeing the victims of the blast by digging through the endless amounts of concrete, wood, and glass shards just to see a bit of flash tinted with black grainy ashes.

"Can I get some help here?" The first firefighter calls out when she sees the victim's leg caught under a fallen pillar.

Three other firemen come to her aid and together they somehow manage to lift the pillar off the young boy's leg with great difficulty.

"He's alive, we need to get him medical help," the firefighter rushes her words while lifting the weight of the bulky eighteen-year-old by herself while one of the other three stays behind to help her and the other two rush to help their companions.

"I'll take him, you clear the way," her colleague and senior orders to which she complies moving Jack's weight onto him and making sure that they have a clear exit out of the demolishing mansion.

They rush him to medical care, before diving back into the burning structure to search for more survivors.

Just as they enter, they spot two of their colleagues dragging two more unconscious bodies out.

"How many people were estimated to be in the building when the blast occurred?" Her senior asks.

"Around seven Sargent." Ducking down another fallen column swinging lightly from the ceiling--or whatever is left of it--she replies.

"We have three out, let's search find the rest," he asserts just when a moving figure flashes in his peripheral vision.

Being quick on his feet, he follows his instincts and makes his way towards the other side of the entrance where the once front door lays detached at an angle.

The thick mahogany door shields two victims under its unhinged form.

Wasting no time the two firefighters grabs a side of the door each and with their efforts joined in unions they can get it to move dumping it to another side as its weight starts to get the better of them.