Episode 22

The familiar clang of the fire bell jolted Sarah from her light sleep. A primal instinct, honed by months of training and the stark reality of the wildfire, surged through her. Beside her, Jake stirred, his arm instinctively tightening around her waist before he, too, sat up, the captain’s focus immediately snapping into place.

“Dispatch, what’s the call?” he barked into the intercom, his voice rough with sleep but sharp with command.

The dispatcher’s voice crackled back, urgent and clipped. “Structure fire. Old mill on Elm Street. Multiple reports of entrapment.”