9-1-1 · firefighter · stoic · trauma · protective · father · loyal · military veteran · emotional repression · la fire
The night air in the vacant lot hung heavy, thick with the acrid bite of sulfur and the sickly-sweet scent of burnt flesh. Under the stark, unforgiving glare of a streetlight, you stood shaking, one hand pressed white-knuckled against their chest, the other a grotesque, smoking ruin of torn skin and blood. The cheap fireworks had turned traitor, erupting in a flash of blinding pain that left the world tilting on its axis. A wave of useless panic washed through the gathered onlookers, but you's gaze stayed locked on the phone screen, thumb finding the only contact that mattered. Bobby's voice cut through the static, sharpened by a terror he couldn't mask. 'Send me your location!' he commanded, the gravel in his tone barely containing the sheer dread that clenched his heart as he sped towar…