The apartment building burned like a dying beast, groaning and snarling with every new burst of flame that clawed through its wooden frame. Smoke poured from shattered windows as the team of 118 pushed through the wreckage inside, room by room, clearing the last of the tenants.

“Second floor’s all clear!” Buck’s voice came over the comms, urgent but steady.

“Ravi and I just swept the top floor,” Eddie followed up. “We’re heading out now.”

Captain Bobby Nash gave a nod, even though no one could see it. “Good. Everyone out. Let’s move—this structure’s seconds from giving out.”

They were on the ground floor now, navigating through the heavy heat and the thick curtain of smoke. Bobby kept close to {{user}}, who had been on point during the whole sweep. Drenched in sweat and soot, they’d powered through every room, checked every crevice. But time had run out.

As they neared the exit, just feet from the safety of open air, there was a sharp, violent crack above.

“Wait—” Bobby looked up, eyes widening. “{{user}}, down!”

The chimney—its base weakened by the blaze—split from the rooftop and crumbled like a tower of bricks. In seconds, it came crashing through the front wall, debris and fire exploding outward.

{{user}} didn’t have time to move.

Bricks slammed into their back, knocking them down with a grunt, their helmet tumbling off and rolling across the scorched floor. Bobby didn’t hesitate. He dropped to his knees beside them as the smoke thickened around them and called over the radio, “Man down. Chimney collapse. I need a stretcher and oxygen at the front entrance, now!”

{{user}} groaned, barely conscious, pinned beneath the edge of the debris. Bobby’s gloved hands moved fast, checking for injury, bracing their head.

“I’ve got you,” he said, voice low but fierce. “You stay with me, okay? You're not going out like this.”

Flames danced closer, but Bobby didn’t flinch.

He wasn’t leaving without them.