As a firefighter, I have to be able to put my life on the line for those who are in need. Even though I have a phobia of fire, I charge into it without hesitation in order to rescue innocent people. There have been times that I’ve failed and people died in the fire because I couldn’t save them in time. Those days were terrifying when I first started, but it’s been three years since my first fire.

I was washing the main fire truck, when I heard the alarm go off. I dropped the hose instantly and hurried up the stairs to the main floor. I found Aaron and Dylan suiting up when I entered the main room.

“What’s going on?” I asked impatiently. Aaron gave me a cold face as he pointed to my jacket. “Where’s the fire?” I asked while walking to my jacket.

“It’s not a fire,” he said. “It’s an explosion.” I grabbed my jacket and looked at Aaron concerned. “This call was bound to happen. Firefighters don’t always get fires, Nathan.”

“Where’s the explosion?”

“At the twin towers…” I quickly put on my jacket, grabbed my mask and headed outside. Once we were fully suited, we hopped into the firetruck, where Dylan drove us. I sat in the passenger side while Aaron sat in the back with the other crew members. “You guys know the situation?”

“A report just came in that the second tower got hit by another plane. Both towers are struck and engulfed in flames,” Dylan said. I noticed his hands clench against the steering wheel. “I hope my mom is okay…” I looked at him with concern. Dylan’s mom worked at one of the twin towers, but how can Dylan keep himself together like this? Aaron sighed loudly.

“Don’t let her keep you from doing your job-”

“Aaron,” I exclaimed, “have some compassion! His mom works there; I’d be worried too if that were my mom.”

“I don’t care. You guys knew what you were signing up for. Don’t let anybody get in the way of us doing our job. Bad enough hundreds of people are already dead, I don’t need you guys complaining about one person they may or may not be dead.” I looked at Dylan, who had a strained look across his face. I could see that he was trying to hold back his tears and Aaron talking didn’t make him feel any better. “The news is saying that this is a terrorist attack. Those bastards…I’ll have them by their necks if I find any of them alive.” Aaron said nothing else the entire ride there; I didn’t know how to feel about this, those poor people. The moment we arrived on the street of the twin towers, I looked out the window to see both towers engulfed in a heavy blaze. I swallowed hard as I adjusted my mask. I felt something hit my back. I turned around to see Aaron handing me an oxygen tank. “Put this on; we’ll need it when we go inside to retrieve the people.” I took it without saying anything. “Do you know how much time has passed?”

“About fifteen minutes. We don’t have much time,” I said.

“What’s the game plan?” Dylan asked. Aaron stepped out the fire truck onto the street and stared at the towers lividly. “Aaron?”

“No game plan, just make sure you save anybody who needs help.” He took off running down the street, where Dylan and I exclaimed in a panic. I started to run after him, while Dylan followed behind. While running to the first tower, I saw multiple police officers scattered throughout the street with citizens behind them. There were ambulances everywhere, and the sound of sirens and crying filled the air. Suddenly, Aaron stopped and stared up towards the top of the building. I stopped and looked up too, that’s when I felt my eyes tremble in fear. The sky was filled with clouds of smoke and I couldn’t believe what I saw. People started jumping out of the building; I gasped in horror. Aaron’s visage changed to fear when he saw how people fell out the building as if they were raindrops from the sky. “Oh my god…” he said lowering his head. “I can’t look up anymore.”

“You said so yourself Aaron, we have to save them!” He turned around to see me walk past him. “I’ve seen many people die in fires, but I don’t ever freeze in fear at the scene. You shouldn’t do so either.” He clenched his teeth and continued to walk. Dylan watched us. “We’re running out of time; come on.” With that said, the three of us resumed running towards the first tower, where we saw people exiting from the first floor. Aaron stopped at the entrance and faced us.

“Dylan, stay out here and guide the people to where they have to go. Help anyone who’s wounded or needs assistance.” Dylan nodded. Aaron faced me with a stern look; he pointed at the tower with his left hand. “Nathan, we’re going in to find anyone in need. We’ll lead them out here to Dylan.” I nodded in agreement and we ran in together. Dylan looked up towards the sky, to see the people still falling out the window. He grew pensive, then suddenly gasped at an idea in his mind. He left the entrance and approached another firetruck.

We were up on the second floor already and what made things worse was that the elevators were broken. The only way down to the main floor was the stairs. We ran into many people making their way to the main floor. Aaron shouted loudly at them, telling them to proceed with caution as they make their way down the stairs. I lost count after thirty people left the building; I hope Dylan is okay. By the time we made it to the fifth floor, I felt the floor rumble. Aaron stopped running and faced the ceiling.

“What the hell was that?” He said slowly walking towards the window. I continued to walk towards the stairs, where the sound of people screaming was gone.

“What’s wrong with the tower now?” Dylan asked himself as he stared at the top. The rest of the police officers and firefighters looked up as well. Suddenly, the part of the tower that got struck by the plane collapsed. Everyone on the ground exclaimed in fear as the tower collapsed perfectly towards the bottom. “Aaron, Nathan!” He screamed as he started to run towards the building, but another firefighter grabbed him.

“Don’t go there, son. We have to get out of here!” He shouted trying to pull Dylan away.

“Let me go. My crew is still in there!” Dylan tried effortlessly to escape the fireman’s grip, but soon other firefighters came and grabbed Dylan.

I heard a loud crash that soon became perpetual as the screaming started once again. The crashing sound grew closer to us as we headed for the stairs. The moment I was about to run down them, I heard Aaron scream, “Nathan, stop!” I stopped and that’s when the ceiling collapsed above my head. Pieces of the ceiling fell and blocked the stairway. I stared at them in horror as I felt Aaron grab my shoulder.

“We can’t go through there…” He said quietly. The crashing sound continued and I felt my heart swell up. This situation couldn’t be anymore despairing, but I had to accept my fate. It was either down the stairs or out the window, but we couldn’t take either of them. Aaron walked towards the window and looked down to see everyone running away from the building. He looked towards his left and his eyes widened. “Nathan, come here for a minute. There’s something I have to say before we die.” I started to walk towards him. “Everyone is running away; I guess the building is doomed for good.” I stopped before him and grabbed my chest with grief.

“I never thought that I would face death like this. I always believed that I would put up a fight before dying, but what’s the point if your strength isn’t up to your mind. I just want to tell my parents I love them before I go out as a hero.” Aaron, despite facing death, kept his callous glare as he walked up to me. He grabbed my shoulder and pulled me towards him. He hugged me unexpectedly and I stood there confused. He wrapped both his arms around my neck and sighed heavily.

“It’s been a pleasure working with you Nathan, but let me just say one last thing.” I wrapped my arms around him and that’s when I saw my life flash before my eyes. I saw my parents smile warmly at me with my high school diploma in my hands, and when I met Dylan and Aaron for the first time when I joined the fire department. “The reason I joined the force was because my parents were taken away from me by my worst enemy. I didn’t want other young kids to ever go through what I went through, so I joined the fire department to give those a second chance in life, something my parents never got.” So that’s why Aaron despised any fire we came across. It made sense whenever a couple died in the fire, he wouldn’t be the same for the rest of the week until our next fire. “Don’t worry Nathan, you’ll still be able to tell your parents that you love them…” I moved my head back and faced him. I stared at him and that’s when I saw him smile at me. I felt my heart shatter when I saw tears roll down his face. Suddenly, I heard a loud crash right above our heads just as Aaron violently grabbed me and charged towards the window. I stared at the ceiling and saw the entire thing collapse. Aaron grabbed both my arms and forced them off of him. It all happened so fast, but he took a large step forward before pushing me out the window. My throat clenched tightly as I felt something heavy inside my chest. I saw the tower collapse where Aaron was and I started screaming. Falling did not feel like flying, but the wind was different from what I usually felt on a windy day. I looked towards the ground to see a safety net. I felt saved at first, but then I realized that I wouldn’t survive the fall. What was the point of trying to live anymore? Aaron was gone and many people laid dead on the ground I was about to land on.

“I don’t know why you joined the force, but you must not care about your life.” Aaron said as he blocked the door with his right arm. “Do you value your life?” I stood with my arms rested against my side. Aaron was a couple of years older than I was when I joined the force; he was twenty-two while I just became an adult.

“Of course I value my life, but I value other people’s lives also. Everyone deserves a chance to live a long, healthy and happy life. If this job means that I can do that for them, then I’ll be happy to join your crew.” Aaron snickered to himself as he took his arm away from the door.

“Listen Nathan, you’re still a kid in my eyes. Remember this, the only way you can save someone else’s life is if you’re willing to live for them. Don’t ever doubt living, you should always want to live, that’s what it truly means to be a firefighter.”

My eyes widened as I forcefully turned myself in the air. My chest faced the ground as I felt tears fly off my face. That’s right, Aaron wanted me to live. He never wanted me to doubt living and his death would be in vain if I didn’t try to save myself. I prepared for impact; I covered my head and stared intensely at the safety net. Right before I landed in it, I used all my strength to abruptly turn myself around. My back faced the ground as I landed in the net. I felt something catch me, but then something broke and I fell through. I landed roughly on my side. The tower finally hit the ground, which sent off a large gray cloud. I grabbed my mask with my right hand, but I couldn’t move my left hand at all. I saw the cloud absorb me and all I saw was dust and smoke everywhere. I laid there in pain, but I was alive! Suddenly, I felt someone grab onto my right arm. I looked up weakly to see someone in a large yellow jacket. Before I knew it, I closed my eyes slowly and entered a dark slumber.

Dylan’s eyes widened when he saw me pass out. He picked me up and held my right arm over his shoulder. He started to walk towards the fire truck, but it was hard to see with all the smoke. He heard the screams fade away, for all he could hear was the sound of wind and dust crinkling against whatever it hit.

I regained consciousness and slowly opened my eyes to see myself in a room. The ceiling was white and I heard a monitor beeping. I slowly turned to my right to see a heart rate monitor. I knew right there that I was in a hospital, but how’d I get here? I slowly turned to my left side, where I saw my left arm in a large cast. I stared at it with confusion, and that’s when I remembered that I broke my arm falling out the tower. I guess the adrenaline that was in my body didn’t make me feel the pain. I laid in my bed for about twenty minutes before I heard the door open. I saw Dylan walk in; his face was patched up. He closed the door behind him and when he made eye contact with me, he smiled with relief.

“Nathan, you’re awake.” He walked over to me. I smiled lightly at him as he sat in a chair next to me. “I was starting to worry.”

“Why? It’s not like I was dying or anything.” Dylan grew quiet suddenly. “What’s wrong?”

“Nathan, you’ve been out for a couple of days…”

“What,” I said in dismay, “are you serious?”

“Yeah, I found you the moment you passed out. Apparently the hit you took from the ground not only broke your arm, but shook your head hard enough to put you in a small coma. I’m just glad that I found you in time, if you were left out there for a long time you would’ve died from the smoke.” I sighed softly. Well, I’m just thankful that I’m still alive. “Nathan, let me inform you on what we know. So far, there have been thousands of deaths, most of the people that died were inside the building when it collapsed.” My eyes widened when I remembered Aaron’s face as he pushed me out the tower.

“Where’s Aaron?” I asked suddenly. Dylan slightly retracted and looked away from me. “He’s dead isn’t he?”

“Yeah…” Dylan said while grabbing his face. I looked out the window to see that it was raining. “I’m sorry, Nathan.”

“Don’t be. Aaron’s the one who got himself killed. That fool didn’t have to save me. He could’ve just saved himself. I always thought that he hated me, but to think that he was willing to do that for me-”

“Aaron never hated you, he cared about you a lot. He was just always hard on you because he wanted the best from you. Aaron told me that you had a lot of potential, but your emotions always clouded your judgement.” After a moment of silence, Dylan stood up. “His funeral along with all the other firefighters that died is in three days. I think you’ll be out by then.” Dylan walked towards the door while holding his phone. “I have to make a call real quick.” He left the room and that’s when I realized he was calling his dad. Dylan didn’t want to tell me much about that day, but I knew that his mom died when the tower collapsed. A lot of innocent people died on that day, but I couldn’t take this anymore. Dylan came back in the room a minute later with an upset look. He faced me, where I removed the covers off of me. “Nathan, what’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry Dylan, but I quit…”