Perhaps it was unusual that a lieutenant was out on the streets making rounds. Such tasks were normally left to the rank and file. As a newcomer to the town however, Zeppelin felt it was only right that she got to know the people more and introduced herself to the locals. Building rapport was an important part of any working relationship and she was going to be in the region for a while. Plus it never hurt to make some connections.

As she was walking down the road leading out of town, she spotted a pillar of smoke rising up from one of the buildings. She feared the worst. She rushed to the scene and found a huge inn on fire. It seemed she was the first Marine to arrive so far and the citizens were the ones taking charge of putting the blaze out. People were gathered around the building passing buckets of water to help. On the side of the street, some were tending to the injured. It did not look like anyone was hurt too seriously but she walked over to check just in case.

She found herself stopped in her tracks by a middle-aged woman grabbing on to her sleeves. In-between desperate sobs she pleaded with the young Marine to save her daughter who was still trapped somewhere inside the building. Zeppelin’s eyes widened. There was no time to waste. She rushed over to the people passing buckets of water and asked for one, pouring the contents over her head as she prepared to enter the inferno. She also took an extra bucket just in case. She quickly surveyed the building and determined the best place to enter would be from the front door. According to those who escaped, there was still a clear path up the staircase minutes ago.

Zeppelin proceeded to enter the burning building and found that the right side of the structure had already collapsed from being weakened by the flames. This was bad. According to the woman from earlier, her child was somewhere on the second floor. She was away when the fire started and by the time she returned, she couldn’t find her daughter among those who got out of the inn. The lieutenant decided to take the straightforward path up the stairs. In a way it was also to check that it was still safe to use. Jumping out from the second floor was the last thing she wanted to do with a child in tow.

The steps were creaky but otherwise okay. Or at least that was how it seemed at first. Putting her hand on the rail, she immediately retracted it after feeling how hot it was. It meant the fire had already gotten fairly close to it and there was no guarantee it would still be standing later. She was not used to so many unreliable variables in a situation but such was the nature of a fire. She had no choice but to press on. Upon arriving on the second floor, she found burning debris scattered all over, making it hard to walk.

She called out to the girl hoping to get a response to figure out where she was instead of just randomly looking around. Listening carefully, she heard a faint but unmistakable cry from the room at the end of the hall. Unfortunately this was through the part of the building that had collapsed. There was a gaping hole in the middle of floor and there was just barely enough of it remaining to walk on while sticking to the wall. She poured the contents of the second bucket all over her as she could not carry it and make it across to the other side of the hole.

Slowly and carefully, she traverse the precarious ledge and thankfully made it to the end without it collapsing. She then entered the room where she heard the cries and found the child on the bed clutching a teddy bear while gushing out tears. Honestly Zeppelin wasn’t the best at consoling children but she did her best and reassured her that they would get out of there alive. Now came the tricky part however. They couldn’t go back the same way she went in. There was no way the child could get past the obstacles Zeppelin did. Carrying the child would not work either as her balance would be thrown off too much, putting the little girl in danger.

Suddenly there was a loud explosion from the first floor that shook the building and caused the child to start sobbing again. It seemed the fire had finally gotten to the kitchens and something there blew up. The structure could collapse at any moment. She was left with her last resort, but she was going to do it in the least reckless way possible. She gathered up the sheets on the bed and tied them together to form a rope they can use to climb down from the window. It was nowhere long enough unfortunately and they really had to jump the rest of the way. It was still better than leaping from almost twenty feet up.

Just  as they were preparing to go down, a second explosion rocked the building. This time the floors were starting to collapse. Grabbing the kid with one arm, Zeppelin quickly clambered over the window with the sheets in one hand and began her descent. About halfway down, she let go and jumped, protecting the child with her body as they landed on some bushes below. The people gathered there saw them and rushed to see if they were okay. Aside from a moderate back ache, the young lieutenant was fine. The little girl in her arms was a bit shaken but was otherwise unharmed. The crowd cheered at the Marine’s heroism as the girl’s mother went over to them and hugged her daughter with all her might.

“Happy to have been of help ma’am.”

Said Zeppelin with a salute.

(End)