sqrrel

Shaw's Work Log

Jan 5 \ Overcast

There was a fire at a residential building downtown.

Everyone, don'tpanic! Pleasefollowourinstructions andevacuatetooutside thecordonedoffarea. Donotpanic...

It's gone... My life savings... all gone...

Hahaha... That's what I'm talking about! Burn this whole stinking place to the ground! Hahahaha...

M-Mommy...

Clear a path! Use triage! Care for the heavily injured first!

*cough*, *cough* *cough*...

Are the residents all clear?

Chief, no sign of anyone still trapped.

Mommy!

Mio!

*Sigh*...

Everyone, please take a look around and see if there's anyone you know who hasn't evacuated?

Has anyone seen the weird guy who lives on the second floor...?

Right, now that you mention it, I don't think I've seen him.

The second floor? Isn't that where the fire started?

That doesn’t sound good. Do you know if he's home?

I... I don’t know...

I do!

He leaves his blinds open every time he goes out, but his blinds were closed when I came down the stairs just now.

Well, crap...

Hey! Hey—

Tell HQ! There's someone trapped inside. The fire has grown so big that the firefighters can't go back in. Send fire trucks. Right now—

Letmego! I'llfigureoutaway togetthisguyout!

Don't be ridiculous! That's suicide!

The fire’s probably from an Originium fire starter explosion. It might set off a chain reaction any minutet—

Soit'sallthemoredangerous foranyonestuckinside!

But––

Notimetohesitate, Chief!

I'verescuedmorethanoneperson trappedinafire! Pleasetrustme!

Stay in contact... and be careful.

Shaw, how’s it going in there...?

I'vemadeitinside. Thefire'sburning ataround450degrees.

It'sanoldresidentialbuilding. Reinforcedconceretestructure. Ifwedon'tputthefireoutsoon, itmaynotbeable tosustainitsload!

Thefiredoesn'tseemtohavespreadto thefirstflooryet, butthesmokehere isverythick.

I'vereachedthefireescape. Nowproceedingtothefirstfloor.

Roger that. Be careful.

Shaw, give me a status report.

*Cough*... There’saverythick layerofsmoke onthefirstfloor... Thesecondfloor mightbeevenworse.

Anyonewho'sstillinside isinseriousdanger. Igottahurry.

Ican'tseeverywell...

Shaw, don't push yourself. If you can't get inside, come back down right away!

Chief, thefireescape canstillbeused! I'mproceedingtothesecondfl—

Shaw!

*Cough*... I'mfine, Chief! Justashelffalling.

(Igottamakeapointofthis inmynextfiresafetylecture. Youcan'tputallthisstuff nexttoafireexit.)

Be careful...

Help... Help... me...

Oh! Chief, Iheardsomeone calloutforhelp justnow!

Overthere!

It'sthisflathere!

Help... help me...

Sir? Icanhearyou!

Please, coveryourmouthandnose. Don'ttalkandsaveyourstrength! I'llfindaway togetyouout!

The tiny Zalak slams on the burning hot steel door with her shoulder. It doesn't bulge.

(Crap, thedoorframe'sstartedtodeform becauseoftheheat!)

(Let'sseeifIcancutitopen withmyaxe.)

Sir, stayawayfromthedoor, please! Watchout!

Hyah—!

It'sworking! Icandothis!

Sparks fly everywhere. Shaw's axe turns scalding hot from the heat of the fire.

She tightly grips her axe's handle and slams it toward the door's lock. The fissure on the lock is already clear.

Almostthere...

Gottafightthefire...

Gotta... Gotta... fightthefire...

Gottasaveeveryone...

Shaw?

Shaw, Shaw! Wake up!

Isthefireout—?

Shaw!

You scared the hell out of me. I’m glad you’re awake...

H-How'sthefire?!

Don't move!

And don't worry. The fire's out. You did great.

But now I’m worried about you. The medic says you breathed in a little too much carbon monoxide. You need to get some rest.

Don't move too much, and keep your oxygen mask on.

Oh, wait! Whataboutthatguy?! Whathappened totheguywhowastrapped inthebuilding?! Igotta—

Shaw!

Chief, Icanstill—

It's too late.

Shaw never expected to find such a small room behind the door.

Everything inside has been burned to ashes, which in turn makes the room look that much more open.

There is a safe in the corner of the room. Although warped from the heat, its contents are miraculously intact.

A small stack of LMD bills and a stamp album.

Shaw.

Pack it up.

The fire erupted so quickly. In the end, one person died, with eleven in critical condition.

That was the first time I saw a life extinguished right before my eyes.

Jan 8 \ Showers

I found a pet fowlbeast.

I got distracted during training; got reprimanded. Had to write a self-reflection report.

Jan 11 \ Clear

The investigation into the fire the other day has wrapped up. It was started by a worn-out home-use Originium fire starter device, which set off a chain of explosions. The residents had too many things strewn around the building, which helped the fire spread.

I was commended at the ceremony today.

Jan 13 \ Overcast

I took the day off.

Y-Yousaidyoucouldn'tfindanything?

Right. You were there yourself. His whole life was burned to a crisp. There weren't any clues for us to work with.