Out of the Night
Chapter One
Great tongues of fire leaped from the structure, more brilliant
against the night sky than any fireworks display; beautiful,
mesmerizing-and deadly. Lanie Weber stood close, feeling the heat
beat at her, her skin burning despite the protection of her gear.
"Lanie's crew takes left; Marcus-center. We'll take right. Let's
go." The fire chief's muted voice carried to her over the roaring of
the flames, and she nodded to let him know she'd heard.
With the fire hose cradled along her right arm, Lanie gripped the
nozzle securely with both hands. Her second lineman braced her with
his elbow, offering resistance against the pressure of the water,
which tried to propel her backward as soon as the water started to
flow.
Lanie adjusted the stream until a focused, narrow torrent shot
forth. She concentrated on the left side of the structure, her only
goal to contain the flames and protect the exposure of the house
next door, because it was too late to save the one-story home. At
least no one had been hurt.
Though she couldn't hear anything beyond the noise of the fire,
Lanie was aware of the fami ... read full excerpt from: Out of the Night ebook
