Slings and Arrows by Kajakat Squad 51, child stuck, Forest Park Day Camp - 1234 Forest Avenue, 1-2-3-4 Forest Avenue, timeout 10:13. "Squad 51, 10-4." Johnny said into the mike, jotted down the address and put his helmet on. Roy already was wearing his helmet as he accelerated the squad toward their call. They were on the road, returning from Rampart Hospital, when the call came in. "Day camp." Johnny flatly said. "Wonder what kinda trouble this kid got into." Making a face, he looked at Roy who didn't take his eyes of the road. Instead he just shrugged his shoulders. He didn't want to answer his partner, knowing the typical tirade Johnny could go on if given enough ammunition. Too many years of experience and rescues taught the duo that a child could get stuck into anything. Five minutes later, the squad arrived at Forest Park Day Camp. It was a day camp set in lush surroundings. Upon driving on the property, Johnny and Roy saw a small lake, a swimming pool and several small buildings. At the end of the driving they found a very distraught man pacing. "It took you long enough!" The man shouted as Gage and DeSoto exited the squad. Roy, the calmer of the duo, approached the man. "Sir, we have a report of a child stuck." "I KNOW. I CALLED IT IN! Billy's this way!" The man started to walk away but stopped when he realized the paramedics were not following him. "Well, what's the hold up?????" John looked at Roy and allowed him to answer. "Sir, can you tell us more about how he's stuck? So we'll know what gear to bring." Roy thought his statement was a reasonable one. "Billy has somehow locked himself into the supply closet. The janitor is out to lunch so we don't have the keys and no way of getting in touch with him! Now can you follow me?!" Johnny suppressed a laugh as he looked at Roy. The two fell in line behind the man. They walked about a ¾ of a mile through the camp passing, arts and crafts, archery ranges, softball fields, basketball courts and other sports activities. "Wonder if my kids would like this?" Roy stated as he shifted the equipment in his arms. "Sure Roy, they'd love it, you'd love it and JoAnne would love it. But can ya afford it?" Trying to keep pace with the man who appeared to be the man in charge, Roy said, "how much does it cost to send a child here?" "For one or two months?" "One month." "Two thousand dollars." "For a month?" Johnny asked. The man stopped, turned around and shook his head. "He's in here." The three men walked into a small building and found a young woman talking to a door. "I kept Billy calm, just like you asked me to do, Mr. Kone." "Thanks Sylvia." Roy and Johnny put their gear down and looked at the door. It was a heavy metal door with a doorknob and lock above it. Johnny looked at Mr. Kone. "How old is Billy?" "He's about five years old." "Kinda young for camp, isn't he?" "That's your opinion. We pride ourselves in carrying for children for children ranging from four years til fifteen. Sylvia is a CIT, a counselor in training. Next year, she'll work for me and get paid to take care of campers." Sylvia beamed at the praise Mr. Kone bestowed on her. Johnny traded places with Slyvia and talked to the door. "Billy. My name is Johnny and I'm a fireman. I'm going to open the door, so I need you to step back." Johnny announced. A muffled 'okay' was heard. Johnny squatted down by the door and took out different skeleton keys from his equipment. Roy stood over Johnny's shoulder to watch. After trying three different keys Johnny opened the lock and turned the knob. Inside the dark room he found a small boy sniffling. Johnny approached the boy cautiously. "It's okay Billy." Johnny stood up and turned on the light. Billy, seeing Sylvia outside ran right to her. She swallowed him up in her arms and comforted him. Roy tried to take the crying boy away from Sylvia, to check him over, but every time he dislodged a hand from around Sylvia's neck, Billy wailed louder. Seeing he was not going to be successful Roy said, "you should contact his parents and let them know what happened." "I will. Thanks for helping us out." Mr. Kone's manner softened up knowing his charge was safe. "Will you be able to find your way back to your truck?" Johnny spoke up, "sure, we'll be okay." They checked the boy once last time and saw his sobs were more in control as Sylvia and Mr. Kone spoke to him. Satisfied Billy was literally in good hands, Roy and Johnny picked up their gear and headed back to their squad. At least they thought they were heading in the right direction. "I thought you said you could find your way back to the squad." Roy said, looking squarely at his partner. Faking resentment Johnny said, "Roy, don't you have faith in me? Have I ever gotten you lost when we go camping? It's that way." Johnny pointed, as he shifted the biophone and oxygen that he carried. "You're heading toward the trees, Johnny." Roy said, rather annoyed. "I know what I'm doing, Roy. It's a short cut." The two walked on a path that cut threw the woods. Off in the distance sounds of laughter were heard, causing the two men to smile at one another. The cutoff through the woods was brief, placing the two men out in a ball field. "See, I told ya I'd get us back to the squad." "Yes, you did, but I still don't see the squad. All I know is we're in one of the ball fields. We don't know how many there are on these camp grounds." "Squad 51, what is your status?" The handitalkie squawked. Roy looked at Johnny and shrugged his shoulders. "LA, Squad 51 will be available in five minutes." He didn't know what else to say. Johnny hid his laughter. Roy picked up his pace, leading the way, annoyed that his partner got them lost. "Roy, hold up." Johnny was trying to keep pace with his moody partner. "Johnny," Roy tried to maintain his calmness, "we've got to get back to the squad. If we cut this way, through this field, we should come across the main access road." "We shoulda asked those kids." Johnny was still trying to catch up to Roy. He was carrying the biophone and oxygen, compared with Roy carrying the drug box, so his gait was a bit slower. "We shoulda looked for ……." Johnny stopped speaking suddenly. "Whaddiya say Johnny?" Roy turned around in the open field and saw confusion on Johnny's face. Then, pain registered in Johnny's eyes. As Johnny began to fall forward, he cried out, "Roy?" The biophone and oxygen fell out of Johnny's grasp as his knees buckled and he fell face first onto the hard baseball infield ground. Author's Note: I started writing this story and came to my own roadblock and didn't know which way I wanted to take it. So I decided to continue the story with two different versions. There are two paths to the story that lead to two very different endings. Choose either path or both paths to see how this story ends. |