It was pitch black, smoke tickled the back of my throat. Someone close by moaned in fear, I recognised the voice of the hot girl from earlier. I reached out for her hand.
It's alright, stick with me.
I stated with a confidence borne of caffeine and too much sugar.
I crouched, ducking the smoke that was filling the room and stretched my free hand forward to feel for obstacles and moved off pulling them behind me.
It was just another day at work. A few of us were sitting chatting about nothing in particular when a sharp-faced lady strutted up to where we sat.
Can anyone join in the party!?
She announced snippily.
I gave her the Vulcan eyebrow. I knew her face vaguely and she wasn't from IT. That meant she was less than nothing.
Can we help you?
She swallowed something, it might have been her pride.
Yes, perhaps you can help...
Wait, what did she mean 'you' can help? I looked around for my colleagues who were chatting mere moments earlier but they had melted away like the first snows of summer. Gits.
Go on then, what can I do you for?
And so I had been informed that the wing in which I sat did not have a Fire Warden. It was a serious position. One of great responsibility. So much responsibility that the Fire Warden was given a fluorescent vest with
FIRE WARDEN
Emblazoned on it.
The sharp-faced lady droned on about the importance of such a role for what seemed like ages. Eventually, she stopped.
So, can I count on you? Are you volunteering?
What?! Me?! Are you kidding, no chance.
She looked as if a hamster had gnawed through her favourite pencil.
There is a fifty pounds annual payment.
I narrowed my eyes.
Throw in a coffee lady-face and I am yours.
She harrumphed wildly like a horse with an overly stirrup'y rider then agreed.
Some weeks later I had found myself with a bunch of random strangers in a real Firefighters Training Academy. Throughout the day we were shown how to raise the alarm if there was a fire and how to scoosh various extinguishers.
We were given numerous lectures on the sneaky naughtiness of fire and how it could spread at the drop of a hat. I was bored senseless. The only saving grace the course had was that one of the ladies who was on it with me was hotter than any fire we were being warned about.
In each of the exercises, there were various mentions of the Final Exam. Whenever we asked what it was, we were answered with enigmatic smiles and tappings of noses.
The day was nearly done. Our instructor led us outside and over to a large tower in the yard.
He looked up at it and explained that this was where they held simulated fire exercises. He went to great lengths to state how it was as realistic as possible. They cut the power, piped in smoke and played fire noises to give people an idea of what it was like to be in a real fire situation.
I yawned and kicked a stone whilst he did so. All this talk of fire was making me long for a cigarette. It was only when the Instructor said that it was now our turn that my ears perked up.
Really? We are going up there. Awesome!
The Instructor gave me a disapproving look. I shrugged handsomely.
We were led up the tower and into a room which looked like a regular office except it had blacked out windows. They explained that the exercise would be in pitch blackness to simulate a heavy smoke situation.
I refrained from sharing my previous heavy smoke experiences at that point.
Whilst he wittered on I was scoping out the room and more importantly the way to the exit which was way over on the far side. I had an idea of what was coming and my imaginary ninja training was taking hold.
He finished by advising that anyone who got too panicked or scared should just remain where they were and would be collected at the end of the exercise. He then separated us all a bit.
He spoke into a radio and then looked up.
The lights went out and the smell of smoke permeated the air.
I couldn't see a thing.
That was fine though, I had the office mapped out in my head. I grabbed hot-girl's hand, crouched down and navigated forward carefully in the pitch dark through the office.
As we moved along I heard the calls and moans of the others on the course as they got lost or banged their shins on things they couldn't see. I couldn't help but chuckle. Fools.
Eventually, I made out the very dim sign that showed we were at the exit. I banged on the door.
It was hauled open and a burly firefighter pulled the two of us out. He looked puzzled.
Did we win? Were we first?
I asked, scampering on the spot like an enthusiastic puppy.
What?
He answered somewhat incredulously.
Right you pair, come with me to the control room.
He took us to the nearby control room.
Did we win? Were we first?
I once again asked the Instructor who was peering at various screens showing our erstwhile colleagues staggering around in the dark.
What? No! You didn't win. What about your friends in there? Didn't you think to rescue them?
I looked at the screens.
Ah, it wasn't a race sort of thing then?
The instructor looked disgusted as if his wife was eating cabbage with her mouth full.
No. It wasn't a race.
I shrugged my shoulders and looked at hot-girl.
We totally won.
I mouthed quietly.
The door opened and a firefighter led in one of the dudes who had been in the fire room with us.
The new dude looked around.
Hey, did I win?
I burst out laughing.
No we did!!
What about you? Have you ever misinterpreted a situation and done your best to win even when you shouldn't? Worse yet, has it been in a life or death situation?!
Tell us your best tales in the comments. I will be there to listen!
Authored by: @meesterboom
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FIRE! It's every man for himself (Except for hot girl, of course). There are no winners only losers!
Great story. I'm glad you properly got the fair maiden rescued. Did you get the job as Fire Warden? Or did they decide you weren't of proper caliber for such an important post? Seems to me that either outcome is a winner for you.
Thanks for a wonderful tale.
I got it!! I have my luminous vest and everything! I never got the hot girl though, damn that marriage malarkey :0)
Nice post @meesterboom.
I hope the hot lady didnt burn you when you grabbed her hands and navigated through the pitch dark office.
Well, there have been many times i misinterpreted the situation and did my best to win when i shouldnt have. They were mostly in my secondary school days. Most times then i used to think of myself and saw life like a competition till i watched "the 3 idiots". Have you seen the movie too?
Once, we left a roommate asleep in the hostel and rushed for night classes. The house master came and punished him for refusing to go for night classes. We regretted our act and helped him do the job he was given for punishment.
And during a quiz, we were divided into groups but marks were going to be scored individually. Everyone wanted to score highest in our group so a day to the quiz we all hoarded our materials, we failed to work as a team, we didnt even put our heads together to decide our answers so in an attempt to win individually, we lost as a group.
But as I grew up, i realised competition was made to scatter communal living. i remember knowing how to solve a chemistry assignment that the class had failed and was going to come in the exams the next day, i quickly notified in the class group, called others and we solved together that night. They were all happy. But am sure i wasn't the first to know the solution, maybe someone else did but wanted to be first.
I have equally heard of a photographer who took the photo of a lion eating a small boy. Maybe he wanted to be winner, best photo for the year. However, public comments and critics made him kill himself.
Most situations in live are not always about the win.
You are absolutely right in that respect. Winning is something that should be considered rather than blindly striven for.
You should write a blog post like that :0)
Thank you for the advice. I'll do that. I never considered something like that for a blog post.
Crazy stuff right there. It's not always about the win.
yea, NOT ALWAYS ABOUT THE WIN.
Two points:
A) The cabbage, ah the cabbage. Considering your post from earlier(/later) (the one on your account), I have to wonder why it always comes back to cabbage.
B) From the opening paragraphs "I crouched, ducking the smoke that was filling the room and stretched my free hand forward to feel for obstacles and moved off pulling them behind me." - Why were you ducking smoke, how were you ducking smoke, and why were you feeling for obstacles if you later stated "That was fine though, I had the office mapped out in my head."
C) (Because there had to be a c, I thought of it afterwards) If you felt you were fine because you had the office mapped out in your head, then why did you you state that your confidence was "borne of caffeine and too much sugar."
Sorry, I'm nitpicking. (well, not altogether too sorry, and on a side note, would you like some cabbage?)
Hahaha, good points!! But oh so readily explained!
A) everything comes back to cabbage, is like a universal constant or something.
B) admittedly there was a little dramatic effect here. If it was real smoke them we all know that it gets thicker the higher you are and if you are in a smoky room the air is easier to breathe lower down.
The feeling for obstacles is actually something I have found myself doing when playing games with my young daughter and we have to close our eyes and be robots. Don't ask, is awfully complex. I noticed that even if you know the layout of a place like the back of your hand you still have to stick a hand out because it can be ready to misjudge where things are. So you can head in a particular direction and also avoid the main obstacles but sometimes a door or a wall Congress quicker than you think!
C) when I do these or in fact about type of training courses I go mad on caffeine. I literally drink piles of it and become a hyper maniac. This my confidence was borne of that but also it was the first paragraph, it may have dented the telling a bit of I implied straight away that everything was ok. A sleight of hand if you will!
Thank you for reading it so very well!
Who had been in the fire room with you. I cannot understand
The people who were training to be fire wardens. They were the people. At least I hope they were.
Ok
Its captivating, I love this piece
Thank you. I too am captivated by it. Particularly the part where the author talks of walks through glowing fields of lavender like memories of those who have passed.
The choice of diction is simply lit
Yes, I do concur!
really lovely
Lovely really
Nice
Nice
Baby
73 u re really much experience and talented
I am slightly long in the tooth yes.
C
No
You edited your post to take back what you asked. It looks very suspicious to me which is why I have given you a small downvote
I am not any fake guy . I am geniune
Not i have any bad intension about anybody
Thats really fun.
As the tag says the tag does :0)
I donot understand.
That's ok.
Okk sir.
bro good story , but again comes with lot of writing skills , let have quality content like above every week, thank you bro
Vpvote And Reply My Comments
Thank you for your kind words!
since i had upvote and u should had done the same thing to Upvote my comment
There was nothing in your comment that particularly warranted an upvote. It was fairly generic. It is certainly not the case that you voted for the post therefore your comment gets upvoted in return.
Glad to have cleared that up.
This is a touching story. I really do not know what should I do if I were in your position
Escape the fake fire!
I found a wonderful and interesting story.
NICE! great information ThAnkio so much
Give to me information
Awesome post too sir. Great points on why people should attend.