High in the night sky, huge, shadowy clouds crept ominously and concealed even the faintest glimmer of the half moon. Propelled forward by the power of the wind the clouds unleashed their watery burden on the ground below; that night the rain fell heavily and continuously. Electricity flowed through the clouds and earthed itself with devastating power as it sent icy blue fingers of electricity to prod and probe the earth. The dark sky was alive with flashes and the only sound to rival the falling rain was that of the thunder that ripped through the sky, growling and threatening like an angry bear. The unrelenting rain formed collections of large puddles and small streams across the roads and gardens below and it didn't take many hours before the drains were full and the gutters overflowed with rainwater. The high winds buffeted the trees and made their trunks sway like they were made of rubber and with every gust of the strong wind they deposited water from their laden branches.
The Fountain Court Hotel sat beneath this maelstrom of activity and was subjected to the same unceasing barrage of rain that fell from the flickering sky as the rest of the surrounding area. The hotel itself was on three stories and had been converted from a family house in the 1960's. For the current proprietors, Mr and Mrs Gilham, it had been their home and business for nearly ten years since they left their jobs in the city of London and moved to get away from the pressure of the city lifestyle. The hotel was situated almost five miles from the centre of Nottingham and right in the path of the storm that continued to fight a running battle overhead. The rain beat steadily down on the windows of the hotel, a monotonous but relaxing sound, like a soft drumbeat; a repetitive cycle that wasn't going to end before the morning. Except for the rhythmic patter of the rain the hotel was very quiet and the few guests that were staying slept oblivious to the storm outside.
Hidden from the storm the basement of the hotel was quiet and undisturbed
but it's darkness concealed a malevolent demon. Like in any other basement
Mr and Mrs Gilham stored a variety of paraphernalia that either fitted
nowhere else or they had long since negated a use for. A couple of old
blue shabby sofa's sat in one corner and piles of string-tied newspapers
for recycling sat in another. Propped up at the end of one of the sofas
stood a pair of his and hers bicycles that hadn't been used for nearly
eight years. Opposite the sofa's along one wall were shelves that ran its
length and held all manner of household improvement equipment: boxes of
light bulbs, drills, numerous types of screws, old rolls of wallpaper,
saws and old half-used tins of paint. In the centre of the basement an
old wooden pasting table covered with nails and tools that had been used
recently sat and gathered dust. Dotted around the remaining available sections
of floor were different sized cardboard boxes that held everything from
a nearly antique toy train set to boxes of old rags and cleaning solutions.
Along the ceiling ran two fluorescent strip lights that when illuminated
provided the only light in the windowless basement. On the far wall, opposite
the door, was the slightly outdated fuse box and it was at close to two
o'clock in the morning that the sparks flew through it. The surge of electricity
caused by the storm might have been contained if the correct fuses had
been fitted but sadly this was not the case. The piece of paper crudely
attached above the fuses that indicated their use was bone dry and a stray
spark caught its bottom edge and it started smouldering. In the darkness
of the basement the flickering light from the fuse box was the only light
and it was not a welcome light. Cut into the steel case of the fuse box
were a set of small vents and it was though these that hot ash and glowing
remnants from the burning paper fell into one of the boxes below. A couple
of rags that had been soaked with turpentine were the recipients of the
falling ashes and within moments the heat from the ashes set the rags alight.
The demon was free, free to unleash it's terror on everything around it.
Rachel stepped off the end of the ladder and through the smashed remains of the Fountain Court Hotel window. She took a small step and dropped down with a thud from the window ledge; her boots crushing the numerous shards of broken glass that lay on the floor. She stood in a small corridor on the second floor of the hotel; the light coloured walls flashed blue intermittently as the light from the fire engine below penetrated the smoke and illuminated them. She spun her head round and pulled hard on the hose in her gloved hands and pulled it maybe a metre through the shattered window. She jerked the lever on the hose and it spluttered into life, firing a long stream of water along the smoke filled corridor. She took another pace forward and then felt a low thud behind her as her support, Gary, landed on the glass-covered corridor floor. She took another two small steps forward to give him a little more space. "Gary, check the two rooms on this corridor and I'll concentrate on the fire." she instructed.
"Okay." his voice crackled back into her ear piece.
She took a few more steps forward along the corridor and further into the thick grey smoke that pervaded it. She could dimly see the raging fire through the haze of smoke and moved closer. A smash punctuated the sound of her breathing as Gary wielded the hammer against the first locked door on the corridor. She turned her head round and saw his air tank and yellow fire resistant suit disappear into the first of the two rooms. She turned back and continued to make her way towards the fire. She felt the temperature rising as she approached, and the dim light she could see through the smoke became brighter and brighter. The fire had taken hold of the landing and was beginning to move along the corridor on her right, perpendicular to where she stood. The landing area was not too large, in front of her slightly to the left she could see the stairs that led down to the first floor and to the left of those were stairs that went up to the top floor of the hotel. There was a window on the left wall that had imploded and beneath it a large set of drawers was burning fiercely. Through the window a stream of water peppered the fire from a hose below, but it was having very little effect. Rachel swung the hose round in an arc and tried to push back the fire enough so she could reach the other corridor that was some ten metres from where she stood. She still hadn't made it properly on to the landing when she heard Gary in her earpiece.
"It's all clear in those rooms, let's push on."
"Okay." she replied. She felt him pick up the hose behind her.
"How bad is it?" he asked.
"It'll take a few minutes before we can get to the other corridor."
"Okay." he acknowledged.
She directed the water at another chest of drawers that stood between her and the corridor; the fire had taken hold of it and the picture that hung above it. There was only a small area of the landing that wasn't on fire and that was just in front of where they both stood. She could not see down the other corridor and had no idea whether or not they would be able to get down there at all. Rachel pushed the fire back enough to take another couple of paces towards it. "There's another door on the left." she said noticing the door.
"It can't be a bedroom, there's not enough room to fit one in, must be a store cupboard. Look the handle's different too."
"Okay, we'll focus on the corridor. We are going to have to make a move soon before things get any worse." She took another pace forward and continued to attack the fire with the water, the chest of drawers that blocked their way was slowly coming under control, although the stairs to their left were still burning strongly.
Within minutes Rachel had the fire on the right hand side of the landing under control and they moved forward. She pulled the chest of drawers forward, smashing it against the floor and climbed over it, so as not to get too close to the fire in the stairwell. She reached the opening of the corridor and peered along it, it looked as though the fire had not reached that part of the hotel and she turned round and continued to fight the fire on the landing.
Gary walked past her and headed down the corridor to search the four rooms that opened on the corridor.
Opposite where she now stood the fire continued to make progress past the smashed window and towards the cupboard door; the stairs too were still blazing strongly and she wondered what it was like for the group that had been sent to investigate that floor. She kept the hose focused on the half of the landing that they needed clear in order to get back.
"I've got one room left to search, nothing so far." Gary's voice said in her ear.
"How many to search?"
"Only one."
"Okay." She heard another crash behind her as Gary used the lump hammer to break down the last door. She glanced round to see what he was doing, when suddenly an explosion made her snap her head back round. In that instant a ball of fire ripped a hole in the cupboard door across the landing and sent burning fluid across the landing. The fire immediately picked up in ferocity and their relatively clear passage became much more dangerous. Then moments later another explosion tore the door completely off the cupboard and blew it a few feet into the middle of the landing where it burned powerfully, covered in volatile fluids. "Shit we can't go this way, not if anything else blows out of that bloody cupboard." Rachel said backing off from the now much hotter fire. "We'll have to get out another way. Gary, where are you?"
The was no reply on the radio.
"Gary, where are you?" she tried again.
She turned round once more but could see virtually nothing through the smoke.
"Gary, where the hell are you?" she asked once more, now very agitated.
There was still no reply.
"Shit" she exclaimed and pulled back further into the corridor. She switched off the hose and went into the room Gary had broken down just moments before. She found him sprawled face down across the floor, he seemed to have tripped over something on the floor. She rolled him half way over; the tank on his back stopped her going any further. "Gary" she said once more.
"What's going on up there Rachel?" the sub-officer's voice said in her ear.
"Sub, Gary is hurt, I think he tripped and fell. We need a ladder to one of the rooms on the west side."
"Negative Rachel, we can't get at those, you'll have to get him to the east side, can you do that."
"I think so."
She stood up and looked round, it was then she saw the person in the bed. "Sub, there's a casualty here, I'll have to get them out first. Have an ambulance ready."
She pulled back the sheets on the bed and dragged the limp body of a
woman out of the bed and on to her shoulder. She turned and guided by her
flashlight she went across the corridor and into one of the rooms opposite.
She went across the room and up to the window, she could see the fire engine
in the courtyard below, its lights still flashing. She opened the clasp
on the window, pushed it open and looked down. Beneath her two of the crew
had manoeuvred a ladder to the wall, she waved down and watched as they
moved the ladder slightly left and then climbed up to meet her. She handed
over the body of the woman and turned back to get Gary. She left the room
and passed back through the corridor, she glanced to her left just to check
on the state of the fire. She went into the bedroom and knelt down by Gary;
he was still unconscious. She unclasped the straps of his air tank and
ripped off his breathing apparatus and face mask. Whilst kneeling down
she took hold of his feet and then bending over she dragged him along the
floor, out of the bedroom and into the bedroom opposite. She pulled him
across to the window and lifted him up on to her shoulder. Then with a
lot of struggling she climbed up on to the window ledge and then
made her way down the ladder to the waiting ambulance.
A week later Rachel sat on a bench in the gym of the fire station and looked at her reflection in the mirrored wall as she lifted the heavy dumbbell with her muscular right arm; the top of her arm was decorated with a beautiful red rose tattoo, no bigger than a couple of inches. Her reflection showed a woman in her late twenties, wearing a grey sports vest that had a big sweat mark at the top. Around her waist she wore a dark blue weightlifting strap and a black pair of short legged cycling shorts. The shorts gripped her white sculpted thighs and showed off their firm muscle tone, on her feet she wore a smart pair of Nike trainers. The sweat visibly ran down her forehead and she wiped the back of her gloved hand across her brow to stop the rivulets of sweat reaching her green eyes. With every lift of the dumbbell her small chest rose and fell as she took large lungfuls of air to feed her tiring muscles. When she had finished her repetitions she lowered the dumbbell to the floor and ran her fingers through her short damp hair. In the mirror she could see the door and Gary poked his head round it briefly.
"Hey, sweaty the station officer wants to see you."
She turned round and glared at him for a split second. "Okay," she smiled.
"I'll be down in a minute." She unclasped her gloves and tossed them on
the bench as she walked towards the door.
"Ah, Rachel, here she comes now." the station officer said to the woman next to him.
As Rachel approached she saw a woman with auburn hair that just tickled her shoulders wearing a neat dark jacket and knee length skirt that only went some way to hiding a pair of lovely tanned legs. She had a bouquet of flowers in her hand and smiled warmly as Rachel approached.
"Hi Rachel." the woman said and presented the elegant bouquet of beautiful flowers to her.
"Are they for me?" Rachel asked, her eyes lighting up with genuine surprise. "What have I done to deserve these?" she took a deep breath and inhaled their lovely scent. "They are really beautiful."
The station officer turned and walked back to his office.
"Yes, they are for saving my life on Monday." the woman replied sincerely.
Rachel smiled. "You shouldn't have, it's just my job."
"Well it might be just a job to you, but your pretty special to me."
"But it wasn't just me."
"The station officer said you were the one who brought me out of the hotel." the woman said turning her head in his direction only to see that he had gone.
"Well yes, but I couldn't have done it on my own."
"I'd love to buy you dinner sometime, by way of a proper thanks."
"Well," Rachel said surprised. "That's awfully nice." she smiled.
"What about tomorrow night, are you free?"
"Erm...," Rachel taken aback dipped her head in thought for a second. "Yeah, yeah I am."
"I'll pick you up here at seven o'clock, is that okay?"
"Sure." Rachel smiled once more.
The woman turned to leave.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name." Rachel asked.
"Sorry, I'm Alyson."
"I'll see you tomorrow then Alyson."
Alyson grinned. "Yes, seven o'clock." she turned once more and made her way across the open tarmac in front of the fire station.
Rachel watched her leave and with the flowers still in her hand she
lowered her head and took in a lungful of their lovely sweet smell.
Rachel sheltered under her umbrella as she waited patiently in the rain for Alyson to arrive. She glanced up and down the road and then at her watch; it was five past seven and she wondered if Alyson had forgotten their appointment. Her shoes and the bottom of her smart black trousers were starting to get slightly damp; the occasional gusts of wind didn't help either. Fortunately she didn't have to wait any longer as a red car turned the corner and pulled up in front of her. She walked over to it and as she approached the passenger window slid down.
"Hi Rachel, climb in." Alyson said from the drivers seat.
Rachel let down her umbrella and shook it briefly before she opened the car door and clambered in next to Alyson. She laid her umbrella on the floor of the car and closed the door. She looked across at Alyson, who was wearing a gorgeous blue dress that seemed to emphasise her obvious feminity and fit superbly to her lovely body. She smiled.
"What terrible weather, sorry I kept you waiting. Had you been waiting long?"
"No, not really, just a few minutes." Rachel replied as she put on her seat belt.
Alyson turned the wheel of the car and they drove off together into
the rainy night.
Alyson pulled into the small car park of the restaurant and parked in the last available space. She switched off the car and looked across at Rachel. "Here we are."
Rachel picked up her umbrella from the floor of the car and opened her door. She climbed out and put it up, even though she knew it would only be briefly.
From the other side of the car Alyson locked the car and they both made
their way to the main entrance. Once inside they gave their coats and umbrellas
to a smartly dressed attendant before Alyson confirmed their booking and
they were shown to their table by a charming waitress.
The restaurant was quite full and they were seated at a table near the back of the restaurant, giving them a good view of the other diners. The restaurant was not large but was tastefully decorated, with candles adorning every table.
"It is really nice in here, I've never been here before." Rachel said soon after they had sat down opposite one another.
"Yes it is a lovely place, they serve some really fantastic food."
"Do you come here regularly then?"
"Oh, not that often, I've been here a few times through work though and I come back whenever I want good service and lovely food."
"So, what sort of work do you do?"
"I'm a lawyer."
"Gosh, what's that like, I imagine it's a lot of hard work."
"Yes, it is but it can also be quite rewarding."
"I wish I'd been clever enough to do something like that."
"Do you not like being in the fire service then?"
"Oh yes I love it, it's a great job and it just suits me completely."
The waitress returned and gave each one of them a menu.
Rachel glanced over the menu for a few moments. "You were right, it does look like they do some great food here."
"Well feel free to try whatever you like, I'm paying and remember that it was you who saved my life."
Rachel just smiled. She couldn't tell if Alyson was just interested in her because she had rescued her or whether she actually felt something a little deeper for her. She hoped it was the latter because as she sat opposite Alyson she felt an attraction growing inside her like a little flower. The seed had been planted when they met the night before but now it was starting to grow with every word that Alyson uttered and every smile that graced her soft red lips. Rachel felt a tingling inside her, the tingle that accompanies those first few moments when you sense that something special is in the air, something intangible but omnipresent. She looked again at Alyson and she smiled as their eyes met.
"What?" Alyson enquired softly with a slightly puzzled look on her face.
Rachel smiled and shook her head. "Nothing." She returned her eyes to
the menu.
The waitress returned to the table. "Can I take your orders?"
"Yes." Alyson said and gestured to Rachel.
"I'll have the fish soup, followed by the lamb, please." Rachel said to the waitress.
"Thank you." the waitress replied as she finished scribbling on her little note pad. She turned to Alyson.
"I'll have to same soup starter please and the chicken."
"Thank you very much. Would you like anything to drink with your meal?"
"We'll have a glass of the Cabernet Sauvignon and I'll just have water please."
"Certainly. Is there anything else you would like?"
"No, I think that is all." Alyson said and looked across at Rachel who was shaking her head. "Yes, that's all, thank you."
The waitress finished noting the order, took the menu's from them and
left the table.
Their soup starters came and went and with it their conversation turned
from the fire, the rescue and Alyson's subsequent hospitalisation on to
other topics. There was only a short delay before the waitress delivered
their main courses and left the table once more.
"This does look good." Rachel said as she admired the contents of her dinner plate.
"Yes, I like the lamb, I've had it here before." Alyson replied.
There was silence for a few moments as both women tucked into their meals and it was Rachel who resumed the conversation.
"So, are you married?" Rachel enquired between mouthfuls of wonderful food.
"No, I'm single, I split with my ex-boyfriend a couple of months ago."
Rachel felt her tingling feeling sink slightly, but she didn't show it. "Oh, we're you together long?"
"Only a month, it wasn't exactly the longest relationship I've ever had."
"How long was that?"
"A couple of years."
"That's longer than me, I seem to have a habit of breaking up well before that." She smiled ruefully.
"Are you single too then?"
"Yes, it's been that way for...oh, three months now."
"Aren't there any firemen that you fancy?"
"What? That bunch, no."
"Are they not your type."
"Yeah," she laughed. "Something like that. So, what's your type then, lawyers?"
"Don't know really, someone I get on with, someone funny and good looking."
"I think everyone's looking for someone like that."
"So, why did you split with your last boyfriend?" Alyson asked.
Rachel paused for a second, it didn't seem to matter how many times she had said she was a lesbian it never got any easier, especially when it was to a woman she had a crush on. "It was a girlfriend." she said matter-of-factly and mentally crossed her fingers while she waited for the response.
"So are you lesbian or bisexual?" Alyson said in a very neutral way.
"Lesbian." Rachel replied with fingers still crossed.
"Well I've had a couple of lesbian experiences, mostly when I was at University, although I would probably class myself as bisexual."
The smile on Rachel's face showed her relief at Alyson's response. "Really?" she replied.
"Yeah." Alyson nodded sincerely. "So have you never tried men then?"
"No. Never." Rachel shook her head.
Alyson leaned forward slightly. "Well. Between you and me, you're not missing much." she whispered and let a smile cross her soft lips.
Rachel laughed quietly. She didn't really know what to say.
There was another pause for a few moments, not long but both women felt it.
"What do you think of the wine." Alyson asked, changing the subject.
"Oh, it's, well, really fruity. I'm no wine connoisseur but this is a lovely wine."
"I'm glad you like it, it's my favourite." Alyson replied.
They finished their main course and the waitress rolled out the dessert trolley, followed by coffee before they reached the end of their meal.
"Shall we go?" Alyson asked as she placed down her empty coffee cup.
"Yeah." Rachel nodded having finished her coffee a couple of minutes before.
They both stood up and made their way to the front of the restaurant. Alyson collected their coats and umbrellas from the reception desk and paid for the meal.
They headed out of the restaurant, dodged the rain as best they could and climbed back into Alyson's car.
"This damn weather is driving me mad." Alyson said as she pulled her coat off and threw it on to the seats behind. "So Rachel, whereabouts do you live?"
"Hockley."
"Oh, that's good it's on my way home."
Alyson switched on the car, backed out of the parking space and headed
to Hockley.