Blown Away

Jack hated his job. God, did he hate his fucking job. Seriously, he was twenty-five-years-old and still worked at the local gas station. There was honestly no way his life could get any worse. The only good thing (for the next few days, at least) was the endless rain. It hadn’t stopped in three days, and it wasn’t supposed to let up for another week or so. It meant that fewer people would be stopping by, leaving him to dawdle off for hours on end.

Most people would be concerned about any number of natural disasters that could occur because of such an intense rainfall. The roads could flood, which could result in poor Jack getting stuck in the store and, tragically, drowning without anyone there to even be of remote help.

How depressing.

He hoped to God that happened. Maybe they wouldn’t actually be able to find his body, and his mother wouldn’t have to identify him, wearing a disgusting, lime green apron and clutching pathetically at an old mop.

Why was he even mopping? Why had his boss demanded that he mop the floor during his “free time?” No one had stopped by since… at least an hour ago, damn it. Jack doubted anyone actually gave a damn about how sparkly the linoleum looked beneath their muddy feet. They’d just fuck up all his hard work with an empty apology or an uncaring grumble. If it wasn’t for the damn security cameras that monitored his every move, he’d probably—

The sudden sound of an unplaceable creak ripped the young man from his internal lament. It couldn’t have been the floor, he knew that much. Why would linoleum creak? There wasn’t even anything hidden away underneath... unless maybe there was.

With a shake of the head, he was casting his gaze around the empty store. No one had entered in through the front door without him noticing. He could only imagine how deafening the wind was without the protection of both brick and Plexiglas, and if the door had opened, it wouldn’t have escaped his attention. Soon, that, too, was crossed off the list.

It was as Jack began to saunter his way toward the slushy machine, knowing full well where the noise had come from, that it happened again. That time, it was louder and… not the slushy machine? That confused Jack even further. What else was there that would cause such a loud creak?

A glance was cast around the store in order to find the culprit. If it wasn’t the slushy machine, maybe a rack was finally giving into all of the years of weight it ever been out under, or maybe someone had taken out a soda and stuffed it back in incorrectly, and it was causing the bottle to press against the glass door it was kept behind, and—

As Jack’s eyes moved along the store’s front, he finally saw what the problem was. His eyes widened, and his mouth went dry, and shit this was really not a part of the job description. Outside, through the rain that was more or less blocking everything else from sight, he could see the roof over the gas pumps swaying in the wind.

That wasn’t supposed to happen. Jack didn’t know much about anything, he would admit, but he knew damn well that the roof wasn’t supposed to be swaying like that.

There was another creak then, one that pulled the young man from his thoughts, and he snapped back into attention just in time to see the entire structure collapse on its side.

Oh, God, he was fucked. He was so fucked. He had to call someone. Who was he supposed to call? He’d never been told what to do if the entire fucking building collapsed! Was he supposed to call his boss? The police? What would either of them do? Fire him? Tell him that he probably had the worst luck on the entire East coast?

He couldn’t be fired for something like this, could he? No, he couldn’t… could he? How was he supposed to know that something like this would happen? And it’s not like anyone was hurt on his watch or something. Even if someone had been, what was he supposed to do about it? Run out and get crushed as well?

He couldn’t sue, either, so they couldn’t fire him about that. His shitty car hadn’t been crushed (not so thankfully), and he’d made it out without a single problem… sort of.

Shit, he really had to call someone instead of standing in the middle of the store, gaping at the destruction outside. His mop was dropped onto the floor as he rushed to the front counter, eyes not leaving the mess that had once been the local gas station.

The phone behind the counter was picked up numbly before he glanced down at the list of emergency contact numbers that was kept next to the device. He’d already decided against his boss and the police—at least for the time being—so they were skipped over, and he continued on reading the information printed along the strip of paper.

There were contacts that were meant to be used if, for some reason, there was a sudden shortage of gas in any of the pumps, but he didn’t think that was really the number to call. There were also numbers for when the soda, slushy, or coffee machines broke down, as well as the hot dog machine that no one ever really used. Numbers for when any of the numerous snacks or cigarettes that the store constantly stocked began to deplete a little too much were also scribbled on the page.

Really, were any of these numbers useful? This was an actual emergency, damn it.

Finally, at the very bottom of the sheet of paper, was the contact for the local fire department. Funny, one would think that would be the first number on an emergency contact list for a fucking gas station. He wasn’t sure if it was really the best number to call, but they were as close to best as possible for the time being.

Without much thought being put into any of his actions, the number was being dialed and then the phone was being lifted to his ear. It didn’t take more than half a minute for him to be connected through. He watched though the glass window as he gave his name and location to the woman who picked up on the other end. After he was informed that help would be on the way in just a few minutes, he thanked the woman on the line and hung up. He still couldn’t believe this was happening.

Jack hated his job. God, did he hate his fucking job.

In the time it took a fire truck to appear with a police car in tow, lights ablaze and sirens blaring (for, really, little to no reason at all. They were honestly around the corner, and there were very few people on the road as it was), the rain had begun to ease up. It couldn’t have done that earlier, of course. Maybe the firemen wouldn’t have been needed had it slowed down a bit just a mere half hour prior.

He watched quietly from his spot inside the store as the truck was parked, directly between the windows and the rubble, all but completely obstructing his view. He was going to be pretty pissed if they blocked his car in… they probably had. As if his already-shitty day couldn’t get any worse.

There was a small gap where he could see, and while it wasn’t much, it was still something he could work with. He could make out the big yellow suits, the dark uniforms, and could see ‘Do Not Cross’ tape being set up around the perimeter. That was fine. He really didn’t need to go home, anyway.

For a while, they all seemed to stand and converse around the mound of junk with the rain pelting them. Sometimes, they’d stop to point at something in the heap, and sometimes they’d glance back at where Jack was still watching them. He had a good reason to not be working, and it wasn’t like he could just leave, could he?

It was nearly an hour after the firemen and police had arrived when Jack was finally approached. He had a large soda that was half gone on the counter next to him and a bag of chocolate-covered salted-caramels in his hand, munching on them lazily, when the bell above the door rang out to signal an arrival. Honestly, at that point, he was more invested in his food. Sure, he’d been looking out the window still, but he’d long since stopped paying attention to what was actually happening. It’s not like any of them were doing anything worthwhile as it was.

After swallowing down the mouthful of sticky yet delicious treats he’d just shoved past his lips, Jack turned to smile at whoever’d walked inside. To his surprise, it was a fireman and not a police officer. He brushed that off and set his things down, ready to ring up whatever goods the fireman wanted. They did need to eat, too, didn’t they?

Only, before he could give out a greeting or ask if he could assist in finding anything, the fireman was pulling off his helmet, and oh, Jack just about swooned right then and there. He always thought the term ‘hot fireman’ was just some stupid pun that horny, suburban moms came up with.

“… and I just need to ask you a few questions before we can go on, if that’s alright with you,” the man was saying. Jack couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so embarrassed, but really, how was he supposed to pay attention to what he was being told when he was face-to-face with such a perfectly, lopsided grin and just the right amount of stubble and sparkling, brown eyes? “Are you alive in there?”

“What? I—shit, yeah, um… I-I-I… yeah, okay. What do you need?” Jack stammered out. He could practically feel his blood boil so hot that he was sure his cheeks would melt like wax because of it.

“I just need to ask you a few questions. Is that okay with you?” the man asked with a laugh. Jack really wished he could melt through the floor. “Here, we’ll start with something easy: what’s your name? Mine’s Alex.”

“Jack,” was the immediate response. It was on his nametag, which was obviously in view, so he wasn’t even sure why he was being asked. Maybe it was a tactic to make him more comfortable? He didn’t care that much, truth be told, because now he at least had a name to put to hot fireman’s face.

“It’s nice to meet you, Jack,” Alex said with another comforting smile. “Now, how about you tell me what exactly happened. Did you actually see it, or did you just happen to look outside after the fact?”

Everything that Jack knew about what had happened spilled from his lips, from the moment he first heard the creak to that very second in time. Of course, that had Alex laughing again.

“Little bit of an information overload there, don’t you think?” he remarked when Jack stopped talking. His lips had clamped together tightly as soon as the fireman had started to chuckle quietly. “Well, you’re going to need to inform your employer about what’s happened here today before the insurance company can get involved. For today, you’re going to have to close up early. Let your boss know that you’re closing up, and also tell them that you won’t be able to open tomorrow. After tomorrow, everything should be cleared enough for at least the store part to be open again. Wish I could tell you how long it’ll be before new gas pumps can be put in, but that’s all up to how long it takes to get the insurance company involved. Alright, well, I think that’s about it. Do you have any questions for me?”

Jack shook his head, too scared of saying something stupid and humiliating himself any further.

Alex nodded. “If you do, I’ll probably be around here for the next couple of days as it is. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call the station, alright? I’ll see about having someone move the truck so that you can get out of here.”

With another smile, Alex was waving and turning on his heel to head back out to his colleagues, still discussing God knows what in the frigid wind and rain.

“Thank you,” Jack called out, just as the door was being pushed against to be opened. Alex stopped where he was stood and glanced back before flashing another grin. He didn’t say anything in response, but Jack didn’t mind. Hell, he didn’t even mind the mud that had been tracked in.

Maybe his job really wasn’t that all bad. Or maybe, just this once, he could consider it an exception.