Branded: An Everyday Heroes World Novel (The Everyday Heroes World)
Branded
An Everyday Heroes World Novel
Emma Nichole
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Epilogue
Also By Emma Nichole
Acknowledgements
Follow Emma
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons living or dead are entirely coincidental.
© 2020 JKB PUBLISHING, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people.
Published by JKB Publishing, LLC.
Cover Design by: Emma Nichole – Literary Graphic Designs
Cover Image by: Deposit Photos
Editing by: Karen Hrdlika – Barren Acres Editing
Formatting by: Emma Nichole -- Literary Graphic Designs
Published in the United States of America
Dear Reader,
Welcome to the Everyday Heroes World!
I’m so excited you’ve picked up this book! Branded is a book based on the world I created in my USA Today bestselling Everyday Heroes Series. While I may be finished writing this series (for now), various authors have signed on to keep them going. They will be bringing you all-new stories in the world you know while allowing you to revisit the characters you love.
This book is entirely the work of the author who wrote it. While I allowed them to use the world I created and may have assisted in some of the plotting, I took no part in the writing or editing of the story. All praise can be directed their way.
I truly hope you enjoy Branded. If you’re interested in finding more authors who have written in the KB Worlds, you can visit www.kbworlds.com.
Thank you for supporting the writers in this project and me.
Happy Reading,
K. Bromberg
To Harry Styles.
Fine Line was the soundtrack to every scene. Thank you for that.
I meant it when I said I’d have to dedicate this book to him. LOL.
Prologue
Five years ago
Isaac
“Get in. Clear it. Get out!” I shout out to anyone within the vicinity of my voice. My throat is scratchy and painful from the near constant relay of commands and communication over the past day.
There are so many different crews mixed together, trying to put some kind of dent into this monster of a wildfire that is shredding through Southern California, it’s hard to keep track of who is with me now and who is somewhere else in the area.
“It’s a lost cause, man. Just put a man down, send in the redline, and move on. We don’t have time to clear every house!”
I don’t recognize the voice at all, which tells me it’s someone who isn’t from my station because none of our men would dare say something like that.
Tempers have been sizzling on the edge of boiling over all day. We are on our eighteenth straight hour. We’ve been fully suited, head to toe, in our bunker gear the same. It’s heavy. It’s hot. It’s hard to navigate. It’s really fucking hard to keep under control without a clear head.
“I’m going to pretend like you didn’t just fucking say that.” I point his way as the truck barrels through the blazing roadways. “You know how fast fires like this move. If there is even a chance we can save one life, we are doing it.”
It’s like something out of a horror movie. Everywhere you look, there is an orange glow with raging flames not far behind. Ash is coming from the sky like snow, and the smell… Christ, the smell. It’s nothing you soon forget as wildlife, homes, memories, and unfortunately… even people, are completely engulfed. Their lives snuffed out in one of the most horrific ways.
“The choppers in the air are saying it’s bearing down hard and there are multiple residences in the danger zone,” 0ur chief says from his spot behind the wheel.
“Evacs sent out?” I ask.
“Yes, but they weren’t sent quick enough. It’s almost impossible to get out. Winds picked up and have essentially been gasoline. If it’s dry, it’s igniting.”
The silence that spreads over us is palpable. No evacuations usually equals death at some level. Not every time, but especially in situations like this.
Ever since I was a little kid, this is what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to be the hero who got to strap on the cool uniform and run into burning buildings to save the day.
It’s an idealistic thing as a child, but what you don’t know until you are in the thick of it as an adult is; you will see dead bodies. You’ll have to hold people as they take their last breaths because their lungs are too full of poison from the smoke to get them help in time. You’ll hear families screaming and crying for their pets that had to be left behind and stand with them as they watch everything they’ve worked for disappear into ash. It’s you who arrives first to the scene of a fatal car crash, and it’s you who has to bring in the Jaws of Life to pry a scared, crying child from a destroyed vehicle. It sticks with you like Venom in Spider-Man comics: inky and black, crawling up your skin and making a home in your subconscious. That definitely causes fucked-up dreams when you least expect them.
No one speaks as the truck continues up the hillside to the small neighborhood that houses a dozen single family homes. According to reports we are getting from above, there are flames coming in from the west, and the back halves of the homes are already on fire. This needs to happen fast. If it doesn’t, it could be catastrophic.
“We’re going to have to check each house in pairs