The night shift moved slower after a long call. The trucks sat in their bays gleaming faintly under the overhead lights, the air heavy with the scent of wet rubber and faint smoke. Most of the crew had already retreated to the bunks or the kitchen. Only the steady hum of the dryers and the distant creak of pipes broke the silence. It was the kind of stillness that wrapped around the station like a held breath.
She pushed the door to the hose room open, letting the smell of damp canvas and cold water rush out to meet her. Coils of thick fire hoses hung from racks, still dripping slowly onto the floor from the earlier wash. It was humid, warm, quiet. This was where no one came unless they had to. A place for drying and storage. A place where secrets could cling to the shadows.
She didn’t e
