“I’m scared,” Josephine said. “We’re all a little scared,” Jay told her. “Just hang in there.” Jay was long over the frustration he’d felt earlier about Josephine’s slow pace. Josephine was part of Ladder 6, now. During the occasional debris storms, Mike Meldrum draped himself across her body. Sal D’Agostino wrapped her in his coat. “As long as we’re here,” Sal told her, “nothing is going to happen to you.”
