The call had come in from inside the car—thank God for technology—from a hysterical husband who was screaming that he couldn’t lose his wife on their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. It had taken a lot for the 911 operator to calm him down enough to get a location on where they were.
When we rolled up first on the scene, having been at another call not too far away as luck would have it, I vowed right then and there to do everything in my power to make sure the couple celebrated more years together.
Without hesitation, I grabbed my gear, turned on my flashlight, and dropped to my butt.
Slowly and carefully, I inched down the slope—my partner Dave right behind me—trying to keep myself from sliding right past the car. It wouldn’t do any good if I got hurt and couldn’t help those who needed it.
Sirens from the firetrucks and police vehicles echoed through the light wind that swirled through the dark night, yet I remained focused on assessing the passenger next to me.
She had a gash on her head, her left arm was lying at an odd angle, and she couldn’t move her legs. Making quick work, I applied a C-collar for precaution, not knowing the extent of her injuries and unsure how quickly we’d have to move her. Then I cleaned up the gash on her head while Dave helped her husband and managed to remove him from the car.
The gentleman yelled his wife’s name in agony, clearly beside himself with worry. I looked at his bride of twenty-five years who was in and out of consciousness. Her blood pressure had dropped a bit and she moaned something unintelligible out to her man.
“Hey, Emma, can you hear me?” I softly brushed my free hand across the top of the one I was holding.
As the words left my mouth, the vehicle shifted a tad, creaking as it did.
“Please don’t leave me,” she whispered.
My heart kicked up a notch and my inner voice implored whoever could hear me in the heavens above to keep us safe. I couldn’t help but think of Stormi. She only had me. That inner voice started whispering again.
That’s not true anymore. You have wonderful friends, a sister, and you have Bronson. You know he will do anything for you and Stormi.
“Lake, sweetheart, can you hear me?”
Whoa.Had the thought of him conjured him up? I heard him again, but realized it was real. Holy crap, Bronson was above me on the road somewhere. I couldn’t see him but I heard the worry in his deep voice that drifted to my ears.
The Honda creaked and groaned again, shifting once more.
“Lake, you need to move away from the car,” Dave said from the other side where he and the man stood a safe distance away from the vehicle. “The firemen are coming to put a winch to help stabilize it but it’s not safe.”
I looked over at the woman inside the car as her eyes fluttered open and her teary, ocean-blue gaze filled with panic pierced mine.
Her terrified voice made my stomach knot up with anxiety. “I know you have to go.”
You name it, the emotions were barreling through me like a freight train. I was alarmed, worried, rattled, and more. But I steeled my resolve and squared my shoulders.
“Emma, I’m not going anywhere.” With a lump in my throat that felt like the size of a watermelon, I kept my hand in hers asI continued talking to her. “I’ll be right here with you and we are going to get you out.”
At that, I heard another familiar voice. “Lake!” Huntley, one of the firemen I work with often, called out. “We’re going to attach the winch now so you need to move back in case the car shifts.”
Emma’s eyes had closed again but her hands clenched mine at his words.
“I can’t leave her, Huntley. Just do what you need to do so we can cut the dash and get her out of here.”
Even with the wind and all the noise above us on the road, I heard him mutter something about a stubborn woman. It was that stubbornness that helped me get through tough times.
Thankfully the firemen got it hooked up without any incident and then made their way to the side of the vehicle where I’d remained with Emma. There was commotion all around us at this point. Some men were working to get Dave and Emma’s husband back up the hillside, others were setting up so they could work their magic to free the fragile woman stuck inside.
“Your man is going to tan your hide when you make it back to the road,” Huntley said.
The other firemen—like Huntley, who were also out of the same station as me—all chuckled. When I turned to give them all the stink eye, they tried covering it up with a cough. This roused Emma again and her pain-filled eyes latched onto me.
“Where’s Daniel? Is he okay?”
“He’s okay, Emma. My partner is helping him and there are many others right here to help get you out.” I gave her cold hand a gentle squeeze.
“What about the other person?” she asked, sending a trickle of unease through me.
