Tai crouched beside the paramedic. “We can help. We’re vampires.”
“What?” The paramedic blinked at him. “You’re—wait, you’re vampires?”
“Both of us.” Tai nodded to Claire.
“Oh, thank God. You can help us.”
“Just tell us what you need, if there’s anyone we can help you move—”
“Weiss! Siddig! These two are vampires, and they want to help!”
Paramedics began hollering to them, and Tai nodded to Claire. “Be right back.”
He darted to the next car. Claire stayed where she was but crouched down in Tai’s place. She studied the woman’s position and the vehicle parts around her. The woman’s leg appeared broken, but she didn’t seem to be in any immediate medical distress, and she gripped the paramedic’s hand so tightly she hadn’t suffered paralysis, at least not in her arms.
“Do you see how she’s landed, outside the car but still pinned?”
“Yeah,” Claire said. “I think I can lift it off her without touching her at all, but I’m not an expert. If you think we should wait for the Jaws of—”
“No!” the woman cried. “Get me out, please get me out!”
The paramedic nodded. “If you’re strong enough, it’s safe.”
“I am,” Claire said. She crouched down, face to face with the trapped woman. “I’m Claire. Can you tell me your name?”
“B-Bella.”
“Okay, listen, Bella, I’m going to get you out of here. You’re going to be free in just a minute, okay?”
“Ok-kay.”
Claire took a minute to calculate where she would direct the vehicle to fall after lifting it. She checked and double checked the woman’s position, each limb, her head and neck. She explained her plan to the paramedic, who nodded agreement. Then she braced her back against the frame of the car, crouched, and slowly lifted with her legs. The car rose foot by foot until gravity tipped it from upside-down to its side. It crashed over with a noise that hurt her ears.
Bella was free.
The paramedic, whose nametag designated him as Howard, moved into the space and took Bella’s pulse at her neck. One of his colleagues had already brought a gurney, and together they began to stabilize Bella’s neck and leg.
Claire didn’t wait to watch. She’d done her job, but so many more vehicles were endangering other humans. Tai had already dealt with the worst of the hazards, taking on the full weight of the monstrous truck, which he couldn’t have rolled off the smashed sedan, because the truck’s back tires were both flat. Tai had lifted the full weight of the truck and pivoted it away from the little car, and the family within the car were being treated now too.
Two more major dangers that Claire could see—one of the cars was gushing fluids, and the man inside was also trapped. A final car’s windows had crushed inward to trap the children in the back seat.
Tai met her eyes across the wreckage, and she nodded to him. Respect, teamwork, determination to use their power for the good of the humans who needed help. He nodded back, then moved on to the leaking car, while she worked on freeing the kids.
This task was harder. The children were scared, crying, and their dad, who’d managed to get out through the open driver’s window, was barely more composed.
“Please help us.” Tears streaked his face, shook in his voice.
“That’s what I’m here for,” Claire said. “I’m Claire. Can I ask your name?”
“I’m Kevin, and they’re Abbie and Alice.”
Claire turned to the paramedic who had so far taped a cut over Kevin’s eye and failed to convince him to sit on the curb. She checked his nametag. “You’re Siddig?”
“That’s right. Hi, Claire. We’re really glad you’re here.” His voice was soothing, and his eyes met hers with a clear message. Kevin wasn’t doing well, and they both needed to project calm for his sake.
Claire nodded. Message received. “I’m glad too. Do you have any advice for me before I do this? Anything I need to avoid?”
“Well, it looks like Alice might have broken her left arm. We need to make sure we don’t jar it, just in case.”
