Scott slows slightly. Not enough to be obvious, but enough that I notice.
“Caller still on the line?” I ask.
“Negative,” dispatch answers. “Caller disconnected.”
Of course they did. My grip tightens on the edge of my seat. Something’s wrong. Not a vague feeling or nerves, but pattern recognition.
“We should stage,” I say.
Scott glances at me. “For a cardiac?”
“No apartment number, inconsistent symptoms, caller dropped-”
“We’re already here, Liv.”
The rig rolls to a stop, and the silence hits first. No one’s outside. No one’s waving us down. There’s no movement in the windows. Just a narrow stretch of street with a single building and a door hanging slightly ajar. It’s all too quiet.
I scan automatically. Parked car to the left, engine ticking like it was shut off recently. Another across the street. Dark windows. No bystanders. No voices.
My pulse spikes. “Scott, wait.”
But he’s already opening his door. “Probably just some guy passed out,” he says, grabbing the monitor.
I’m out a second later, but slower, more deliberately. The air feels… wrong. Dead. I adjust the strap of my med bag, eyes moving, across the door, windows, car, shadows… there. A shape where there shouldn’t be one. It’s too still, like it’s watching.
“Scott-”
The door slams open. Everything happens at once. Figures surge from the shadows, too many moving too fast.
“Hey-!” Scott starts but a crack splits the air.
Scott jerks. The sound hits a half-second later. A gunshot. He goes down hard, blood covering his pant leg.
“Scott!” I drop instantly, hands already moving, getting pressure on it then checking-
Blood. Not arterial, but too much.
“Stay with me. Hey, stay with me.”
Footsteps pound toward us. I shove harder against the wound, dragging him backward toward the rig.
“Liv-” he grits out, already sounding weak with fear and some shock starting.
“I’ve got you.”
Another shadow lunges. I twist, slamming the ambulance door outward with everything I have. It connects with a solidthudand a curse. Good. I grab the handle, hauling Scott inch by inch.
“Come on. Come on-”
Hands grab at my jacket. I wrench free, heart hammering. No time to think. Just move. Just get him inside.
“Olivia Carter.”
The world stops. Not because the chaos ends. But because my body recognizes the voice before my brain puts the pieces together. Everything in me goes rigid.
No. No, no, no…
I turn slowly.
