Dustin didn't stop.
He slammed into Greg at full speed. Greg's clipboard flew from his hand. The impact should have knocked them both down, but Dustin's momentum was too strong, too wild. He drove forward through the collision, carrying Greg with him, and they hit Sarah together.
All three of them went down in a tangle of limbs.
Sarah screamed. The truck roared past, close enough that Greg felt the heat of its engine, the rush of displaced air. Close enough that if any of them had still been standing?—
Greg shuddered.
Sarah continued to scream.
This was fair. From her perspective, a strange man had justlaunchedhimself at her from across the park and tackled her to the ground.
Dustin was trying to get up, but Greghad grabbed his arm, his jacket, anything to hold him back, and he was still holding on as if he didn’t understand that it was over.
Meanwhile Sarah was scrambling away from them both with wild eyes.
“What the FUCK!” She stared at Dustin. “What is WRONG with you?”
Dustin finally wrenched his arm free from Greg's grip and pushed himself to his knees. He was breathing hard, but at the same time, he could feel the smile taking over his face.
He’d done it.
He’dwon.
“The truck,” he gasped. “It was going to hit you.”
“What?”
“The truck.” He pointed. The maintenance truck had stopped twenty feet away, the driver climbing out with a confused expression. “It was backing up and you were walking right into it.”
Sarah looked at the truck, and then she looked at the path she'd been walking on. Her face cycled through confusion, fear, and something approaching horrified understanding.
“I didn't...” She touched her earbuds, still dangling around her neck. “I didn't hear it.”
“I know. That's why I?—”
“But you werefightingsomeone.” She was staring at him with wide eyes. “I saw you. You were grabbing at something, you were—” She gestured at the empty air where Greg was still crouched, invisible to her, breathing hard.
Dustin glanced at Greg. Greg stared back, disheveled and defeated.
“Muscle spasm,” Dustin said. “I get those sometimes.”He rolled his shoulders. “Anyway, you're welcome.” He stood, brushing grass off his jeans. “Maybe turn your music down next time.”
He turned and walked away before she could ask any more questions.
Greg followed.
They ended up near the edge of the park, away from the paths, under a tree that provided the illusion of privacy. Dustin turned to face Greg, chest still heaving. “You tried to stop me.”
Greg had retrieved his clipboard. He held it against his chest, the only solid thing in a world that had just shifted beneath his feet. Of course Dustin didn’t understand. If he understood, he wouldn’t have acted so recklessly.
Greg glared at the mortal. “I was doing my job. I wastryingto do my job until you interfered.”
“You would have let her die.” Dustin's voice was flat. “You would haveheld me downand let that truck kill a twenty-three-year-old girl.”
“It was her time. The file said so!”
“Fuckyour file.”
