The Nature of Nightmare

330 Words

The snow swirled around her as Sandy peered, horrified, into the twisted wreakage of the SUV. The fire department struggled with the jaws of life, desperate to extricate the man she loved. The radio crackled with the message that Flight for Life couldn’t come in due to weather conditions. Her heart seemed to beat in time with the pulsing of the red lights on snow.

"We’ve almost got it," a faceless firefighter yelled.

"He’s talking to us." The voice of Jim, the EMT inside the car, was muffled by the blanket they’d thrown over him and the driver, protecting them from glass and debris.

"Please hurry,"she whispered, wondering how soon she could touch him, or if they’d even let her get close. If she could stay composed, maybe they would. They had to.

In such a small town, everyone knew everyone. Concern was etched upon the faces of the firefighters she called friends. Several of them shouted encouragement to Brian to hang in there. They’d have him out in a minute. Rob, the fire chief stood beside her, not touching her, but trying with a calming voice to keep her from hysteria.

"Ok, we got him."

Sandy took a deep breath and approached the car carefully. All the equipment was ready and many hands made swift work getting Brian strapped to the board and into the back of the ambulance. Rob nodded to Sandy, his strong hands steadying her as she climbed aboard.

Everything was in slow motion. A sense of detachment and determination came over Sandy as she sat down beside Brian, speaking softly to him. Jim was busy getting a set of vitals and hooking up the oxygen.

"You’re going to be fine, babe," Sandy said, leaning over Brian so he could see her face.

Brian smiled bravely and winked at her. "I’d better be, or I’m holding you personally responsible."

Sandy smiled back, pulled the stethoscope from around her neck and nodded to her partner, Jim.