Upon the rain-washed blacktop street comes the ambulance, a lightning bold of blue.
The ambulance was a welcome sight, its flashing lights calming beneath the black heavens and starlight.
Every heart on the street skipped a beat as the ambulance weaved through the traffic, blue lights ablaze. There was something in the intensity of the moment, as if the way it was being driven gave some emotional urgency to the street. For those few moments we were all a tiny part of the unfolding drama, urging it onward, to carry its precious cargo to safety.
The ambulance was a repurposed plumber's van. The roof lights were on a board anchored with old ropes and only one headlamp was in working order, winking into the wintry night. Enya eyed the balding tyres but what choice did she have? Before she'd even remembered how to breath right she was inside next to Tanya, the sound of her sharp shallow breathing lost under the roar of the diesel engine and the rattle of the make-shift trolley bed.
Rainer's daydream is shattered by a siren. From the rain-washed street behind comes an ambulance, pale under the streetlamps, blue lights blazing in time with the jagged noise. He indicates and slows, the neon yellow stripes passing before he's come to a stop.
The ambulance came with aggressive speed, the kind of sheer driving audacity that let everyone know the siren wasn't a polite request to move. Every head turned to follow the yellow and blue streak, unaware of the precious cargo inside.
Through the cleared lane came an ambulance at such breathtaking speed that the motorists took a collective sharp breath, feeling the sudden displacement of air as it passed. Whatever was going on up ahead there were confirmed casualties. Rory looked to the sky for a chopper, no doubt one had been dispatched from Los Angeles.