It was all over in moments.

She screamed as the other car made impact and pushed them to the side,
the tires popping against the warm concrete. She had braced herself against the steering wheel, but
Jimmy was slow to respond. If it hadn’t been for his seat belt, the moment of impact would’ve caused
him to land in her lap, and probably put his head through the window. As it was, the windshield
shattered and they were sprayed with glass, as the airbags deployed with a loud pop. She shielded her
face, and felt the airbag hit her face and arms, but her husband wasn’t in time. The dashboard and door
had caved in on his side and the airbag snapped into his face. She screamed his name to wake him.

“Jimmy!” she screamed and slowly he raised his head and looked at her, before his eyes rolled up in his
head. “Jimmy! Are you all right?”

He didn’t answer, just sat there, limp in the seat belt. There was blood running down his face, and he
looked dead. She checked for a pulse and found one, but no matter what she did, she could not rouse
him.

“I’m going to get out and call 911, okay?” she said, hoping he was listening. A bystander was coming
over to check on them. In the distance, she could hear sirens, as she struggled with the door. She had to
get out of the car; she was feeling trapped. There was glass all around her; her husband was limp in his
seatbelt. The door wouldn’t open, and she screamed, tugging on the silver handle, finally hearing a
creek as the door opened slightly. Red, blue, and white flashing lights met her vision, and she gave one
final push. “I’ll be right back honey, I promise.”

***

Ryan Vasser was driving down 3rd street and had just approached Main when he saw a truck barreling
towards the intersection in front of him. He quickly slowed down, hoping that the car crossing 3 rd would
get out of the way in time. But he knew before it happened that it was too late. The truck plowed into
the car and pushed it a good 15-20 feet, almost rolling it. Ryan got out of his car, pulled a pen from his
pants pocket and quickly scribbled the trucks license plate on his hand. He ran over to the other car as
the truck backed up and tried to speed away. It got all of one block down Main before a patrol car pulled
it over.

“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?

“This is Ryan Vasser, I’m at the intersection of 3 rd and Main and there’s been an accident. There were
two vehicles involved, one sedan and one SUV. The SUV drove off, but the sedan has two injured
passengers” he said, going to the car. He met a female passenger as she started getting out of the car,
her face frantic and Aldoned with tears and blood, her breathing fast and wheezing.

“I’ve called 911 already”, he said. “How is your passenger?”

“My husband’s bleeding and not responding,” she said, and Ryan relayed this to the operator, as well as
relaying that the airbags were deployed. “Did you see the other car?”

“Ambulances are on the way,” the operator said, and already, Ryan could hear sirens in the distance.
“Can you determine any injuries?”

“The female looks to have a broken arm,” he reported. He went around to the passenger side, checking
for a pulse on the neck of the male passenger. As a firefighter, he’d had some emergency medical
training and it was coming in handy now.“The male passenger is bleeding from his head it looks like, and
is unconscious. There is a faint pulse in his neck.” He then turned to the female driver. “Yes I saw the
SUV, and I got a plate number. How he or she got away, I don’t know. However, I’m willing to bet that’s
them there,” and he pointed to the truck from earlier, with a patrol car behind it.

Three ambulances came on scene and descended upon the cars. Ryan hung up and introduced himself
to the female passenger. She introduced herself as Allison and directed the EMTs to her husband,
running to the window and holding his hand.

“What is the passenger’s name?” an EMT asked, dropping a bag on the ground and unzipping it. She
pulled supplies out and started working.

“My husband’s name is Jimmy,” Allison said, watching as a large machine was brought to the car. A
firefighter began pulling on a cord and the machine roared to life. It had large, sharp, claws on the front,
and she winced. “What is that?”
“It’s called Jaws of Life,” the EMT explained. “The impact crushed his side of the car and we can’t get
your husband out unless we cut him out.”

Allison gasped, and watched as her car was peeled apart like a tin can. Jimmy was still sitting, limp, with
blood running down his face. She was carted off to one of the ambulances as her car came apart, and
before she could balk, a neck brace was around her neck, her arm was being immobilized and she was
sitting in the ambulance, waiting. She heard the group working on the car and thought she heard Jimmy
scream. She tried to leave the ambulance, but the EMT sitting with her held her back.

“They’re just getting him out,” she said. Allison then heard “He’s free! Get a board over here!”. She
caught a glimpse of him as he was carried to another ambulance, and she tried to go to him again. The
EMT helping her held her back and another closed the doors, as the ambulance pulled out, heading for
the hospital.

***

Jimmy opened his eyes, only to find that he could not see. He freaked, desperately trying to figure out
where he was and what had happened. His vision cleared for a moment, and he realized it was blood
that had blocked his vision. He hurt all over, and his stomach pain no longer overwhelmed it. He heard
voices, then he heard a cutting noise. He tried to get away from the cutting noise, but was stuck, and he
panicked. He was sure he was going to die, but he couldn’t move enough to do anything about it.

When the cutting noise stopped, he sighed with relief. He still couldn’t move, but at least the noise had
stopped. He could make out some shapes now, but the blood was still pouring into his eyes and he
listened to the voices outside the car. Someone reached in and tipped his head back, placing something
hard and uncomfortable around his neck. He gagged when some of the blood entered his mouth, and he
felt a gentle hand wiping it away.

“Just stay calm, Jimmy,” the voice said. “We’re going to get you out of here, okay?”

“Okay,” he whispered. He hated the taste of iron in his mouth and spit it out. “I’m in a lot of pain.”
“We’ll be as gentle as we can,” the voice said. “Get the board over here!”

Jimmy screamed as he was moved onto a hard board, and straps were placed across his chest, legs, and
hips. He screamed again when his legs were moved, and strapped down into some sort of device. He
screamed as he was moved yet again, then screamed when his head was laid into what felt like a set of
blocks and taped down. He took a deep breath and was about to scream again when the blackness
closed in on him.

Jimmy opened his eyes to a metal ceiling and bright lights, desperately looking for his wife. “Allison?” he
asked, trying to move his head, as he came around briefly. “Where are you?” It was getting harder for
him to breathe, and he was getting scared.

“Don’t try to move your head; it’s strapped down in case you have a spine or neck injury. Allison is in
another ambulance on her way to the hospital. She’ll be there when we arrive and you can see her soon,
okay? I need you to take, a slow deep breath.”

“Okay,” he said. The iron taste was still in his mouth, but his mouth felt dry now. He licked his lips,
wishing for a drink of water. He tried to take a breath, but it was becoming harder still. “I’m thirsty.”

“You’ll get something at the hospital,” the man over him said, smiling. “For now, just work on staying
calm.”

“I’m scared,” he admitted, and felt a hand in his.

“You’re going to be fine,” the man said, smiling again.

Jimmy wanted to believe him, as he closed his eyes, in need of sleep. But he didn’t believe the man; he
was certain that he was not going to be fine.
***

There were times in his life that Anthony Greggs cursed his choice of ring tones on his phone. This was
one of those times, as Twisted Sister blared at him. He grumbled, reaching over to his nightstand to
check the clock. It was 0330 in the damn morning, so someone had better be dead. He reached for the
nightstand, determined to shut off the damn phone before his wife woke up. Half asleep, he fingered
the send button, then answered, trying not to yawn.

“Is this Mr. Anthony Greggs?” a voice on the end asked.

“Yes,” he said, annoyed. Who the hell was this? “Who the hell is calling me at 0330 in the God damn
morning?”

“This is Andrea Rawlingson, from UC Irvine Medical Center. I was asked to call on behalf of Allison
Rickliefs --” was as far she got.

“What happened?” he asked fully awake now, and a million questions were coming to mind. Who had
died? Who had gotten hurt?

“There’s been an accident,” she said, remaining calm. He was starting to panic. “Mrs. Rickliefs and her
husband have been injured.”

Anthony was speechless. He was trying to process what she’d just said about his best friends. He blinked
his eyes into the darkness of the room, hearing his wife Matilda stir beside him.

“Mrs. Rickliefs asked me have you start the calling chain. I trust you know what she’s talking about?”

“I do. I-I’ll get it started. Thanks for calling,” he stammered, hanging up. His mind was barely functioning
at this point. He’d processed the words accident, Jimmy, and Allison. He was now trying to remember
phone numbers. He jumped when Matilda touched his arm, turning on the bedside lamp.
“What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” she said, leaning her head on his shoulder. “Who
was on the phone?”

“UC Irvine Medical Center,” he said, trying to make his brain work. “We need to go to the hospital.
Jimmy and Allison have been in an accident.”

Matilda’s mouth moved but no sound came out. She knew how much Jimmy meant to Anthony, having
barely seen the two apart since they were kids. She reached for her cell phone, then, and pressed a
couple of buttons. She looked at Anthony and said she’d call Aldon and Mariah, since they were at the
top of the chain.

“Aldon? It’s Matilda,” she said when his groggy voice answered. He was always the hardest one to deal
with at a time like this, because it took him a while to register what was going on. “We need to go to the
hospital.”

“Has someone had a baby?” he mumbled.

“No, no babies, just listen to me. Jimmy and Allison have been in an accident. You need to meet us at
the ER, okay? Call Owen and let him know.”

“What?!” he shouted, and she could hear Mariah on the other end asking Aldon what was going on. “An
accident?”

“Yes, Jimmy and Allison,” she said. “Call the next person on the list, then meet us at the hospital.”

“I will,” he said, his hands shaking as he ended the call and dialed Owen's number. He let it ring a few
times before a groggy voice answered, demanding to know who was calling at 0345 in the damned
morning. He took a deep breath and then started talking, Mariah already getting dressed and throwing
clothes onto the bed for him.
“Owen? It’s Aldon,” he said, and could hear the breathing on the other end change. Clearly, his friend
was awake now. “We need to meet at the hospital. Jimmy and Allison have been in an accident.”

“What?” he asked. Aldon heard the rustle of covers as his friend sat up in bed. “Jimmy and Allison?”

“Yes,” Aldon said. “Call the next person on the list and then meet us at the ER entrance, and hopefully
we’ll get more news then.”

“We’re on our way,” Owen said, as he hung up. He stood up, grabbing random clothing from the floor
and getting dressed. He looked at June, who had sat up and turned on a light. There was concern on her
face, and she was silently asking him for an explanation. He dialed Micheal's number with shaking,
clammy hands and waited for him to answer.

Micheal and his wife Bethany were sound asleep when she heard the phone ringing. She tried to climb
over Micheal to reach for it, but he woke up and grabbed it.

“Hello?” he mumbled into the phone. Who the hell would be calling him at this ungodly hour of the
morning?

“Micheal, it’s Owen,” a wobbly voice said. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end at the sound of
Owen’s voice. “Meet us at the ER as soon as you can. Jimmy and Allison have been in an accident.”

“What?” Micheal asked, not quite awake yet. “The hospital?” Bethany looked over at him, confused, as
she turned on a lamp.

“Yes,” Owen said. “Just meet us there.”

“Accident?” Micheal asked, and then seemed to wake up. “How badly are they hurt?” He was out of bed
in a flash, looking for clothes to change into. Bethany followed suite, now also fully awake.

“We don’t know yet,” Owen said. “But we need to get to the hospital.”

“We’re on our way,” his friend said.

They hung up and Micheal moved around the bedroom to get dressed, seemingly in slow motion, and
then moved like a zombie down the stairs and out to his car. He barely registered the cool night air as
Bethany shoved him into the passenger seat and drove them to the hospital. They got there at the same
time as the others and together they ran to the entrance and straight inside. They looked around and
spotted Jimmy's parents standing with Allison’s parents. They rushed over, distressed when there was
no news yet on their friends.

***

He felt as if he was there but not there. He heard it all, knew it was bad, but he couldn’t do anything; felt
nothing. The air went in and out of his lungs. He heard what they said they were doing, but felt nothing.
He lay there, while still aware of his surroundings. He wondered idly what v-fib meant. Was it good or
bad?

Voices registered on the edge of his consciousness. He didn’t understand what was being said. He
wondered how it would affect him, what it all meant. He blinked a bit as his eyes opened, and he felt an
uncomfortable sensation in his throat; there was something down it, and he tried to cough it up. He
heard a voice tell him to stay calm, and he closed his eyes.

He opened them again, as he registered the sensation of fast movement. Lights blurred above him,
making a rainbow that almost caused him to smile. He registered a loud noise, as he was moved onto a
platform. He closed his eyes, he heard what was going on, he heard them talking about him, like he
wasn’t there, and he wondered what was going on.
***

Allison noticed how quiet it had gotten all of a sudden on her husband’s side of the curtain. She sat back
on her bed, waiting for her ride to x-ray. She had heard a lot of noise on Jimmy’s side of the curtain, but
hadn’t been able to make anything out. She’d seen his bed leave and return once and then saw it leave
again, thanks to the curtain being several inches off the floor.

Several people came into her cubicle and one said she was going to x-ray now. That person also had a
bag in her hand and she explained that it was Jimmy’s belongings. Allison accepted the bag with a
trembling hand and lower lip and tried not to think the worst. They had a bed with them, and together,
they slid her over onto its soft surface. As it rolled through the halls, she decided to see if she could get
any information about her husband.

“Can you tell me anything about Jimmy?” she asked. They had covered her with warm blankets, which
she knew she’d have to shed now as they entered a dimly lit room, humming with machines.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t,” the nurse said, as they reached x-ray. “But as soon as the doctor has any news,
you’ll be the first to know. Before we continue, I have to ask if you are or could be pregnant.”

“No,” Allison said. It wasn’t for a lack of trying, but she and Jimmy had not been able to get pregnant.
She didn’t bother mentioning their failed attempts, feeling it was not important. The nurse nodded, as
the group transferred Allison to an uncomfortable bed.

“All right. Hold still, okay?”

Allison made an affirmative noise, since her neck was still in a brace. It hurt to have her arm moved,
despite the pain medicine she’d been given in the ambulance, and her arm had to be positioned for x-
rays. Once the x-rays were taken, she was returned to her cubicle.

“Someone will come and take you to CT soon, okay? We just need to check you out from head to toe
and make sure you’re okay.”
“Thanks,” she said, adjusting herself in the bed. She hated these ER beds and hoped she’d either be
admitted soon or released. She looked under the curtain at Jimmy’s cubicle and saw it was empty again.
She wondered where they were taking him each time.

“Ready to go to CT?” another tech or nurse (she couldn’t tell the difference) asked, as she was
transferred to yet another bed.

“I guess I have to be, don’t I?” she asked, sighing.

“You’re worried about your husband,” the tech said. “If I had any news, I’d tell you, but I’m afraid I
don’t. Just try to focus on you for a bit, and the doctor will let you know the instant anything changes.”

A few seconds later, Allison laid on the narrow bed-type platform and lay still while the machine moved
her about, taking pictures of her insides. Once that was over, she was back in the ER and waiting for the
doctor. Someone from lab came in shortly after she returned, ready to draw blood for some routine
blood tests. A tight rubber tie was placed around her right arm and the tech withdrew several vials of
blood. When she asked what they were testing for, she understood only pregnancy, and wondered now
if she should mentioned the failed attempts at getting pregnant. Once again, she decided not to, and
knew this test would be negative as well. She’d missed her period a few times over the last few months,
but she was prone to that. She’d taken what seemed like hundreds of pregnancy tests and each one was
negative.

Allison rested back on her bed, waiting for the doctor to come and talk to her, so she could leave. She
wanted to be with Jimmy right now and get some answers to her questions, but no one seemed to have
any answers. She found herself wondering what would happen if she was pregnant. How could she not
have known? How would she raise a child without Jimmy? She shook her head. No, Jimmy would be
there to help her. Besides, with a negative test every week, there was no way she was pregnant. If she
had been, she didn’t think a pregnancy could survive a wreck like this. She watched as a nurse came in
and offered her an ice pack for her wrist. She asked if her blood work was back yet and the nurse said
no, but she’d let her know the results of the pregnancy test as soon as she could.
She sighed, wondering what it would feel like when she and Jimmy did finally get pregnant. They wanted
kids so bad and felt that now was the right time for them. Jimmy had a stable job now, with Closure, and
she had a stable job as a clothing store manager. They were financially stable and had insurance and all
of those other important things that parents needed. They most of all felt ready, even though they knew
you could never truly be ready for a child.

“Mrs. Rickliefs ?” a voice asked, coming into her cubicle.

“Yes?”

“I have the results of your pregnancy test,” the nurse said, coming in and standing at her side.