Chapter 2: The Sirens
The paramedics moved fast.
Too fast.
The kind of fast that tells you they already know it’s serious.
“Possible hypothermia,” one of them said. “Dehydration. We need to move.”
Noah clung weakly to my shirt as they placed him on the stretcher.
“Don’t let them leave,” he murmured.
“I won’t,” I promised. “I’m right here.”
As they loaded him into the ambulance, I turned back toward the house.
Sarah stood in the doorway, arms wrapped tightly around herself.
“I didn’t think—” she started.
“No,” I cut her off.
“You didn’t.”
Matthew peeked out from behind her, confused, scared.
A kid who had no idea that his birthday would become the day his family fell apart.
Emily grabbed my hand.
“Michael. We have to go.”
I nodded, climbing into the ambulance beside Noah.
As the doors slammed shut, the sirens began to scream.
And in that moment, I realized something terrifying:
May you like
This wasn’t over.
It hadn’t even begun.
