20. Samantha
20
SAMANTHA
A fter a few minutes that felt like an eternity, Sam’s heart pounded in her ears as she squeezed into the middle seat of Wolf’s SUV beside Ezra’s car seat and waited for Wolf to put Amelia in her arms.
She’s struggling to breathe. And it’s snowing so hard…
Wolf was saying something to her, but he seemed so far away. She held her arms out for her sister.
“Buckle up,” he said firmly.
Her addled mind kicked in and she scrambled for her seatbelt.
We can’t wait. She can’t breathe…
“Here we go,” Wolf said, lowering the small, convulsing body of the most precious person in Sam’s world into her arms. “Buckle her in.”
“We have to call an ambulance,” Sam heard herself murmur as her hands obeyed him.
“911 said the ambulance might take half an hour to come,” Wolf growled. “We don’t have half an hour.”
He was right. She wasn’t exactly sure when it started, but the seizure had to be going on for more than five minutes now. And Amelia had never had a grand mal seizure before.
“ Breathe with me ,” Sam murmured to Amelia gently, stroking the hair from her sister’s face and wiping a thread of drool from her mouth. “Just breathe.”
Outside, Wolf was quickly sweeping the snow off the car with a push broom. Bit by bit, light made its way into the dim interior of the car, showing her the pale color of Amelia’s skin.
“You’re okay,” Sam told her firmly.
Ezra was silent in the car seat beside them. It was as if he knew something serious was happening.
Wolf threw the broom onto the porch and started the engine.
“Call Kellan Webb,” Wolf said forcefully as he gave the car some gas and it jolted out into the street.
At first, she thought he was talking to her and didn’t even know how to respond. Then the sound of a phone ringing came across the speakers as the car picked up speed and Wolf turned onto Princeton Avenue.
“Dr. Kellan Webb,” a male voice said warmly.
“Kellan, it’s Wolf Cassidy,” Wolf said. “I’ve got a seven-year-old girl in the car having a seizure for more than five minutes and struggling for breath.”
“Take her straight to Tarker County,” Kellan replied, his voice steely now. “I’ll call ahead and let them know what’s up. And drive carefully.”
“Will do,” Wolf said.
The engine revved, but they seemed to be moving in slow motion. The deep snow hadn’t been plowed yet, and it was tough to even get out of the driveway. Even though Tarker General wasn’t far, it was impossible to know how long it would take to get there in this weather.
“Hold on, Amelia,” Sam pleaded with her sister. “Just try to breathe.”
“Call Cal Cassidy,” Wolf said with a calm in his voice that she certainly didn’t feel.
Again, the sound of a phone ringing came through the car speakers.
“Sheriff Cassidy,” another male voice said. There was a lot of noise and shouting in the background of this call.
“Cal, it’s Wolf,” Wolf said. “I’ve got a seven-year-old in the car having a seizure and struggling to breathe. Kellan sent me to Tarker General. How do I get there?”
Every mention of Amelia’s condition sent Sam’s pulse into overdrive. And why was he asking how to get there? Did he somehow not know where the big hospital was?
“I’m clearing a big accident at Ambler and Harvard,” Cal said. “You’ll want to stay on interior streets until Elm.”
Calm down, Sam reminded herself. You’re no use to her if you panic.
Over the speakers, the sheriff started rattling off street names to Wolf and she suddenly understood. Wolf was asking for the best route because of the weather—which streets had been plowed, and which to avoid. None of the directions meant anything to Sam, but she was deeply grateful to the man for helping them on their way, and to Wolf, for having the foresight to make the call.
Hold on, Amelia…
“Thanks, man,” Wolf said as he ended the call. “Hold on, Sam.”
She closed her eyes and prayed as she held her sister.
He made a turn and the car whooshed and slid onto another street, and then another.
At last, he made a turn that put them onto Ambler Avenue, and the tires found some traction on the plowed and salted road. Fresh snow was still falling, but for now at least, Wolf could give the big SUV some gas and blast them forward toward the hospital.
Just as he was about to turn onto Route One, Amelia finally stopped jerking in Sam’s arms.
“Thank God,” Sam breathed.
But Amelia wasn’t moving at all now.
Frantically, she placed a hand on her sister’s chest and was relieved to feel it rise after a moment. Her breathing felt slow and shallow to Sam, but at least she was breathing, even though her skin was still frighteningly pale.
“Is she breathing?” Wolf asked from the front seat.
Sam nodded, catching his eye in the rearview mirror.
She was surprised to see a hint of terror in his eyes. He was handling the whole situation with such calm and efficiency that she would have thought nothing could rattle him.
“Hang on,” he said again, preparing to turn onto the road that led to the hospital.
“Not much longer, baby,” Sam whispered to her sister, smoothing back her hair again.
But Amelia was still limp and unresponsive. She seemed so small and weak, so tiny to be Sam’s whole world.
Please, God, please save her…
“ No ,” Wolf said suddenly.
Sam looked up and realized the back road to the hospital had been plowed in. A pile of packed snow as tall as the SUV blocked their way.
She glanced at Wolf’s face in the rearview mirror and saw he was frowning as if trying to decide whether to try and go up over the sidewalk to get to the entrance, or keep heading north and going in the main entrance, probably half a mile ahead.
Before he had time to decide, the sound of a siren tore through the air behind them.
“ Cal ,” Wolf sighed in relief.
She craned her head to look out the back window and saw a police car escorting a large snow plow their way. The car moved aside, and the heavy plow crashed through the snow pile without even slowing.
Wolf was right on its tail, pulling quickly into the hospital lot and skidding to a stop at the emergency room entrance where the hospital staff already waited. He was out of the car and opening her door while Sam was still removing the seatbelt from around Amelia.
Wolf lifted the little girl in his arms and carried her to the entrance, placing her gently on the gurney, as if she were made of glass.
“We’ll be right behind you,” he yelled to Sam as he ran back to the car.
She jogged after Amelia, praying that they had made it in time.
How long was she struggling to breathe? How resilient can one little body be?