The Caller

                                          The Caller

                                            By: SM Ferguson

    Danny fought to remain conscious. He remembered the car sliding out of control on the icy road, the shooting pain as it smashed through the snowbank lining the blacktop. He could smell the blood, and hear Jesse’s agonizing screams as they were tossed and knocked from every side as the car rolled down the bank.
Lucky for him it had come to rest on it’s wheels.

    He’d managed to escape through the shattered driver’s side window, but he’d been unable to free Jesse. His hands didn’t quite work right. She was silent now, Danny saw she was unconscious; fear crawled in his heart as he wondered if she was dead. He could see blood pouring across her face from a wicked scalp wound. Danny wasn’t quite sure what to do;he was having trouble thinking clearly.

    “Concussion,” he whispered,” I have to stay conscious or we’ll both die out here.”

      The other car had come out of nowhere. Danny figured it must have been traveling without headlights, just waiting for another vehicle to appear. He’d heard of that new game the kids played,some idiotic new form of chicken. The driver hadn’t even slowed down when they’d spun out of control. Danny didn’t figure they planned to report the accident either.

    He stared at Jesse, knowing she’d never last if help didn’t arrive soon. This old road was isolated; they’d chosen it because it had a surreal beauty in the snowy night. A perfect prelude to the hot chocolate he’d suggested they go out for in celebration of the first snowfall of the year. God, what he’d give to take that stupid idea back. As it was, Danny knew it was up to him to get them help. He wished his mind would clear, he couldn’t seem to remember anything except the hot chocolate and the accident, he supposed he was suffering from shock. He fought to form a plan, knowing his beloved Jesse would die out here if he failed to find assistance.
They’d only been married two months, but they’d been together since sixth grade. Danny loved her more then life.
    Fuzzily, he remembered a small town just up the road a couple of miles; someone there would lend him a phone.He should have brought their cell, but it was in the recharger and they hadn’t planned to be gone long. As he gathered himself for the walk ahead, Danny spoke to Jesse.

    “ Hold on baby,” he begged,” I’ll be back as quick as I can, just don’t leave me. I
love you Jess.”

  She didn’t move, sighing, Danny started out towards the town. He couldn’t remember a thing about it, except it was there.

    “I must have smacked my head harder then I know,’ he thought. Snow fell as he walked, but Danny hardly noticed. He didn’t feel cold either, at least not while he was moving. His thoughts were so focused on getting help for Jesse, he couldn’t even feel any pain, but then, maybe he’d just gotten off easy.

Danny felt weightless, it seemed a bad sign and it scared him badly, but he couldn’t worry about it now. He trudged on, his mind numb with shock. At last he entered the town, it looked deserted at this hour. Danny blinked snow from his eyes, searching for a café, gas station, anything that was still open. He found nothing. As he considered pounding on doors, he saw a telephone booth lit up brightly just to his left. Weird,he hadn’t noticed it earlier.

    “Get a grip, man,” he spoke aloud, “Jesse is depending on you.”

    Hands shaking and numb, Danny managed to insert his dollar and dial 911. He heard the operator come on and quickly gave her directions  explaining that they’d been in a car wreck.She asked for his name, but exhaustion overcame him. Danny let go of the phone and allowed himself to slide down the glass of the booth. He’d never felt so tired.

    The two paramedics finished lifting a girl onto the stretcher and loaded her in the ambulance. She was alive, suffering a head injury and mild hypothermia, but her vitals were strong and stable. She’d survive. Her condition could have gotten much worse. The men sighed in relief as the police removed the second victim from the car. It’s blaring horn stopped, lending an uneasy peace to the night. One paramedic headed for the officers standing over the victim.

    “ Anything we can do?”  he asked.
       
      “ Call a second bus for transport, this one’s gone.” The officer replied sadly.

      “ You got an ID for him?” The medic inquired.

      “ Daniel L.Bacon,aged twenty-three, appears he died on impact,”  the officer said.” Maybe the wife can tell us what happened out here. Dispatch able to trace that caller? “

    “ That’s a strange thing,” the medic paused,” the call came from an old payphone up the road, used to be a town there, but it’s been deserted since the mill closed two years back. No power or service out there anymore. That booth didn’t even have a working phone, one of your guys checked it out, looking to see if we had a third victim. Nobody there.”

    The men stared at each other, skin prickling, knowing this woman would have died if they hadn’t somehow received that call.

                                THE END


Word Count: 894