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us, his hand still pressing on the wound.
    “Please step out
of the way. Bellingham EMT’s coming through,” an authoritative voice sent
onlookers scattering left and right. “Please step aside; make room for the
stretcher.” Four paramedics rushed in, and I barely had time to give him a final look of encouragement. His expression hardened as I rose, and his eyes
followed me until our view of each other was cut off.
    “What’s the
situation here?” asked one EMT. After Ally offered a quick account of the
accident, he voiced his gratitude and helped rush the stretcher to the
ambulance. Once the doors slammed behind them, the sirens blared and the
vehicle tore out of the intersection – fleeing with my…my what? My maniac
runner? My predator? My hero?
    Half an hour
later, after we’d given statements to a police officer, we learned that the
driver of the truck had died. That’s when I lost it. The officer thought maybe
I was injured and wanted to check me out, but Ally assured him I was just
emotionally distraught and needed to get away from the accident scene.
Hurriedly, she pulled me through the yellow tape that cordoned off most of the
intersection. Strobe lights flashed from atop police cars. The broken fire
hydrant, which looked like a giant sprinkler gone berserk, was still spraying
massive amounts of water everywhere. Hoards of people continued to flock to the
area, but I wanted nothing more than to run away. The guilt was intolerable.
Another man was dead, and if I’d been quicker I might have prevented it.
    On the way home,
Ally wrapped her arm securely around my shoulders for support. “Lexi, the
mother and children are safe, and so is that crazy guy who ran into you. I know
you’re feeling responsible for the driver’s death, but you couldn’t have
prevented that. Your premonition was for the mother and children, right?” I
nodded. “See…and they are safe.”
    I groaned. “I
took too long to react. Maybe I could have saved the driver.”
    Ally seized my
face. “Lexi! The driver was not part of your premonitions. You are in no way
responsible for his death. You’re not meant to save everyone. You know that,
and you know that we did everything we could. Now let’s just get out of here
and get home.”
    Ally, bless her
bossy heart, didn’t let me out of her sight for the rest of the day.

CHAPTER
3 – WORK
     
    An early morning
phone call had me scrambling out of bed and heading for work. Since I was wide
awake and needed a diversion from my so-called life, I readily agreed to cover
a sick shift. After arriving at work, I shoved my purse and cell phone into a
metal locker and slid my badge through the time clock at exactly 6:59 a.m.
    I’d recently
started working for a family owned grocery chain and was relieved to have a job
– one with benefits and flexible hours. Many of the other employees were
college students as well, and I hoped to make some new friends. Actually, I was
surprised I’d gotten hired at all. I figured my previous employer Mr. Olson
would have told them I was great with customer service but that my behavior was
erratic and he wouldn’t recommend me for rehire.
    When I was a
senior in high school, Mr. Olson, a friend of my parents, had offered me a job
at his burger joint: Angus Burger Bistro. But after a month on the job I had a
premonition during my shift and went AWOL from the drive-up window during a
Saturday night rush hour. Apparently, when no one could explain my absence, Mr.
Olson’s clean, Christian mouth had transformed into a polluted fountain of
profanities. I think it was his lack of control, rather than my desertion that
really sent him over the edge. Needless to say, he fired me, and my parents
lectured me for days about work ethics. In my heart I knew I’d done the right
thing, because I’d stopped a toddler from wandering onto the busy highway. Of
course, no one knew that bit of info. I’d learned early on that premonitions
did not gel well with