Clouded Rainbow Read Online Free PDF Page B

driving together several cars behind Roger, took notice of his SUV. They ran to his side as the sound of the blaring ambulance sirens grew in strength.
    “Sir, can you hear me!?” yelled the older of the brothers.
    Roger failed to respond, but that didn’t stop the two men.
    “We’ve got to get him out!” the younger brother yelled.
    Both men went to work on Roger, grabbing and pulling at his outwardly lifeless body. As they exerted their strength, the rear of the SUV ignited into flames, which traveled under the vehicle toward the twenty-six gallon fuel tank.
    “His belt! His seatbelt is still on!” roared the older brother.
    Both knew that at any moment the SUV could consume them. However, that didn’t stop their drive, as they knew exactly what had to be done. Both brothers worked in tandem as the elder reached around and pressed the seatbelt release. Miraculously, it still functioned as the click of the metal clasp resonated inside the smashed cabin, bringing music to the brothers’ ears. The older brother unlatched the belt, while the younger gave the first yank. Roger’s body slid out like a baby from a birth canal. Both men focused on moving as far away as possible.
    They dragged Roger fifteen feet, and then, in a sudden flash—boom! The vehicle exploded into a fireball of fury. At the same moment, an ambulance driving from the north side took wind of the brothers’ action. The ambulance screeched to a stop nearby as two paramedics burst from the back.
    “Is he alright!?” the skinny paramedic yelled.
    “I don’t know. We pulled him from that SUV,” replied the older brother as they all glanced at the burning remains of Roger’s SUV.
    The other paramedic, the seasoned veteran, checked Roger for signs of life. He positioned his finger on his neck, felt something, but was not sure if the thump was a heartbeat or the vibration of the unstable bridge. He repositioned his finger.
    “I have a pulse!” he finally blurted.
    “We’ve got to get him to Saint Peters North Hospital,” his colleague shouted.
    With perfect timing, the driver of the ambulance, a hefty paramedic, ran toward Roger’s body with a gurney. His job was to drive, something he deeply enjoyed for more than twenty years. But more importantly, he was the strength of the trio—the polished pistons in a well-tuned engine.
    At the south-end of the bridge, bystanders feverishly helped the injured as more ambulances raced to the scene. Off on the side, Bill the swimmer finally reached the shore. He was breathing vigorously as his lungs tried to compensate for the extra hundred pounds of nearly dead weight. He finally made it, rolling Lois onto the muddy shore. Luckily, for Bill, he was not alone as a fellow Good Samaritan, an off-duty fireman, followed his breast-stroke from the bridge above. As the fireman neared the rocky path down to the shoreline, he saw a blaring ambulance racing toward him.
    “Over here! Hey, over here!” the fireman screamed as he flailed his arms.
    The ambulance slammed on its brakes near the pathway down to the beach.
    “Hey! Down here!” Bill yelled from his spot as the fireman with a brother-sister team of paramedics hustled toward him.
    “She’s in bad shape. She flew off the bridge. I don’t know which car she was in. Oh God, it’s a mess up there,” Bill explained to the three wide-eyed individuals.
    “Let’s get her up the hill,” the female paramedic instructed.
    Bill was exhausted, and her words seemed to travel right to his overexerted muscles. Fortunately, the random bystander helping was a brawny fireman, who had a fresh set of biceps to aid in hauling Lois’ debilitated body.
    They carried her to the top of the hill as Bill took notice of her right arm bobbling like a spraying fire hose. It was fractured—at the least. The contorting arm made him cringe. As they reached the top, the driver, an aged paramedic, awaited with medical gear and a gurney. They placed her on top of the bed, which