The Rescue Read Online Free PDF

flashing blue lights from the trooper's car illuminated the highway in regular, circular sweeps, Denise waited, her mind racing with such thoughts. Half a dozen other vehicles were parked haphazardly as a group of men in yellow raincoats discussed what to do. Though it was obvious they'd worked together before, she couldn't tell who was in charge. Nor did she know what they were saying; their words were lost in the muffled roar of the storm. The rain came down in heavy sheets, mimicking the sound of a freight train.
    She was cold and still dizzy, unable to focus for more than a few seconds at a time. Her balance was off-she'd fallen three times while searching for Kyle-and her clothes were soaked and muddy, clinging to her skin. Once the ambulance had arrived, they'd forced her to stop. A blanket had been wrapped around her and a cup of coffee placed by her side. She couldn't drink it-she couldn't do much of anything. She was shivering badly, and her vision was blurred. Her frozen limbs seemed to belong to someone else. The ambulance attendant-though no doctor-suspected a concussion and wanted to bring her in immediately. She steadfastly refused. She wouldn't leave until Kyle was found. He could wait another ten minutes, he said, then he had no choice. The gash in her head was deep and still bleeding, despite the bandage. She would lose consciousness, he warned, if they waited any longer than that. I'm not leaving, she repeated.
    More people had arrived. An ambulance, a state trooper who'd been monitoring the radio, another three volunteers from the fire department, a trucker who saw the trouble and stopped as well-all within a few minutes of each other. They were standing in a sort of circle, in the middle of the cars and trucks, headlights on. The man who'd found her-Taylor?-had his back to her. She suspected he was filling them in on what he knew, which wasn't much, other than the location of the blanket. A minute later he turned around and glanced at her, his face grim. The state trooper, a heavyset man losing his hair, nodded in her direction. After gesturing to the others to stay where they were, Taylor and the trooper both started toward the ambulance. The uniform-which in the past had always seemed to inspire confidence-now did nothing for her. They were men, only men, nothing more. She stifled the urge to vomit.
    She held Kyle's mud-stained blanket in her lap and was running her hands through it, nervously rolling it into a ball and then undoing it. Though the ambulance sheltered her from the rain, the wind was blowing hard and she continued to shiver. She hadn't stopped shivering since they'd put the blanket over her shoulders. It was so cold out here. . . .
    And Kyle was out there without even a jacket.
    Oh, Kyle.
    She lifted Kyle's blanket to her cheek and closed her eyes.
    Where are you, honey? Why did you leave the car? Why didn't you stay with Mom?
    Taylor and the trooper stepped up into the ambulance and exchanged glances before Taylor gently put his hand on Denise's shoulder.
    "I know this is hard, but we have to ask you a few questions before we get started. It won't take long."
    She bit her lip before nodding slightly, then took a deep breath. She opened her eyes.
    The trooper looked younger up close than he had from a distance, but his eyes were kind. He squatted before her.
    "I'm Sergeant Carl Huddle with the state troopers office," he said, his voice rolling with the lullaby of the South. "I know you're worried, and we are, too. Most of us out here are parents, with little ones of our own. We all want to find him as badly as you do, but we need to know some general information-enough to know who we're looking for."
    For Denise, the words barely registered.
    "Will you be able to find him in this storm . . . I mean, before . . . ?"
    Denise's eyes traveled from one man to the other, having trouble focusing on either. When Sergeant Huddle didn't answer right away, Taylor McAden nodded, his determination