I slowed and rolled down my window.
Two officers approached.
One stayed back, hand resting near his belt, posture alert but controlled. The other walked closer, and I saw it immediately.
Sweat soaked through his uniform despite the breeze. His face was flushed, his eyes unfocused at the edges. He swallowed hard, jaw grinding back and forth in a strange manner.
“Sir,” the healthy one said. “We need you to shut the engine off and step out of the vehicle.”
“Why?” I frowned.
“Medical transport,” he replied. “Our unit is down, and my partner is sick.”
His partner was beyond any help a hospital might provide.
“I’m trying to reach my family.” This required a delicate approach. “Get in the back, and I’ll give you two a ride.”
“Please step out of the vehicle, sir.” He didn’t acknowledge what I’d said.
Dammit. I needed to get to Taryn, and these two bastards were going to delay that.
“I’m not refusing,” I said, trying to remain calm. “But I need some clarification on what’s happening here.”
The healthy officer sighed, “Our vehicle overheated. Dispatch isn’t responding. My partner has collapsed once already.” He met my eyes. “We need your truck.”
I considered my options, and none of them were good.
I stepped out of the vehicle, and he spun me around, cuffing my hands behind my back.
“Why are you cuffing me?” I should have mowed over these bastards.
“I’m sorry, I promise it’s only temporary, but I’ve seen some strange things today, and I can’t have you at my back without taking precautions.” His tone was apologetic.
This was my fault. The world was changing, and I had to get my head in the game. Fuck!
He sat me in the back seat of my truck, hands cuffed behind me. The sick officer climbed into the passenger seat, breathing hard, head tipped against the glass.
Officer Mills— I’d noticed his name tag earlier— glanced at me apologetically in the rearview mirror. “I’ll have you on your way soon.”
His partner groaned as we pulled away, “I don’t feel right.”
“You’re going to be okay,” Officer Mills said, a little too quickly.
I don’t think he believed it any more than I did.
The ride to the hospital was much longer than I’m sure it usually was. Cars were stalled or abandoned, with people inside either too ill to drive or having left them, headed to the hospital.
We drove for about 10 more minutes, weaving through traffic and pedestrians, all heading in the same direction, until the hospital finally came into view.
It was pure chaos.
People crowded the entrance—some sitting, some pacing, some screaming into their phones, frustrated by dropped calls. They didn’t realize it, but things were about to get much worse. The phone signal was going to become more sporadic before it stopped completely. The electricity was only going to be steps behind. Life as we knew it was about to change.
Officer Mills parked haphazardly and got out. “I’m going to get help, hang on, Steve.”
He didn’t even glance in my direction as he bolted toward the hospital doors, shouting for help that I knew wouldn’t come. This was the beginning of the end.
“Fuck,” I muttered.
