Change

Chapter 1

 "Death is in the air.
Chariot out of control.
Change is awakened."
— Bertram Muhnugin, The Death of Birth

Sarah opened her eyes and rose out of her crouching stance.

It had all happened so fast. An aging silver Dodge Dynasty had come crashing through the railing of the overpass and into the crosswalk below. Sarah had reflexively thrown her arms in front of herself and ducked down, knowing full well that she couldn't stop the several ton hunk of metal hurtling in her direction.

But somehow, she had.

Sarah's heart was still racing as she scanned her surroundings. The formerly airborne sedan sat motionless in the street just a few feet in front of her. It was mostly intact, aside from a shattered windshield and some compression of the front end of the frame.

The other half-dozen people in the crosswalk behind her slowly emerged from their own protective stances and stared at the car in wonder. An old man on the other side of the intersection was looking back and forth between Sarah and the car, his eyes and mouth wide in wonder. After a few moments, he started clapping slowly. Soon, everyone around the intersection joined him.

"How did you do that?"

Sarah looked down at her hands, dumbfounded.

"I don't know. I didn't even touch it. I—" She looked back at the car, wiping the sweat from her brow. "I guess I just willed it to stop." She shook her head in disbelief, turning back to the old man across the street. "I really stopped it?"

The old man nodded and started walking toward her slowly. "Lady, that old junker was about to rip your head off and land across the street. You stopped it in midair. Damnedest thing I ever seen."

"Really?" Sarah turned back to the wreckage, shaking her head again. "I wish I'd kept my eyes open."

The people around her burst into uneasy laughter. Sarah's heart was still racing, but she chuckled too.

"Is everyone all right?"

The bystanders looked around. Nobody seemed hurt. The car had landed in the street without hitting anyone. The driver stepped out of the car and examined it carefully, looking even more confused than the people in the crosswalk.

Sarah and a few of the other pedestrians walked around the car slowly, making sure that no one had been crushed beneath it. After a few minutes, several police cars and an ambulance arrived, followed by a news van.

An officer with a notepad stepped out of the nearest police car. He spoke first with the driver of the Dynasty, then with a few of the other pedestrians. Finally, he shook his head, took a deep breath, and walked over to Sarah.

"Ma'am, I'm Officer Harold of the Gorton Police Department. Mind if I ask you a few questions?"

Sarah laughed nervously. "Sure, why not?"

Officer Harold nodded. "Your name?"

"Sarah Athraigh. Sarah with an H, Athraigh with an A-T-H-R-A-I-G-H. You can call me Sarah."

"Alright, Sarah. Can I see some ID?"

Sarah pulled out her wallet and showed the officer her driver's license. He wrote down her name and address in his notebook before handing the license back to her.

"Got it." He paused, lowering the notepad and looking Sarah in the eye. "Look, Sarah, I'm not going to lie here. I'm a little skeptical about what these other people are telling me. So I'd like you to tell me, in your own words, what happened here."

Sarah laughed. "I wish I knew, Officer. I was just crossing the street, when suddenly this car crashed through the railing on the overpass. I covered my head, closed my eyes, and figured I was about to get hit. But then it just stopped."

"Huh. Just stopped?"

"In mid-air. I had my eyes closed, but in my mind's eye, I just saw the car stopping in mid-air — and it did!" She looked at the damaged car, then back at Officer Harold with another nervous laugh. "Officer, that car was about to plow right through me. But somehow, something stopped it. I don't know if it was something I did, or divine intervention, or what. But whatever it was, it saved my life."

Officer Harold nodded slowly. "Well, that's what they said too." He looked at her, then over at the car, then back at her again. "And where were you standing when the accident happened?"

Sarah looked down at the ground. "Right around here, officer. I took a quick look around the car to make sure everyone was all right, but then I came back to this spot."

Office Harold shook his head with a sigh. "Alright, Sarah."

He handed her a business card. "Here's my card. If you think of anything else — anything at all — please give us a call."

"Okay. Thanks, Officer."

Officer Harold started walking away, then turned back to her. "Oh, I almost forgot. There's a reporter here. Do you want to talk to her, or should I tell her to back off?"

Sarah thought about it for a moment. "It's fine, Officer. I'll go ahead and talk to her."

Officer Harold shrugged. "Alright, then." He turned away, reading his notebook and shaking his head as he walked back to his patrol car.

The reporter was a young woman in her mid-twenties with shoulder-length blond hair and a black suit coat and skirt. She talked to a few of the other witnesses before walking up to Sarah, followed by her cameraman.

"Hi there! I'm Jenny Goodman with Channel 3 news. Mind if I ask you a few questions?"

Sarah smiled. "Sure, go ahead."

Jenny turned to the cameraman, and he raised his camera and pointed it at Sarah. Sarah smiled, adjusting her long black ponytail and green T-shirt as Jenny turned on the microphone.

"Okay, can you start by telling us your name and where you're from?"

"Sarah Athraigh from Gorton, Illinois."

"Okay, Sarah." Jenny paused, looking down at her notes. "Sarah, people on the scene of this accident are saying that what they witnessed today was a miracle. Do you agree? Was this a miracle?"

Sarah smiled, shaking her head slightly in exasperation. "I really don't know, Jenny. It happened so fast, and I don't know how to explain it."

"Witnesses say the car stopped in mid-air, just short of hitting you. Is that what really happened?"

"I think so." She paused for a moment, thinking back to the accident. "I closed my eyes when it was about to hit me. When I opened my eyes, it had stopped short and dropped to the ground. It definitely stopped in mid-air."

"Did the car hit you?"

"No." She paused again, looking over at the crumpled front end of the car. "I just visualized it stopping, and it stopped."

"Wow. That's... wow." Jenny laughed. "Sorry, I've just never covered a story like this before. I wish we had video of the accident!"

Sarah shrugged. "It all happened so fast, I doubt anyone caught it on video."

"That's what everyone else said, too." She looked at her watch, then nodded at the cameraman. "Anyway, Sarah, I've got to go get this to my producer in time for the 6 o'clock news. Can I get your number in case we have any more questions?"

"Sure."

After the two women exchanged numbers, Jenny said a quick goodbye and rushed off to her news van with cameraman in tow. Sarah looked around the accident scene for a few more moments, then glanced down at her watch.

"Late again."

Sarah looked around to see if anyone else had any questions for her. A few people who had been staring at her turned away when she looked at them, but no one was making any motions to approach her. After another quick glance at her watch, she looked both ways and finished crossing the street. Once she reached the far side of the street, she looked back over her shoulder for a moment, examining the accident scene one last time. Then, she shook her head and kept walking.