I peeked out the door trying to get a look and Arlene peered over top of me. The blinding bright LED lights on the top of the cop car just filled my vision darkened afterimages, even in the daylight. The cop turned and got a large black duffel from the back seat that he brought with him.
And then he formed up. It was the deputy and he stepped around the burly EMT who had his fists on his hips as if he was expecting some sort of confrontation. The deputy came up to the back of the ambulance. The EMT turned and followed a few steps behind.
"Hello again," he said to Arlene and I, "Oh Nat, what have you gone and gotten yourself into?" He slid onto the EMT seat next to her and took her hand, his eyes only on her. "I looked for you baby, at our secret place, you know behind the lemonade stand and through the hole in Mr. Parkers fence. But the stand wasn't there anymore and Mr. Parkers fence was flattened. Apparently I got here too late." He looked over her wounds with worry as she didn't respond and her eyes were closed.
"Excuse me," the EMT huffed, "that is my seat. And we are in a hurry."
The deputy reached across to Arlene with keys and a cellphone in hand. "Take it. And don't tell me where you are going. It's a burner that only has a few minutes on it, but I know the number. The small key unlocks the shotgun and there are more guns in the trunk. Take what you need."
Arlene looked the deputy in the eye, knowing this was Natalie's man. She took his hand as her eyes were getting red and misty. "Thank you, take good care of Natalie. She's an amazing woman. Don't let her get away from you."
The deputy smiled deep, "I won't ma'am."
Arlene tapped me and pushed me towards the back door. I ran for the cruiser. As soon as we were out of the ambulance, the door slammed shut and it peeled out till it was back on the road lights and sirens going again. The siren trailed away as Arlene and I stared at it disappearing down the road. The sired trailed off to the silence of the forest.
The police car lights were making a funny clicking metronome sound interrupting the sound of the wind in the trees. I think we were in shock a little bit because we kind of just stood there staring at nothing. Listening to nothing. Out here you'd never imagine that a few miles away, the sky had just rained down hellfire on an entire town. They may very well all be dead, everyone in the stands, in the hot dog shacks, the surrounding homes and businesses. Men, women, children scythed like so many sheaves of wheat, in a matter of seconds.
Only a black smudge in the sky.
Arlene glanced around and opened the back door for me. "Figure you'll have more space back there." I looked at the grate between the seats and felt the cold familiarity of a cage wrapping its bars around me. I head butted the door closed again. And crawled into the front seat.
Then she went to the trunk and popped it open with the key. She came back to the front seat with a brown sheriff shirt in hand. She pulled it over her shirt and sat in the drivers seat. She found some mirrored sunglasses tucked into the visor and put them on. She glanced into the mirrored visor flap and looked at herself appraising. "Meh. S'ok for now I guess."
If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, I barked.
She flipped off the lights and started the cruiser.
"So where to little lady?" She turned to me with a grin.
I whined. Oh to be able to speak.
"Yeah, me too. She'll be okay. And I wish I knew where Apoc had gotten off to. I know you're worried about that wild one as well. I just don't think we can go back and look for him right now... things are just too hot. Maybe in a day or two we can sneak back in and find him. He's a big boy he can take care of himself. Well lets see where we can get to before they realize where were are..."
She gunned the engine and put it into gear. We screeched a little when we hit the pavement.
Then I heard it.
Sirens.
