Sirens

A short story on how your life can change due to one everyday thing

 I jolt awake. The normal sound of night is replaced by the blazing sound of a siren. A siren that was slowly coming toward me. I sat upright, confused as to why a siren would be coming our way. I lived in a small apartment complex in a suburb. Nothing big ever happened, not here. The sirens wail was even louder now. I glanced at the clock. My books still scattered on my lap from my study time. It was 10 o'clock. I rubbed my eyes, forcing myself to stay awake. I checked the clock again to make sure I saw the right time. It was still the same. I crawled out of bed and straightened my clothes.

        "Carl?" I called. The apartment was quiet. I called again, but no response. I wandered downstairs to see if he was in the kitchen. I had known Carl for many years now. We were best friends in high school, and one day we both wanted to be more. We had been a couple for two years now. I knew almost everything about him, and he with me. We fit together so perfectly, like a match made in heaven.

        Tonight he had gone to his night class. We were both seniors in college, our final semester coming to an end. He should have been home by now. I assumed he had stayed late for extra help, since this class was his hardest course. I decided not to worry, I trusted him to be safe.

        My thoughts drifted back to what had happened earlier in the week. We had gone to the movies, and then looked around at some of the stores at the mall. Just for fun we went in a jewelry store. He brought me to the ring section and I pointed out styles and colors I liked. My heart filled with the yearning of being with him, forever. The sirens brought me back to reality, the noise now hurting my ears.

        I went to the window, to see what the problem was. At the end of my road I saw the flashing blue and red lights. An ambulance and police car quickly sped down the road, intent on their mission. Within an instant they started to slow. I strained my eyes to see what the problem could be. In front of the vehicles I saw two object hidden in shadows. I could barely make it out, but what I did see tied my stomach in knots. Two crumpled cars lay, cold and broken in the street. My mind jumped to the worst conclusion, and before I could think reasonably, my legs were moving my body toward the door. After fumbling with the lock, I'm running down the stairs.

       I burst out of the complex and am running, running faster than I have ever ran before. My legs carry me forward and my heartbeat quickens. I reach the wreck as people spill out of the rescue vehicles.

       It was hard to call the two vehicles cars anymore. The two cars were close together, the impact of the crash, splitting them back apart. The hood on one was crinkled, almost touching it's own front windshield. The driver door of the second was crumpled inward from the in pack of the first. Glass covered the ground, as well as metal. I scaned the vehicles, but in the night light, I could not fully make out the color. I strained my eyes, trying to find anything that would tell me my fears are untrue. I found the one object that I coulnd make out in the light. The license plate. In one gut wrenching moment, I realize that the car with the crumpled door, is Carl's. I close my eyes, trying to make it not true. I slowly open them, the scene only worse. The paramedic is pulling a body out of his car. Carl's body. The body is slumped and seemingly lifeless.

      "No, no!" I cry. Hot tears dampened my face. This couldn't be happening, not now, not here, not him. The paramedic carries the slumped body over to a stretcher on the sidewalk. I run over, as time seemed to run slower. By the time I got over, the paramedic was running tests.

       My legs finally gave way, as I collapse into a heap next to the man that made my life happy. The one who knew how I felt. The only one who knew all my secrets. My love. My Carl.

       A breathing mask was put over his mouth and nose, as I sat there stunned. He was alive, but barely. I willed him to stay alive, for me. I prayed harder than I ever had before, forcing him to stay alive. He couldn't die, he was too young. He couldn't die, because I loved him too much.

       Another paramedic came over and helped carry the stretcher into the ambulance. They beckoned me forward, and I followed slowly. I perched on the side of the ambulance, next to the battered figure of Carl.

       They hooked him up to more machines. The only thing I heard was the reassuring beep from the machine that told me he was still alive. Twenty beeps, forty, he could make. Suddenly the paramedics started rushing around, trying to keep him alive.

       "What's wrong?" I shout.

       "Nothing, don't worry," a paramedic started, but he was interrupted by a noise I will never forget. A long beep that meant only one thing. 

      "I'm sorry, he's gone," another paramedic said in a grave voice. With that, my life was not only turned upside down, it was destroyed. I now walked in the deepest valley, where no sun could ever reach. I walked the deepest valley, alone. Never to love another the same way again.

      I took his hand, still hoping to feel the flow of blood through the veins. In that moment I knew those words were true. He is dead. Cold and dead. Never to smile or laugh again. He could never hold me in his arms, I would never feel his lips against mine. I would never get to walk down the aisle, with him waiting for me. I would never get to see him alive.

      I suddenly became tired, physically and emotionally. I glanced once again at his face. I knew his face better than my own. As I glazed upon that still, familiar face, a part of me slowly died with him. As my Carl died, the sirens turned on and I would never be the same.

Author's Note

A short story that came to me when I heard sirens by. I live close to a firehouse, so sirens are a daily part of life by me.

Reviews

[Heather Rodwell]

Jesus! I'm glad I only hear trains go past my house... although... I can make 'normal train scene' turn into a horrible nightmare if only for a moment.