Chapter 1: A magical thing
Sam tensed. Something was happening. She looked around, trying to figure out what was wrong. Then she heard the scream.
She turned, trying to isolate the sound. It came from a group of kids on the sidewalk, they were pointing past her.
A young man, about her own age, lay on the road beside the sidewalk. A large SUV had come to a halt several yards past. A long line of burning rubber led from the prone body to the vehicle.
As a child, she'd heard stories of fight or flight, where you'd either freeze up in an emergency, or get to it and tackle whatever needed doing. Until that moment she didn't know which she'd be.
The leg was twisted in an unnatural position, along with an arm facing upward at a sharp angle.
His chest was still moving, but his face was pale, and his eyes focused upward.
An older woman jumped in then, and began checking for vitals.
Sam didn't have any medical training. But she felt his pain, felt the agony.
A voice beside her began talking to the police on a cellphone, and several others stepped out in traffic to slow the oncoming vehicles.
Sam moved around to the other side of the body. She needed to reach for him, needed to ease the pain. She his hand, holding it tightly in her own, and subconsciously held her breath.
A squad car pulled up.
An officer stepped out and began questioning the other woman who'd originally stepped in to help.
She looked at the object in the fallen man's hand—a paper bag containing a large box of trail running shoes; no doubt from the store less than twenty feet away. His wallet lay next to it. She pulled it open and looked at the license.
Mark Jamison, 18 years old, right off 22nd street.
Then she felt a response squeeze on her hand.
Mark, the kid turned adult, looked to her and focused his eyes. Then he reached his arm out, his other badly mangled arm, and tried to get up.
"Hold on there, just a moment." The woman said, placing a hand on his chest.
Mark looked from the woman to Sam, then up to the officer.
"I feel fine, I just.. I don't know. No, I feel fine."
He attempted a smile.
"What happened?"
Sam pointed to the car down the street. The owner stood by the front of his car, eyes focused downward on the bumper.
"He hit you."
"Oh."
Sam squeezed her hand again, and pulled away.
He sat up, using his good arm.
"I'm fine," he repeated.
The woman shook her head and gave a gentle smile.
“You're in shock, ambulance is two minutes away. Let's just hold on a moment. Your arm is—“
She paused, frowned slightly, and leaned forward to examine his twisted shoulder.
"What is it?" The officer asked.
"Something's changed." She said, almost to herself.