One

December 2nd

The Sound of the sirens could be heard for miles as the large emergency vehicle raced down the snow-covered city streets. The path was lit by the full orb in the sky as it cut through the night air, splitting the dark blanket that hung over New York City. In the passenger seat of the Ambulance sat a young woman, only 26 years of age. She had the most beautiful ginger hair that she kept pulled back into two low hanging braids that hung down the front of her and a warm black beanie to keep her bangs back. Her eyes, an intense green that could put the northern lights to shame, scanned the roads ahead for any sign of the accident. The two EMT's had gotten the call about a car accident not but five minutes ago and happened to be nearby. The driver of the vehicle slowed down as they noticed the four ways of another car flashing through the dark night.

"I think this is our scene, Kai."
The woman whispered as the headlights shined on an old white Ford pick up truck.

The older man turned to her as he unbuckled his seat-belt with his wrinkled hands. He was 65 and his body was starting to show it. Kai gave 28 years of his life to being an EMT and would have retired sooner had they not assigned Anna as his partner. He grew up with her, practically raised her after her parents passed away, so he wasn't going to miss out on this opportunity. His brown eyes looked into hers a split second before they both turned to get out of the vehicle. As Anna got out she grabbed her medical bag and rushed over to the truck. It was then that she noticed the other car, a small blue Chevy Impala, or what was left of it at least. The white truck had its front end smashed in with minimal damage to the rest of the vehicle, but the Impala was in bad shape. As she started to walk towards the small car her heart raced in her chest. This was the part that scared her most about this line of work. She didn't know what she was going to see inside that car. If she was lucky it would just be someone who couldn't get out but was fine, but then there is the possibility that its a family in there and no one made it. She shook her head out of her own thoughts and proceeded to the car. Kai was already making quick work of the male in the truck and more sirens could be heard in the distance. Following the trail of broken glass and metal on the road she got her first good look at the Impala. The car was on its side, with the driver side door pinned to the ground. The passenger side was smashed into the car with no possible way of opening the doors on either side. She walked over to the hood of the car and looked into the cracked and broken windshield.

"Sir, can you hear me? My name is Anna Ibara, I'm here to help you."
She yelled into the car but was getting no response back from the younger male in the driver seat. The ginger began to think of ways to get this man out without causing any more harm and without knowing what kind of injuries he already had. As she looked at the windshield she noticed two other men walk up behind her.

"Ma'am, I'm officer Neil and this is my partner officer Fenway, We have more units on the way as well as the New York Fire Department."
He said.

She nodded and pointed to the car. "There is a man inside and he isn't conscious, I can't tell if he has a pulse."
She spoke and they both walked over to the windshield where she was standing.

"Your partner wants to talk to you about something, we can work with the Fire Department to get this man safely out of here while you get your equipment ready."
Officer Neil stated while he and his partner made quick work with the car.

Anna nodded and ran over, passing a few firemen as she did. She found Kai getting the stretcher out of the ambulance as well as a neck brace.
"How was the man in the truck?"

"Oh, he was fine, mostly just shaken up with a few bumps and bruises."
Kai looked over to the small blue car and let out a sigh. "How about the car?"

Anna looked back and rubbed her cold fingers together, reaching out to grab the stretcher.

"There is a man inside the car, he isn't responding and I am not even sure he has a pulse, The Firemen and Police are working to get him out of the car right now." She spoke with haste.

The two ran over to the blue car and stopped once they saw that the male was out and laying on the road. Anna quickly ran over and dropped down next to him.

"Sir, can you hear me?"
She spoke loudly near his face and then started to check the man over for any obvious injuries.

She ran her fingers along his face and neck and then looked up to Kai as she was yelling out his vitals.
"His pulse is weak, and we have a possible spinal injury." the petite ginger looked up at Kai and pointed to the neck brace they had brought over. "I need the neck brace and some help to move this man onto the stretcher once that is done." Once Anna secured his neck with the brace she had help from the fire department to put him on the stretcher.

Kai got the ambulance ready to go as Anna loaded the patient up into the back of the vehicle. She started to work at cutting his clothes away so she could tend to the wounds on his body from the crash and broken glass. As she did this she looked up at Kai through the window connecting the back area with the front.

"So what did the man in the truck say happened?"
She asked as she started to write on a clipboard about the patient in front of her.

"He said that he was waiting at the red light, once it turned green he went and that's when the blue Chevy slid right past his stop light and into the truck."
After telling her the story of the accident Kai went back to talking on the radio, informing the hospital that they would be coming in with someone in dire need of help.

Anna pulled out the male's wallet from his pocket and looked at his ID, this kid was only 19 years old and it sent a shiver down the woman's spine. She finally got the jacket off the male and started to cut up his shirt when he let out a cough filled with a deep groan. Anna sat straight up and looked at the male.

"Sir, can you hear me?"
It was then that he coughed again, but this time it was laced with blood and his entire body started to convulse.

"Kai the patient is seizing and coughing blood, we need to get to the hospital now."
She tried to remain calm like she is supposed too, but her voice cracked at the end.

It was only her first year as an EMT and though she graduated top of her class, she was still new and it scared her. She made quick work to hold the male down and keep his body turned so he couldn't choke on his own blood. It was then that she realized all the bruising on his upper chest and back. It didn't take long for them to reach the hospital after he started to seize and they quickly pulled up to the emergency entrance. As Kai got out and opened the back doors they were greeted by nurses and doctors ready to take over. They started to race the john doe into the building and Anna could hear Kai telling information to the doctors and staff. That should have been her, she was the one examining the patient so she should be telling them everything she knows, but for some reason, her voice won't work. It's like everything slowed down and her body stopped working altogether. She watched as the doctors rushed past her and all she could see was the 19-year-old male laying on the bed barely clinging to his life. She heard a nurse shout that he wasn't breathing and time almost stopped as another nurse attempted CPR on him but to no avail. Anna didn't notice when Kai walked up to her or what he was saying. The only thing she could hear was the doctor as he checked his watch.

"Call it, time of Death, 3:42 am." He stated.

That is when she felt the hand on her shoulder and looked over to see the tired eyes of her partner, he still managed to keep that twinkle in them after all his years of doing this.

The two walked back to the ambulance together and got into their seats. As he started up the vehicle he looked over to Anna with a soft gin. She looked over and let out a sigh.

"His name was Mason." She whispered.

Kai nodded and put the vehicle into gear, driving out of the hospital Entrance. The entire ride back was the quietest it had been all night. They didn't receive any other calls and neither spoke a word until they parted for the night. Once again Anna found her green eyes looking into those brown once that were so full of knowledge and hidden pain. He hugged her tight and let out a sigh as his breath could be seen in the cold air. "Kid, we can't save everyone. If we could then we wouldn't be EMT's, we would be gods," he whispered and patted her on the back. "Try and get some sleep, see you tomorrow." and with that, he got in his own car and drove off.

Anna pulled her small teal Ford Focus into the parking garage and got out. She slammed the door shut and locked it with a quick beep as she walked towards the apartment building entrance. The large building's lobby was empty except for Nick, the greeter who worked the overnights. She nodded at him and he nodded back while she walked over to the left side wall. Her freckled face scanned the hundreds of small squares with apartment numbers on them, She stuck a small key into the box that had "34C" on it. The door opened and greeted her with the cold stare of emptiness. Letting out a sigh she closed it up and headed over to the elevator, pushing the third-floor button. It seemed to take an eternity to reach home as the doors opened. Her shoes echoed down the empty hall as she reached her door and stuck her key in the lock. Just then another door opened down the hall and a man stepped out, nodding to someone as he left. She was about to ignore it and go into her apartment until she caught a glimpse of her peripheral vision and looked back. It was then that she saw her, the neighbor no one ever sees or hears from. The woman looked about the same age as Anna and had the same petite build. Her hair was long and almost a pale blonde, like the snow outside. Her skin seemed oddly pale as well but she shrugged that off as being because she never went outside. It was then that the girl looked at her and she noticed them. Those eyes that looked back at her, they were the bluest eyes Anna had ever seen. They reminded the redhead of the ocean, so open and beautiful, and just when she thought she could drown in them; the girl vanished.

Anna walked into her apartment and placed her EMT jacket on the hook, her last name reflecting from the moonlight pouring in from the living room window. As she walked into the kitchen she noticed a piece of paper folded on the table. Letting out a long sigh she walked over and picked it up.

Babe, had some extra work at the office today so I won't be home till late, Hans.

The woman looked over at the microwave clock and let out a chuckle. It was now 5:06 am and she knew he wouldn't be coming home at all. She walked to the bedroom and stripped down her clothes as she walked to the bathroom. She turned the handles for the shower and let her bathroom fog up from the steam. Stepping into the hot water she placed a hand on the shower wall and let the water run down her back. Her small fingers worked to remover her braids and wash away the day. She noticed the water at her feet growing a slight pink hue as dried on blood she didn't even know what there washed down the drain.

After almost a half an hour of washing herself and relaxing her tense muscles, Anna stepped out of the shower and wrapped the towel around her small body, walking to her bedroom and sitting on the bed. She didn't even bother to get dressed or brush her hair. The ginger simply laid back and turned to her side, letting the night she had sunk in as she slept alone in her bed without her husband for the third time this week. A few stray tears raced down her cheek and then she silently cried herself to sleep.