Something woke me up.

I didn't know what it was. It was a noise though. Somebody was downstairs. I just knew it, so I sat up and began to slide off the bed. When Diana grabbed my wrist, sleepily she moaned, "Where're you goin?"

"Someone's downstairs," I whispered.

Diana lifted her head from the pillow and looked at me, then the clock which glowed red number 3:13, then back to me, "Hoot come back to bed."

I shook my head and reached for the baseball bat under my bed, right beside my semi automatic rifle.

Diana made a noise, "Hoot! The last time you said someone was downstairs it was just Sanderson stealing ice cream for Humera, and you almost broke his damn arm with that bat."

I stood up, bat in hand, "But I was right. Somebody was down yonder."

She moaned and rolled on her side, "Fine. Go play man of the house, just bring me a Pepsi on your way up."

I didn't understand women.

There could be a man downstairs and she wanted a soda.

Women.

I snuck out of the bedroom and quietly down the stairs in bare feet, the air was really cold on my bareback but I ignored it. There was a soft beeping noise coming from the kitchen.

Bat in hand I made it to the bottom of the steps.

There weren't any shadows.

So I continued on and snuck down the hall, the portable phone was on and in the hall in front of the kitchen. Beeping.

As if it had been off the hook for a while.

As I came around the corner and peeked in the kitchen my heart stopped.

A sickening fear filled me.

Before I knew it I screamed for Diana and ran into the kitchen, dropping the bat along the way, I ran over to McKnight who was on the kitchen floor, on his stomach in his pajamas.

Out cold.

The first thought was, the man had a heart attack!

Again I screamed for Diana, feeling for a pulse on his neck. I knew better then to move him. Incase he had fallen and snapped his neck or something.

When I felt his pulse I literally thanked God and then I screamed for her again.

I patted his shoulder, if he were just out cold I tried to wake him. But I didn't shake him or move him, incase it were something worse.

Diana's feet came running across the floor, down the steps and then the hall, when she saw me hunched over her father she screamed and came over.

She dropped beside me and reached for his pulse, "Call 911 Hoot, call 911, hurry!" The fear in her voice broke something inside me. I got up and ran to the phone in the hall as she called out his name over and over.

Trying to wake him as if he were just asleep.

I hit the off and then talk button, then dialed 911, the operators voice came over the line, "911, what's your emergency?"

"It's my father'n'law, he's on'a floor an out. I I think he's hada heart'tack. You you need'a send an ambulance!" I shrieked at the woman, watching as Diana kept her hand on his pulse and watched the microwave clock, counting to herself.

What she was doing I had no idea.

But then the woman on the phone told me, "Sir you need to calm down. Is he alert."

"No woman he's dun out cold! I jus found'em minute ago! He's gotta pulse but I ain't sure what's wrong."

"Hoot!"

I looked to Diana who had rolled McKnight onto his back, she looked up at me, "Toss me a light."

I ignored the operator and grabbed one from the counter, I tossed it down to her and watched as she turned it on and looked in her fathers face. She lifted one of his eyelids, then opened his bottom jaw and looked in his mouth.

"Hurry up!" I screamed at the operator as Diana looked back to me, "Go get me my bag."

I dropped the phone and ran out into the living room.

Diana had a bag for work, a backpack, she kept all her life saving stuff inside of it, I spotted it, grabbed it, and ran back into the kitchen. I dropped it at her side as she told me, "Call the E.R."

She unzipped her bag as I grabbed the phone and hung up on the operator, then dialed the E.R. direct. She pulled out her stethoscope and I gave her the phone, she began to speak in a much calmer voice, "Annette, tell Robert that my father is coming in, he's in the beginning of cardiac arrest, his heart is slowed but not stopped, he might have a partial blockage, have them ready and tell Robert he might need to prep for surgery…..yes, Hoot already called 911…..I'm checking now hold on,"

Diana put the two ear plugs in and slid the cold end of the stethoscope up McKnight's shirt and listened to his heart, she swore and pulled it out, she told the woman something then pulled the blood pressure cuff from her bag. She strapped it on his arm and pumped the round rubber ball up, then let it deflate, again she swore and told the woman McKnight's blood pressure.

Where the hell was the ambulance!

What was taking so damn long!

The 911 place automatically scanned the calls and knew the addresses! Why the hell wasn't the ambulance here yet!

Diana held her hand over his pulse then swore and dropped the phone.

"What's wrong?" I asked her, absolutely terrified McKnight would die.

"His hearts slowing even more. Go go unlock the front door for the paramedics."

I listened and ran for the front door.

It took me three tries before I could remember how to work the locks, then I opened the door just incase, when I ran back into the kitchen Diana had started to do CPR.