Page 83 of Ruled By Fate

That’s when they heard the scream.

Chapter Seventeen: Powers of the Pendant

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For all her bluster and theatrics about hating cardio, when Sherry heard somebody in trouble, she could move. Before she knew it, Brie was racing to catch up with her friend, who was somehow already twenty yards in front of her, sprinting towards the sound of the scream.

They found the source in a driveway a couple of blocks away. A terrified woman in a bathrobe was already on the phone, screeching out her address to emergency dispatch as a host of neighbors surrounded a man who was perched on top of another, attempting to give CPR.

Sherry wasted no time shoving her way to the heart of the action. “Let me through. I’m an ER nurse.”

She elbowed people aside, and Brie followed in her wake. The well-meaning neighbor was attempting CPR like he’d learned it from a daytime soap opera.

“Get off of him.”

Sherry unceremoniously shoved him aside, and she and Brie got to work. Brie tipped the man’s head back to open his airway and checked for breath sounds. Sherry held her fingers to his carotid artery and felt for a pulse before resuming compressions, this time in the right location and with the correct pressure and frequency.

“Cameron!” Brie called out without thinking, on the off-chance her angel could hear her and offer some assistance. When it became clear that he couldn’t, she decided to ask the witnesses.

“What happened?” she barked into the crowd. The neighbors murmured a collective lack of information, so Brie took it upon herself to summon the partner over. “Lady!”

The woman in the bathrobe tearfully raced over. “How is he?”

“He’s unresponsive. Can you tell me what happened?”

“I don’t know! One minute he kissed me goodbye at the door, and the next…” She stared at the man, eyes wide in horror. “You can bring him back, right? On TV, they always bring them back.”

Brie and Sherry shared a look.

“That’s what we’re trying to do, ma’am,” Brie answered. “We work at Daya Memorial. We’ll make sure he gets the very best care.”

Just then, the ambulance pulled up, and two paramedics came rushing out.

“Sherry?” one of them asked. “What are you doing here?” Despite the urgency of the situation, when his eye was drawn down by her garish ensemble, he added, “What are you wearing?”

“We were on a run and heard a scream,” Sherry replied, never losing focus.

“What can you tell us?”

Sherry rattled off the only info they’d been given as the paramedics prepared the man for transport. At the last minute, she and Brie hopped into the ambulance to ride back themselves.

The young paramedics performed their tasks with seamless, stark professionalism, but the man was completely unresponsive. And Brie got the feeling that despite their youth, the emergency response team had seen enough to be well and thoroughly jaded.

“Third one this week,” a dark-haired woman said grimly as they merged onto the highway.

She was answered by the driver. “I bet it’s some new designer drug the cops haven’t gotten wise to yet. They’re all too young for it to be anything else.”

That’s exactly what Cameron said.

“Either way, this guy’s a goner.” The dark-haired girl continued compressions, but her attention strayed elsewhere. “Are you and Janae still doing that escape room thing this weekend?”

“Nah. Billy tried it a few days ago with his wife and said they solved it in less than an hour. I don’t see the point if it isn’t even a challenge, you know? Besides, Janae says—”

“Would you shut up?” Brie snapped.

The team turned to look at her, startled.

“Sorry, I… I’m trying to hear that. Could you turn it up?”

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