Page 6 of Bad Seed

“About a hundred and fifty pounds, more or less,” Alex said.

Brendan nodded. “I got you,” he said, scooped him up in his arms, and started walking toward the arriving police units as fast as he could.

Police officer Doug Leedy saw Brendan coming and ran to help. “Brendan! What the hell? Were you in this wreck? Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. I witnessed the wreck. I’m the one who called it in. I just pulled this guy off the roof of the bus and got a tourniquet on his leg. He has a really bad gash. Looks like it might have nicked an artery. He’s gonna bleed out fast if they don’t get him to ER. His name is Alex Fallin. He’s Josie Fallin’s brother.”

“Oh man! On it!” Doug said, and ran for a couple of EMTs who were just getting out of their ambulance. They came running with a gurney, loaded Alex on it, strapped him down, and headed for the ambulance.

Brendan breathed a sigh of relief when the young man’s life was no longer in his hands, but the screams and shouts and the cries for help were coming from all directions now. He guessed there were people still trapped in the bus and ran back in that direction, but when he looked inside, the people who were still there were either tangled up in the crumpled seats and lyingon windows they’d once been looking out of or unconscious. He turned to look for help and saw a rescue squad from the fire department approaching and moved out of the way. Part of the team headed to the smoking engine with fire extinguishers, and the rest of them piled into the bus to aid the victims.

Brendan turned around, thinking it was time he got out of the way and let the experts do their job, when he noticed a child’s stuffed toy lying on the shoulder of the road about ten feet away from the undercarriage. One wheel on the bus was still turning slowly, and luggage was scattered all over.

He hurried over to get the toy and, as he bent down, heard what sounded like a child’s muffled sobs. His heart sank. “Ah, man…please don’t let this kid be in pieces,” he muttered, and jumped down into the ditch.

Within seconds, he saw a little boy, no more than three years old, sitting up in the tall dead weeds rocking back and forth, bloody, dazed, and crying.

Brendan couldn’t tell if the child had been thrown this far or if he’d somehow exited the bus with the others, then walked away from the smoke and fell into the ditch. He squatted down in front of the child and held out the stuffed toy.

“Hey, buddy, is this yours?”

There was recognition in the little boy’s eyes as he grabbed the toy and clutched it under his chin. Brendan picked him up, and when he did, the little boy laid his head on Brendan’s shoulders and started sobbing.

The sound broke Brendan’s heart. “Hey, little guy…it’s okay. You’re gonna be okay. I’ve got you. My name is Brendan. Can you tell me your name?”

“Want Mommy,” he sobbed.

“Then let’s go find her. We’ll find Mommy together, okay?”

He climbed out of the ditch with the toddler and started walking toward the ambulances already lining up on scene.

***

Police officer Wiley Pope was Doug Leedy’s partner. He’d just learned about his brother’s part in the rescue, but he didn’t see him anywhere. The highway was littered with people lying down, and others staggering about in confusion, all of them cut and bleeding.

Police officer Aaron Pope was with his partner, Bob Yancy, setting up roadblocks. Some cars were beginning to line up behind barriers, while others were turning around on the highway and going back the way they’d come.

Aaron knew Brendan had made the 911 call, but knew nothing else about rescuing Josie Fallin’s brother from the wreck. He was talking to their police chief on a walkie when he saw Brendan walking through the crowd, blood all over his clothes and hands, and carrying a bloody child in his arms. “Gotta go, Chief. There was a kid in the wreck,” Aaron said, and headed toward his brother on the run.

“Brendan! What the hell? Are you hurt? Who’s the kid?” Aaron asked.

“No, no, I’m not hurt. I called in the wreck and just found this little guy in a ditch a few yards from the bus. I don’t know his name. He just keeps asking for Mommy.”

Aaron didn’t hesitate. “Come with me,” he said, and hurried them to a waiting ambulance.

Brendan repeated the story to the paramedics and gently handed the child over. “There’s likely to be a woman in that bus frantic about her baby. Make sure somebody tells her he’s been found.”

“I’ll make sure all of the rescuers know,” Aaron said.

Brendan nodded and started to walk away when Aaron stopped him. “Where are you going?”

“To get my bike and get out of everyone’s way,” Brendan said.

Aaron frowned. “I can’t let you ride your bike through here, but I’ll help you push it through the roadblock.”

“Understood, but I can push it. You do what you need to do. Just make sure someone lets me through,” and then he took off at a lope to where he’d parked his bike, toed up the kickstand, and began pushing it up the shoulder of the highway while the snow continued to fall. Once he passed the roadblock, he put his helmet back on, started the engine, and rode the rest of the way home.

Adrenaline was crashing as Brendan pulled up into his driveway. His feet were dragging as he parked in the garage and went inside, took off his biker boots and theblack leather biker jacket he’d been wearing and cleaned off all the blood, then stripped and dumped the rest of his bloody clothes in the washing machine and started it to washing. He wanted a hot shower and some clean clothes. After the noise and screaming at the wreck site, the quiet of his house was a relief, and after all those hours on the road, it felt good to be out of the cold.

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