PART II
Joe had been relieved beyond words when the pickup had appeared the moment he stepped from his own dead vehicle. His savior was a guy about his own age who was on his way home after dinner at a friend’s house. He had seen Joe pull his car over and knew that he might need help. He chatted amiably and Joe felt an instant kinship with this stranger. “Thank you, Lord, for sending a guardian angel to us tonight,” Joe silently prayed. “Please keep your Hand of Protection on my family while I’m gone, and help me to quickly get back to them!”
Joe and his rescuer chatted about nothing, then asked each other about their respective families. Joe was mid-sentence when he heard an explosion and suddenly the driver was fighting for control of the truck. They had blown a tire and were careening all over the road. Joe grabbed the armrest and held his breath. There was no time to pray, except for a frantic, “Help us!” The driver had regained control and was preparing to pull to the shoulder when the pickup hit a patch of black ice and began to slide sideways down the interstate. The sliding continued until the front tires hit the gravel on the shoulder of the road. Their speed propelled them into a roll and the truck flipped twice before landing on the roof.
Joe was the first to regain consciousness. He heard groaning before he could make his eyes open and realized it was coming from himself. He tried to bring his hand to his face to wipe wet, sticky liquid from his eyes, but his arm refused to do his brain’s bidding. He knew it must be badly broken and also knew the liquid running down his face was his own blood. He gingerly tried to move, and felt the crunch of glass underneath him. He tried his other arm and was immensely relieved to discover that at least one appendage was functional. He wiped his hand across his face and managed to open one eye. The other seemed stubbornly insistent on remaining shut. With his good eye, he tried to assess his situation. He was lying on the roof of the pickup and all the windows had been shattered. There was debris strewn everywhere and big, fluffy snowflakes were blowing in through the open windows. He suddenly remembered his traveling companion and looked for some sign of him. He was nowhere to be found. Thoughts raced through Joe’s mind, “What if help already came and they found the driver, but didn’t see me for some reason?” Joe willed himself to remain calm and tried to think through possible scenarios. In the midst of these thoughts, a horror dawned ferociously. Laura and the boys were stuck in the cold! It was why he had ended up in this predicament to begin with. He couldn’t just lie here waiting for help. He needed to seek help and get back to his family as quickly as possible.
He forced himself to move towards the gaping window, and then stopped suddenly. He had heard a noise! He lay as still as possible and listened intently. Yes, there it was again. He had definitely heard a moan coming from somewhere outside the vehicle. His friend must have been thrown from the truck when they rolled. But he was alive, at least for the time being. Joe knew he had to get to him and then somehow find help for all of them. Joe tried to move again and felt excruciating pain echo up his arm and into his chest. He heard himself scream and then lay still again to try to stop the pain. When he could bear the pain once more, he yelled at the top of his voice, “Hey! Can you hear me?” He realized he had never even asked the driver his name. It seemed like such an unforgivable faux pas now. Joe listened intently for a reply. Hearing none, he repeated his question. This time he heard a faint, “yeah.” Joe wanted to shout, it seemed a victory of sorts. “Hang in there. I’ll try to get out of here and go find help for us.” This time silence met him and he knew he would have to work through the pain and get out of his prison. He took a deep breath and was ready to pick up his bad arm with his good, when suddenly there were car lights approaching. Joe watched helplessly as the car pulled beside them and then heard footsteps approaching. “Anybody here?” a man’s anxious voice called out loudly. Joe tapped into every bit of mental strength he could muster and yelled at the top of his lungs, “Yeah, we’re over here!” Running steps ensued and the next thing he knew, there was a man’s bearded face beside his and eager eyes were assessing the situation. “You OK, Buddy?” “I broke my arm pretty badly, but otherwise, I think I’m OK. My friend is lying outside the truck somewhere, and is probably worse off than I am,” Joe explained in broken gasps. The Bearded Man was nodding vigorously. “You just hang in there now. I’ve got a neighbor not two miles from here and I’ll use his phone. I’ll be back with help as soon as I can.” Joe nodded weakly, though he doubted the man could see in the dark. “And one more thing,” Joe added. “My wife and children are in a stranded car about ten miles east of here. Please send help for them as well. They must be freezing by now!” Joe could see the puzzled look on the man’s face and the way he hesitated. “Ten miles you say? There’s a dead car there all right, I just passed it. But there wasn’t anybody in it. I’m sure of that.” Joe tried to take in this information. He must have been unconscious much longer than he had thought. He asked the man beside him, “Do you know what time it is?” “I reckon’ its about one in the morning,” the man replied. One in the morning! Joe was shaking now. Where could his family be? How could things have taken such a terrible turn? With this thought on his mind, he lost consciousness again, the snow covering his ashen face.
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