Chapter 2

2

The line went dead. The officer slammed his fist against his car. "I don't believe this. A damn rescue captain think he's a god?"

He started frantically scrolling through his contacts.

I sighed, knowing exactly how this would play out. Gideon had worked in every fire station in this county. He was well-connected, even if he was a mediocre leader.

"Try calling the units from the next county over," I suggested. "The local ones won't move if he told them it's a domestic dispute."

I knew the timeline by heart. The bus would stay on that tree for exactly forty minutes before the branches snapped.

In my previous life, Gideon arrived just in time, but he botched the rescue. He ignored protocol and rushed to save his mother and son first, causing the bus to tilt and break the support branches.

Half the passengers died because of his selfishness. Even without his interference, the bus only had about an hour of stability.

The neighboring county was forty minutes away. It was a tight window, but they might be able to save some of them.

Predictably, my phone rang again. It was Bennett, a firefighter who used to come to our house for dinner.

"Elara, come on, don't do this to Gideon," Bennett said, sounding annoyed. "We just got the dispatch, and Gideon already called us. Making a false report is a crime, you know?"

The officer grabbed the phone again. "This is Westview Precinct! I am the one making the report!"

"Yeah, yeah, we heard," Bennett interrupted. "Gideon told us about the 'officer' friend. Look, tell Elara to stop the act. I'm doing her a favor by cancelling the dispatch so she doesn't get sued. Bye."