Unforgotten Night

A trooper,dressed in blue, standing brave and tall, waiting for someone to need him to come to their aid. Hearing the radio waves break through with a wreck, multiple cars, several injured, some possibly dead. Running to his unit, gun belt fastened tight, he's unsure of what's waiting, what is he going to find.
Sirens running loud, blue lights flashing bright,he pulls his patrol car through intersections and red lights. A picture of his family comes to mind, He can't help but think, what if it's mine?
Arriving to the scene,looking for a sign of life, no one is moving, and there's not any screams heard. Rushing from car to car checking each person  for a pulse,suddenly a small voice breaking through the mayhem,screaming for Mommy and Daddy, making the troopers heart jump. Frantic and full of fear, he runs down the road to another vehicle,it's flipped over on it's top and it's all beat in. He bends down and crawls in through a window, he found who was screaming. A little boy and his sister trapped in the back seat. Hollering for help to the others, "We gotta' hurry, gas is leaking, make it quick, it's gonna' blow!"
Cutting and tearing quickly as they can, the little girl grabs his hand.
Tears streaming down her face, he hears her say," Mr. Trooper, I know were going to be ok. I prayed to God, to send us help and here you are." " Mr. Trooper, you have angel's wings on your hat" The trooper's eyes now filled with tears, he removes one child, and returns again.
Lifting the little girl,flames growing higher, he runs as fast he can. Snap'! Crackle'!  He jumps for the ditch, with a big boom', it's all gone!
Looking down at the two little souls, he wonders if their parents are alive. One of the workers send the word, they didn't make it. They were thrown through the windshield and into the highway. The kids are left alone.
  Children loaded onto the ambulance, headed for the hospital, the trooper one again leaves the scene to meet them there. His heart in his throat, he sees them laying there . For the life of him, he can't imagine what these kids could be thinking or going through. "What are they going to do?", he asks himself. The doctors and nurses are rushing from child to child, trying to make them understand what exactly is going on. They were working with each one, wraping and casting broken bones.
The rescue workers that had responded to the scene came to where the trooper was standing in a little room alone. They began to tell him the outcome of the accident, with the total injuries and fatalities that were involved. Through a clouded mind, with fear for the kid's lives, he heard them say, " out of three vehicles, we have two injured and five that didn't make it." " Four of the subjects have been identified as the kid's parents and grandparents, and the other was what appeared to be the violator that caused it. The trooper's head begins to spin as he walks down the long hospital hall, to head back to the scene to search the violator's vehicle for any evidence of impairment.
Pulling back onto the scene, the trooper continues to think of all the lives lost and the two little lives that are changed forever. Climbing out of his patrol unit, he enters the violator's truck and begins to look around. Papers and all the other contents in the truck are slung everywhere. He looks under the seats and see's some items shinning out of the corner of his eye. Reaching under there he pulls out a beer can that had been opened. Experienced years on the patrol, tells him that there has to be more. Continuing the search, he pulls out several more. Reality setting in, he realizes that this guy was drinking and driving when he hit this family. ' What was this guy thinking?", he says to himself. " When are people going listen, will they ever learn?" " So many lives gone and changed becasue of just one person not thinking and not being concerned about anyone else other than theirself."
The trooper makes a run back over to the hospital to check on the outcome of the children, and if any other family has come to claim them. Walking into the waiting room, he sees a older couple bent over with their head in their hands. Knowing that this had to be some of the family. He moved over to where they were sitting and sat down with them to discuss the accident. The older man lifted his head, with tears streaming down his face. His dark hazel eyes reflected just how heart broken this man and his wife really was. The gentleman began to tell the trooper that he was the kid's other grandparents and that was their daughter that was killed. The trooper sat there still with regret for this family. The older gentleman's wife looked him in the face and told him of how their granddaughter had told them about how a trooper dressed in blue with angel's wings on his hat, had came into the car where they were, just as soon as she had finnished praying for God to send help and to help them not be scared. At that point, the trooper's world was numb and spinning out of control. Tears rushing like flowing rivers down his face, he realized that God had used him in something that seemed to be so small to others, but so great to those children in need. He began to tell the family how he had just come on duty when the wreck call was given out. Everyone at the hospital then realized how hard it can be on a person to have to leave his family, maybe for the last time, and go out and serve the citizens of the area no matter the cost. Protect and serve each one as though it were his own.
The trooper returned to his unit, to head home.  It was the end of his shift. This wreck had consumed his whole night, but thank God he got there as quick as he did. Just a few seconds later, the kids would have been blown up with that car and there wouldn't be any survivors. God had used him once again in unexpected circumstances to help save and change lives.
As he pulled into his driveway, he couldn't wait to get inside and see his family. Running into the house he sees his wife and children sound to sleep in their warm beds. He can't help by go to each one of his two kids, trying not to wake them, and kiss them on the forehead. He moves to his wife and embraces her so thankful for his family and all the blessings God has given them. He thinks to hisself as he lingers off to sleep, how many take it all for granted. Each and every breath we take could be our last. Are we really ready to go off into eternity at the blink of an eye, just as those souls did tonight? What about the violator, all drunk and impaired? Do we think of ourselves before others? Lord, please don't ever let us be caught off gaurd! A long night never to be forgotten, the trooper falls to sleep.
By Tori Smith 9/4/2011