NaNoWriMo 2012

Nov. 7
There were many things to do on Saturday at Haley’s house after she turned on the washing machine. Since she had moved in four months ago, she still had a few boxes in her garage that should be emptied. She knew that there was at least a box of books that she wanted inside and in a new bookcase that she had assembled. In box number 12 was a collection of knickknacks that she had since she was a child. She had places for each and every one of them.
There was a barking inside the house that indicted that GC was noticing some stranger at the front door. She hurried back inside the house and to the front door’s peephole. Standing there was a neighbor who had introduced herself to Haley the day she moved in. Edna Taylor was a retired teacher who was at some times overly chatty. She would come to tell her if there was a sale in a certain store, a nice person who would cut her yard for a good price or a break-in on the street. Edna was nice but sometimes, too much for a busy person.
“Oh Edna,” said Haley as she desperately tried to think of something to say, that would not hurt Edna’s feelings but let her know that she did not have time to talk. “I am still kind of busy,” she started.
“Haley, I just stopped by to let you know that I am going to be gone for a couple of days and wonder if you would just stop by and feed Princess Beauty my cat.” Edna showed her a picture of a long haired cat with beautiful blue eyes.
“Oh I guess so. Just leave me a key and a note of what and when to feed her.” She breathed a sigh of relief with the thought that Edna would be away for at least a day. “Where are you going?”

“My astronomy group is spending the night at the nearby park-observatory to view the next comet that is going to pass by.”
“That sounds pretty interesting. I hope that you have a clear night for the viewing.” said Haley with a smile.
“Us too. But even if we don’t see much, we will have a chance to talk to one of the best astronomers in the area.” She handed an envelope with a key and a note to Haley. “Thanks again.” She turned and walked down the sidewalk to go to her house.
Haley walked back into the house and went to the counter where she laid down her cell phone. She checked the voice mail and email sections. There were no new messages in either one. As she closed the cell phone, the washing machine made a loud thumping noise that indicated that it was entering its spin cycle. That reminded her that she wanted to unwrap the figurines and bring them into the kitchen to check for damage on them.
She went into the garage and looked at the washing machine. The timer showed that she had about ten minutes before the whole process would be finished. She went over to the box with figurines and pulled out a couple of wrapped ones. As she reentered the house, she began to hear the latest update of the accident that she had missed earlier.
“Wicks here with the update to the accident on the Greens Bridge. We are happy to report that the accident that involved Mr. and Mrs. Costo has been cleared and traffic is now resuming. Mr. and Mrs. Costo, who were slightly injured, were taken to the nearest Memorial Hospital. The driver in the first vehicle, who was suspected driving while under the influence, was severely injured and has been taken to the hospital and will be investigated further.”
Haley ran to the counter and placed the figurines on top. She picked up her cell phone and tried to call Farris’ phone number. It rang six times. Then the voice mail message kicked in. She tapped her foot on the floor as she waited for the beep alerting her that she could leave a message.
“PLEASE LEAVE A MESSAGE AFTER THE BEEP………BEEP.”
“Oh Farris, I just heard about the accident. I know the hospital well and if there is anything I can do, or recommend someone, give me a call.” She was about to hang up but decided to add, “I’m sorry that I was late this morning.”
She hung up and went over the list of ER doctors who she knew. Dr. Russell was the best in the city but she had often heard him talk about Doctor Dara Som as being someone he would want to work on him in an emergency.
Now Haley’s stomach began twisting in knots. As a nurse who had faced countless emergencies, she knew that a cool head and calm hands were the only thing that would get people through disasters. Her only thought now was how Farris would be handling this crisis that is affecting him personally. From her initial observation, he seemed that he could come out of anything in pretty good shape.
At the site of the wreck there were several police cars, ambulances and wreckers. Two policemen were motioning to drivers to go to one lane and drive on slowly. Some people involved in the wreck were standing and trying to talk to the policemen to explain their version on how the accident occurred. The driver of the overnight delivery truck was unconscious and being lifted onto a gurney.
One of the cars looked like it suddenly started leaking gasoline. An unshaven wrecker driver stopped talking and started looking around for what he knew was gasoline. As he looked at the car driven by the Costos the clear, but unmistakable fuel snaked its way from under the car.
“Hey. There’s a gasoline leak here!” he yelled.
“Everybody hurry up and get out of the way!” bellowed a tall, old looking policeman.
“Call the fire department and possibly hazmat.” added a policewoman who had been taking some information from Mr. Costo.
“We have one more person in the car and we need help.” shouted an ambulance attendant.
Time was now a factor. The gasoline smell grew stronger. Cars were being stopped and those in the back were told to get off the bridge and to use the feeder road. One of the policemen rushed to the car to help pull a young man out but his door was stuck.
Up above a news heliocopter was swooping down to take a closer picture of the accident for the six o’clock news. A photographer was leaning out of the doorway with his camera to get a better picture.
Frantically the men gave one last tug on the third car and it popped open. The young man, about seventeen years old rolled out of the car and into the arms of the policeman who opened the door. The policeman dragged the youth far away from the car and helped him lay down on the side of the road.
As the policeman turned around to give a thumbs up, there was a big explosion and a ball of fire from Mr. and Mrs. Costo’s car. Glass, metal and car parts flew into the air. The heliocopter quickly pulled up and away. The heat from the explosion went in all directions. The fire burned with a bright orange and yellow flames. A tire exploded. The smoke from the fire then showed a little darkness as a tire caught on fire. The fire leaped onto the delivery truck.
“What’s in there!” demanded the head policeman. “Anything that will be toxic?”
“We don’t know. The driver was taken away in the first ambulance.” responded one of the policemen. “He was unconscious at the time so we couldn’t get any information on it.”
The head policeman, who had twenty-five years of experience knew that this was a disaster that could have even more serious implications. He ran to the front of the delivery truck to see if there was a clipboard with a list of delivery items. He looked in the front an grabbed what he thought hoped for.
He moved back very quickly and then began to scan the list. When he reached the second page, he saw something that made his heart skip a beat.