Page 30 of Always My Love

Hearing children scream and cry, she raced to help.

Nick had gotten the back doors open and she climbed in. There were several children, no older than twelve, crawling over the seats towards her as Nick encouraged them to keep going.

“Here,” she called out. “Come to me.” She helped a little boy climb over the last seat. Then she set him down in the snow as someone called out to her.

“Here.” A woman rushed towards her. “I’ve got blankets.”

“Take him. There’s more,” she told the woman, then she turned to help another boy.

She lost count of the kids she helped out. Most of them were covered in cuts, bruises, and blood. Lots of blood.

One boy around nine was holding a very broken arm to his chest. She carefully handed him to a man who had stopped to help as well.

One girl around eight, who was wearing a bright red jumpsuit, couldn’t walk on her leg so Nick carried her through the overturned bus seats and handed her over.

“The bus driver is dead,” he told her in a soft voice. “I think she’s the last of the kids. I’m going to go make sure I’ve got everyone.”

Harper nodded and turned to carry the child to where the rest of the children were huddled together.

Just then, the ambulance and firetruck pulled to a stop beside Nick’s Jeep and more chaos ensued.

She placed the little girl in the arms of a fireman, who rushed her towards an ambulance.

She was asked her name and whether she’d been on the bus, as well as who else was in the bus.

Just then, Nick climbed out of the back of the bus empty-handed and rushed over to answer as many questions as he could. Thankfully, he seemed to know a few of the responders and the questions aimed at her stopped.

A thermal blanket was wrapped around her when one of the firemen noticed her shaking.

Up until that point, she hadn’t realized she’d been cold. Then her teeth started chattering and her fingers, nose, and ears grew so cold that she doubted she could feel anything.

“We’re done,” Nick told her as he wrapped his arms around her. “Come on, let’s get you warmed up back in the Jeep. They have our contact information if they have more questions.”

He helped her back to the Jeep and opened the door for her.

When the heater finally kicked on, she melted into the seat and fell fast asleep as he drove them back to Pride.