The Day I Let Them Die

Summary

The Labor Day traffic on Interstate 80 had ground down to a suffocating standstill, the late-afternoon sun beating against the hood of our Subaru like a hot iron. In the back seat, our five-year-old daughter, Annie, was humming along to the radio, swinging her small canvas sneakers against the upholstery.

Then the siren came.

It started as a faint, wailing pulse behind us, rapidly swelling into a sharp, urgent howl. Through the rearview mirror, I saw the flashing cherry-red and stark white strobes of an approaching ambulance.