He remembered every word she had ever spoken, so upon entering the little town, he knew exactly where he was going. Just a bit farther up the road on the left was a small building with a glass front, and as he approached, his hand pressed on the horn and stayed there.

Inside the clinic, it was quiet. Two nurses and a doctor watched the clock, waiting for it to strike nine. It had been another long and tedious day. One cold, two fevers from the flu, a broken finger, a rash from eating too many strawberries, and the village hypochondriac with his latest tale of woe had filled their day, but only just barely. With the storm wreaking havoc, the television in the waiting area had been turned off, so under lights flickering in time with the lightning, the staff sat silent. One sipped coffee, one scribbled aimlessly, and one read a magazine. Ten minutes and they could go home.

Their heads popped up in unison when the sound of the thunderstorm was broken by the blare of a car horn. The room filled with the brightness of headlights, and for a moment, they all felt dread. Believing the car wasn’t going to stop, they scrambled to their feet, but just as quickly the thought left their minds as they heard the screech of brakes...and all was well again. A loud crash of thunder suddenly rocked the building. Cringing at the sound, for a split-second they forgot about the car, but then they heard the horn still honking for help.

The doctor, serving out his last days before retirement, flew past the two nurses, decades younger than himself, and pushing open the doors, he ran out into the storm. His light-blue surgical scrubs turned dark almost instantly, and mindless of the wind and blinding rain, he hurried to the driver’s door and yanked it open.

“My wife! My wife! Please help my wife!” the man inside cried out.

Leaning into the car, the doctor saw the woman sitting in the passenger seat, and when the lightning flashed again, he paled. She was covered in blood.

“Get a trolley!” he yelled over his shoulder as he ran to the passenger side. “Get a trolley, now!”

Pulling open the door, he knelt in a puddle and took the woman’s pulse. It was faint, but it was there. Hearing the rickety sound of the gurney being pushed across the rutted parking lot, he rose to his feet, and as the storm raged around them, the three trained in saving lives tried to do just that.