TBC Writing Challenge: Rainbow Reads
Day 1 of 30
Genre: Thriller, LGBTQ
Emergency Contact by R. Scott Tyler
Jennifer leaned in through the window of the totaled car.
“Sir,” she said again, trying to wake the unconscious driver without touching him more. He had a pulse, but contusions were already beginning to show on his body from the impact with the airbag and other parts of the car where he wasn’t shielded.
His phone was in his left shirt pocket, and when she removed it, it unlocked when she pressed it. She quickly scrolled to his contacts and looked at his emergency contacts. There was only one, which made her squint and shake her head, as if trying to clear her focus.
Steve, her EMT partner and the driver tonight, came to her side about that time, which jump-started her back into action.
“Where are we at? Has he spoken yet?” Steve said, peering into the car.
“No, cut the straps and let’s see if we can get him out of there,” Jennifer answered, glancing again at the driver’s emergency contact. There was no doubt. The name, birthdate, and phone number matched. This man’s emergency contact was her husband of ten years, Rob.
This was potentially a person’s life at stake, so she swallowed her confusion and dialed Rob’s phone.
“Hey, honey, how’s your day going?” he asked.
“I’m not entirely sure. I need to ask you a question, and a person’s life may depend on it,” she said.
“Sorta heavy, but okay, shoot,” Rob replied.
“Are you the emergency contact for William Threader from Winston Canyon?” she blurted out.
“As far as I can remember, I don’t even know a William Threader,” Rob replied.
It was about this time that the victim began to regain consciousness as Steve started to make progress untangling him from the car’s mangled interior.
“Okay, I gotta go. We’ll talk about it later,” Jennifer said as she hung up quickly.
When the EMTs had successfully gotten William out of the car, onto the stretcher, and into the ambulance, he started to ask if they had called his husband.
“What’s your husband’s name, sir?” Jennifer asked.
“It’s Rob, Rob Houston. His name should be in my phone,” he answered. “We’ve been married for three years now,” and then he lapsed back into semiconsciousness.
Word Count: 370
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