Beth Sherman sat in the front seat on a church bus, tired after a fun, activity-filled weekend at a lake retreat spent with twenty-five children from seven to twelve years old. Dusk was settling over the ranch lands along the two-lane highway. It would be dark by the time they returned to the parking lot at The Redeemer Church. All she wanted to do after spending forty-eight hours away from home was to go to sleep.
When she volunteered to be a chaperon, her first time since she’d come to Cimarron City, she should have asked her boss for Monday off so she could bounce back from an exhausting retreat. She should have more energy. She needed an exercise routine, although she hated doing it. But if she was going to do this in the future—and she wanted to—then she needed to build up her stamina.
She glanced back at the children behind her. Nearly half of them were sleeping. Some of the others fought to keep their eyes from closing, but it didn’t look like they would win the battle. She’d go to sleep, too, if she wasn’t one of the five chaperons. Instead, she straightened in her seat and tried to keep her eyes on the road before the bus.
An oncoming van crested the hill moving toward them. The vehicle moved over the line and onto the shoulder of the road. The driver corrected, and Beth breathed a sigh. The relief was short-lived, as the van crossed the double yellow line in the road.
“Whoa,” Sam, the bus driver, said and slowed.
Beth glanced out the side to her right. The shoulder there was brief with a slope that could cause the van to tip over.
Still, the driver eased off the road to give the van room to correct.
Beth tensed and glanced to see that the children in the back were okay. Her gaze was drawn beyond them through the back window.
An eighteen-wheeler barreled down on them.
A horn and a screech of brakes announced that the driver of the semi was alerted to what was happening.
Too late.
The semi swiveled and plowed into the rear of the bus—where all the duffle bags had been stored. The collision knocked Beth forward, her seatbelt keeping her in place.
Cries filled the air.
She’d turned to see how the children were, but only a couple of seconds later, the van rammed into the area where the truck and bus were touching. She was tossed in another direction. Her head struck against the window. Pain streaked down her.
Screams assaulted her. Dazed, Beth fumbled to unsnap her seatbelt then pushed to her feet. As she pivoted toward the children behind her, her sudden movement caused her eyesight to flutter while dizziness attacked all her senses. She gripped the back of her seat while she assessed the damage to the others. Although her legs were shaky, she began making her way toward the rear where the impact was the worst, gripping whatever she could to keep herself upright.
As she checked the kids right behind her, an explosion rocked the bus. Her grasp tightened as her fingernails dug into the leather to keep her on her feet. Her gaze fixed on the flames shooting up from the van.
“We need to get off this bus now,” Beth shouted over the wails and moans.
Spread throughout the bus, the other four chaperons were on their feet, except for Susie, who sat in the back. While the three adults helped the children exit with the bus driver’s assistance, Beth checked and comforted whomever she could as she made her way to the rear where Susie lay against the back window, her eyes closed.
The fire spread toward the bus. Beth felt Susie’s pulse and breathed a sigh of relief. Beth’s surroundings were illuminated with the flames creeping nearer. She saw the blood running down the window. She had to carry Susie out of the bus. Now.
Beth struggled to move Susie to the end of the seat then stooped to cradle the woman against her chest. When Beth rose, she staggered back a few paces before something deep inside of her drew the strength she needed to the surface. She moved forward, glancing at the seats to make sure they were empty. When she reached the steps off the bus, the driver came into sight.
“Clara’s missing,” Sam halted at the bottom of the exit. “Did you see her?”
“No, but take Susie, and I’ll go look for Clara.”
“Sure.” He climbed the steps and took hold of the injured woman. “Take my flashlight.”
As soon as she could, Beth whirled around and headed back down the aisle, trying to remember where Clara had sat during the ride. Why hadn’t she seen her earlier?
As she made her way toward the rear of the bus, she again searched every seat, even underneath each one with the flashlight. No one. Over the sound of the fire, Beth called out, “Clara, where are you?” What if she was hurt? But where? She’d look…
She remembered seven-year-old Clara had a favorite blanket that she’d brought on the trip and carried it around with her that first night. She’d never spent the night away from home and had been scared on Friday. Beth headed for the bags at the back. If she recalled, Clara had been sitting a couple of rows from where the suitcases were.
“Clara, I’m here to help you.” Beth coughed as the smoke seeped into the interior of the bus. Please, Lord, help me find her.
“Beth, have you seen Clara?” Sam headed down the aisle.
Beth reached the stack of belongings. “Not yet.”
“The fire’s spreading.”
She heard a noise coming from nearby. Crying? “Clara.”
The weeping grew. Beth homed in on the sound and found Clara buried among the duffel bags, clutching her blanket. “Come on, sweetie. I’ll take you out of here.” Beth handed the flashlight to Sam then scooped up Clara and headed as fast as she could toward the exit.
When they were out of the bus and hurrying toward the group of children and chaperons, the resonance of a siren signaled help was on the way. Beth released a long sigh. With Clara clinging to her, Beth finally reached the others.
“We need to move further away.” Sam pointed in the direction they should move.
Still holding Clara, Beth followed the group. Halfway there, another explosion blasted through the air, shaking the ground and taking Beth to her knees with Clara still in her arms.
* * *
The next day, Beth hobbled to the front entrance of her house and looked through her peephole to check who was outside. She smiled and opened the door. “Ann, it’s good to see you.”
Her neighbor, from two houses away, held up a casserole. “I’ve fixed you dinner.”
Beth stepped to the side. “Come in.”
“Where do you want me to put the dish?”
“In the refrigerator for later. I really appreciate the thought.”
“How do you feel?” Ann opened the fridge, set the meal on the top rack, then shut the door.
“Okay.”
Ann shook her head. “I don’t believe you. You’re limping. You have a knot on your forehead. I’d say you aren’t all right.”
“A few bumps and bruises. A doctor at the hospital checked me out. I’ll be able to go to work tomorrow. Would you like coffee? I made a pot when I got up a few hours ago.”
“If you let me get it for you.”
Beth nodded and took a seat at her kitchen table.
Ann poured the coffee into two mugs, brought Beth hers, then sat across from her. “I tried calling you before I came over, but it went to voicemail. I left a message so ignore it. I wanted to make sure you were all right.”
“Thanks.”
Beth’s cell phone buzzed on the counter by the door into the hallway.
“You can get it. Don’t mind me.” Ann took a sip of her drink. “I’ll enjoy this coffee. You make the best.”
“That’s okay. I started receiving calls at six this morning.”
“Why?”
“Because I found a little girl and got her off the bus before it caught fire.”
“I can understand people in town wanting to thank you, but six is a little early. Did you get any sleep last night?”
“A couple of hours. Most of the calls were from the media or people I don’t know. At first, the ones I recognized from my friends, I answered them. But then it got to be too much. Too many were unknown callers.”
“I found out you were hurt when I saw a photo of you on the early morning news. Not long after that I got a call from the pastor since he knew I lived nearby. He’s at the hospital visiting with Susie and will come see you later.”
“That’s good to know. I’ll be on the lookout for him. I can ignore the calls, but a couple of strangers have come to my door. I didn’t let them know I was here. I don’t like this attention.”
“Get some sleep. I’ll stay and make sure no one bothers you.”
Beth shook her head. “You don’t need—”
“Beth Sherman, let me do this for you. You look like you’re going to fall asleep in that chair you’re sitting in.”
“I’m not the only one who got the kids off the bus. It was a group effort.”
“But you stayed to find Clara. Fifteen minutes of fame is fleeting. It’ll be over when the next news story comes along.