Free Belly of the Beast by Blake Crouch, Douglas Walker Page B

was stupid, but I was fourteen. I lied and said I was sixteen so I could work at Sonic Burger, but then I wanted a real job. A Mexican guy got me a fake high school diploma and a driver’s license that said I was eighteen. Fortunately, everyone under thirty was trying to look like Twiggy then, so most people didn’t question my age because of my skinny body, and I was almost as tall then as I am now. I didn’t speak like a typical teeny-bopper either. Mother had taught me French, German, Russian, and proper English, so people assumed I was older. Except for some science which Mother had neglected, it didn’t take much to get an Emergency Medical Technician certificate. In three months, I was on my first ambulance run. A jeep was upside down in the San Juan River.”
    Yuri listened quietly.
    “A baby died. I just couldn’t make myself put my head under water to reach inside and pull her out. They said I couldn’t have known someone was inside. They said EMTs weren’t trained for river rescues.”
    “So it wasn’t your fault.”
    “There was a trail of junk where the jeep had rolled down the bank, groceries and stuff. I saw a baby shoe and some toys.”
    “A jeep? Everyone was probably crushed when it rolled.”
    “The mother was thrown clear; the other EMT was busy with her. Later, they found that the baby was strapped in and the jeep had a roll bar. In my heart, I had known that baby was there, but I didn’t save her. I’ll live with that for the rest of my life.”
    “We all must live with failings.”
    “Not like that. I can’t fail Alex like I did that poor baby. I’ll do whatever it takes to save him. I guess finally confronting my mother was a bit like sticking my head under water.”
    Yuri slowed and turned off the freeway. “Well, let’s hope that’s the worst of it. It’s good you can talk about it.”
    “What happened with the baby wasn’t exactly a secret. Mercy Hospital Hires Fifteen-Year-Old Ambulance Attendant was the headline the day after the inquiry. The hospital was sued and they threatened to prosecute me for falsifying records and reckless endangerment or something, but one of the men at the inquiry said he would sponsor me. He had a rest home, gave me a job, and paid me under the table. When I finally turned sixteen, he helped me get a certificate of citizenship and enrolled me in nursing classes. I actually leased the land by the river and started fixing up the trailer where I’d been living.”
     “You got your life together.”
    “Sort of. Christina, an ambulance attendant who was my only real friend, helped me replace broken windows in the trailer, and she lent me an old three-speed bicycle so I could get around. Then things started to fall apart. When the nursing school learned I didn’t have a real high school diploma, I had to take GED courses too. I was always tired what with work and all the classes, and with trailer repairs, textbooks, school supplies, and rent, I was always broke. Then one day I lost my grocery money. I’m sure I had safely tucked it in my pocket, but I couldn’t find it. I was too proud to ask for help. Instead, I took some food from the nursing home kitchen.”
    “Hardly like shooting a man.”
    “I was going to pay them back, but I knew it was wrong. I guess I got what was coming to me. I was on Christina’s bike, the sack of food in my basket. I was almost home when I realized I was being followed. At first, I thought it was someone from the nursing home, but it was a welding rig. I saw the logo later. Crescent Oil and Gas . A guy was driving slowly behind me, lights off.”
    Niki looked nervously over her shoulder.
    “We’re almost there,” said Yuri.
    Niki nodded.
    “Don’t stop talking,” said Yuri. “What happened?”
    “I knew I couldn’t outride him on the highway,” Niki continued, “so I turned off, dropped my bike, and ran through the cottonwood grove toward my place. I hadn’t gone far when I tripped on a tree root. He