When Nancy had applied for the job, she had thought that being a 911 operator, even in a small city in Wisconsin, would be exciting, and action-packed. She hadn’t counted on endless hours of boredom, countless prank calls, and countless calls that weren’t emergencies.

A call cam through, and Nancy diligently answered.

“Hello, 911, what seems to be the problem?”

A wet, sputtering voice rasped weakly. “His name is Stephen Griffin. He lives at 411 Westberg Lane.”

Nancy was alarmed now, connecting to the police. “What is the problem? You sound injured. Where are you?”

A dark, choking chuckle came over the line. “It’s too late for me now. I just wanted to make sure the name of my murderer got out.”

“Where are you located?”

“Off of…Elm Street…In the bushes. Dumb man… didn’t think to check for a cell phone… when he left me for…dead…”

“Hang in there. Paramedics are on the way.”

The police found the corpse of Samantha Choi fifteen minutes later. They found a substantial amount of evidence pointing to her ex-boyfriend, Stephen Griffin, as the perpetrator of the crime, but their best witness was Samantha herself. The doctors said that it was a true testament to her strength that she had been able to keep her consciousness long enough to make the 911 call, through the pain of her many stab wounds.

Nancy went to her funeral.