BANG. The shot came before anyone could react, a last ditch effort by the robber to get out of his situation. Already he had shot three hostages, one in the leg, two in the arms, and now he could add a police officer to this rap sheet. Only, this officer didn’t have much luck on his side. Whereas the Hostages would no doubt survive, this officer would be unfortunate. The ambulance was still getting it’s way through traffic as the wound in the officer’s chest caused him to slowly waver. All he could hear was his partner calling for him, ‘Darrel, Darrel!’ But the wound was already taking it’s effect. The blood vessels that had been ruptured were literally beginning to drip blood, the puddle around him being his only cushion as he fell to the ground, the red, viscous liquid flowing from his mouth and chest, and his world slowly going black. The last thing he saw, was the figure of a glowing blonde woman, looking right at his face, concerned. He wanted to tell her to leave, to get to safety, but he was too weak to even stay conscious……………

The sudden jolt of him being placed on the stretcher awoke him. He was strapped down, a small, but powerful bullet wound lodged in his chest, the bullet no doubt still there. Slowly his blood shot eyes opened to the fluorescent white glow of the ambulance, glowing much like woman. Only… he couldn’t see her, not any more. He moved his eyes, unable to do much from the pain, and looked around. He could only just see the faces of the blurred figures, His partner, Jolene, Watching her partner being put in the ambulance as she put the robber into the back of their squad car. He saw the other three hostages who had been shot being patched up right there on the scene, and he saw…

The EMTs. They were… four of them. Why four? Didn’t EMTs go in teams of two like Cops? Why the extra EMTs in one ambulance…? He tried to tell what they were. Two of them… they almost seemed to glow, like the woman… only, one had black hair, and the other was male. These were the ones who glowed. The other two looked to be a Hispanic, and an redhead. They… they almost looked like they didn’t see the other two. Was he… imagining these other two? He had hears stories, life and death situations, people claim to see angels and heaven. Was he seeing angels…?

“Get this guy strapped down tight, we need to get him to emergency surgery A-S-A-P.”

“Strapped and ready to go, you just make sure he doesn’t start dying on us. It’s gonna be a long ride.”

“Nobody dies on my watch.”

He couldn’t tell who was saying what to who, but he knew this, all three of the voices were different, and one surely sounded female. He heard the doors close behind them, the sounds of the sirens being put to the highest of settings, and the tires screeching to pull away. It was like he was having a drug induced episode, bringing him back to the old days. He remembered seeing all his friends in college, hanging out in the dorms and parks, smoking weed and getting high of the latest craze… he remembered it as clearly as it was happening right now. He remembered every miniscule detail, even ones he had forgotten, like the hairstyle Susan had, or which baseball team was playing against who.

And he remembered all his sins, all those he had harmed. He became a cop to repent, but he hadn’t really… he had only done worse. As a cop, he had been all to much of a pompous ass, thinking High and mighty of himself. And what did it get him? A bullet wound to the chest and his life in the hands of these strangers. If they knew his life… they probably wouldn’t want to save him. No… they’d take the longest time possible to get to the hospital just so he could die for what he’s done.

“That’s not true.” The voice, it came in so clear, so strong, and the figure saying it, she was coming in clear and strong too. It was… the black haired woman. Had she read his mind? “Yes, but that’s a different matter. These paramedics are working to save your life, and even if they knew about what you did, they’d still work to save you, because you paid for your crimes, and god has forgiven you.

God…? So… She’s an Angel…

“Yes I am, but I’m not the one working to save your life. I’m helping to keep you alive, but the ones who are the real angels here are Benjamin and Samuel here.”

“The… carrot top and the Hispanic…?” Darrel didn’t say it straight, but he thought it. The paramedics only heard moans, most likely from the pain. But he was speaking instead.

“That’s correct. Silver and I are simply here to make sure you don’t die before your time.”

Darrel glanced over to the thin man, who also began to come in more clear and glow. He had markings near his eyes…

“But… I’m going to eventually die…”

“Everyone does, but we angels interfere only when someone is in danger of dying before they should.”

“So… I’m not going to die…?”

Both the angels went silent and looked away. For a second, he thought they didn’t care, but then something rose inside him…

Only to the paramedics, it looked to be him going into shock. Darrel began to jerk, his body flailing about as Shock set in from the loss of blood. The paramedics tried to stop him, for they may lose him, but it was proving a hard battle. “Central, help me out here!” Cried the red head, looking at the direction of the black haired woman.

“How are they able to see you…?”

“Normally they wouldn’t, but these people work to save lives everyday, so we allow ourselves to be seen by them, just like we do with Firefighters… and police.”

“Who was the blonde woman?” Darrel asked, getting up and phasing through the straps, his spirit essentially now able to leave his body.

“Farrago, she is the one who told me of you, and how you were in trouble.”

“Tell her… Thank you. But I still am unsure…”

“Darrel,” Central began, “Your early life was tough and it was filled with sin, but you have already begun to repent. Simply by becoming someone who works to save others, you have begun the path to redemption. “

“But…”

“Laura forgives you.”

Darrel looked at her with widened eyes as his body began to go limp, and a cloaked figure appeared in the ambulance.

“She knows it was an accident, and forgives you. She still loves you, and is waiting for you in heaven. She’s crafted it just for you, with thousands of people who need saving, and only you can.”

Darrel was speechless. She forgave him? That was enough alone to make him feel better, but the image of their heaven? With him saving people every day of his life? That was like adding extra sprinkles to an ice cream. He almost cried, tears welling up in his eyes as he smiled.

“Darrel… are you ready to go?” The cloaked figure asked. Darrel glanced to him, working the courage to say what he was going to say.

“No reaper, I am not.”

“Darrel…?” Central asked. Darrel turned to face her, and was met with a hand going straight to his chest. At the same point in time, a defribulator had been set off while hooked to his chest, the jolt making his chest rise and the monitor begin to beep again with signs of life. The angels, both from Heaven, and on earth, gave him a second chance, a second chance to prove himself…

Tears began to well in his eyes as he saw the clear faces of the Hispanic paramedic and the Redhead. Behind them, he could see Central and Silver fading away, and tears rolled down his cheeks as he smiled.

“Central I need-” The Hispanic stopped as he turned and saw no sign of the other two paramedics, having disappeared. “Central? Hey, Sam, you see Central?”

“She’s right-” The Redhead paused as he glanced in the rear view mirror, seeing no sign of the other two paramedics. He turned his eyes back to the road, but wondered where they were, as did the Hispanic.

Only Darrel knew where they were… Only he knew, and it made him smile.