Shelter from the Storm. (Chapter 4)

As Gary and Vera Canfield neared the entrance of the trailer park where

Julie Benson and Alex Hobbs lived, they saw a red beater Dodge Intrepid

pull out in a great hurry,  fleeing as if being pursued.

 Gary noticed  that the car fish-tailed slightly as it got on the road.

 "That's their mother's car,"  Gary exclaimed as he saw it speed away, "I've

seen it at their trailer before!"

 "Yes, I have, too,"  Vera said,  "Did you see how she was driving?"

  "I did. It was almost erratically. I don't like it one bit, either."

   Gary made his way into the trailer park, feeling some tension in him start

to build up as he drove through the trailer court to the lot where Julie and

Alex lived. "I hope those kids are all right,"  Gary said.

 Vera had her head bowed and was praying silently for the two kids.

At the trailer on lot twelve Julie and Alex had stood by the door as they saw

their mother leave in somewhat of a hurry.  Alex looked up at his older half-

-sister and said, "Mommy looked like she was drinking something."

  "Yes,"  Julie replied, "I saw it, too.  She left like she didn't want us to see it."

 "Mommy look mad at us," Alex said guiltily while leaning against Julie.

 "I see that, too, Alex, "  Julie answered, hugging Alex like a big sister and

doing her best to comfort him despite her own worry, "It may be what she

was drinking that makes her like that."

"She alway like that,"  Alex said.

 Julie stooped down to get to Alex's level and looked him in the eye and

said, "It's nothing we did Alex. It's both your daddy and mine being gone

that's making her like that."  Julie was about to say more when they heard

 a vehicle pull up to their trailer just outside.  Julie then lit up and said

cheerfully, "That must be Mr. and  Mrs. Canfield out there." 

Julie became cheerful for Alex' sake as well as the Canfields coming to

pick them up.  Alex did seem to lifted by his half-sister's cheerfulness.

They both grabbed their worn coats and headed for the door and to

the waiting church van.

 Gary and Vera saw Julie and Alex race out of the trailer and

toward the van almost as soon as they pulled up to the lot.

 Vera, seeing them run out, gave a sigh of relief added with a

praise of thanksgiving that the children were all right. 

"Thank you, Lord!"  Vera sang out.

 "Yes, indeed,"  Gary added,  "Thank you, Jesus!"

 Gary was about to get out to open the right side passenger

cabin door but Julie got to it first and opened it with little

effort and she and Alex wasted no time climbing into the bus.

 Vera, amazed by her actions remarked enthusiastically,

"Why, Julie! You are one strong little girl!"

 Julie and Alex sat in the seat closest to the front and Julie just

grinned.

 "I'd say she is,"  Gary put in, "Anxious to get going, no doubt."

 "Yes,"  Julie grinned as she fastened her seat belt and helped

Alex with his.

 "We are on our way, then!"  Gary shifted into reverse, looked

to the rear and pulled the church bus out and toward the trailer

park exit and the four made their way back to Newberry

Community Church.

At the fellowship hall of Newberry Community Church, more folks

with children were coming in, some with pinecar supplies and some

not; which is where Mac came in to help for he brought the necessary

tools and a few kits of his own to help and guide those inexperienced

in pinewood derby assemblies and racing.

 It was Mac's hobby of crafting and building wooden antique model

cars that got him into helping with the pinewood derby, along with

Gary's equally skillfull craftsmanship in wood. 

 A man in his mid-thirties with blond short hair came over to where

Mac was setting up shop. He had twin boys with him, both with their

father's short, blond hair and both looked to be about seven years old.

The two boys looked to have deluxe pinecar kits, the kind that included

everything  in one kit to build a complete racecar model.

 Mac looked up from his supply box that contained parts and supplies

and answered with, "Yes, Matt?  What can I do for you?"  He looked

then at the two twin boys and said,  "Hey, Toby and D.J."

 Matt answered with,  "The boys wanted to know if you had another

kind of paint than the ones included in their kits."  Matt added with,

"We experimented with the paint in their kits and they don't come out right."

 I sure have, gentlemen," Mac said to all three of them,  I have aerosol

paints; however I strongly advise close supervision with these, Matt.

They're a bit young to be handling spray paint."

 "I see what you mean, Mac," Matt said, "Would you by chance have

any jars of  like, regular hobby paints?"

 "I sure do," Mac presented a flat box of hobby enamel paints in one

quarter ounce jars.

 "Ah, yes, that'll work just fine; thanks, brother."

  "Good choice."  Mac then reached in his supply kit and handed the

twins some hobby brushes, "Here, boys, you'll need these for those size

jars."  Toby and D.J. took the brushes and each responded with, "Thanks

Mr. Davenport."

 "You're very welcome, boys." Mac smiled as they turned away.

The church van made its way over Sunrise Road and on to

Newberry Road with two children that Gary and Vera pick

up on the church bus route.

 Despite what they witnessed at their trailer, Julie Benson and

Alex Hobbs were giddy with anticipation of the pinewood

derby build night.

 Gary noticed how anxious they were and looked into the

rearview mirror at them and said, "I know you didn't bring

kits but Mr. Davenport has one for each of you, okay?"

"Cool,"  Julie answered with Alex giving an okay.

 Alex then added, "I think Mr. Dav'port cool."

 "Yes he is," Vera said as she turned to look back

toward Alex and Julie, "He's good at building the

racers."

 "I want to build a sports car,"  Julie said anxiously.

 " I build pickup truck,"  Alex added.

 Vera looked over to her husband and chuckled

softly, "I think you and Mac have your work cut out."

This concludes Chapter Four.

Shelter from the Storm. (Chapter 3)

The Canfields headed out to pick up the two children Julie and Alex

to bring them to the pinewood derby assembly night which Gary

Canfield and Mac Davenport put together. While heading to the

trailer park where they lived Gary kept thinking about the kids'

mother being a possible alcoholic after hearing the story from

Mac Davenport. 

 Gary and Vera drove in silence a bit then Gary turned to Vera
and said, "I wonder if their mother will just go ahead and leave
before we get there? It's happened before."

 "A few times,"  Vera added.

 "Those kids are too young to be left by themselves."

 "I wonder how she got by with it?" Vera then wondered, "As
close as those trailers are to one another in that park, surely
someone would've noticed something amiss."

"Or simply don't care,"  Gary said, then added,  "I feel we
need to do something."
 "So do I," Vera put in.


 Back at the Newberry Community Church fellowship hall
Mac Davenport tightened down the last bolt on the pineood
derby track then stepped back to look over his handiwork.
He gave most of the credit to Gary as Gary cut the pieces
for the track assembly, the product of Gary's excellent
craftsman skills. 
 Brian and Dawn Canfield noticed Mac step back to look
the track over and then it occured to Brian that he and
Dawn brought their old pinecars from last year to use as
parts models.
 Brian then looked at Dawn and said, "Dawn, let's ask
Uncle Mac if we could test the track with our old cars,
want to?"
 "Okay," replied Dawn enthusiastically.
 Brian and Dawn both got their old model racers and
hurried over to where Mac stood by the track.  Mac
looked to his left when he heard Brian and Dawn hustle
toward him.
 "Yes, Brian and Dawn," Mac acknowledged them and
noticed right away they were holding their old racers.
He then immediately knew why they came to him and
added with,  "You want to help by testing the track with
your old racers, don't you?"  He winked at them.
 "Yes," Brian answered.
 "I was just getting ready to ask you that," Mac chuckled,
"and you beat me to the punch."
 Mac shook his head and grinned.  "You two are really
anxious to get this thing going," he smiled, "Okay, put 'em up
here."  Mac patted the end of the track where the starting
line was and the two kids put their racers on the line.


This concludes Chapter Three.

Shelter from the Storm. (Chapter 2)

On Lot Twelve of Sunrise Trailer Park stood a weathered and faded blue

and white single-wide trailer just on the northeast corner of the lot. Sitting
next to it in the small driveway was a faded red, early 1990s Dodge Intrepid
with its right rear door window missing and in its place was a piece of clear
plastic dropcloth secured to the door by duct tape. The dropcloth billowed
in the late fall breeze. While a few other trailers in the trailer court had also
seen better days the one on Lot Twelve stood out from even other weathered
mobile homes.

 Inside the aged mobile home on Lot Twelve, a rather chubby bleach-blond-
-haired woman of about thirty-six years of age was getting ready to head out
to work.  She wore the yellow scrubs worn by the housekeeping staff of
County General Hospital. Her name tag read:  Reva Hobbs. The woman
then went over to get her purse which stood on the kitchen counter and
when she went over to pick it up, she quickly glanced back as if she felt
she was being watched, then reached down to open the door to the
storage space under the sink, reached in and pulled out a small, silver
flask and put it in her purse.
 In the small living room of the house, two children, a girl and a boy sat on
a substandard tacky couch watching TV from a 1970s vintage Panasonic.
The girl looked around nine years of age and the boy about five.  The girl
had long red hair tied in a ponytail and somewhat large round blue eyes.
She wore a faded tye-dye t-shirt and light blue jeans that were threading
at the bottoms and faded red tennis shoes. The bottoms of the shoes
were worn as smooth as a worn automobile tire.
 The boy was light brown-haired and resembled his mother.  He wore a
light green hooded sweatshirt that had holes in some places his jeans and
shoes also run down as the girl's was.

Reva Hobbs then came into the living room where her children were and
and asked them, "You gonna eat there at the church, right?"
 "Yes, mommy,"  the girl answered, looking up when her mother spoke,
they're having pizza there, we were told."
"Good," Reva said, sounding as if feeding them tonight was an inconvenience,
"because that no good daddy o' yours didn't send no alimony check this month
so food is kinda scarce right now."
 'What about my daddy?"  the boy asked.
"Your daddy's in jail, Alex," his mother answered, somewhat miffed, "You
didn't know that?"
"You didn't tell me that," Alex replied, feeling an uneasy twinge inside of
him at the news.
 "Oh Alex!  Don't gimme that!  I done told you your daddy went to jail for
robbing a convenience store, remember?" Reva turned to the girl, "You
remember me saying that, don't you, Julie?"
"Yes, mommy," Julie replied, hating her mother's grouchiness.
  "Oh why did I have to marry two incompetents," Reva muttered, throwing
her hands up in disgust and anger. She then looked at Julie and then Alex
and remarked brusquely, "Your dad's a deadbeat and your dad's in jail
and thanks to them both we're now in the shape we're in."  The way
Reva was talking to her children, it sounded as if she was blaming them
for their current dilemma.


This concludes Chapter Two.

Shelter from the Storm (Chapter 1)

Mac Davenport, church greeter and minister of the Welcome and

Outreach Ministry of Newberry Community Church and his close

friend Gary Canfield, minister of the Bus Ministry and trustee,

work at getting the pinewood derby track set up and to make

adjustments on it for the pinewood derby week after next.

 Tonight was the long-awaited pinecar build night in which the 

children, along with their parents, work together in building and

preparing their cars for the race. It was also going to be a pizza

night as well, the idea brought about jointly by Mac and Gary.

 Gary's wife Vera, along with their two children Brian and Dawn,

were also helping in setting up the fellowship hall for the night's

event.

 As Mac was tightening the bolts which held the left rear support

of the track, he began thinking about the two recent newcomers

that Gary had picked up on his bus route.  They were two young

children, a girl, age nine, and a boy, age five. Gary had been

picking them up from Sunrise Trailer Park, which was five miles

east of town. The girl's name was Julie Benson and the boy was her

younger half-brother, Alexander Hobbs.

 "Gary," Mac then addressed his friend,  "Are those two children

you've been picking up able to come?"

 Gary replied with, "Vera and I are going to get them shortly. Their

mother works nights as a housekeeper for County General Hospital

so she was more than happy to have us bring them here."

 "Good deal," Mac said, "I happen to have some extra car kits on

hand for something like this."

 "Yes,"  Gary said, "And they'll need someone to help them as well,

 it'll be their first time."

 Brian and Dawn were in the same room putting paper plates on one

of the tables when Brian spoke up.
 "Dawn and I can help them, Dad," Brian offered.

"That's very thoughtful of you, my son," Gary replied to Brian, "But just

be sure you let me or Uncle Mac know when you need to use the scroll

saw, okay?"

 "Yes, sir," Brian acknowledged.

 "Good man."

  Just then the main entrance door to the fellowship hall opened and in came

 Wilfred Templar, fellow greeter of Mac's welcome ministry as well as

trustee and behind him entered Jenny Garrett, another greeter who also

handled the tract rack.

 "Wilfred! Jenny!" Mac called out to them, "Good to see you. Glad you could

 come!"

 "A pleasure, young Mac," Wilfred answered cordially with the usual manners

of an English gentleman.

 "I couldn't miss this,"  Jenny put in.

 The door opened yet again and in came Karen Williams, a recently added
member of Newberry Community Church who became a member along
with her parents soon after her father got saved. Karen brought in with her
a couple of 2 liter bottles of soda pop along with two bags of chips.  Mac
called out to her, "Do you need help with those, Karen?"

 "I'm good," Karen replied, smiling, "Thank you."

 Gary looked at his watch and said to Mac, "Mac?  Vera and I are going
to pick up Julie and Alex. You want to finish up on the track?"

"Be delighted, brother," answered Mac. Mac noticed Gary looked a little
disturbed.

"Everything alright?"  Mac added, "You seem a little tense."

"Just something about the kids I'm picking up." Gary replied.

 "What's the trouble, Gary?"  

  "I don't know exactly, I just have a bad feeling that something isn't right

in the home of the two kids.  Well, better head on out and pick 'em up."

 Gary turned and he and Vera went out the door and headed out to

pick up the two kids of the bus ministry.

 Karen walked over to Mac as he picked up his tools off the floor and

asked him,  "Can I get you anything to drink while you're doing the track?"

"Oh, no thank you, Karen,"  Mac acknowledged, "I'm almost through."

"I noticed you seemed a bit concerned when talking to Gary,"  Karen

said, "Is everything all right?"

 "I don't know, Karen," Mac answered,  "I thought he seemed a little 

tense." 

 "Oh?"

  "Says he has this bad feeling about the home of two kids he picks up

on the church bus route."

"Oh, really?"  Karen said, her eyebrows slightly raised.

 "He says their mother works part-time at County General as a

housekeeper working the night shift." Mac stated, then went on,

"While I was in the hospital after rescuing your father, I noticed

this one cleaning lady who did work the night shift. She looked

kind of spaced-out."

 "Hmmmm?"  Karen hummed, then said, "My dad told me a similar

story about a housekeeper who cleaned his room."  Karen continued,

"While the memory wasn't clear, he could have sworn he'd seen her

take a drink of something from a flask she kept on her."

 Mac scratched his chin and said, "I see. The home of these kids is

starting to interest me."

This concludes Chapter One.

The Narrow Escape. (Chapter 1)

 The sun rose from behind the hills overlooking Newberry, Ohio, pop.
12,725 on a late summer morning. It was on a Saturday so traffic was
minimal. As the sun continued its slow rise from the east, it eventually
cast its beam on the town's water tower which stood on the west end
of the downtown area. The silvery metal of the tower glared back as
if in a duel with the rising orb to outshine it.
 About two miles east of the city within the corporation limit a small,
custom-built one-bedroom home lay on the right side just off of
Newberry Road as one would enter into town. A large sign stood just
before this small dwelling not much more than twelve feet which read
                                 
                                  WELCOME
                                         TO
                            NEWBERRY, OHIO
                                   pop. 12,725

 The house seemed to be the soul structure outside the city. The rest of

the vast open areas were primarily farmland run by family-owned farms

that were widely spread throughout the county.

 The sun eventually rose from over the rolling hills and into full shine as
it shined its dazzling morning light onto the the small single-level home
with its seperate two-vehicle garage so as to form a shadow on the front
of the house and garage and to cause a tall oak tree behind the house just
to the left to cast its shadow on the roof, as if to shield it from the sun's
rays. But the sun's rays found a gap between the tree's branches and
leaves and cast a single beam into a window at the back of the house.

 Inside this house Wayne MacArthur "Mac" Davenport, thirtyish, awoke
to the sunlight that broke through the narrow spaces of the venetian blinds
of his bedroom window and shone directly on his face, for he lay facing the
window. He threw his right arm over his eyes as he rolled over in the other
direction and threw off the covers. He looked over at his classical-looking
alarm clock with its twin dome-like silver gongs and saw it was 7:45am.
 Mac never set the alarm for Saturday mornings as he didn't have to work
weekends, but with his window facing where the sun rose he didn't need to
set it. As he rubbed the sleep from his eyes he looked back at the window
and muttered to himself, "I don't need an alarm clock when I have good ol'
Mr. Sunshine to wake me up."
 As his feet touched the floor he heard a jingling coming toward his bedroom
doorway along with the clik-clik-clik of padded feet on the linoleum floor of
the tiny hallway that lead to the kitchen. Mac caught the brown and dark-
-masked face of his mastiff dog Cornelius emerging from the hallway and
right toward Mac where he put both paws on his lap as Mac sat up on his
bed. Cornelius looked up at Mac with large round, melancholy eyes and
panted excitedly. Mac knew what this meant.
"I know, I know. You're hungry, so am I," Mac replied, "I'm up, so let's eat,
shall we?" Cornelius gave a short woof in reply.
 As Mac got up from the bed he happened to glance back and noticed a
bulge in the covers that started to move.
"Uh-oh," Mac responded in mock exclaimation, "Sorry about that, Kato."
He pulled the covers back to reveal a fawn and dark-brown colored
Siamese cat that had been sleeping on the left end of the foot of the bed.
The cat looked up at Mac with pale blue eyes framed in a dark brown
mask as if to say, "Why did you do that?"
Mac grinned at Kato and said, "I haven't forgotten you."
 Mac headed immediately for the kitchen to feed Cornelius and Kato as
Kato rubbed against his leg and Cornelius followed at a close distance,
not taking his eyes off Mac as he prepared their food. Mac glanced back
at the two of them, turned to pour their food in their bowls, then shook
his head and grinned. He thought, You two are bottomless pits.
 With their bowls down in front of them Cornelius and Kato ran to their
assigned bowls and chowed down. Mac grinned at them as he headed to
the bathroom and said, "Bon Appetit."
 As Mac prepared to do his morning hygiene, he thought of the upcoming
pinewood derby which his church would be having next weekend. Tonight
was going to be car-building night which he and his close friend Gary Canfield
would be heading up. They were going to have pizza along with it. He was
looking foreward to this event as it brought parents and kids together, which
was something he greatly encouraged, though he had no children himself.
 To Mac, the children of his church, Newberry Community Church, were the
children he never had. He was especially fond of Brian and Dawn Canfield,
ages 12 and 9, who were the children of his friend Gary. They and a few of
other children referred to him as Uncle Mac.
 Mac and Gary both were skilled in working with wood as Mac's hobby was
building wooden antique cars and Gary a skilled craftsman in creating and
building household fixtures. Both ideal skills for heading up a pinewood derby
race. In fact, Mac's agenda today was to get with Gary in preparing the track.



 Mac finished his morning hygiene then jumped into a t-shirt and jeans to
head outside to feed his rabbits. Mac was a rabbit breeder on the side.
The rabbits he raised were Flemish giants and mini-lops. He headed to
one hutch which housed his Flemish giants and said good morning to them
with the same warmth and friendliness he would say to the people of his
church.
 Mac looked into the hutch at the three giant rabbits and chatted with them
as he placed the bowl in their cage.
 He left them to eat with the same words he said to his dog and cat, "Bon
Appetit."
 He then headed to another hutch which housed a pair of white mini-lops,
the doe being pregnant.
 Mac looked at the doe and said, "Remember now Duchess, you're eating
for several" , then turned to the buck, "And you Duke, don't hog the food."
With his chores done, he put the rabbit feed in the tool shed at the rear of
the house then headed to the garage to change the fan belt on his 1966
Ford Mustang coupe before heading to the Canfield's to prepare the
pinewood derby track.
 Mac got out his toolbox and took a fan belt he placed on the garage
wall the way mechanics did in their shops so they would be handy
and proceeded with his automotive task.

This concludes Chapter One.

The Narrow Escape. (Chapter 2)

 At a house on Meadow Lane a red Chevrolet Cobalt coupe pulled
into the driveway on the left of the modest, two-story brick house.
 A young woman got out of the Cobalt and reached back halfway
into the car to retrieve her purse. She looked to be in her early
twenties, brunette-haired, and wearing large, round sunglasses.
She was wearing a violet, stretch velvet dress and white high heel
shoes. She walked toward the side entrance of the house.

 Inside the house in the kitchen, Neva Williams was preparing the

dough for an apple pie by spreading it with a rolling pin. In fact
the kitchen seemed to have an apple theme to it. The curtains of
the kitchen windows were dotted with apples along with a light
green border. The wallpaper covering the kitchen walls were
white with a green lattice pattern and the wall paperborder
had a green border outline with rows of apples lining the white
middle of the border.
 A large , hunter-green framed picture portraying a basket of
Washington red apples set on a red-checkered tablecloth against
a black backdrop hung on a wall overlooking a tan and green
kitchen table set.
As Neva continued rolling the pie dough, she heard someone at
the door of the kitchen entrance and turned to see the young
lady that had pulled into the driveway appear as the door swung
open. The girl stepped inside looking somewhat radiant.
"Hey Mom!" The girl said as she came inside.
"Karen," Neva replied as she put the rolling pin aside, "So how
was the interview, dear?"
"It went great!" Karen replied happily, "The lady who interviewed
me, Mrs. Anderson looked impressed with my resume' and
experience."
"Oh Karen, that's wonderful!" Neva responded, equally happy.
I should here something within a week," Karen said.
I know how much you want to come back to Newberry," Neva
said, "And I have been praying for you as well."
"Thanks, Mom," Karen replied as she lifted her right foot and
reached down with her right hand to pull of one of her high-heel
shoes and then sat down on one of the kitchen chairs, " But we
really need to keep Dad in prayer. He isn't saved and I don't
like seeing him become such a workaholic. That isn't good for
him."
 Neva looked down at her daughter with love and concern
and said, "I know honey, I know. And I never have stopped
praying for your father and don't you stop, either."
"I haven't," Karen replied as she removed her other shoe and
rubbed her stockinged foot, "But you would think that with two
Christians in the family that it would reach him somehow."
Neva pulled the other chair close to where Karen sat then sat
down next to her and put her hand gently on her shoulder and
said, "Karen, you are concerned over many things, what with
the interview, wanting to come back home and your father's
salvation. But you needn't carry such a heavy load. Take it
to the Lord."
Karen looked at her mother with a sad smile and said, "Its
just that I haven't found a church I could call home. It seems
every one I find is one of these seeker-friendly types. They
don't run like a church at all. Too big, too impersonal."
"I understand, dear," Neva said, "and the church I have been
going to is falling in that same direction. But there is one church
I have been interested in and I think you and I should check it out
tomorrow. Want to come with me?"
"Oh Mom, I'd love that! What's the name of the church?"
"Newberry Community Church."



This concludes Chapter Two.

The Narrow Escape. (Chapter 3)

 Mac raised the hood of his burgundy and black vinyl top
1966 Ford Mustang and got to work replacing the fan belt.
He loosened the alternator to take tension off the old belt
and in no time at all had the new belt on and proceeded to
reposition and tighten back down the alternator. He took
a belt tension gauge to test the tightness and satisfied he
climbed in to start up the vintage 289 cu. in. V-8 to test
the belt.
 The inside of the two-vehicle garage also housed a red
1979 Ford 4x4 pickup truck which was Mac's daily driver.
The truck had a white pickup cap and on the front was a
power winch.
 Mac revved the engine a few times on his Mustang before
shutting it off. He then got out and closed the hood and then
went to a storage box to get out a scroll saw to take over to
the Canfield's as that was his next task.
 Mac loaded the scroll saw into the back of the pickup along
with a few other tools then closed the tailgate and cap door
then went inside the house to let Cornelius out and put him
on his chain which was kept near his doghouse. The doghouse
was a project of both Gary Canfield and Mac.
 Mac came back out with Cornelius and hooked the mastiff
to his chain. Mac then took a metal dog bowl and filled it with
water from a garden hose.
"There you go, big guy," Mac said as he set the bowl next to
the doghouse and then rubbed the dog on the head. "Gotta go
and help your friends, the Canfields."
 Cornelius had taken a great liking to the Canfields, especially
their kids. And their kids were as equally fond of Cornelius.
 As Mac turned to head back to the garage, he heard the sound
of tires screeching out front. It was the kind of screeching made
when a vehicle swerves wildly.
 The screeching grew louder and then the screeching changed
to a loud metallic crash and then to several thunderous booms
that sounded not unlike shotgun blasts.
 Mac's eyes went wide with alarm. Those series of sounds added
up to a vehicle crash against a utility pole, Mac thought.
 He then sprinted toward the garage's back entrance and through
the garage toward the scene unfolding before him.
 A white Saturn sedan had run head-on into a utility pole just across
the road opposite Mac's home. The front end of the car was crumpled
like a paper cup. On the utility pole the transformer was sparking
wildly, emitting a few ear-splitting buzzes.
 Mac, thankful his cellphone was handy immediately called 9-1-1 and
told the operator the situation, immediately adding to send help fast
and that there was a danger of electrocution and fire.
 Mac put his cellphone back on his hip carrier as he darted toward the
wreck. his eyes constantly looking up at the sparking transformer and
power lines. Mac ran up to the driver's side door, the window glass of
the door with such a spiderweb of cracks, he could not see who was in-
-side the car. He immediately ran to the passenger side and peered
into the unaffected front passenger door window and saw that the
driver was a man of about fifty, leaning against the door with his hand
on his chest as he gasped excessively.
 He went into cardiac arrest behind the wheel, Mac thought as he tried
the passenger door.
 Mac's former days as a firefighter/EMT took over as he managed to
get the passenger door open, although it was almost with brute strength
as it was somewhat jammed. The transformer gave off a loud BRRRRR!
that nearly startled Mac and echoed all about the surrounding hills. Mac
knew time wasn't on his side.
 Mac knew he was going to have to act fast. He did not want to think
about what would happen if one of those wires fell.
"Sir." Mac began, "I'm here to help. I'm going to get you out of here."
The driver managed to gasp out, "Huhh-huharrt a-attack."
"Yes sir, I 'm aware of that. Are you hurt anywhere else?"
"Nuhhh-noo! chest burrrnin' up."
" I understand. Just relax and we'll be out of here. I phoned 9-1-1 so
help is on the way. Are you sure you aren't hurt anywhere else?"
"Ye-ehh."
"I'm going to get you out now," Mac said, "Just try and relax."
Mac then got the man by his right arm and put it around his right shoulder
then got his hand under hid left arm and slowly pulled him toward the
passenger door opening, sweat beads forming on Mac's forehead from
both effort and fear. Mac began to silently pray as he worked to get
the man to safety:

"Father, I need your protection. Me and this man are in a dangerous
situation and I am asking to keep your protecting Hands around us
as I bring this man to safety. I need your strength through me as well
as your guiding hand in order to bring this man to safety. I do not want
his blood on my hands. Please God, help me bring him to safety in Jesus'
name. Amen."

 The transformer overhead continued to spark and buzz menacingly as
Mac pulled the victim from the car. When he had gotten the victim all
the way out he hoisted the man onto his shoulders doing the fireman's
carry. and moved away from the wreck as fast as he could while carrying
the victim.
 All of a sudden there was a loud CR-R-R-R-RRRAAACK! as the utility
pole snapped where the car had struck it. The crack was immediately
followed by more of those thunderous booms followed by yet another
BRRRRRRRRRR! as the wires snapped.
 Mac, hearing the cacaphony of disaster behind him, ran like the wind
despite the human load he carried on his shoulders.
Don't look back, his mind shouted, Run, Mac! Run!
 Suddenly Mac felt something impact his lower left leg though he felt
no pain. One of the power lines had broken loose and struck Mac on
the leg. Surprisingly, he did not get shocked. Was that wire not live,
perhaps?
 As Mac kept running he felt a burning sensation on his right foot that
also began to spread up his shin and calf. Mac looked down and realized
his feet were on fire! Shocked, Mac realized he must've been walking
on spilled gasoline back at the wreck!
 That wire must've ignited the gasoline on my shoes, Mac thought as
he finally stopped to lay the man down after getting clear enough of
the disaster. He then immediately took off his t-shirt and began
beating the flames on his shoes and jeans.
 Despite the intense pain of being burned Mac immediately began
to administer CPR to the cardiac arrest victim. At about the same
instant he heard a loud WHOOSH! but Mac did not look back for he
knew he had to attend to the victim. He already knew what the sound
was without looking, again firefighter experience. The fallen power lines
ignited the gasoline around the car and sent up a huge fireball to fully
engulf the car in flames.
 Mac prayed silently again as he continued his CPR on the man that he
didn't hear the sound of approaching sirens from the east. Mac started
sweating more profusely but kept on the CPR until help arrived and
kept praying as he did.
 Suddenly, nausea and dizziness began to overtake Mac as the pain and
shock from his own injuries caught up with him. Mac continued CPR
until the scenery around him seemed to swim and then spin around
until darkness overtook him. He felt his arms give out then total
blackness.




This concludes Chapter Three.