some kind of angel, or even the Heavenly Father, then he trusted that Gott would show him the next step.
Ruben stamped his feet together and tucked his hands under his armpits for warmth. He’d found the dark SUV flipped onto its roof and buried in ivy and bushes in this ravine off the side of the road. He knew that someone was inside. At least the driver—maybe a passenger or two—but he couldn’t get inside. One side of the SUV was pressed into the embankment, and the other side had been smashed flat as a pancake.
“Hallo?” he called once again, hoping for an answer. “Can you hear me in there?”
But the cold air was still and silent … and dark. When had the sun set? He’d been so preoccupied with the overturned car that he’d lost track of time.
“Hello?” came an answer, jolting Ruben to awareness. The sound didn’t come from inside the vehicle, but up on the ridge by the highway. The red tip of a light caught his eye, and a white beam of light streamed down over the ivy. “Ruben? Is that you?”
“Ya! Down here!” he shouted, moving away from the brush. He could just make out three figures by the side of the highway. When a car flashed past, the light revealed two taller people and the little person, Elsie Lapp. “
Kumm!
I need your help.”
“Do you need help getting up to the highway?” called the Englisher girl, Haley.
“No, no. There’s a little path to come down here. It starts back there. Go back by that sign.”
“You need to kumm, Ruben,” Zed shouted. “We need to get to the hospital, and Haley’s driving us.”
“But there’s someone down here that needs help!” Ruben hollered. “The other car! I found the car that hit us.”
There was a clamor of reaction, with many questions all at once as the three of them made their way down into the ravine.
“How did you ever find this in the dark?” Zed asked, shining the beam of the flashlight over the wreck.
“It was still light when I first saw it, and I could smell the gasoline. I tried to get inside, but there’s no getting in through the smashed windows. We need to flip it over.”
“We’ll never be able to do that, and it might be bad for the driver to roll the car over,” Haley said, and a beeping sound told Ruben that she had her cell phone out. “I’m calling 911. They’llsend another emergency crew out. They have clamps and blowtorches and things to cut through metal.”
“There’s no need to wait for them when we can do it,” Ruben said. The same determination that had pushed him to find this vehicle now urged him to rescue its passengers. “If we put two of us on each side, we can push it away from the hill.”
Haley was lost to her phone call, but Zed was circling the overturned vehicle, outlining it with his flashlight. “You’re right, Ruben. We should give it a try.”
“You take that end with Haley,” Ruben instructed. “Elsie, do you think you can do this?”
“Ya,” she said. “I’m short, but I’m very strong.”
“Good. You take this end, beside me.”
Elsie got into position, wedging her boots into the hill, and he showed her what direction she would be pushing, while Zed and Haley figured out the best place to hold on to the vehicle.
“Ready? We’ll go on the count of three.” Ruben counted down, and everyone pushed. The vehicle budged, but it didn’t get far. “We’ll go again,” he said.
After three tries, the hunk of metal finally flipped onto its side. While it was still teetering there, they gave another push, and it shifted down, bouncing slightly on its tires.
As Zed and Haley went to the nearest window and flashed the light into the vehicle, Ruben waited beside Elsie with a strange pressure in his gut. It was good that he’d found the car, but now, seeing the battered metal amid the smells of raw, scraped dirt and gasoline … now the impact of the crash weighed him down like a bushel of potatoes on his shoulders.
No one wanted to say it, but the fact
Ruben stamped his feet together and tucked his hands under his armpits for warmth. He’d found the dark SUV flipped onto its roof and buried in ivy and bushes in this ravine off the side of the road. He knew that someone was inside. At least the driver—maybe a passenger or two—but he couldn’t get inside. One side of the SUV was pressed into the embankment, and the other side had been smashed flat as a pancake.
“Hallo?” he called once again, hoping for an answer. “Can you hear me in there?”
But the cold air was still and silent … and dark. When had the sun set? He’d been so preoccupied with the overturned car that he’d lost track of time.
“Hello?” came an answer, jolting Ruben to awareness. The sound didn’t come from inside the vehicle, but up on the ridge by the highway. The red tip of a light caught his eye, and a white beam of light streamed down over the ivy. “Ruben? Is that you?”
“Ya! Down here!” he shouted, moving away from the brush. He could just make out three figures by the side of the highway. When a car flashed past, the light revealed two taller people and the little person, Elsie Lapp. “
Kumm!
I need your help.”
“Do you need help getting up to the highway?” called the Englisher girl, Haley.
“No, no. There’s a little path to come down here. It starts back there. Go back by that sign.”
“You need to kumm, Ruben,” Zed shouted. “We need to get to the hospital, and Haley’s driving us.”
“But there’s someone down here that needs help!” Ruben hollered. “The other car! I found the car that hit us.”
There was a clamor of reaction, with many questions all at once as the three of them made their way down into the ravine.
“How did you ever find this in the dark?” Zed asked, shining the beam of the flashlight over the wreck.
“It was still light when I first saw it, and I could smell the gasoline. I tried to get inside, but there’s no getting in through the smashed windows. We need to flip it over.”
“We’ll never be able to do that, and it might be bad for the driver to roll the car over,” Haley said, and a beeping sound told Ruben that she had her cell phone out. “I’m calling 911. They’llsend another emergency crew out. They have clamps and blowtorches and things to cut through metal.”
“There’s no need to wait for them when we can do it,” Ruben said. The same determination that had pushed him to find this vehicle now urged him to rescue its passengers. “If we put two of us on each side, we can push it away from the hill.”
Haley was lost to her phone call, but Zed was circling the overturned vehicle, outlining it with his flashlight. “You’re right, Ruben. We should give it a try.”
“You take that end with Haley,” Ruben instructed. “Elsie, do you think you can do this?”
“Ya,” she said. “I’m short, but I’m very strong.”
“Good. You take this end, beside me.”
Elsie got into position, wedging her boots into the hill, and he showed her what direction she would be pushing, while Zed and Haley figured out the best place to hold on to the vehicle.
“Ready? We’ll go on the count of three.” Ruben counted down, and everyone pushed. The vehicle budged, but it didn’t get far. “We’ll go again,” he said.
After three tries, the hunk of metal finally flipped onto its side. While it was still teetering there, they gave another push, and it shifted down, bouncing slightly on its tires.
As Zed and Haley went to the nearest window and flashed the light into the vehicle, Ruben waited beside Elsie with a strange pressure in his gut. It was good that he’d found the car, but now, seeing the battered metal amid the smells of raw, scraped dirt and gasoline … now the impact of the crash weighed him down like a bushel of potatoes on his shoulders.
No one wanted to say it, but the fact
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