Sirens bounce down dirt roads. Branches snap. EMTs clench teeth. She’s already outside. Vitals checked; questions asked.

“Fix me,” she says. “I’m dying.”

“Could be years,” they say. “That’s no emergency.” The vehicle clunks away, the frightening roads now disconcerting, banal.

How dare they? she thinks. How is it not?

Emma Thomas is a math teacher in southern California with a background in physics, ocean science, and creative writing.