Chapter 2 - The Red Sirens
The Aston Martin violently mounted the curb near the emergency room entrance of Presbyterian Hospital, ignoring the angry shouts of a security guard. Felix killed the engine and was out of the car before Sarah could even unbuckle her seatbelt. He rounded the hood, practically tearing her door open to help her out.
The wail of an incoming ambulance pierced the freezing winter air. Sarah froze, her eyes locked on the flashing red lights turning the corner.
"Is that her?" Sarah choked out, her knees suddenly feeling like water. "Felix, is that her?"
"Come on," Felix said, wrapping a strong, protective arm around her waist to keep her upright as they rushed toward the swinging sliding glass doors of the ER.
The ambulance screeched to a halt in the loading bay. The back doors burst open, and paramedics scrambled out, pulling a small stretcher with them. Sarah screamed when she saw the tiny, frail body lying on the gurney. Lily was frighteningly pale, her lips tinged with a terrifying shade of blue. An oxygen mask covered half her face, and an IV was already taped to her small, bruised hand.
"Lily!" Sarah shrieked, breaking free from Felix’s grasp and sprinting toward the stretcher.
"Ma'am, you need to step back!" a paramedic shouted, pushing the gurney aggressively toward the trauma bay. "She's in severe anaphylactic shock. We had to push a second dose of epinephrine in the rig, but her airway is incredibly inflamed."
"I'm her mother!" Sarah cried, running alongside them, her hand reaching out to brush against Lily’s damp, sweat-soaked hair. "Lily, Mommy is here. I'm right here, baby."
Lily’s eyes fluttered open for a fraction of a second. They were wide, hazy, and filled with absolute terror before rolling back as her small chest heaved violently, fighting for a single breath of air.
"She's crashing!" a doctor yelled as they burst through the double doors of Trauma Room 1. "Get the intubation tray ready! Push steroids and Benadryl, stat!"
A nurse stepped in front of Sarah, physically blocking her from entering the room.
"You have to stay out here, Mom," the nurse said firmly but with deep sympathy. "Let them work. They need room to save her."
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Sarah collapsed against the wall, sliding down to the cold linoleum floor, burying her face in her hands as violent sobs tore through her chest. Felix stood over her, helpless and furious, glaring through the small glass window of the door as a team of doctors fought to keep his newly discovered daughter alive.
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