Horror—cold, consuming, paralyzing—flooded through him in a sudden rush that made his limbs tremble. He had faced danger, fights, losses, but none of it had ever come close to this. Nothing had ever reached inside him and torn him open like this moment did. He didn't know if she was bleeding because of the fall, because of labor, because of something worse. He didn't know if the baby was in danger. He didn't know if she was dying in his arms.
He only knew he couldn't lose her.
"Help!" he shouted, his voice cracking across the empty park as he looked around wildly for anyone, anything, any sign of movement. "Somebody—HELP!" The words tore out of him with a raw, guttural desperation that echoed through the quiet space, bouncing off trees and pavement without answer.
