The car tires screech and slam to a halt with a crunch, and the world is thrown into slow motion as the two vehicles collide. Brenda blinks awake to the sound of voices and sirens and is vaguely aware of being in motion but not moving her body. Mechanical beeps fill the air when they wheel her into the bright white hallway of the hospital, as she fades in and out of consciousness.

“Secure code blue,” a voice announces over an intercom as Lauren hurries to the nurse’s station. “Your new patient is in room 12,” a woman hunched over a computer offers as she rushes past, shoes squeaking on the smooth floor.

She steps into the room, full to bursting with medical staff bustling about her, and stops dead in her tracks. She couldn’t be sure with the bruising and swelling, but that patient certainly reminded her of an old friend.