Meet the Chief

The wail of the ambulances in the distance was easily drowned out by the shouts emanating from the dense crowd of people pushing against a concrete barrier, which had been set up by the fire department, to prevent cars from driving up into the emergency lanes. Voices would overlap: protests of anger, people begging to be let in to see family, while others preached conspiracy that doctors knew what was getting people sick, and the government was behind it. As easy as it would be to blame others for the troubles at hand: the group knew well that something far sinister was at the root of their problems. The fire chief stood at the front of the crowd with a bull horn at hand. He was a tall man, dark skin that called to attention his ancestry. He was a Nigerian man who had moved into the town after being transferred from his department in the city. He had become stressed by city life and felt a change in scenery would change things, but regret was evident on his features.