They say that hindsight is 20-20. Of course that is meaningless, just because you see what the average person sees at 20 feet from 20 feet does not mean that you see what’s important. Still, in retrospect, I should have left it alone, just walked by and pretended that nothing was amiss. Let someone else take care of the mess. After all, it was obvious there was nothing I could do. Maybe Good Samaritan laws would protect me, but legal solace is an empty excuse that will not help me fall asleep at night.

I admit it, I had panicked. Even though I have the training to understand that the cold will stanch the flow, and that heat, while comforting would lead to oozing; I moved them. God Forgive me.

I brought them in, first two, then one; put them in a safe place, one that would not hurt them, while staunching the mess. I turned to get a tourniquet, and I heard it; a sustained, slow exhale of gas, a puncture that had pierced the lining, letting air in and CO2 out: The death rattle of a carbonated beverage.