TWO MORE CROSS OVER RAINBOW BRIDGE. by Marc V. Ridenour Copyright (C) 2000. All Rights Reserved. A siren moaned, and Ian MacAllister hoisted himself to his feet, rubbing at the sore spots on his body. The soft-armor vest looked rather ripped up, but it had apparently kept the spray of bullets from penetrating him. But theyd sure knocked the wind out of him; that was a fact. Looking around, he saw body-bagged forms being loaded into a county ambulance and shuddered. The trio of convenience-store robbers had pulled into the inner pump bay with a shriek of tortured tires, jumping out, brandishing guns, already firing as theyd leaped from their car. Drug-crazed addicts, hell-bent for their next fix, willing to kill anyone who got in their way. The alarm had been radioed just a few minutes earlier; theyd hit the other convenience store of the chain Polaris Security was guarding just a mile up and two major intersections over, the first target of their robbery spree. The goons had shot and badly wounded the other Polaris officer on post there; the man had evidently passed out after gasping a final transmission over the radio net that theyd yelled something about getting the next one, too. MacAllister barely had time to step outside the double glass doors, shouting at the clerk to lock them behind him, drawing his own sidearm while simultaneously yelling an alert into his walkie-talkie to the dispatcher at Polaris Security. Then the shooting had started as theyd leaped from their car... The shots from the bandits had knocked him down sometime during the brief but extremely violent gun battle, and for a moment he must have been out of it, but he seemed to be no worse for the wear. In fact, he wasnt even sore any longer. He felt just fine. Seven-hundred-ninety-five bucks, he muttered, eyeing the tattered vest. No way Polaris would reimburse him for the loss. They were a typical cheapskate rent-a-cop outfit... A Polaris Security cruiser rolled up to the yellow barrier tape POLICE LINE DO NOT CROSS boundary and Major Harrison himself got out of the car. A Metro PD lieutenant walked over, and they conferred. Nobody paid any attention to him, which surprised MacAllister quite a bit, and he was about to walk over there when a young girls voice caught his attention. Hi, Mr. MacAllister. He looked around, startled, and saw a cute sixth-grader standing beside him. Her dark brown hair was worn in a pony tail, and she had on blue denim overalls and a yellow blouse. In her arms was a little yellow tiger-striped kitten that purred when she stroked his chin, and climbed up to bump his forehead against hers, his purr surprisingly loud and clear in the noisy environment of a convenience store & gas station, let alone the clamor at present raging as the blaring sirens announced still more police, paramedic, and other emergency-service vehicles arriving; cardoors slamming, men shouting orders, questions, answers, and brief reports back and forth; the crackle of police radios cross-talking in metallic-edged voices audible. This is Tiger, my kitty, she smiled. Hi, Tiger, he reached out to gently stroke the top of the cats head with two fingers. Tigers eyes closed to slits and his purr grew louder, MacAllister feeling the vibrations through his fingertips as he stroked the kittys chin and throat. His motors really running, isnt it? MacAllister smiled. Why do you say it like that? the girl asked with a lovely smile. When I was your age, maybe a bit younger, there was a poem in The Weekly Reader we got when I was in school, that said when kitty goes to Dreamland he must go by boat because you could hear the motor purring in his throat, MacAllister smiled at the memory. Why was this little girl so familiar to him? Where had he met her before? He thought about it a moment, then said to her: I have to go report in, honey, and walked across the oil-spattered concrete to where Major Harrison and the Metro PD lieutenant were still talking, the grey Polaris Security uniform a sharp contrast to the Metro PDs navy-blue. He have any next-of-kin? the city cop was asking as MacAllister walked up to them. Harrison shook his head. Nope. Just that old Siamese cat of his; humph--not even that, now. The cat died a couple of months ago. He was all cut up about it, too. The cop shrugged. Too bad. Anyone else? Called the emergency-contact number on his form; it turned out to be the preacher at that church he went to. No other living family, it turns out. Preacher said hed take care of the arrangements. Okay, then, shrugged the cop. MacAllister didnt understand any of it; why were they talking about him like he was dead? He opened his mouth to speak when the little girls voice piped up: Mr. MacAllister? Dont you remember me? Im Linda. Linda Morris. Linda Morris. Now it all came back to him. That day, last month, when theyd had him patrolling that East Side malls parking lot on foot; hed seen her and her mother walking toward their car at the far west end, from the western side of the building where, among other businesses, was a veterinary clinic. Shed been crying, totally heartbroken, and her mother had had tears in her eyes too. Hed stopped and asked what was the matter, if he could help; not just out of a sense of duty, but because he genuinely cared... My kitty Tiger, the little child had sobbed. We had to have him put to sleep. He was too sick to get better. And now Ill never see him again! Im so sorry, honey, he had replied. My old kitty, Sammy, died not too long ago, and I felt real bad too. Will we see our kitties again? shed asked, gulping back a sob. The pastor at our church says we wont! Honey, he had replied, God loves us, and He knows we wouldnt be happy in Heaven without our pets. Thats why I believe this story I read is true... He had paused, trying to remember the words on that framed illustrated sheet of parchment hed seen on the wall of West Valley Animal Clinic, not just that last time hed taken Siamese Sammy to the clinic, but all the other times, before... Just this side of Heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge... When he finished reciting it, his eyes were blurred with tears, too. Is that for-real!? shed asked him, her eyes imploring. Im sure it is, hed told her. God being a God of love, Im sure He put Rainbow Bridge there so our pets could have somewhere to go, too. Her mother had smiled with such gratitude. God bless you, Officer! Then theyd gone to their car and driven away. She must have noted his name pin and Polaris Security badge number and called the office to express her thanks and appreciation, because later that same afternoon, Captain Willis had driven out in the compact pickup truck they used for patrolling to eat him out for conducting nonessential conversations on post. She must have been quite complimentary, because Willis didnt spend the usual amount of time in bawling him out that he did for whatever actual or merely imagined infraction of the multitude of rules MacAllister had committed that he almost always did. MacAllister had merely let it go in one ear and out the other; hed never been able to do anything right since the day hed first joined Polaris. The reason they hadnt fired him was simple: they needed people willing to work the dangerous posts and he was one of the ones who would. Quite a few wouldnt, and finding those who would was becoming ever more difficult. Two Polaris officers had been killed last year in dangerous neighborhoods on hazardous posts, and ever since then, finding people to man those posts had been difficult. Nonetheless, Willis, Harrison, and all the other brass didnt seem happy unless they were bawling out someone, or finding some other reason to blow their tops. It was like they were all working real hard in an effort to see who could have the first stress-induced ulcer, heart attack or stroke(if not all of the above simultaneously)... Later that week a very kind note had arrived in the mail, from Mrs. Morris, again thanking him profusely for what hed said to her little girl, and apologizing for any grief the brass may have given him for his chatting with them. I hope those callous clods werent too hard on you; to reprimand someone whos genuinely trying to help is beyond my comprehension. When I learned of that I was truly shocked. I was informed that you had been transferred from the Mall, to where they didnt say. I hope not to some bad post. Thank you ever so much for talking with Linda. Shes ever so much better now, and has even started to smile again. We obtained a copy of that story you told her, and it hangs on our living room wall, right below a picture of Tiger her uncle painted for her. He remembered that now, a smile curving his lips. That simple kindness from her had more than made up for his being transferred from the nice, relatively safe post at the Mall to this one, located in what was now considered an urban war zone at any time of the day and especially after dark... It was then he abruptly remembered something else, too. A short news column in the paper just four days ago, the heading reading: Child Killed In Two-Car Crash: Drunk Driver Runs Traffic Light And Broadsides Other Vehicle. The picture of the child had been that of Linda Morris... MacAllister swallowed hard. Honey, werent you in a bad accident a little while ago? Linda Morris smiled and nodded. Uh-huh. And then I went to Rainbow Bridge too, and there was Tiger, waiting for me! He was real happy to see me again! And I was real happy to see him again, too! Now were together forever! Her smile was so radiant and joyful MacAllister blinked as tears stung his eyes once more. When the Guardian Angel said that it was gonna be your turn to come real soon, I asked him if I could come and get you, and he said yes! she beamed. MacAllister turned away, staring at the panorama before him. There were three chalk-line silhouettes drawn on the pavement in the inner service bay, right beside the bandits car, which was still parked there as police detectives searched it. And just in front of the doorway of the gas station/convenience store that he had just emerged from as theyd pulled up was a fourth chalk-lined silhouette. That was where hed been standing... Major Harrison and the Metro PD lieutenant were still talking. Its amazing, the cop was saying, Your man managed to shoot all three of them even after hed been so badly shot himself. A third man carrying a doctors bag and wearing a white shirt open at the neck and dark blue slacks walked over in time to hear the last. A gold badge clipped to his breast pocket said Deputy Coroner. He was wearing a vest. That explains it. The bullets impacts werent as immediately traumatizing as they might otherwise would have been. So, he wasnt instantaneously incapacitated. He was able to empty his gun and take all three of them down with him. Too bad he didnt make it, but that vest wasnt rated for the firepower those three were packing. Harrison shook his head. A real tragedy. By his demeanor, he wasnt actually that cut up about it. He and MacAllister had never gotten along; one of those personality conflicts the passage of time merely served to exacerbate rather than alleviate... MacAllister stared, momentarily stunned by the realization, then felt Linda Morris tugging at his sleeve. Lets go, Mr. MacAllister! she urged. In a daze, he let her guide him away from there. Together, they walked across the broad four-lane street toward the little park hed enjoyed looking at from the post. Only the little park wasnt so little anymore. A broad river ran through it now, and crossing that river was a bridge, and spanning the bridge was a glorious rainbow. As they set foot upon the bridge, MacAllister heard a delightful, joyful barking, and there, racing toward him, was a black-and-grey German Shepherd dog, his collar jingling with years worth of city dog tags attached. Smokey! he cried, dropping to his knees, hugging his beloved dog who had left him so long ago. Smokey! he cried again. As he was caressing his beloved dog, a Siamese cats howl made him look up as a familiar masked head butted against his elbow and two glittering blue eyes regarded him. Sammy! MacAllister cried, reaching for his beloved feline fur-baby who had died only a few short months ago. Pet me! Sammy seemed to be saying, and MacAllister swept the cat into his arms, hugging him, cradling him like a baby, rubbing his tummy as Sammy had always loved to have him do. His joyous purr resounded, louder than an outboard motor, as MacAllister, his beloved Siamese Sam in his arms, and Smokey, his dearest dog dancing about beside him, with Linda Morris carrying Tiger in her arms, resumed their stroll across Rainbow Bridge. All about the Bridge, on both sides of the water, on the grassy meadows and the sandy banks, he saw, other animals--dogs, cats, horses, goats, lambs, birds and other animals cavorted in happy, harmonious play; barks, meows, whinnies, brays, baas, and other utterances blending into the chorus of human voices speaking their own happy greetings as they were reunited with their own beloved pets who had gone before. Overhead birds flew and sang in a joyful medley; every kind of bird he knew and many more he didnt. Cardinals, blue jays, meadowlarks, hummingbirds and more. He recognized parakeets, parrots, and other exotic birds flying about, as well, their birdsongs forming a joyous chorus of welcome to the newcomers, and ceaseless praise to God. With them were people of all ages, including boys and girls joyfully playing with their beloved pets with whom theyd at last been reunited. One man, holding an ear of corn for a horse to nibble on as he was tenderly stroking the horses neck and ears, looked up and waved. It was MacAllisters Uncle Harold, and his old horse, Samson! And there, fishing in the river, was Mom! And beside her were a raft of dogs and cats, some he dimly remembered from childhood, and others just from black-and-white photos in the albums! And who was it standing beside her? Old Walt Harvey, the game warden for that district, smiling down at them all, wearing his old uniform of winter green. He, too, looked up at MacAllister and waved, then tossed him a salute. MacAllister looked about, and then looked down at Smokey, again caressing the beloved head, feeling Smokeys tongue again licking his hand, his joy almost totally overwhelming as he looked about him. All the bad parts of life had passed, the pain and sorrow gone. Only joy and delight were here now. That was when he noticed his uniform had changed; from somber grey shirt and slacks, his vests funereal black, a dull silver badge pinned to the tab, to pure white, his badge now a brilliant glittering gold. No tattered holes and shredded fabric remained to mar its appearance, either. Youre a hero, Mr. MacAllister! Linda Morris piped up, her smile radiant. Just beyond the Bridge, he saw the Holy One Himself standing there before the glorious Gates that seemed to have been fashioned of pure gold, glittering as brightly as his badge now. Well done, my son, He said with the most wonderful smile. Enter into the joy of thy Lord. And, walking together, side by side, with their beloved cats in their arms, and with his dearest dog dancing beside him, Ian MacAllister and Linda Morris stepped through those shining Gates and into Heaven itself... The End