I killed my engine. Threw down the kickstand. Ran to her.
“Sweetheart, what are you doing out here?”
She looked up at me. Blonde hair. Maybe six years old. Pink nightgown with unicorns on it. No shoes. Feet bleeding from walking on asphalt.
And covered in blood. Her hands. Her nightgown. Splattered across her face.
My combat medic training from Vietnam kicked in. I checked her over fast. Looking for wounds. Cuts. Stab marks. Anything.
The blood wasn’t hers.
“Whose blood is this? Where are your parents?”
She opened her mouth. Moved her lips. But no sound came out. Just air. She tried again. Nothing.
She was mute.

Another semi screamed past. We were going to get killed standing here.
I picked her up. She didn’t fight. Didn’t struggle. Just wrapped her bloody arms around my neck and buried her face in my leather vest.
I carried her to the shoulder. Set her down on the grass. Pulled out my phone to call 911.
That’s when she grabbed my hand. Started pulling. Pointing frantically toward the tree line maybe fifty yards from the highway. Making urgent gestures with her hands. Pulling harder.
“You want me to go there? Into the woods?”
She nodded frantically. Pulled harder. Started crying silent tears. No sound. Just tears streaming down her blood-splattered face.
“Someone’s in there? Someone hurt?”
She nodded. Collapsed to her knees. Put her hands together like she was praying. Begging me.
I called 911 while she pulled at my jacket.
“911, what’s your emergency?”

“This is John Crawford. I’m on I-40, mile marker 147. I found a child. Maybe six years old. Mute. Covered in blood. She’s trying to tell me someone’s hurt in the woods off the highway.”
“Sir, stay on the line. Is the child injured?”
“Blood’s not hers. She’s trying to get me to follow her into the woods.”