The following is an excerpt of copyrighted material from

A Life Worth Living, a novel by T L Scott

Prologue

            The State Police Cruiser slowed to a stop, crunching the gravel on the side of the road under its tires.  Stepping out of the cruiser, the officer took in the scene.  The lights from his emergency bar bounced off of the unforgiving rock on his left.  Red and blue flashing lights reflected off the drops of water left on the leaves of the trees on his right.  He took all this in as background detail.  Focusing on the skid marks in front of him, he knew immediately that the vehicle that left these marks was somewhere below where he now stood.  He was very familiar with this curve in the road.  Three years ago a car full of kids had died after going over the edge.  The State had put up a guardrail since then which had been a good thing, but due to budget cuts or some other excuse it was not enough.   
            As a result the officer had complained to his boss that the guardrail should have been longer; it should have led into the curve.  The state’s engineers disagreed.  They cited statistics that accidents happened in the middle to the end of the curve, rarely at the beginning. 
             Well, I guess that this is one of those rare occurrences the Officer mused as he came to the edge of the road.  He put his hands on his utility belt and let out a tired sigh as he took in the scene below him. 
             The path of destruction was easy to follow.  He could see the car partially submerged in the icy water over one hundred and seventy feet below him.
            Pulling out his radio, the officer called in the accident.  He requested extra units to assist with the traffic as well as a tow truck, which was equipped with a heavy duty winch with an extra length of cable on the winch.  The truck operator also kept an extra five hundred feet of cable for good measure.  Rescue units trained for these kinds of accidents and, unfortunately, also had a lot of real world experience.  He also requested a couple of ambulances, just in case. 
            With that done he made his way to the rear of the cruiser to get his rappelling gear.  Once he was in his rig he secured himself to the guardrail.  It just might help to save someone’s life after all, he thought.  Almost as an afterthought he went back to the trunk and grabbed some thermal blankets and stuffed them into his pack. 
            He prepared to step over the edge and make his way down the steep side of the mountain.  He paused a moment and reflected on the discovery he had made the last time he had to make this trip.  He sent up a silent prayer that this time it would have a better ending.  He had a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach that it would not.  Maybe this time he would be able to do more than clean up the mess he hoped as he stepped over the ledge. 
            Suddenly, a squirrel caught his attention.  It was sitting on a branch happily munching away on something.  He thought it strange that his presence did not cause the usually timid creature to scamper away.
            Focus!  He disciplined himself.  That was all that the people below him needed!  If he lost his focus and fell down, what good would he be to them?  He steeled himself and prepared for what he might find.