by Steven Swaks
Alone, Jessica returned to her desk and looked out the window. Soon, spring would come. The green leaves would return on the trees, and the flowers would blossom, like her love for the young man she had just met.
Highway
Somebody knocked on the crew’s bedroom door.
“Yeah,” Ben said.
“Are you dressed?” Jennifer asked through the door.
“Why? Are you interested?” Ben said looking at Alex with a mocking smirk.
“I’m not in the mood, Ben, I’m coming in.”
“What’s up?” Alex asked while folding his sheets.
“Couple of things, your relief crew is going to be late a few minutes. Jack is car-pooling with Aaron. They had a flat tire.”
“We’ll wait then, no big deal,” Ben shrugged. He stopped what he was doing. Jennifer’s face was without expression. Something was up. “What else did you want to say?” A frown wrinkled his forehead.
“I’ve just received a call from the nurse you know in the ER, Emily.”
“What about her?” Ben asked.
“She wanted to let you know about the girl you took last night.”
“That Christine something… the one with the hammer wound?”
“Yeah.”
“So? What about her?”
“Emily said that she passed away after you left.”
“What?” Both medics said in unison.
“But she was fine. She was a little pale when we got her, but her vitals were fine. How is she doing now?” Alex asked.
Jennifer didn’t answer. She only shook her head. “I’m sorry, guys.”
“What do you mean you’re sorry? She died? But…” Alex did not know what to say. “What about the husband? Did she tell you anything?”
“She said that he’s in a coma in the ICU with very little brain activity. He might be a vegetable for a while before they decide to unplug him.”
Alex sat down on the bed. “How could she crash? There’s no way… she was fine. Maybe she blew an artery…” he looked up, almost pleading for an answer he wouldn’t obtain, “What’s going on in this place?”
“Medic 61, traffic collision, northbound Hoover Highway, north of Tahoe Avenue,” one of the day dispatchers announced on the P.A. system in an electric voice.
“What now?” Ben said.
“Be careful, guys,” Jennifer said with true concern.
They both strode to the ambulance. “At least, I won’t have to map you on that one,” Alex said to relax the mood as he entered the unit.
“Let’s hope it’s only a fender bender. It’s not even supposed to be our call.”
“Well, we’re going to find out soon enough.” Alex picked up the mic, “61 en route.”
“Do you have anything else on the computer?” Ben asked.
“Nope, traffic collision, that’s it, no details.”
“TC doesn’t mean anything, could be a bicycle or a bus full of Japanese tourists.”
“In Stone Falls?”
“Maybe they were passing through…”
“And there are no bicycles on the highway.”
“You never know. The guy got lost.”
“Sure, why not, Ben?”
The ambulance travelled down Black Mountain Avenue, lights and sirens on, air horn blaring to bring to reason distracted drivers. The cars pulled over to the right on each side of the road like the Red Sea parted for Moses.
They took the onramp onto the Hoover Highway North. Ben drove on the narrow shoulder, concentrating on his driving as cars were already jamming up the road. “Do you see anything yet?” he asked, keeping his eyes between the stopped cars and the curb.
“Nope, just a nice traffic jam,” Alex said while trying to look as far as he could down the long curve at the edge of a steep rising hill. “There it is.” Engine 61 was parked farther down across two lanes with all lights flashing.
“I don’t see the accident yet,” Alex said before calling dispatch, “61 on scene.”
The woman echoed his update.
“They should be on the other side of the engine. I’m going to park right past it,” Ben said.
“Ok.”
The ambulance proceeded slowly amid firefighters and highway patrol officers trying to bring control to the situation. Ben passed the back of the fire truck. A silver Audi TT was by itself on the left lane of a six-lane divided highway. The roof had been ripped off three of its four anchor points and was standing vertically like the sail of a small boat.
Ben parked next to another ambulance. He stepped out of the unit. “Did you guys cut the roof off like that?” He asked one of the firefighters.
“No, it was like that when we showed up. We’ve been here for two minutes, that’s it.”
Ben looked at the scene without understanding what had happened. A lone car with a shredded roof, what was that all about?
Captain Johnson waved at them, “Ben, Alex! You two get on the driver!”
They both rushed to the car. A firefighter was arched behind the driver holding the young man’s head between his hands in an improvised bench vise to immobilize the neck.
Another crew of paramedics and firefighters in yellow turnouts were performing CPR on a young man lying on the road with a thick film of blood covering his face.
The scene was controlled chaos. It was calm in the midst of dripping fluid on the road, plastic debris, and shredded shards of metal strewn over the cool asphalt. The rescue crew was calm around the young victim. Every gesture was known and anticipated. There was hardly any need for words in a well-rehearsed choreography. They were technicians, healers in a disturbed world. What passersby saw as a terrifying muddle of horrific injuries and mangled metal, the rescue workers ignored to focus on the essence of life.
There was nothing in the back of the car but a thick pile of rags and blankets. Alex and Ben went closer to the young driver still strapped in his seat. Besides dusty blue jeans and a few drops of splattered blood, he bore no signs of the accident or obvious injuries.
Captain Johnson took Alex on the side, “Do you want a chopper?”
“I don’t know yet,” Alex answered.
“It’s protocol, there’s a DOA.”
“What DOA? The other patient is in full arrest, but he’s not DOA.”
“I’m talking about the one in the back.”
“There’s one in the back of the car?”
“Yeah, we’ve covered him with their blanket.”
Alex shook off the sight. His job was to focus on a single patient and ignore the chaotic scene of idling fire trucks, rushing firefighters, broken glass, and a dead body a few feet from them. “Then, yes, please, get a medevac.”
He addressed the driver directly in front of him to avoid enticing him to move is head. “Hi, buddy, my name is Alex. I’m a paramedic. I’m going to take care of you, all right?”
Ben was already taking the vital signs while a firefighter was about to strip an intravenous line. “Big bag?” he asked, referring to a 1000 ml normal saline IV fluid.
“Yes, please,” Alex answered without looking at the fireman. “What’s your name?”
“Tom.”
“Do you know what happened to you, Tom?”
His voice was slightly sluggish, more from the shock of what had happened, than from an injury. “I was in a car accident.”
“That’s right. Can you tell me, what’s the day of the week?”
“Saturday.”
“Fantastic. And where are we, Tom?”
“In my car… on the highway.”
“Great job.”
“110 on the pulse, 16 rep, 128 over 84,” Ben said.
Alex glanced at Ben and nodded. “Your vitals rock. You’re doing great. I’m going to assess you, all right? You tell me if you feel any pain when I touch you, ok?”
“Ok.”
“Do you have any pain anywhere right now?”
“I’m sore, everywhere.”
“I bet you are.”
Ben rolled up Tom’s sleeve, and disinfected his arm with an alcohol prep pad. “You’re going to feel a little pop, Tom.”
“Ok…”
“We’re in,” Ben said pulling out the rigid section of a catheter. A firefighter handed him a strip of medical tape. “Yeah, give me a fat one,” he said referring to the full width tape, a skinny one was half width.
“How are my friends?” Tom asked in a slow voice.
Alex briefly glanced at Ben. “The other crews are working on them.”
“How are they?”
His stomach churned at the grim sight. One was lying on the road in cardiac arrest, and the other was dead under a blanket. He couldn’t lie and destroy his patient’s trust, but the truth wasn’t a solution either. “We need to work on you right now, buddy.”
Tom didn’t comment.
They slid him onto a backboard and fully immobilized him with a cervical collar, foam blocks around his head, and belts. Two EMTs carried the backboard onto the gurney, while a third one held the intravenous bag.
Alex leaned over his patient. “Look, Tom, you were in a pretty serious accident, you understand that, right?”
“Yes…”
“So, we’re going to load you up in a helicopter to take youto Hoover Memorial Hospital.”
“A… a helicopter? Why? Is it that bad?”
“No, it’s not, buddy, it’s more of a precaution.”
“But you don’t want to tell me,” his lips quivered, “I’m going to die.”
“No, you’re not going to die.”
“Yes, you don’t want to tell me, I’m going to die.” Tears rolled down his cheeks.
“Tom, think about it, if you were about to die, would you be talking to me?”
The young man didn’t answer, thinking about the logic.
“Those pilots like to take their toys out once in a while, and it’s better to take you to a bigger hospital faster. You don’t really want to stay at Stone Falls Community, do you? And I’ve heard the nurses are a lot cuter at Hoover Memorial.”
Tom smiled.
A large ladder truck drove perpendicular to the highway and blocked the last open lane of traffic. A long sign ran down the length of the retracted white ladder: CPR SAVES LIVES. Alex read the sign and glanced at the dying young man on the pavement. Rescue crews were loading him into an ambulance bound to Stone Falls Community. The closest hospital was the rule for patients in cardiac arrest. Today more than ever, Alex hoped CPR would save a life. Twenty-years old was too young to die.
Highway Patrol blocked the opposite lanes a hundred yards away. A white Bell 222 helicopter with a blue tail and a large blue star of life on the side of the fuselage appeared above a hill. The chopper circled the site and initiated its descent toward the landing zone on the highway.
The machine settled down on the concrete in a cloud of dust. A door opened. A flight paramedic and a nurse in white flight helmets and blue jump suits jumped out of the helicopter and strode to the driver.
They received a detailed but fast medical report. Alex and Ben secured any loose items on the patient. They shut the oxygen off, closed the IV line, and nudged the saline bag between his legs underneath a backboard belt. There was no need for a briefing to load him; they all knew their job. In an expected procedure, the two paramedics walked straight toward the pilot with the flight crew at their sides. The shrieking turbines and spinning blades were roaring to deafening heights. The four walked to the side of the machine and loaded the patient in the cabin.
Ben and Alex walked back to the accident scene, fifty yards away. The helicopter powered up behind them, lifting a cloud of dust.
“How did they even crash?” Ben asked Captain Johnson after the chopper took off.
“Another car hit them,” the captain pointed at a raised Chevy Suburban farther down the highway. A man was sitting on the ground a few feet from the concrete barrier.
“Is he ok?” Ben asked.
“He’s fine.”
“Do you know what happened exactly?”
“That guy said the Audi was stopped on the left lane. Maybe they broke down, or they had a flat, who knows? He said he saw them and looked in his mirror to switch lanes. But by the time he looked back in front of him he was on them, literally. He couldn’t avoid them and drove over their car.” The captain gestured a hand passing over the other one. “That’s why the roof flew off.”
“A Suburban against a TT, the small one is going to lose,” Ben said.
A young highway patrol officer walked to them. “Do you have the ID on the DOA?”
They all shook their heads.
“It should still be on him,” the captain said.
The young officer didn’t move.
Alex looked at him, “Your first?”
“It is.”
“I’ll get it for you.”
His shoulders dropped, “Thanks, I’m not used to it. It gives me the creeps.”
“The first time’s the hardest. It gets easier with time.”
“I don’t know about that,” the young man said.
Alex walked to the back of the car. Even if he was used to gruesome sights, the sadness was still there. People shouldn’t have to die so young. Families would soon be crushed. They would receive a phone call or a knock on the front door. They would open, and their world would spin out of control.
He slowly pulled the blanket, revealing a bloodied arm. He pulled some more and gasped, “Oh, God.” He turned around, sadness striking his face.
“What?” Ben asked.
“It’s Todd.”
Closed Doors
Jessica sat at a booth by herself. Dina’s Diner was rapidly becoming her favorite hangout place. She liked Amanda, the food, the people, but above all, it was her rally point with Todd. Come to think of it, the young man was late today. She opened up the menu, even though she knew what she would have–a slice of cherry pie and lemonade. She only did it to keep busy while waiting for the young man.
Amanda Walker appeared from the storage room at the end of the counter. Her heart sank when she saw Jessica sitting at the table. She went close to her cook. “Jessica’s here?”
“Uh-huh,” Finley, the older employee, said flipping a fluffy pancake.
“What is she doing here?”
“It’s a diner. She came to eat. What’s wrong with that?”
“Did she come to meet her friend?”
“The young construction worker?”
“Yes…” she said in a quiet voice, even if the kitchen fans were at full power.
“How would I know? I’m not a dating service,” he said before cracking a smile.
“Finley, the kid died this morning.”
The mirth vanished from his face. “What are you talking about? Don’t joke about that kind of thing.”
She shook her head. “Finley, I’m serious. The kid died in a car accident on the highway this morning.”
“How do you know?”
“This diner is a rumor mill. Customers have been talking about it.”
“And you didn’t tell me?” The man stopped stirring hash browns on the griddle.
“We were swamped.”
“I don’t know anything in this joint, and I can’t talk to anybody with that noise. You need to tell me those things, girl. And if she doesn’t know, you need to tell her.”
“Why me?” Amanda stepped back.
“Why not you? You’re her friend. You have to talk to her.”
Amanda looked at the sweet girl waiting for someone who would never come. Her stomach churned in apprehension. In a slow move, she forced herself to walk to Jessica’s table.
“Best pie in town, Amanda,” an old man said as she walked by.
“Thank you, Bernie,” she patted his shoulder, but didn’t stop walking. If she did, she would never be able to follow through. She reached Jessica’s booth on the opposite side of the dining room. “Hi sweetie,” she said with a forced calmness. “How are you?
”
“Great! Do you mind if I wait for my friend to order?”
“Who’s your friend, honey?” Amanda rubbed her hands together.
“Todd, you know him.”
How could she do this? “Honey, could you go with me in the office?” She attempted a reassuring smile.
Her joy faded. “Why?”
“I… I would like to talk to you. I need to talk to you.”
Jessica cocked her head.
“Please.”
The young lady stood up.
Amanda Walker, the bearer of horrendous news, took her arm with the care of a loving mother for a lost child. They entered the small office with a single metal desk. The woman sat her down, closed the door behind her, and on Jessica’s hope to ever see Todd again.
Another Evening
Jessica was sweet and soft, but she was a fighter. Of course she had cried for a long time in the back office, but she had decided to move on. She had to do it for herself and for Todd. She somehow knew that was what he would have wanted.
Amanda had been there for her, lending a caring shoulder to give her time to take the news. After a while she had left her to give her some alone time and to attend to her customers.
The following Friday, Jessica was at her church’s fellowship hall to welcome her children. Moving on was hard, but it was best to maintain her routine. The Cubbies needed her. Besides, leading them was better than staying at home rehearsing what had happened.
She politely smiled as much as she could, even if there was no real meaning behind it. Most parents did not know of her friendship–not to say more–with Todd. The few who knew said a kind word, but were smart enough not to dwell on his memory. Why would they? Was it supposed to help to keep talking about him? Every time well-wishers said his name, they reopened the fresh wound.
How could he be gone? Why him? What kind of freak incident had forced them to stop in the middle of the highway? Some people said their car broke down. Others mentioned a flat tire. Did it even matter? Todd was dead. That was the simple and terrible conclusion.
Amanda Walker went into the fellowship hall with her young daughter. She quickly scanned the room in search of Jessica and found her with another parent. She waited for a minute. Usually, she would have dropped off her child and walked out to go back to the diner, but tonight, she wanted to see how the young woman was holding up.