My Luck (Twisted Luck Book 1)

by Mel Todd

  Chapter 39

  Offering means sacrificing a bit of you for someone or something else. While it sounds easy, many doctors, nurses, and other first responders point out that there is always a balance. Most material that can be offered takes a while to replace, so there is always the fear that if they offer too much, the next time it is needed, they won't have enough to offer. ~ Magic Explained

  Tons of people dead or injured, and she's calling me? I'm a -

  My thought broke off and it snapped into place. I was a trained EMT. I was about to pass my classes and become a trained paramedic. Regardless of what anyone thought, I had not cheated. I had earned that license and they needed my help.

  I turned and looked at the Guzmans and my world spun. There was pride, love, and support in their eyes. Their son was laying in the hospital and they were proud of me.

  "Go. You will do excellent," Marisol said waving me away. Jo winked and grinned at me, and time snapped back in.

  "I'm at the Healthstar in Rome, the ER."

  "You okay?" she snapped at me.

  "Yes, visiting," I replied, standing there frantically trying to think how to get from here to wherever the incident was. I didn't have a car.

  "Head to the ambulance bay. They're packing up. Yell out for Darryl, a huge black guy who looks like he'll break you. He's one of the best. Tell them you're contracted with us and I'll grab your jumpsuit and badge. Go." She hung up.

  I whirled to Jo. "Keep this for me. I'll get it from you later." I shoved my bag at her and took off at a run out of the ER. The bay was to the right of the ER and it was a hive of activity as people frantically stocked their ambulances. Others were diving in and lighting up lights and sirens.

  Inhaling as much oxygen as I could, I bellowed out, "Darryl?" I looked around as people glanced at me. Someone leaned into a bus and a minute later a man stepped out, a man that made most men in my life look like toothpicks. I wasn't positive how he could get in the bus and drive. The other person pointed at me and he moved towards me at a pace faster than I could run.

  "You have five seconds," he said in a disconcerting English accent. I shook my head trying to reconcile my expectations with his voice. "Three." He started to turn away and I quit worrying about it.

  "Sally Chang said to come with you. I'm contracted out at the Rockway Fire Department as an EMT."

  "Get your ass in the vehicle then, we need to get out." He headed back as others finished loading up and headed out. "Ride in back. Leo's my partner." He wasn't rude or angry, just matter of fact and I scurried to keep up. Diving into the back and sitting on the bench as the other man, late twenties with a chaos tattoo on his head, shut the doors behind me.

  Seconds later the ambulance pulled out and I braced myself as the lights and sirens flipped on. When we hit the freeway, I lifted my voice over the road noise and sirens. "Do you know what the situation is?"

  Leo turned to look at me, his tattoo, a bright yellow against his red-brown tan skin, complimented his light brown hair. "Bus carrying kids to an away band competition, followed by parents. Another car hit them head on and they flipped, taking out other cars. Count is ten cars involved and at least thirty victims. Unknown complications at this point. Two confirmed dead, but others expected." He rattled it all off in a way that made it seem more normal and common—it let the information hit me differently and I appreciated the matter-of-factness.

  "Got it. How many units responding?"

  "Ten. We've got all the local county ambulances and at least two of the private ones coming. They've requested two life flights already." If anything, the ambulance had sped up as he talked. I braced my feet and went with the jerking and shaking.

  "Who's incident commander?"

  "Your fire chief, Martin Martinez. He's ordered SMART triage." I nodded at his sharp look even as I felt my heart triple thump in my chest. SMART stood for Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment. That meant we'd very probably be making the call on who would live or die. Red meant emergency, get to hospital; yellow indicated that they were seriously injured but had a little time; green, injured but could wait; white meant minor injuries. But black meant no medical attention could save them and to move on to the others. That would be a decision I'd have to make.

  I ran the process through my head, but it was one of those they only covered briefly. Every department had their own flavors, though the color breakout was the most common. I swallowed, nerves landing in my belly and twisting it into a knot of worms riddled with spikes that sent me into frissons of panic.

  What if I screw up? What if I triage wrong? What if I cost someone their life?

  Nausea swarmed me and I closed my eyes trying to breathe.

  "Get on your game face, people. We're coming in now." Darryl's voice intruded on my attempts to keep my stomach where it belonged, but I couldn't keep my eyes closed. I had to see. I leaned forward and tried to see out the window. But the sun, flashing lights, and moving vehicles created a jumble of broken images that didn't make any sense.

  The ambulance jerked to a halt and the two men flew out of the doors. Before I could get to the back door, it flew open.

  "Out girl. Find your boss and do your best." Darryl spared a half second to nod at me before he grabbed a bag and headed out.

  I swallowed down my nerves and stepped out of the back, and the world seemed to slow to a stop. Even the moving people stopped as I stared, my skin burning as I took in what lay in front of me.

  This area of Georgia had roads that snaked through the mountains with sharp drops on one side and a rising cliff on the other. A yellow school bus lay on its side across the entire two-lane road. It had apparently rolled, from the dents on the top, and came to a stop at a wide pull over meant for slower vehicles to get out of the way. At least six vehicles were scattered around it on this side like a child had thrown down his Hot Wheels and stomped away. They lay on their sides or had slammed into the underside of the bus or crashed into the side of the mountain. From the bent and twisted guardrail, I assumed at least one car had gone over the side.

  The ambulance I rode in was at the edge of the responders. Fire, police, ambulance, state patrol, and sheriff were all there, the lights still for that eternal second as everything I saw burned into my brain, into my soul. Then I moved, my foot crunching on gravel, and everything snapped into motion, people rushing towards the mass casualties.

  I spun, looking for Sally or Martin. I needed my equipment and gear to be any use to anyone, otherwise I was a civilian creating problems for them.

  Black hair in a shining sheet caught my eyes and I spun, laying eyes on the familiar logo and lettering. I took off at a run towards them. As I got closer, the voices started to make sense amid the sirens, the shouts and the screams and sobs of the victims.

  "All of you, start triaging. I have the tags here, grab them when you head out. Use your best judgment. If you have a black or red summon me, Jordan, or Chang to verify. Otherwise Chang and Laurent will be getting people down this mountain to where the choppers are. They have a park about five miles down where the copters can land. We have three red already and we'll need to bus them to the helicopters stat. Your job is to stabilize people and keep them alive until they are taken from you into a bus. Chang, Laurent: I expect you to drive like sane maniacs, transfer your patients, then get your asses back up here. All of you, your job isn't done until the only people left are the dead and the responders. Move," Captain Martinez's voice bellowed like trumpet causing the hair on my head and the back of my neck to raise with its power.

  I stopped next to Sally. "I'm here."

  She glanced at me, nodded at the ambulance that she drove. "Good. Your gear is there. Change and do your job." She didn't take even another second, just grabbed her gurney, and raced away with it. With my mind alternating between panic and assurance, I headed over to the ambulance. I pulled open the door and sure enough, there were my jumpsuit and my bag waiting for me. We'd packed it and repacked the bag over the last few days so I
knew where every item was and could find it with my eyes closed.

  Glancing around I realized I was being an idiot. I stripped off my jeans, they really didn't work under the jump suit, and my coffee imbued shirt. No one had time to worry about a half-naked woman. I stepped into the suit, and she'd even grabbed my boots. I slipped them on, and it felt like something else coated me as I pulled up that outfit. I don't know what it was, but my heart rate slowed. I felt lighter, and the panic that had been building at the back of my mind stepped back. I grabbed my bag and moved over to Martin.

  He thrust a handful of tags at me, giving me a long look. "You're the green one here. Don't be scared to yell if you need help or a second opinion. Go."

  I nodded and swallowed down a lump of nerves, then headed towards the person nearest to us that had no one attending them. Most of the closer victims had people around them, but they had started at the opposite side of the scene than I had. Which meant there were people that needed me. Part of me kept waiting for the panic, for me to flounder, but instead I just rushed to the side of the closest person laying there and dropped to my knees. Her breathing was thready, and her skin was pale and clammy.

  Shock, low respiratory sounds, pupils responsive but sluggish.

  The diagnosis went through my mind as I continued. Everything pointed at internal bleeding. Pulling back the woman's shirt, and it really only registered to me when I was cutting the straps on her bra that she was a woman, the bruises were red and livid, pooling with blood.

  "Ma'am, can you hear me?" She groaned something that might have been taken as a yes, maybe. "Let me know if this hurts." I pressed gently at the area of her spleen, and she almost convulsed.

  Major internal bleeding. Definite red, they'll need to operate, and soon, if they want to save her.

  I grabbed the red tag, attaching it to her wrist, which seemed uninjured. I stood and looked, catching Martin's eye. "ETA on next trip to life flight?" I yelled, but there was no subservience in my voice.

  He moved over and looked at her. "Tell me your diagnosis," he snapped as he glanced at his watch. "First one is due back in five, and the next copter should be here in fifteen."

  "Major internal bleeding. Stable, but decreasing rapidly." I took her blood pressure and heart rate again, and it was lower. "Time is critical. Internal organs, probably a ruptured spleen."

  He moved closer and scanned the notes I'd made. "Looks right. I'll flag her next. Rip off your notes and leave them here. Get to the next person.'"

  I froze for a moment, looking at the woman I had no more ability to help, who might very well die no matter what I did. For the first time in a very long time I wished almost desperately for magic. Magic to heal. Magic to save. But I wasn't Sally or Jo. My world didn't work that like that. I gave a sharp nod of my head and stood, looking.

  There about ten yards to my right was another person, younger and writhing on the ground. The erratic movements and the soft whimpers indicating extreme pain acted like a beacon. I headed right for the boy. Nothing else mattered—what mattered was helping him until he could be made stable or transported.

  Kneeling next to him, I checked the young man wearing a band uniform from my old high school. He looked at me eyes wide, breathing rapid.

  "Hey, can you hear me?" I asked, my voice soft and soothing as I pulled out the stereoscope, placing it on his chest.

  "Yes. Am I doing to die?" he asked, his speech as rapid as his breathing, shallow with a bit of a gurgle, but not much.

  "Nope. I'm here to prevent that. It hurts to breathe?" I felt along his ribs, finding the broken area pretty fast at his sudden intake.

  "Yeah. Hurts to take a deep breath."

  "Hmmm." I checked for concussion signs, going on through the checklist. "What instrument do you play?" If I could keep him talking, he'd focus more on me than on what hurt.

  "It's stupid," he muttered, but it broke off on a half sob as I got down his leg.

  "I doubt it. At least you play. I can't do anything musical." I cut open his pants, exposing a bad break with the bone jutting out, but bleeding was sluggish, which meant no major arteries were severed. I pulled the inflatable splint out of my bag and put it on his leg. "Looks like you did a number on your leg. You're going to be able to get people to sign it for weeks. Bet you can get them to give you their desserts too if you play it right. " I kept up the chatter to distract him as I got the splint secured and inflated.

  "It really hurts." He tried not to whine, but it slipped through.

  "I know. You want a shot to help?"

  He looked glassy eyed but nodded. "Yeah, it really hurts."

  We had limited amounts of morphine to give, and I would need to stay for a minute or two to make sure he didn't have an allergic reaction, but I pulled out the vial and needle, pulling in 1ml. He wasn't a big kid, but that break was nasty and the more stressed he was, the more he had a chance of making it worse. I gave him the shot and filled out the card, tying it on his wrist.

  "Hey, this card is important. It says you are hurt pretty bad, and they need to get you to the hospital quick like. So don't remove it, okay?"

  "Got it. Means I go to the hospital. Will they call my mom?"

  "Absolutely. See all the first responders, the police, fire fighters, they are all here to make sure everyone is okay." I checked his vitals again, but his breath had stabilized as the morphine kicked in and he was calming down. "So you just lay here and close your eyes. Someone will be by to get you to the hospital pretty soon."

  "Okay. Thanks lady." He closed his eyes, exhausted from the stress.

  I tapped his head. "Someone will be here pretty soon. Just rest."

  I got up and grabbed my bag, heading to the next person. A blond girl, her band uniform a mess of blood and dirt. But she sat against a vehicle, watching everything with alert eyes.

  "Hey. How you doing?" I asked as I knelt next to her.

  "Better than most. Arm's broken." Her eyes tracked well as I ran checks on her.

  "Sure is. Let's get that splinted." I got the splint on it and she sighed a bit as that immobilized it. I dug out a sling. "You in pain?"

  "A bit, but I don't need anything. I'm fine. I've done this before." She nodded at her arm. "I'll live." Her eyes tracked and I followed them to one of the people laying there with a jacket draped over their faces, her mouth set in a grim line.

  "Okay. I'm going to hang this tag on you." I showed her the tag and the green. "It means you need to see the doctor, but you'll be fine waiting a while. You good with that?"

  "Yeah. Go. Help the others." She swallowed convulsively. "I'll be fine."

  I gave her a reassuring squeeze and moved on. The afternoon disappeared in helping, tagging, comforting, and moving to the next person. The first black tag I filled out didn't even shock me and I didn't bother to ask for backup. It was the bus driver and his body was cooling by the time I reached him. I tagged him, closed my eyes for a brief second, and moved on. The living needed me, he didn't.

  Chapter 40

  The hardest part about being a mage is knowing what and when to offer. Offering is easy, offering wisely is a challenge. ~ Pattern Merlin Thomas Edison

  I think I missed someone, there has to be someone I missed.

  The idea nagged at me. I kept turning around and looking. But every person I saw still in the area had a tag, and most of those at this point were black—waiting for the corner, or white—just waiting for a ride back to town. One of the cars had been rolled back up and was drivable and the whites were going to head to an urgent care facility to get their treatment before driving home. But they weren't what called at me.

  I kept turning, exhaustion clouding my thoughts. The sun had sunk down and cast red and yellow light everywhere, creating a canvas that would have rivaled anything painted by Bob Ross, except the red and blue lights, the garish scars on the vehicles, and the bodies draped in black on the ground.

  "Cori?"

  I'd heard Sally approach, but something kept pulli
ng at me. I thought I almost knew from where.

  "Yeah?" Distracted, I started to walk to the side of the road.

  "What's wrong?" Sally sounded as exhausted as I felt. I didn't know how many hours we’d been up there—I knew I wanted my shower and bed—but that tugging wouldn't stop. I glanced at her and saw her hair was shorter by a good ten inches, giving her almost a bob cut look, and her long nails were gone to the quick. She'd spent a lot of magic today keeping people alive.

  "I don't know. I feel like we missed…" I stopped talking and turned, as a sudden silence fell. Most of the first responders had left. They were starting to tow out the various vehicles, the bus would be last. But in that moment of silence I thought I heard something.

  Ignoring Sally, I headed towards the front of the bus where it over hung the edge, just a past the doors, but it was enough that you couldn't walk around that side of the bus. That brief moment of silence ended with the beeping of tow trucks backing up, engines turning over, and just the noise of people filled the area.

  Something still pulled my attention over here and I knelt on the side of the road, the guard rail blocking my view.

  "What am I missing?" Sally didn't sound dismissive, just curious, and ready to go home. But I couldn't turn away.

  "Give me a second," I said, my response abstract as I wormed my way under the guardrail and looked. It took a minute in the low light and shadows here to figure out what I was looking at. The glass of the bus accordion door had broken out in a single big pane and was laying against a tree, which probably helped the bus from sliding down any further. Crumbled at the base of the tree, wedged between the tree and the cliff, and hidden from almost every view by bushes, lay a figure. Blood covered most of the exposed skin, but I could just barely hear and see the rise and fall of the chest.

  "Sally, I've got another victim. I need a basket and supplies, stat." I rattled this out as I wrapped one leg around the railing support and made a quick wish it wouldn't give and tumble me down the slope.