Red White and Black

Chapter Six

Sammy

With even the slightest movement his knee felt like someone was inserting and twisting a white hot knife into the joint. Sammy had never before experienced pain quite like this and it seemed the drugs given to him at the clinic were doing nothing other than making him incoherent and dizzy. He was convinced he had heard the doctor say he had likely torn his ACLU and damaged his biscuits but none of that made sense. He hadn't had a biscuit for quite awhile and he certainly wasn't involved with the ACLU.

To make matters worse, the pain in his knee was accompanied by a drum-like throbbing incessantly pounding out a jungle beat in his head. Convinced the noise must be audible, he struggled to raise his head trying to see whether anyone else heard it. The ambulance driver and paramedic ignored him, talking quietly together. Exhausted, he let his head drop back on the pillow and tried to relax. It wasn't as though he had much of a choice; he was strapped to the gurney, trussed up like a turkey on display for Thanksgiving dinner.

The ambulance hit a chuckhole, jarring Sammy's leg and sending a flare of pain shooting through his knee. Gasping for breath, he could only grimace when the paramedic turned in his seat to check on him.

"Sorry 'bout that," he said. "The streets in this town ain't exactly perfect."

Sammy nodded, not wasting breath on small talk.

"You remember the doc's instructions, right? Ice pack on knee and head, keep off the leg and get to an orthopedic specialist. Got it?"

Not quite sure what the man was talking about, Sammy nodded again, anxious to get home and put this torturous ride behind him. Pain killers? I'm sure I took some pain killers. When on earth are they supposed to kick in? The driver brought the ambulance to a jerking halt and threw open his door. The sudden stop put unexpected pressure on his leg, causing Sammy to bite his lip in pain. A few moments of quiet passed, allowing him to gain his composure before the back doors swung open admitting a brilliant stream of sunlight to sear directly into his already throbbing head.

"Home again, home again, Mr. Morris," said the paramedic in an attempt to be cheerful. "You're gonna have to use these crutches but we'll flank you so's you don't take another header, okay?"

With the doors open, the sound of a bouncing basketball began to compete with the sun to see which could cause the most pain in the shortest amount of time. Great! That's just about all I need right now... to hear that bouncing keep time with the war drums already going off in my head. The paramedics helped him slide off the gurney, letting him rest for a moment against the back of the ambulance. His leg stuck straight out and as the men dug out a pair of crutches and fiddled with the gurney, he couldn't help but grit his teeth in anticipation of one of them bumping his knee and sending him into orbit.

"Okay, Mr. Morris, let's give it a shot." Sammy hadn't ever used crutches and was certain he would fall. "Don't worry sir, we're right here, we've got you."

With the sunlight blinding him and pain rocketing up his leg, he had to squint and grimace simultaneously, causing him to wonder for a second what his face must look like. Working his way up the sidewalk one tiny excruciating step at a time, he became aware the noise of the basketball had ceased. Glancing over the low hedge separating his lawn from the neighbor's driveway, he realized he had become the center of attention. That's okay... anything to get that infernal bouncing noise to stop. Even if I have to provide the show. That moment of distraction allowed him to jar his foot against an uneven section of sidewalk that had heaved during one of the nasty winter freezes that made Gary such a delightful city. He grit his teeth against the pain, wishing he could magically transport himself into bed to avoid another incident like that.