Southern Steel - Titan

1. Ari

"Ugh! What a shit show!" I mutter to myself as I get into my Dodge Challenger. All I want to do is get home and get these scrubs off. I just finished my third 16 hour shift in a row and am looking forward to the next 3 days off. I have zero to no faith in the human race after working tonight in the ICU. My body is sore and my brain is fried. I'm not 100% sure what bodily fluids I have on me, and I think a hot shower and a good book are in order.

As my hellcat fires up the purr of the engine soothes me and invigorates me as always. This car was my gift to myself on my 21st birthday, 3 years ago after I passed my nursing boards. As a military brat I've always been independent and probably too strong-willed for my own good. My parents are stationed in Stuttgart, Germany and my brother is off being a hero Lord knows where. I decided to move back to our hometown in East TN to go to college and become a trauma nurse.

Driving through the Appalachian mountains at night never gets old. The distinct mountain air is calming as it whips through the windows, helping wipe away the stress of a horrible day. I started my shift at 6am with a domestic violence victim and ended it at 10pm after losing a gunshot victim. I turn the radio up and breathe in the fresh air. Thank God I get a 3 day weekend before I have to be back to the hospital.

The loud roar of motorcycle pipes causes me to perk up. I've always been fascinated by bikes. They seem like they would be so freeing to ride. As I round another curve I notice four motorcycles pulling out of the gas station up ahead and start riding in front of me. We ride along about twenty minutes into the mountains, and I see a large pickup truck coming too fast around a curve the opposite direction headed towards the bikes. I start to instinctively hit my breaks to give the bikes a chance to avoid the truck but it is too late.

The bike in the front tries to swerve and is still clipped by the front of the truck. The truck hits the bikes back tire and causes the bike to go down and fly off to the right side of the road. The man on the second bike skids and lays the bike down sideways as his body falls off barely missing getting hit by the truck and the other bikes. The sound of tires and metal crashing have filled the air. The truck continues to speed away not even slowing down. I turn my hazards on and take off running towards the two injured men. The two men that were riding in the back of the formation have also jumped off their bikes and started running. I hear the one man on his cell phone calling 911.

As I approach the first man who wasn't hit by the truck, I see he is lying on the ground with his leg bent at an awkward angle. His groans of pain fill the air. I kneel down and start to assess the damage. One of the running men stop with me and the other continues toward the other crashed bike.

"I'm Ariella. Are you able to tell me your name?" I say as I look him over for injuries.

"Name's Mack. I'm good just got my leg caught by the bike when I went down. Where is Prez?" He states in a rough pain tinged voice.
I hear the guy who ran ahead yelling. "Prez! Somebody help!"

Looking at the man kneeled next to me who is on the phone with 911 I say, "Can you keep him alert and make sure he doesn't try to move with that leg?" After he gives me a nod, I take off running.

Approaching the ditch on the side of the road where the man is kneeling next to a still body causes my adrenaline to kick into overdrive. The man is yelling at the man to wake up.

"I need you to move so I can help him." I say to the man as he continues to lean over the man lying on the ground lifeless. He is frantic and yelling, trying to get the guy to respond. He's not listening as I try to place my hand on his arm to get his attention. "I can't help him if you don't get out of the way!"

The guy jerks away from my hand and for a second I think he may hit me the way he aggressively angles his body to stop me from moving him. Well aggressive it is then!