"911, what's your emergency?" A woman on the other line asked me.
"Hello," my voice sounding calm and collected like I'd done this a hundred times before, "a Caucasian male, around mid 20's has collapsed and is in need of some assistance."
I hadn't helped others in a couple years after I'd left the field, but it came so naturally to me, it was as if I was a puppet and someone was pulling my stings in all the right ways.
" Ma'am, can you tell me your location?"
This was the question that threw me off guard. Being new to New York, I hadn't the faintest idea as to what street I was even on, let alone my exact location.
"Ma'am, are you still with me? I need a location."
"Ummm...." I searched my surroundings frantically to see if I could find a landmark, a restaurant. Hell, I would've settled with a simple street sign. Yet, there was nothing in site and that made me anxious. This man could've been bleeding internally or had a brain aneurism and I couldn't tell this woman where I was to get him the proper help he needed.
"Where's the hospital located?" I'd settled with myself that if I couldn't direct someone to where we were, I'd take him there myself.
"I'm sorry, ma'am. Did you just ask me where the hospital is?" The woman on the other end sounding slightly daft at my question, but my patience was wearing thin and this man's life was at jeopardy and I wasn't about to lose him on my watch.
"Yes, a hospital. You know, the things people go to when in trouble, I need to get him to one, now." I hadn't meant to be snappy with her, I just didn't appreciate the thought of this man dying when I was capable of saving him.
"There's one on East 149th Street in the Bronx. It's called the Lincoln Medical Center. They can help there."
I thanked the woman, ended the call, and made it my mission to get this stranger to the hospital as fast as possible without, in turn, killing myself in the process of my heroics. However, getting him into the car was a bigger challenge than I anticipated.
"When did people get so heavy," I groaned to myself as a picked him up and shoved him into the back seat of my car. Once I was in, I held the petal to the floor. Time was my enemy and I didn't know exactly how much of it the mystery man in my car had left.
I pulled up to the hospital and got a paramedic who was on break to help me.
"What happened?" The paramedic asked me as we put an unconscious man on a gurney ready to push him into the hospital.
"I'm not sure. He was walking and smiling at me and the next thing I know, he was on the ground, oblivious to the world around him. He may have hit his head on the concrete, so make sure to keep it steady and his pulse is weak, but there. He'll need an MRI to find any further damage." I rattled off to a doctor who had noticed the man on the gurney. "Thank you doctor," he said to me and was off, calling a mix of doctors and nurses to his aid to help him get prepped and ready, if needed.
I walked back to my car and got in. I could've went back to my newly rented apartment or to a bar to drink away the night, but instead I decided to stay. For some reason, I felt like I should be there when the mystery man woke up. Call it what you will, but I felt something like a duty towards the person I helped get here.
Thank you doctor. I hadn't been called that for some time. Oddly enough, it felt sort of satisfying, like I was the one who had done something incredible and they had done nothing rather than the other way around. It made me miss the rushing and the frustration and the happiness that came with saving a life. I rubbed my eyes and looked at the clock, 2:34 AM. I'd been here for several hours now, and there was no sign of anyone who'd went into the room with the mysterious man.
"Excuse me," I said to the nurse at the front desk, " is there any news on the man who was rushed into the ER several hours ago?"
She looked up to me, a mixture of annoyance and some attitude showing on her face. "No, but as soon as there is, you'll be the first to know."
"Thank you," I mumbled and walked away to get some coffee. By the looks of things, this was going to be a long and caffeine filled night.
Author's Note:
Tell me what you think in the comments. Honestly, I enjoyed writing this chapter and I hope there are many more to come. Thanks my darlings!!
- Charlie
