I'm With You

Chapter 6

"Is she close?" Wendy asked and Eira nodded her head fast, pointing towards the bridge.

"Sh-She's under here! I can't get her to wake up, I don't have money for an ambulance - I don't know what to do!" Eira sobbed and Wendy instantly pulled her into a hug, able to feel how badly Eira was shaking.

"I run a charity, it's a medical charity for homeless people. I'm a retired paramedic and my friend here is a doctor from St. Lukes's Hospital, out volunteering with me tonight. We have supplies. Can you take us to your sister?" Wendy spoke calmly and Eira nodded her head fast, a sob escaping her lips and she ran towards the bridge with Wendy and Miguel right behind her, Miguel just ahead of Wendy even though what he was carrying was heavier. He was concerned with what she said - that she couldn't get her sister to wake up.

"What's your name?" Miguel asked.

"E-Eira, she's Mackenzie - you have to help her. She's seventeen! I can't lose her." Eira sobbed, running to Mackenzie and Miguel's eyes widened when he saw the state the young girl was in. She was pale and unconscious and as Miguel touched her face, he could feel how hot and sweaty she was, yet her hands felt freezing cold.

"Mackenzie?" Miguel called. "Mackenzie, can you hear me? I'm a doctor, here to help you." Miguel said, raising his voice slightly but Mackenzie didn't react. Miguel dumped his medical bag on the ground, unzipping it and he instantly pulled out a blood pressure cuff and a clamp for her finger to check her pulse. "What were her symptoms that led to this?" Miguel asked Eira, but his main focus was Mackenzie.

"It just started with her having headaches and she was struggling to sleep, but she was exhausted and she's just been getting weaker and she has a fever..." Eira trailed off, tears streaming down her face.

"Can you help me get her layers off so I can get to her arm? I don't want to hurt her." Miguel said and Eira immediately got down on her knees, supporting Mackenzie as Miguel worked to pull off her jacket, hoodie, and then rolled up her sleeve to get access to her bare arm. "Has she taken any recreational drugs?" Miguel asked and Eira stared at him, tears running down her face.

"I can barely afford for us to eat, you think I can afford drugs?" Eira choked out and Miguel sighed.

"I'm sorry, I just have to ask," Miguel said, but Eira stayed completely silent. She just stared down at her little sister as Miguel wrapped the band around her arm, turning the machine on, and whilst that was tightening, he placed the clamp on her finger to check her pulse. "How long ago was it that she first complained about headaches?" Miguel asked and Eira shook her head, tears falling faster.

"I-I don't know... time d-doesn't really exist for us..." Eira choked out and Wendy sighed, feeling nothing but sympathy for the young sisters. She was worried for Mackenzie the moment the results came through on the monitors and Miguel sighed, feeling his heart pounding against his chest. "What? What's wrong?" Eira demanded to know.

"I'm almost certain your sister has hypothermia," Miguel stated and Eira's eyes widened, her jaw dropping with shock.

"No... no, no! People die from that, right? No!" Eira sobbed impossibly harder, holding onto her sister tighter as if that would keep Mackenzie from passing away.

"We need to get her urgent help before this gets worse, she needs very specialist equipment to warm her blood and we can't do that out here and I don't have it with me even if we could," Miguel said, trying to sound calm but he was panicking. He couldn't let somebody pass away on his first night, not a young girl. It would destroy Eira, that much was obvious.

"I'll call the hospital, tell them what's going on - we're going to cover any cost." Wendy assured Eira before she could say anything else and Wendy walked away, pulling her phone out of her pocket.

"Is everything you have wet?" Miguel asked and Eira sobbed, nodding her head.

"W-We were in the rain... I-I couldn't afford medicine, but I got her food and sh-she could barely eat... she's only seventeen, sh-she can't die... I-I can't do this without her." Eira sobbed and Miguel placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"We're going to help her, Eira, okay? Look at me." Miguel ordered and Eira turned her head to look at him.

"Do you trust me?" He asked and Eira let out a quiet sob, nodding her head.

"Yes."

"Good, so you have to trust that I'll do all I can to help your sister through this," Miguel said, but they both turned their heads as Wendy came back to them, Eira trying to keep herself under control as she saw the stressed expression on Wendy's face.

"The hospital doesn't have any free beds and the ambulance crews are busy dealing with a house fire up in the hills. They want us to drive her to Laguna in the hopes they have an empty bed there and will accept my charity payments for her treatment." Wendy recited, stunning Miguel.

Eira practically screamed, clinging onto Mackenzie - petrified that she was going to lose everything.

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