A Beautiful Lie
Chapter 4
Jared lay unconscious in the first ambulance, an oxygen mask covering his mouth and nose while a monitor recorded his steady heart rate. One young doctor was examining his injuries closely. “He’s lucky, nothing too serious. Leg’s fractured in a couple of places, looks like he was walking on it before we got there. He’s inhaled a lot of smoke as well. I’ll just treat his cuts and bruises in here; the leg’s going to have to wait until we get to the hospital.”
Next to Jared, Tomo was being looked at by another doctor. The pain in his neck, which he had dismissed while helping his friends, was now so severe that he was clenching his teeth, every muscle tensed until it hurt. The gash in his side had been quickly stitched up to avoid further blood loss and the doctor now picked up a neck brace, “You have whiplash so I’m just going to put this brace around your neck. Try not to move too much.” The doctor strapped the brace around Tomo’s neck, and he finally calmed as some of the pressure was released.
He wouldn’t turn his head, but asked, “How’s Jared? Is he going to be ok?”
“He’ll be fine,” was the brief reply. “Now just try and relax until we get to the hospital.”
In another ambulance, Shannon struggled against the two doctors trying to treat him. “She needs help; you have to see what’s wrong with her. She’s not dead, please, help her.” His head spun as he talked, and the words he spoke were weak and strained from the lack of oxygen in his body. When he rolled over to hold Penne, a broken rib had pierced his lung, so that by now he was hyperventilating, but he wouldn’t let anyone treat him without treating Penne first, because of course she wasn’t dead. One of the doctors turned to talk to his colleague, “We can’t do anything with him this agitated, and if we don’t work fast he’s going to die too, he’s not getting enough oxygen.”
“Ok, but we’ll have to sedate him, it’s the only way.” Sedating a patient this critical was dangerous. The two of them worked together, one holding Shannon down while the other prepared the needle. Shannon tried to fight, but he was too weak, and tears stung his eyes as he felt the needle pierce his skin.
‘No,” his eyelids drooped. “No… Penne… Penne…”
The doctors did all they could for Shannon’s broken rib and pierced lung before they reached the hospital, and when he was stable enough to be handled by one of them, the other turned her attention to Penne, pulling the white sheet back to examine the body lying underneath. If her neck hadn’t been twisted at a strange angle, she might have been sleeping. Penne’s eyes were closed, and matted hair framed her face, beautiful even in death. The medic carefully removed a heart-shaped locket from Penne’s broken neck with gloved hands, opening it to find a photo of Shannon inside before slipping it into a small, sealable plastic bag. She then slid off the ring Shannon had given Penne less than an hour before. Diamond cracked now, the engagement ring was put in the same bag as the locket, along with Penne’s other possessions. The white sheet was then moved to cover her again as the ambulance raced towards the hospital.
In the other ambulance, which Dom was in by himself, there was a problem. Dom’s injuries were much worse than his friends had anticipated, and the doctors present were having trouble stabilizing him. Suddenly, the monitor he was connected to started to sound in one long, shrill note.
“He’s going into cardiac arrest!” The doctors rushed to prepare the defibrillator. “Charge to 180.”
“Charged.”
“Clear…”
Next to Jared, Tomo was being looked at by another doctor. The pain in his neck, which he had dismissed while helping his friends, was now so severe that he was clenching his teeth, every muscle tensed until it hurt. The gash in his side had been quickly stitched up to avoid further blood loss and the doctor now picked up a neck brace, “You have whiplash so I’m just going to put this brace around your neck. Try not to move too much.” The doctor strapped the brace around Tomo’s neck, and he finally calmed as some of the pressure was released.
He wouldn’t turn his head, but asked, “How’s Jared? Is he going to be ok?”
“He’ll be fine,” was the brief reply. “Now just try and relax until we get to the hospital.”
In another ambulance, Shannon struggled against the two doctors trying to treat him. “She needs help; you have to see what’s wrong with her. She’s not dead, please, help her.” His head spun as he talked, and the words he spoke were weak and strained from the lack of oxygen in his body. When he rolled over to hold Penne, a broken rib had pierced his lung, so that by now he was hyperventilating, but he wouldn’t let anyone treat him without treating Penne first, because of course she wasn’t dead. One of the doctors turned to talk to his colleague, “We can’t do anything with him this agitated, and if we don’t work fast he’s going to die too, he’s not getting enough oxygen.”
“Ok, but we’ll have to sedate him, it’s the only way.” Sedating a patient this critical was dangerous. The two of them worked together, one holding Shannon down while the other prepared the needle. Shannon tried to fight, but he was too weak, and tears stung his eyes as he felt the needle pierce his skin.
‘No,” his eyelids drooped. “No… Penne… Penne…”
The doctors did all they could for Shannon’s broken rib and pierced lung before they reached the hospital, and when he was stable enough to be handled by one of them, the other turned her attention to Penne, pulling the white sheet back to examine the body lying underneath. If her neck hadn’t been twisted at a strange angle, she might have been sleeping. Penne’s eyes were closed, and matted hair framed her face, beautiful even in death. The medic carefully removed a heart-shaped locket from Penne’s broken neck with gloved hands, opening it to find a photo of Shannon inside before slipping it into a small, sealable plastic bag. She then slid off the ring Shannon had given Penne less than an hour before. Diamond cracked now, the engagement ring was put in the same bag as the locket, along with Penne’s other possessions. The white sheet was then moved to cover her again as the ambulance raced towards the hospital.
In the other ambulance, which Dom was in by himself, there was a problem. Dom’s injuries were much worse than his friends had anticipated, and the doctors present were having trouble stabilizing him. Suddenly, the monitor he was connected to started to sound in one long, shrill note.
“He’s going into cardiac arrest!” The doctors rushed to prepare the defibrillator. “Charge to 180.”
“Charged.”
“Clear…”