Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 94716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Shamrock EMS and Fire was awesome, but it was a small town and money just wasn’t as comparable like it is in larger cities. I’d be stationed in Longview, which meant I should probably start looking for a place within a few minutes of the office. Twenty-four hour shifts were drainers. There were some days that you never got any sleep, and I didn’t want to look for a place twenty minutes away from the office if I could help it.
I told myself I would start looking for a place in the morning. Although I knew I wouldn’t. I didn’t want to leave Jack. For the first time in a long time, I felt like I could breathe. The looming danger that the motorcycle man informed me of was of no consequence at the moment. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that Jack would be there if I needed him, and that meant the world to me.
Ember’s total went down nearly a hundred and twenty dollars, and I laughed quietly as other patrons started to cheer her on. Even the other cashiers were now watching the spectacle.
My eyes wandered over to a man in his late forties early fifties. He was a fit man, but the weathered skin and laugh lines around his eyes and mouth told the world that he’d really lived. He had a bottle of wine in one hand, and a bouquet of flowers in the other. His shirt had a KFD symbol on the left breast pocket. Kilgore Fire Department.
He’d just set the items on the belt and turned to see what all the commotion was about when his hand flew to his chest. His knees gave out underneath him an instant later and he slid slowly to the floor. His eyes were squeezed tight in pain, and my heart went into overdrive. The man showed all the signs of a heart attack in progress.
I was standing and moving before I’d even realized I was doing it. My left hand was digging into the compartment in my purse where I kept my aspirin.
“Call 911!” I yelled at the top of my lungs as I dropped down to the fallen man.
He was on his knees, doubled over.
I heard a chorus of ‘Oh my God’s’ but ignored them.
“Sir, do you take any medication?” I asked.
“No.” He groaned.
“Are you allergic to aspirin?” I asked.
“No.” He panted.
“I’m going to give you some aspirin. I want you to chew it up and swallow it.”
He did as instructed, and then rolled over to his back, hands still clutching at his chest. Payton pushed through the crowd and dropped down to her knees beside me. She opened her mouth to say something when the man’s breathing went from panting to non-existent. His arms flopped limply to the tiled floor, and everything ceased moving.
Taking quick action, I dropped down, pinched his nose and gave him a puff of air. Payton felt for a pulse and shook her head frantically. “He’s got no pulse. I’ll breathe for him.”
For the next seven minutes, we traded out breathing and CPR duties. At one point, during my compressions, I felt crack, and cringed slightly. I continued to pump, listening as the two pieces of his breastbone rubbed together with a grinding crunch with each depression and release of his chest. I continued chest compressions as the medics intubated the man.
A whirlwind of activity later, we watched as the ambulance pulled away with the now stable man. Adrenaline was coursing through my veins like usual, and I smiled at Payton who was wiping sweat from her brow. My shirt was wet with sweat as well, but it didn’t matter. The man was alive, and I was too relieved to think about how awful I probably looked. You wouldn’t believe how much energy you expend while administering CPR.
“Well, that was just plain awesome. Is he going to be alright?” Ember asked from behind us, receipt in hand.
Her smile lit up the room.
“What do I do with his stuff?” The stunned cashier asked weakly.
I looked over and saw the man’s wine and flowers. Taking out my wallet I said, “I’ll get it. How much?”
“Uh, just take it. I’ll pay for it.” She said lamely.
I glanced at her nametag and read her name. Marcie, and underneath her name was Assistant Manager. Nodding, I took the wine and flowers, carefully walking back over to my cart.
“You heard everything we said, didn’t you?” Payton asked with a smile in her voice.
“Sure did.” I agreed and started walking towards the front door.
The two of them flanked me on each side, chattering on and on about how calm I’d been. “Yeah, I’ve been a paramedic for six years now. It’s hard to surprise me anymore. The adrenaline still flows though.”
“Cupcake?” Ember asked, offering me the box.
I declined. I wasn’t a fan of strawberry. Now if she’d offered me a vanilla one, I’d have accepted in a heartbeat. We’d just made it to the parking lot, and were crossing at the crosswalk when a chromed out black Escalade with tinted black windows nearly ran us over.
“Jesus Christ, asshole! This is a fucking crosswalk! Learn to fucking drive!” Ember yelled and threw her cupcake at the retreating SUV’s back window.
It struck the window with a plop and slid down slowly, leaving a lovely pink streak in its wake. The driver braked hard and came to a rocking stop fifteen feet or so in front of us. A sneering woman and her companion nearly flew out of the SUV, already ready for a fight. Both women were screaming, charging forward with hell in their eyes.
I watched them come; I was fairly sure I could take them with one hand tied behind my back, but just in case I reached my hand into my purse and pulled out the lip stick stun gun I’d gotten at the Army Navy store during my first stop in this new town.
“What the fuck, bitch?” Crazy bitch with the black hair screamed.
Our carts held them at a safe distance, but I knew this was going to deteriorate fast.