15

A Chapter by Bob

They should have checked on the driver of the tow truck but they were just too happy for the rescue. Superman had a beer between his legs and a cooler keeping a couple more cold on the floor next to him. They were sitting in the rust bucket and didn’t think second hand smoke was good for the driver but if they knew he was downing beers by the minute it probably wouldn’t be a problem. They were reminiscing about their travels because for the first time neither of them had to drive so they lay in the back and in this case, that was not such a good thing.

The sub noticed the veering but never said anything because they were having too much fun. Their intoxicated rescuer veered into the wrong lane and this particular time took too long to correct it. A SUV came roaring around the bend and when he yanked the wheel the other way it didn’t really have the desired effect on the rust bucket being towed behind. The SUV collided side by side with the rust bucket, it broke loose from the tow truck and went spiralling across the dirt road sending both passengers flying. John rolled through rocks and broken branches, he was full of cuts, bruises and something might have sprained in his left and arm but nothing important. Jim on the other hand was knocked out as soon as his face hit the ground. They were a distance away from the pickup and John knew he shouldn’t move Jim but he didn’t care, he wasn’t going to call an ambulance and he wasn’t just going to wait. When John first grasped his abilities, he was always scared that would change him, not for the better but instead make him arrogant. You know, absolute power corrupts absolutely but now he couldn’t care less. He bent down in front of Jim pulled him onto his back and carried him to the truck. John put him in the passenger seat (going in through the driver’s side because the passenger door was smashed shut) “Hey I called the ambulance, are you...Oh God, Oh God,” the driver of the Suv. A man with faded denims and a shirt that had drops of blood on it. As soon as he saw the unconscious figure in the passenger seat, he went nuts. The man started crying, he held his hands over his face and kept whispering to himself. John had the lift-a-car adrenaline going and he barely looked at the man, he had ideas flying at mach speed through his head. “Time to get moving bud.” John ran over to the tow truck and rummaged through his things, he found some clear tubing, just what he need. The driver still lay unconscious, his head resting on his steering wheel. First, he had to take care of Jim’s bleeding; he wasn’t going to treat him so he just wrapped oily cloth, some clothes and any fabrics around the open wounds and tied it up tight with duct tape. He did the same to his open wounds; they couldn’t lose any more blood. “What about him?” “The ambulance is on their way, he can wait.” John put the tubing into the tow trucks gas tank and starting blowing as soon as he saw bubbles he started sucking and filled the Pepsi bottles they used to keep water. He filled there tank and got moving. The crying man was having a panic attack on the side of the road and John could only yell from the window as they passed him, “We’re fine, don’t worry about it.”

They were in a town again but this place was different from their suburb-like home. For one thing, it was diverse. There was a rich area, grimy area, slum area and even a little bit of everything area. To judge a book by its cover wasn’t good but in the case of these two travellers it was pretty accurate. West Hermanos General hospital gave them one look and decided they were anything but good news, they didn’t give a reason, they didn’t give a suggestion for treatment or even refer them to another hospital they turned their backs and made as if the two never came through the door. The fuel John borrowed wouldn’t last forever so when he dragged Jim into Hermanos Mercy it was definitely their last hope. This time they did the judging and the look of that place, they were definitely welcome. Someone helped Jim onto a bed and wheeled him off; John sat in the waiting area too tired to argue his way in there with his friend. “The accident did a number on me too so I’m sorry bud but you’re gonna feel a little discomfort.”

“You sure have perfect timing. Whatever just do it.”

John felt an excruciating pain in his back and his head felt like it was about to explode. The onset of all these pain and problems zapped away the last bit of energy that he had. His legs gave way and John slowly slid from his chair to the floor. He nor the sub realised how much they were holding back and when he opened the floodgates he didn’t realise what kind of toll it would take on him, both of them didn’t. It was too much and like dam, it flooded in too fast, too much for them to control or put

back. One minute he was trying to grasp the extend of all that was coming, trying to fight it and the next it was all over, he was gone.

He woke up in that same place with a nurse knelt over him. She gave him an ice pack, pills to take and an ointment. This was more of a laissez-faire hospital with nurses taking on the jobs of the doctor. After regaining his composure in the waiting area, he saw why. There were people with stab and gunshot wounds, serious head injuries and that’s only the ones that were conscious. This place was like a free clinic and the nurse didn’t over step her boundaries because she wanted to but because she had to. John took two of the pills, maybe they would help but it’s been a long time since pills (the medical kind) had any effect on him. He went out to the truck and came back with his notebook and a pen. He went around to each person asked them a few questions and checked the extent of their wounds. He was a bit of a self-taught doctor and even though he didn’t have a PhD there wasn’t anyone that could self teach like he did. He wrote down every answer and added his own like side notes such as additional hazards, contamination and so on. When he was done with all that, the nurse that barely said anything read his work. She left without a word and came back with different colour ribbons, which they put on the patients according to the degree of damage indicated in John’s assessment. He didn’t do his back any favours as he got into a fight with a middle aged man. John had put an old homeless man ahead of him and he was not happy. “Why do you need to treat that bum, just forget about him.” This upset John more than he’d thought and soon fists were flying. Common sense won and John gave the man a top priority ribbon just to shut him up. The doctor came into the waiting area and the nurse sent the man into the exam room. “Your friend will be fine, although that was a nasty head injury.” Said the doctor “He thinks we’re dumb Johnny, a nasty head injury that’s what you tell a stupid hysterical mom.” He was right and John agreed, “What else can you tell me doc?” the nurse came over and spoke to the doctor, she handed him the notebook and the doctor looked John over before answering. “He had a laceration to the scalp and resulting hemorrhage in the skin. You seem to know a thing or two so you know we can deal with this. Don’t worry too much.” “Thanks Doc, can I go see him?” “He’s awake and needs to rest but you’ve more than earned the right.” He walked to Jim’s exam room, “He needs to rest, why do doctors always say that.”

Jim was lying in a small room. Your typical hospital that smelt of surgical spirits, a small desk next to him, two chairs and a big open window that had a spectacular view of the parking lot. “We were better off walking man,” Jim was in good spirits even with his head split open.

“Tell me about it” “Thanks for getting me here.” “No problem Jimmy. I had to, I thought about leaving you but then realised who’s gonna keep me entertained on the road. “I could definitely do with more friends like you man.”

John spent the night in that little room crammed in a chair for a bed, “This place is depressing Johnny lets go outside.” The nurse only gave them a cold stare and let them walk out supposedly for some fresh air. Jim got into the truck and pulled out his bag from under the seat then they got in the back and lay in their backs looked at the stars and lit a little pain relief. “Even for you that’s a bad idea,” John said Jim shrugged his shoulders, “hah what you gonna do? Right.”

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