Silencing the Silence
Disclaimer: As always, the Emergency! people owntheir characters and I own any that I may create over the course of this story. I am only doing this for fun. No money is involved.
*This story is in no way connected to any previous that I have written. I take full responsibility for any mistakes contained within. *
On with the story…
It seems that before every major event in life, whether exciting or depressing, exhilarating or tragic, dangerous or harmless, there is always that flash where the world seems to stop. That instance during which one's mind plays catch-up, yet tries to anticipate what is about to happen. Some say that an entire lifetime can pass in tiny span of time. It's a split second filled of pure silence.
And silence reigned once more.
There was something wrong with that notion. Why was that so different from what he had just experienced? His mind tried to reconcile its thoughts. What was so significance about the silence? It was too much to contemplate now and he relaxed into the strong pull of the darkness with no consideration as to how long it he would be gone or even if he would ever again surface to the light.
He was unaware of the men above who worked frantically to reach their missing man. This was supposed easy. Locate the victim, extricate her, and get her to the hospital. As was usual, his set of hands had played a pivotal role in the rescue. No one had been surprised that it had been he who had volunteered even before being asked. The car had been secured. At least they thought it had been. Obviously, it was not. They had only been able to stand and watch as the rope snapped sending the car careening to the bottom of the hill, taking their man with it. There was no time now for blame. It did not matter right now if one of them was at fault or if fate had simply stepped in and allowed the rope to fail. All that mattered now was reaching the wreckage that awaited them at the bottom. It was an ugly scene from up top. It was sure to look even worse down there. Hopefully their crewman, and friend, was still alive and they could save him. If he had not survived, they would hope that death took him quickly and he did not suffer. None wanted to consider the second scenario, but it was one they couldn't ignore.
A nodded 'Let's move' signaled the beginning of the new rescue. Without a single word, they proceeded to move toward the carnage. What was there to say? Each knew his job and was mentally preparing for what would greet him at the bottom.
The sides of the ravine were steep and the soil loose. The men were forced to move more slowly than they would have liked or risk joining their friend at the bottom. After all, they could not rescue him, if they themselves needed rescuing.
The ravine was deep and the car did not stop until it reached the bottom, where a mountain stream flowed. Small trees and bushes offered very little resistance, taking away little of the speed the vehicle accumulated as gravity dragged it ever downward. The impact at the bottom would have been spectacular if not been so devastatingly violent, both physically and personally.
Thoughts began to return as his eyelids began to flutter open. Suddenly sound returned to his world with a vengeance, crashing in with all of the elegance and grace of a raging bull. It almost made him wish the silence would return, but he somehow felt that noise was what was needed. It would make the world right again. After a moment's consideration, he found the noise oddly disturbing, since the only sounds he could identify were the thump of his heart beat and the rush of air in and out of his lungs.
Having barely established the answer to who he was, he concentrated on answering the what, where, and how of his predicament. He would leave the when and why for later. While the answer to when would be relevant eventually, it would not change the course of his current actions. As for the why, well, even under the best of circumstances, that question was all too often left unanswered. For now, figuring out where he was would take precedence. Then he would move on to finding a way out. What had happened? He would save that for last. Right now it didn't really matter what had happened. He was here now, and it was up to him to get out.
It was then that he noticed the water. Its slow upward journey was most notable.
That wasn't good. He knew he needed to get out quick. He began his very limited survey of his surroundings. Struggling to move, he was finally able to maneuver onto what tiny amount of higher ground existed inside the crushed vehicle before silence and darkness reigned once again.
Finally reaching the bottom, the men took a quick survey of the scene. Somehow, during the many rolls and tumbles down the hill, the top of the car avoided being completely crushed in. Unfortunately, the only space seeming not crushed was lying directly in the path of the small river the car had landed in. The tiny spark of hope that had just flared was quickly extinguished. There was only one place in the car that their friend could have been in and not been crushed, and that was the only part of the car submerged in the flowing water. If he had survived the plummet, he would have likely drowned long before they could have even began their trek down into the valley. So, in silence, they made their way to the mangled metal, fully expecting to recover their brother's body, no longer believing a rescue could be possible.
The silence continued to be deafening. Even the flowing water seemed to emit no sound. The most devastating portion of the silence came from the wreckage. There was no one calling for help, nor were there sounds of any type movement coming from within. Still, the men were drawn ever closer. No matter what awaited them, they would not back away. One of their own needed help, and they would render it in any form necessary.
Peering into the car, they were met with the sight of a face, fully out of the water. There was a cut on that face that looked to still be bleeding. And the dead do not bleed. Still stunned, none heard the sounds of creaking and groaning metal as many hands forced once jammed doors open. There was hope now, yet no one spoke for fear of shattering it. They made quick work of the extricating the man from an impossibly tight space. The move back up the walls of the ravine was as fast and efficient as possible.
A small smile crossed their lips as their injured friend was loaded into the ambulance. He was still alive and visibly didn't appear to be too badly injured. Maybe this would not be the nightmare they had feared just a short time ago.
The only thing left for them to do was to wait. And they did. In silence.
The doctor found exactly what he was expecting as he exited to treatment room, five pairs of anxious eyes staring directly into his own. Some days he hated his job. Sometimes it only took once glance at his face to convey to family members and friends the tragic news. Fortunately, today was not one of those days. Today was one of those all too rare days where he was reminded exactly why he became a physician. Today, he was part of something special; some might call it a miracle.
"He will be just fine. He is a little beat up and bruised as you can imagine. No broken bones or internal bleeding. He does have a concussion. I will likely keep him here for a day or two to keep him comfortable. But, I suspect he will be able to return to work in about week or so."
With that, the silence finally ended.
The looks and sighs of relief from the five men could probably be heard all over the hospital. Conversation had meaning again, and they took to it with a new vigor. These men took their job seriously and took each rescue to heart. But, when one of their own required rescue, the stakes were much higher. Any loss of life is tragic for them, but losing a crew mate would be far more devastating.
As they left the hospital, they could be heard making plans for a celebration, even bigger than any before, for they were once again lucky to have everyone make it home alive.
END
* Thanks for reading. So who was injured? It was (insert character name). I chose this format because I have read over and over again that there are too many stories about one particular character or another. So, this time, you get to decide who takes center stage. I hope you enjoyed it.
This story is obviously completely fictional, but it comes after spending a shift with F.F.R. Station 1's A-Shift. Those guys are absolutely amazing at their jobs, but they also tell some pretty spectacular stories (some I am sure get better…and bigger… each time they are told). This story in not connected to any of their tales, but it got me started thinking. Special thanks for allowing this girl to invade their boys world, even for a short while, go to F.F.R. Chief C.C., Deputy Chief J.W., Battalion 1 Chief C.B., Captain B.C., Lieutenant J.M., and the rest of the crews of Squad 10, Tower 1, and Heavy Rescue . Deputy Chief JW and Battalion Chief CB have both retired in the last couple of months. Best wishes to them. FFR just won't be the same without them . *