"Semi Conscious"

Chapter Two

The tractor-trailer's terrified, temporary driver was so preoccupied with the attempt that was being made to rescue him, he failed to keep his eyes on the road.

Speaking of eyes…

DeSoto's already wide eyes got even bigger. A colorful expletive escaped from the paramedic's tightly pursed lips, as the big rig they were traveling beside suddenly left its perfectly straight path and came careening towards him—er, them. "Johnny! Look out!" he warned.

But his shouted warning came a couple of seconds too late.

Johnny had already begun his 'transfer'.

Roy watched in disbelief—and anguish—as the swerving semi slammed into his leaping partner. He hit the Squad's brakes and then the shoulder of the highway. "Hang on, Johnny! Hang on!" the fireman fervently urged—er, prayed, and promptly pulled back onto the pavement.

An "Ooof!" had escaped from the leaper's lips as the big rig suddenly collided with his already in-forward-motion self—knocking all the 'wind' right out of him. The breathless fireman's sweaty face filled with a grimace and his mouth immediately formed a silent 'Dammit!'

The rescuer's shiftmates saw the semi swerve, just as John jumped, and winced in unison.

"Oooh. That looked like it hurt," a deeply concerned Chet Kelly quickly determined. "C'mon, babe! You can't let a little 'collision with a semi' stop you!"

"Oh! Gawd! I'm sorry! I am so-o sorry!" the swerving big rig's young passenger assured his rammed rescuer and forced his straying eyes to return to the roadway.

John felt the running board beneath the soles of his boots and promptly braced his feet. The fingers of his right hand had somehow managed to lock onto the semi's doorframe. His left hand was still clutching the chrome-plated mirror brace. 'Ah, shit…' he silently said, as his oxygen-deprived brain began to 'shut down' and his vision began to 'tunnel out' on him. He could feel his grip starting to slip.

51's engine crew saw their shiftmate's knees beginning to buckle and exchanged anxious glances.

The group emitted another unified 'gasp'—of abject horror—as their friend's right hand suddenly let go of the runaway truck's doorframe.

The crew continued watching, as Johnny's right arm dropped limply to his side and his bruised body swung out and away from the driver's door he'd been hugging. Fortunately, the fingers on the now semi-conscious fireman's left hand remained firmly attached to the chrome mounting brace on the big rig's back up mirror.

"Ah! Shee-eesh! Hang on, pal! Hang on! That's an order!" their Captain proclaimed, just prior to covering his wincing eyes back up. He'd be damned if he was going to watch his young friend fall to his death.

Seeing that the petrified kid had put the runaway big rig back on a straight path, DeSoto pulled up alongside of it once again, being careful to keep far enough away, to avoid running over his friend—should he happen to…fall off.

Seeing that his cyanotic partner appeared to be just about ready to 'pass out', Roy realized Johnny's diaphragm must still be 'in spasm'. His friend wouldn't be able to resume breathing until the spasm stopped. The equally petrified paramedic cursed aloud and began encouraging—er, ordering his breathless buddy to remain conscious.

John was just about to 'black out' completely, when he heard his friend calling to him—screaming at him, actually. The semi-conscious paramedic couldn't be certain of what his partner was saying, but the fireman figured it had to be pretty dang important. In fact, if the volume of Roy's raised voice was any indication, the message had to be downright urgent. 'Something about staying with him…' he dazedly realized. His buddy also expected him to 'hang on'.

Just as DeSoto had done, Gage unquestioningly obeyed, and fought off the black veil of unconsciousness that kept threatening to envelop him.

At long last, the fireman's 'in spasm' diaphragm relaxed and his lungs resumed functioning. The agony of that first 'gasped' breath caused Gage to grimace again and cry out in pain. "Ahhh-uh!" He had to fight the urge to grab his damaged midsection.

Within seconds of inhaling the oxygen, the paramedic's color grew to a lighter shade of blue and the thoughts racing through his reeling brain became much more organized. 'The semi. You gotta stop the semi—before it reaches the freeway.' The rescuer gave his woozy head a couple of quick shakes. Then he swung himself back around, reached through the open driver's side window and latched back onto the truck's doorframe.

As a seemingly rejuvenated John Gage appeared up on their TV's screen, a joyous cry went out from Station 51's rec' room, that could have been heard from blocks away.

"Atta boy, Roy!" their Captain applauded. Hank had no doubts—whatsoever—that it was DeSoto's encouragement that had managed to keep Gage going.

John peered into the semi's cab.

The truck's 300+ pounds driver was slumped over sideways in his seat. The middle-aged man's non-moving head and right shoulder were resting on his young passenger's lap.

The paramedic didn't need to check the poor guy's pulse to determine if he was still alive, or not.

The driver had a definite 'death-like' appearance.

John looked up and locked gazes with the runaway rig's petrified 'co-pilot'. "Is this man…related to you?"

"No. His name's Bruce. I don't know his last name. I was just hitchin' a ride. He said he could take me as far as San Francisco. I'm sorry I slammed into you!" the terrified teen told him, sounding on the verge of tears.

"Look, don't worry about it," his rescuer warmly replied, speaking over the rush of the wind and the constant roar of the diesel engine's 450 horses. "Just keep your eyes on the road." That said, the forgiving fireman got a couple of fresh handholds and began hoisting his bruised body up and in through the semi's open side window—feet first.

John stood on the floor of the cab and then bent down, to peer through the truck's open window once again. "All right now, I'm gonna take the wheel. Once I have the wheel, I'm gonna need you to unbuckle the driver's seatbelt for me. Okay?"

The kid nodded.

"Great! Then I want you to climb back into the sleeper compartment, so I can move this man out of the way."

The boy gave his rescuer another 'ready, willing and able' nod.

Gage flashed the boy back a reassuring smile—and then grabbed the wheel.

TBC