Tyler and Kate ran to the ambulance. Tyler shouted as he ran backwards smiling, “Hoo-ah, looks like today just got a little more interesting.”
The lights switched on, reflecting into the emergency entrance. Sirens blared as the ambulance pulled out of the bay and up to the mountain.
We waited.
Chapter 4
I helped Rebeccaprep a room.
Minutes ticked by, but they felt like hours.
The air-raid brap of the ambulance sounded, and I went out to meet it. After jumping out of the cab, Tyler opened the back doors. Kate stepped forward, jumped to the ground and grinned at me. “You’re gonna love this. Male, thirties, possible concussion and lacerations to the face. Complaining of chest pain.”
Her lack of seriousness confused me. Kate and Tyler pulled the gurney from the back of the ambulance. The wheels came down and Kate locked them in place. The man on the gurney struggled to sit up and I grimaced. I can’t say I was surprised. I stayed at his side as Kate and Tyler wheeled him in. “Mr.Barringer, do you know where you are?”
Kate interrupted, “Patrol found him out of bounds.”
Glassy eyes looked up at me, briefly confused. “Elizabeth?”
“Mr.Barringer, you’ve been in an accident. Do you know what was happening prior to your accident?”
His eyes shifted between me and the EMT’s. “I was skiing.”
Kate and Tyler wheeled him into a small bay, locked the wheels in place, and stepped aside. Rebecca checked his IV and hooked him up to the vitals monitor.
I stepped to the side of the gurney and put my stethoscope to his chest. “Good. Can you repeat after me? Girl. Dog. Green.”
He said, “Girl, dog, green?” He started to sit up.
“Good. Do you…” I stepped back, just as he leaned over and threw up all over the floor.
He lay back down, panting, and put his palm to chest. “Fuck, that hurt.”
I closed my eyes and raised my chin, taking a breath through my mouth to calm myself. I glanced at Kate, who had pulled her lips close together, holding in a laugh. She covered her mouth with her hand. Her eyes were crinkled at the corners.
To Rebecca I said, “I need a CT scan. This wound on his head needs cleaning and stitches, too.” I put my stethoscope back in my pocket.
“Yes, Dr.Cain. And we’ll get this floor cleaned up right away.”
Brett struggled to get up. “Elizabeth, what are you doing here?”
Voices echoed in the distance, getting closer, until the short, curly headed blonde, Mia, came around the corner.
“Brett! Oh my. What happened?” Mia ran to his side before realizing he’d been sick. She retreated to the end of the bed. Her husband, John, along with the man who’d introduced himself as his brother, Jacob, waited at the sliding glass door.
Brett mumbled. “I think I died.”
I gestured to his friends. “If you could step out for a moment.”
They followed me out of the room and I slid the doors shut behind me. Mia looked at me frantically. “Is he ok?”
“He’s complaining of chest pain. And the vomiting is indicative of a concussion. I’ll know more after the scans.”
“What about the blood on his face?”
“A cut. A deep cut. We’ll get him stitched up.”
She leaned in to the dark-haired man, tears welling in her eyes. “I told him we were leaving this afternoon, that we didn’t have time to ski. He wanted to go anyway.”