Room 317

Chapter 2

“Well, I could tell you about the dream I had-” Louis started, grinning manically but Niall cut him off with a wave of his hand.

“Please don’t. I need coffee before that over-share.”

~*~

Wednesday Night (post collapse) 10:16 pm

The automatic doors whooshed open and the paramedics sped the trolley through to the awaiting team of doctors and nurses. The front paramedic passed over the clipboard to the nearest doctor in blue scrubs and announced as they walked,

“We have a 19 year old white male showing symptoms of medical and septic shock. Blood pressure is 80/50 and falling, respiratory rate 8/60 and slowing, body temperature 36.1 and decreasing rapidly. Although, he has no history of epilepsy, the patient suffered a seizure on-site lasting approximately two minutes and then again during transit, lasting 3.5 minutes. The patient has also sustained a minor head trauma from falling 3 feet off a platform but due to his unconscious state we cannot ascertain any symptoms of a spinal injury. The fall does not seem to be the cause of the patient’s condition either. Eyewitnesses claim he passed out first and fell off the platform as a result.”

“Blood pressure is dipping,” one of the nurses announced, as the heart monitor she’d just attached started to beep, “down to 30 beats a minute… 25… 20…”

“Patient’s going into cardiac arrest,” the doctor announced loudly to her team, “prepare a vasopressor and the defibrillator.”

“Down to 15… 10…” the nurse advised.

The heart monitor’s alarm started to ring and the doctor lifted up the paddles, “Push 1 mg of Epinephrine and charge to 200 joules please.” The nurses scrambled to do so. The doctor placed the paddles on the boy’s chest, “Clear!” Everyone stepped back and she discharged the shock. The boy’s back lifted off the bed and the alarm evened out.

“Rhythm is back up to 60 beats a minute,” said the nurse after a moment.

“Okay, let’s get this patient to the trauma room. I want blood cultures taken for immediate examination and a full biochemical analysis. Schedule an emergency MRI once we have the patient stable…”

~*~

Saturday – 4 days before collapse

“Liam, you’re still missing the beat on the second verse. Remember the bar runs twice before your cue,” Ron shouted from the stand.

Liam frowned and tapped the rhythm out against his leg, trying to get it right. Ron turned to Louis, “And Louis, you’re going to have to walk faster, you’re four paces behind the others.”

Louis nodded but grimaced inside. The weird feeling he’d awoken with on Wednesday had slowly morphed into a dull throbbing pain – that got worse whenever he walked or moved too sharply. Obviously, he’d pulled a muscle at some point but there was little he could do about it. The show must go on as the saying went.

He still wasn’t feeling all that well either and the cold air of the arena had him shivering under his hoody.

Liam turned to him and Louis could see the stress etched all over his friend’s face, “You okay?” Liam asked.

“I’m fine,” Louis shrugged; no sense in adding to the pressure when there was little anyone could actually do to help him. Time and rest and maybe some ice were all he needed – and maybe a few more hours sleep and some vitamins.