For Lack of a Happy Ending (Emergency Fan-fiction)

Chapter 4

Once Chet had pulled Roy free he tried to rouse him.

"Roy? Can you hear me?" He asked. "I need you to wake up." Roy's eyes fluttered open. He looked at Chet with a glazed expression. "Come on," said Chet helping him up. "Let's get out of here." Roy nodded and let Chet support him all the way down the four flights of stairs. He didn't want to think about anything, he just wanted to be done. He was in pain, his best friend was in pain, everyone was in pain. Why couldn't it all just stop. Why couldn't the pain just stop.

Chet sat Roy down on the end of the engine and began looking him over. Just then, squad 36 rolled in. Chet waved them over and they pulled to a halt.

"What've we got Chet?" Asked the man that stepped out from the driver's side, paramedic Jim Cook. He was tall, with close cropped sandy brown hair and a young boyish face. His partner, Kevin McNight, followed close behind. He had longer brown hair that contrasted with his startling green eyes and pale complexion.

"Well Roy here's pretty beat up, and Johnny's up on the fourth floor..." He shook his head to indicate the situation without having to vocalize it.

"Show me," Said Jim as he grabbed some gear from the squad. "Kevin, you stay and help Roy." He nodded in agreement as Chet and Jim took off running.

Roy was vaguely aware of what was happening. He knew that he wasn't with Johnny, and he knew that Johnny was still up there and that he needed his help. He tried to follow Chet towards the building, but he only managed a few steps before he stumbled and fell. Kevin was there and he caught him before he hit the ground.

"Whoa there," He said. "Let's sit you down and get you checked out." Without saying anything Roy gave in, letting Kevin lead him over to the yellow blanket spread across the asphalt. He layed down and looked up at the bright blue sky. How could it be so beautiful outside when something so ugly was going on? He felt a single tear trace a path down his soot covered face, Johnny was dying.

Chet and Jim raced up the stairs with their gear as fast as they could. As they turned corners and raced down hallways Jim asked Chet exactly what had happened.

"There's a wooden shaft impaling his side and he's-" Chet had to pause to collect himself. "He's lost an awful lot of blood." Jim nodded grimly and they kept running.

As soon as Mike had returned with the saw Cap had started working. He knew they were going to need more time than they had. He managed to break through the shaft on one end, but it went all the way through him, and it was going to be awfully hard to reach the other side. Jim and Chet arrived on the scene and Cap stepped out of the way to let the paramedic work.

"Do you need any help?" Asked Cap.

"Yeah, can you get on the phone with Rampart?"

"Sure thing."

"Thanks," said Jim as an afterthought. He was taking John's vitals and it wasn't looking too good.

"Rampart this is squad 36, we have a code I at our location. Fireman with a wooden shaft through his side. He's lost a lot of blood. Standby for vitals."

"10-4 36, can you identify the code I?" Doctor Brackett's voice asked through the biophone.

"Affirmative Rampart, code I is John Gage."

Doctor Brackett rapped on the glass to alert Dixie.

"What've you got?" She asked coming in.

"John's down, I don't know his condition yet but I'm gonna need your help." Dixie nodded in understanding.

"Pulse is 149," Jim said. "Respirations are 40, the skin is pale and cold, standby for BP." Captain Stanley repeated the vitals into the biophone as Jim wrapped the BP cuff around Johnny's arm. "BP is 80 over 40," He said, Cap repeated again.

"10-4 36, start an IV with lactated ringers, how soon can you transport?" Cap told Jim the message before responding.

"We don't know Rampart, we haven't extricated the victim yet, could be half an hour or more." Doctor Brackett looked at Dixie gravely.

"10-4 36, we're standing by." Brackett looked up at the clock. "He doesn't have that much time..." He said turning to Dixie.

"I know," she responded.