Could being in the wrong place save your life?
Could being somewhere at the right time help you find love?
Or is it just down to luck?
Emilia finds herself always in the wrong place. However, she manages to come out the other side as if nothing happ...
"Emmie. Emmie. Over here!" Emilia searched the Arrivals Hall for her mum.
"Cara? What are you doing here? I thought mum was picking me up." Emilia embraced her best friend.
"I'm glad to see you too," Cara teased. "Your mum got called in to work. It's been super hectic here."
They continued to talk as they made their way to the car.
"Why has it been super hectic? I know our city is getting bigger, but it's never been hectic." Emilia questioned.
"Haven't you heard? There's a turf rivalry between the two biggest gangs." Cara said matter-of-factly.
Emilia stared at her best friend in confusion. "But they've always co-existed in peace. What happened?"
Cara shrugged, pushing Emilia's bags into the car. "No one knows what triggered it. All we know is civilians are getting caught in the middle now."
"So that's why mum was called in?"
Cara nodded. "Your mum has been worked off her feet. All nurses are on call at the moment until the mayor does something about the violence."
"This is so surreal. I just left London, a bustling metropolis and flew home to more adventure than I had in 6 months." Emilia shook her head, then yawned.
"Let's get you home. The apartment has been repaired. Home sweet home."
---
"Another gunshot patient?" Emilia asked. "That's the third one this week!"
She jumped into the ambulance, as it headed to their latest call out.
"You'd be used to all this, coming from London, wouldn't you?" Her new partner asked.
"Nope. Never dealt with a shooting until I came home," Emilia began. "Drugs, yes. Drunks, yes. Bad drivers, yes. Gunshots, no."
They turned sharply.
"Where is the latest one, Kevin?" Emilia asked, as he made another sharp turn into oncoming traffic.
"Somewhere on the posh side this time. Doesn't usually happen out this way," Kevin explained. "These rich kids are too posh to get their hands dirty!"
They drove past some of the biggest and most beautiful houses Emilia had ever seen. Her parents hadn't been poor, but after the divorce she'd moved from rental to rental with her mum.
"There should be another team meeting us there." Kevin added. "Might have multiple patients. Dispatch wasn't too clear back at the station."
Emilia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This was her dream, but the anxiety of losing someone always surfaced just before they arrived on scene.
"We're here." Kevin said, interrupting her thoughts. "Cor. Look at this place!"
Emilia jumped out of the now parked ambulance and headed to where the commotion was. There seemed to be at least 20 people here, although lots were only wearing black. There were popped balloons strewn all over the ground.
"Thank God you're here. Tom needs my help over with these 2 male patients. We've assessed the scene, and it seems the gunmen have fled. Can you and Kev look over to the left?" The other ambulance leader directed.
Emilia grabbed her bag and headed off first. Kevin stayed back to assess the situation and grab the larger supplies. People parted for Emilia, each looking more terrified than the last. She had a bad feeling about this.
"James? Oh my God! James!" Emilia ran the last few steps, as she realised who her patient was. She bent down next to the bleeding boy.
"E...em?" James whispered, his eyes fluttering in and out of consciousness.
"James, what happened?" Emilia asked, as she put more pressure on his bleeding leg.
"Thanks," she added to the man who had been sitting next to him. He had kept his hand over the wound to stop the blood, but kept mumbling, "boss is gonna kill me. Boss is gonna kill me."
"Sir. I need you to calm down. James needs your help," Emilia began, bending close to James' mouth to check his breathing. "How long ago was James shot?
The man mumbled some more, staring at the blood covering his hand. Emilia glanced down at where his hand was on James, noting that his skin was pale and clammy to touch.
She began wrapping a bandage to stop the bleeding. She then began bandaging the legs together, to stop any possible movement. Kevin had finally made his way over with the stretcher.
"We've got to get you to the hospital, James." Emilia explained, then continued when Kevin arrived. "I think the bullet hit your femur. I don't think it hit the artery, but we have to be very careful." Under her breath, she admitted to Kevin, "I don't know if any fragments have made it into the bloodstream, but he's going in to shock. We have to hurry!"
They rolled James carefully onto the stretcher, before rushing back to the ambulance.
"Wait. I'm coming with him." A man called out.
Emilia jumped in the back with James, shutting the rear door, as Kevin dealt with the man.
"It'll all be ok James." Emilia coddled, as she heard two doors slam. Kevin must have let the man come with him, Emilia thought.
"James. Look at me. Come on. You're strong. The bullet went straight through. That's good new. Ok?" Emilia explained, as she cut the pants away from the site. She placed a pre-warmed blanket over his body, to minimise his heat loss.
"Code red. Code red. Young boy with gunshot would," Emilia heard Kevin explain into the radio. She then heard his voice change tone. "It'll be ok, sir. Your son will be fine. We will be at the hospital soon."
They raced back towards the hospital, passed those big and beautiful houses. All the while, Emilia help James' hand, praying that this little boy would pull through.
---
Kevin:
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