NAOMI REID
"Ambulance 31, man down from unknown causes. 45 – 47 Layton Avenue. "
For the third time since their shift started, Naomi Reid and her partner race toward the ambulance. Naomi wastes no time, starting the engine as soon as she jumps in the driver's seat. Fastening her seatbelt with one hand as she drives away from the firehouse - a skill she'd managed to master over the years. Naomi weaves through the relatively busy streets with ease.
The loud sirens of the ambulance cut through the silence of the early morning as its flashing lights illuminate their path. At five a.m., one would expect there to be fewer people up and about. However, the upcoming peak of the annular solar eclipse was enough to keep persons awake and outside their homes. The eclipse started being visible at five forty-nine a.m. Families began to gather in their yard, heads raised to the sky, awaiting the highly anticipated astronomical event.
Naomi was indifferent to the entire thing. She could admit it was a beautiful and mind-blowing sight to behold – but at the same time, she wasn't going to make a fuss to witness it. She'd seen a partial eclipse before and it was enough to sate her curiosity and wonder. Avery Bale, her partner, and best friend, however, had been talking about the event non-stop. Obsessed with all things astrological, the twenty-five-year-old was looking forward to this night for two months. Even ordering two pairs of special glasses so she and Naomi could enjoy the experience together.
"45 – 47 Layton Avenue. They should be around here," Naomi comments as they pull up to a partially demolished apartment complex. It was an old, abandoned building that'd collapsed in the past due to a terrible earthquake. The city never bothered to rebuild or complete its demolition, creating an unsightly hazard. The half-standing structure had since become a playground for children and a middle ground for gang activity.
"Over there, I see two people," Avery says pointing beyond the broken gate of the complex. "We'll have to head out on foot, the ambo won't be able to pass through the gate," She says before unfastening her seat belt and exiting the ambulance. Together, the two of them grab the gurney and the paramedic backpack and run toward the people they saw. As they get closer, Naomi could see the silhouettes of two people. One person was laying on the floor, seemingly motionless. The other was crouched beside them, frantically rocking back and forth. As they approach the two, she hear the crouching man groan loudly in pain, his hands digging into the earth beneath him.
"Hey," she shouts out to them. The crouched-over man snaps his head up at the sound of her voice. Immediately after spotting them, the man stumbles to his feet, clumsily running off in the opposite direction. "No! Sir, wait!" Naomi calls after him. "Dammit!"
They reach the person on the ground - who was, much to their relief conscious and responsive. A young boy who seemed to be in his early teens - was covered in bruises. "My leg! My leg! That bastard broke my leg!" The boy says as Naomi and her partner crouch down to him. "You two need to call the cops! That fool crazy! He attacks me, and then starts screaming like he the one in pain!" The teenager explains. "And then you know what he does, he calls for an ambulance!!"
As they tend to the young boy, they hear distant shouts and cries of pain - presumably from the same man who'd just run from them. "I can handle it from here," Avery says, knowing where Naomi's mind was at.
Naomi nods to her partner, "Get him into the 'ambo', I'll find the other man. See if I can't get him to cooperate," Naomi says as she zips up their paramedic bag, rising from her position. "I won't be too long, radio dispatch for me," She says heading towards the building where the man had runoff. "Hey be careful lady! Something definitely wrong with that man. He on all the wrong drugs!" The boy shouts to her. Before she reaches out of earshot, she hears him proceed to detail his run-in with the man in question to Avery.
Upon entering the structure, she hears faint groans and sounds of shuffling – the only problem was that she couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from. The echoes were clearer now, coming from all over. She calls out to the man, getting no verbal response in return. Trekking farther in, she searches behind large pieces of concrete and debris, continuously calling out and announcing she was there to help.
Outside, the sky begins darkening. The crescent of the sun remains in the sky, thin wavy lines appearing on the plain surfaces on the ground. As she moves forward, she pulls out her flashlight, the place becoming noticeably darker. Naomi takes tentative steps deeper into the building, her nerves beginning to get to her. She calls out to the man softly, shining her light all over as she searches.
In the sky above, the crescent slowly begins to disappear. The last tiny rays of sunlight becoming barely visible around the edge of the sun. The sky, was completely dark now, a reddish sunset-like glow the only source of light.
In the half-destroyed building below, Naomi finally finds the man she'd been looking for. Ready to treat him she takes a step towards his crouched-over figure on the floor. "NO!" he screams at her, his voice deep and hoarse. There was a tone of pain in there, but the roughness overpowered it. "GO AWAY!" he screams out again. This time, his words sound like a mixture of a growl and a groan.
Naomi doesn't get the chance to think about her next move.
With lightning speed, the man rises from his position on the floor. His back arches powerfully, his hands stretching out to his sides, palms locked into fists. The man screams out to the sky, producing an almost animal-type sound. Naomi stands frozen in shock and confusion, her heart rate speeding up as fear settles in. Although she was scared and ready to run out of there, her legs didn't move, transfixed by what was happening before her. The little torch in her hand shines on the man as his bones forcibly elongate and bend. Distinct cracking sounds mix with his screams and hoarse growls. His nose stretches unnaturally, forming ridges on its side before reverting to a normal human nose. As he opens his crooked mouth to scream again, Naomi catches a glimpse of his teeth – pointy and sharp, resembling those of a canine. With one last scream, the man drops onto the floor once more, trembling uncontrollably.
Naomi begins to slowly back away from the man, keeping the light and her eyes trained on him. A loud bang from outside causes her to let out an involuntary gasp. The man raises his head slowly to look at her. With the place now quiet, void of screams and growls, Naomi could hear her heart beating through her ears. As the man looks at her, the light from Naomi's torch reflects against his eyes, creating a red center.
Not being able to keep her calm anymore, Naomi throws all caution to the wind. She turns around quickly, sprinting away from the man. She drops the bag from her shoulder as she runs, jumping over any obstacles in her way. As she runs, her hand flies to her radio. Preparing to call it in she, presses the button.
However, Naomi only manages to get out the first syllable of her sentence before she finds herself being grabbed by the lengths of her braids. She lets out a shocked cry as her neck gets bent back, her hands flying to her hair. Her palms immediately grab at the hand that held her in an attempt to pry them off. For the brief moment of contact between their hands, Naomi feels two things - the unnatural contortion of the hand and the long, sharp fingernails it sported.
The man lets out a growl, forcefully shoving Naomi to the ground. Her face connects with the floor upon impact, not having the chance to brace for her fall. Pain courses through her as she finds herself being dragged against the floor – debris cutting into her skin. She lets out a scream, kicking her legs and grabbing at the floor in an attempt to get free. She tries grabbing a decent-sized stone but it was just out of her reach. Her hand flies to her radio once again, this time screaming out "HELP!" as soon as she presses the button. She doesn't get to say more than that though - as the man wraps his hand around her neck from behind. He lifts her off the ground, his grip becoming tighter as he holds her suspended in the air.
He pants heavily, his breaths turning into groans. Naomi kicks and twists her body violently, trying to free herself. The man then lets out another cry before flinging her to the floor once more. Naomi screams out as she lands awkwardly on her arm – dislocating it. Gingerly rolling onto her back, she faces the man just in time to see an arrow fly into his neck. She yelps, jerking back in surprise. The man sputters, falling backward - landing with a loud thud.
Feeling a sudden pinch-like pain radiating from her thigh, Naomi looks down to find a dart sticking out of her leg. "What the hell!" she mumbles before everything goes dark and she loses consciousness.
~
"He was definitely going to kill her. We almost didn't catch him in time."
"I told you this mission was a bad idea! And now, it's all been a complete waste!"
"Forget about that, what are we going to do about the paramedic? She saw the partial change! She will talk when she wakes up!"
"Don't worry, I've got that covered. Let's get him out of here."
"Damn eclipse!"
~
At Tares City General, a doctor and a nurse stand at the entrance of a patient room. "One of us has to be here when she wakes," the doctor says in a hushed whisper. "She saw a partial change. We have to do serious damage control to do here."
"How are we going to spin whatever she says into something that she and everyone she tells would believe?" the nurse whispers back to him, eyeing the woman in the bed.
"The drugs she was injected with. Strong hallucinogens. It's a sufficient cover," the doctor answers, a buzz from his medical pager grabbing his attention.
"Listen, we have to get a story down. And then we force-feed her that story until she believes it. Her partner is out there waiting for an update. We will tell her the same story. By the time she leaves this hospital, she'll be dismissing her memories, questioning her own experience. It's for the best and it will keep her safe."
The nurse nods at the doctor, the two going their separate ways as if they weren't just conspiring. The doctor tends to another patient and the nurse goes about her duties. They let a couple of minutes pass before meeting again, agreeing on the tale they were going to spin.
"Perfect, go to the partner now, the girl should be waking up soon."
~
Naomi awakes with a gasp, the vivid image of a man with contorting bones startling her awake. The monitor attached to her beeps rapidly, matching her heart rate. Heat pounding she looks around in confusion, her brain struggling to process her surroundings. The sensory input was overwhelming her, noises and bright lights, a complete contrast from where she last was – a dark half-collapsed building.
"Hey, hey. It's okay, calm down. You're safe," a soft feminine voice says to her. "You're at T.C. General Hospital. You were injured on the job." Naomi turns to the source of the voice, spotting a woman dressed in scrubs standing beside her. Forcing herself to calm down, she takes a couple of deep breaths. "There you go. Great." The nurse says to her, her eyes trained on the heart monitors.
Nodding slowly, Naomi relaxes into the bed. She goes to speak but ends up croaking instead, not realizing how dry her throat was. Her nurse quickly fills her a cup of water – Naomi downing it in one large gulp before asking for another.
"Where's my partner? Avery is she here, is she okay?" Naomi asks out in a rush.
"Yes, she is fine. She's in the waiting area with the rest of your firehouse," The nurse informs her with a smile. "I'm going to get your doctor and brother for you okay? Sit tight." With that, she walks out of the room. Naomi sighs, running a hand along her face.
"Oh gosh Nomi!" Avery shouts as she runs into the room, cutting ahead of the doctor and Naomi's brother who were walking alongside her. She runs over to the bed, wrapping her arms around Naomi, and smothering her face with kisses. Naomi couldn't help but laugh at her best friend's antics.
Avery's wild and slightly childish behavior always managed to make her smile, no matter the situation. The two had been friends for a little more than four years now, first meeting each other when Avery joined the firehouse. Initially, Naomi was cautious of the new girl with a boisterous personality. Having just lost her previous partner on the job, she was in no rush to become friends with their replacement. However, after two weeks with Avery and the two of them became inseparable. They were like sisters to each other at this point in their friendship, having seen each other through everything from breakups, health scares, and drunken proposals.
"I was worried sick! Oh my gosh! I should have never let you go off by yourself. We knew that man was dangerous and I just let you walk to him. I am a horrible friend. If you never want to see me again I understand. I really do. Oh, my poor darling. We need to quit. We'll relocate to a private island and there I'll protect you from the world." Avery Rambles on, not caring that Naomi's brother, the doctor and the nurse were all standing in the room, waiting to address Naomi. Naomi's brother, Kai, rolls his eye. Having endured years of friendship and working with Avery daily, he became used to her senseless rambles. The nurse and the doctor look on with slightly amused expressions.
Kai clears his throat loudly, getting Avery's attention, "I'd like the chance to hug my sister if that's okay with you Bale!" He says to her, calling her by her surname – a habit they developed from work. With an exaggerated eye roll, Avery gets off a giggling Naomi. "Gosh, I swear, you are the clingiest person I've ever met!"
Naomi and Kai laugh out at his statement, Kai going over to her and embracing her in a hug. The siblings both had their fair share of hospital stays - with Kai being a Truck lieutenant and Naomi being a paramedic in charge. Kai lets out a sigh, relief flooding over him as he holds his sister.
"I'm okay, I promise," Naomi whispers to him. He doesn't answer her – instead just nods his head. He looks at her for a short moment, studying her, trying to discern for himself if she was truly fine. The expression on his face alone told Naomi that he didn't believe her. The worry lines along his forehead were prominent and his light brown eyes conveyed nothing but concern and doubt.
Looking at the two, one could not easily tell they weren't biologically related. Sharing many similar physical features, they easily passed off as brother and sister. Though they were adopted together, the two started as strangers living on the same floor of Madame Keidrich's Orphanage. It wasn't until the ages of eight and eleven did they come to know each other, becoming inseparable since then.
The doctor clears his throat this time, a polite smile on his face. "Naomi, I'm doctor Harte. It's good to see you up so soon." He says to her. The doctor goes on to fill Naomi in on her injuries. A dislocated shoulder, moderate concussion, and minor scrapes and bruises. He also goes on to tell her in great detail about the drug, Lidophocritine – the powerful and highly addictive hallucinogen he claims she'd been injected with.
Avery and the doctor then take turns in filling in the blanks for her. Explaining that the man she went after was high out of his mind on this drug. Hallucinating and highly aggressive. They inform her that he attacked her, overpowering her easily. "I speculate that sometime during your scuffle with this man, you were stuck with a needle of his. A high dose of Lidophocritine was injected into our system," The doctor says to her. "Do you recall seeing anything strange? Things that didn't make any sense or seemed impossible? Things that couldn't possibly happen in real life?"
"A hallucinogen?" Naomi says softly, her mind flashing back to the man and what she'd seen.
"Yes, hallucinations." The doctor reiterates firmly.