Page 24 of Magic and Medicine

‘At them.’ My gaze followed the direction her finger pointed, focusing on two men strolling past nonchalantly. That is until I focused on them, and they turned to look directly at our window as one. You never see people strolling to the hospital; something about the place affects everyone who frequents its corridors, from the worried trot of those facing uncertainty to those dragging their feet facing the certainty of bad news. Even the staff walk differently; each step they take filled with purpose. Seeing two men casually wandering outside, then looking straight at our window, set off every instinct I had, and despite their innocuous appearance, fear skittered down my spine until I shook my head. Stop thinking everything is related to you, woman, chastising myself for assuming everyone was out to get me. Paranoid much? I thought, even as I remembered someone else noticed their behaviour first.

A curse slipped out as my pocket vibrated, my phone’s timing as perfect as ever, and I pulled out the offending device, looking at the caller display. Only a few people outside my family had this number, and the people calling were so close to being a family that my mother regularly fed them.

‘What’s up, boys?’ I said, happy to hear from Speciality Ambulance Three, my ride or dies, Damian and Rysiek, their distraction cheering me enough to consider inviting them for drinks later.

The two paramedics, or the Dream Team as they like to be called, were my old ambulance crew. The cockiest pair in that uniform, but when you were as good as they were, you had a right to be. When faced with horrifying injuries and hopeless situations, their barrack’s humour saved the sanity of many colleagues, myself included, and they were universally loved because of it.

My boys. I smiled at the thought, remembering our adventures. When I took over the Emergency Department, I had to resign from the ambulance shifts, but seeing those two always brightened my mood no matter what kind of patient they delivered.

‘Get ready, vixen. We have incoming for your tender hands only. There was an explosion on a cargo vessel followed by a hold fire. Kris is still there dealing with the mess, and most of the casualties were taken to the port hospital, but they can’t deal with this one; he’s knocking on heaven’s door and needs your special touch. Sixty per cent burns, including airway, tubed; vitals stable at the moment. See you in ten.’ It was comprehensive and short, just how I liked my information, especially as they didn’t give me much time to prepare. My thoughts drifted toward Kris, another of our little family, a burly firefighter who, in a way, was a father to us all, and I hoped he stayed safe. Then, my thoughts went back to the patient.

Special Touch. As I said, they knew me well. The simple term had become a code Tricity’s ambulance crews used when they dragged patients out of their districts to see me. Not because I was the best, but because I had a running competition with death, and sometimes, what those patients needed was hope and a doctor more stubborn than a pack of mules who wouldn’t give up if she knew their souls were still there. The tenacious, obstinate, and bold spirits needed me fighting in their corner when Death hadn’t called them home.

‘Begin the burns protocol. I want the plastic surgeon, critical care, and trauma teams here in five. I’m going to resus to prepare,’ I told the triage nurse and turned to Nina, the nurse in charge and my best friend, who was already dressing in a surgical gown to receive the patient, ‘Send a porter to storage for all the burns kits he can find.’

‘Never a dull moment with you and those two clowns. I’m guessing they expect another of your miracles?’ she said, and I smirked. Nina and my boys shared mutual respect, professional courtesy and a complicated love-hate relationship from the moment fate put us together during an expedition to war-torn Kosovo. I didn’t fully understand it, but I thoroughly enjoyed the snide comments and mean remarks that made me laugh each time they had another legendary battle.

‘If you wanted to have dull shifts, you should have chosen dermatology,’ I jested, and she looked at me with a glint in the eye.

‘At least, I would have flawless skin, while you will always look like something the cat dragged in. Do you sleep at all, or did you get in the middle of another domestic fight in a bar?’ She pointed to my eyes and grabbed my arm when I turned my face away, ignoring her question. The guilt must have been written all over my face because she frowned.

‘You answer me when I’m asking, young lady.’

‘Yes, ma’am, right away, ma’am.’ I said, teasing her, but I knew I was in trouble. Nina had used her matron’s voice, and no matter who you were, you listened when you heard that tone asking you a question.

‘I was just at a party and came back late. You told me I should start meeting other people, so I’m meeting other people,’ I said, watching her eyes narrow in suspicion.

‘And you’re telling me this now? Five minutes before we’re elbows deep in peeling flesh? Just don your gown, Sara; this conversation is not over. For years, I’ve asked you to crawl out of your shell and trust men a little, but no, you were living for work, books, and your weird fight club. Now you’re a party girl all of a sudden? Nope, not buying it.’

‘Who knows, maybe I just didn’t tell you about my wild side.’ I answered, laughing, as we rushed to Resus. My boys gave us enough time to prep the area, briefing the team as everyone got into position before the doors crashed open, the gurney sliding into place carefully despite their haste. Moments later, the room was a hive of organised chaos as the team leapt into action.

The paramedics had done an excellent job intubating such a damaged throat, and I nodded my gratitude as they stepped back, shouting out the medications given and the stats of our patient. The critical team took over airway management while plastics cut long gaping escharotomy lines to open the swollen flesh, preventing further damage.

This patient was determined to live, and I focused on directing the team, ensuring we had enough supplies and everyone concentrated on their task. I missed hands-on work, but someone had to lead, and through the years of experience, I was the best person for the job.

The elbow in the side didn’t phase me as Damian decided my stress levels were peaking. ‘Stop drooling. I know you would want to be one with the scalpel, but that is a suitable punishment for leaving us.’ Rysiek smirked as my toe cracked into his partner’s shin, his pen never stopping as he wrote his notes: two peas in a pod and the most unlikely romantic couple. I envied them the comfort of being together while doing what they loved.

With the work almost finished, the man looked like a mummy covered in dressings and bandages, and I turned toward my friends.

‘I could never leave you. You’re the best men I ever slept with, ’ I said, referring to when we’d been forced to share a tent and where the nickname Sara and her boys originated. I elbowed him for laughing, but we both heard the alert from his radio, signalling an upcoming call from the dispatcher.

‘Yeah, yeah, just remember, you can always come back. It was good to see you, vixen. Please send our humble regards to this dragoness of yours.’ They nodded toward Nina, who, without looking, flipped them off.

I wanted to ask them to pick me up after the shift, but our conversation was interrupted by the critical care doctor who came over, pointing toward the patient.

‘Give me fifteen minutes to prepare a bed upstairs, and we’ll transfer him. Is it OK if I leave you here?’ he asked, and I nodded. Soon, I was left alone in the cubicle while the nurse prepared a transfer kit outside. With a bit of free time, I approached the patient, the poor soul surrounded by cables and tubes, the sight pulling at my heart, pity for the struggles he would now face.

After an event like this, life would never be the same, the pain and scars staying with him forever, and I wished my special touch was more than insight, that the magic I supposedly possessed could heal him. Reaching out, I stroked his forehead with my finger. It made little sense, as he was in a medically induced coma, but I wanted him to know we were here for him and would do our best to help his recovery.

‘You are not alone. Have only pleasant dreams,’ I whispered before the maelstrom of his memories assaulted me. He was a ship worker, an engineer carrying out minor repairs. Today, he’d crawled under the deck to chase down a weird electrical fault when five men dressed in dark overalls arrived, their faces hidden behind dust masks. He heard them discussing disrupting the next shipment before they were ready to take over. So he challenged their presence, but a deafening bang rang out, and agonising pain blossomed in his belly.

The engineer’s pain felt so substantial I screamed, hand pressed to the imagined hole in my abdomen, feeling fresh red blood gushing out. I felt my body balancing at the edge of consciousness, struggling to differentiate between reality and vision. Pale hair caught my attention; the white-blond strands belonging to a man turned toward the bulkhead, drawing a strange symbol dancing with coruscating flame. As I studied this mesmeric person, he sensed my attention, turning to regard me in turn, his eyes briefly revealing a hint of surprise before changing to pure, unbridled satisfaction.

‘Soul Shepherd, you found me. How impressive. I cannot wait till we meet in person, my Lady.’ his words reverberated in my mind, oily and foul, making me gag and forcing me to break away from the patient.

It is only a vision, only a vision. I repeated the words as a mantra to dispel the memory of the engineer’s pain, but even as I gripped the bed’s railing, I couldn’t forget everything that had happened.

Fuck, he was talking to me, not the engineer; how is that possible? It was the past, a vision… and the bullet wound. Did we miss it? As I stumbled, trying to collect my mind, still feeling my consciousness split between realities, I pressed the alarm button, and the rest of the team came back running. This man was fried to crisp, but it was not an excuse to miss something so significant. Guilt flooded me when I grabbed the phone, dialling the duty surgeon, who, in his infinitive wisdom, wasted time questioning me before he agreed to join us.

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