Chapter Seven

Jace and Alex were taking an elderly man into the John Hopkins hospital Emergency Room in the early morning around eight in the morning. The man is named Hank Wills. A sixty-four year old veteran who served in World War II. Hank was taken to the emergency room by Jace and Alex.

Jace gave a different Emergency Room doctor Jace once explained a patient's condition in detail, including their vital signs, the care they received, and any changes that occurred while they were being transported. In a controlled chaos of flashing lights and beeping equipment, EMT Jace Parker wheels a gurney through the emergency department doors of Johns Hopkins Hospital.

The patient, a 64-year-old WWII veteran named Hank Wills, is a testament to time and its toll, his face etched with more stories than his chart could ever hold. The journey is a rhythmic dance Jace has performed a thousand times, but today feels different. Hank's quiet composure in the ambulance is unnerving, his stoicism a stark contrast to the urgency of their mission.

For Jace, it's a sobering reminder of the generational divide—a man who faced down a global war is now facing a medical emergency, his resilience warring with the frailty of age. As they reach the trauma bay, a nurse rushes over, her scrubs a blur of motion. Jace starts his verbal report, his voice clear and concise, a stark contrast to the frantic energy around them.

"Sixty-four-year-old male, Hank Wills, complaining of crushing chest pain and shortness of breath," Jace says, his words a clinical summary of Hank's life at this moment. "Pain started about 30 minutes ago, eight out of ten, radiating down his left arm. History of hypertension and a previous MI two years ago. On Metformin, Lisinopril, and baby aspirin."

Jace watches as the nurse scribbles notes on a clipboard, her face a mask of practiced calm. He continues, providing the vitals he'd meticulously recorded in the ambulance.

"BP 168/92, pulse 96 and slightly irregular, respiration rate 24 and labored," Jace reports, his gaze flicking between the nurse and his patient.

"We've started him on oxygen, administered 324 mg of aspirin, and established an IV. He's alert but diaphoretic and anxious."

As the hospital staff takes over, Jace offers one last piece of information, something that isn't in his formal report but feels essential.

"He's a WWII vet," Jace says softly, his voice barely a whisper above the din. "Fought in the Pacific." The nurse's expression softens, a flicker of understanding passing between them.

Jace knows that this detail won't change the treatment plan, but it provides a context, a glimpse into the life of the man on the gurney. As the chaos engulfs Hank, Jace feels a pang of pride for the stoic man, and a renewed sense of purpose in his own small role as a bridge between the front lines and the safe haven of a hospital bed. He turns and walks away, ready for the next call, the next story.

Additionally, they convey important details about the incident scene, like the mechanism of damage or the conditions surrounding the sickness, as they are wheeling Hank into the hospital. Jace and Alex were walking down the hallway of the emergency department together and Alex looked at Jace like he knew something was still bothering him.

"Okay, what's wrong now?" wondering Alex.

Jace looks at Alex. "What?" says Jace, looking at Alex. "Something is bothering you," says Alex.

"Oh. It is nothing," Jace answered back.

"Bro. I can tell by the look on your face. You don't look so good," says Alex, as he and Jace are walking down the halls of the hospital as they head back to the ambulance. Jace didn't say another word.

Jace didn't know how to explain to Alex about the girl who looked like Aleix. "Jace?" says Alex. "Um." Jace cleared his throat. "I keep on having these flashbacks of the girl who tried to kill me," Jace explained to Alex.

"The girl who looks like Aleix?" Alex wondered.

"Yeah."Jace answered back.

"Okay. And like I said, you're just being paranoid," says Alex, as both he and Jace continued walking down the halls of the hospital.

Jace took a deep breath and looked at Alex. "I'm not Alex. I know what I saw,"says Jace. "I just can't stop thinking about her," says Jace, once again. "Obviously, you are either paranoid or you're on to something," says Alex, as he and Jace sat back inside the ambulance.

"I'm not. I see things. I also have been hearing things," says Jace.

"Well, if you're on something they can cause hallucinations. Are you on any medications?" asked Alex.

"No. I'm perfectly healthy," says Jace.

"Okay. Well, how about any history in your family that may have been diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder? Any neurological disorders run in your family?" wondered Alex.

"Not that I know of. Pretty much my parents are healthy. They run every morning together and they eat healthy every day as well," says Jace.

"Jace. It is genetics. It can be hereditary," says Alex.

"Not always. My sister has schizophrenia and my parents do not, so it's not always genetics. Nobody in my family has schizophrenia, except my sister. Except she was born with schizophrenia," says Jace.

Alex sighs. "I mean, you could always get yourself checked out," says Alex.

"I don't know. I mean you may be right, I could just be paranoid," says Jace.

Alex nods his head. As Jace and Alex walk straight back to the ambulance, they enter the ambulance after opening the doors of the ambulance. After they close the doors, Alex pulls the gear in drive and then stepping on the gas to begin driving and leaving the hospital.

On their way to another emergency, EMTs Jace and Alex and other first responders were called to a train crash scene. Multiple people were injured. Some of them had died. A deadly train accident had caused so many injuries that were a lot worse than other injuries. Jace and Alex immediately rushed to one of the victims and he and Alex started treating this patient named Larissa Willis whose leg was cut off. She was bleeding out.

"Okay, so we need to apply pressure on the leg to stop the bleeding first. I need to use a tourniquet," says Jace, grabbing his equipment bag.

Jace began looking for the tourniquet immediately and he sighs. When an EMT sees a patient with a severed leg, Jace's first priority is to apply a tourniquet above the wound site to stop the bleeding. Jace will also stabilize the patient, manage any pain that may be present, and make arrangements for quick transportation to a hospital for additional care and possibly surgery.

Jace as he was treating Larissa, he and Alex immediately and carefully put her on the stretcher and wheeled her into the ambulance. Jace then started to feel weak in the back of the ambulance while Alex was in the back of the ambulance with him. The paramedic was rushing Larissa to the hospital while Jace and Alex were treating Larissa as she was unconscious.

But Jace then got even more weak. "I need a minute," says Jace. "Are you okay?" wondered Alex. "I'm just feeling a little weak," answered Jace.

"Okay. Um. You feel like you're gonna faint?" wondered Alex.

Jace nods his head. "Okay. Just lie down and I'll monitor your glucose levels," says Alex. Jace took a deep breath and let out a big sigh. When Jace got to the hospital, he was still feeling weak by the time he and Alex were wheeling Larissa into the emergency room. The hospital bay doors burst open.

The stretcher, with Larissa Williams strapped firmly to it, is a blur of motion as Jace and his partner, Alex, wheel her into the chaos of the Emergency Department. Dr. Wong and her trauma team are waiting, their hands already moving toward the patient before the wheels even stop.

"EMT Parker, Trauma Team One," Jace says, his voice cutting through the noise. "Larissa Williams, female, thirty-three. Left lower leg completely amputated, about mid-tibia. Massive blood loss on scene." Wong is already at the stretcher's side, barking orders to the nurses.

"Get her onto my count! One, two, three, move!" As they transfer the patient, Jace continues his report, pointing to the key areas. "Initial vitals were weak and thready. BP sixty-eight over forty-two, heart rate one-thirty-four. Oxygen saturation was ninety-one percent of room air. We intubated in the field, and she's now bagging at a rate of sixteen. O2 is holding at ninety-six percent."

A nurse checks the IV lines. "Two large-bore IVs in the ACs. Wide open crystalloid," Jace adds. "The left thigh tourniquet was applied by a bystander before we arrived. We reinforced it and placed a junctional tourniquet in the groin. No arterial bleeding since." Wong examines the bandaged stump, her expression grim.

"Mechanism of injury?" she asks, her eyes never leaving the patient. "Train accident" Jace replies, "We had to extricate her. It took us forty-five minutes. Looks like a crush-avulsion injury from one of the train tracks after the train was flipped over and hit.." He gestures to the patient's head. "GCS is eight. Pupils are sluggish but equal and reactive. She has a deep frontal laceration, but no other obvious head trauma. The rest of her physical exam was negative for gross deformity or instability."

As they wheel the stretcher to the trauma bay bed, Jace grabs the patient's chart. "Here's our full report. Last set of vitals before entering: BP eighty-two over fifty, heart rate one-twenty. We've got blood in the bag, ready to hang." He hands the chart to Wong, who scans it quickly.

"Good work, Parker. You did everything you could in the field," Wong says, her tone more clinical than compassionate. She turns to her team.

"We're starting with a massive transfusion protocol. Push the blood! Get her to the OR now!" Jace stands by the bedside for a moment longer, watching the doctors and nurses swarm Larissa.

He knows his part is over. Wong is in command, and the patient is in the hands of the hospital. He turns and walks out of the trauma bay, the sirens of the ambulance already fading into the distance.

Jace says, as he was pulling the gurney into the hospital to one of the doctors. Jace began to feel even worse. After Larissa was put off the gurney and onto a hospital bed, she was immediately being treated by the doctor and nurses. She then needed emergency surgery.

Jace as he walked up to the front desk and he just sort of leaned over trying not to faint. He closes his eyes and he has a flashback of the girl once again. Jace opened his eyes after his flashback ended.

"Jace, woah, are you okay?" says Alex, walking up to Jace. Jace has another flashback. This girl who looked like Brianna this time, she and Aleix were screaming and crying and they were being tortured. The flashback ended and Jace sighed. He then dropped to the ground.

"Jace," says Alex, as he kneels on his knees and checks on Jace, helping him lift up from the floor.

Jace was feeling nauseous. "I think I am going to throw up," says Jace.

"Okay, c'mon, let's get you checked out by a doctor," says Alex, as he helps Jace, who treats Alex like a brother to him, walk down the hall of the hospital.

Jace was sitting on top of an exam table where Dr. Hudson was checking Jace's blood pressure with a blood pressure cuff and Jace was still feeling unwell. Dr. Hudson sighs, as he takes off the blood pressure cuff and tells Jace that his blood pressure is low.

"My blood pressure is low?" says Jace.

"Yeah. It's 50/50. Make sure you drink plenty of fluids and it's probably because you're overtired and dehydrated. Have you been feeling any other symptoms?" wondered Dr. Hudson.

Jace nods his head. "Yeah. I have been getting dizzy all the time, and almost fainted in the emergency room this time. I am nauseous and I also been hallucinating," says Jace.

"You have been having hallucinations?" says Dr. Hudson.

"Yeah. I just saw this ghost. But like my partner said I might just be paranoid," says Jace.

Dr. Hudson sighs. "I mean, hallucinations aren't caused by low blood pressure," says Dr. Hudson.

Jace nods his head and he rubs his eyes with his hand and fingers and sighs. "Just go home for the day. You look tired," says Dr. Hudson.

"Thanks doctor," says Jace. Dr. Hudson nods his head and he walks past Jace and Alex and leaves the exam room.

After Dr. Hudson left the exam room, he shut the door and went to see another patient. Alex looks at Jace. Jace was spacing out. Alex looked at Jace in confusion. "Jace?" says Alex, gently putting a hand on top of Jace's shoulder. "Hm?" says Jace, as he looked up at Alex.

"You need to go home and rest. Okay? You look like you could use a good night's sleep," says Alex. Jace nods his head.

"Yeah," says Jace.

Jace rolls his sleeve down and he steps off the exam table before he and Alex leave the exam room. As Jace and Alex stepped out of the exam room, then walking back down the hallway on a different floor of the hospital, Jace noticed the girl standing in front of him.

Jace just stood where he was and the ghost girl standing in the hallway evil smiled at Jace. Jace began panting a little bit and Alex asked Jace if Jace was seeing things again. Jace looked at Alex, then he looked back at the wall where the girl was standing and she had disappeared.

"Jace?" says Alex.

"C'mon. Let's go," says Jace.

Jace began walking down the hallway and Alex follows him from behind as they both are headed back to the emergency department and heading back to the ambulance as well as before they head back to the station.