Page 4 of Survival Game

He hummed to himself as he picked up his keys, checked he had his wallet and shut the door behind him. The day was suddenly looking a lot brighter.

Chapter Three

Eric Kirby drew a deep, shuddering breath and turned his attention to the unholy mess in front of him. The stench of burnt tyres, blood and fuel pushed at his senses as if to say, “You’d better hurry up. Time is short.”

He wanted to snarl that he fucking knew time was short.

Only three months into the year and already I’m wishing for things to get better.

He crouched down under a streetlight and held onto the limp hand of a woman who had whispered her name was Sarah, and who was trapped in the wreckage of what had once been a family sedan. He muttered soothing words to Sarah, whose glazed eyes stared up at him in panic and fear. There was resignation there too.

Damn it. He wasn’t going to let that emotion defeat the young woman who lay crushed under a mountain of steel.

The firefighters were on their way; he heard the sirens in the distance.

“Not long now.” He smiled reassuringly into Sarah’s blue eyes. She stared up at him, a mixture of hope and fear swirling in her gaze. “Can you hear that? It’s the fire engine on its way to get you out. You hold on, Sarah. Can you do that for me?”

Sarah’s eyes fluttered closed briefly but she nodded. Her hand gripped his tighter. “It’s my son’s birthday celebration this afternoon,” she whispered. “Will I still be able to go?”

He had no doubt this woman wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon. She had a broken leg, a piece of steel in her side, a badly bruised sternum from the deployed air bag, and she probably had internal injuries he couldn’t ascertain.

“How old is he today?” he asked, stroking Sarah’s hand softly.

A faint smile lit the pale face of the injured woman. “He’ll be twelve. We planned dinner at his favourite restaurant.” Tears trickled down her face and her face grimaced in pain. “I’m never going to see him again, am I?”

Eric schooled his face to the comforting look that seemed to help victims. Sarah had lost a lot of blood, and while he’d patched her up as best he could, she needed to go to hospital.

“I’ve stopped the bleeding for now—and listen.” His voice rose as the fire engine came into view, screeching to a halt in front of the mangled metal wreck that had been a VW Passat. “Here are the firemen. They’ll get you out, and then we’ll check you again and get you to the hospital. They’ll call your family and let them know what happened. I’m sure you’ll be seeing your son in no time at all.”

He made to stand up, to get out the way for the firemen to do their job, and Sarah’s eyes widened.

“Don’t leave me please,” she begged. Her fingers held onto his tightly.

Eric motioned towards the men coming his way then bent to speak to Sarah. “I need to get out of the way, let the other guys do their job.” The firemen were there now, waiting expectantly, armed with the tools of their trade. “I won’t be far. You’ll be fine in their hands. I’ll see you afterward, and I’ll get you all prepped up for the ambulance ride, ’kay?”

He stood up and met the eyes of his crewmate, Aaron, who regarded him with compassion as he mouthed, “You got this one, partner.”

Eric nodded tiredly and moved out the way as he turned his hand to its side to smooth hair away from his sweaty, grimy forehead. His neoprene gloves were coated with blood from where he’d tried to staunch the bleeding from pieces of steel embedded in his patient’s side and leg. He peeled the gloves off and threw them into the disposal bin in the back of the ambulance.

I’m not sure how much longer I can do this.

Aaron patted him on the shoulder. “Looks like they’re getting her out okay,” he muttered as they watched the firemen at work. Aaron’s round face was weary, dirt coating his forehead and cheeks. He ran a hand through his bristled dark hair. “Poor woman’s having a fucking rough day. That arsehole who sideswiped her ought to be locked up.” He scowled at the man sitting pale and dejected on the side of the road, surrounded by medical personnel and police alike.

“According to eyewitnesses, the guy was on his phone and didn’t see the traffic light was red. Damn, I wish people would understand that it’s times like these”—Aaron waved a hand at the scene playing out before them—“that just brings home the whole ‘don’t check your mobile phone when you’re driving because you could kill someone’ warnings.”

Eric nodded in agreement. “Yep. It’s just not worth it.” He rubbed his eyes, sudden fatigue stealing through him. “Hopefully the fire department won’t be too long getting her out.” He squinted through tired eyes at the firemen as the car door pulled away with a screech of metal. He shuddered. He’d never get used to hearing that sound. It went right through him.

Aaron sighed heavily. “No problem. I’m going to check the truck again, see that everything’s good for her ride to the hospital. I’ll be with you in a sec to load our patient onto the stretcher.” He left Eric standing there, watching as the firemen secured the vehicle. After what seemed like a lifetime, one of them raised a hand and waved Eric over.

“She’s good to go,” the blond-haired guy called out.

Any other time, Eric might have quite fancied getting down and dirty with him. The guy was a cutie. But now, covered once again with someone else’s blood, tired to his core and wanting nothing more than to finish the hell-shift and get home to slouch on the couch, he didn’t have the energy to worry about what his dick might think.

Before long, his patient was prepped, ready to be taken to the hospital. Together he and Aaron loaded the now semi-conscious woman into the ambulance. Within minutes, Aaron at the wheel, and Eric in the back with their patient, they were speeding their way to the nearest Accident and Emergency centre.

After wheeling Sarah into the A and E ward, and assuring her she was in good hands, they cleaned up the truck as best as they could before the next call out.

There was a young woman who vomited her guts up from drinking too much. Next was an old man suffering from stomach gas who thought it was a heart attack.