Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 72401 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72401 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
I watched from my perch in the Captain’s seat in the back, caddy corner to Cleo, who was awe inspiring.
The man’s movements were so smooth and controlled
He looked hyper focused on the land that was speeding by beneath us.
He had on aviator sunglasses; paired with the large white helmet that was covering his head, there wasn’t much I could see of his face.
Somehow, though, I knew that he was having fun.
He loved doing his job. That had been why I’d been so upset that he quit his job.
Sure, he could’ve easily been a paramedic, but he wouldn’t have gotten that sense of satisfaction from any other job.
He wouldn’t have been in his element as he was at that very moment.
I started noticing the interstate within five minutes of our flight, and then I saw the massive amount of backed up cars.
“Catching up to the backed up cars normally means we’re getting close,” Cleo’s deep, voice rumbled over the airwaves.
I kept my eyes on the traffic, flabbergasted as we passed mile after mile, car after car.
It must’ve been an extremely bad wreck, and the closer we got to the scene, the more anxiety I started to feel.
“Was there only one victim?” I asked.
Cleo’s eyes didn’t move from the direction we were moving, but I could feel his attention shift towards me. “No, not necessarily. We’re really only called when there’s one that needs some major help. Most likely, they’ll just ground and pound the others, if they haven’t done so already.”
“Ground and pound?” I asked, finally spotting the emergency crews a couple miles ahead.
“That’s short hand for them running lights and sirens on the ground in an ambulance,” Ross said distractedly, watching the scene coming up on us very quickly.
Cleo slowed exponentially, and I felt my stomach float up into my throat before it settled back down in the correct spot.
Then we descended.
I watched the ground as we moved closer and closer to the asphalt road of East Bound I-20.
“Holy shit,” I said as my heart started to pound.
I saw Cleo grin out of the corner of my eye, but my eyes were glued to the large, cleared area that Cleo was in the process of setting down on.
“Nothing like it,” Ross said as he started to gather his supplies.
The moment we set down, everything went into motion.
Cleo kept the helicopter running, Ross opened the back doors, Cleo was there to get the stretcher, Ross went out. I went out. And I tried to stay out of the way, not wanting to interrupt their seamless partnership.
The scene we arrived on was a nightmare made in hell.
There were three cars involved, two of which no longer even resembled any vehicle I knew.
The last one was a van, and the most chilling was the car seat sitting on the sidewalk, straps cut, showing where the first responders had removed it from the vehicle.
There was a crowd surrounding the back of the ambulance where Cleo and Ross were headed, and they parted like the sea as soon as the two men made it up to them.
My first look at the tiny child was overwhelming.
Although I’d been an ER nurse for years, nothing could compare to the rawness of seeing it in the field.
The transfer of the child was quick and relatively painless.
Ross listened to the report from the ambulance crews as Cleo and another fireman started strapping the child down onto the helicopter’s stretcher.
Three adults stood off to the side, crying and watching the scene unfold.
There was no telling which car they’d belonged to at one point, but it was nice to see that there were survivors from that awful crash.
Cleo started back towards the ambulance with Ross close on his heels, running and shielding his eyes against the blades of the helicopter.
As soon as they were close enough, I climbed back inside, doing my best to stay out of the way as Cleo put the patient in the back.
Once the stretcher was locked into place, Cleo stepped back, letting Ross inside; Ross sat and immediately started making himself busy.
The doors behind us slammed shut, closing us in.
That was when I finally understood why Cleo did it.
This was his passion.
He literally had the lives of three people in his care right now.
How empowering that must feel, and what a gift it was when a passion and an occupation came together.
***
Rue
“My head feels like it weights fifty pounds,” I groaned when my head met the pillow twenty four hours later.
Cleo grinned and fell back on the bed beside me.
His bed, might I add.
I hadn’t been back to my apartment in over two days now.
Which, if I were being honest, was okay with me.
It was nice not to be alone.
It was even nicer to have someone take off my shoes and pants for me when I was too tired to do it myself.
“That’s what happens when you do twenty four hour shifts,” Cleo grunted as he threw my pants across the room, aiming for the large laundry hamper in the corner of the room.
My eyes got heavy, sleep already settling in to take me under.
“I enjoyed it a lot, though. Let me know when you’re hiring,” I teased.
His hand smoothed down my back. “You got it.”
The day had gone well.
We’d gotten the little boy to the hospital in Dallas, and from what Cleo told me earlier in the day, the boy had lived through surgery after they cut a hole in his skull to reduce the intracranial pressure.
They expected him to have a full recovery, and go on to live a full life.
We’d run two more calls after that. Both had lived.
And both would’ve died without Life Flight.
“The seed’s been planted, hasn’t it?” Cleo asked as he settled next to me, pulling me into his chest.
I snuggled deep. “Yes, the seed’s most definitely been planted.”
Chapter 18
Life isn’t a fairytale. Sometimes one has to pull up her big girl panties and get the fuck over it.
-Life Lesson
Rue
Rue: I took a naked picture of myself. You’re welcome.
Cleo: It’s black. I can’t see anything.