Rescue 12 Responding, page 24
The Voice deepened, "Depart from me, for I never knew you."
The Light intensified in the room until even with his eyes closed, he could see light, and the brightness continued to increase. Robert's eyes burned from the brilliance, and he cried out, begging for darkness. Though he could not see, he knew he began to fall. He fell further and further from the light. At first, he rejoiced at his separation from this Judge. He was able to open his eyes as he watched the light slowly disappear into the void of the increasing darkness and separation. His skin began to tremble with the cold as he moved further from the source of all light. He continued to watch until he could no longer see the Light. He looked around to find another source, but there was none.
Darkness continued to increase until he was completely blind. Fear seized him as he realized that he could no longer see his own hands before him. He reached out trying to find anything, anyone who could help him. There was no light; there was no one, not even the voices of evil to torment him. There were no voices here, only the quiet of eternal death. He was alone, in the dark, drifting farther and further from what he remembered to be Light. He could still feel. He felt the cold as it pressed against his flesh. For a moment, it brought comfort, yet even that comfort became a torment. The freezing cold continued to increase and began to burn, like fire lapping at his flesh. Yet, there was no flame of fire. Flame would have brought some light.
He was aware of only two things, the pain that assaulted his body and the darkness that blinded him from all but his memories. He remembered he had arms and hands, yet he could not see them. He remembered he had plans, yet he had no power to fulfill them. He was blind and helpless. He screamed into the darkness. "Where is this dark kingdom that I was to rule in? Why am I alone?" He was thirsty. He cried out for something to drink. But, no one heard his cry. He wept to buy a drink to quench his thirst. But, there was no one to come. He yelled and yelled until his voice was gone, and only silence answered him, convincing him that he was all alone. Eternity began, eternal death ...
The doctor placed his hand upon the shoulder of the orderly doing chest compressions on the redheaded man. "He is dead. Let's call the code. What time is it, for the record?"
A nurse spoke as she wrote it down, "13:04 hours."
Robert lay dead and naked on the ER trauma table. There is no time for honor or words for one who dies in an ER. There are other living patients that wait to be treated. The curtain was drawn around the patient whose body was already becoming cool. The staff slowly exited the room. The light was turned off as the last one left. Robert was left alone in the darkness.
"Rescue 33, out at St. Joseph's." said the driver of the ambulance as he quickly exited the front cab.
"13:20 hours," dispatch responded.
The doors to the back of the ambulance were opened. Steve, the paramedic, assigned to this ambulance, pressed the bar on the floor beside the stretcher. The hook released and he pulled the stretcher out. David followed closely, and his eyes pierced into the young man that lay upon the stretcher.
Steve looked up at David, "Who is the kid?"
"I don't know. But, I do know, he's the one who tried to kill me Friday night. And, now Jonathan is probably dead, and this jerk was a part of it." His tone did not hide his frustration or anger.
"Well, I would hate to see another teenager die, but if one has to, I guess you won't cry too much if it is this one. He doesn't look good." Steve’s attempt to use stark reality to shake David into the appropriate attitude didn't work. He moved his young patient into the Trauma Room.
David continued to walk into the ER. He was deaf to the words of his peer as his own thoughts began to torment him. Anger and Revenge locked arms around David. They searched for a crack in his armor as they pressed his mind. Anger spoke, "He deserves to die, and yet he lives. He tried to kill you, and now Jonathan is dead; it's his fault." David's eyes turned red as anger filled him. The crack had been found in his mind for the Dark Voices to abuse him.
Liar ridiculed, "It's God's fault that Jonathan is dead. He let it happen. That is," the liar paused, "...if there really is a God."
David took his eyes off the patient on the stretcher and thought of his friend, Jonathan. His heart sank, What if he is dead?
Mockery’s voice was heard loud within this human so beaten by grief and worry, "If there is a God, he let Jonathan die. He said he wasn't ready yet. Why would God allow someone to die before they had a chance to get things right? What kind of God do you serve?"
"There is no God. Turn your back on what you have learned this week. Give Him no room. Listen to yourself. You are going mad with this God delusion," Foolishness sneered.
David’s mind receded in thought until he could think of nothing except the image of Jonathan dead at the foot of the ambulance stretcher with no pulse, and not breathing. He walked to the nurse's lounge emotionally drained, wanting to rest and be quiet for a moment. The voices of Deceit and Lies were stilled as the Quietness of God surrounded David and he was left alone to think for himself.
Destruction laughed with Death. "We did it. He let us back in. The Good One has lost his warrior. Our plan worked. David is again ours. He is lost in the darkness of Death and Destruction."
Death stretched his long arms. His sneer revealed the blood of his last meal. "I did get to kill my pawn's slaves," Death turned to face the Adversary, "and my pawn died to make this battle ours. When will I be able to keep Jonathan within my grasp?"
Adversary looked over the vast horizon. "The wall of protection is still around him. You have touched him, but he's still being strengthened."
"What? Anger, where are you?" Death yelled. Anger appeared before his Lords.
"Isn't David lost in our maze yet?" Adversary asked.
"He is confused... " Anger measured his words, his last failure still stung his back. "But, Quietness was there at the hospital and got to him before I was able to finish my attack." Anger said as he grew red at the thought of his interruption and failure.
Adversary turned to Distraction, "Make sure he doesn't hear that Jonathan is still fighting Death. If he hears, he'll be sure to pray for him." Adversary whispered, "We can't have that."
The warriors left their council. Hope was not one of their strengths.
"David, David," Christina, the nurse who had entered the lounge, whispered, trying not to startle David, who was clearly lost in thought. "David, let me look at your wrist."
"Oh, OK go ahead." David held out his right arm. She cut off the temporary splint that held the wrist firm as David moved his hand and winced. "The fingers still move, see?" He tried to make light of his obviously fractured wrist.
The nurse handed David an ice pack. "We’ll do your x-ray as soon as they finish with the person in there. Do you need anything?"
"Yes, I need to get to Tampa General," David said sarcastically then paused and looked again at Christina. He knew her. There was no reason for him to be rude. He softened his tone. “No offense, Christina, but my partner and the firefighter driving the ambulance both went to Tampa General. We had to come here because of the young man they found in the trunk." David knew he really didn't want to ask, but he had to. "Have you heard anything about Jonathan?"
Tears came to Christina's eyes as she said, "No, I'm sorry. I haven't heard. We are all waiting for news. Last we heard, he was on the way to surgery. But, I did hear that the firefighter, Joshua is going to be OK. Apparently, he just was trapped. A simple concussion is all he's got. His face was cut deeply, but everything life-threatening is OK. He's tubed but breathing on his own. He's really lucky. See, there's hope." Christina continued to talk, but suddenly the weight of her words came to David. His mind cleared and focused on one word ...
"Surgery," David looked up at Christina. "Surgery, then they got him back. They got a pulse back?" David tried to take a deep breath.
"David, I heard that they got it back, two or three times, but he kept losing it." Christina knew honesty was best. Her voice softened and was muffled to stop herself from crying, "It doesn't look good for him."
David returned his stare to his wrist. "I'll wait 10 minutes. If you can't get me fixed by then, I'll hijack your helicopter and go over to Tampa General myself. I can't wait."
Christina winked at her friend. "I know the pilot. I bet I can get him to take you over there. Just don't tell anyone, OK?"
David stretched his wrist toward her. "The clock's ticking, let's go."
Christina walked with him into the x-ray room. As soon as the pictures confirmed the right wrist fracture, the ER team placed a volar splint to secure his wrist, and then a bandage was applied to his left hand, once the x-rays confirmed no glass had remained from the windshield lacerations. David appreciated the speed and care his co-workers were giving him. And as he waited, he noticed that the pain medication had the effect of not only relieving the pain but calming him down. He decided he wanted to look once again at the young man that had tried to kill him only a few days before. There were so many questions that this patient could answer. “Why” was the one question he mumbled as he stood up and walked into his intruder's room.
David entered the patient’s room quickly then slowly took a deep breath. "What is your name, kid?" He took the medical band on the patient’s wrist and read, "Joseph Harris, age 18." He looked closer at this large, muscular man. "Is it possible that you are only eighteen? What made you try to kill me?" David examined Joseph closer. His black eyes were swollen shut, but his pupils were reactive to light and equal so his brain could be alright David thought, then he quickly reached down and touched the bruised chest of the young man and could feel the rib bones shift as he breathed. Tears formed in David's eyes as his compassion dissipated his remaining anger. "Come on kid, fight this. There has been enough death already. Please kid, hang on." His mind shifted in thought to Jonathan who also was fighting death, and he quickly left the room to get to his friend’s side, praying, "Come on, Jonathan, fight! Please, live."
Christina ran to David with good news she couldn't wait to tell him. "They found cocaine under the rear passenger's seat of that white Cadillac. The one trauma victim they flew here from the accident is dead. He died a few minutes ago. We got him over in the back room. We are waiting for the Medical Examiner to come and get him. The Sheriff’s Office is excited. It looks like it is the same coke that killed the teenagers last week. It has the same kind of packaging that the coke in the teenager's home was in. Sure is a break that we found out who did it."
David stopped and turned toward the source of so much information. He took a deep breath and tried to focus his mind, "The coke that killed the kids. It was in the white Cadillac?"
"Yes, that’s what the Deputy said. He said it was easy to recognize because of the packaging. They are sure it is the same stuff."
"So, this kid must have thought I knew something and was trying to protect himself." David stood at the doorway and looked at the kid with detachment. "I was the first one in at the teenager's house where they all died," David said. "I bet that is why he attacked me. And the dead guy probably was going to kill the kid, because he failed." David walked over to the side of the patient's bed. "So kid, that's why you're beat up like this?" David focused on the boy's injuries, trying to remain detached. "They beat him really bad. Didn't they?" he whispered to Christina.
"Yes, they did. We figure some of the wounds are at least two days old. They must have tortured him for a while before they planned to kill him. I don't think he'll make it. They will be taking him to surgery in just a few minutes, trying to find where he's bleeding from."
"Too bad. But, if he does survive he'll just face life in prison or possibly a death sentence for the deaths of those other teenagers." David changed the subject, "And, the back-seat passenger is here? He's dead?" David began to put all the pieces together.
"Yes, he's in the back room. You should see the expression on his face. When he coded in the trauma room, he looked around and then suddenly went 'straight line.' His heart just stopped beating. He looked like he saw something. His face has a horrible expression on it. Real creepy. You wanna see?" Christina said as she raised her eyebrows.
"Sure. Sounds like a great idea. I would love to see the guy responsible for all of this." He chuckled and returned the smirk. While they were walking toward the back room, David began to recall the white car and red-haired patient. His pace picked up when he realized what he had seen, and he blurted, "Oh Shit! I think I know who is in there!"
Christina pushed the door open as David rushed in the room. He stopped abruptly when he saw Robert and the deep bruises that were forming to stain the naked shell of the once powerful man. David drew a deep breath and prepared to find a way to his friend's side. Robert’s death had freed Jonathan, now David’s only concern was that Jonathan survived.
Debra arrived at Tampa General by ambulance and was quickly evaluated by the emergency department doctor who cleared her for admission to a labor and delivery bed. She had no injuries from the ambulance wreck, and the pain from her delivery had completely resolved. Once she arrived in her room, she was alone for the first time since this morning. Gradually, she began to recall all that had happened today. It seemed more like a dream, then more like a nightmare, and now just impossibly hard to accept. This morning, she thought about killing herself, then the ambulance wreck and she could have died. Her mind spun in circles, and the birth of the baby seemed more surreal than reality.
A large happy black nurse came in. Her eyes twinkled with delight, when in her strong Jamaican accent, she said, “Well, hello Ms. Debra. Your parents will be here in a minute, they got caught in traffic, they called while you were still down in the ER. But, they will be here soon.” She grinned at her young patient, "So, you are the miracle mother! Congratulations!"
Debra was shocked by her smile. "I am no miracle. I'm nothing but bad luck. Anyone who gets around me just dies." then she turned away from the nurse and began to cry again.
The nurse’s pleasant joy was not dissuaded, "Now, little lady, don't say that. You are a gift. A gift from God. Don't you ever forget that, do you hear me?"
Debra was bewildered by this joy. "But, I caused an ambulance to crash. I'm real bad luck. Everybody around me dies!"
Pearline, the nurse, came and sat on the edge of the bed. "Sweetie, you are a blessing. Why just today you delivered a miracle baby. I'd say that's pretty good luck to me. God is taking care of you."
"My baby," Debra looked into the warm dark eyes of this seasoned nurse, and breathed deeply trying to understand, "My baby is alive? How can that be? He was so small. I saw him. There is nothing to him. He must be dead, just like everybody else."
"Everything is fine with him. He is alive. I'm tellin' you the truth." Pearline rubbed the arm of this child-mother. "He is alive. He only weighs two pounds. But Girl," she paused, and a great big grin covered her face, "but girl, that's enough. He is doing just fine."
Debra wiped away her tears with her hospital gown. "Can I see him? Can I go to him?"
"Sure sweetie, why do ya think I came in here? Let's go see God's miracle baby." Her grin touched Debra, who then genuinely returned a smile as she eased into the wheelchair. She was ready to see her miracle.
"What ya going to call it, Miss Debra?" Pearline's voice was filled with joy and expectation.
Debra thought about it and joy reached her heart as she said, "I know what I'm going to call him. His name is Thomas Darien."
"Oh, that's a nice one. He'll grow up to love that one. You wait and see." Pearline pushed the girl a little faster to see her son. "Girl, don't you ever forget God brings the greatest miracles in the face of the greatest battles. It's just His way. Thomas is going to be a great man, you wait and see. God loves miracles. And, your son is a real one. "
Joey awoke to find a large seven-foot tall man standing next to him. His face was shining with a glow that Joey had never seen on a man before, and the angel said, "My name is Michael. I've come to take you home."
"Take me home? Where am I?"
"You're in the hospital. You have suffered much, and your body is broken and dying. That is why I have come." His eyes held such kindness that Joey was sure that they could not be masking a lie. Yet, Joey didn't understand.
The stranger understood this young one's confusion. "Joseph. You are dying. I am here to take you to God. He sent me to walk with you so that you will not have to go to heaven alone. You will never have to be alone again." The angel's voice filled with awe, "Joseph, you are greatly loved by God. He is your father."
Joey's eyes filled with tears. "It can't be true. I remember now. I was being beaten. They put me in the car to take me to the boat. They were going to kill me. You must have made a mistake. God wouldn’t want me. I'm responsible for the death of the other kids. No, I might die, but, I'm sure God would not send an angel for me. No good God would want me."
The angel held out his hand. "Joseph, you are loved. Did you ask Him to forgive you? He has completely, if you asked."
Joey's mind filled with the memory of the two days in the barn. He remembered his tears of sorrow and of repentance. He looked up at this one who he knew was a friend and whispered, "Really, facing what I had done wrong, and my cry to God is all that I had to do for Him to forgive me?"
The angel smiled and said, "Yes, you see, God's Son paid the price for all who have sinned. It is God's gift to forgive all that come to him and ask for his forgiveness. It is a free gift. Forgiveness is given to all who ask, because of the perfection of the work of His Son, Jesus. It's time to go and meet your Father. Your sins are no longer remembered against you. You are accepted and eagerly awaited. Come, it's time to go home. "
Joey took the hand of this large angel and felt a love he had never known before, "OK. I'm ready."
