Saving the Dead (24 page)

He then led Espinoza’s shell shocked wife out into the hallway.  The other members of the family quietly followed them out.  The last to leave was Elyse.  The mask of her calm was quickly cracking.  She gulped once and then croaked, “Thank you.”

She burst into tears and ran from the room.  Justin quietly closed the door behind her.  Outside, her arrival shattered everyone else’s emotional control.  Their screams and crying echoed off of the walls.

Drifts said, “Well that wall sure as hell isn’t soundproof.” He shook his head. “I tell you Leo, this has been one hell of a night.”

Ramirez grunted.  He looked at Justin and held out the hot-drill to him. “It’s time.”

The paramedic student regarded the tool as if the handle were lined with razorblades.  Slowly, he took the drill in hand.

“You can do this,” Ramirez said. “You’re strong enough.  Honor his wish.  Protect his family.  Protect us. Take your place on the invisible line beside us and help us to protect others.” 

Ramirez watched his words reverberate through the young man’s head.  He glanced down at his watch.  They still had plenty of time, but if his student didn’t move soon, he wouldn’t move at all.  Ramirez would have to take the drill back and do the deed himself, after which they would finish the night and in the end Ramirez would sign Justin’s dismissal form:  Unable to perform the essential duties of his station.  He had signed them before.  It was one of the main reasons why so many students had washed out of the paramedic program since the days of the outbreak.

He sighed heavily and was about to take the drill back when Drifts spoke up in a hoarse whisper so as not to be heard by the family. “Fucking A, kid!  Cowboy the fuck up, and pull the motherfucking trigger already!”

Both of them stared at the EMT.  Then Justin smirked and said, “Yee-haw.”

The young man walked to the head of the bed.  Ramirez glanced at Drifts, who watched the student like a proud papa.  Catching him looking at him, Drifts said, “What?”  Ramirez shook his head smiling.

Justin placed the drill bit on the body’s forehead closed his eyes and his lips moved in a quick prayer.  He sighed, then opened his eyes. 

He pulled the trigger.

Chapter Eleven

Frequent Flyer

“Time of death?”

Ramirez checked his notes. “Looks like . . . 5:17 a.m.”

“Time of post-mortem drill application?”

“Applied at 5:23 a.m.”

The police officer looked up from his clipboard. “Really?  That’s cutting it kind of close, don’t you think?”

Ramirez shrugged. “We had to get the family out.  Plus it was the perfect teaching opportunity for my student.”  He looked over at Justin who was joking around with Drifts by the ambulance. “It was the first time he used the hot-drill.”

The officer’s eye’s bulged. “No shit?  Wow!”  He shook his head. “I don’t know how you stretcher jockeys do it.  I’ve tapped the back of quite a few deaders’ skulls with my bullets.  But close range? No thank you.  I was up close and personal a few times during the outbreak, but I had my fill of that shit before my first encounter.  You guys are always next to them when they rise.”  He shook his head again.

Ramirez said, “We are all built for different things.”

“I suppose you’re right.  I think I can fill out the rest from here.  You’re free to go.”

“Okay.  Stay safe,” Ramirez told him.

“I will.  You too.”

“Will do.”  Ramirez approached their rig, “Let’s get out of here.

“Fucking A.  I’m starving.  Do you think dispatch will let us go to Quick Stop so I could get a hotdog or something?  I’m fucking starving.” Drifts keyed the mic. “Triple-Three clear on a post-mortem care.”

As he pulled their ambulance out of the gates there were three news vans setting up equipment. Drifts shook his head. “The guy’s not even cold yet and the vultures are already circling.” One of the cameramen panned around as they drove by.  Drifts waved at him and said, “Hi Mom.”

The radio squawked, “Triple-Three, please head down Berry Avenue to Post Forty-Four.” 

“Oh thank God!” Drifts cried out before keying the mic. “Post Forty-Four.”  He looked at his partner. “Can you believe this is our first post all fucking night?”

Ramirez shrugged. “Some nights are like that.”

“Yeah, no shit.”

When they pulled into the Quick Stop parking lot and saw that another ambulance was there.

“Whose truck is that?” Ramirez asked.

Drifts grinned, “That’s Three-Fourteen.  Tracy’s unit.”

Ramirez sighed.

“All right!” exclaimed Justin.

The two of them turned to look at the student.  Drifts scowled and waved his finger, “Uh-uh, kid.  Tracy’s ass falls under the old guiding principle of ‘I saw her first’!”

“Dude, I grew up on a farm where the only girls I knew were my cousins.  I live by the ‘All’s fair in love and war’ principle,” responded Justin.

“That shit might fly with your cousin Betty Lou who also ascribes to the ‘Don’t ask don’t tell’ policy, but it sure as hell doesn’t work on this truck!”  Drifts paused. “Wait a minute, does your family tree even have limbs?”

“I didn’t mean it like that!”

“You know,” Drifts mused, “I can still pimp your slightly used ass out on the street.”

“Is that how you’ve gotten your training?” asked Justin.

“Hey!”

“Maybe you should let the kid talk to her?” Ramirez put in.

“Really?” the two of them said in unison, albeit in two completely different tones.

“I love you like a brother, Sam, but your track record thus far has been less than exemplary.  You’re just pursuing Tracy for another notch on your bedpost.”

Drifts looked at them indignantly. “How the hell do you know that?  Maybe I am pursuing a meaningful relationship with a beautiful woman whom I have admired from afar.”

Ramirez arched an eyebrow.  Even Justin who had adjusted to Drifts peculiarities asked, “Really?”

Drift’s sober expression held their eyes for a moment longer before he broke into a grin. “Nah, not really.  I just want to mount that woman on the head of my dick like a trophy to the motherfucking gods!”

Ramirez waved him forward. “Go ahead.  You already know my position on this, but despite that, you’re going to do what you’re going to do.”

“Thanks Dad.  Don’t wait up!”  He leapt out the door.  Ramirez watched his partner go and shook his head with a smile on his face.

“What’s your position?” asked Justin.

“You shouldn’t mix business with pleasure,” Ramirez told him.

Justin thought about it. “So you mean, don’t shit where you eat?”

“Something like that.  Sam, has a habit of marking his territory everywhere we go.  It tends to complicate things a bit.”

“Like with that police officer on the scene of the shooting?”

Ramirez laughed. “Yeah, Rachel was particularly pissed with him.  She waited outside headquarters three times to give him a speeding ticket.  Sam had to pay a lawyer all three times to get out of them.  For a little while he behaved himself in the dating department.  To his credit, he hasn’t tried to date another police officer since.”

“I should say so.”

“Sam’s hard headed, not stupid.  Quite the opposite really, although his vocabulary would have you think otherwise at times.  I’ve been trying to talk him into going back for his paramedic degree.  He would be really good in the back of the box, but he’s pretty happy remaining an EMT.  He’s tempted at the prospect of jabbing people with needles, but for the most part he’s pretty content with driving fast. I can’t argue with that.”

Ramirez shook his head, “I’m going to refill my coffee.  Do you want anything?”

Justin said, “I’ll go with you.”

As the pair of them walked up to the store’s front door, they passed Three-Fourteen.  Drifts was leaning against the passenger window talking to Tracy.  The attractive medic laughed at something he said.

“Hey, Tracy,” called Ramirez.

“Hey, Leo,” she smiled back. “You let your boy off his leash.”

Ramirez snorted. “You know how dogs like to run free.”

“I know that’s right,” Tracy laughed.

Drifts shot his partner a dark look and Ramirez winked at him.

As Ramirez and Justin entered the Quick Stop an attractive young lady behind the register said, “Hey, Leo!  I was wondering if you’d be in tonight.  Have you been busy?”

“It has caught our attention.  How has your night been, Linda?”

“It’s been pretty busy here, too.  You’re just happening to catch us at a lull.”  She nodded to Justin. “Who’s your shadow?”

Justin smiled at her. “I’m Justin, Leo’s paramedic student.”

She smiled back at him. “Well, you be sure to listen to him.  He’s wise and kind, he can teach you a bunch.”

“He has already shown me so much.”

She looked at Ramirez. “I like this one, Leo.  Why can’t you hang out with someone like this instead of your usual company?  I’m assuming that human probe is out there too?”

Ramirez chuckled. “Yes Sam’s he’s out there.  He’ll probably be in soon enough.” Linda groaned. “I’m going to refill my coffee.”

She waved him on. “You do that.  We’ll talk in a few.”

“It was nice meeting you,” Justin said.

She smiled at him. “It was nice meeting you too, Justin.”

Justin asked when they were out of ear shot, “Is she another notch?”

Ramirez sighed. “Yes, a particularly painful breakup for me and the rest of the night shift crews.  Linda stopped letting all of us have free fountain drinks and coffee for over six months.  Sam caught some really bad flak for that one.”

“Is she still mad at all of you?”

“No.  She gave us the discount again, but last I heard, the police officers are in the doghouse with her now.  One of them with a rep very much alike Sam’s pulled the same thing.”

At the coffee counter, Joe Donnagan finished up making his cup.  He nodded to them, “Gentlemen.”

Ramirez nodded back as he poured his refill. “Joe.”

“Are you guys getting your asses handed to you too, tonight?” Donnagan asked.

“You could say that.  You?”

“Yep, most of it bullshit except for a diabetic going into ketoacidosis, that shooting we brought in of course, and the MVC you gave us. 

“How’s she doing?”

“Don’t know.  Dead most likely.  The trauma team looked at her for five minutes and then they hauled her ass straight to the OR.  What do you think about this damned gang war that blew up tonight? Did you guys see any of that action yet?”

Ramirez shrugged. “Yes, but nothing to write home about.  He was shot in the butt. Other than being really obnoxious, there wasn’t anything particularly special about him.”

“And you guys were at Open Arms tonight when things went pair-shaped?”

“Yep.  We were just doing a nursing home transfer when we ran into a freshly-turned zombie who killed one of the staff members.  Drifts took out the first, and I got the CNA just after he turned.”

“Damn, I bet that was one hell of a pucker-factor moment?” 

“You could say that.”

Donnagan looked at Justin.  “How did you do with all that kid?  Did you shit your pants?”

“Just about,” Justin admitted.

Ramirez said, “Actually, Justin here, handled himself rather well.  In fact on our last call, he just pulled the hot-drill’s trigger for the first time.”

“Really?  No shit!  Good for you kid.”

“Thank you.” Justin said blushing at the praise.

Donnagan quirked a smile. “Bashful type, isn’t he?”

“He’s just comfortable in the shell he built for himself,” said Ramirez.

“That’s a hell of a change from what you’re accustomed to dealing with.  Speaking of your partner.  Where is the man of the hour right now?” Donnagan held up his hand, “Never mind, let me guess.  Your partner is still outside trying to get into my partner britches.”

“Got it on the first try,” Ramirez confirmed.

Joe shook his head. “Not that I really blame him. If I was twenty years younger.”