I push harder.
Just a few more centimeters, then...
With a jerk, the meter-long wooden board comes loose from its anchoring.
A violent crash.
The board under my hands gives way. The other end snaps forward—directly toward our patient.
Time stretches and races at the same time. A paradoxical mixture of absolute control and complete chaos.
I let go of the board.
Hear nothing.
See nothing.
Feel nothing.
I brace myself on all fours over the patient.
‘Jaden, what the hell are you doing?’
Something hard slams into me. Heat, like a lightning strike to the back of my head, pain shoots through my body.
‘Damn it.’ Someone shakes my arm. ‘Have you lost your mind?’
‘Get the stretcher over here,’ I shout, pulling out of my position, my eyes fixed on the patient.
He didn’t get hit. Thank God.
‘Step aside, let us handle this.’ I think it’s Ray, pointlessly chewing me out.
I can only see my colleagues in a blur, but the stretcher in their hands is razor-sharp. Why don’t they put it down?
‘What are you waiting for?’ I shout, slapping the empty spot on the floor next to me. Fine wood shavings swirl up. ‘Come on!’
Finally the two of them get moving. Together we lift the man onto the stretcher and secure him. ‘Careful!’ I warn them as we carry the stretcher to the ambulance.
The rear door is open. Ray and I approach with the patient, Alex gets behind the wheel.
‘Where are you taking him?’ shouts the man with the gelled hair, who has apparently been waiting in front of the shed the whole time.
‘Halifax Harbor Hospital.’ I look for Ray’s gaze. ‘On my count. Three… two… now.’ We heave the stretcher into the vehicle, jump in ourselves, and secure it. ‘Drive!’ I yell to our driver, who hits the gas immediately.
The siren comes on.
I haul myself to the back door to close it, then turn to the patient.
‘How are his vitals?’ I ask Ray, who is just hanging the IV bag on a hook.
Deep concern dominates his expression. ‘It could be close.’
My gaze flicks to the monitor displaying the readings. One second is enough to see what Ray already knows.
‘We need to take care of your wound too,’ Ray continues.
No idea what he means. ‘Hand me the radio.’