The easy way out - Sirens and flashing lights

Faith hated the sound of a siren, it made her mentally relive events that she preferred to erase and forget. She hated flashing lights even more, they reminded her of the last ride she took in a police car. The day her husband almost blinded her, he failed. But, the attending physician at the hospital succeed. Although momentarily as he flashed his little torch in her left eye, if her retina could talk, it would have screamed profanities in the doctors face. “It’s a miracle,” said the stubby doctor. Any more pressure against the railing at the bottom of the stairs and she’d be a Cyclops. She wasn’t surprised that the love of her life dragged her by her mane, kicking and screaming. She wasn’t surprised that he threw her down the stairs, fracturing her eye socket. None of that surprised her, she was surprised that she stayed with him.

The quick glance into the past pulled her away, but reality pulled her back to the present. “What did you say his name was?” Asked the skinny paramedic, her oversized blue uniform made her look like a homeless wizard. “His name’s Noah, Noah Endjala.” Faith said, reading from his identity card. It was tucked away in his wallet. The patterns on the brown leather held her attention for a second, the zip hardly closed, it had seen better days. She had enough common sense to rummage through his pockets as she called the police. The police line was busy, the Namibian police were as reliable as an egotistical premature ejaculator, she would know, having married one. The ambulance wasn’t as unreliable, they were on the scene incredibly fast. Faster than the tow truck. 

“Check his BP again,” said the other paramedic. “Johan,” it said on his name tag. He was monitoring the machine that Noah was hooked up to, while the skinny paramedic did most of the work. She was shifting around like a busy worker ant. Her eyes went back to the wallet, above his ID was the ambulance rescue number and above that was his medical insurance card. Faith started to get a sense of Noah’s personality from his wallet alone, he was organized. His driver’s licence was separated, easily accessible, “in case you run into traffic cops,” she said to herself. Johan looked at her, putting a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay, he’ll be fine.” But, judging by the look of Noah’s arm, it was hard to believe. The bloody bandages around the bones protruding from his forearm told a different story, he was bleeding and it scared her. Which was strange, considering that she saw her own blood at least once every two months, but seeing another human being’s was different.

The ambulance swerved and jerked violently, Johan shouted at the driver. It brought back memories she didn’t want to remember. It reminded her of the last time she suffered from concussion, an innocuous push against the wall. She only remembered two things about the incident, his huge hands and the look on his face when they stretchered her into the ambulance. She looked up and the light in the ambulance burned her eyes, as her eyes slowly began to shut, she looked at him. The glint in his eyes and his sinister smile showed no trace of remorse or worry, the only thing she saw was satisfaction. After she came to in the hospital she started planning her escape.

“Johan, he’s still bleeding. When was the last time you saw something like this?” Asked the skinny paramedic, clearly she was still perfecting her skills. Johan looked at faith. But, she didn’t have an answer. Johan looked glad to see the hospital entrance, his lips curved into a smile. They were keen to get Noah some treatment. The sign above her head blinded her, only the ‘cas’ was left from the word ‘causality’. The bright light left her slightly discombobulated, causing her to drop Noah’s wallet. Sending the contents spilling onto the paved floor, she found a laminated piece of paper as she gathered his debit cards. It had his name, his identity number and his doctor’s details. In big bold letters at the bottom it said, “Suffers from excessive bleeding after minor cuts.” She ran into the hospital, shoving the piece of paper into the skinny paramedic’s face. She walked briskly along and handed it to Johan, who disappeared past the swinging doors. 

Faith was drained, why did this have to happen on the day she decided to run away? As the sliding doors to the causality entrance opened, a police pick-up truck screeched to a halt. Making a Hollywood type entrance with sirens blaring and blue light flashing annoyance into her, two policeman stepped out. The sound of the siren rang in her ear, the light hurt her eyes, she felt her stomach start to convulse. She drew in breath, exhaled deeply, she suddenly felt unsteady and dizzy. Standing became too much, she sat down, resting her head against her knees. “Good evening madam, we need to talk to you.” She looked up, it was one of the police officers. She’d had enough, she screamed at him, “For fucks sake! Turn the fucking lights and the siren off!” Furiously swinging a hand at the policemen, she felt sick as the ground started spinning, everything turned black and then it turned yellow. She knew this feeling, marrying a bully made passing out normal. She lay down, resting her head against her arm and she closed her eyes.