“School bully.” I stated simply.
Amanda looked pissed. She barked at Kanye.
“He wanted me, Mark stopped him and got shot.”
She continued to describe the guy and what he was wearing. She nodded towards the direction he went.
“Ran that way. Do your job please.”
Kanye had been relaying the information over the radio to his fellow policemen.
“Y-yes Ma’am.” He stuttered replying to Amanda.
Hah! Even Kanye is scared of her.
“Mark, medics are on their way. I told them we cleared the scene so they’ll be here in a minute.”
He told his partner who ran up to us to secure the gun, then ran off towards the shooter.
“It’ll be okay, baby. They’ll be here soon.” Amanda whispered, her arms straight as she put her weight into my chest.
I nodded.
I belong to Amanda.
After a minute I heard a different kind of siren approach, then cut off. I heard doors slamming, and several people came and dropped bags of equipment next to me.
“Hey buddy, what’s your name?”
A cute man knelt next to my head and grabbed my wrist. A smaller lady knelt next to me and began cutting my shirt off.
“Mark Sampson.”
“Okay Mark, what year is it?”
“2024.”
“Who’s the president?”
I rolled my eyes.
He chuckled.
“Good enough. Is Mickey Mouse a cat or a dog?”
“Neither.”
“Fantastic. Alright, Mark, we gotta do a bunch of stuff, just keep talking to me, okay?”
One of the medics gently moved Amanda aside and opened a package of white fabric.
“After the combat gauze, put a chest seal.”
Her fingers dug into the hole in my chest painfully, and I winced with every movement. She was done quickly and placed a square seal on my chest after wiping the blood away.
“Mark, buddy, say something to me.” The man ordered.
I opened my mouth to speak, but couldn’t form a word. I coughed, and blood seeped out of my mouth.
Belong to Amanda.
“Mark, we have to roll you over to check for an exit wound. Then we’ll get you into the ambulance. Sound good?”
I struggled to breathe. My eyes drooped and closed. I felt like I was drowning in a warm bath, slipping into sleep.
“Mark? Mark!”
Belong. Amanda.
I heard Amanda screaming. I felt her hands on my face. Her tears rained down on me.
“MARK DON’T LEAVE ME! I NEED YOU, DON’T LEAVE ME ALONE!”
Her screams were muffled, as though I heard them through a film of water. My body jerked to the side, back down, then I was lifted up. My eyes, adjusted to the darkness, were sensitive to the light of the ambulance, but it slowly faded through my eyelids, and the sudden brightness gradually dissipated into the ether.
Amanda.
“C’mon buddy. C’mon.”
I felt pain in the center of my chest and I spasmed uncontrollably. Their voices sounded so far away.
“Still responsive to pain- Mark- If you can’t wake up- This tube- Throat- Big needle- Chest- “
Amanda.
I felt the pain again, but it was only a trickle of sensation light years beyond.
“Unresponsive to pain.”
I was aware of my mouth opening, and something slid past my teeth. I felt another trickle going down my throat. I felt a small pinch between my ribs. I felt a weight lift off my chest, but if I was deep under the waves before, then I was just below the surface, still floating.
Amanda.
“Year old male- GSW- Chest- Through and through, exit wound- Trauma Alert- Decompensating- Intubated- Tension pneumo- Needle Decomp- Five minutes-“
Amanda.
Am.
A.
A.