Yield (84 page)

“
Clear!!
”

The medic fires another jolt of electricity through Isabel
’
s body. Doubt
shoots
through him when the sounds of life fade even more quickly than before.

“
Isabel!!
”
Devin shouts.

The medic drops both paddles and restarts chest compressions.
“
Squeeze it!
”
he yells, pointing at the ventilating bag.

Anguish covers the fireman
’
s face. The EKG
’
s singular note gets louder, shattering through any hope that remains.

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep
……………………
..

“
Save the baby,
”
the fireman mutters. His words come out in a gruff whisper.

Devin looks over at the medic continuing to push on Isabel
’
s crushed chest.

Tears jump to the medic
’
s eyes. They ripple and fall unchecked. Still his body surges, refusing to let this woman die.

“
Save the baby!
”
Devin says louder. He lifts the oxygen bag away from Isabel
’
s face and reaches for the medic
’
s arms.

The soldier glares back. He pushes Devin
’
s hands away and continues compressions.

“
She
’
s gone!
”
Devin yells. He grabs the man
’
s thin shoulders and pins them to his sides. The fireman
’
s own words twist inside him.

The medic looks back for a long moment. His eyes suddenly widen, shifting priorities back to the life still in danger.

“
Crash C!
”
the medic shouts. He pushes out of Devin
’
s weakening grasp and turns to his nurse.
“
Get a scalpel and retractor ready, now!
”

Devin
’
s legs finally give, sending the fireman crumbling to the floor.

He looks at Isabel
’
s pretty face
.
T
he gentle lines around her smile
,
the crease above her frequently-raised eyebrow from those loving lectures she was always so quick to give
…

His heart feels like a hollowed shell.

The monotone cry of the EKG echoes around the camp. Night darkens, its clutching shadows enveloping all light.

A stack of crisply folded sheets falls to the medical station
’
s dirt floor. The fabric billows, recoiling back from some unseen blow. Even before the disinfected white hits the ground, Isabel
’
s body is up on the examination table
’
s cold aluminum surface.

The fireman
’
s arms drop to his side. His heart clenches. Isabel
’
s face is now almost completely absent of color.

Her life is fading right in front of him.

“
Somebody, get me the AED and a ventilating bag!
”
the medic shouts. He pushes Devin away and begins chest compressions.

The soldier
’
s words scream in Devin
’
s mind. They pull him back from the fear that threatens to paralyze him, back from the crippling guilt. His eyes dart around the aid tent, snapping back into the world of first response.

The only other medical personnel inside is a nurse far too young to hold fate in her hands. Devin watches on as she fumbles with the cables of a portable EKG unit.
They
’
re going to kill her
…

“
AED?
”
Devin shouts, rummaging around the storage cabinets closest to him.
“
That
’
s defib, right?
”

“
Yeah,
”
the medic snaps. He shoots Devin a skeptical glance.
“
You trained?
”

“
Fire rescue EMT.
”
Devin looks through several dark rectangular cases before pulling out a laptop-sized device. He sets the defibrillator down onto a rolling cart next to the medic.

The fireman snatches a rubber face mask off a nearby shelf. Gently, he lays the clear plastic mask over Isabel
’
s nose and mouth.
“
Ready,
”
Devin screams, glancing impatiently at the doctor.

“
In time with me,
”
the medic orders.
“
Every third. Got it?
”

“
Got it.
”
Devin squeezes the bag in rhythm with the soldier
’
s steady movements.

“
Where
’
s my EKG?
”
the medic yells.
“
I need both vitals!
”
The doctor pushes on Isabel
’
s cracked ribcage, trying to keep her blood pumping.

His nurse jabs the sensors onto the pregnant patient
’
s chest and stomach.
“
Online now,
”
she says, her words coming out in a frantic rush. She flips on the LCD screen and sets it to dual mode. The nurse hooks the final EKG cables to the back and looks up at the two sets of lines drawing on-screen.

Devin squeezes the ventilat
ing
bag again, relief rushing out of him. Both mother
’
s and baby
’
s beats are spiking on the heart monitor.

The top line on the monitor beeps several more times, much slower and more out of rhythm than the bottom. Suddenly the spikes start to slow.

Sharp peaks are traced by longer flat areas separating the heart
’
s normal activity. Just to the left of the etching black signs of life, a single red warning light begins to flash. The alarm
’
s squeal shoots down Devin
’
s back.

All eyes are pulled to the monitor. Its sound seems to freeze time itself, surrounding them in this
terminal
moment.

The medic immediately stops chest compressions and begins flipping switches on the defibrillator box.

“
Get that bloody thing on!
”
Devin shouts. The fireman pushes again on the ventilator bag. Dread carves his face.

“
Come on!
”
the medic says, hearing the device slowly whir up
as it charges
. He looks back at the motionless mother and the unborn innocence fading inside her.

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep
………………………

“
Izz!
”
Devin yells. The tone almost buckles his knees.

“
Shit! Where
’
s the atropine?!
”
the medic screams. He drops the defib paddles and begins pushing on Isabel
’
s chest again.

The nurse hands him a syringe filled with a light amber liquid. Her hands are shaking so much she nearly drops it.

Without a moment
’
s pause, the medic slams the needle into Isabel
’
s heart,
driving the critical stimulant deep into her arteries and heart tissue.

“
Jesus!
”
Devin shouts as the four-inch needle disappears into his friend
’
s left breast. Trembling, his hands squeeze the ventilator grip.

A bleep from the EKG sounds beside them, soon followed by several of Isabel
’
s heartbeats close together. The medic compresses her chest, eying the monitor with satisfaction. The heart is beating in normal rhythm again.
“
There we go,
”
he sighs.
“
You can do it.
”

Like a sprinter fading in the final leg of a marathon, the notes at the top of the EKG begin to drift apart and slow.

“
Clear!
”
the medic barks. He snatches the defibrillator paddles.

Beep
……………
..Beep
………………………………
.

All hands pull away as electrical voltage courses through Isabel
’
s arching body. Her eyelids shudder. Pain jumps her brown-speckled eyes awake.

“
Devin,
”
she mumbles, weakly looking around.

“
Hey, love.
”
An exhausted smile spreads across the fireman
’
s face.
“
You had us worried for a second there.
”

“
The baby
…
”
she whispers. Isabel tries to blink away the growing blur in her eyes. The world is soft,
f
rayed at the edges
…

The beeping sound of the EKG chimes in rhythm once more.

*  *  *

Flickering images swirl through Isabel
’
s mind like specks of dust sparkling in the sunlight. She sees herself smiling in a dewy meadow, pushing her beautiful daughter on an old rope swing. Overwhelming happiness pours over her when she sees
the
little girl smile. Dark braids tightly wind into a bun at the back of her daughter
’
s neck, just the way Isabel
’
s mother used to braid hers.

The images drift by, faster and faster. Isabel tries to cling to them, but the fragments slip like sand through her fingers.

She shields her eyes. The setting sun catches in the silver crucifix around her neck. Isabel smiles, seeing herself walking hand in hand with her children along the bank of a river. There
’
s an untempered joy on every face. They run and smile back at her, uncertain why her smile saddens each time their hands part
…

*  *  *

The beat of Isabel
’
s fiercely loving heart slows,
taking with it the future that will never be.

Beep
…
..Beep
……………
.Beep
……………………

“
Baby
…
”
she tries to whisper again. Her eyes drift up to Devin
’
s face.
“
Save the baby
……
”

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep
……………………
.

“
Clear!!
”

The medic fires another jolt of electricity through Isabel
’
s body. Doubt
shoots
through him when the sounds of life fade even more quickly than before.

“
Isabel!!
”
Devin shouts.

The medic drops both paddles and restarts chest compressions.
“
Squeeze it!
”
he yells, pointing at the ventilating bag.

Anguish covers the fireman
’
s face. The EKG
’
s singular note gets louder, shattering through any hope that remains.

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep
……………………
..

“
Save the baby,
”
the fireman mutters. His words come out in a gruff whisper.

Devin looks over at the medic continuing to push on Isabel
’
s crushed chest.

Tears jump to the medic
’
s eyes. They ripple and fall unchecked. Still his body surges, refusing to let this woman die.

“
Save the baby!
”
Devin says louder. He lifts the oxygen bag away from Isabel
’
s face and reaches for the medic
’
s arms.