The sky was clear after
the heavy downpour. The streets were slick with the little puddles reflecting
the amber glow of street lights. The air was filled with the fresh earthly
smell reminding the city of the previous dry spell.
Selena Miller walked
ahead, her hands in her coat pocket, the cold breeze brushing past her. Her
hair danced in the wind exposing her fair neck, she had forgotten to put on a
scarf earlier. The night felt peaceful, like the rain had washed the city clean
from the previous chaos.
As she walked close to the
Volton hotel, she heard the faint sound of rich music, the kind that spoke
elegance. One didn't need to guess to know it was a scene for the high
profiles. Her steps slowed as she stopped to observe, from where she stood, she
could make out silhouettes dancing along to the tune, some clanking their
glasses and smiling at each other. The world looked warm in there.
Selena admired the scene
for a few more seconds and then, continued walking.
She noticed a man slouched
by the darkened corner of the Volton Hotel. It was a bit darker at the corner
since it was close to the alley by the side of the hotel, and no lights reached
it. She told herself it wasn't her problem. He was, at most, probably drunk.
She put on her earphones and walked ahead, humming to the tune of the music she
was listening to.
But something tugged
inside her.
There was this heaviness
in her heart, a strange feeling that wouldn't subside. She slowed down her pace
and then stopped. She thought about it again and continued walking. Then as if
her body had a mind of its own, she stopped again after a few steps, removing
the earphones from her ears.
"Damn it," she whispered
under her breath, already turning back. She rushed to the man's side.
His body was flopped
against the wall, his face was pale and his hands gripped his chest in pain.
Selena shunned her earlier thoughts of the man being drunk, he only had a faint
smell of alcohol probably from just a glass of wine. He looked refined and probably
in his sixties.
"Sir? Can you hear me?"
Selena knelt beside him, worry written all over her face. Although the man was
unfamiliar to her, she felt a pang in her chest when she saw the look on his
face.
"Sir, what's wrong? Can
you hear me?"
No response.
Her heart kicked up.
She pressed two fingers to
the side of his neck but felt nothing. Or maybe something faint. Fading.
The man was having a heart
attack.
She laid him down flat on
his back. Her fingers flew to the clasp of her bag to grab something. She
always carried a medical pouch, not because she expected emergencies, but
because she could never forgive herself for being empty-handed when someone
needed saving.
She glanced around. A
couple of people had started to gather, murmuring among themselves. One man
reached for his phone.
"Someone please call the
ambulance!" she shouted to the crowd before turning back to open the small
pouch.
There wasn't much inside,
just bandages, alcohol swabs, and a few tablets for pain relief. The bottom of
the pouch contained a small acupuncture needle kit and a small bottle.
Inside the bottle were
small brown capsules, which her mentor had given to her. It was a formulation
that acted as blood thinners and vasodilators just enough to provide the man
with a little relief.
She placed the drug under
the man's tongue. "Please stay with me," she whispered to him before
positioning herself to administer CPR. She aligned her hands and began
compressions.
"One, two, three…" she
counted under her breath. Each compression had just the right pressure and was
steady. "Please, don't die on me." Although she was freaking out, she couldn't
slip up for a second. This man depended on her at the moment. After every
thirty chest compressions, she tilted the man's head gently and lifted his chin
with two fingers to give him a rescue breath.
Due to the drug she
administered earlier, in a few minutes, the man's expression calmed. He seemed
to be at peace. Selena felt his pulse once more and it was getting stronger, he
was breathing steadily now but still unconscious. She breathed a sigh of relief,
one she didn't know she was holding in, beads of sweat had clung to her
forehead and her initially wavy hair was now a bit messed up.
The onlookers also felt
relieved, some looking at Selena with admiration. The wailing sounds of the
ambulance were heardtires screeched softly in the distance, the ambulance was
approaching.
Selena stood up sharply,
running her fingers through her hair. She didn't want to answer questions or
explain what she had done knowing fully well that the drug wasn't even approved
yet. She had done her part and had no intention of sticking around, moreover,
she was late.
"Shit, I'm late!" She
muttered under her breath looking at the time on her watch.
She stepped back,
disappearing into the shadows just as the lights of the ambulance flickered
into the street.
"Make way, please!" one of
the paramedics shouted.
The EMTs hurried in with
their equipment. They checked the man's vitals and noticed his heartbeat was a
bit irregular but was normalizing. It would be normal before they even arrived
at the hospital. They were surprised at the scene and asked some people a few
questions about the occurrence.
Several onlookers
attempted to point towards her as they answered, but Selena had already
retreated into the alley beyond the hotel's wall's
edge.
She didn't look back.
As the paramedics lifted
the man onto a stretcher, a glint of silver was noticed in the man's palm. The
paramedic tried to retrieve it from the man for safekeeping but he held tightly
onto it, not willing to let go even in his unconscious state.