Security in the Field

|Beginning Week 2

Audie felt like crap, but that wasn't keeping her away from work. For nearly a week she had been huddled in bed, suffering, she knew, from the effects of the inoculation against whatever the creeping crud was that was already taking thousands of lives world wide. For a time she had thought she was going to be among the casualties, but finally things began to improve. And although she wasn't 100%, the desperate calls from her employer coaxed her out of bed and back to work -- over half the employees were out sick...or dead, and the call volume had skyrocketed. Not only that, but the ambulance crews were under attack in the field, accosted by frightened, sick people desperate for help.

To that end, security had been assigned to each of the units, armed guards who would also act as drivers so that they could spread their waning crews farther. So Audie was dreading essentially working with a newbie, some hotheaded Marine who would drive like a maniac and be out of control...

She was pleasantly surprised when she headed for her unit, laden with radios and jump bag, and noticed Kendall there. She smiled. "Hey. You stuck with me?"

TAG

Kendal stood there, still half sick with a M4 rifle with attached M203 grenade launcher slung over his back, and on his wide belt hung a M9 pistol extra mags for his rifle and pistol, and 3 rubber baton rounds for the grenade launcher. Lastly his hand gripped a large red bottle that almost looked like a small fire extenguisher.

With a crooked grin he said. "Yup, and dont worry, Ill try not to mae more work for you."

"What the hell is all that?" Audie asked as she tossed the jump bag onto the gurney in the back of the ambulance. She turned to look over all the gear that Kendal was carrying. "Don't they think that is a bit of overkill? I mean, we're not taking on tanks or anything." Laughing, she shook her head. "Bureaucrats! So, you have any medical training?"

Still with the same lopsided grin he said. "This is whats going to stand between you and a bunch of scared people. Dont worry, its mostly less lethal stuff, and I have some training."

"Well, just don't generate more business." Audie laughed, climbing into the passenger seat, then sighing. "I'm not looking forward to this...not you, of course, I have every confidence that you will do just fine. But work in general...it's going to be hell, and I feel like I've been run over. Stupid inoculation made me sicker than a dog, and it's going to be non-stop."

She glanced over at him. "Well, guess we should log on." She knew that once they were in the system it would be relentless, and she hoped she had the energy to hold out. "We're Medic 10 today."

Kendal tossed his daypack into a corner then jumped into the drivers seat and wedged his rifle up against the door.

Still looking a little sick from the shot himself he said. "I hear ya, But you at least got a couple days off right?"

Once inside he looked at the computer screen and gave Audie a dumbfounded look. "It looks like the same thing as what we have in our cruisers, But I havent gotten to that part in the school yet."

Still looking a little sick from the shot himself he said. "I hear ya, But you at least got a couple days off right?"

Audie laughed. "If that's what you want to call it. Laid up in bed isn't my idea of fun."
Once inside he looked at the computer screen and gave Audie a dumbfounded look. "It looks like the same thing as what we have in our cruisers, But I haven't gotten to that part in the school yet."

"Yeah, the evil CAD." She turned the computer so they could both see it, then gave him a quick tutorial for responding to calls. "All else fails, you can always just use the radio...we use plain-text so the dispatchers can understand." Then she grinned and grabbed the mic to log on, and they were immediately sent on a call.
"No rest for the wicked." She showed him how to operate the lights and siren, then commented, "Fifteen over the speed limit...no sense in getting killed..."

Kendal followed her speed limit. Though he wasnt sure if she approved of his offensive driving. It wasnt that there were a lot of other people driving, it was the few that were coupled with the sheer volume of abandonded cars on the road. If someone got into his way he simply got so close to them that they moved for fear of being pushed out of the way.

With one habd on the wheel he pulled a can of snuff from his pocket, packed it and put a pinch in his lip. That Army butterbar would have called it unprofessional. But that didnt really matter anymore. He died two days after he got his shot. The detachment is now being led by a young sergeant, though the detachment's strength has been cut in half by the plague.

In record time they arrived to the scene of the call.

The Marine jumped out of the ambulance and slung his rifle making everyone think twice about rushing the paramedic.

Audie jumped out of the ambulance, feeling a little odd at having an armed guard, even though she understood the need. Of course, she was glad not to be swamped by sick people or their loved ones, so there was something to be said for the protection.

Going around back, she pulled out the gurney then headed for the house, where anxious family waited for them. None of the people looked too healthy, but the children they were directed to were downright sickly.

"We went to the doctor and did what he said," a sobbing woman said, "but they just keep getting worse and won't wake up." She pointed to the couch where two young children were laying limply, pale and gaunt.

Audie felt her heart sink. They were alive, but barely, their breathing shallow and uneven. Glancing at Kendal, she nodded to the gurney, scooping up the little boy, asking family a salvo of questions as she placed him on the mattress, leaving room for his sister. Once both were on the rolling bed, she nodded again to Kendal and they hurried out to the ambulance.

"Can you start an IV?" she asked the Marine after they were loaded. There were lines set up already, and she knew both children needed fluids if they were to have any chance at all. "Oxygen it there..." she pointed as she reached in a cabinet and pulled out a pack. "What about IO's? They teach those?" Opening the pack, she revealed a small battery-powered drill. "Make sure that door is locked, family won't like this." Drilling into the bone to establish vascular access wasn't pretty, but it was a desperate, last-gap measure.

Kendal couldn't help but think about his baby girl as he carried the little girl and set her on the gurney with her brother.

Once Audie started asking him questions inside the back of the ambulance he started the IVs. But it took him a couple sticks. He had practiced on dummies, and did three sitcks on another Marine during the combat lifesaver class he had taken a few weeks prior, but these small children were nothing like a full grown man.Once both the IVs were ran he grabbed the oxygen as ordered, but had no clue what an IO was.

As he locked the door he asked. "A what?"

"Oh, it's an interosseous..." Audie indicated the drill she'd been holding, then shrugged. "You did good with the IV's. IO is a last-gap measure if you can't get the IV's, but you already got that." She grinned and winked as she drew up an antibiotic. "I'll give them Rocephin, it'll fight secondary infections, at least. Can you get us back to the hospital?"

Kendal was already moving to the driver's seat when someone started beating on the back door while yelling. "Take me too. Please don't take my babies!"

The young Marine went ahead and put the vehicle into reverse and nudged backwards. Hoping the moving vehicle would change the woman's mind.

Audie looked up from her tiny patients, sighing. "All right!" she called to Kendal, "let her in the front, but just the mother, and tell her if she gives us trouble, we'll pull over and boot her out, wasting valuable time." She hated to split children from family if it could be avoided, but sometimes it had to be done. The woman could have one chance, but that was it.

Kendal nodded and climbed back out of the seat. Outside of the ambulance he whispered a few words to the mother, then let her in the passenger seat. As the Marine backed the ambulance out of the drive and started off down the road he let central know that they were inbound, and tried his best to articulate the kids' conditions.

Taking a brief break from communicating with them he asked Audie. "Still fifteen over? Or can I go faster?"

Taking a brief break from communicating with them he asked Audie. "Still fifteen over? Or can I go faster?"

"Stick to the rules," she answered calmly, not that it mattered so much. There wasn't nearly the traffic on the road any more. People were either sick or dealing with the sick, many businesses were shut down, either from lack of healthy employees, or because no one wanted to go out unnecessarily and expose themselves to the sick. But bottom line was, driving like a bat out of hell wasn't going to change the outcome for these kids. They would either respond to treatment, or, more likely, succumb, and it wasn't worth the risk to save a minute or so.

The ride was uneventful and frazzled staff was waiting for them at the hospital. As the children were wheeled into the building, accompanied by their frantic mother, Audie and Kendal were already being paged for another call.

Sighing, Audie glanced at the Marine. "Well, let's get this cleaned up and ready. The day is going to be like this, so we'd best just pace ourselves." As she stripped the gurney, she couldn't help but think that this was what life was going to be like -- work and sleep -- until they got a handle on the virus. She wouldn't consider that things could get worse, it was just too frightening. Of course, they had yet to hear about the President and VP...

OFF:
We can jump to the end of the day or carry on, up to you!

Audie was right, the rest of the day was nearly nonstop calls. Kendal was running on fumes, nicotine, and caffeine. But during the very few breaks they had he found himself talking about his daughter Sara. He knew it was because of the first call they had that day, and the others that involved sick kids, a few didn't even make it to the hospital.

In addition to the losses they already had taken, the Sergeant that was leading the detachment at the beginning of the day had finally gotten to sick to do anything more than cough and nod.

He knew from his conversations with Audie that she felt that things would end up getting better. But even with his limited experience in the Military, Kendal knew that just from the number of losses they had taken that it must be about the same at other detachments, and bases. So he knew if things were somehow going to get better, they would get much much worse before they did.

Somehow, the news about the President and Vice President made the whole situation that much more dire. The world was starting to tilt toward chaos, and it was difficult to maintain a positive outlook. And after 14 hours, Audie was burned, famished and desperately in need of sleep.

As they parked the ambulance for the final time that day, she looked over at Kendal. "Do you have a place to crash? I mean, more than a cot? I've got a spare room if you want to...maybe try to check on your daughter?" She shrugged. Her parents were in Hawaii and so far were all right, but she hadn't actually talked to them for a couple of days. "There's a pretty good burger place on the way home, if they aren't all dead yet."

Kendal jumped at the chance to sleep somewhere other than the back of the HMMWV, but wasn't sure if he would be allowed to.

"If I can I'd love to. Ill be back in five minutes."

Without waiting for a response the Marine dashed off for what had been set up as the command post. Which was really a single room where the Sergeant who took over when the Lieutenant died was placed. Although, when he entered the room he found the Sergeant gone, and a Specialist laying in the bed looking deathly ill.

"Hey, what happened to Sergeant McNanny?"

The sick Specialist coughed and said. "Died a few hours ago."

Kendal dropped his head for a second. Then asked. "Umm, am I gonna be doing a double? Or is the next shift covered?"

After a fit of coughing the Specialist said. "Naw its covered why?"

"Well, that redheaded Paramedic Ive been driving wanted to know if I wanted to get some food and sleep in a real bed tonight."

The deathly sick Army Specialist smirked and said. "Boy, I don't care what ya do, just be back for your shift, and leave your rifle here with me."

Kendal nodded cleared the rifle and laid it against the wall. But left his pistol in its holster. He was pretty sure that the Specialist would want him to leave it behind too, but didn't say anything about it, so he didn't ask.

"Take care of yourself." Was all Kendal said to the Specialist before rushing back to where he had left Audie.

"Okay, I can go." He said as he pulled the tails of his cammie blouse over the pistol.

"Come on, then." Audie smiled wearily. "Forgot to mention I have a cat...hope you aren't allergic." She grabbed her personal pack, then headed to the parking lot. "Man, I could sleep a year, but I'd be happy for my head to stop hurting so much."

She led them to a mid-90's dark purple Bronco and unlocked the doors, tossing her gear in the back. "Hop in and hang on." She grinned. "There's a reason I don't drive!" She laughed, something she hadn't done much of recently, as she climbed into the driver's seat.

Kendal laughed at the pretty redhead and climbed into the passenger seat. "Remember. Fifteen over."

Kendal laughed at the pretty redhead and climbed into the passenger seat. "Remember. Fifteen over."

"Only if you hang your head out the window and wail like a siren!" Audie chuckled as she backed out of the space, then headed into the street. "Man, this virus thing is unbelievable. Sad thing is, the media is eating it up...if they find a good cure, they'll be out of juicy stories to report."

Sighing, she settled into the drive, anxious to eat and get some sleep. "Man, it's amazing how fast things are changing. It's really kind of scary...I mean, what if it doesn't stop?" It was a fear very few people actually talked about, but something that was looking to be very possible.

"I, I don't know." Said Kendal weakly.

"I guess there are a lot of people like us that got sick when we got the shot, but haven't gotten sick otherwise. So its not like everyone is going to die. Right?"

The young Marine, still wearing his cammies, just sat in the passenger seat and dipped his head to the point his chin was touching his chest. Then finally asked. "I mean, what are we going to do if it really gets that bad? We can't just keep fighting a loosing battle."

Audie nodded, silent for a moment. "Not something you really think about. I mean, we've never had any real conflict in our lifetime, not that impacted us personally...unless you were at Ground Zero." She shrugged. "I just hope it ends soon..." Loss of people meant loss of resources, loss of services, a complete breakdown of everything they knew...and the scariest part, for her, was loss of contact with family, not knowing how they were, or even if they were alive.

"Here it is," Audie declared, changing the subject as she pulled into a driveway. The stand that bore a sign, 'Gilman's', was shabby and run down, but it had the best burgers in the area. "I prefer the 'Knockout'. It's got avocado, bacon and jalapenos. I'll buy."

Kendal's mouth was watering. After eating nothing but MREs for the past few days, a real meal was a treat he didn't expect any time soon.

"Ive never had avocado on anything before. I guess its good though right?"

"Well, if you don't like it, you can always take it off and toss it out the window!" Audie chuckled, then placed their order. A couple of minutes later, they were chowing down in the truck...she had meant to go home, but the food smelled so good, and her stomach was grumbling, so she had opted to just eat there.

"Oh, man, I'm going to miss this if the Apocalypse happens!"