“
Christ!” he
responded. “We’re losing him.”
His vital signs
were dropping quickly. The nurse picked up the defibrillator and
pressed down trying to revive the patient's lifeless body. In the
end it was useless. He died a few minutes later.
“
Very strange!”
whispered Dr. Black as he glanced over the patients chart. “We
probably won’t know anything until after the Medical Examiner
completes his autopsy.”
The nurse took blood samples from
around his wound site and sent them to the lab for analysis. The
patient was so big that it took two sheets to cover him up. Two
patients came in to have human bites treated and they were both dead
in a couple of hours. Hospitals save lives every day but death was
also a normal thing. It does not matter if someone dies from old age
or from some type of trauma. You never get used to it. Dr. Black
pulled both of his young residents into the hall. He patted Dr.
Okonkwo and Dr. Sanchez on the back.
“
You both did what you
could but we are not God.” he preached. “We just do His
work. Our job is to provide the best care possible and you both did
that.”
He knew that they were both still
and losing a patient can hurt your confidence. He wanted to keep
them on top of their game. They were the future of the hospital and
the night was still early.
******
Directly after that Dr.
Okonkwo went to the ER to get ready for a red trauma that was en
route to the hospital.
A man
had attacked the woman in her apartment a few hours earlier. She had
returned home from happy hour partying at the casino. Her door was
slightly open but she still went inside. It was dark so she turned
the kitchen light on to look around. Suddenly her boyfriend appeared
from the bedroom and grabbed her by her hair. He pulled her down on
the floor and repeatedly bit her splattering fresh blood onto the
carpet.
“
MUNCH!
MUNCH! MUNCH!”
She
crawled down the hall but he followed her. She told him to stop but
he kept coming. The taste and smell of the blood made him even more
aggressive. He snarled and grunted as he got closer.
In
the light from the kitchen she saw that he had a large wound on his
arm. The woman pleaded with him and told him she loved him. He
stumbled forward and attacked her again. She tried to fight him off
but he assaulted her anyway. The woman grabbed a large knife out of
the knife block on the counter. She swiped at him a couple of times
but he did not react to the cutting. Her boyfriend lunged at her and
she stabbed him in the chest. She frantically tried to get out the
front door but the boyfriend grabbed her and bit a hole in her
throat before she pulled free again.
“
CHOMP!”
She ran from him and smashed
through a second story window. Her neighbors found her unconscious
outside in the front yard and called 911. She was hemorrhaging a lot
of blood and going into shock. The emergency dispatch center was
flooded with urgent calls to help her. An excess of calls citywide
caused delays in their response time.
The
police and neighbors saw her boyfriend walking in front of the
window but he wouldn't come out peacefully. The police fired tear
gas through the windows breaking the glass. Then they stormed the
building to take him into custody. The officers were forced to shoot
the boyfriend several times because bit a SWAT officer that tried to
cuff him. To their surprise he continued to fight. One of the SWAT
officers used a high caliber shotgun. The impact of the slug blew
off his head. The boyfriend collapsed to the floor from the fatal
shot. His brains and blood ended up everywhere. The Phoenix Fire
Department was waiting outside the house to take care of the woman.
Luckily she was still alive when they got to her. At that point they
only had visual clues about her condition. Her body was bloody and
bruised from bites and deep lacerations all over every exposed body
surface. Both her legs were broken and she had multiple fractures.
The
medics hurried up and got her on the wobbly metal stretcher. They
bandaged her up, strapped her down and placed her on a back board
for safety. The sirens began to wail as the emergency lights
switched on. The ambulance hit a pothole as it turned at the light
jolting around everyone inside. The medic in the back was standing
up caring for the patient when he slammed into the bench seat behind
him. After he got back to his feet he could not stop the woman’s
bleeding. Her blood soaked through the bandages and covered the
floor. The ambulance continued to travel at a high rate of speed on
the way to the hospital. The driver slowed down and paused every
time he approached a dangerous intersection or stop sign. Once he
got everyone’s attention he rolled through without coming to a
complete stop. He had to swerve around several cars to avoid a
collision. Inside the back of the rig the patient started foaming at
the mouth and vomit blood. The woman coded several times during
transport. Luckily they were only a few miles from the hospital. The
Paramedic performed CPR as they raced on with the semiconscious
woman. She was near death and still bleeding profusely as they came
through the ambulance doors.
A nurse noticed the commotion dropped the phone she was using and
ran to help. She put out an overhead page immediately announcing the
arrival of a red trauma. Dr. Black along with Dr. Okonkwo rushed
over and frantically tried to save her. The rest of the trauma team
assembled and began to asses her condition. Respiratory staff,
nurses, and several techs joined them. Her vital signs were unknown.
She was covered in blood lying on a sheet that was once white. All
eyes in the room were on the patient. Dr. Black stood back and
looked on as his young trainee verbally called out his assessment of
the woman’s injuries. At the same time a nurse nearby began
to document everything being done in the patients chart. The young
woman’s blood pressure was high, heart rate was fast, and
respiration was very low. Her responsiveness was still to be
determined. As soon as the doctor was finished one of the techs
began to cut of the woman’s cloths. Unfortunately they
couldn't revive her. Dr. Okonkwo declared her D.O.A. This was the
second patient he lost tonight. The two paramedics who brought her
in cleaned off their equipment and then left on another call.
******
Officer Darden radioed in
that the helicopter was landing a few minutes later. I walked
outside just as it touchdown. The blades of the helicopter kicked up
piles of dry Arizona dirt and blew it everywhere. A cloud of dust
pushed outward causing us to shade our eyes. Lt. Arvayo was also
there along with Special Agent Rose. Everyone waited for the rotor
blades to stop turning. Once the pilot signaled that it was okay we
approached the aircraft. The medic on board said that two of his
patients passed away during the flight. Their lifeless bodies had to
go to the morgue. Transportation staff took them downstairs. An
autopsy would be performed on them in the morning. The remaining
patients were transported on backboards. Their IV drips were already
in place. Juan and Anthony Jimenez were both unconscious but
stable. They were admitted upstairs to the ICU. Agent Rose and
Lieutenant followed them. The helicopter crew cleaned up and
prepared to take off. Soon the engine started up and the blades
started again. A few minutes later the Black hawk was back in the
air. I heard the thumping of the rotor blades as they pushed cool
wind downward. Officer Darden was still outside when a young woman
walked up to him.
“
I sorry to bother you.”
she said. “Can you please walk me to my car?
Administration
warned staff members not to walk by themselves at night. A few
vehicle break in's and armed robberies recently happened on
property. One nurse was stabbed during an attempted sexual assault.
She was sent home early one morning because it was unusually slow.
As she walked across the parking lot headed to her car alone a man
approached her from behind. Just as she pulled out her keys to
unlock her car door he shoved her against the car and put a knife to
her neck. A few seconds later his hand was up her shirt caressing
her breast. She yelled out and luckily got the attention of another
staff member. The man took off running but she didn't get a good
look at him. It was only after the cops caught up to him that she
found out he had been a patient in the ER. That's why it was not an
unusual request.
“
Anything for you pretty
lady!” Darden said with a sly smile. “Follow me!”
“
This is Officer Darden. I’ll
be doing an escort from the south entrance doors to the east parking
lot.”
I
saw Darden walk to the edge of the sidewalk on his way to the west
parking lot. A real cute doctor followed a few steps behind him. I
gave him a head nod before they rounded the corner of the building
and disappeared out of sight. A few minutes later I heard his voice
again.
“
This is officer Darden to
communications. The helicopter is outbound.”
“
Ten four sir!”
responded Hernandez.
By
the time I closed the gates to the HELO pad and started back to the
ER Dr. Sanchez was standing outside the ambulance doors leaning
against the wall with her head down. When she looked up her eyes
sparkled in the moonlight. As I moved closer I realized they were
full of tears. She had been crying. I walked up to her and put my
hand on her shoulder. She was startled and tried to quickly wipe her
tears away.
“
Is everything okay Maria?”
“
Yeah I’m fine Kevin.”
“
Are you sure? Cause you can
tell me if it’s not.”
“
I’m just having a
rough night that’s all.”
“
Well if you need to talk I’m
always here.” I said smiling.
“
Thanks. I guess that’s
good to know.” she said smiling back.
I
punched in the security code for the doors and we both walked back
inside. She looked like her old self and gave me a quick hug to show
her appreciation. Her skin was soft and she smelled like fresh cut
peaches. I almost forgot we were at work.
“
Thank you Kevin. I really
needed that.”
“
It was my pleasure. Trust
me.”
We
both had to get back to work so we smiled at each other and went our
separate ways. I left her in the four corners hallway. She had to
go to registration to meet the family of her dead patient. Our
hospital had a protocol about giving family members bad news. Only
the social worker or doctor could give out that information. They
did that out of respect for the dead. The social worker escorted
the mother of the Mark Cordova the dead patient from room #6. Their
family pastor was by her side, Pastor Harrell. He was a powerful man
of God whose leadership strengthened the faith of his congregation.
Dr. Sanchez met up with them on the way there.
“
Mrs. Cordova it’s
nice to meet you. I am your son’s physician.”
“
Where is he? Where is my
baby boy?”
“
Ma’am there is no
easy way to say this but your son is dead!”
“
No, no, please God no. Not
my Mark Anthony!”
The pastor
and Marks fiancée Serena tried to comfort his mother as Dr.
Sanchez led them to his room.
Pastor
Harrell’s church serviced the community close by providing
food, family counseling, and spiritual support. He was supposed to
marry the couple. Dr. Sanchez told them that his tests were not back
yet but she believed he died from respiratory failure. She comforted
them with the knowledge that before he died he was in a lot of pain
and now he was at peace. Serena was too upset to go inside so she
waited in the hall while everyone else entered. As they looked on a
nurse started to unhook him from all the machines and tubes. She
didn't know it but her patient was undergoing a strange
metamorphosis. Blood had begun to pool in his lower extremities
creating dark blotches. The veins in his face had moved closer to
the surface of his skin. That gave his face a strange two tone
marble like appearance. She leaned across his body and noticed that
his eyes were open. A thin cloudy film had formed over them. This
caused the nurse to jump back.
“
Oh, my God!” she
mumbled.
The
pastor and his mother declared that it was a miracle and started to
pray as Mark turned his head and looked around the room.
“
Thank you Jesus! Thank you
Lord! Like Lazarus my son has risen from the dead!”
She celebrated not having to suffer the
horror of being a parent who outlives their child. Mark's eyes were
yellow and cloudy. Dr. Sanchez was shocked. She checked his vitals
and personally declared him dead. Now he was looking right at her.
The nurse leaned back over and called out his name. She tried to
remain calm and let him know she was there to help.
“
Mark can you hear me?”
she whispered. “Do you know where you are?”
His mother leaned over as well and
looked into his eyes.
“
Thank you Jesus!”
she proclaimed. “I’m here son!”
One of his fingers moved then
another. Soon a slight twitching of his arms spread to the rest of
his body. From out of nowhere Mark’s hands grabbed hold of his
mother and he let out a loud moan.
“
GROOOWWWL!”
She
pulled away from him and her momentum knocked Dr. Sanchez down.
Maria hit her head on the wall and was knocked out. When she
regained consciousness she was dazed for a few moments. Mark sat up
in the bed and grabbed the nurse. She had learned to get out of the
way of kicks, scratches, and punches but tonight she didn’t
move fast enough. He attacked the nurse like a rabid dog biting down
hard on her hand and chomping her thumb right off.
“
CRUNCH!”
He
swallowed the chunk of flesh and bone in one gulp. The nurse
squealed in pain and fought to break free but he bit her again.
“
Uggh!”
She
suffered bruises and scratches from trying to pull open Marks
clamped down jaws. After a brief struggle she finally broke free and
ran into the corner trying to stop her hand from bleeding. The blood
from the holes in the nurse’s hand ran down her forearm and
past her elbow. The flowing blood turned her green scrubs dark red.
“
What the fuck is your
problem?” she said. “Why did you bite me?”
His mom was overcome with fear and tried to run
for the door.
“
That’s not my son!”
she yelled. “That’s not my son!”
He reached out his hands to grasp her
long hair and pulled her back toward the bed. She struggled to get
free but his grip was too strong.
“
GROOOWWWL!”
Mark
tugged and pulled until he ripped her scalp off the top of her head.
Mrs. Cordova screeched in pain as blood leaked from her exposed
skull down into her face. “Eeeoooeeeooo!”
She
crashed into the closed door and started calling out. “Help
me. Help me please!”
Her son’s reanimated corpse
grabbed her by the shoulders and clamped its jaws down on the back
of her neck. “CHOMP!” He began to rip sections of flesh
off her neck sending blood droplets flying all over the room. Pastor
Harrell saw all of this and dropped to his knees. He called out to
God and started to pray.
“
In the name of the father,
the son and the holy spirit!”
He
thought Mark was possessed. He had known the young man all his life.
Now he was under the devil’s control.
Dr. Sanchez was not
sure how many minutes she had been passed out. When she finally came
around she saw Mrs. Cordova being attacked. She was smart enough to
crawl under the bed and stay motionless to avoid being attacked. She
thought she was going to die. Pastor Harrell found his courage and
stood back up. He turned toward Mark holding both his hands out in
front of him. His right hand gripped his bible tight and his left
hand held a large silver cross. Mrs. Cordova’s screams were
now just whimpers as Mark devoured her alive.
“
Yeooowww!”
He
was still feeding on his mother when Pastor Harrell walked up to him
quoting another verse from the bible.
“
Yeah though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of death. I shall fear no evil for you are
with me.”
The pastor believed that his job was to
protect his flock. The dedicated pastor stopped in front of Mark and
opened up his bible. He kissed the silver cross held it just above
his head and started to read.
“
And Jesus rebuked the demon
and it came out of him.”
Mark
turned back and glared at the pastor. Blood covered his face. His
eyes were cold and unfeeling. Flesh and skin from his mother dyed
his teeth red. His body lurched forward and he let out a low moan.
“
GROOOWWWL!”
Before
Mark could attack the pastor plunged the cross into his eye socket.
The beast howled but was still alive. The pastor used his King James
Bible as a hammer and drove the six inch cross through the back of
the devils eye socket. His brain ruptured and Mark's second life as
the walking dead ended. The creature known as Mark Cordova was
finally dead. Dr. Sanchez came out from under the bed and started
giving first aide to the blood soaked nurse. She was cowering in the
corner. Dr. Sanchez applied pressure to her wound and wrapped it in
gauze as Pastor Harrell leaned down over Mrs. Cordova and gave her
last rights.
******
I had already headed back on
patrol still thinking about Maria and walked right into a hostage
situation. I turned the corner at the nurses’ station and came
face to face with them. In seconds I realized what was going on. An
inmate had his arm around a deputy’s neck as he pressed the
gun against the back of his head. One look into his glaring eyes
instantly heightened my reactions. I pulled my Glock from my holster
in one motion and pointed it at the suspect.
“
Hold it right there
asshole!”
The hostage taker was an inmate
named Carlos Sandoval. Carlos had just arrived from the jail and was
in custody after being arrested for drug possession and firearm
violations. . He was here to get treatment for bites he got from a
police dog. The incident left him with some deep cuts on his arm and
stomach. Luckily he was still handcuffed and shackled. The inmate
was allowed out of his holding cell because he needed to use the
restroom. The deputy was walking behind him texting on the phone not
paying attention. The inmate had scoped out the entire layout of the
ER from the very moment he stepped in the door. He used the bathroom
trip as an opportunity to turn back and hit the deputy in the head.
“
Take that fucking pig!”
He wrestled the deputy to the ground as they both struggled to gain
control. The younger prisoner got the upper hand and began to choke
the officer using his hand cuffs. The deputy struggled to get free
but was dazed after the prisoner grabbed a clump of his hair and
began beating his head on the ground. An ER tech tried to help him
but was head butted and knocked out. The inmate was able to grab the
deputy’s gun and took him hostage.
“
Don’t even think about
it white boy.”
The prisoner took the deputy’s
gun and slapped him across the face to show his authority. The
scared deputy’s nose was broken. His lips were bruised and
blood flowed from his gums.
“
This is Robinson to
communications. We have a hostage situation in the ER. I repeat we
have a prisoner with a gun and a sheriff deputy has been taken
hostage!”
Hernandez repeated my transmission
and radioed for back up. I tried to get in position to take a shot
but the prisoner was smart enough to stay behind the officer and use
him as a human shield. The deputy was ruffed up but he was still
alive. At that point I was concerned that there was a chance that an
innocent bystander would be hurt.
“
Don't make me shoot you
man!” I pleaded. “We both don't want that!”
I
was talking shit but reluctant to shoot because it wasn't in my
nature to kill someone.
“
Put the gun down and let the
deputy go!”
I
had done a lion’s share already overseas. The military trained
me to do it and not think about it but no one tells you how to
forget.
“
Fuck you motherfucker!”
boasted the prisoner. “I ain't dropping shit!”
“
Don’t do this.”
I ordered. “It won’t end the way you think it will.”
“
Kiss my ass motherfucker!”
he answered. “I’m walking out the door or this white boy
is going to get smoked.”
“
I can’t let you do
that and you know it.” I responded.
I
walked backwards down the hall as he moved toward me pulling the
deputy with him. I had backed down the hall so far that I ended up
in front of room # 10. A year ago I would have double tapped that
punk and been done with it. Tonight I could not pull the trigger.
The
hall was full of patients and staff members. They screamed and
ducked for cover. Others were too afraid to get off their beds. We
were in a cramped space and collateral damage was everywhere. I was
dealing with a man that clearly had nothing to lose.
“
Get the fuck out my way
rent-a-cop!” he responded.
“
Put the gun down sir. No one
has to get hurt.” I pleaded.
“
If somebody gets hurt it is
going to be you.” he yelled.
“
If you kill me or anyone
else then you will get the death penalty for sure.”
“
As long as I got this gun
and his pasty white ass!” he yelled. “You can’t
tell me shit.”
The deputy’s face was turning red and he was
starting to sweat.
“
What are you waiting for
officer?” he barked. “Shoot this wet back mother
fucker.”
He
was talking tough but I saw the fear in his eyes.
“
Don’t worry.” I
told him. “I am going to get you out of this!”
“
Just shoot his illegal ass!”
he begged. “I got a wife and kids.”
I was trying to keep Sandoval calm
but the deputy’s dumb ass was making things worst. Sandoval
smacked him across the nose with the gun again. Then he shoved the
barrel of the gun in his mouth.