Chapter One
I took a bite of my ham and cheese sandwich and
chewed. As a staff nurse on an inpatient floor in a small
community hospital, getting off my feet for a break was
a highlight of any day. Eating, a close second. The blue
light mounted on the wall above my head blinked on and
off; then, the pager at my hip chirped as the operator
made the announcement over the intercom. Code blue...
emergency room two.
I dropped my sandwich, ran for the stairs and
literally flew down the treaded carpet, hoping I didn’t fall
flat on my ass in the process.
Atherton Hospital’s ER has only five beds and those
are rarely full but because we serve a population of
several thousand in the contiguous counties, it’s
important to maintain a presence even if we’re small.
The stair well door banged open as I flew to bed two
carried on the sounds of machines going crazy.
A paramedic, shell-shocked in his eyes grabbed my
scrub top as I passed. “We tried to stop the bleeding. We
did. There was so much.”
I cursed to myself. Mike Griffin, the local certified
public accountant, had no business volunteering as an
EMT just because he’d been a medic in the army in the
last century. But in small town Atherton, everyone
pitched in wherever they could. I shrugged him off,
dodged machinery and staff to the bedside.
“I’ve got a pulse, barely. Sara, make sure the airway
stays clear.” Kavitha Kumar, the emergency room
physician, stood calm and focused as she directed other
staff while continuing chest compressions.
“Lex, we’ve got to stop the bleeding,” she shouted
at me. “Her pressure is too low. Let’s do suppressors;
increase the fluids. Someone get five units of O positive
blood in here.”
Standing at the foot of the bed, I popped on medical
gloves, grabbed a wad of gauze, and went to work. The
patient’s leg was painfully small and cold to the touch.
Fresh blood flowed from mangled flesh. There were so
many wounds; it was impossible to tell where one slash
began and the next ended. Long blonde hair flecked with
blood spread spread out over the pillow. A girl, no older
than twelve, lay beneath all that blood and gore.
A nurse standing next to me worked on the patient’s
midsection. Again, there were so many wounds. “What
the hell happened?” she muttered to me. “No traffic
accident causes injuries like this.”
I continued wiping the blood away as best as
possible and applied pressure to the leg wounds.
Cleaning and suturing would happen once they got the
patient to the nearest trauma center in Kansas City. It was
our job to stabilize her for transport. Saving her life
wouldn’t be quick or easy, but any recovery would be
better than the odds the patient had right now.
As the disturbing constant beep of the flat line on the
EKG machine echoed throughout the room.
Kavitha stepped back from the patient, breathless
from the exhaustion common after a resuscitation.
“There’s nothing more we can do.” She glanced up at the
clock on the wall. “Time of death, eighteen hundred hours and fourteen minutes.”
We stepped away from the slight body and
collectively exhaled. Someone pulled a bloodstained
sheet over the remains. A quiet settled as we cleaned the
gauze and IV bags and other supplies strewn across the
room. I turned to leave and noticed a strand of blood-
stained hair had slipped out from under the sheet. My
chest tightened. I tucked it back in. A mother shouldn’t
see that.
I tugged the gloves off and dragged the curtain
closed in the room then and turned to the hand washing
station. The paramedic still stood in the hallway. I rested
a hand on his shoulder. “You did everything possible.”
Mike stared straight ahead, not acknowledging me.
I squeezed his shoulder and gave him a shake. He
blinked and his chest rose on a rough inhale. “How about
we get you a snack and a drink?”
He nodded his head and turned, robotic towards the
lounge. “My granddaughter, she’s...” He glanced
around the emergency room with a stare that said he
didn’t remember how he got here. “She’s a little girl,
too.”
The trained professional on the EMS team stepped
up and wrapped an arm around him, ushering Mike
inside. The ER had a small lounge for paramedics. It was
only the size of a large closet, but it would give him a
place to recover. I watched Mike for a moment, unable
to imagine the scene they had rolled up on.
Kavitha vigorously scrubbed her hands at the sink.
Strands of dark, curly hair hung limp around her face. I
tore off the paper gown and joined her, welcoming the
strong antiseptic soap scent that cut through the coppery
odor of blood. Still, I knew I would smell it for days.
I bumped shoulders with Kavitha. “We did
everything conceivable.”
She didn’t look up but kept scrubbing. “It’s never
enough.” Her voice wavered.
“What happened?” It didn’t matter how many code
blues I worked, they were all hard, but one with a kid
was especially tough.
Kavitha shook her head. “The call said an animal
attack. She simply lost too much blood.”
I nodded. Blood was the life force. If a body lost too
much, the organs slowly shut down, one by one,
essentially starved. “It looked like something mauled
her.”
She dried her hands and sighed heavily, looking
older than her forty years. “She was as good as dead
when they rolled her in. Did you see the abdomen? It
looked like something had ripped it open. What does that
mean? We haven’t had a dog bite or attack in I don’t
know how long.”
Atherton was what us lifelong residents referred to
as the county. Not quite country, not quite city. A city
planner I dated years ago jokingly referred to it as a
bedroom community. We were close enough to the
woods and open plains to have the occasional wildlife
animal wander in. Feral dogs and cats were common, as
was the occasional fox and racoon that wandered into
populated areas in search of food.
I had been at the hospital since I graduated from
nursing school in the city, almost twenty years ago.
Some of those years were in the emergency room.
“Remember that one drunk guy from a couple years back
who tried to befriend that racoon?” Kavitha nodded.
“Can’t say I remember one in the last few years,” I said.
“But never one this bad.”
“I don’t think I have either,” she said. “Ever. I'll do
the exam for the coroner.”
The coroner for Sibley County is an elected position.
It wasn’t uncommon for the coroner to have little to no
medical experience. The current one was a physician but
one of the laziest known to humankind and often
expected the ER docs to prepare the report he which he
then signed off on.
“How long have you been on?” Physicians and
nurses were worth their weight in gold and worked long
shifts since there were never enough of them. Kavitha
was worth twice her slight weight.
“Too long.” She closed her eyes and scrunched her
eyebrows together. She sighed again and shook her head.
“They keep saying they’re hiring new staff, but I never
see them, just more hours and shiny brochures.”
“Want me to get you some coffee? A snack?” I dried
my hands and resisted the urge to wrap an arm around
her shoulders. The loss of a patient affected people. I
wasn’t one to cater to physicians, but we were friends.
“No thanks, I’ve got a big one at my desk. I’ll chug
it and get back.” She looked at her watch. “Only two
hours left and then I have a bubble bath calling my
name.”
“You still up for girl’s night?” I attempted a happier
tone, but it fell flat. I didn’t have it in me. The hospital
was small and a few of us got together now and then.
This month was a painting and wine tasting class.
Kavitha favored me with a small smile. “Wine and
painting random landscapes? How can I pass that up? It
sounds better than sitting on the couch watching a
Netflix marathon.”
“You will have to wear pants, though.” This time,
my laughter was genuine. It didn’t matter how many
hours Kavitha worked, she always looked professional
and pulled together at work. But if you caught her at
home, she wore an oversized top, boy shorts, and tied her
hair up in a messy bun.
She twisted her mouth. “No one told me pants were
required, but I guess I can put some on.”
“All right, see you then. Take care.” I patted her on
the shoulder and trudged up the stairs to my unit. My feet
dragged with each step. The entire code had lasted less
than thirty minutes, but it seemed like an eternity. It
didn’t matter how long they lasted, they always took a
physical and mental toll on me.
Upstairs, I dropped into the chair and tried to finish
my sandwich. It turned into a ball of paste in my mouth.
The crunch of the side of chips was a welcomed change
in texture, but the bag was empty too soon. I threw it in
the trash and scrunched my face when another nurse
walked in. I didn’t want to tell talk about the code.
Tracey Phillips crossed her arms and leaned against
the door frame. “So, what happened?”
I shook my head. “Code on an animal attack. Too
much blood loss before the rig even rolled in. She didn’t
have much of a chance.” If I kept saying it, I might
convince myself.
“Animal attack? Here in Atherton?” She shook her
head incredulously. “When was the last time we had an
animal attack here? I can’t even remember.”
“Neither can I, nor Kavitha.” I shrugged. “I don’t
know.” My voice trailed off. The image of the pale leg
and scarlet streaked hair filled my mind, and my vision
blurred. I grabbed a napkin and wiped my face.
"I understood there’s some stray dog packs on the
outskirts of town. People drop the poor mutts out to fend
for themselves.” Tracey’s eyebrows attempted to
scrunch together, but her latest Botox injection kept it
from happening.
I slumped in the chair. Exhaustion weighed on my
shoulders. My stomach churned. “That’s an old urban
legend. My dad used to tell us that to keep us out of the
woods by the river.”
Tracey nodded. “Well, whatever it was, I’m sorry
you all had to go through that. Why don’t you go on
home? Mindy got here early.”
Of course, Mindy Michaels clocked in early. Fresh
out of nursing school, she wanted to make a good
impression. Normally, I’d finish my shift. But the blonde
hair streaming over the pillow burned in my mind. I put
up a bit of a protest to be a good employee. Tracey and I
exchanged a few more words before she gave me a warm
hug and sent me home. I grabbed my oversized tote and
threw it over my shoulder. It carried my life and half of
my friend Zelda’s in it. I pulled my phone out and texted
her.
—Just had a code. Rough one —
At the elevator, the usual post-code second guessing
took over. Had we done everything possible to save her?
What if we had lowered her body temp and then tried to
stop the bleeding from the wounds, would she have
survived?
I shook my head and fidgeted with the trim on the
tote handle. If she had survived, she would have had
debilitating scars and needed years of cosmetic surgeries
and physical therapy in order to walk again. No, we did
all we imaginably could. As much as I hated to admit it,
the kid was as good as dead when she was rolled in. My
phone dinged with a notification. Zelda.
—I’m sorry, girl. Is there anything I can do to
help?—
—Eh? I don’t think so. It was an awful scene, lots of
blood, younger kid.—
Zelda replied.
—Shit. I can’t imagine it’s ever easy, but a kid has
to be one of the worst. Take a walk and clear your head?
I’m teaching tonight, but I’ll light a candle for you.
XOXO—
A walk might be a good idea to clear my head. But
I wasn’t sure I had the energy. I plodded across the
parking garage, my car seemed to be miles away. My
legs were filled with cement and my feet ached. My
smart watch dinged a text notification from my boyfriend
Scott Devlin.
—Heard about the animal attack. Stop by later, got
a pot of chili going.—
Of course, he heard. My boyfriend was one of two
detectives on the Atherton Police force. He made great
chili, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to be around other people
right now. My emotions were all over the place and my
body was exhausted. But being alone sounded worse.
I clicked the thumbs up button in response and got
in the car. I rested my arms on the steering wheel and
dropped my head. Tears flowed. For how long I didn’t
know. When it stopped, I wiped a hand across my face
and sighed. If a code affected me this much, perhaps it
was time for me to get out of nursing.
No, something else bothered me about it. What I
couldn’t put my finger on yet. I checked the back seat to
make sure I had a clean change of clothes and started the
car. On the way to Scott’s, I turned up the radio and
blared 1980’s hair metal band. The songs pushed
everything out of my mind.
The spices and richness of chili might be just enough
to drive the scent of blood out of my nose.
