Page 86 of Rescuer
The last thing Jackson wanted to do was go home and sit by himself, dwelling on everything that had happened that day. He was almost home when his pager went off. He listened to the call.
“RAS 1, RAS 2, Southwold police, South Eagle police, medical emergency. Possible overdose. Location: 4527 West Ridge Drive, cross street Oak Hollow Court. Caller reports multiple juveniles at a party, alcohol present, possible drug use. One patient, male, approximately seventeen years old, unresponsive, shallow breathing. Fire and EMS respond priority one. Law enforcement requested for scene safety. Time out 22:14.”
Jackson scratched his jaw. He’d heard that address before but couldn’t recall who lived there.
Someone texted on the RAS 1 loop. He hit the control panel to listen to the robotic voice read the text.
“Nathan from your group text RAS 1 Paramedics said ‘I can’t go on the call. Have the flu. Anyone off duty who can cover me?’”
Wow. If they were asking the off-duty team members, it was either a really bad call or the station had multiple calls tonight. Jackson sent out a voice text to the group. He hadn’t worked with the paramedics on second shift for a long time.
Jackson
I can cover. I’m close to that area. I’ll meet the team there.
He hit Send. He should have cleared it with Trent first since he’d told Jackson to take some time off, but sometimes it was better to just go with your gut.
His phone rang. It was Trent. “Hello, Chief.”
“Jackson, you sure you can do this?”
“I’m sure. I might need time later to search for my brother or to deal with something, but right now, I feel like I need to be active.”
“If you’re sure, we could use the extra pair of hands,” the chief said. “We have one ambulance. The others are on other calls. RAS 2’s alarm also tripped. They should arrive on scene first.”
Jackson relaxed. He could always trust that Trent would look out for the patients first.
“On my way. GPS says I’ll arrive in six minutes.”
“Drive safe. There are close to thirty minors on scene. Besides the medical emergency, there are injuries due to a fight that broke out. These kids are intoxicated or high, or both. Watch your back.”
“Will do.”
He hung up and concentrated on making it to the address in one piece. He should have asked Trent who lived in the house.
When he arrived, cars lined the street, and the driveway was full. There were even cars parked on the front lawn. Long tread marks tore through the green grass, leaving muddy trails.
Bet whoever owned this property would have kittens when they caught sight of this mess. He circled the block twice, eyes scanning for a space. The streetlights were all on, glowing brightly near the curb while casting the area back near the houses in shadow.
He ended up parked a block away from the house. He could have double-parked some of the vehicles, but the cops were already on-site blocking traffic, so he decided to leave the spaces close to the house for the ambulance. One ambulance was already on scene.
According to Trent, they needed one or two more.
He grabbed the emergency medic kit he kept in his car, jogged along the sidewalk until he arrived at the house next door, then slowed. He looked over at Mark, who was standing in the front yard, keeping an eye on things there. Their eyes met.
Mark nodded at him. “RAS 2 team one is inside.”
“Thanks. I’ll head there. Another crew from my station is on the way.”
Kids huddled together on the grass. Some were crying. Others were doing their best to look cool, despite their pallor and the freaked-out edge in their gazes. A couple of kids were sitting alone, staring into space, obviously stoned. The sound of vomiting came from over to the right.
Marching up the front steps, he found the front door wide open. More teenagers lounged around inside the house, and a haze of smoke filled the air. Jackson coughed, then plowed his way through.
“Jackson!”
He jerked his head to the left. Two paramedics, Eve and Trevor, were working on the unresponsive teen. He watched them work, knowing that they were too late.
“There’s a group of students with minor injuries in the next room.”
