Meet Me On The Midway

Abruptly shifting his attention away from her, Scott raced to his truck, tossed his clipboard through the window, grabbed a large zippered bag and started running.

Evie took off after him, barely keeping pace as they headed for the park entrance at the marina gate. “What’s an MI?” she asked as she ran alongside.

“Heart attack,” Scott said. He keyed his radio and talked as he ran. Evie overheard him discussing whether or not to drive an ambulance onto the midway.

Heart attack. The same thing that had robbed her family of her father three years ago. She prayed the dispatcher was mistaken.

“The park is open,” she said, huffing out the words as she ran. “You can only do that if it’s life or death.”

“I’ll make that decision,” he said.

Evie was about to say something in response such as “I own the freaking park, maybe I’ll make the decision,” but Scott cut her a swift glance as he dashed past the summer employee at the gate.

“When we get there.”

Maybe he was right. That’s why she had him and the other firefighters on staff night and day.

Emotion raced through her as she ran with Scott past the bumper cars and through Kiddieland to the Space Race roller coaster. The coaster itself had been at Starlight Point for over twenty years and initially had enjoyed limited success. Too scary for little kids, not terrifying enough for teenagers or thrill-seekers. To make it more interesting, the ride had been enclosed about a decade ago. The coaster now had strobe lights and special effects, making it feel like a rocketing ride through the blackness of space.

Everything about the ride was dark. Even the queue lines snaking back and forth inside the large steel structure had limited light.

Scott reached the entrance to the ride first and paused to talk to the operator guarding the turnstile and checking the heights of hopeful kids. Evie saw the summer worker gesture inside and explain something to Scott. He raced ahead into the building and Evie followed, willing her eyes to adjust to the sudden darkness.

Her breath came in jagged gasps, and she was glad she didn’t have to carry the large first-aid bag Scott had with him. She wondered what went through his mind on the way to an emergency.

They wound through the queue lines, bumping against the silver rails and jostling people. Evie wished someone had thought to turn on the emergency lighting. Searching in the dark in a crowded venue for a person having a heart attack was torture. Minutes could mean the difference between life and death. Why had no one turned on the lights?

She shouted to the worker at the door to hit the emergency lights, but it was noisy and the girl didn’t hear. Evie considered running back and doing it herself, but she didn’t want to leave Scott alone to face whatever they found. She squinted her eyes and tried to focus.

“Where is he?” Scott said aloud. “Fire department!” he shouted. “Anyone know who called us?”

A summer worker ran from the other direction and met them under a replica of a planet.

“I called it in,” the kid said. “A man was clutching his chest and gasping, his wife was crying. But they disappeared. I swear.”

Evie felt sorry for the teenager. He was clearly shocked by what he’d seen.

“Why didn’t you stay with them?” Scott growled. The employee shrank back, looking desperately around, holding up his phone with the flashlight app.

A little boy who appeared to be about ten stepped out of the line, tugged at Evie’s arm and pointed. “I know where they went,” he said. “I saw some people go through there.” He gestured toward an emergency exit that would open onto the beach side of the structure if her orientation wasn’t a complete disaster.

Without hesitation, Scott climbed over the silver rail and headed for the emergency exit. Evie stayed right behind him, clambering through the waiting guests, cell phone in hand, wishing she knew what awaited them on the other side of the door.

Scott burst outside with Evie at his heels. The bright sunshine reflecting off the sand and water blinded them temporarily. Scott was the first to recover. He whirled and dropped to his knees next to the man on the ground.

Evie gasped. The man was about fifty years old. Overweight but not obese. Ghastly gray. Sweating. Clutching his chest. A woman sat on the ground next to him, sobbing. Two pre-teen children stood behind their mother, their faces tearstained and panicked.

Scott zipped open his bag and pulled out oxygen tubing. He turned briefly and handed his radio to Evie. “Call it in, give our exact location and get me an ambulance. Now.”

She dropped her cell phone and took the radio. With trembling fingers, she pressed the button on the side. In all her years at Starlight Point, she’d never had to use a radio in an emergency.

“Dispatch, this is Evie Hamilton.”

“Go ahead, Evie,” a woman said. Evie knew the voice. Louise Higgins had worked dispatch at Starlight Point for years. There was curiosity in her familiar voice.

“I need an ambulance on the beach side of the Space Race.”

“Is this the same call, the possible MI?” the dispatcher asked.

“Yes. Definitely an MI. Beach side emergency exit. Space Race.” Repeating the exact location made her feel better. As if it could bring help faster.

And they needed it.

The man was apologizing, clutching the hands of his wife and kids and telling them he was sorry for every unkind word he’d ever said.

He clearly believed he was dying.

“Tell them to drive the ambulance right down the midway,” Evie told the dispatcher. “Whatever it takes.”

CHAPTER SIX (#uad0c0979-609f-5530-9a3c-8835618016cc)

SCOTT HAD SEEN this same thing a dozen times in his years as a firefighter paramedic. It was serious, but the man had a shot at living if they got him to the hospital. Where is that ambulance? He’d heard Evie call it in, noticed her trembling voice but clear directions. Maybe there was a reason she was the Hamilton in charge of safety forces. Or maybe she’d lost the draw in the family lottery.

He put a mask on the victim and loaded him with oxygen. Monitored his vital signs. Listened for an approaching ambulance. Getting the man to the hospital before he went into full cardiac arrest was his only hope.

It would be a lot easier to hear the victim’s heartbeat through the stethoscope if the wife wasn’t sitting there crying. Blaming herself. And the kids... They looked like they were soon going to need medical attention themselves.

Scott laid his hand on the wife’s arm. “Trust me,” he said, “we’ll get your husband to the hospital and there’s a great cardiologist on staff there. They’ll take care of him.”

The woman nodded, eyes locked on Scott as if he could single-handedly determine the fate of her husband.

“I need you to do something for me,” he said. “Breathe slowly and deliberately, and get your husband to do the same thing. Count two seconds in, two seconds out. Do this together and it will help all of us.”

She nodded. Turned her attention to her husband and counted slowly, breathing in and out.

“Good job. You’re doing great,” Scott said. He turned to the kids. Wished he could think of something for them to do.

Where is that ambulance?

“What can I do?” Evie asked, leaning over him so that her long blond hair fell across his shoulder. She placed a hand there and he could feel her breath on his neck.

It was oddly reassuring to have her beside him.

“Radio Dispatch and get an ETA on the squad.”

He assumed she’d straightened and moved away because her touch, her hair, her warm breath, were all gone. He heard her talking with the dispatcher on the radio.

A police officer raced up and dropped down next to Scott. “I’m a first responder,” he said. “Trained in CPR.”