27 Aug – Personal Stories

Aldous Huxley said your memories are your personal literature. What story are you telling yourself today?

The day started like every other day. Daniel woke up a few minutes before his alarm was due to go off. He rolled onto his back and blinked his eyes several time as his vision adjusted to the darkness of the bedroom.

Apr 17: The Wrong One

Have you ever gotten involved with someone you shouldn’t have had a relationship with?

How funny, I was only talking about this to a co-worker the other week. I was telling her a story about a guy that I was casually seeing. We’ll refer to him as J.

I met J when I was in my early twenties. I was living in Malvern and life was great. J was an older guy (well, mid-late thirties, but I was about 23, so he was considerably older). J was just somebody that I really enjoyed hanging out with. Well, initially anyway.

My relationship with J was interesting. I wouldn’t even call it a relationship, it was more of a friendship. He lived in Fitzroy in this incredible 4-storey converted warehouse apartment which was just utterly breathtaking. I still remember the first time I went to his place, and when he gave me the tour, my mouth just dragged along the ground the whole time as we went from floor to floor. J was one of those people who always managed to find the good in people, and remind them of all the wonderful qualities they possess; identifying everything about them that makes them special and unique.

I remember one time he and I had agreed to just go for a drive, and we ended up somewhere in Port Philip Bay, and walked all the way out along a pier to a breakwater and sat there for quite some time just having this incredible D & M (Deep & meaningful). At this point in my life, I had distanced myself from G, and this night; this conversation, I opened up so much to this person who was still somewhat of a stranger, and he actually questioned my decisions; asked how I was feeling; and all I remember was bawling my eyes out for most of the conversation. As somebody who doesn’t necessarily reveal their emotional state, I had a lot of pent up emotions that literally came flooding out. It was as though such a massive weight had been lifted off my shoulders and off my soul. It was quite cleansing. I actually think it was one of the very very few times in my life where I’ve actually opened up so much and allowed myself to become so incredibly vulnerable.

After that, I realised that the time I spent with J was going to be quite safe and somewhat healing. Whenever I went around to his place, we would just hang out, watch a movie; have dinner; or just sit there for hours and talk about anything and everything. It was like therapy, without actually having to pay for it. Sometimes I’d even just go over there after a really shitty day at work, and fall asleep on his couch for a few hours, just to have a decent sleep. I really enjoyed being in such a calm and relaxing environment.

Then, he started acting a bit odd.

It began when he admitted that he had feelings for me. I’d be naive to say that I didn’t already have an idea that he felt like this, but those feelings certainly weren’t reciprocated – I made it quite clear that I wanted nothing more than to just be friends with him. He, however, wanted more.

One day I was at his place, and I had just woken up from a nap on his couch, and he was in the kitchen cooking some pasta for dinner. I layed there just observing, and soaking up my surroundings and revelling in this feeling of happiness and comfortable environment. Then it dawned on me that most of the conversations we’d had were about not just my issues and feelings, but regular topics as well… however I realised that although he now knew so much about me, I knew very little about him. Whenever I had asked him about himself and his life etc, he quickly changed topics, or avoided them completely. Realising that this was incredibly one-sided, and that for a friendship to actually work properly, both parties need to be open to the idea of sharing details about themselves. He couldn’t avoid the conversation forever – it just doesn’t work like that.

We sat down for dinner at his massive solid timber dining table (seriously, it was like a massive tree trunk, just cut in half lengthways, right down the centre. It sat 14 comfortably, and had long matching bench seats. It was such an incredible piece of timber… and naturally, cost an absolute fortune!!) and just began talking about whatever was being reported on the news, and then there was a bit of silence, and I took a deep breath and confronted him about his avoidance of discussing anything about him.

Well, had I known that he was going to react the way he did, I wouldn’t have said anything. He froze, was staring at his bowl of pasta, and I saw the skin on his neck instantly turn bright red. His grip tightened around his fork, and in a very calm voice, without making eye-contact, calmly said “I’ve already told you before that I don’t like to talk about myself. I’ve already told you before that we don’t talk about me”.

I sat back and apologised, and tried to explain myself, pointing out that all we’ve ever done is talk about me, and that it’s becoming quite one-sided – he knows so much about me, and yet I barely know anything about him…

“HOW MANY FUCKING TIMES AM I GOING TO HAVE TO TELL YOU TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU GET IT THROUGH YOUR JUVENILE FUCKING MIND, THAT WE. DON’T. TALK. ABOUT. ME!! WHY IS THAT SO FUCKING DIFFICULT FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND? I FEEL LIKE I HAVE TO KEEP FUCKING REMINDING YOU, BECAUSE YOU SEEM TO KEEP FUCKING ASKING ME ABOUT IT? WHAT IS IT WITH YOU? ARE YOU JUST COMPLETELY FUCKING STUPID OR SOMETHING? IS THE MESSAGE NOT GETTING THROUGH? DO YOU THINK I JUST SIT HERE AND SAY THIS FOR FUN? PERHAPS IF I WANTED TO FUCKING TALK ABOUT MYSELF, THEN I’D FUCKING DO SO, NOT JUST BECAUSE YOU START TO DEMAND THAT I DO SO. IT DOESN’T WORK LIKE THAT.”

I don’t actually remember what else was screamed at me after that. During that initial outburst, he had picked up his bowl and thrown it across the room, sending pasta all over the floor, and smashing the ceramic bowl against one of the kitchen walls. In all honesty, I thought he was going to kill me. The rage in his beady little eyes was simply terrifying and I knew that I was on the second floor of this building, so racing out and jumping over the balcony wasn’t exactly an option.

I didn’t really know how to react. I think I was just far too terrified to even look at him, so I just sat there, staring into my bowl of pasta. His tirade continued for several minutes, but it felt like an eternity. I just wanted it to stop long enough for him to catch his breath so I could just grab my stuff and run downstairs. My heart was racing and my palms were sweaty. I really had no idea what to do. This was the moment I realised that something was so severely wrong with this guy, and I began to understand exactly why we never talked about him. It was like Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with this guy. I couldn’t believe that somebody who was so completely comforting and relaxing to be around, would completely flip out like this.

I didn’t want to stay any longer.

I waited until the screaming stopped, and I apologised for upsetting him, clearly not knowing that it was such a severely sensitive issue for him. I walked over to get my backpack and my jumper and headed towards the hallway. As I got close enough, he pushed the timber bench seat across the doorway, “WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING? YOU THINK YOU’RE GOING TO LEAVE? DO YOU SERIOUSLY THINK THAT YOU’RE FUCKING LEAVING NOW? YOU’VE UPSET ME SO MUCH, YOU’RE NOT FUCKING GOING ANYWHERE, YOU CAUSED THIS AND NOW YOU’RE GOING TO FIX THIS!!”

….um… what??

I told him again that I was sorry and that I had no intentions of upsetting him whatsoever, and that I thought it would just be better for both of us if I left. I offered to help him clean up, and he screamed at me some more, so I said that I should just leave so he can calm down and when he’s had some time to think about it, we can talk about it later.

…wrong decision.

“HAVE YOU LOST YOUR FUCKING MIND? DO YOU SERIOUSLY THINK THAT I’M GOING TO LET SOME STUPID CHILDISH LITTLE CUNT LIKE YOU FUCKING TELL ME WHAT I’M GOING TO DO? WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? NO, REALLY, WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? BECAUSE ALL I SEE IS SOME FUCKING INSECURE FUCKING PRETENDER, WHO LIKES TO ACT ALL SMART AND INTELLIGENT AND ALL TOGETHER, BUT WHO REALLY IS SO INCREDIBLY FUCKING INSECURE WITH HIMSELF THAT HE MAKES HIMSELF OUT TO BE SOMEBODY HE ISN’T BECAUSE HE’S NOTHING BUT A FUCKING WANNABE. YOU’RE FUCKING NOTHING. YA HEAR ME? NOTHING. YOU ARE THE FUCKING SCUM OF THE EARTH AND I CANNOT EVEN BELIEVE THAT I EVEN LET YOU INTO MY LIFE, WHEN ALL YOU’VE DONE IS TRY TO FUCKING DESTROY IT, BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT CUNTS LIKE YOU DO… DESTROY PEOPLE’S LIVES, SO FUCK YOU!!

I took a deep breath and asked him to move out of my way. He refused.

I asked him again, and he pushed me down onto the bench seat.

I asked him one more time to let me leave, otherwise I would call the police. He refused.

I exhaled, spun around on the bench seat and walked over to the kitchen to pour myself a glass of water.

“WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?!”

Well, J, I’m taking a moment to pull myself together, because I’ve asked you three times to let me leave, and you’ve refused. You have just pushed me down onto the bench which could be classified as physical assault, and after the last 25 minutes of you screaming at me, that’s just verbal abuse. You’ve left me with no option that to contact the police and inform them that you’re holding me here against my will. So if you don’t mind, I’ve got a phone call to make.

From the look he was giving me, and the colour red his face had gone, I literally thought his head was actually going to explode all over the doorway. He began to climb over the bench. I’m warning you, J. I’ve got the number ready to go.  I showed him the screen with 000 ready to be dialled. So, now we can do this the easy way, and you can let me leave, or we can do it the hard way and involve the police. And I don’t think that police charges involving haloing somebody hostage and physical assault will look too good with your peers, will it? 

“ARE YOU FUCKING THREATENING ME?”

No, I’m making you a promise. If I wanted to threaten you, I’d tell you that there’s a third option, it’s called ‘take another step towards me, and I will literally beat the living daylights out of you and put you in hospital’. So you tell me, how do you want this to play out?

Suddenly, there was a Mexican standoff. He was standing on the bench in the doorway, and I was standing in the kitchen… literally surrounded by a multitude of potential weapons. Without losing eye-contact with him, I felt around the bench top for the rolling pin, and picked it up with my free hand. He climbed down off the bench very slowly, and stood there. He was so full of rage, and I was backed into a corner. Even I knew that I was all talk, but I knew that if it came to the crunch, and I had to defend myself, I’d do a pretty damn good job of doing so, and I’d do a bit of damage in the process.

“DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT I’M SCARED OF YOU? YOU’RE NOTHING BUT AN INSECURE LITTLE CUNT! YOU WOULDN’T DARE TOUCH ME!”

I WARNED YOU, ONE MORE STEP, AND I HIT DIAL.

He thought I was bluffing. So I hit dial.

‘Emergency services. Police, Fire or Ambulance?’

“YOU FUCKING CUNT!!”

Yes, Police please…

I was connected to an operator and explained the situation. J kept inching his way further, as I tried to explain my situation. Screaming out the whole time that he was going to kill me. I put them on loudspeaker so I could throw things at his head in an attempt for him to keep his distance. They asked me if I needed police assistance with the situation. J screamed out no, and I said yes. They said they’d send a car to the location of the call and would be there within minutes.

I kept the line open and jumped up on the kitchen bench as he charged towards me.

“WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE YOU FUCKING CUNT? THOSE FUCKERS ARE GOING TO BE HERE AGAIN! YOU’RE FUCKING DEAD. I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU, YOU HEAR ME, I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU, CUNT!!”

‘WELL DONE, THE POLICE JUST HEARD ALL OF THAT. I’M GOING TO ATTEMPT TO LEAVE NOW!!’ and leapt off the kitchen bench and made a dash for the hallway. As I leapt over the bench seat, I looked back to see how close he was and he had slipped on the pasta. I kept running down stairs, to the entrance and waited to hear him come after me.

Silence.

I opened the doors and walked outside into the freezing winter air. I could hear a tram in the distance, and the temptation to just jump on the tram and go home and never look back was so incredibly appealing. However, something in the back of my head felt concerned. The fact that he had slipped and didn’t get up to come after me was of concern to me. What if he was hurt? What if he was badly hurt? Oh my god, what if he was dead? I’d be charged with murder. Oh god, I’d go to jail. I can’t go to jail!

I waited for the police to turn up, and I introduced myself and explained the whole situation. I told them about my concerns that he hadn’t followed me, and I requested to go and check that he was okay. One of the officers remained in the car and called for an ambulance, and the other officer went into the apartment. A few minutes later, he radioed to the other officer that everything was okay. The ambulance had arrived by this stage, and  we all went into the apartment and upstairs to the kitchen.

As I walked down the hallway towards the kitchen, I could hear J crying, whilst trying to talk to the officer. I let the other officer and ambo walk in whilst I stood out of sight to listen to what he was saying. I peeked around the corner and saw him sitting up against the wall with his hands cuffed behind his back; squashed pasta and sauce all over his top and face, and blood coming from his face. Turns out he was okay, he’d cut his face on broken pieces of the ceramic bowl he smashed against the wall earlier.

I walked around the corner and let him see me. The person sitting on the floor was a completely different guy. This wasn’t the rage-fuelled monster threatening to kill me only minutes before. This was the J that I knew.

He felt so remorseful, and couldn’t stop apologising for whatever he had done. He hoped that he hadn’t hurt me, and was so sorry if he did. I stood there, and gave my statement to the police in a play-by-play making sure not to leave out any detail. I just glared at him the whole time, and watched him sob uncontrollably. When the ambo’s had finished cleaning up his cuts, they left and I was escorted out of the room so they could interview him. Turns out he had absolutely no recollection of what happened. He completely flipped out, and it’s not the first time it’s happened. According to him, it happens from time to time, he has these fits of rage where his memory goes completely blank and he has no recollection of anything that happens.

The police asked if I wanted to press charges, but to demonstrate that I’m not the monster, I refused and simply told him that he needs to get professional help. I could no longer be his friend, and wanted to have no further contact with him. The police even suggested taking out a restraining order, but I said that it wasn’t necessary. They escorted me out of the building, and got me to see the ambo’s to be treated for any injuries. I just said I was in shock, and then the police drove me home.

A few weeks later I received an email from J, who happened to write in detail all about himself. His issues, his personality disorders, his medication… anything and everything I had ever wanted to know was there in black and white. I couldn’t believe that he was actually detailing all this highly personal information and sending it to me. I was amazed at what I was reading, but acknowledged just how much it must have taken for him to get to this point. I figure this was his way of making amends or a way of apologising to me.

Soon afterwards, he began calling me again. And then calling me constantly. Wanting to meet up and talk. Wanting to hang out again. Asking if I’d like to come over to his place. I ignored all his calls, until I saw him parked outside my apartment one night when I arrived home from work.

I couldn’t believe it. After everything that had happened, he was still behaving like this. I wasn’t standing for it. I walked over to his car, and belted my hand on his window and started yelling at him. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? YOU’RE STALKING ME NOW? DO YOU REALLY WANT TO TEST ME AGAIN, BECAUSE YOU KNOW BETTER THAN TO CALL MY BLUFF. I WILL HAVE YOU ARRESTED… SO I SUGGEST YOU DRIVE AWAY RIGHT NOW, AND NEVER SHOW YOUR FACE AROUND HERE. I HAVE NOTHING TO SAY TO YOU, AND I DON’T WANT TO HEAR WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY TO ME. NOW, PLEASE LEAVE, OR I’M CALLING THE POLICE… SERIOUSLY… JUST. GO.

And on that, he didn’t even wind down the window. He nodded, started the engine, and drove off. That was the last time I ever had any contact with J. It’s a shame that it turned out the way that it did, but unfortunately that’s just how it played out. I actually haven’t even thought about him until now. I wonder if he ever managed to resolve any of his issues?? Oh well.

People come into our lives for all different reasons. I like to think that J came into my life to get me to experience the true feeling of vulnerability. Which might explain why I’m so heavily guarded now?

 

Daily Prompt: Twilight Zone

Ever have an experience that felt surreal, as though you’d been suddenly transported into the twilight zone, where time seemed to warp, perhaps slowing down or speeding up? Tell us all about it. If you haven’t had an experience in real life that you can draw from, write a fictional account of a surreal experience.

Fiction

David was pretty much your average twenty-something kinda guy. Uni student. Girlfriend. Lived with his parents. Part time job at a fast food joint.
He loved his footy, he loved his car, he loved his friends and family just like the rest of us, and if anybody had’ve told him that his life was going to change, he would have just brushed it off as absolute nonsense.

It was the 22nd and he was walking through the carpark to his car when somebody sprang out from between two cars, startling David and making him jump. ‘Be sure to kiss your loved ones tonight, for tomorrow the world will change forever and life will never be the same’. David, naturally, just didn’t buy into what this person was saying. Judging on the way they appeared, he just assumed it was just another crazy homeless person ranting on about the end of the world and how everybody is doomed. Nothing unusual really, as people have been saying this for countless years. Society is full of people who have this it own beliefs and predictions about the end of the world, but here we are. We’re still standing and nothing has changed.

David continued walking to his car having a little laugh at the homeless guy – Moreso for the fact that he jump so much because he was caught so off-guard. He had only ever jumped like that for one thing: spiders. David hated them. Couldn’t stand them. Just the thought of them made his skin crawl so much. So tiny and furry and creepy.

David got into his car and took a moment to text his girlfriend Kara,

Hey K. Just heading hme now. Will pk u up tonite whn u finish. If I dnt show, it’s prob cos da world has ended. lol

wtf?

yer. Some hmless guy said the worlds gonna end or sum shit. Whatevs. C u tnite. Luv u babe xx

u 2 xxoo

David started his car, which slightly spluttered as the motor began turning over, and he set it into reverse. He checked all his mirrors and slowly pulled out of his space. As he turned the wheel to drive off, he had just put his foot slightly on the accelerator when BANG

He quickly slammed on the brakes, and turned back to see the homeless guy leaning over the bonnet of the car with both arms stretched out ‘Are you fucking crazy? Get the fuck off my car!!’
‘Heed my warning, human. Time is running out! Tell your loved ones…’
‘GET OFF MY FUCKING CAR!!’ David screamed at the windscreen, ‘stupid cunt’ and proceeded to drive off, the homeless guy glaring at him as he slowly passed. ‘Seriously, who jumps out in front of a fucking car?! What a dumbarse! Frightened the shit outta me! And what the fuck was that about – time running out?? Pfft, what a bunch of crap!’

David pulled out of the carpark and began his journey back to his parents place. He rolled up to a set of lights, and patiently waited for the lights to turn green. For some reason they seemed to be taking quite a while, and before he knew it, there was a chorus of car horns blaring all around him. The lights had turned green, but the car at the front of the line wasn’t moving. Maybe they were having engine problems? He sat in his car and patiently waited, but soon noticed that despite all the horns, the car still hadn’t moved.

He looked around in his mirrors – nobody else was getting out of their car to offer assistance. He turned down the radio and took a moment to listen to the commotion outside. All he heard was anger and frustration, so he took off his seatbelt and got out of his car. As he walked towards the front car, he heard their horn constantly blaring, and the person in the drivers seat wasn’t moving. As he got closer to the car, he realised that there was a passenger in the car as well who also was completely still.

Maybe there was some kind of accident? Oh god, what if they’re unconscious, or seriously injured? David immediately felt overwhelmed with nerves and terror, and didn’t know what to do. As he got closer to the drivers-side door, he saw broken class, and immediately started trying to recall his first-aid training.

What do I do? Oh shit, what do I do? What the fuck? SHIT!! I need to call for help. I need a fucking ambulance!! As he turned to look into the drivers window, he realised nothing he learnt in his first-aid training prepared him for what he had just laid his eyes upon. There was a female slumped over the steering wheel. She was covered in glass, and blood and hair. There was just so much of it.

David really had no idea what to do.

M: ‘911, which service do you require?’

D: ‘I, um, fuck, I don’t know. I think she’s dead…’

M: ‘Sir, who’s dead?’

D: ‘The woman. In the car. I think she’s dead. There’s blood and glass everywhere and I don’t think she’s breathing!!’

M: ‘Sir, I’m going to need you to calm down and tell me your name.’

D: ‘David, my name is David Wright, and I’m at the intersection of King and Park in Sky Hills.’

M: ‘Okay, David, my name is Maddy. I need you to tell me exactly what has happened!’

D: ‘Maddy, I, I really don’t know. I was waiting for the lights, and the car at the front didn’t move, and everybody was on their horns, and we’d been here for about five to ten minutes. I got out of the car to check, and I found her like this. You need to send people. I need an ambulance now, like now, I don’t know what to do!!’

By this stage, David had become hysterical and wasn’t sure what was happening, or whether anything was real or if he was merely dreaming. He was doing his best not to break down in a crying heap, but he couldn’t prevent the tears pouring down his face as he stood there looking at this woman.

M: ‘David..?’

He had forgotten all of his training. He knew he should be doing something, but he didn’t know. His mind had gone completely blank with all the stress of witnessing something so traumatic.

M: ‘David…?’

If he could just remember his basic training. ‘What do you do if there’s blood?? Right, gloves, I need gloves! WHERE THE FUCK AM I GOING TO GET GLOVES?!? WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU??’ but in the back of his mind he heard this voice calling out to him…

M: ‘David…? DAVID?? David are you still there? Sir? Sir, are you still there? Can you hear me? David, if you can hear me, don’t hang up the phone – I’m dispatching police to your phones location. David? DAVID?? DAVID!!’

D: ‘YES, YES, sorry Maddy, sorry sorry, I’m here, I’m here, I just, I think I zoned out for a sec, sorry, I’m back, I’m back!’

M: ‘David, you had me worried there, are you okay?’

D: ‘Yes, no I’m okay. I’m just freaking out, I don’t know what to do!’

M: ‘David, I’ve dispatched police and paramedics to your phones location, I’ve traced the call and they should be there soon, but in the meantime I need your help, are you okay with that?’

D: ‘Yeah sure, I’ve done my first aid training so I kinda know some stuff!’

M: ‘That’s great to hear David. Okay, now tell me exactly what you see. Who’s in the car?’

D: ‘Um, there’s a man and a woman. They’re both not moving, and they’re both covered in blood. They’re both in the front and still have their seatbelts on. They’d be mid to late twenties.’

M: ‘David, that’s excellent. The more info you can give me, the more I can relay to the paramedics. Now have you checked either of them for a pulse?’

D: ‘Um, uh, no. I don’t have gloves. There’s just so much blood and glass everywhere. She’s got cuts all over her neck and glass and hair and I can’t see her chest moving…’

M: ‘David, I need to know if she’s got a pulse, do you remember how to check for a pulse?’

D: ‘…yeah’

M: ‘Well, I need to know. You need to check for me. I know it’s scary, but we need to see if there’s any life in that car!’

D: ‘Oh god…’

David rolled up his sleeve and reached through the jagged broken remnants of the window, cutting his own arm in the process. He felt around her neck for a pulse and wasn’t succeeding.

D: ‘I’m not finding one. I also cut myself on the glass. I need gloves!! OH GOD, IS SHE DEAD?? MADDY, SHE’S FUCKING DEAD!! OH GOD SHE’s FUCKING DEAD!! I JUST TOUCHED A DEAD WOMAN!!’

M: ‘DAVID!! YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN!! I need you to cover your cut to avoid infection, do you have something to cover it with, a hanky or rip your top if you need to!’

D: ‘I CAN ROLL MY SLEEVE DOWN!!’ he suddenly felt a smart for thinking of something to glaringly obvious.

M: ‘That’s good, David, now where did you feel for a pulse, just on her neck?’

D: ‘Yeah, I can’t get to her wrist.’

M: ‘Now you said said she was slumped over the wheel??’

D: ‘Yes!’

M: ‘Okay, I need you to carefully reach in and use a bit of pressure with your forefinger and middle finger, and press more toward to front of her neck, but up under her jaw, kind of the underside of her chin, but to the left, it’s soft and fleshy and you should feel something…’

David reached in and started poking and prodding around this woman’s jaw. He was so terrified, he could feel his own heartbeat racing. Every time he poked her he kept apologising as he felt in someway it was inappropriate or rude to her.

He suddenly pressed a different spot and felt something. He left his fingers there a little longer just to be certain.

D: ‘MADDY, SHE HAS A PULSE!! SHE HAS A PULSE!! I THINK THAT SHE’S ALIVE!! SHE’S NOT DEAD!! SHE ISNT DEAD!!’

M: ‘David, that’s such a relief to hear, now are you able to check the male in the car, can you reach him?’

D: ‘I’ll have to go to the other side…’

David retracted his arm, and noticed his hands were covered in hair and blood. He then noticed the slowly growing blood again underneath the sleeve of his shirt. As he stood up, he realised he had completely forgotten where he was, and noticed a crowd of people standing around watching. Some were taking on their phones, some we’re using their phones to record the whole ordeal. A couple of people had taken it upon themselves to start diverting traffic around the scene.

He suddenly became quite overwhelmed by all the attention he was now getting and felt quite uncomfortable about it. He moved around the front of the car and saw a rather large number of dents across the bonnet of the vehicle, and he approached the male passenger, he was stopped in his tracks by what was in front of him. He certainly wasn’t expecting this.

The man in the passenger seat was in a much worse state than the female driver. He was completely covered in blood from a rather large and deep wound just above his forehead. There was a considerably sized chunk of hair missing and as David looked closer to see how bad it was, he realised that the man was also missing a similar sized piece of his scalp. When he realised this, he was overcome with nausea, pulled himself backwards and threw up on his shoes.

M: ‘David, David are you still there?’

He had completely forgotten about the 911 operator who was still on the phone with him. Where were those damn paramedics?? Shouldn’t they be here by now?? David wiped his mouth with his hand then wiped his hand on his jeans.

D: ‘Yeah Maddy, I’m still here. I just… I just threw up a bit…’

M: ‘David, are you okay? Are you hurt or in pain?’

D: ‘No, no it’s nothing like that, I’ve just had a closer look at the male passenger in the car and he’s in a much more serious state!’

He knew what was coming and tried mentally to prepare himself for what he knew he was about to be asked…

M: ‘David, has he got a pulse?’

…shit.

D: ‘No, no I haven’t checked yet. His window is also shattered, but I’m more concerned about his head injury… He’s missing a chunk of his skull. Like, there’s hair missing and big chunk of skin and it just keeps bleeding.’

M: ‘Okay, I need you to put pressure on that wound. Do you have a piece of cloth that can be used? Or is there something in the vehicle that could be used?’

He couldn’t see anything. David put the phone down, took off his shirt, took off the t-shirt, and ripped it up. He ripped off the bloodied sleeve from his shirt, and wiped up all the excess blood from his arm, then used a strip of material from his t-shirt to wrap around the cut on his arm and tied it into place. He ripped another piece of material and folded it up a few times and picked up the phone again.

D: ‘Sorry, I’m back, I’ve just ripped my top to bandage my arm and use some more material to pad this guys head… Now what?’

M: ‘Okay, I need you to check for a pulse. You said he was still bleeding so it’s possible he might still be alive, but I need to be certain!’

D: ‘I CAN’T FIND ONE!! WHERE ARE THESE FUCKING MEDICS?? WHAT’S TAKING SO FUCKING LONG??’

M: ‘The paramedics are on their way, David, but I need YOU to try and keep calm and feel for a pulse, remember if you can’t…’ David interrupted, ‘I FOUND IT!! I FOUND IT!! HE’S ALIVE!! I CAN’T BELIEVE HE’S STILL FUCKING ALIVE!’

M: ‘This is great news, David, and Paramedics should be there in just a few minutes. Now, are you still applying pressure to his head wound?’

D: ‘YEAH, YEAH BUT ITS STILL BLEEDING! I CAN’T STOP THE BLEEDING!!’

David was really panicked by this, and grabbed another piece of his tshirt and placed it underneath the heavily bloodied piece already under his palm. This was bad and he wanted to do anything he could to help.

Suddenly, the noise of the car horn stopped and David felt immediate relief. Maybe the horn could only last for so long before it stops? Surely not, right?! At that point he realised that the horn stopped for a reason. His eyes darted across the bloodied and glass-covered dashboard and saw the woman’s head move slightly, but enough to take the pressure off the car horn.

D: ‘OH MY GOD, I THINK SHE’s COMING TO!!’

M: ‘David, what are you talking about?’

D: ‘THE WOMAN, THE DRIVER, I THINK SHE’S COMING TO… REGAINING CONSCIOUSNESS!! SHE MOVED HER HEAD OFF THE HORN!!’

M: ‘Okay, I need you to call out to her, and see if she responds.’

D: ‘HEY, HEY LADY!! LADY!! LADY ARE YOU OKAY, YOU’VE BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT!! CAN YOU HEAR ME?? LADY?! HEY LADY, IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, BLINK YOUR EYES… LADY!!’

M: ‘DAVID..! DAVID!! David, you need to go physically check. See if she can squeeze your hand or something.’

D: ‘But I’m still putting pressure on this head wound!’

M: ‘Okay, are there people around you?’

D: ‘Yes, there’s a bunch of people watching and recording with their phones, why?’

M: ‘David, I want you to call out for them and ask for assistance. You need somebody to help you. You can’t leave the gentleman, but we need to check the female for a physical response, can you ask somebody to help? Assure them that you’re a trainer first-aided and that you’re on the phone to 911…’

D: ‘Okay, I can do that…’

David looked over his shoulder at the small crowd that had gathered around. ‘HEY, HELLO?! I NEED SOME HELP HERE, PEOPLE!! I NEED SOMEBODY TO HELP ME!!’

Nobody responded. They just stood there like deer in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle. Unresponsive and motionless.

D: ‘SERIOUSLY PEOPLE, I NEED SOME HELP!! THESE PEOPLE MIGHT DIE, SOMEBODY JUST COME AND HELP ME!! I’M TRAINED IN FIRST AID AND I HAVE 911 ON THE PHONE, I NEED SOMEBODY TO HELP ME!!’

Everybody in the crowd looked at each other, but nobody volunteered.

D: ‘WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?? THIS MAN IS FUCKING DYING YOU SELFISH CUNTS!! STOP BEING SO FUCKING SELFISH AND FUCKING HELP ME SAVE HIS LIFE!!’

Nobody took the step forward. David was beside himself. How were these people okay with standing around and watching somebody die, but not prepared to do anything to help. It was far too upsetting.

D: ‘SERIOUSLY?? NOBODY IS GOING TO HELP?? WELL I HOPE THAT WHENEVER YOU FIND YOURSELF IN A LIFE OR DEATH SITUATION THE PARAMEDICS DON’T TURN UP, AND EVERYBODY JUST STANDS AROUND WATCHING INSTEAD OF HELPING SAVE YOUR LIFE, BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT YOU ALL DESERVE. GO FUCK YOURSELVES!!’

A young woman pushed her way to the front of the crowd, and repeated what David had just said, before rolling up her sleeves and coming over to David’s assistance.

L: ‘Hi, my name is Lauren, what can I do to help?’

D: ‘Lauren, my name is David. Are you okay with the sight of blood?’

L: ‘Yeah, sure, what do you need me to do?’

David handed her the phone, ‘Here, take the phone, it’s connected to a 911 operator, I also need you to take over here and keep pressure on this man’s head injury’. David swapped positions with Lauren, and put the phone on speakerphone.

D: ‘Maddy, you still there?’

M: ‘Yes David, I’m still here.’

D: ‘Maddy, please say hello to Lauren. She’s volunteered to help assist me. She’s with the male passenger, keeping pressure on his head, and I’m about to check the female driver.’

M: ‘Lauren, I can’t thank you enough for stepping forward to help out. Hopefully we save a couple of live’s today. Do you have any First Aid training?’

L: ‘No, no, I don’t sorry, but I’ve spent a lot of time in hospitals with my younger brother, so I’ve seen a lot of stuff, and I’m totally cool with blood ‘n stuff’

M: ‘Good to hear. Well, you’ve got both David and I here if you need any help or have any questions, but for now, I need you to focus on keeping pressure on that man’s head.’

Meanwhile, David and stood up to walk back around the front of the car to the driver’s-side. As he passed the bonnet, he had another glimpse at the dents, and as he looked closer, he realised that they weren’t just innocent dents… they were dents from bullet holes. This car has been shot at repeatedly, and he couldn’t help but feel slightly different about this entire situation. Why is the car riddled with bullet holes? Who are these people? Why are they being shot at? Why does somebody want them dead?

He returned to the female driver and again checked for a pulse. He couldn’t reach her hand, so wasn’t sure what else to do.

D: ‘MADDY… MADDY, CAN YOU HEAR ME?’

M: Yes, David, how’s the driver?

D: ‘I can’t reach her hands. What else can I do to get her to react?’

M: ‘Try something like putting a finger in her ear or her nose, it should make her react involuntarily.’

David wiped his index finger on his pants before touching her her eyelids.

Nothing.

He then tried his finger in her ear, and again nothing.

D: ‘Maddy, it’s not working, what else should I do. Also, I’m not sure if it’s worth mentioning now, but I think the car has been hit with a spray of bullets…’

M: ‘Okay, listen to me very carefully, I need both you and Lauren to check them for possible gunshot wounds. They may be quite obvious, or they could possibly be quite deep. They’ll be possibly blood-heavy, or even still bleeding. If you find any, you need to tell me, and you will need to apply pressure to the area.’

D: ‘Okay’

L: ‘Okay’

They both started to pat down each of their injured people, until Lauren called out, ‘Maddy, I can’t reach any lower than this guy’s abdomen. I can’t take the pressure off his head injury, and I can’t open the door. I can’t feel anything, and without taking off his top, I can’t really see any gunshot wounds.’ David also piped up, ‘Maddy, I’m the same, I’m at risk of shredding my arm on the glass as well. We need the paramedics… WHERE ARE THEY!?!’

M: ‘I’m really sorry. They should have arrived by now, but they’ve assured me they are almost there. You should definitely hear their sirens quite soon. Now, in terms of gunshot wounds, the paramedics can check for that, and they…’

David cut her off abruptly, ‘Maddy, the police are here, and a tow-truck has arrived, and the fire rescue unit has turned up, they want us to get out of the way…’

M: ‘You need to ask for whoever is in charge, and get them on the phone to me immediately’

D: ‘Okay, gimme a sec’. David asked around as to who was in charge, and nobody really seemed to know. The Police were pointing at the Fire Rescue crew, and they were pointing at the Police. David chose the Police officer closest and asked who the most senior officer on site was. He mumbled something into his lapel-radio and another Officer came forward and spoke to him, before being pointed towards David.

He walked up to David, with his arm outstretched ready for a handshake, before realising that he was covered in blood, and his hands were applying pressure to body wounds. ‘Fuck, that was awkward! Gidday, I’m Senior Sargeant Graham Grady, and I suppose I’m the one in charge here, but I guess I can’t really do anything if you two are half-way through windows. Where are the medics?’

D: ‘They’re supposed to be here any minute, but I don’t know how much longer they’re gonna take. These people need to get out of this car immediately!’

SSGG: ‘Well, I guess we just have to wait until they get here. They’re going to be the ones calling the shots, so we just have to wait. Is there anything that we can do to help you?’

D: ‘Actually, I need you to speak to the 911 Operator, Maddy. You’ll need to grab the phone, it’s just here on the sun visor’.

Sargeant Grady grabbed the phone, ‘This is Senior Sargeant Graham Grady, badge victor-tango-alpha-zero-four-four-six-three-nine-six. What’s your 10-37?’

M: ‘Operator Madeline Browning – Dispatch. ID number sierra-charlie-alpha-alpha-zero-four-four-seven-one-nine. You currently have an 11-79 in progress, requiring an 11-85. First on the scene have reported possible involvement of a 10-71. Please advise your team an 11-84 is required, if not already in progress. Oh, and please, call me Maddy.’

SSGG: ‘Roger that, Maddy. 10-4.’

As S.S. Grady handed the phone back to David, he heard the sirens of the paramedics approaching in the distance. He looked across the bloodied car at Lauren, and they both let out a giant sigh of relief.

D: ‘Maddy, Maddy, the paramedics are almost here. We can hear their sirens!’

M: ‘Fantastic! David, please keep the phone open, until they make contact.’

Shortly afterwards, the paramedics turned up and spoke to Senior Sargeant Grady, who referred them to David and Lauren. David gave them the phone to speak to Maddy and inform her they were on the scene and were relieving David and Lauren of their duties.

David and Lauren were then ushered off to a nearby ambulance where they were cleaned up, and had their minor injuries treated. They were bandaged and wrapped in blankets and given some medication to calm their nerves whilst they waited for further information. Just across from them, they could see the paramedics working feverishly with dressings and bandages and neck-supports, before the fire rescue crew were called in. They approached the car and began to use the ‘Jaws of Life’ to cut the doors off the car, before slowly assisting the paramedics in removing the injured people slowly and carefully from the wreckage. As they were doing so, another team of paramedics arrived, to assist the removal of the male passenger.

Senior Sargeant Grady approached David and Lauren in the back of the ambulance, and wanted to personally thank them for their assistance in the matter, and reminded them that had they stood idly by, both of these people would have surely died. They were heroes, and as residents of this community, Senior Sargeant Grady was personally going to ensure that they both receive a medal for bravery in recognition of their efforts.

Both David and Lauren were humbled by this announcement, and as they laid back down on their stretchers, the realisation of what had just happened, started to really hit them. They just saved two people’s lives. They had just gone above and beyond, took a stand, and saved two people’s lives. Who does that! David turned to Lauren and personally thanked her for stepping forward when nobody else did, and acknowledged that although she was afraid, she was incredibly brave.

One of the paramedics returned to the ambulance with David’s phone, and handed it back to David, ‘Somebody wants to speak to you…’

D: ‘Hello?’

M: ‘David, it’s Maddy! I just wanted to personally thank you. You did an incredible job today, and it’s not something to be taken lightly. Both you and Lauren are the sole reason those two people are going to be seeing their families again, and this is something that is going to stay with all of you for the rest of your lives. I’ve already cleared it with the medics, the hospital and the Police, that you’ll be granted permission to see both of them when it’s appropriate. I’ve no doubt they’ll want to personally thank the two people who saved their lives.’

D: ‘Thanks Maddy, you also deserve our thanks…’

L: ‘Yeah, Thanks Maddy, we couldn’t have done any of this without you – you’re a fucking rockstar!’

M: ‘Thanks guys, but this is what I do every single day, so I’m used to it.’

L: ‘No, you were amazing, you kept calm, which kept us calm, and we couldn’t have done anything if it weren’t for you. You’re the one who really needs all the thanks!’

M: ‘Thanks, that means a lot to me. Now, I’ve gotta go, but you need to know that our entire conversation was recorded by our systems, and our protocol states that a review needs to take place, which means both you and David are going to be taken to the police station to be interviewed about what happened, or they may even begin prelim questioning whilst you’re at hospital. Once you’ve finished your interviews, you’ll be given information regarding de-briefing and possible PTSD diagnosis and treatment. If you have any questions, either Senior Sargeant Grady, or one of the senior paramedics on-site will give you all my contact information…

L: *whispers* ‘Hey Dave, what’s PTSD?’

D: ‘Post Traumatic Stress Disorder’

L: ‘Right. And what’s that?’

D: ‘Shhh, I’ll explain it later.’

M: ‘I can hear you both, you know that, right?’

L: ‘Sorry Maddy!’

M: ‘Anyway, I’ll be in touch with you both in the next day or so once you’ve been discharged from hopsital. They’re going to keep you overnight for observation, and your families are being notified of the details. Rest up, guys. Great work today. Thankyou!!’

Both: ‘Bye Maddy’.

As they laid back, they saw the Police beginning to photograph the car, and they were marking out the number of bullet holes in the bonnet. David still felt uneasy about those, as he couldn’t contemplate how or why they got there. It was so baffling, and he couldn’t help but want to know more.

He noticed a couple of the police standing around the front-left corner of the car. They took a few photos and were talking amongst themselves, when one of them pointed directly at David in the back of the ambulance. The police officers looked at each other inquisitively, and then one of them put his clipboard under his arm, and began to walk towards the ambulance.

Suddenly, a man appeared in the back of the ambulance, and pulled out a needle in each hand from his pockets. Before either David or Lauren could work out what was happening and react to defend themselves, this stranger plunged a needle into each of their legs. They both screamed in pain, and the man slammed the doors shut on the ambulance.

The ambulance suddenly took off, and the back of the vehicle shook violently. Medical supplies started falling out of their compartments. They heard people screaming outside, ‘STOP! POLICE!! STOP THE VEHICLE OR WE WILL OPEN FIRE!!’ and then saw the back of the ambulance get sprayed with bullets. The man with the needles waked up to them and said something about interfering, and they shouldn’t have gotten involved, but as he began talking, both David and Lauren began to lose consciousness…

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2014/02/28/daily-prompt-twilight-zone/