Chapter 2
April
During the turmoil that engulfed the hall, everyone scampered around, and echoes of noise resonated everywhere. The big men in the industry that were expected to be strong and bold to deal with the situation were the worst hit. They were more scared, despite their parade of security guards.
The men were just as scared as every other woman in the hall. I felt the urge to laugh, but the situation wasn’t one to laugh about. I was afraid too.
Looking around the hall while still under the table, my eyes fell on the newly appointed CEO, sprawled on the floor fighting for his life. No one attended to him because we were all focused on getting out safely, but my doctor’s instinct kicked in, and I scrambled out of my hiding place and raced to the CEO. Just then, I heard the sound of a police siren.
“Mister, please hold your breath. I’ve got you,” I said as he tried to move. I gently turned him over to check the extent of the damage but instead my throat caught in my chest.
Even though his face was squeezed, I couldn’t help but stare at his handsome face, seeing him earlier didn’t do any justice to his looks but with his face just few inches from mine, I was awe-struck. He had the most perfect facial features I’d ever seen; full brows with double eyelids, slightly pointed nose with a tiny mole present on the bridge, full lips and…
His groan snapped me out of my reverie and instantly, I shook my head and got myself together. How could I be so carried away with his looks when he was fighting for his life? I could see he was shot in the chest, but how deep the bullet wound was could not be ascertained, but saving the man first before moving him to a medical facility was more important at that moment.
I knelt beside him and placed my hand on his chest to apply pressure to the wound, but with the blood oozing out of the bullet hole in a gush, I knew the pressure wouldn’t be enough. With my right hand, I yanked the scarf off my neck and, placing it between my teeth, I ripped the fabric in half. I stuffed both the torn pieces into the hole one after the other, keeping the pressure on.
In a split second, another gunshot roared through the hall. I remained still in that instant because I was too scared to move. Even if I could, I was already out in the open, making that an easy target. So I was only compelled to listen to the screams and wailing that filled the air.
Within seconds of the shrilling sound, I saw, out of the corner of my eye, everyone scampering away for their dear life. I knew I was stuck, but just then, a man rushed to me with a shirt, and I immediately added it to seal the wound.
“Sir, could you please call 911?” I told the man beside me while I checked the victim’s pulse again, as the seal got sucked into the wound.
I quickly scanned the tops of the tables, and setting my eyes on a square-shaped plastic card, I gestured to the man. His eyes darted from my face to a table close by, and I muttered, “I need that plastic please,” and right away he handed it over.
I immediately set it on the wound as an improvised tourniquet. I sealed the wound to keep air from being sucked in, and with his pulse relatively stable, I heaved a sigh of relief, just as the paramedics arrived that minute.
As they carried him out to the ambulance on a stretcher, I released the pressure on his chest and applied the same to his leg, which I’d just noticed was bleeding.
“Take him to St. John Memorial Medical Center,” a deep rich voice instructed the driver. I looked up to see the man, he looked similar to the wounded man who was still the most handsome one, apparently, they were brothers, he’d been the one who had earlier offered that ripped shirt.
Climbing into the ambulance, the paramedic took over, and in a few minutes, I saw his slow, deep breathing coming up. As his oxygen level climbed, my eyes went back to his wound, and I heaved a sigh of relief.
Though the worst had not yet been averted, the patient was holding up pretty well. His breathing was not too bad as the ambulance screeched to a stop. As he was wheeled to the emergency unit of the executive patient’s center, I sighed, this time deep and audible, indicating a mix of fatigue and relief.
Later on, I went up to my department and briefed Dr. Barron on the patient since he would be brought back for treatment of the leg.
“How bad is the leg?” Dr. Barron asked.
“I can’t be too certain, but I think it would require surgery if I’m to consider the angle at which the bullet penetrated,” I felt a tug at my knees like it was going to buckle over. I settled in a seat before I continued. “But you know, with such a wound, the injury could be beyond the visible puncture site.”
“Okay, I would be expecting an ER call then.”
I stood to leave, then he said, “You look like you would do with a sound sleep.”
“Hmm,” I retorted, but just then I caught myself in the glass partitioning in his office. My swollen eyes stared at me and then at my disheveled hair. The nearly caked blood on my shirt and pants caught my attention more, and then I realized I needed a good scrub.
I felt so tired and weak too that I was actually dying for a good sleep. It was indeed a long morning. After briefly turning things around in my head, I managed to get up from the chair.
I was glad it was a long weekend as I would also be taking a day off too. I wasn’t expected at work until next Tuesday, so I looked forward to a marvelous weekend with my boyfriend, Ray, and I couldn’t wait to get home.
Bracing myself as I emerged from the elevator onto the vast front yard, I tried to suppress another yawn but ended up yawning so widely that my jaw snapped back. I smiled. Making a quick look around to confirm the extent to which I had embarrassed myself, my eyes rested on Professor Simon, the chief orthopedic surgeon, as he alighted from his Range Rover coupe.
“Great, it’s good you are already here. Did Dr. Barron call you too?” He asked, and I scrunched my brows, as I didn’t quite get what he was trying to say.
I forced a smile. “No sir, I was just leaving, and I only stopped to say hello to you.”
“Oh really? Well, now that you’re here, let’s go help the young man.”
I sighed and wanted to protest that I wasn’t on duty, but curiosity made me ask. “Sir, which man. Is it an emergency?
“Yeah, there’s one that may require surgery, but I’m yet to know anything about the patient, except that he’s a VIP and has a gunshot wound.”
“Oh the young CEO,” I muttered, as my zeal for helping with the surgery couldn’t be higher. Performing surgery with Professor Simon was always the best thing, especially on a VIP patient. It was the second time he would invite me after a long while to work on a VIP patient, and that showed I was gaining his trust more and more.
I was torn between obeying my body and working with Prof. Simon to save the CEO.
I was checking and analyzing the extent of the damage and his chances of regaining his leg again, but the blinking screen was just blurry, and as much as I tried to pry my eyes open my eyes became unbearably heavy.
At first, I felt it was better to excuse myself from the surgery and head home since I could doze off in the middle of the whole thing. But since I still wanted to remain in that surgical room, I headed to the bathroom to wash my face, and with a change of dress, I went to the pantry for a cup of coffee to keep myself awake.
The surgery started and we had to carry it out with the thoracic department since they were responsible for his chest surgery.
It was the first time I would be experiencing double surgery, which though strenuous, still impacted me.
Three hours later, the surgery ended, and soon I was on my way out of the hospital.
Back home, I dropped Ray some messages before going to the bathroom for a cold shower, and after getting changed into a comfy outfit, I jumped on my bed and soon dozed off.
A few hours later, I managed to wake up to the ceaseless ringing of my phone. I groaned before stretching my hand and picking it up from the bedside table. Soon, mom’s voice came from the other end.
“Hello! Hello April, are you there?” She said, now audibly.
“Yeah, mom,” I mumbled.
“Are you okay? I just called to say I’m proud of you,” she said enthusiastically, with an unmistakable trace of joy in her voice. I couldn’t help but wonder what was making her so glad.
“You have always been, but what’s it this time?” I inquired.
“I commend your bravery. I saw the video of how you saved the life of that young man,” she replied and I scrunched my brows.
“Which man again, mom?”
“That guy from Oriental Holdings, the video is all over the internet,” she replied in a cheerful tone. That was when I realized she was referring to that young CEO. But how did the news end up all over the country?
When she hung up a few seconds later, I noticed some breaking news items on my phone. When I clicked on one, it quickly became the viral video and was the trendiest topic.
Oriental Holdings was well-known in Florida, and judging by the number of comments sympathizing with him, seems like the young CEO had the same influence. I later learned that he was the most sought-after bachelor and the owner of a popular game company.
Gosh! Now, I’ll attract the attention of everyone, and that was the last thing I wanted.
That night, I found it really hard to sleep as the memories of what happened earlier kept on replaying in my mind. Who would have thought I had that courage in me? The courage to save someone’s life despite the turmoil and despite the fact that I was endangering my life too.