CROSSROADS

He stomped out of his aunt's house in anger and took off running down the dirt road. He had a runner's body: tall, lean and wiry. He had a loose joint way of running, but unfortunately he had a high metabolism. It was always a battle to keep his weight up to the amount required by the track coach at school.

Up until three years ago, he had been living on the reservation with relatives. His mother, Mary, had died previously from lung cancer. Like many of her generation, she had started smoking at an early age and the abuse to her lungs led her to an early death. She left behind John, her headstrong youngest child, Sarah, her nearly grown, calm daughter, and Travis, her husband of twenty years. Travis had stayed home with Mary trying to nurse her back to health, but after Mary died, Travis had made arrangements for his children and went on the road as a carnival worker. That was the last time John had seen his father. Word filtered back to his aunt years later that Travis had a massive heart attack while dismantling a carnival Ferris wheel and died.

Life had been rough on the reservation and John had managed to get into trouble with his aunt and uncle quite often. Finally, everyone acknowledged the hopelessness and the anger of the situation. The consensus of the family was that John would have to go. Arrangements were made to take John to his aunt and uncle in California. They had no children and were willing to devote themselves in helping John deal with his anger and restlessness. His sister Sarah would stay on the reservation. She had begun building a life for herself and didn't want to leave for unfamiliar territory.

In the three years John had been in California, his temper would still explode unexpectedly. He had come to love his aunt and uncle fiercely, but like any young man still living at home, he chaffed under the restrictions of the house.

Now he had two months to go before he graduated from high school and the only firm decision he had made of his future life was that it wouldn't be in the same town as his aunt and uncle. His latest blow up with his uncle was on the topic of his future and John ran out of the house rather than face it.

As he ran down the dirt road, his need for action lessened and he begun to take notice of his surroundings. There had been a new business that had opened in the neighborhood, a trucking company. They had a help wanted sign out front and John was curious enough to check it out. When he entered the office he was referred to the owner.

During their talk, the owner was impressed with this long lanky youngster. The kid had a passion for work and lots of energy. He was eighteen but two months shy of being out of high school. They struck up a deal. The owner would hire him for general maintenance and as a janitor until he graduated from high school. John had to make his grades, get his degree and make an effort to get along with his aunt and uncle. After graduation John would be shifted over as a driver's helper.

His big day came and John brought his degree to his boss, James. True to his word, James called Shane, one of his drivers, into his office and told Shane to start training John as his helper. Shane had gotten acquainted with John earlier and knew the kid would attempt anything given to him to do. He also knew that John was teaseable and would forgive easily.

The two hit it off well, even with their differences. Shane was a big man with a good sense of humor and a love for country music. He had a deep voice but talked in a quiet slow Oklahoma drawl. Over the next six months they traveled over the northern part of California and into Oregon delivering goods. John was like a sponge drinking in the knowledge and the experience.

By now John had found a small apartment and visited his aunt and uncle on Sunday evenings. Their relationship was still strained, but John's uncle had agreed that John had the right to find his own future.

Shane had been showing John how to drive the big rig and was going to take him down to get his commercial license after their next trip. The day of their trip John walked into the trucking company to find James waiting for him. Shane's father had died and Shane was flying to Oklahoma for the funeral. The load of goods still had to be delivered. James had turned the office over to his daughter and was going to drive the truck with John as his helper. They were on their way to Oregon, but would make a stop in Carson City to unload an order at a department store.

John was nervous with his boss. He felt he was being evaluated and his mouth was going non-stop to cover up his feelings. James, chuckling and belly laughing, interrupted the soliloquy. When John calmed down, James reassured him that there was no reason to be nervous. They were just going to drive the load to Oregon and back. When they got home James would take John in for his driving test as Shane had requested.

It wasn't long before they were on the road. The two men kept a running commentary going on life in general and what they observed while driving. As they were approaching a crossroad John commented on a snake on the side of the road headed toward the asphalt. When his eyes wandered from the road, James was not aware of the small red car running the stop sign ahead of him on his left. John's gasp jerked James back to his driving and instinctively he slammed on the brakes. The big rig hit an oil spot in the payment and went into jackknifing. No matter what James did, the fate of the car was sealed. The truck running over the car jostled John and threw him into the windshield.

The car behind them was able to avoid the wreckage and went to the nearest service station. They called the police dispatcher and an ambulance and the fire department were dispatched.

John woke up when a fireman applied a bandage to his head. It hurt to move his body, but John needed to know how James was doing. He was stopped by the fireman and was told the driver didn't make it. Realizing he was no longer in the cab and was laying on a backboard on the ground, John struggled to turn on his side. Again the young firefighter told him to be still and held him down. John asked about the people in the red car that they had hit. The look of sadness that crossed the firefighter's face was all the answer John got.

As the ambulance drove up and the firemen carried him to it, John caught a glimpse of the coroner wagon and six men carrying body bags from it. Four of the bags were small.

John started to shiver and his skin became cold and clammy. The ambulance attendants knew all they could do was get him to the nearest hospital, fast.

When they got John to the ER he was treated for shock, rib injuries, concussion and a laceration on his forehead requiring stitches. The police wanted to talk to him, but the doctor would not allow it. John was still being treated for shock and he had not uttered a word since arriving. He kept staring at the ceiling and showed no awareness of what was happening around him.

When the nurses took his clothes off to change him into a gown, they found his driver's license in his wallet. His aunt and uncle were contacted and they were soon at the hospital. Not even their talking to John would bring him out of his daze.

The doctor patched him up and gave him pain medicine. John was sent to ICU for monitoring through the night for his concussion. Expecting him to sleep, the doctor was frustrated the next morning to find that John's brown eyes greeted every neurological check throughout the night. John was still not talking, but since his physical responses were correct, the doctor prescribed a mild sedative to put him to sleep.

John woke up to the young fireman who had first attended his laceration. The man introduced himself as Paul Miller and told John he was on his way home from coming off shift. He just wanted to see how John was doing after the accident. At the mention of the accident, tears welled up in John's eyes and started to spill over. Pulling a chair up next to the bed, Paul stayed with John for an hour and John started asking questions about the accident. Paul assured John that he was not at fault and neither were the drivers. John asked about the passengers in the car. He was told four children and one elderly man was in the car. Apparently they were killed instantly. At that point John's interest shut down and he closed his eyes pretending to go to sleep. The fireman patted his shoulder and told him to get better. Quietly Paul left the room. Paul went and told the nurse that John had started talking and had gone back to sleep.

Later that evening, the police, accompanied by his doctor, came asking questions. John told the officers what he had saw leading up to the accident. By now the autopsy reports had come back. The elder driver was a grandfather of the four children and had suffered a fatal stroke while driving and was dead before coming into the crossroad. The children had died instantly when the big rig hit their car. James had a massive heart attack just after the wreck. John was the sole survivor of the accident. They reassured him that no one was at fault. There had been a light rain earlier that morning and the oil in the road caused that area to be slick. Noting the glazed look coming on John's face, his doctor told the police officers that he thought they had gotten all the information they would get out of John. He needed his rest. The doctor ordered sedation again for the night.

The next day he was released to his aunt and uncle's care. They were given referrals to several grief counselors in their area in LA. John never understood why things happened as they did that day. So many lives lost and his was changed forever. His interest in truck driving was gone.

His uncle took to taking John to the mountains for camping and fishing trips. John was taught survival techniques that would save his life in the future. They had many conversations over the open campfire, but only one was slated to set John onto his path in life.

John had found closeness again with his uncle and had learned to control his temper around his uncle and aunt. That night in the flickering tongues of firelight, the two men touched on John's future. His uncle acknowledged that as a man John could make his own decisions. His uncle would be there to help. John quietly stated that he had thought driving was going to be his job, but he still had nightmares of the wreck. He kept seeing the red car speeding into the truck's path. Now knowing that five people died without a chance was still tearing him up.

John opened up to his uncle that ever since talking to Paul Miller, the Fireman, John was thinking of applying to the Fire Academy. The two discussed the career, the pros, the cons and the dangers. John agreed to everything, but felt he would not know for sure unless he tried. This was something he really felt he needed to do. In days he had signed up for the Fire Academy with his uncle's blessing. Within months, John's uncle died in a vehicle accident in the fog.

****************

It was a boring shift. Roy and Johnny had rescued a cat from a tree and taken a fat woman to Rampart. She insisted she was experiencing labor. The doctors diagnosed abdominal irritation with ovulation. The rest of the fire station crew was playing rummy in the kitchen when the two paramedics returned.

"Hey Gage. Why don't you sit in? We need the change in your pockets."

"Sorry Chet. I'm fresh out." Johnny pulled his front pockets inside out to prove their emptiness.

"Well in that case, why don't we play for who does the dishes. I'm sure Gage will lose."

"Oh no I won't, Chet! I'm onto how you play the game."

Roy grinned, knowing that Chet was drawing his pigeon into a no win situation. Johnny's inability to win card games was legendary in the fire department.

Johnny stomped over to the table and drew out a chair, preparing to sit down. The klaxon sounded off with the station's tone. "Station 51, MVA at Veda Drive, cross-street Desert Rose. Veda Drive cross-street Desert Rose. Time out 12:17."

The chairs scraped the floor as the men shoved away from the table and ran to the vehicles. Captain Stanley wrote down the address and gave a copy to Roy. Johnny was already in the squad and reached for the paper as Roy got into the driver's seat. With lights flashing and sirens blaring, the engine followed the squad out of the apparatus bay.

As they got closer to their destination, Johnny begun to experience a tightening sensation of dread in his stomach. He couldn't put his finger on it. The closer they came, the more he was sure he didn't want to be there. It wasn't something he wanted to share with his partner. Johnny glanced at Roy. Roy was concentrating on his driving and had not noticed Johnny's uneasiness.

When they came upon the accident, Johnny knew why his stomach was crawling. He had been here before, only he left the area on a backboard in an ambulance. Sweat broke out on his forehead as he stared at the scene before him.

Roy brought the squad to a halt, jumped out of the truck, got his supplies and ran to check on victims. Not hearing Johnny's footsteps behind him, he looked back to see Johnny still sitting in the squad. Roy ran back to the passenger side, grabbed Johnny's arm through the open window and squeezed.

"Johnny, Johnny. Snap out of it. We've got to go. Johnny?"

With a shake of his head, Johnny looked quizzically at Roy, "Huh?"

"Come on, Johnny. Let's go."

Johnny's mind toggled into paramedic mode and he jumped out of the squad, gathered supplies and ran with Roy to the wrecked vehicles.

Two hours later and two other squads and engines on the scene and it was clean up time. Roy and the other paramedics had gone with the victims to the hospital. As gruesome as the wrecks were, everybody were surprised that all the injuries were minor. No one had died.

As Johnny looked around at the trash to be picked up, he thought of the piercing look he got from Roy before the ambulance pulled out. "Are you going to be okay, Junior?"

"Yeah, Roy. I'll be fine."

"I hope so. We need to talk when we get back to the station."

As he slapped the side of the ambulance twice as a signal to go, Johnny thought, "Yeah, Pally. I'm sure we will."

Johnny squatted down on the side of the road and reached for a piece of trash. Catching movement to his right, he turned his head to see what was there. With a gasp, he rocked back on his heels, lost his balance and sprawled onto his rump and head. Floating to his right were two men and four children. All were smiling at him and the children were waving. Their outlines wavered and he could smell the heavy odor of blood. Looking closer, he saw a ghost out of his past - James.

Johnny let out a whimper and started a crab walk on his elbows and heels. In his mind, with a feather touch, he heard the voice he would never forget.

James chuckled with his belly laugh. "John, don't be frightened. We are the guardians here. We are glad you survived and it sadden us that you such guilt afterward. We all have a purpose. We make sure no one will ever die again at this intersection. I've been checking you out once in a while John. I'm pleased you made peace with your uncle and you take good care of your aunt. But most of all, I'm pleased you did something great with your life. Saving others as a firefighter/paramedic is exactly the line of work you needed to go into. I'm very proud of you, John. Hey, you need to check out the old neighborhood. My daughter married Shane and they've been running the business together. Isn't life grand?"

As the two men and the four children begin to fade away, the littlest child reached out and touched Johnny's arm. "Don't worry, John, about us. It was just our time." Johnny's consciousness faded away also as he collapsed in a faint.

"Hey, Cap. What's with Johnny asleep on the job?"

Looking over at Johnny sprawled on the side of the road Captain Stanley frowned. "Go check him out Chet. I'll be there in a moment." Captain Stanley took out his handy talkie and requested a squad and ambulance for a Code I. He then hurried over to his youngest crewmember.

"Cap. His breathing is shallow and his pulse is racing. His elbows are skinned up and he has a bump on the back of the head. I don't see anything else wrong with him."

Leaning over his paramedic, Captain Stanley touched Johnny's cheek. "Hey, Johnny. Are you with us, Pal? I need you to wake up."

With a start and a wild look on his face, Johnny woke up and attempted to rise. With a firm hand on his chest, Captain Stanley pushed Johnny back down. "Lie still. I've got a squad on its way to check you out." Sirens could be heard coming closer from a distance. "Can you tell me what happened, Pal?"

"I'm not sure, Cap. I was picking up the trash; caught movement on my right, turned and I don't remember anything else. I must have fallen somehow."

"Well, we're going to let the paramedics and Rampart sort you out. In the meantime, you stay still. Chet, stay with him." Captain Stanley left to check on the rest of his crew.

As Chet watched, Johnny shut his eyes and visible relaxed. Before Chet could open his mouth to tell Johnny to stay awake, something happened to keep Chet's mouth open.

A wisp of fog floated over and settled on Johnny's chest and then dissipated. The paramedics pulled up and started to bustle around Johnny. Johnny opened his eyes and disinterestedly looked at Chet. He was content to bask in the feeling of warmth radiating from his chest. For the first time since arrival, Johnny's dread of the location was gone. As he was once again carried from the site, Johnny was at peace.

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November Stories Stories by LaJuan