PREMONITION
“What is that odd smell?” Chet was sniffing around Johnny.
“What odd smell?” Johnny asked, self-consciously.
“It smells like,” he took a deep sniff, “wintergreen gum. A really strong, wintergreen gum.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Chet took an exaggerated sniff. “You mean to tell me you don’t smell that?”
“I don’t smell a thing.” Johnny quickly changed the subject. "Hey, Roy, you’re sure quiet this morning. What’s wrong?" Johnny asked.
"Hum?"
"What’s wrong?"
"Nothing." Roy got up from the kitchen table, “I’m going to do inventory, Cap.” His captain nodded his approval. Ten minutes later, Johnny went out to see if he could help and saw Roy standing beside the squad, staring at the box in his hand.
"Roy?" He jumped, dropping the box. Roy bent over and picked it up; which fortunately didn’t pop open.
"Man, what’s wrong with you today?" Johnny asked as Roy slid the box back into its compartment.
"Not a thing!" he said, snapping at his partner. "Don’t bother me.” He shut the compartment door, locked it, and went to the locker room. Johnny shook his head and followed him. Roy heard the door swing open as he sat down on the bench.
"I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you like that."
"What’s wrong, Roy?" Johnny said, sitting down next to his partner.
"Have you ever….Oh, never mind, I can’t explain it."
#####
After a busy day with short runs, the tones sounded at 1 A.M. "Station 51, Station 10, Ladder Company 23, Battalion 8, building fire at the Bridgeton complex. 2 Bridgeton Avenue. 2 Bridgeton Avenue. Time out 0100."
Roy’s unease got worse. Everyone was evacuated in time, no serious injuries, maybe a burned hand here, or a scraped face there; Nothing to write home to mother about, Roy thought. Why do I feel like this?
Chet was walking toward the squad, soot covered, dragging his feet. He plopped down on the chrome bumper, removed his air tank and set it down on the ground. He laid his head back on the squad and closed his eyes.
"Cap wants you to relieve Marco. Follow the hose, it’ll take you right to them. They’re on the third floor." Chet took a deep breath, “This is gonna be a tough one.” Roy went to the door Chet had exited. He stopped, and put his mask on. The unease was building into an all out fear. He found the hose and straddled it, following it to a flight of stairs. He looked up the stairs and the fear became terror. He slowly started up the stairs, one at a time. Time had slowed to a crawl. As he started up the second flight of stairs, the smoke became thicker. He stopped on the second floor landing and called the Captain on his handy talkie.
"Cap. I’m on the second floor-landing heading up.” The smoke was so thick that he had to crawl up the last flight of stairs. Arriving at a doorway, he looked into the room, and Johnny waved him over. Roy crawled over to them.
“I think we should get out of here!” Roy said. Everything went black.
#####
Johnny carried Roy over his shoulder as he exited the building, with Marco right behind him.
"We’ve got to start CPR. He has no pulse." Johnny started compressions, and Marco began breathing for Roy. Chet, seeing the commotion at the door, grabbed the bio-phone and drug box that were sitting on the ground. He ran them over to Johnny.
"Thanks, Chet," he said. "I need the defibrillator, a c-collar and a backboard." Chet turned to get the equipment asked for. The captain came over. "Take over on five, Cap. I want to get him hooked up, so Rampart can see what’s going on." Stanley nodded. They counted together, and he took over. Chet returned with the items. Johnny picked up the bio-phone. "Rampart, this is squad 51, do you read?" He started getting out the things he needed to hook Roy up to the defibrillator.
"This is Rampart, go ahead 51," Dixie waved Dr. Brackett over as she spoke.
"Rampart, we have a 28 year old male, injuries unknown, and no pulse. We are doing CPR. Sending a strip."
"10-4 51." Dr. Brackett said. Johnny put the paddles on Roy’s chest.
"51, Defibrillate 400 watt seconds." Chet pushed the charge button. They heard the charger building to the specified 400-watt seconds.
"Clear!" Johnny yelled before sending the electric shock through Roy’s system, He picked up the bio-phone. "We have regular sinus rhythm, Rampart."
"We concur 51, start IV D5W TKO immobilize and transport."
"10-4 Rampart." Johnny put the bio-phone down.
"What happened?" Captain Stanley asked his men.
"Cap, it was weird. One minute he was there the next he wasn’t," Marco said.
"What?" Chet and Captain Stanley said together.
"Honest, Cap. I waved him over to us and he said we should get out. …"
"Then he wasn’t there." Marco finished.
"Where was he?" Captain Stanley asked.
"Don’t know Cap, it was strange but, the minute we stepped out of the room the ceiling collapsed and the floor caved in." Johnny said. "We started down the stairs and found Roy under some debris." Johnny paused, reflecting on the last few minutes. The ambulance backed up. The attendants pulled the gurney off, and they put Roy on it.
"Chet will bring the squad to Rampart," Captain Stanley said. Johnny climbed in behind his partner.
"Okay Cap." Captain Stanley slapped the doors so the driver knew that they were shut.
#######
"What happened, Johnny?" Dixie asked as they wheeled the gurney into treatment room three.
"He was under some debris inside the building."
"Johnny, why don’t you go call Joanne. We’ll take care of Roy," Dr. Brackett said. Johnny nodded, turning slowly and then stopped in the doorway.
"Don’t worry John." Dixie told him. He smiled at her and left the room, letting the door close slowly behind him.
######
He looked so peaceful that Joanne hated to wake him. Touching his hand, she watched as he opened his eyes and lifted his head.. She sat in the chair next to him, not removing her hand.
“Are you asleep on the job?”
“No. I was only resting my eyelids. They’ve been open all day and I wanted to give them a break.”
"Yea, right. Have you heard anything yet?" She asked.
"Not a thing, but when I left the room he was stable.” He told her.
"Johnny," she looked into his brown eyes, watching his face.
"No, really he was stable when I left the room. His heart rate was regular, pulse and respirations were normal, and he was doing fine."
"What happened?" she asked.
"He came in to relieve Marco. He told us we needed to get out,” he hesitated, not sure how she would react, “and then he wasn’t there.”
"What?" she asked.
"We were waiting for him in this one room. He crawled over to us and told us we should get out, and then he just…wasn’t there." Johnny looked down at his hands, "Marco and I went to see where he had gone, and the instant we stepped out of the room, the ceiling collapsed and the floor fell through.”
“Oh, my,” she leaned back in the chair.
“We started down the stairs and found Roy under some debris on the second floor landing.” They looked up and saw Dr. Brackett coming down the hall. They stood and waited for him to speak.
"He’s going to be fine. He’ll have a headache for a couple of days, but nothing is broken. I want to keep him over night; he does have a mild concussion."
"Can I see him?" Joanne asked.
"Sure. They’re trying to find him a room, but that shouldn’t take too long," He said. "Follow me." The three of them went down the corridor to the treatment room.
Roy turned his head at the sound of the door opening. He watched her blue eyes as she stepped over to stand beside him, and took his hand.
"You’re here," he said from behind the oxygen mask. She leaned down and kissed his forehead.
"I’m so glad you’re okay."
"Did you bring the kids?"
"No. I had mom come over and stay with them. She said if I didn’t get back, she would make sure they got off to school."
#####
Roy returned to work one week later.
"Okay I’m done playing the game, where is he?" Johnny stated as he strode into the kitchen. Mike lay his paper down on the couch, and Marco turned from the table to face him. Captain Stanley sat his cup down on the table and Roy finished filling his.
"Who?" Roy asked.
"Chet. Where is he?"
"He’s not here yet." Mike said from the couch.
"I’m going to kill him."
"What did he do now?" Captain Stanley asked.
"I’ve had it. My Land Rover stinks! He’s put a urinal block in my air vent, and I can’t find it," he paused. "I can’t take another day of this!" Johnny walked over to the counter and poured a cup of coffee. He turned and leaned on the counter.
"How long has it stunk?" Marco asked.
"This whole week. I know he did it, I just can’t find where he put it. It’s so bad that I have to leave the windows open so that I can breathe in my own car."
"I wondered why you smelled like the bathroom when you would get here in the morning." Mike said, grinning. He joined the others at the kitchen table.
"So that was what that was," Marco said, smiling. Mike sat down next to him. "I was wondering the same thing."
"I was hoping that no one would notice.”
"I was thinking that you had come from using the facilities," Cap said. Chet walked into the room.
"Hi, guys," he said. Johnny stepped forward. Chet took a step back.
"Where is it?"
"What?" he said innocently.
"The urinal block," Johnny said through his teeth, glaring at him.
"The what?" Chet asked. Johnny took another step forward.
"What are you talking about, Gage?” Chet replied, taking another step backwards.
"There’s a urinal block in my Land Rover and I can’t find it!"
"Ah, that’s the smell that I smell.” His mustache spread in a wide grin “It’s a great joke, but I swear Gage, I had nothing to do with it.” Chet said.
"Please, Chet. For your own good, come clean," Roy said.
"Honest Roy, I have no clue as to where it is. It’s a great one though; I wish I’d of thought of it.” Chet said.
While all eyes where on Johnny and Chet’s confrontation, Mike carefully slipped out of the kitchen door. He went to Johnny’s Land Rover, opened the door, and leaned inside. His smile stretched from ear to ear as he reached under the dash to retrieve the offending urinal block.
“They’ll never know,” Mike shut the Rover door and turned to face his station mates. “Oops.” He said, quietly. Chet was in shock.
"You were going to let me take the blame?" Chet said. “Why, Mike?”
“I wanted to do it to you Chet, but you never leave that death-trap of yours open. Then last week I saw Johnny not lock up, and the phantom whispered in my ear, try it, he’ll like it.”
“Yeah right,” Johnny said. “When does the phantom whisper to you?”
“It was a fluke,” Chet quickly commented. “The phantom speaks to no one.”
Captain Stanley shook his head. “Except the quiet ones.”
THE END
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Guest Dispatchers Stories by Katy Sundberg
