Unlikely Hero Read online

  “Damian. Damian… listen let’s go, you got him. The other two ran. Get up, lets get the hell out of here.”

  I stared down at him, trying to catch my breath. When he didn’t respond, I shook him harder.

  “Man, let’s get the hell out of here. This is so messed up. Come on. Let’s go. Damian!” I heard the panic in my voice. I shoved my arms under his arms and tried lifting him, but it was like trying to move dead weight. Damian was not moving. He lay clutching his side, covered in a shadowy gray. I instinctively pushed my hands down over his wound trying to staunch the blood.

  “DAMIAN!” My shout echoed in the stillness of the night.

  I looked up and quickly glanced around, looking for something to stop the bleeding, when I felt Damian’s body shudder. I spotted Jamie laying a few feet away, still. Having no recollection how he even got there, he made no movement, his face stone-like. Anton who had crawled out from under Damian’s weight, when Damian toppled to the side, started to slowly move backwards using his legs and rolling. He couldn’t raise his arms from the toll of the punches and the lack of strength the thrashing had taken on his badly broken and beaten body.

  Anton moaned loudly as he continued crawling to the side trying to make his way over to the curb. He slowly sat up rubbing at his eyes, trying to see through the swollen slits.

  Still in a daze I stood up, I was numb except for the dull throbbing in my arm. I slowly bent over grabbing the knife out of Jaime’s chest and started approaching Anton. Weak and slow, with burning hatred consuming me, I carried the knife towards Anton. I was just fifteen feet away from where he sat crying when I heard the loud rumbling of a car approaching. The remaining three guys had taken off, circling the block. The car quickly turned the corner, the tires screeching to a halt in front of the grisly scene. Anton’s friends surveyed the scene from the safety of the car, quickly spotting a beaten, broken Anton laying half on the curb, half in the gutter and me, knife in hand, approaching him.

  I stopped and watched as they abruptly stopped the car and opened the door. Two of Anton’s thugs ran to the curb, dragged Anton clumsily into the back seat, and sped away, Anton’s legs still hanging out of the opened rear door. The dim red glow of the tail lights shrinking in the distance. I dropped the knife.

  Grabbing my arm, I turned and staggered over to where Damian lie still. I knelt down beside him and felt his neck for a pulse. Nothing. Lowering my head to his chest, I listened for a heartbeat. All I heard was a bubbling sound as the blood escaped his lungs and foam ran down the side of his mouth. I pushed his hair away from his eyes. They were opened, but there was no life in them, he was dead. I looked up, through my tears and saw Jamie’s body lying still, also dead.

  I was amazed at the silence surrounding me. Death lay on either side of me and all I could think, at that moment, was how incredulous the silence was. I willed my eyes to focus. I was unsteady, shaking from the weakness in my legs caused by the exertion of the fight, but I managed to stand up. I took another look around at the two bodies lying dead in a pool of their own blood.

  I screamed. I don’t know what I screamed, I only know I heard the echo in the stillness. It took every fiber of my being to turn and make my way to the other side of the service station, where we had left our motorcycles earlier. Unable to move faster than a slow trot, I finally reached the bikes. I opened the leather pouch on the side of my bike, removed the cloth I used to keep my bike clean and I wrapped it tightly around my arm. Then I painfully lifted my leg over the bike, a loud grunt escaping from deep within me and started the engine.

  I didn’t know where I was going, or what I would do when I got there. I just knew I just needed to get away from here… all this death, and for what? For nothing…nothing.

  I rode off into the cool damp night air as fast as my bike would take me, leaving my helmet on the ground where it fell as I sped away. Speed was what was I needed. I rode hard thinking if I could just go fast enough, if…if…if. Speed would take me away from tonight.

  I sped around corners, down empty streets. I sped over the train tracks, half hoping to collide with one. All the while, trying to make sense of what had happened. I couldn’t reconcile this was all over a girl. I lost the only friend I had, the only ‘brother’ I’ve ever known, in a fight that didn’t need to happen, because of a girl. To hell with this damned life.

  I raced into the night, angry tears streaming down my face. Not knowing where I was going, with a heavy heart and an empty soul, I was lost. As my bike approached the intersection, I shifted the gear and twisted the throttle, full, forward, faster….

  Chapter 2

  I woke up, confused and not knowing exactly where I was or why I was lying on the ground near a densely wooded area.

  “What the hell…” I thought out loud.

  Looking at my watch I saw it was a little after 11:30 pm.

  I shook my head to clear it as I tried to stand. My legs were shaking as I quickly looked down, scanning my body. No blood, no pain, no broken bones - from what I could assess. I slowly raised my head and looked up. There—just feet in front of me on the roadway—was what I can only describe as total carnage. Two cars in the middle of the intersection lay mangled and broken. It looked as if there was an explosion. There was glass, car pieces and parts strewn everywhere. Where the hell was my bike? I glanced around quickly, but didn’t see it.

  Instinct overtook me; I immediately ran over to the car closest to me. It was a mini-van, the shape barely detectable from the damage it sustained. I approached it, apprehensively, looking inside.

  There were two people inside, a man and a woman. From the positions of the broken bodies it was evident these people could not be saved. They were both dead. I couldn’t help anyone here.

  I turned and ran over to the other car. It was Jeep Grand Cherokee. The car was laying upside down, one wheel out of four missing, the other three twisted around by the force of the collision. The roof was smashed and the vehicle was tipping forward. The windshield, which had been crushed from the weight of the car and the force of the impact, titled precariously, shattered glass everywhere.

  Hell, if anyone was still alive in there I would be totally shocked. I got down on my hands and knees and looked in the driver’s side of the car where the window once was and saw a man suspended upside down, held in place by his seatbelt; the only thing keeping him in his seat. The steering wheel was embedded in his chest. He wasn’t moving. Blood dripped vertically from his chin, to his ears, over his forehead to the roof of the car where a large puddle had accumulated. I felt his neck searching for a pulse, but found nothing. I was sure this guy was dead.

  I heard a faint moan coming from the front passenger side. I ran over and bent down on my hands and knees, I pushed debris – side view mirror, broken glass, twisted metal and broken plastic quickly to the side. Still unable to see anything, I lowered myself to my stomach. I could see what appeared to be another person, small, maybe a child or a small woman. My nostrils were immediately assailed by the strong smell of gasoline. I spotted an arm dangling in an awkward, unnatural position. The fingers twitching slightly, moved in strange jerks. This one was still alive.

  I crawled partially through the window and saw it was a girl. Like the driver, she was also upside down, her seatbelt pinning her in her seat. The blood from her head wounds covered her face and hair, which hung down, a bloodied curtain. I turned to my back and pushed myself into the vehicle. Looking up, I saw the girl eerily hanging over me. I reached under her and tried to undo the seatbelt but I was unable to get to it from this angle. I tried moving the girl; she moaned weakly. She was barely alive, in and out of consciousness and it was clear she was in a lot of pain.

  Not wanting to injure her further, I got down on my belly and crawled through what used to be the back window. I reached up to the front seat trying to release the seat belt. The smell of gas was getting stronger now. I knew I had to hurry; I had to get her out right away.

  I felt for the relea
se of the seatbelt, my fingers frantically pushing past the twisted metal of the seat frame, searching for the button. Scared I wasn’t going to get her out on time. I finally found it and pushed it. At first it wouldn’t work, but I refused to give up. I pushed it as hard as I could and pulled the lock from the clasp at the same time. The belt finally gave way, and the girl slid unceremoniously to the roof of the car. I tried my best to catch her, but she omitted a small painful cry.

  I scrambled quickly out of the rear of the upside down car and squirmed again on my belly. Reaching through the front passenger window, I got down on my side and using my legs against the frame of the rear door for leverage. I grabbed her and pulled her out of the vehicle. She flittingly opened her eyes and then passed out. I grabbed her under her arms as gently as I could, knowing I had to move quickly. The smell of gas and oil permeated the air.

  With my arms under hers, crossed in front of her chest, I dragged her, legs trailing, approximately twenty feet to the side of the road where the grass met the roadway. Hoping the softness of the grass would be more of a cushion for her broken body and I laid her down gently. I didn’t know if I’d caused her more injury by dragging her, but I sure as hell knew if I hadn’t gotten her out, she would die in that car.

  I thought I heard the girl moan again. She was trying to speak. It sounded like she said ‘dad’. Damn, the other guy is her father.

  I knew then, I had to give it one more try, if only just to spare the man’s body from burning. I rose to my feet, ran back to the car and tried to unhook the driver’s seatbelt in the same manner I had opened his daughter’s. The metal of the car was blistering, the fire approaching rapidly. I was cut and bruised but I didn’t care as I desperately tried to free the man from his belt. I reached in one last time to pull him out, searching for something to cut through the belt with, but I was unsuccessful in freeing the man from his seat. I rose to my feet and backed away from the driver’s door as the fire rapidly approached. Angry with myself for failing, I cursed. I didn’t want to let her down. I glanced at his face one last time and was shocked at the sight of his lifeless eyes opened, staring vacantly at me.

  I ran to the other side of the car looking for something, anything that could assist me in saving the one person who survived this carnage, the girl. That was when I spotted it. I spotted what appeared to be the girls’ pocketbook. I grabbed it and quickly backed up from the Jeep, carrying the bag with me hoping, against the odds, there was a cellphone inside I could use to call for help.

  I rushed back to her side and knelt down beside her. I grabbed at her wrist and was relieved to find a pulse, although weak. Thank God. I knew I had to get her help if she was to have any chance of surviving. It was at that moment, the Jeep became fully engulfed in flames, a trail of gas from the rear started to burn like the fuse of a firecracker. It wouldn’t be long until the fire reached the other car, the gasoline ribboning in a blazing path.

  I quickly flipped the girl’s purse upside down and dumped its contents onto the grass, her personal items were scattering all over. Sure enough, a cell phone fell out landing on the grass next to where I sat. I grabbed it and quickly dialed 911. The emergency operator answered on the first ring,

  “911. What is your emergency?”

  I was elated that I had someone on the line and shouted “There’s been a bad accident on Route 17, there are fatalities, please send an ambulance!”

  The operator repeated “911. What is your emergency?”

  “There’s been a bad accident on Route 17, I’m not sure where…people are dead, we need an ambulance!”

  “911. What is your emergency?”

  “AN. ACCIDENT. ROUTE. 17. SEND. AMBULENCE!” Christ, this was maddening. I continued to shout into the phone, but the connection was full of static and I wasn’t even sure if she could hear me at all.

  I closed my eyes and grabbed my head in frustration, “HOLY CHRIST!” I shouted.

  I heard the girl moan, louder this time and immediately placed the phone on the ground next to me, leaving it on; hoping the GPS of the phone would guide the emergency first responders to our location. She mumbled, incoherently, I bent down close to her, trying to hear.

  Just then a loud explosion ripped through the air, crushing the silence. Boom! Another explosion followed. The minivan jumped a foot into the air as if it just received an electrical shock and then abruptly fell back down, bouncing onto its tires.

  The girl, startled by the loud bang, twitched. She struggled to move, reaching over trying to find anything to grab onto to lift herself. I immediately grabbed her hand and tried to hold her still so she wouldn’t cause herself any further injury. I spoke softly trying to comfort her.

  “Hey, hey. You’ve been in an accident. Try not to move. I don’t know if you broke anything.” I explained to her, using my most soothing voice.

  She became increasingly restless. Still holding her hand, I lowered my ear to her mouth as she was trying to speak. Struggling to hear her, it sounded as if she were talking underwater, the words just garbled and floating.

  I realized she was choking on her own blood and immediately pulled my leather jacket off. Gently raising her torso, I shoved it under her head and shoulders, elevating her. She moaned and with a shuddering movement, seemed to pass out again. Her breathing took on a more steady rhythm and she quieted. She was getting weaker, the pulse in her wrist fading.

  “Where the hell is the frigging ambulance.” I said out loud.

  The girl tried to speak again. I leaned in closer again.

  “Dad…” she faded. “Please dad..” she faded off, the pain palpable in her voice. She turned her head slightly as a sole tear trickled down the side of her face, mixing with the blood leaving a thin trail on her cheek. My chest tightened in response to her pain. I felt the need to comfort her. To make her feel as though someone was there, someone cared. I held her hand and spoke calmingly again.

  “Hey, it’s gonna be ok. You just try to lie still. You’ve been hurt. Help is on the way. Your gonna be ok.” I explained, not knowing if I were trying to convince her or myself. I lay her hand back down on her side and continued watching her. She seemed to become more restless when I released her hand, so I took her hand into mine and held it firmly but gently. She immediately calmed, or passed out, I wasn’t sure which. I watched her chest rise and fall with each shallow breath.

  The sounds of sirens in the distance brought an audible sigh of relief from me. I looked down at the girl and gently moved the hair from her face. I was saddened at how frail she looked. Brushing her cheek with the back of my hand, I was surprised at the emotion that the simple gesture stirred in my chest. I found myself feeling very protective of her. Willing her, with all I had inside of me, to be strong, fight to live, to survive.

  Within a matter of minutes, the accident scene took on a look of organized chaos. All the rescue units began to arrive at the same time. Firemen jumped quickly from their trucks, hoses hooked up and they worked on putting out the flames that engulfed the cars and the burning pavement from the gas and oil. The police and first responders scouted the immediate area looking for victims.

  Although I did not want to let her hand go or to leave her side, I stood up. I was trying to get their attention by waiving frantically and yelling “Over here.” It was as though no one saw or heard me. I looked down at her lying there, she was getting weaker and at that point, I realized I had no choice. I needed to let go of her hand for a few seconds; knowing if she were not immediately attended to, she would die there and soon.

  I started running toward the group of first responders. I looked to my left and saw two police officers running right past me to where the girl was laying.

  “Hey, over here. Over here.” The first officer yelled. Waiving frantically to get the first responders along with their equipment to where they stood over the girl. A group ran over to where I had been sitting just moments ago, where I left the girl laying. Thank you God was all I could manage to utter.
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  The fact they didn’t notice me or hear me, and ran right past me without acknowledging my being there was curious. I was just astounded and stood staring at them in amazement, my mouth hanging open. I attributed it to the mass confusion of the scene.

  “Looks like this one is alive” the EMT yelled to his partner. “Hey! This one has a pulse, get me a kit STAT.”

  The one attendant ran for the equipment, while the other began to assess the girl’s injuries.

  All the action seemed to be happening at once. The police along with the EMTs were strategizing on how to remove the other victims from the now wet and foam covered automobiles.

  I turned around in a slow circle, stunned. One team was working on the girl, while another team was using the jaws-of-life, however ironic, to remove the girl’s father from the Jeep. Once he was removed, a sheet was placed over his body until the investigation was concluded, and his body could be taken to the morgue.

  I was emotionally drained and saddened knowing the pain she would assuredly feel learning her father did not survive the accident. I was sure it would come as a terrible shock to her.

  I turned my head away from the scene, slowly making my way back to where the EMT’s continued working on the girl. Please let her be ok. Please let her live. I kept on chanting over and over in my head. Like that would somehow make a difference in the actual turnout. I heard all of the exchanges between each one of the first responders concerning the girl. I’m not a doctor, but if I had to guess I’d say she was in worse condition than I even imagined.

  “I need to start a central line.”

  The commands continued.

  “She’s lost a lot of blood. Start another IV now.”

  “We need to intubate.”

  “Her breathing is too shallow.”

  I stepped in closer to look at her.

  “Get me an arm board, she’s got a compound.” The lead EMT growled. I immediately took a step back.