End of chapter 2 - Father Jim suggested psychiatry and creating new memories with Thing 2.

Chapter 3

Firehouse 50 is a two-story building. The first floor has an open bay for fire trucks, squad truck, and ambulance. The ambulance and squad always backed in so the vehicles were ready for an emergency call.

Thursday morning started slow. They could sit down to eat the breakfast Bean had cooked, finishing it before the first alarm.

Bean was short for Bean Pole. He was slim and about six feet tall. He was a member of Squad 81 and gained a reputation in the firehouse as a contortionist. He could have been called Flex for flexible. He was known to get in spaces no other firefighter could go. It appeared that some of his joints were held together by puppet string. He had a mop of sandy-colored hair. Bicycling was his way of keeping in shape. Living five miles from the firehouse, was an easy ride for him.

The other members of the Squad are Lieutenant O'Malley, Frik, and Frak.
Frik was officially known as William Baily. Bob Freeman was Frak. Both men of similar build came to Firehouse 50 on the same day. It took months to keep them straight. Lieutenant O'Malley was so frustrated keeping them straight he dubbed them Frik and Frak. Whenever he called Frik or Frak, one of them would show up.

Everyone had work to do on the day shift at Firehouse 50, unless they were on an emergency call. Joe and Mitch were washing their rig. The plan was to go to the Fire Department's gas station and top off the tank.

Intercom squawking, "Fire trucks 61 and 71, Squad 81 and Ambulance 51, building collapse 255 Industrial Rd."

The mops and buckets were pushed aside. The firehouse had doors on each side for ease of deployment. The ambulance and Squad came out of the right side, and the two firetrucks came out of the left side.

"OK, Rosie. Show us the way," Joe said as he watched the screen light up.
Mitch hit the big red light and siren switch.

"That must be that big textile manufacturing plant near the river. It was in line of a tornado.

Our captain, Captain Broderick, was first on site.

"Ambo 51 set up for triage," Joe and Mitch said, pointing thirty yards from the building. After moving the ambulance, they pulled out the stretcher, extended the IV pole, hanging a plastic-covered sign, TRIAGE, on both sides.

Mitch said, "It will be a while before we see any patients. How did the golf game with Father Jim go yesterday?"

"Golf game, Mitch laughed, "I don't think you can call it a golf game. We drove all over the golf course to find The Father's golf balls. At least three were in the drink, and there were only two water features."

"We had a couple of beers at the 19th hole and talked for a long timeâ?"I should have said I spoke for a long time. He is a skilled listener, and he planted a few pearls of wisdom in the end. What I gleaned from his counsel was what he said each time. He thinks I should see a shrink for evaluation and possibly medication counseling at the VA. "I am your spiritual counselor, but I am not qualified to do the rest." My response is always the same: "No way, No How. I do not want to risk the higher-ups in the Fire Department finding out. Then I would ride a desk for the rest of my career."

He said something that resonated with me. He thinks that Thing 2, and I need to make new memories.


Suddenly, patients were coming our way. In a mass casualty situation, medical staff assign patients a color based on their level of injury.


RED - Immediate need, high potential for survival

YELLOW - serious injury but immediate

GREEN - minor injuries, walking wounded

Black - deceased, dying from massive injuries

There were blankets for yellow, green, and black patients on the ground and stretchers with red blankets. They set up a triage tent for RED cases. When the Chief Surgeon arrived, he pointed to Joe and Mitch, "pre and post-op." Dr. Christini knew they were army medics and trusted their judgment in mass casualty situations.

By then, Dr. Schofield, the Director of Emergency Services, had arrived to take over triage.

Mitch and Joe headed to the operating tent. Rushing into pre-op, where there were two stretchers with two seriously injured people waiting for surgery. The nurses had assessed them.

R. Christini yelled, "Let's go, let's go!"

As the nurses unlocked the stretchers and pushed them into the operating room. Mitch and Joe took the next two patients. They each started a large bore IV needle size 16 in case they needed to get blood products.

"Let's go, let's go!"

Stretchers rolled. Out of the OR into post-op. After the medical team determined the patients were stable, they placed them in the waiting ambulance and transported them to the hospital.

All the medical staff received training in mass casualties. This group will soon have a review session to see where to improve the process.

Mitch and Joe were running on fumes after an 18-hour shift. The good news was they would have 24 hours off.

While walking to their cars, Mitch said, "That will be quite a session, as the co-chairs, Dr. Christini and Dr. Schofield, hate each other."