The Ambulance

The Ambulance by Andrew Evans

As i ran, it was as though my own shadow was standing behind me. I felt it. Like a soul watcher. Ready to split. A crossroads must be approaching. One of those decisions you don't think about but could have implications later. Left or right? Backwards or forwards? Walk or run?

Go out? Stay in? Fate decides what happens after our initial choices. That is where our control ends.

Destiny is never in our hands and its best if we come to peace with that and crack on.

I had decided to go for a run this evening, having run a gruelling countryside half marathon at the weekend. 13.5 miles of hard but very geatifying excercise among thousands of other souls.

My legs felt weary and stiff but i knew i had to get going again or my fitness and stamina levels would simply go backwards and the hard work would be wasted. 

Time to blow off the cobwebs. I put on my foul weather gear and grabbed my water.

So, despite the rain coming down and the feeling of lethargy coursing through me, i stepped outside and began to run gently along. After around fifteen minutes my legs felt better, blood was warming and the feelings of tiredness had subsided.

I had come to the traffic lights and then turned left. In the distance i heard a siren, quite faint at first, then growing nearer and nearer. A police car perhaps, or an ambulance.

Nearer still,..yes definitely an ambulance. I made to cross the road, as always trusting my judgement of the traffic and using my experience of road running. 

As i ran across the road, i glanced at the ambulance. Sometimes when out running i daydream, perhaps as a way of distracting myself from the hard work.

I glanced again. I imagined the inside of the ambulance, i dont know why. Myself running along, drivers playing their radios on the way home from work, cyclists cycling to wherever it was they needed to go. Mothers driving children home from school.

But i was drawn to the ambulance. I ran right in front of it, trusting my instincts to get across the road. It had been going fast, weaving through the traffic, probably rushing a poor someone into the hospital. 

My mind seemed to go completely blank for a few seconds, then i was on the other side of the road. I wiped the rain from my face, the ambulance sped through the traffic lights and away up the road.

I still couldnt get the image out of my head as i ran along. My shadow now projected in front of me as though trying to leave me..

There was a team of paramedics inside the ambulance, tending to a man, around my age. The man was lay still, he seemed to be flickering in and out of consciousness. I empathised. I imagined that he was in a lot of pain, he was trying to block it out by listening to the rain pattering on the roof of the vehicle.

One of the medics, a lady with a concerned but caring look on her face, placed her hand on the mans cheek. 

"Come on now my love, you're in good hands, nothing bad is going to happen, try and keep your eyes open for me." she said.

The man opened his eyes slightly and whispered "What is happening to me, i can't see properly..please..help". His eyes rolled back.

"We will be able to get you to a nice bed soon, and your mum and dad are on their way, youve just had an accident and its a bit of shock love, hold on. Everything will be fine i promise." she turned to her colleague, a younger male, and gave him a look that said 'Its out of our hands'.

The male colleague said "Come on mate, nearly there. There's a telly at the hospital, we'll be able to get you the footy match on if you stay awake for us."

The injured man said "Thankyou, im going to sleep i think." His eyes rolled again and then closed.

"Put your bloody foot down!" Shouted the lady medic through to the driver, as she rummaged through a bag of medications and needles, shouting instructions to her colleague.

The ambulance swung around the corner and into the grounds of the hospital. 'Accident and emergency' read a huge blue and white sign.

'Bloody hell!', i thought to myself as i ran along the roadside. 'All of that from just seeing an ambulance go by, talk about daydreaming!'.

I got to the end of the next stretch of road and came to a second set of traffic lights. I needed to cross again so i could get on the road back home. The rain was still coming down and getting in my eyes, blurring my vision slightly.

As i approached the crossing i looked up the road, about one hundered metres up the road i saw another ambulance. 'I dont believe it, i hope these people are going to be allright' i thought.

I made to run across the road, trusting my road safety nous again. As i stepped out, a car came speeding round the corner, i couldnt turn back. I saw the drivers eyes through his windscreen. He was terrified and he slammed on his brakes. They screamed.

I saw my whole life go by before my eyes. All the highs and lows. The love, the laughter and the tears. I felt the breath driven from my chest, my mind shut down , i saw brilliant whiteness, as i fell. 

I knew nothing more after that.

My eyes opened slightly. I felt as though i was driving along, i could hear the raindrops pattering above. I felt rested and peaceful. I looked up and saw a womans face smiling down at me, as she put her soft warm hand on my cheek and told me "Its ok love, you are fine now with us."

The driver put his foot down but my shadow had already gone.