45. Triage

Hundreds of people needed doctors and there were only 3 doctors on the grounds.  Many of these people had not been trampled, but were overdosing on a designer drug that looked like acid but gave you the kind of "bad trip" that made you convulse about in the mud.  No one had noticed before because so many people were convulsing in the mud for fun.

Verna looked back at Portia but realized that getting medical help to her wounded friend would mean getting a doctor past the crowds below.  "You people, over there, Section… I can't read it… Section AA -- get your asses over here and start helping those people down there.  Use your tents for stretchers!  What are you waiting for -- a paycheck?!"  MOOOVE!"

Then the crowd of badly freaked out Boomers started back towards the stage, picking up and emptying out tents as they went, preparing to help the trampled and tripping.

"Over there, you can see me pointing to you down there," Verna could see her arm stretching out 40 feet on the 3D projection below her.  "You bunch, move out of the way, we have to evacuate this building.  Leave your precious property behind and MOVE your arses, NOW!"

"You lot, on the stairs, you can hear me, GET OUT OF THE BUILDING - MOVE!"

Soon the crowd on the stairs started to turn around, they picked up the people who had fallen at their feet, some badly injured, and carried them down together.

"You lot, yes you can see my giant arm pointing at you, get your stoned asses out of the way!  Let the ambulances through!"

This kind of gentle and caring crowd control went on for more than two hours.  Verna was horrified by what had happened to Lyle, unprepared to acknowledge it, in shock, unable to even remember it.  But somewhere deep inside, she was heart-broken to have her old-self back and didn't know how it happened.  It was not good to be yelling at people again -- but someone had to do it and that way she didn't have to think about …  whatever it was that made her want to die.

Mickey held Portia's head in his lap.  He stroked her hand.  "You're going to be okay," he said, mostly to calm himself.  "You're going to be okay."

Jules popped up on Portia's SPECTACL.  "What's going on?  Is she okay?  Tell me she's okay?"  Mickey took Portia's SPECTACL, pointed it at her head for a moment and hooked it on his belt.

Donny kept pacing from the stage lip back to Portia.  There was no way to get a doctor up here and if they got one, there were 27 people just on the roof who needed the doctor almost as much as Portia.

"There's no way they can triage this," said Ayame.  "This is a disaster area.  We need a helicopter."

Donny looked at Ayame.  He loved her too much to ask her if she had one in her pocket, but it seemed like an inane statement to make.  "A helicopter?" is all he said.

"I'll be back," said Ayame.

Ayame could fly a helicopter.  In fact, Ayame could fly just about anything that dared to have wings and let her in the cockpit.  Combined with this considerable talent, Ayame had studied martial arts.  Also, she was an expert rock climber, (so theoretically, she could fly to the Himalayas and kick BigFoot butt if she really wanted to).  These three important facts explain how Portia ended up in a hospital as quickly as she did.

This is what happened.  Ayame looked down and could see the wheelchairs and canes of the band called "The Howling Bones" being loading into a private helicopter at the base of the building, behind the barbed wire fence where all the bands' Winnebagos were lined up in a little "celebrity city". 

Ayame grabbed a thick electrical cable -- every word of truth here -- she grabbed a long electrical cable and passed it under one thigh, across her body, and over the opposite shoulder and then climbed down the side of the parking structure.

She rappelled directly through the projection of Verna's face and torso.  She climbed along the ledge on the third floor.  She patted someone's behind that was swinging in a dangling parachute.  She waved to the many people who chose to escape the mob on the stairs by entering the car park.  Then Ayame rappelled the rest of the way down into the celebrity security area.

Ayame skulked up behind the professional bodyguards that a rock band had hired and removed them from service with two well-placed jabs to their throats.

The band members started screaming at the pilot to "go up!" but Ayame jumped onto the running board and pulled the pilot out of the helicopter, telling the band to "Get out or I'll smack you."  They immediately hobbled out, seeing how Ayame had made short work of their ten thousand dollar a day security team and after all, the celebrity city was not overrun with a mob or anything.

Ayame grabbed the controls, lifted off, spun around and landed the helicopter on the main stage.  They loaded Portia and twelve other wounded individuals into the passenger seating and she headed off, calling on the radio to find out which direction offered the shortest trip to a hospital.

Mickey and Donny stayed behind because it meant more wounded could be transported but they desperately wanted to go with Portia.  They stared after the helicopter as it became smaller in the distance.  Verna yelled at them, still using the microphone, "What the helix do you two think you're doing?  Go and see if anyone needs your help back there!"   The casualties at the back were already being attended to by others but Verna was on a roll.

Mickey and Donny were about to follow the orders of the angry lady with the microphone when Donny's parents reached the roof, mud covered and exhausted from climbing against the crowd.  Mrs. Summers was totally saucer-eyed.  Whatever she was seeing, it was on a different plane of perception.

"Where's Portia?!"

"On that helicopter," said Donny, pointing to the distant flying machine.

John Summers grabbed up Donny in his arms and held him.  "Oh my God, son.  Oh my God," was all he said.  Mrs. Summers was holding Mickey and kissed his cheek.  "I'm sorry," she said.  "I'm so sorry, son."

"Portia's on her way to the hospital," said Mickey.  "You better go after her."

"I'm sorry we threw you out," said Mrs. Summers.

"Yeah, well, I'm not," said Mickey.  "Now you two go to the hospital.  We're going to stay here and see if we can help."

"No, Mickey," said Donny.  "You go with my parents.  Find Portia.  She's your wife."

"Your wife?" said Mr. Summers, infused with guilt.  "Oh, I'm so sorry we threw you out Mickey."

"Why?" said Mickey.  "Best thing ever happened to me."  Mickey winced back the tears and turned away.  He was terrified he'd lost Portia.  He looked at where Verna was standing, barking out orders to the crowd from her vantagepoint.  Beside her feet was a black starburst of carbon-encrusted and bubbled up rubber, the only remaining sign that Lyle had ever stood there. 

Mickey thought: “Good-bye Lyle”.

Mr. Summers knew some first aid and he showed Mickey and Donny how to place a splint on the broken leg of what had been a member of the angry crowd but was now only a whimpering, trampled victim.

Within minutes, Ayame's distant helicopter could be seen returning.  Verna stepped out of the way so Ayame could land on the roof again, which was a dangerous procedure because of the Waste-REL’s odd proportions and the broken and torn awning that was still sticking out at odd angles.

Ayame ducked out of the cockpit, blades still chopping. "The hospital's close," she yelled. "Get more!"

Many more hurt and wounded from the roof and stairwell were loaded onto the helicopter.

"Dad!" yelled Donny as they carried an elderly woman to the helicopter.  "That pilot, that's Aya!  She's my wife!"

"She's pretty!" his father yelled back.

"Yeah," said Donny.  "I guess I can come home now!"

They placed the unconscious woman gently in one of the seats in the helicopter and strapped her in.

Soon Ayame kissed Donny good-bye and took off again, this time having to avoid other helicopters that had come to remove other trampled people on the ground level, not to mention a much larger number of overdoses.

"She's incredible," said John Summers.

"Yes," said Donny.

It was 2 hours before the casualties were finally triaged and transported and Mickey, Donny and the Summers worked into the early evening, helping move the wounded to Ayame's helicopter.  Verna was hoarse by the time night fell, but in the ensuing years, the name Verna, which became the most popular baby girl's name, came to mean "brave woman with the iron lungs who saves thousands" to later generations.

Next: "Hello! I Must Be Going"