------ A Few Minutes Earlier ------
Dan had just arrived at his apartment door, drenched from the downpour, where he fished into his duffle bag to grab his house keys and phone. 'Better make sure it's not on silent.', he thought, not wishing to experience the wrath of his fire station chief, should he ever miss a call. Rummaging around, he realized that he'd taken his phone out of his bag and placed it in his locker at the gym. "Fuck!", Dan shouted in the hallway. Turning the key, he quickly opened it, threw his bag inside, and pulled the door close again.
Racing down the hall and into the stairwell, Dan hoped Chris was still at the gym and had not left yet. Getting to the front of his building, it appeared the rain had gotten even heavier. Groaning, Dan decided to make a dash for it and hit the sidewalk at speed.
Nearing the gym, Dan turned the corner and bumped into two guys racing the other way. "Sorry!" Dan shouted, not stopping at all. Reaching the gym door, he pushed and found it still unlocked. "Today is my lucky day.", he said softly, huffing and puffing from his run.
"Chris!" He shouted, not wanting to startle him with his sudden return. No answer. Walking through the gym, he could see the room where he left. Chris was still the only place with lights on. Smirking, Dan had a momentary fantasy where they reversed the roles, except this time, he got to watch Chris shower naked. He giggled at the prospect but knew how unlikely it would have been. 'I can dream though', Dan thought impurely.
Getting closer, Dan's stomach dropped. He could see blood on the floor. "What the heck?" he said. Moving faster on his feet, he entered the locker room and immediately hit the panic button and calling out, "Chris!".
------------- Now ------------
Bursting through the front door, a uniformed police officer entered the gym with taser drawn. Scanning the darkened gym, she called out, "POLICE! Show yourself!". Seeing the locker room still lit by lighting, the Officer slowly made her way through the gym, checking any blind spots carefully for potential assailants. Hearing grunts coming from the locker room, the police officer focused her attention and again called out, "POLICE! Identify yourself.", the Officer repeated herself, edging closer to the source of the alarm.
Entirely focused on saving Chris' life, Dan tuned the rest of the world out. Utilising his firefighter CPR training, Dan counted the intervals of chest compression with exact precision. Never has he had the life of someone so important to him in his hands. Sucking air into his body, Dan drew his body down and pressed his lips against Chris', breathing air into his lungs. Moving back, Dan recommenced his compressions, not taking any notice of the approaching law enforcement officer.
The police officer entering the room gasped at the sight of the blood. Turning her gaze to Dan, all she could see from her perspective was one unidentified male crouched over another man. "POLICE! Stop what you are doing right now!" she demanded, raising her taser to be pointed directly at Dan. Watching his body movements, she motioned herself circularly around the two men, keeping a safe distance.
Voice cracking under the emotional strain, Dan said, "Please help me, he's dying." whilst continuing the motions of chest compressions. "Fucking hell, Dan?" the police officer exclaimed, recognising the voice. "What the hell happened here?" She asked, tucking away the taser into its holster on her belt. "I need to keep count," Dan replied, not able to give any other answer right now.
The Officer, stepping towards Dan, crouched down beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. Taking in the situation, she squeezed his shoulder and spoke, "I'll get back up, don't you worry.", hoping her words gave him some comfort or reassurance. Using her other hand, the Officer reached up to the radio on her opposite shoulder. She pressed down the receiver on its side, and with a sense of urgency, spoke, "Dispatch, this is Officer Kelly responding to the 10-33. We have an injured male receiving CPR in the premises and requires paramedic and hospital transport immediately, over.". Static noise. This dispatch replied, "Officer Kelly, this is dispatch, paramedics are on location, waiting for the all-clear, over.". Without wasting another moment, Officer Kelly radioed back, "Dispatch, all clear, over.".
Dan was continuing to provide CPR care for Craig as the two paramedics entered the locker room. Carry two oversized duffle bags filled with medical equipment. They unceremoniously dumped them, assessing the situation. "We'll take over here.", the paramedic said, attempting to relieve Dan from his duties. Officer Kelly stepped away, allowing Dan to hurry back but remain close enough that he could watch what was happening.
Pressing his stethoscope to Chris' chest, the lead paramedic listened for any sounds of life, hearing nothing. Shaking his head, he reached his hand out to the other paramedic and said, "Mike, hand me the Ambu bag and then start compression.". Mike nodded his understanding, grabbing the requested item and passing it on to his colleague. In a fluid movement, the Ambu bag was placed over Chris' mouth to assist with oxygen supply, whilst Mike commenced compression on his chest.
Dan watched in stunned disbelief, finally able to take in everything. The emotion was overwhelming, and he felt like he would throw up any moment.
"That's thirty compressions, John", Mike started raising his hands. John dropped the ambo bag and brought his stethoscope back to Chris' chest and found no heartbeat. "Nothing.", he said, defeated. Dan, angered by their sudden stop, yelled, "Don't give up! Save him!". The paramedics shared a mournful look of understanding. Dan had seen this many times when he was a responder and couldn't believe what was happening. Shedding tears, he begged them with a simple, "please.".
John sighed, "Let's try the paddle, Mike", he said before turning to Kelly, "Officer, do you know how to retrieve the stretcher from the ambulance?" he asked bluntly. Kelly nodded and replied, "I'll get it now.", racing out of the locker room and through the gym. Mike prepared the defibrillator machine before retrieving scissors from their bag. Starting at the bottom of Chris' shirt, he cut upwards, exposing his taught muscular torso. With his chest clear of any obstructions, they attached a paddle over his right pec and the other below his left pec, just above his rib. The device, sufficiently charged, Mike yelled, "CLEAR!" before activating the potential life-saving shock.
Chris' body jolted in response to the electrical charge. John repeated his earlier steps, placing the stethoscope against Chris' chest. He raised his eyebrow in mild surprise, "I have a heartbeat, but it's weak.", he announced. Although Chris was not out of danger yet, a sense of relief washed over Dan. 'You can do it, baby.', Dan thought to himself, trying to get his emotions under control. Wiping his cheek with the back of his hand, he watched through hazy vision as Officer
Kelly returned with the stretcher. Mike called out to Dan, "Can you help us? We need someone to operate the bag while we lift him. Dan, more than keen to assist, scurried across the floor, taking over the Ambu bag and placing it over Chris' mouth.
Lowering the lift board to the ground, the paramedics hoisted Chris from the tile floor and placed him on the stretcher. "Where are going to move on three," Brad said, looking for clear understanding. "One, two, THREE.," he said, all four of them moving together, working in unison.
Thankfully, it was a straight line from the locker room to the front door, and they were able to get outside will relative ease. The weather still not easing up, they moved as quickly as they could to avoid getting Chris too wet. Additional Police officers had arrived out, and Kelly, confident the paramedics and Dan had it sorted, switched her attention to the issue at hand.
Kelly recognising the two rookie officers, made sure to be crystal clear to know what was expected of them. "We have a single male, the victim of a brutal physical assault. There is blood everywhere, and we'll need the forensic team here ASAP. You two need to secure the crime scene and radio dispatch to send CSI. I will ride with the victim and the witness to the hospital to collect statements and their clothes for evidence. Understood?" she said with absolute authority in her voice. The two nodded in understanding before racing to get the crime scene tape and radio dispatch.
Loading Chris' stretcher into the ambulance, Mike hooked up the monitor to the ECG machine and connected the nodes to Chris's chest. John entering the driver seat, switched the sirens on and said, "I'll radio hospital ER." to no one in particular. Dan climbing in the back and preparing to close the doors, was stopped by Officer Kelly. She pulled it back open before climbing in herself and slamming the door shut behind her. Gesturing to Chris and Dan, she said, "You two are covered in evidence, and I'll have to come with.".
Mike preparing the patient bio, turned to Dan and handed him a clipboard and a pen. "I need you to fill in his details.", he said hurriedly. Dan started to fill in the sheet but got caught. He didn't know where Chris lived or if he had any allergies. Officer Kelly noticing that Dan was struggling to complete the form, sighed, "Name?" she asked. Dan turned his head to her, confused. "What is his name?" she asked. Dan, finally understanding, responded, "Christopher Benson". Kelly tapped her fingers on her palm police device. "Date of birth?" she asked next.
Dan paused for a moment, he knew the day and month, but he had to count back for the year. "February 7th, 1993.", he said somewhat confidently. Tapping that information into her device, she waited for it to return a search of drivers licences and known associations.
"Ok, ready to write this down?" Kelly asked Dan, head gesturing to the clipboard. Dan pressed the pen down, ready to receive the information. "Christopher B Benson, born February 7th, 1993, of apartment 3, 16 Clark Street, no known relatives, and..." Kelly paused. She had to do a double-take and looked at Chris again. "Wow," she said, clearly surprised with what she had written. Dan looked at her, a confused expression on his face. "Gender... Omega Male.", Kelly said, earning a look of surprise from both the paramedic and Dan.
'Omega Male?' Dan repeated in his mind, clearly stunned by that announcement. Mike, also stunned, looked down at Chris and said, "Omega Males are very, very rare. I think it's something like one in a million born.". All sat in complete silence, unsure what to think or say at the moment. Their moment didn't last too long with the sirens being switched off, and John announced they were on final approach to the hospital. Reaching over, Dan grabbed Chris' hand and gave it a tight squeeze. "Almost there.", he said, speaking to only Chris. Officer Kelly was moved by Dan and smiled at the love on display.
Mike looking at Dan and Kelly, said, "When those doors open, stay out of the way. Let us take care of things from here, Ok? You can wait in the emergency room, but if you want Chris to live, you need to let the doctors do their jobs.". Reaching over, he grabbed the clipboard back and placed it on Chris' chest. "He'll be ok.", Mike said, trying to reassure Dan. Dan, however, was not comforted, and he wanted to stay by Chris' side.
The rear doors open, Brad grabbing the base of the stretcher and pulling it out. Mike, still working the Ambu bag, followed out where Emergency Room doctors and nurses greeted them.
Compelled to follow, Dan lifted out of his seat but was swiftly knocked back by Officer Kelly. "I know you want to go to him, but don't," she said softly, appreciating his pain. Dan put his face in his hands and couldn't help but let out a cry of despair. Kelly, placing her hand on his back, rubbed back and forth, attempting to soothe and calm. Dan sniffling and wiping his face, said, "I want to catch the bastards who did this!" the anger in his voice was unmistakable.
Locking eyes, Officer Kelly nodded in agreement and said: "We'll catch them, but first, let's get a coffee". Dan looked past the Officer and watched as the medical team wheeled Chris into the hospital, begging in his mind that he be alright.
To be continued.