State of Shock

Sarah

Sarah continued to look through the glass at Stacy. She remembered the day that all this happened. St. Francis Hospital was the closest hospital to the event. She remembered as they brought in body after body after body. Some were unidentifiable, and required dental records for identity purposes. Sarah had to call the local university hospital to get some pre-med students that were trained as emergency personnel to come to the hospital. They were swamped. Over 80 were counted among the dead. Most of them were students that seemed to be part of “The Institution.” A few more were cops, medics, firefighters, and other people that just seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Among the dead was Sarah’s longtime boyfriend Andrew. He was a wonderful man. He was studying to be a Physician’s Assistant at the university. Previously, he had worked as an EMT, received a nursing certification, and managed to get through some of his pre-med classes. He was her go-to when she needed help at the hospital because he knew all the students that could handle trauma. Sarah didn’t even notice he wasn’t there until 3 days later. It took them nearly that long to go through the survivors and the dead. She had only taken a few restful sleeps in at the hospital. She assumed that he was busy. It wasn't until the last handful came in that he was dead. She recognized the name in the roster before it was published. She immediately rushed to morgue only to find that he was among those that needed identification through dental records. Sarah was devastated for a week following the event. 

Tears welled up in Sarah’s eyes. She missed him. Solving this case was important to her. She had tons of medical information about all of the people that were in the accident. She had told Elizabeth that those that were part of “The Institution” had a small tattoo on their left shoulder. It was a symbol of some kind- an arrow pointing up, Sarah had no idea what it stood for. They also had trace elements of heavy metal in their blood work. Unusual amounts for the ordinary person. 

Sarah turned to the nurse at the station. “Will you call the ER? I’m going to lunch.” The nurse picked up the phone and dialed. Sarah was supposed to be in the ER. She had taken a special interest in Stacy. When she was brought in she looked really bad. It was Sarah who worked on her only to find out later that she was the key to solving this case. The nurses called her anytime Elizabeth showed up so that she could talk to her about anything new. 

Sarah turned and walked toward the elevator. She pushed the button for the main floor. Cafeteria food didn’t seem too appealing today. Across the street from the hospital there was a little shopping center that sported an internet cafe that had coffee, a little bagel place, and a small Italian bistro. She decided that a nice bagel sandwich would really hit the spot.