by Chad Geesman

Created on: January 12, 2009

Pandemic

The change of pace had happened about two days prior, starting with a few more emergencies than normal, mostly sick persons with flu like symptoms, and then the calls started flooding in. Normal days consisted of a few calls, maybe a transfer or two, nothing to complicated, but enough to complain about.

Now the systems were overflowed. Resources were spread too thin, there were just not enough people to handle this kind of volume. All of the calls were the same thing: sick with fevers, vomiting, and all highly contagious. Jessie and his partner Shari had resorted to using N-95 masks along with the arsenal of personal protective equipment of gloves and eye protection, though at the moment Jessie would not have minded those rain-tarp-become-HAZMAT suits.

Only hours prior, though it felt like a life time ago, had the government issued a State of Emergency, deploying the state National Guard to keep peace and help with the call volume. Even with the help, the ambulance service received no reprieve, they were still run ragged, and were virtually out of supplies. The hospitals themselves were filled to the bursting with the sick and dying. Could this have been the long feared bio-terrorism attack? Was the sickness something in the water? Did the bird flu finally mutate? There were just so many questions left unanswered, though Jessie didn't really know if he actually wanted the answer.

Jessie finished making up the stretcher, going through the disinfection and then re-sheeting it. He jumped into the drivers' seat of his ambulance which had been parked at the ER entrance of Rapides General Hospital. His ambulance was in the front of the line consisting of about fifteen other ambulances, most being Acadian ambulance, some from Metro and AMR.

Jessie looked over to his partner Shari in the passenger seat, she looked like she hadn't slept in days, let alone ate. Those granola bars he always brought with him didn't seem to be doing her much, though he probably didn't look any better at the moment.

Jessie sighed heavily, "At least we don't have to do tickets on any of them, I don't think we would leave the computer for a week!" The most annoying part of this job had always been the paperwork.

Shari let out a laugh, something he hadn't seen her do since this all started, breaking some of the strain on her already wrinkled face from years of smoking. "God I could use a hamburger about now," Shari exclaimed. "you think-"

Shari was cut off by the computers neutral,

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