Free Alone No More by Chris Philbrook

direction.
    Sabrina tossed her purple gloves into the waste bin and left the small room saying yet another final goodbye to the man. The hallway was considerably louder than the little room she'd worked on Matt in. Doctor Barry was leaning over a gurney in the hall checking a young girl's chest and abdomen with his hands. She cried out in pain when he put pressure on her stomach.
    "What can I do for you Doctor?" Sabrina asked once she reached his side.
    The young doctor rattled off a quick assessment of the girl to another nurse, then turned to Sabrina. He started to talk but checked himself instead, and gently took Sabrina by the arm away from the young girl. Once out of earshot, he continued what he started. "How is that man?" Are his wounds life threatening?"
    Sabrina shook her head happily, "No, he has a nasty bite wound on his outer arm, but nothing major. I don't think he'll need anything more serious than a skin graft or stitches."
    "Excellent. How long did it take you to assess his condition?" The Doctor was going somewhere with this line of questioning, and she didn't like it.
    "A minute maybe."
    The Doctor nodded. "And after you realized he'd survive his wound, you continued to treat him anyway?"
    Sabrina nodded, "Well yeah. He was in pain, and I knew I could help him."
    The Doctor nodded, clearly a little frustrated. "Sabrina we're doing triage right now okay? We quickly assess survivability and seriousness of injury, then move on. We aren't trying to treat anyone, least of all someone with a fairly minor bite wound. I know it's our instinct to help, but right now everyone is in pain, and we need to focus on helping those that have serious life threatening injuries. I'm not trying to be an asshole here, but I could've used your help with that little girl with internal injuries."
    Sabrina felt very defeated. "Okay, I'm sorry. I won't do it again."
    The Doctor rubbed her shoulders reassuringly, "Sabrina don't apologize for caring about your patients. I get it. This is a rough spot to be in. Just try to focus on looking for the worst case in the room, and assess them fast. If they're minor, steer them to a seat. If it's major, funnel them deeper into the ER, or perform trauma medicine with me as I direct you. You're doing okay."
    He was gifted with presence she thought. He had that calming way, and his choice of words was immaculate. She felt like she could take on the world again. "Alright. I got this."
    "You got this."
    As the two of them shared their reasonably quiet moment amidst the cacophony of the emergency room, more injured and sick were coming in. The hospital was already flooded, and this situation was getting so much worse.
    Exactly how much worse neither really knew.
     
    *****
     
    The accident and subsequent violence a mile or so away had nearly ruined the small city hospital. Combined with the incredible number of other accidents and injuries experienced that morning, the wait to be seen was hours upon hours unless you were bleeding out, facing the loss of a limb, or clearly in need of surgery. 
    Sabrina and Doctor Barry worked together for another hour, checking the incoming patients for their level of medical need, and making quick decisions as to whether or not the person could wait for additional help, or if they needed immediate attention. Over the course of the hour, Sabrina watched six more nurses come in from their day off to help, as well as three doctors. She was very proud. The dedication of the medical community was unquestionable in moments of crisis.
    Everyone's stress seemed manageable. With the extra ER nurses, and the number of doctors now on hand, Sabrina was gifted with a moment of respite. She had no patients flooding in, and with Doctor Barry's blessing, she decided to sit in the lobby and sip on a cup of coffee. She'd selected a little hazelnut flavored K-Cup, and even now that she drank her coffee black, it was still pretty yummy.
    She'd picked a spot in the lobby far away from