Free Transience by Stevan Mena Page B

The faint voices of paramedics, speaking, shouting:
    "Blood pressure's dropping!"  
    "We're losing him."  
    "Pulse rate-"
    "We're losing him!"  
    The commotion got louder, scarier, so much so that it no longer sounded like a side effect of too many drinks.   It sounded real, in the room right beside him.   He shook himself, trying to move, a slow rising panic beginning to take hold.   He shook again and his eyes snapped open.
    Bright sunlight blinded him, brighter than he'd ever experienced before.   He shut his eyes tight, then opened them again, slowly.   The bright light was so intense, Jack thought maybe he'd passed on and this was the heavenly glow we're told to expect at the hour of our death.   He tilted his head to embrace its warmth.
    The intense glare dimmed, allowing him to look around.   He found himself in a large open field of bright green grass.   There was a slight breeze that felt nice and cool on his skin.   He spotted a large oak tree, all alone in the open field.   It called to him.   Behind it, a string extended up into the sky, attached to a small yellow kite with a red tail.   He watched the kite dance and spin in the breeze.   Am I dreaming?   Everything felt so real.
    An overwhelming sense of calm and serenity enveloped him.   There was no pain, no anxiety, no loss, nothing but peace.   He watched the kite lift and soar on a sudden gust of upward air.   He lost sight of it in the warm sunlight.  
    He turned towards the tree.   Two people were lying underneath.   He took a few energetic steps towards them — needing to know who he was sharing this wonderful oasis of peace and love with.   The emotion was so strong, for a moment he thought his feet might leave the ground.   Small fragments of pollen floated through the air like tiny dots of stars.   He smiled, moving quickly, closer.   But the pollen grew thick, clouding his vision.
    Up above, the kite spun and dove, twisting helplessly as it came crashing towards the ground with an unnaturally loud smack.   The magic serenity he'd felt was abruptly sucked away with a loud ringing noise.   The world began to spin and drift away — as helplessly as the kite — disappearing into oblivion, leaving Jack in cold empty nothingness.   All that remained was a horrible ringing in his ears.   He held them and screamed, "Stop!"
    Jack awoke with a jolt, as if shocked back to life by a defibrillator.   He slowly sat up and grabbed his cell phone off the side table.   It was ringing .
    He looked out the window.   Still dark out.   He checked the clock on the wall, 3 A.M.   No good news was ever exchanged at 3 A.M.   Not in his world.

CHAPTER 18

    Jack's eyelids were heavy, closing like attracted magnets.   He swerved, struggling to keep his car in the lane.   He hadn't fully slept it off, his blood alcohol still unsafely elevated.
    His cell phone rang.   It was Harrington, surely checking to see what his ETA was.   He let it ring and turned his attention back to the road.   His Ford Taurus had crossed over the double yellow line again, this time headed straight into the headlights of a blue Dodge Charger.   Jack yanked the wheel to the right, just missing the Charger's grill.   The Charger swerved onto the shoulder, kicking up dirt and rocks with a squeal of rubber.
    Jack's car skidded and fishtailed back across the yellow line.  
    "Jesus Christ."   He checked his mirror to make sure the other vehicle was okay.
    The road curved around a bend, then up a steep incline that caused his engine to jerk and moan, all cylinders grinding to climb the hill.   As Jack reached the top and the road leveled out, he could hear the rush of the river.   He passed under a train trestle that traveled west, just parallel to the water, criss crossing several times before it turned south towards Illinois.
    Jack pulled up onto the shoulder.   There were a dozen police vehicles, all with their lights flashing along the entranceway to a