Donut Zilla

I screamed into the parking lot and raced inside, but the clock read 1803. Being late by three minutes wasn't a policy issue because we were given a 15-minute grace period, but per Thomas, it was an unforgivable sin. I got all of my gear on and looked at the camera which portrayed a similar fiasco as to the prior day. All of the day shift guys were wrangling a butt-naked heavy set female who was giving them a run for their money, the police were having issues with their detainee and I could see a man screaming in the lobby. I decided to address the man who seemed to be having a rough day and I started towards the lobby.

As I walked around the corner, I heard, "If you don't check me in, I'm going to kill everyone here." I thought to myself, "It looks like I earned it for not taking a shower." As soon as I walked around the corner, the man screamed at me, "JUST BECAUSE YOUR SEIX EIGHT, DOSENT MEAN I WON'T BEAT THE FUCK OUT OF YOU!" The guy was shirtless, sweating, had track marks, and was covered with meth marks. The guy was covered in white supremacy tattoos to accompany the tell-tale signs of severe drug use. Unfortunately, in that county, some people believed in hate rather than acceptance. I quickly diagnosed the problem on top of the guy being high as a kite. The registration girl was Asian. I told her, "Head to the back." She nodded and walked off. I asked the guy, " What's going on, dude." His ignorant response was, "Don't act like my friend, you deadbeat rent a cop." My response was, "It's not very nice to make fun of people trying to be nice to you." That earned me a slur of homophobic comments and "I'm gonna kill you." He got in my face and clenched his fists. With a calm tone, my response was, "You're fixing to make a poor decision. If you swing on me, you're going to get slammed on the ground, put in handcuffs, and charged with a felony on top of your warrants." I had guessed right about the warrants, and the man departed with a double bird salute and pronounced, "The Fourth Reich will come for you." Unfortunately, that's not the first time I've heard that one, and it won't be the last. The forty people in the waiting room cheered, and I made a little bow. I'm sure I'll hear about it later, but I decided it was time to see if my coworkers wrangled Donut-Zilla.

I walked back into the ER to find the guys wrangling a small meth head and cops struggling to get their prisoner in a room. I decided Jacoby and the day shifters could take the skinny meth head, so I helped out the cops. The two cops, Officer Myers and Officer Bronson, were trying to push their guy into a room who was handcuffed but was putting up a hell of a fight. I asked the cops, "Do you want your guy on the ground?" Bronson said, "Let's make it happen." I swept the guy's legs out, and he took a ride down to the floor. A nurse came running with a sedative, and the guy went from screaming to dreaming. I asked Bronson. "What the hell popped off?" He articulated, "A dealer sold some new meth cut with Fentanyl, and a whole bunch of people took it. There should be a few more being brought in, including a skinny kid who they were struggling to get in a wrap." A wrap was a straight jacket-type restraint that usually kept people contained. Right on cue, my radio rang out, "Security, be advised that the police are bringing in a subject in a wrap and are requesting assistance in thirty minutes." I figured now was the time to chug an energy drink and enjoy five minutes of peace. Peace was the rare word at the hospital, and having a few minutes of quiet was a cherished commodity. I made my way to my favorite vending machine with a winning record of working to not working. I pulled out my credit card and tried to scan the chip, but it read "ERROR." I kicked the vending machine and blurted, "Come on you stupid fucker." Before I could break my hand trying to punch through the glass, a calm voice soothed, "Easy, young buck." I turned around, and it was Ron, the social worker. He had a can of my favorite energy drink and continued, "I'll give you this can if you promise to take a vacation." The likelihood of me taking a vacation anytime in the near future was low, but I said, "I'll have to find someone to come with." He smiled, "You already know what I will say next, so gather the courage and do it." 

When we weren't busy, Ron made it a point to see how everyone was doing, and through much prying, he got me to spill the beans about my love interest. I conceded, "I promise." He smiled and gave me the can. I asked, "Did you break this thing?" He shrugged and walked off. I walked back to the first floor and opened the can to hear the release of gas, which made my tired soul perk up.