Starry Satyr Night
From the Flatlands
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After the EMS crew returns to the fire hall, they sat in silence. They had watched the ambulance leave the scene. With a shiver, they all desired to get out of the early spring wind. At 2 am the wind still cut through to the skin, parka or no parka.
No one wanted coffee. Warren was still sitting there, with a couple more bottles surrounding him. Dave sat down.
"We just had the freakiest thing happen."
Warren didn't look up. "I'll bet."
"How did you know what we would find up there."
Warren shook his head. "I'm not psychic or anything silly like that. I just had a feeling."
"And that's not psychic?"
Warren looked up, angry. "No, the odds were that I didn't want to find out, but you're going to tell me what you found even though I sat here and didn't want to go and I didn't want to find out, but you're going to tell me, aren't you!"
"Why the fuck not?" Dave looked around at the others who were all sitting by now.
Warren rotated the beer bottle in his hands and leaned forward. He looked up with the most intense look Dave had ever seen. Warren suddenly looked fevered, about to explode. But Warren's voice came out exceedingly smooth. "So was it elves, fairies, pixies, or the little horse people?"
Dave felt deflated and silly. The absurdity of the night struck him. He looked over at Marge. He spoke with a small voice. "People attached to horse bodies."
Warren flopped back in his chair. "Centaurs. I looked them up on the internet. Couldn't remember the name for them. Centaurs."
Natalie spoke quietly. "We saw one come along and murder another one right in front of our eyes."
There was a silence that settled in the room that seeped into their bones. Warren flicked his lighter and lit one of the three cigarettes laid out on the table in front of him.
Natalie sat up in her chair. "Hear that?"
They all could hear a siren in the distance. Dave jumped up and went to the door. They could hear the ambulance. Lights were flashing but they cut the siren when they rounded the corner to the fire hall.
Dave said, "What the hell are they doing?"
Ambulance pulled up and cut their lights. Darren jumped out from the attendant's side.
"What kind of bullshit is this!" Darren just stood there. Mandie sat behind the wheel of the vehicle. She looked scared.
Dave asked, "What?"
Darren stormed past Dave into the ready room and looked at everyone around the table. He was shaking he was so pure mad.
"How did you do that!"
No one around the table reacted.
Darren waited moving his gaze from one person to the next around the table. His face grew redder as his blood pressure rose because of the silence. "What did you do!"
Reese asked, "What?"
Darren spoke with a desparate fear and urgency in his voice. "The patient disappeared!" He looked around wildly. "It just fucking disappeared!" No one could answer him.
"How can that happen?" He was only moving to breathe. The rest of him was rigid in anger and fear. "The hospital is expecting a patient and I don't have one! It just disappeared. how can I have lost a patient?" Darren started to shake. "What happened?"
Behind him, Mandie walked up silently. Her face was grey and she had a cold sweat forming on her face. A sure sign of shock.
Darren spoke slowly. "The radio transcripts will show that I loaded a patient and left the scene. The thing just faded in front of my eyes. Gone. The blanket settled onto the stretcher and now I don't have a patient. I don't have anything. How can I go back empty handed?" He stood in the doorway furious. He raised his empty hands up and screamed, "What!"
No one moved. No one answered.
Darren stood there and the silence in the room defeated him. He walked over to the table and grabbed the bottle of rye. He spun the cap and visciously threw it over to the garbage can. He drank three long gulps. He walked over and picked up one of Warren's cigarettes. He inhaled deeply.
Mandie left the room. Everyone could hear her radio in to 911 dispatch. "Yes, a flat tire. Then the patient refused treatment and signed the paper." A pause as Mandie listened, then, "Check we are out of service at this time, the spare is also flat. The Dunston fire crew will help us. We'll radio when we are back in service."
Mandie came back in and sat close to Warren. Darren sat down finally. Mandie pulled out a Colt and lit it with Warren's lighter. It clattered when it hit the table. She blew the smoke out in an easy relaxed manner. But her hand was trembling just slightly when she flicked the bit of ash from the end. She scanned the faces around the table and stopped at Warren. "So what's new with you?"
Warren shrugged. "Oh, not a lot. Got to go to the bank tomorrow, " he glanced up at the clock, " today and see if I can talk the banker into giving me my operating loan for the farm. For some reason he doesn't seem to think that I have much chance of making a living from it until the border opens to ship some beef down there. Like that is going to happen real soon."
Mandie said, "That sucks."
Warren said, "Yes it does."
Mandie looked around again, "Well?"
Dave started to talk, but Warren interrupted. "I can believe in UFO's, that Elvis is still alive, whatever story is on the World Weekly News. I can believe that 9/11 was a CIA conspiracy, that aliens secretly run our governments and that the globalization is designed to bankrupt this country, but I have a hard time believing in disappearing little horse people."
Dave added without looking up. "One that was murdered right in front of us and we didn't do anything to stop the bastard."
Melanie said, "I thought he was going to help his friend."
Dave, "But we are not supposed to lose control of the scene. How could we let that happen right in front of us."
Warren asked, "Did he have a bag over his shoulder with a black fan outlined in red on it?"
Melanie nodded. "Yes."
"Bastard."
"You've seen him before?"
Warren hesitated like he really did not want to answer, then nodded.
"And he does worse things than murder."
Melanie said, "Son of a bitch."
He looked up at the fan circling laconically above the table. "I do not want to respond to anything at that intersection again. He knows my face."
Melanie said quietly, "It is like where an interdimensional twilight zone thing happens."
"Does nobody care that we saw a murder tonight? A real live murder!" Dave leaned forward and hid his face with his hands.
Warren stood up. "Well I've got to see the banker tomorrow."
Eventually everyone and went home that night.
Manitoba TaeKwondo Tae Kwon Do
Premier TaeKwondo Tae Kwon Do Manitoba
After the EMS crew returns to the fire hall, they sat in silence. They had watched the ambulance leave the scene. With a shiver, they all desired to get out of the early spring wind. At 2 am the wind still cut through to the skin, parka or no parka.
No one wanted coffee. Warren was still sitting there, with a couple more bottles surrounding him. Dave sat down.
"We just had the freakiest thing happen."
Warren didn't look up. "I'll bet."
"How did you know what we would find up there."
Warren shook his head. "I'm not psychic or anything silly like that. I just had a feeling."
"And that's not psychic?"
Warren looked up, angry. "No, the odds were that I didn't want to find out, but you're going to tell me what you found even though I sat here and didn't want to go and I didn't want to find out, but you're going to tell me, aren't you!"
"Why the fuck not?" Dave looked around at the others who were all sitting by now.
Warren rotated the beer bottle in his hands and leaned forward. He looked up with the most intense look Dave had ever seen. Warren suddenly looked fevered, about to explode. But Warren's voice came out exceedingly smooth. "So was it elves, fairies, pixies, or the little horse people?"
Dave felt deflated and silly. The absurdity of the night struck him. He looked over at Marge. He spoke with a small voice. "People attached to horse bodies."
Warren flopped back in his chair. "Centaurs. I looked them up on the internet. Couldn't remember the name for them. Centaurs."
Natalie spoke quietly. "We saw one come along and murder another one right in front of our eyes."
There was a silence that settled in the room that seeped into their bones. Warren flicked his lighter and lit one of the three cigarettes laid out on the table in front of him.
Natalie sat up in her chair. "Hear that?"
They all could hear a siren in the distance. Dave jumped up and went to the door. They could hear the ambulance. Lights were flashing but they cut the siren when they rounded the corner to the fire hall.
Dave said, "What the hell are they doing?"
Ambulance pulled up and cut their lights. Darren jumped out from the attendant's side.
"What kind of bullshit is this!" Darren just stood there. Mandie sat behind the wheel of the vehicle. She looked scared.
Dave asked, "What?"
Darren stormed past Dave into the ready room and looked at everyone around the table. He was shaking he was so pure mad.
"How did you do that!"
No one around the table reacted.
Darren waited moving his gaze from one person to the next around the table. His face grew redder as his blood pressure rose because of the silence. "What did you do!"
Reese asked, "What?"
Darren spoke with a desparate fear and urgency in his voice. "The patient disappeared!" He looked around wildly. "It just fucking disappeared!" No one could answer him.
"How can that happen?" He was only moving to breathe. The rest of him was rigid in anger and fear. "The hospital is expecting a patient and I don't have one! It just disappeared. how can I have lost a patient?" Darren started to shake. "What happened?"
Behind him, Mandie walked up silently. Her face was grey and she had a cold sweat forming on her face. A sure sign of shock.
Darren spoke slowly. "The radio transcripts will show that I loaded a patient and left the scene. The thing just faded in front of my eyes. Gone. The blanket settled onto the stretcher and now I don't have a patient. I don't have anything. How can I go back empty handed?" He stood in the doorway furious. He raised his empty hands up and screamed, "What!"
No one moved. No one answered.
Darren stood there and the silence in the room defeated him. He walked over to the table and grabbed the bottle of rye. He spun the cap and visciously threw it over to the garbage can. He drank three long gulps. He walked over and picked up one of Warren's cigarettes. He inhaled deeply.
Mandie left the room. Everyone could hear her radio in to 911 dispatch. "Yes, a flat tire. Then the patient refused treatment and signed the paper." A pause as Mandie listened, then, "Check we are out of service at this time, the spare is also flat. The Dunston fire crew will help us. We'll radio when we are back in service."
Mandie came back in and sat close to Warren. Darren sat down finally. Mandie pulled out a Colt and lit it with Warren's lighter. It clattered when it hit the table. She blew the smoke out in an easy relaxed manner. But her hand was trembling just slightly when she flicked the bit of ash from the end. She scanned the faces around the table and stopped at Warren. "So what's new with you?"
Warren shrugged. "Oh, not a lot. Got to go to the bank tomorrow, " he glanced up at the clock, " today and see if I can talk the banker into giving me my operating loan for the farm. For some reason he doesn't seem to think that I have much chance of making a living from it until the border opens to ship some beef down there. Like that is going to happen real soon."
Mandie said, "That sucks."
Warren said, "Yes it does."
Mandie looked around again, "Well?"
Dave started to talk, but Warren interrupted. "I can believe in UFO's, that Elvis is still alive, whatever story is on the World Weekly News. I can believe that 9/11 was a CIA conspiracy, that aliens secretly run our governments and that the globalization is designed to bankrupt this country, but I have a hard time believing in disappearing little horse people."
Dave added without looking up. "One that was murdered right in front of us and we didn't do anything to stop the bastard."
Melanie said, "I thought he was going to help his friend."
Dave, "But we are not supposed to lose control of the scene. How could we let that happen right in front of us."
Warren asked, "Did he have a bag over his shoulder with a black fan outlined in red on it?"
Melanie nodded. "Yes."
"Bastard."
"You've seen him before?"
Warren hesitated like he really did not want to answer, then nodded.
"And he does worse things than murder."
Melanie said, "Son of a bitch."
He looked up at the fan circling laconically above the table. "I do not want to respond to anything at that intersection again. He knows my face."
Melanie said quietly, "It is like where an interdimensional twilight zone thing happens."
"Does nobody care that we saw a murder tonight? A real live murder!" Dave leaned forward and hid his face with his hands.
Warren stood up. "Well I've got to see the banker tomorrow."
Eventually everyone and went home that night.
posted by Rob Riddell at 5:16 a.m.
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