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Another year, another hoarder house. Because that’s what their day needed.
But unlike the bowling ball to the face that almost knocked Buck unconscious the last time, today was shaping up to be a bit more treacherous.
They’d been called out in the middle of dinner. Man in distress was what the caller had told May. The doors were apparently blocked, but there was one safe window. All they would have to do is push a sheet of plywood back and hop right into the house.
And of course, there were two windows that were covered by sheets of loose plywood, separated by the back door, leading into two different windows. What the caller didn’t tell them was which window was the safe one. It was dealer’s choice, left or right.
Buck picked the left side, and pushed forward. Eddie did the same on the right window. Both appeared safe on the outside, so they climbed through their separate windows.
And of course, a yelp of pain echoed out from one of the windows.
Eddie had climbed into a room stacks of books balancing precariously and haphazardly around the small space, but clearly this was the safe window. There was a welcome mat on the ground and everything. As he moved to the doorway, he yelled, “LAFD, call out!”
A groan of pain, one that he unfortunately distinctly recognized, came from the left. A grumbled, “Get out of my house!” came from the right.
“Hen, Chim, I’m probably going to need a hand. Right window is clear. Patient is further back in the house. But I think Buck is hurt.” The again was left unsaid.
“Eddie, start making your way to Buck. Hen and Chim will handle the patient,” Bobby’s voice came over his radio, sounding equal parts frustrated and tired. It wasn’t Buck’s fault that he was hurt, yet again, but it was something that did get annoying with his bad luck. Eddie immediately moved towards the hallway, keeping an ear open for any other instructions.
The door to the room that Buck was in was blocked by cardboard leaned against the wall, covering the door entirely. Luckily, it was light enough that he was able to quickly push it out of the way and shove open the door.
And proceed to swear. Loudly. In Spanish.
The room was almost completely empty, except for one thing. Whoever owned the property had covered the ground with what looked like broken glass and barbed wire, then thrown some newsprint over top to hide them from sight. It was absolutely meant to be a trap room.
Buck lay underneath the window, not moving. It looked as though his foot landed on a false step when he’d climbed through the opening, causing himself to trip and lose his balance and fall almost face first into the trap. The only immediate good thing was that he was conscious, though he looked dazed and annoyed.
He was also tangled up in a failed attempt to get up, and there was a small part of Eddie that wanted to take a picture and send it to everyone in the 118. He wouldn’t, but he really wanted to.
Chim and Hen came up behind him on their way to their patient. Chim didn’t have a problem with taking photos of Buck’s predicament, and quickly snapped a few shots to pass on before heading down the hallway. Hen glanced in to make sure that Buck wasn’t hurt worse than something Eddie couldn’t handle. Once she assessed the situation, she pressed some wire cutters into his hand.
Eddie grabbed the cardboard and carefully laid it across the barbed wire, using it as a makeshift bridge. Carefully, the medic made his way towards his injured partner. Clarity had come back to his eyes, and Eddie could see he was clearly in pain.
“Hey Buck, how we doing?”
Buck carefully answered without moving his head too much. “I can’t tell if I’m laying more on glass or barbed wire. There’s a piece right near my eye, thanks. Also, I am regretting not wearing my turnout jacket.”
Eddie quickly scanned the area around Buck. “I think I can free you up pretty easily. Do you think you can push up with your hands once I get your hands clear?”
Buck gave the smallest of nods. “Yeah, I think so. It’s just a lot of little cuts. My legs are more tangled than anything else. I’d risk it, but I’m worried about slicing myself up worse.”
His partner nodded and started carefully pushing away some of the glass and wire away from his face and arms. As he did so, Eddie could see all of the nicks and irritation on Buck’s skin. Once he got Buck’s upper half cleared, he pushed one of the pieces of cardboard underneath the man, giving him a place to rest safely while Eddie went to work on the tangles.
Never before was Eddie so happy to have decent wire cutters at his disposal. The wire was thick and tight wrapped around Buck’s lower legs and ankles. Thanks to Buck’s previous movements (i.e. frantic attempts to get free), he was tangled tight, with some of the barbs digging deep into his skin. Eddie worked carefully to cut him free, one piece of wire at a time. He made a point to not pull anything out, just in case something was shoved in a place that would be a problem.
It took about five minutes to get him out, but it felt infinitely longer. Carefully, he tugged Buck fully on the cardboard once he was free. The man was still in a small amount of pain. Some of the glass was pressed uncomfortably close to a few of the scars still “decorating” his leg.
Just as the two men made it back to the doorway, with Buck muttering swear words under his breath with every movement, Chim and Hen reappeared.
“How’s the other patient?” Chim asked, with no small amount of snark in his voice. Buck resisted flipping him off.
“Cut up. How’s yours?” Eddie answered, rolling his eyes at the pair’s antics.
“Absolutely fine. He tripped over a misplaced box and panicked. Refused treatment and everything. Buck, how are you doing, really?” Hen said, cutting into the chitchat.
“Legs are really cut up, and they’re starting to ache. Any chance someone can give us a hand?” Buck said.
Chim quickly moved forward to help Eddie lift Buck out. It was too tight in the house for a backboard, leaving them to have to carry him carefully. Buck tried to help take some of his weight to help, but quickly he realized that it wasn’t helpful in any way.
Hen hopped out the safe window first as soon as they got in the second bedroom. With Buck complaining under his breath about how it wasn’t fair that Eddie got the lucky window, they made quick work pulling him through the opening.
Bobby rolled his eyes heavenward as he took in the sorry sight that Buck made as the team got him strapped to a backboard. Of course Buck was the one that was heading to the hospital.
As Chim and Hen got him loaded, Bobby muttered to Eddie, “I called ahead. His favorite doctor is on standby in the ER.”
Eddie shook his head ruefully. “At least we can trust him. Buck’s luck on the other hand…” The two men slammed the ambulance doors shut. Buck’s luck, alright.