Nearly as soon as their romance begins, Kelly succumbs to her fears the relationship will never work and leaves him without explanation. But Kelly is hiding a heartbreaking secret—she is pregnant with Josh’s child. Determined to not stand in the way of Josh’s career dreams, Kelly absorbs herself in work and her child—pushing everyone else away. Meanwhile, Josh is battling his own internal demons. Too proud to admit Kelly has irrevocably broken his heart, Josh begins a downward spiral into the darkness of depression and self-destructive behavior.
Sixteen years later, a prayer and an e-mail cause the past to collide with the present, but only time will tell if anything—or anyone—can save a hero trapped within the depths of his own despair.
Nearly as soon as their romance begins, Kelly succumbs to her fears the relationship will never work and leaves him without explanation. But Kelly is hiding a heartbreaking secret—she is pregnant with Josh’s child. Determined to not stand in the way of Josh’s career dreams, Kelly absorbs herself in work and her child—pushing everyone else away. Meanwhile, Josh is battling his own internal demons. Too proud to admit Kelly has irrevocably broken his heart, Josh begins a downward spiral into the darkness of depression and self-destructive behavior.
Sixteen years later, a prayer and an e-mail cause the past to collide with the present, but only time will tell if anything—or anyone—can save a hero trapped within the depths of his own despair.
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Overview
Nearly as soon as their romance begins, Kelly succumbs to her fears the relationship will never work and leaves him without explanation. But Kelly is hiding a heartbreaking secret—she is pregnant with Josh’s child. Determined to not stand in the way of Josh’s career dreams, Kelly absorbs herself in work and her child—pushing everyone else away. Meanwhile, Josh is battling his own internal demons. Too proud to admit Kelly has irrevocably broken his heart, Josh begins a downward spiral into the darkness of depression and self-destructive behavior.
Sixteen years later, a prayer and an e-mail cause the past to collide with the present, but only time will tell if anything—or anyone—can save a hero trapped within the depths of his own despair.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781450296939 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | iUniverse, Incorporated |
| Publication date: | 02/28/2011 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| File size: | 548 KB |
Read an Excerpt
Kelly's Keys
By Joshua Sarver
iUniverse, Inc.
Copyright © 2011 Joshua SarverAll right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4502-9695-3
Chapter One
"Al!"The paramedic breathed heavily as he clutched the small cellular flip phone in his right hand. His blurry vision began to clear as sweat poured from his body and dripped onto the concrete floor of the two car garage in a small town a few miles south of Springdale, Illinois.
"It's Josh, come get me!" He breathed heavily struggling to speak into the handset.
His lungs, partially paralyzed, were becoming useless and unable to inhale the precious life-sustaining air that surrounded his weakened body. He was nearing unconsciousness. Josh had to force himself to breathe. He had miscalculated. He was supposed to be dead already. He had taken plenty of the drugs, yet something had gone wrong.
"Josh, buddy? Is that you? What happened, huh— wha—?"
Al stammered in shock realizing he was talking to a long-time friend and, from his impression, a very solid strong man in the emergency services profession.
"Yeah, man—I'm dying Al— if you don't hurry! OD—30 tabs of Tramadol—30 mgs each. Nine hours ago, full—"
Josh had to stop talking and force himself to inhale. His view of the garage door was becoming blurry. He wasn't drifting off to sleep like he planned. He was going to die violently. The OD was going wrong. His blood pressure was going crazy, he could feel it. He was going to be fully alert when his lungs gave out. He was going to suffocate! He wished he had stayed in front of the train a week ago and let it splatter him all over the tracks. At least it would be done.
Now, with this escapade, he feared he would end up with brain damage if his lungs didn't start working soon.
"I need 4 mgs of Narcan— bad! Don't call anyone else. Just you and Bryan come and get me!" He said quickly to save what air he had left in his lungs.
"Bryan! It's Josh!" Al screamed as the idea sunk into his head that Josh had tried to kill himself. It is a bad thing when a medic attempts suicide, they usually succeed. Josh was almost there.
"Just fucking go, Al! I know what is going on! I know! Let's go—goddamn it! I talked to him at one!" Bryan screamed in the background as he fumbled to zip his combat boots.
"We are coming, buddy— hang on! We are coming!" Al said quickly, as he dropped the phone to the floor.
"Hurry Al, or I am not gonna be alive when you get here." Josh whispered to himself as he lost his grip on the telephone. Al and Bryan were on their way, but he did not expect them to make it in time.
He began to crawl toward the entry door. He couldn't breathe. His head felt like it was full of sledge hammers that were smashing into his brain. He knew his blood pressure was not right, he expected it to be low. He was wrong. Uncharacteristic of a narcotic overdose, his blood pressure was nearly at stroke level. The drugs had fully metabolized and were racing through his system with a vengeance.
Josh had awakened twice before and actually grinned as the he felt the paralysis beginning in his lungs. All was working according to plan. He became drowsy in 30 minutes, as he expected, after ingesting the pills. He felt his kidneys and intestines stop working, he even smiled with this event; he began to panic when something went wrong—he kept waking up. The drugs met Josh's bloodstream at 1:30 AM. It was now nine or ten in the morning. He should have been dead already, but his body kept fighting and forcing him awake with the severe pain in his head. His body was fighting to survive whether he wanted it to or not.
A paramedic, who was one of the best, was calling his own crew to save his life. The man who had saved many lives in the last seventeen years was now asking someone else for help. Josh regretted that he had failed in the suicide. He wished he had planned better.
He crawled to the door and after several attempts pushed it open. He fell, face-first, onto the patio outside his garage. His vision was becoming feint and his lungs were stiffening. Josh was almost there. The pain was excruciating. He was going to enter hell screaming. He wished he could forget how he came to this dark place; sadly, he could remember every detail in vivid clarity. He hoped he was still alive tomorrow to regret it all. Josh began to fall asleep as the sirens screamed in the distance. It would not be long before he could not hear them anymore. He wanted this to all be a dream. As his eyes closed he thought, "I wish I was back in Tremane".
Seventeen years earlier, a phone rings at 3:00AM in a small apartment in Tremane, Illinois. Tremane was a country town, nearly a hundred miles from St. Louis, Missouri to the east, and six hours south of Chicago. It is a little town of only ten thousand, if you do not count the pets.
It was a place that held little significance in the state identified as the Land of Lincoln. It is an interesting paradox that Illinois, made famous by honest Abe, was home to one of the most famous criminals in history, Al Capone, who operated in one of the most corrupt cities in the country, namely Chicago. Illinois is full of contradictions.
Tremane was a typical agricultural community far removed from city life. Tractors could be seen slowing traffic on roadways during harvest, everyone knew everyone else's business and if they didn't, all they needed to do was get a haircut. In the time it took to have your hair trimmed, you were informed of divorces, marriages, births, deaths and the recent scandals about town. High school football superstars now managed the local tire shop and former prom queens sold insurance. Life was relatively simple and average. Some would say boring.
The phone kept ringing. Josh groaned and uttered a few curses under his breath as he picked up the receiver.
"Uh huh", he muttered from under the blankets.
"Hey, Lil Shit ... You got a woman in there?" Johnny's voice emitted from the receiver accompanied by a hint of sarcasm.
"No, if I did, I wouldn't be talking to your sorry ass now would I? What's up?" Josh asked.
"Got one to go to Saint Luke's, Lil Shit, you want it?" Johnny asked.
"Yeah, sure, be there in a minute", he said and hung up the phone.
It was too early. Josh hated being up in the daytime and daylight would be arriving in a couple of hours. He had been a bit nocturnal since he was a little kid. He would fight sleep until the late hours of the evening and then have trouble waking up for school the next morning. He was a night-owl from birth. He loved being up when others were asleep and vice versa. He liked to let the mundane days pass him by and enjoyed being awake in the midnight hours when the odd things that go bump in the night really bumped hard.
He had only been asleep for an hour. He found the night exciting and his job more so. He stayed awake late into the night, even on the nights he was not working. It was odd to refer to his childhood as something in the distant past considering he was only eighteen. In many ways he still acted like a little boy but he had a very grown up job or so he fantasized.
Josh, a.k.a Little Shit, was an emergency medical technician or EMT. He was introduced to the profession by accident. His high school friends bet him a case of beer that he was not "smart enough" to pass the course. He proved them wrong three months later after completing his training program with a respectable B in the course. Josh applied for a position at the local hospital and was hired as a per-diem employee. He worked whenever they asked for his help.
He was rarely involved in anything critical since he was rated as an EMT-A. The A stood for ambulance, which simply meant that you were allowed to work on a basic life support ambulance or assist Paramedics that worked on an advanced life support unit. The paramedics were the only ones allowed to handle the tough calls. His participation in the department was minimal. He would transport stable patients by ambulance from one hospital to another. He was basically a medical babysitter.
The extent of his medical training was barely more than advanced first aid and CPR. Nonetheless, he fancied himself as a lifesaver on his way to becoming a bonafide hero. In high school his response to the senior question "What do you want to do with your life?" was simple, "Get paid for being a hero!" He was to say the least, a bit cocky.
His confidence stemmed from necessity and a bit of naivety as well. At five feet five inches tall and one hundred and sixteen pounds he was truly a little shit. Do not let his size fool you. He had a lot of fire burning inside of his small frame.
Josh had already been arrested once in school for pounding on a kid, twice his size, because of the harsh comments the boy had made regarding a girl. Josh managed to damage the bully's teeth with a well placed left jab and multiple right hooks, before being dragged kicking and cursing to the principal's office.
Josh was a scrapper. He had to be to survive. He grew up in the country and learned to live on little and hope for greatness. He was a dreamer. His father and mother were devout Christians. His father was a Pentecostal pastor at one time. His mother was a small framed black-haired woman with a meek personality. He had a poor, but fairly structured, childhood that included church, school and chores in that order.
Joshua was the eldest of two boys. His brother was appropriately named Caleb to complete the pair. Joshua's mother was not happy when Josh discovered the biblical story of Joshua and Caleb and said with excitement in his voice,
"Mom, did you know you named us after two spies that destroyed a city with the help of a hooker?"
He was referring to the deal the two biblical characters made with Rahab, the harlot, to spare her family if she would signal the approaching Israelites when it was the optimal time to attack by waving a scarf out her window. The Israelites destroyed the city but left the source of the signal, Rahab's home unharmed.
He enjoyed the idea of his namesake and often felt like he had some of the talents of the biblical Joshua. He enjoyed being a scrappy character that would fight men but speak softly to women. His mother did not share his zeal as she walked away grumbling something about it being meant as a servant of the Lord not a womanizing con-artist. Facts are facts. Both Joshua's seemed to have this little talent but, that flaw aside, they both tried to be noble despite their little faults.
He hated church, tolerated school and despised chores. He hated the country life and everything about it. His father had little education and bad luck with jobs but always preached that God would provide. He felt his parents were insane for believing in that philosophy. He learned to work by growing up on a scrap of dirt with a few head of hogs, one cow, and ten chickens that his father fancied a farm. He thought it was just a dirt trap. He could not wait to get away from the farm and escape to the big city.
The boy had plans to travel ten states away, never to be heard from again. He made it twelve miles. He always knew he was different from his parents. His brother was more like them. At the age of seventeen he began his "hero-training" while secretly planning to save the world. He was a dreamer.
He tossed the covers away from his naked body and sat on the edge of the bed. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and stood up. He surveyed his small empire where he was almighty king. Josh resided in a basement apartment that was put together for him by a two friends from the hospital, Tanner and Susy. Tanner was a radiology technologist that acquired the house as a result of a divorce. Susy was an EMT that worked with Josh.
In exchange for the room, he paid for a third of the rent and utilities. The basement was his little world. Apparently, Tanner and Susy felt that they needed to look out for Josh. He had been living in the hospital call rooms to avoid the farm and, of course, be available to the hospital if tragedy struck and the world needed saving. He romanticized everything.
The trio split the living expenses, and was a fairly cohesive family unit considering they all worked different shifts. Josh enjoyed the inexpensive lifestyle since he was only paid five dollars and five cents per hour.
He inherited a cat from Susy and Tanner that seemed to like to hang out in the basement. A gray Persian named Harry, who thought Josh had the best part of the house. Harry seemed to adopt Josh the same way the girls did. Josh didn't mind the cat. Harry was good company late at night when everyone else was asleep.
He groaned again and stretched. His ribs were always visible when he did. He hated being so small, he would have to fix that. He was lifting weights at the YMCA with Jake and Tony, a couple of amateur bodybuilders that had befriended him. He thought that people helped him due to his charming personality but in reality they were kind and saw how badly he wanted to be someone that everyone admired. In a way Josh was a people pleaser.
The teen took a shower and washed his brown hair which fell just below the collar. He had long hair in high school, just to rebel against his parents, but he had to cut it to get the job. He planned to let it grow again; he liked the "rockstar" look.
He had been working at the hospital since May. It was now October and as the temperature started to drop his experience as a professional lifesaver began to mount, or so he fantasized. Five months is a long time for an eighteen year old.
As he brushed his teeth and looked in the mirror, he gave his best, "I'm here to help you" look and grinned. One of those crooked, evil grins that you see from a child when they have chocolate on their face. He was told he looked like Alex Keaton, the Michael J. Fox character from the eighties sitcom, Family Ties. He didn't think so. He had high cheekbones, dark hair and hazel eyes that would change colors from green to blue, depending on his mood and the clothes he wore.
He was, at best, a cute kid that tried really hard to please. He had a sense of humor about his own silliness that made others laugh. He always had good timing with a joke. One special talent he possessed was the ability to write poetry whenever the mood stuck him. He was never sure how he gained that skill, but he assumed it was from some unknown and probably famous relative.
Josh gathered his uniform out of the dryer. Tanner had just taught him how to do laundry the week before. He was proud that he could do everything on his own, even cook if it involved a microwave.
He put on the blue dress pants and the heather blue polyester uniform shirt. He loved the way it felt. Each time he wore the shirt he would look at the patch on his right shoulder with the words Lafayette County Hospital – Knowledge, Speed, and Concern— that encircled a Star of Life. On his left shoulder he sported the Illinois EMT patch. He was so proud to be an official—something.
The would-be hero strapped on his gear which included: a pair of trauma shears (he had only cut paper with so far), a glove pouch (that had rarely been used), two pair of hemostats (that did not have a scratch), and a shiny black pager that was two months old. He was ready to save the world.
He ran up the stairs with Harry at his heels. He opened the door and took a deep breath as the cool morning wind caressed his face. Josh turned to say a brief farewell to Harry.
"Goodbye Tiger, be back soon, maybe with a treat— stay warm little buddy." He said giving Harry, who was still sitting on the threshold, a scratch behind the ears.
Josh could smell winter coming, the leaves had just started to turn. He knew the coming winter meant slick roads and crashes, all the more opportunity to be a hero.
He opened the door to his tan nineteen eighty-seven Chevrolet S-10 and turned the key. The truck started with a whine. He slammed it into reverse, popped the clutch and careened out of the driveway of the house on Elm Street. He drove quickly to the hospital and parked in the on-call space for ambulance personnel. He felt like a doctor when he did that.
He ran up the ramp and opened the ER door. Sarah was working. He loved to flirt with her although she did not know he was flirting.
"I'm here, he stated as though he was waiting for applause.
"Good—the lady with the abdominal pain is ready, I think", she said nonchalantly.
"Triple A?" He questioned trying to sound medical. The only abdominal condition he could remember was an abdominal aortic aneurysm that would have warranted a helicopter and definitely not his pitiful self.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Kelly's Keys by Joshua Sarver Copyright © 2011 by Joshua Sarver. Excerpted by permission of iUniverse, Inc.. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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