Chaos Followed
Flash Fiction
Harold tossed the gum wrapper toward the garbage can on the sidewalk and shoved the piece of Juicy Fruit into his mouth. The silver paper caught up in the wind and blew to the ground. The light changed to Walk. Late for his appointment, he ignored the wrapper and walked.
An older gentleman missed the light. He finished his apple and tossed the core toward the trash can, but missed. He bent cautiously, balancing on his cane, retrieved the core and got it into the can. He notice the wrapper and decided to bend again to retrieve it, too. He hated that people didn’t care enough to pick up their trash. Litter went into the storm drains and flushed out to the river. Didn’t these fools watch the news? Tons of this stuff had gathered in the middle of the ocean. Tons! He bent again, balanced, reached, lost his balance. His head banged into the metal can. He hit the ground, his forehead bleeding from the gash. The world went fuzzy, then dark.
Harold left his meeting and strode with confidence from his office into the trauma center. Paramedics rushed an old man on a gurney into cubicle 11. They continued performing CPR as they transferred the old man from the gurney to a bed. Nurses cut him out of his shirt, readied the defibulator paddles, gave instructions.
“Clear!”
Everyone removed their hands.
He applied the paddles, pushed the button. The old man’s body jumped.
Everyone waited. The line held flat.
Again he gave instructions. Applied the paddles. No rhythm.
Nurses pumped air into the man. The machine recharged.
Clear.
This time, the third time, there was a rhythm. They got the man on oxygen. Dr. Harold began writing information on a chart. Absently, he reached into his pocket, took out a stick of gum, unwrapped it, popped the stick into this mouth and tossed the silver wrapper toward the trash. It landed on the floor, next to the trash bin.
“Just another day, huh?” he joked with a nurse.
She bent down, retrieved the wrapper, and tossed it into the trash can. “Just another day,” she agreed.
“What’s next?” Harold asked as he left the room.
