The Midas Touch

All characters and most locations mentioned in this story are purely fictional. The author does not know anyone that resembles these character, either alive or dead. Some of the locations are real, but are only used as geographical waypoints. The towns of White Hill and Cranston do not exist anywhere near Raystowne Lake.

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It was 2 o'clock in the morning when Jared's life got turned on its head.

Jared and his brother David were heading up to visit family in rural Pennsylvania, driving down the quiet back roads and through picturesque towns with only one 4-stop intersection. Each one looking like it belonged on the back of a postcard of quaint historic locations. As they drove they talked, their conversation ranging from music to politics to relationships and work. The fog was rolling in and they hadn't seen another car for over half an hour when David commented on how quiet the night was.

"Feels like we're driving through ghost towns out here. Like one of those sci-fi/horror movies where there's a crowd of people then suddenly all but one of them is gone in a swirling fog and you just know something bad is coming after the one person left standing."

"Thank you for that happy thought, David!" Jared snorted but smiled to himself. He fought down a laugh as he remembered how many times the brothers had told scary stories during their many sleep-overs, trying to frighten their friends witless. He looked over as he heard David start to chuckle and realized he was remembering the same thing.

"Do you remember that camp out at Brian's grandad's farm? The one where you made up the story about the zombie chickens?" David was outright laughing now. "You... you... I remember you sitting there at the campfire and looking around for inspiration. When you saw the chicken house, the look on your face..." David was laughing so hard he was gasping for breath.

Jared started to laugh as well as fond memories returned, "You remember how scared Dillon got? He was afraid to eat dinner for weeks! I thought Brian's grandad was going to kill me when Brian told him why no one would eat any fried chicken for lunch the next day." Jared laughed so hard his eyes started to water. He pulled the truck to the side of the road next to a bridge abutment to wipe his eyes and settle himself. As his eyes cleared they settled on the pile of refuse caught in the beam of his headlights. Still smiling, he started to turn to David when he thought he saw something move.

The smile fell from his face as he grabbed David's arm.

"Dave?" He pointed, "Did that trash pile just move?"

David was still wiping his eyes and chuckling as he looked at Jared and said, "Great! the zombie chickens finally got to you!" He took in the stunned look on Jared's face and turned to look where Jared was pointing.

David stopped breathing as he, too, saw movement. "It's probably just a breeze, right?" He whispered, trying to re-assure them both.

Suddenly, a sharp movement showed a bloodied hand as a thin white arm flailed out of the pile. A small section of the pile moved away from the rest, sliding along the pavement, then slowly returned as the arm lay still.

Jared and David glanced at each other, twin looks of horror etched on their faces.

Jared gulped, "What... Whoever that is, they're alive. Maybe we should check?"

David nodded silently.

As they got out the car and closed the doors, the smaller section moved away again, this time further into the shadows under the bridge. David thought he saw eyes, but wasn't sure he really wanted to check it that closely. It came to an abrupt stop, just in the shadow and they heard a small whimper.

"I think it's a dog," David whispered.

"No, I'm pretty sure it's a human," Jared replied.

David looked over to where his brother was crouched next to the pile and realized that it wasn't a trash pile at all, but a young woman, crumpled to the pavement, her red hair soaking in a pool of blood. As he walked over to her, he noticed a thin blue leash looped around her hand and running to the shadows, apparently attached to the dog's collar.

"David, she's in bad shape. Come take a look."

David knelt next to the woman and, pulling a flashlight from his pocket, he carefully pulled back her eyelids, peering into her hazel eyes, checking her reflexes. When neither eye responded to the light, he gently ran his hands across her skull, finding the solid goose-eggs on the left side and back, and feeling the skull shift slightly under his hand.

"Jared, I don't know if we can do anything for her. She's got a pretty serious head injury. White Hill is the closest ambulance crew and they're a good 30 minutes away. We might be able to get her to the hospital in Cranston faster, but I don't know if we can stabilize her enough to move her."

Jared watched him quietly for several minutes as David thought about what needed to be done. Behind David, movement caught Jared's eye and he watched as a small dog slowly pulled itself along the ground toward them, whimpering quietly. One of the dog's back legs was bent at an odd angle and a trail of blood marked where it had been laying. The dog crept up to the young woman and pushed its nose into her hand and pulled back slightly to look for a response. When she didn't move, it licked at her and pushed again, this time whining. The dog raised its head and looked pitifully at Jared, seeming to ask for his help.

"Dave," Jared said quietly, "What do we need to do? We can't leave her here like this."

David raised his eyes to Jared's and nodded. "First we need to get her stabilized and try to reach the ambulance crew at White Hill. If they can get to her soon, we need to have them do that. If they can't, we'll get her to the hospital in Cranston. They have a decent Emergency Department and a helipad for LifeFlight. If they need to, they can get her medivac'd to Altoona. Stay here and watch her, talk to her if you want."

David got to his feet and jogged back to the truck to get his EMS bag, all the while mentally inventorying the sports equipment Jared had in the back. He grabbed his work bag and pulled out his cell phone. Putting it on speaker, he dialed 911, all the while digging through his luggage for a bath towel and his belt.

Jared watched David as he left, then turned his attention to the young woman in front of him.

"You're in good hands now." He said, "David's a great EMT. He actually is one of the trainers for the volunteer EMT's in our county."

Over by the truck, he could heard David calling 911 to check the ETA of the closest ambulance crew, but was too far away to hear the details.

"It's a good thing he's here. If you were stuck with just me we'd both be in trouble. I barely know CPR." Jared smiled ruefully and went on, "However, if you ever need to have your tires changed or your carburetor rebuilt, I'm your man."

The young woman stirred and her eyelids fluttered.

Jared leaned over her. "Hello! Can you hear me? Can you wake up?" He gently touched her hand, aware that it might be broken. Her eyes opened briefly, confusion etching her face as she focused them on Jared, then they closed, the lines on her face smoothing away.

Jared was startled when David dropped down beside him and began talking as he rolled the towel. "Grab my notebook, we've got to be able to give a coherent report when we get her to the hospital." He said, "White Hill got called to a house fire near Broad Top, on the other side of Raystowne Lake. They won't be able to get here for at least an hour, even if they leave right now. We're on our own."

Jared grabbed a notebook and pen from David's bag and quickly started writing. As he did, he thought about how many times David had had to patch him up during some ill-fated sports adventure and once again he was grateful that David was an active EMT. He admired his brother's desire to give back to the community in a larger way, but was especially glad to have him along tonight.

With David here, she may have a chance

, Jared though,

if it was just me, she would no hope of survival.

Forty-five minutes later, Jared pulled into the turnout for the emergency room, trying not to jostle the young woman now immobilized and strapped to his surfboard. Throwing open his door, he ran to the entrance calling to the nurse at the desk that he needed help getting the injured woman out of the truck. Two staff members quickly transferred her to a gurney and wheeled her away, David following along giving them the report of what he and Jared had done.

The nurse from the front desk motioned Jared over.

"Can you fill out some paperwork for her?" she asked.

"Um... I can try, but I don't really know anything." Jared replied.

"That's OK. Can you at least tell me her name?"

"I don't know her name. She didn't have any ID on her and she only opened her eyes once, but was really conscious. We never got to talk to her, really." Jared stopped talking as an idea occurred to him.

"Is there a veterinary hospital around here?" he asked.

"Yes" was the reply, "There's a vet hospital two blocks over, why?"

"Her dog, he's out in the truck. Maybe someone will recognize him?" Jared felt like he was grasping at straws, but didn't see any other real options.

"Oh!" the nurse caught on, "Let me give you directions. I'll call Dr. Garrett and let him know you're coming."

Jared looked down the hallway to where he could see David talking to another EMT.

"Dave," he called, "I'm going to take the dog to the vet hospital to see if anyone there knows who she is. I'll be back as soon as I can."

David nodded his understanding and Jared walked back out to the truck.

When he got there he was greeted with the most mournful crying he had ever heard. The little dog was absolutely beside himself and nothing Jared did would get him to settle down. The little creature was clearly distressed over being separated from his owner.

By the time they reached the vet hospital, Jared was nearly in tears himself. The wailing of the little dog was breaking his heart, especially as Jared knew the dog's owner might not survive her injuries.

Carefully scooping pitiful little creature out of the truck, he carried him to the door of the hospital where a man unlocked and opened the door for him.

"Midas!" the man exclaimed. Looking back at Jared he fearfully asked, "Where's Kara? What happened?"

The look on his face told Jared that the man knew the answer to his own question, but didn't want to believe it.

"If Kara is this dog's owner, then she's in the Emergency Room. She's in bad shape, but I don't know all the details."

Leaving Jared standing in the doorway, the man spun around to the desk behind him and grabbed the phone, punching button as quickly as he could. When his call was answered, he began speaking quickly, his voice thick with tears.

"Hi, Honey? Call Jake. Kara's in the Emergency Room. I've got Midas here in the clinic. Can you get Jake to take you to see her?" He paused, listening, "I don't know. I was told she's in bad shape, but no details. Midas looks like he's injured pretty badly himself. You and Jake go to the hospital and I'll come join you as soon as I can. We'll go home together." Another pause, "OK, call my cell phone as soon as you know. I love you, Sweetheart."

He hung up the phone and turned to Jared, his eyes glassy with tears.

"Kara is my wife's sister. They and their brother are all really close." He closed his eyes and cleared his throat, trying to get a grip on his emotions. Jared watched as tears slowly tracked down the man's face as he whispered brokenly, "She's got to be OK. It will destroy Honey if she isn't! They've already been through so much, had to fight so hard to survive. She's has to be OK!"