When Angels and Serpents Dance

Chapter One ;

Zachary James Baker sighed gingerly as he pulled his work boots from his tired feet, wincing softly as he pressed his thumb into the heel of his aching foot. His soft, pale green eyes wandered up to the clock on the wall; it read 3:32AM. Zachary exhaled softly, running his tired hands through his disheveled hair as he stood from his chair, slowly walking up the stairs that led into the upper part of his two story house.

Zachary slowly unbuttoned the navy blue shirt, tugging it from his broad shoulders as he stepped into his room. He clasped his hand around the large, black pager that hung from his belt, gently lifting it from his belt and setting it on the nightstand beside his bed. He placed his hands on his belt, slowly unbuckling it and pulling it from around his waist. He slid his work pantsdown his legs, kicking them from his ankles and catching them in his hands as they flew up in the air. Zachary chuckled to himself as he tossed the navy blue pants into the hamper. Stretching his tattooed arms above his head and yawning loudly, Zachary climbed into bed, leaning over to reach for the TV control at the other end of the bed. As he flipped through the channels, a news channel caught his eye. He sat up in bed, staring contently at the TV screen, immediately recognizing the scene before him.

Two young adults were found in critical condition after a shocking car crash just hours ago. A night on the town ended with the car being pummeled by an intoxicated driver. The car flipped several times before being thrown into a tree several yards away from the accident. The intoxicated driver was not killed, but left the accident with several broken bones, bruises and cuts. More information will be released shortly.

Zachary pressed the power button on the remote, sighing as he ran his sweaty hands through his hair. Tears swam in his emerald orbs as he replayed the accident over in his mind.

“I’m here to help you. You are going to be okay sweetheart. Just listen to me, how many fingers am I holding up?” The girl struggled to stand, failing miserably as she fell back in Zachary’s arms. He sighed, holding up his hand once again, displaying three fingers as he shone a bright light into each of her eyes.

“Three.” She cried out, screaming in pain as Matt and Zachary wrapped a neck brace around her neck. Johnny, another paramedic who showed up on scene, carried over a bright, yellow backboard. Johnny scooted it under her as Matt and Zack lifted her carefully to place her on the board. The young men strapped her head down into the protective socket and hoisted her onto the gurney.

“COLBY! WHERE’S COLBY?!” The young woman screamed out, tears streaming down her bloody face, struggling to get up. Zachary placed his hand on the woman’s bloody arm, pouring alcohol in each of her wounds, trying to clean her up. Her agonizing screams pierced Zack’s ears, only breaking his heart more as she sobbed.

“Colby is alright. He is being transferred to the hospital in another ambulance. He will be okay. Please, hold still honey so I can clean you up.” She stopped struggling, crying softly as Zack cleaned her up. He wiped her arms down with a wet rag, cuts and bruises littering her tattooed arms.

“What’s your name?” Zachary asked, continuing to wipe down her arms, careful not to hurt her anymore.

“Cadence.” Zack smiled softly as she whispered her name. He watched as she closed her dark eyes, tears still crawling down her reddened cheeks. Zack placed the empty bottle of alcohol in the biohazard container on the wall, grabbing gauze off the racks and placing them over her cuts.

“How old are you? Do you feel any sort of pressure in your arms, legs, stomach, or head?”

“I’m 26. Yeah. In my stomach I feel a little pressure. In my right leg, I feel massive pressure. I think it is broken. My neck hurts, really bad; and I have a fucking headache.” Zachary chuckled at her last statement, grabbing scissors off the racks just above her head.

“I’m going to cut your jeans so I can take a look at your legs.”

“Awe, man. Come on. These are my favorite jeans.” Zachary snorted as he cut from the bottom of her jeans, all the way up to her thighs. He glanced at her leg, knowing immediately that is was broken. He raised his eyebrows as he covered her legs back up, know reaching for her stomach. He applied pressure, glancing up at her face as she winced.

“I think you may have some internal injuries, but let’s leave it up to the doctor to decide on that. Let’s check your pulse.” As Zachary checked her pulse, she fell silent; not moving, not uttering a word. Zachary pushed her blood crusted hair out from her face and stared down at her, she was beautiful. Even in the blood that covered her body, she was beautiful. He didn’t understand why this had to happen to her.

Zachary reached up and wiped the warm, salty tears from his face. He cleared his throat as he stood from the bed, turning off the light and slowly walking back to bed. Her face never left his mind. He has seen many girls in his life, helped many girls in his life, and has also had many girlfriends, but this one girl. This one, blood encrusted girl stood out to him the most. He didn’t understand why, it was beyond him to figure it out.