Normal; A Flash Fanfiction

Tested

Lincoln Laruex was the most normal twenty-five year old paramedic you could find. She had dark hair and eyes, but no other remarkable features. She'd got a 28 on her ACTs. She'd passed her college courses with an average, but passable grade that earned her a job in her home town. She lived in a small apartment with her best friend, who sometimes forgot to do the dishes. Her parents lived three miles away from her apartment. She ran every morning, figuring it would counteract the Lucky Charms she had for breakfast. She never expected anything out of the ordinary: Lucky Charms for breakfast, dirty dishes that would still be dirty when she came home from her run, a few car crashes here and there during the day, and then dinner with Addie, dirty dishes still in the sink.

But when her city began crumbling to ruins, she was tested, by God, or by the universe, or some other higher power, and it seemed to be that Lincoln Laruex would pass every test, but not unscathed.

Her first test was the fateful night when the STAR Laboratories explosion tore through the streets of Central City. She saved many people that night: a woman trapped in her car, crushed by debris from the explosion; several STAR Labs scientists who'd rushed into the street only be thrown into buildings far from where they'd been standing; and a young scientist who'd been struck by lightning in the CCPD crime lab.

The scientist in the crime lab had been the one she'd always remember. An officer had found him thrown onto some shelves, pulled him onto the floor, and had yelled for Lincoln. She'd rushed in, and pushed the officer out of the way. The officer had begun CPR, and the blue-black bruises were already appearing on his skin- his blood was still coagulating, thank God! Lincoln charged the defibrillator while continuing what the officer had begun.

"C'mon Barry!" The officer yelled in his face. "Wake up, Barry! This isn't how this ends!"

Lincoln pressed the electrical patches unto his pale chest and smashed the button under her finger. He flopped heavily, but did not wake up. She pressed her ear to his ribcage. There was no heartbeat. She cursed. She recharged the machine and pressed the button again. He still had no heartbeat or pulse.

With one final ditch attempt, she beat her clenched fists over his heart. "Stay alive, Barry!" She yelled at him. She checked for his heartbeat again, and this time he had one. "Yes!"

She and her partner Gavin hauled him onto the gurney and then into the ambulance.

Gavin drove the ambulance, while Lincoln hooked Barry up to an IV and covered his bruised chest with a blanket, hoping to keep the cold night's chill from reaching his already weakened body.

Periodically, Lincoln would check his pulse, but she would not be able to find it in his wrist or his neck, and she'd have to press her ear to his heart to hear his heartbeat or put her cheek near his nose to feel his breath. Each time she'd listen for his heart, she'd hear it. It would be as fast as a hummingbird's, but strong. Strong enough to keep him alive.

He slipped away twice on the ride to the hospital. His heart stopped beating, but both times Lincoln brought him back quickly.

After the second time, she took his hand and whispered into his ear, "There are people who love you, Barry, and I may not know who they are, but you cannot die on them. I won't let you."

The ER nurses rushed out to meet the ambulance, and as they pulled Barry into the ER, Lincoln called out, "Young man found in the CCPD crime lab. He's comatose and he's been coding. Possible fractured ribs and sternum from CPR. Signs at the scene suggest he was struck by lightning." The nurses furrowed their brows at her, but they did not argue Lincoln's expertise. They pulled the blanket from his chest, only to find it pale and unmarked, bruises nowhere to be seen. The nurses gave Lincoln another look, but continued about their work.