Electric

Emergency

"She's still not answering her phone," Phil complained to his friend Filly, a young woman who happened to be the soul of the Philadelphia Flyers. She had been passing by when she heard Phil complain that he and Lily were going to be late for their date if she didn't come down soon. Now, he was growing less annoyed and more worried, and Filly was trying to help him.

"Where did you see her last?" Filly asked, twisting a lock of thick black hair around one of her fingers.

"She was going to go down to her room on the Lightning floor to get changed for our date," Phil explained in a frantic voice. "I mean, I suppose it would be reasonable to start looking for her in there..."

Filly nodded. "Come on. We'll go see what's up with her."

"Hopefully she's not sick or something," Phil spoke as he and Filly approached the elevator. "I think she'll really enjoy this date. She loves the planetarium."

"You're right about that," Filly murmured as they slowly ascended towards the Tampa Bay floor. "That's why I couldn't see her just skipping out on this date. Plus, she loves you. She told me so a million times, dude. Alright, here we are. Let's go check in her room."

Filly strolled out of the elevator with Phil trailing close behind her. She waved to a few Tampa Bay fans and smiled at someone wearing the jersey of Luke Schenn, brother of former Flyers player Brayden Schenn.

Finally, she and Phil approached Lily's room. Filly reached out and knocked on the door. When she didn't get an answer, she made a weird face at Phil and knocked again.

"Lily?" She called. "Are you alright in there? You're going to be late for your date with Phil!"

Once again, there was no answer, and Phil decided to reach out and open the door. He and Filly walked into the room together.

They did not expect to see an unconscious Lily Laughlin sprawled out on the floor, but that is exactly what they saw.

"Lily!" Phil gasped, dropping to his knees next to his girlfriend. "What happened?"

"She's totally out!" Filly added. "Oh man, I think she fainted or somethin'!"

"Filly, call the ambulance," Phil looked up at his friend with wide eyes. "I'm going to call Michael Logan. He's a medical student. Hopefully he'll be able to figure out what happened here while the paramedics are on their way."

"I'm on it," Filly pulled her phone and started to dial the emergency services number.

Phil took a good look at his girlfriend as he and Filly waited for help. Lily was completely unconscious, but to Phil's great relief, she was breathing. Her eyes were closed, as was her mouth. As Phil looked at her mouth, however, he noticed something. Something that was very odd and out of place.

Lily's mouth was drooping. It wasn't so severe that it was noticeable at first glance, but the longer he stared at it, the more he realized that it was very out of place.

He looked up and saw that her left eye was drooping, just like the left side of her mouth. Phil knew he wasn't qualified to make medical diagnoses, but he could at least guess what had happened.

"Hey, Filomena, look at her face," Phil tapped Filly's arm. "I think she might have had a stroke. She's young, but it's still possible, right?"

Filly nodded. "Oh, certainly. The uncle of one of my work friends had a stroke when he was in his mid-twenties. It's very possible that Lily could've had a stroke."

"I hope that we treat her soon," Phil brushed a stray strand of blond hair away from Lily's closed eyes.

A minute or so later, Michael Logan Matthews showed up, and his eyes immediately traveled downwards to stare at the unconscious body on the floor.

"Good to see you, Mikey," Phil offered his friend a kind smile. "We need some help. Lily fainted, and she's not waking up."

"So she just fainted like that?" Michael asked as he knelt down beside Lily, reaching out to take her pulse. "Did you hear it happen?"

"No, she...I mean, Filly and I just walked in here and saw Lily on the floor," Phil explained nervously. "We tried to wake her up, but she's clearly unconscious. Do you have any idea what's wrong with her?"

Michael thought for a moment, then examined Lily again. "Well, Phil, she exhibits a few physical symptoms of a stroke. I can't be certain that that's what happened since I didn't see her faint, but that's my best guess. Did you call an ambulance to take her to the hospital?"

"I did," Filomena informed Michael. "I called them while Phil was calling you. They should be here very soon."

As if they'd heard her somehow, there was a sudden buzz from the intercom near Lily's door. "Room 14 on the Tampa floor, the ambulance you requested is here."

Filomena dashed over to the intercom. "Hello, yes. We have a medical emergency. Is it possible to send the paramedics up to the Tampa Bay floor with a stretcher?"

"Yes," the building's manager responded.

A few seconds later, the entire building's PA system blared an announcement. "Attention NHL souls and visitors! We are officially entering a Code White lockdown. There is a medical emergency on the Tampa Bay floor. If you are in the hallway, you must find a room immediately and stay inside of it until the lockdown is over. This is not a drill."

When the announcement ended, Filomena shivered. "I'm terrified. I hope they are able to take care of Lily."

"I hope they can bring her back," Phil clutched one of Lily's pale hands tightly. "I need her back."

Matthew Logan patted his friend's back in order to soothe him as Phil started to cry. A few seconds later, they heard loud voices combined with footsteps that seemed to be hurrying towards their room. Filly jumped up to open the door.

"Hey! We're in here!" She called to whoever was outside, then turned back to her friends. "Guys, it's the paramedics!"

"Fantastic!" Phil sighed with relief.

"We got a report of an emergency," the first EMT stated before noticing the unconscious woman on the floor. "Did it happen to her?"

"Yes, ma'am," Phil stepped back so that the EMT and her partner could examine Lily. "I didn't hear her fall, but when I came into the room, she was laying there like that. I tried to wake her up, but she was—and still is, actually—completely unconscious."

"Don't worry, sir," the second paramedic nodded at him as he loaded Lily onto the stretcher. "We will get her to the hospital as soon as possible. You and your friend can come along if you want."

"Yes!" Phil exclaimed. "Yes, of course I want to come. Filly, let's go."

Filly nodded, jumping up and starting to follow her friends and the paramedics as they hurried towards the elevators. As she walked, she decided to talk to Phil.

"They have some good hospitals here in Columbus, you know," she reassured him. "Brandon told me so when he stayed at one during his pneumonia crisis. Lily will be okay."

"She will," Phil agreed. "I'm sure of that."

But deep down inside, Phil wasn't feeling so sure.