Chapter 5 - The Extraction Through the Back Alleys
“Mom!” I called out, my voice cracking so badly I barely recognized it. I scrambled to my feet and threw my body against the inside of the study door, pressing my back flat against the wood. “Mom, everything is fine! Emily is having a minor fainting spell from the heat! Daniel is checking her blood sugar right now! Give us two minutes!”
Through the thick oak, I heard our mother hesitate.
“Oh, goodness gracious. Do I need to bring some cold water? Should I get wet towels?”
“No!” Daniel shouted smoothly, his voice remarkably steady despite the sweat beading on his forehead. “Just keep everyone in the dining room, Helen. We’ll be right out as soon as her pressure stabilizes.”
We heard the soft patter of her sensible shoes retreating down the hallway toward the living room.
I let out a long, shuddering breath and slid down the door, my head in my hands.
“That bought us five minutes, maybe ten,” Daniel said, turning back to Emily. “Em, we have to move. My colleagues are bringing the rear transport unit through the alleyway behind the garage. You need to put your coat on, stand up, and walk with us out to the car. Can you do that for me?”
Emily sat frozen on the edge of the sofa. Her eyes were wide, glazed with a mixture of terror and fierce, unyielding defiance. She looked down at her swollen abdomen, her fingers gently, protectively resting over the pulsing mass.
“Will it hurt?” she whispered.
Daniel’s expression softened into a profound, sorrowful gentleness. “The surgery will be long, Em. And it’s going to be hard. But my team is the best in Texas. Dr. Henderson has successfully resected tumors attached to major blood vessels before. You’re going to survive this. And when you wake up, the weight of all this pain is finally going to be gone.”
Slowly, agonizingly, Emily nodded.
We didn’t waste another second. I grabbed her heavy cream winter coat from the coat rack by the door and draped it over her shoulders, buttoning it all the way down to her shins to completely conceal the horrifying distortion beneath. Daniel opened the study window that looked out over the backyard patio, ensuring the coast was clear of lingering guests.
The afternoon sun beat down on the manicured lawn as we slipped out the side door, keeping close to the shadow of the wooden fence. The white privacy gate led directly into the paved back alley where an unmarked medical transit van idled quietly, its engine humming with a low, muted purr.
The rear doors swung open silently. Two paramedics in plain navy scrubs stood waiting with a specialized, enclosed gurney lined with thermal padding.
“Dr. Brooks,” the lead paramedic nodded, stepping forward. “We’ve got the bypass unit ready. Dr. Henderson is prepping operating suite four at St. David’s right now.”
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“Good,” Daniel said, helping Emily up the metal ramp into the back of the van. “She’s hemodynamically stable for the moment, but her pulse pressure is narrowing. Move fast, and keep her IV line open with normal saline en route.”
I climbed into the back of the van beside the gurney, gripping Emily’s cold, trembling hand. She didn’t look at me. Her eyes were fixed on the roof of the van as it pulled away from the curb, leaving behind a suburban party full of pink balloons, laughing relatives, and a white cake with tiny gold stars that would never be eaten.
