5

They sat side by side in one corner of an empty room. It had been nothing but chaos in the ER when they arrived and immediately got to work. They talked a little about what happened when Sarge noticed that Aina's voice trailed off. When he looked to his side, he noticed that she had fallen asleep, her head bowed down.

---

Panicked voices and frenetic movements met Aina and Sarge as soon as they entered the ER.

"Drop your things and get to work!" Dr. Sevilla, one of the head ER doctors said as soon as she spotted them by the door. They ran to the locker rooms and dropped their bags. "What do you think happened? Aina asked Sarge as they exited the room. Sarge could only shrug his shoulders as he adjusted his ID lanyard around his neck.

"Aina! Over here!" Celine, a doctor working on one patient called out.

"Sarge!" Mara, another doctor, called out.

Aina and Sarge ran toward opposite directions of the emergency room. A tourist bus load of students on field trip were rushed to the hospital after it figured in an accident on their way back to the school. According to the teacher's aide, Ms. Luna, she was seated in the front, just behind the driver. She had been watching a movie on her mobile phone when she heard a loud explosion. She recalls being thrown off from her seat and then everything turning dark.

Initial investigations showed that the driver lost control after one of the bus tires blew out. Because it was moving rather fast, the driver lost control, making the bus fall on its side and skid across the highway. All the passengers, mostly high school students, their teacher and class aide, and the bus driver were brought to the same hospital.

While Sarge was being updated on the patients' status, Aina was busy working with a team of doctors and nurses on a seriously injured student.

"Kuya?" A voice cut through the chaos of the ER. "Kuya Sarge!" the voice said again and when Sarge looked toward the source, he saw a boy with his arm in a sling and wound on his forehead in a wheelchair a few meters away. "Corn? Cocoy!" Sarge said, rushing toward the boy and hugging him. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. The bus..."

"What happened?" Sarge asked as he moved Corn to the side. Corn told Sarge that he was asleep when the accident happened. He woke up when he felt a sharp pain on his arm and that his classmate was on top of him. Suddenly, they heard screaming.

"Sarge! We need you in trauma 1!"

"I'll be back." Sarge told Corn and immediately joined the team in trauma 1.

On the bed was a young boy about the same age as Corn. He was screaming, flailing his arms, and kicking. Sarge immediately went to the boy's head and whispered. "Calm down. We're here to help."

"Nooooo" the boy wailed

"It's okay. Just calm down and you'll be fine."

"I don't want! Don't do it! No! Please! Please! Please!" the boy screamed.

Sarge continued to calmly talk to the boy and somehow this soothed him and the team was able to work.

"Davey?!" Aina rushed inside trauma 1.

"Ate? Ate!" Davey screamed again. Aina was asked to leave immediately while Sarge calmed the boy down again. Minutes later, Sarge found Aina in one of the empty trauma rooms, crying.

"He's going to be fine." Sarge said as he hugged Aina who bawled as soon as she saw Davey. She and Davey had the typical love-hate sibling relationship but she also missed him a lot since she moved out of the family home more than three years ago. Davey was still in middle school then and they would regularly see each other on weekends. However, in the past month, Aina wasn't able to go home and her parents went on a holiday abroad, leaving Davey with their grandparents in the other side of town.

"I'm so scared. Oh, Davey." Aina sobbed.

Soon, Aina's grandparents arrived and Davey was admitted for observation. Sarge also met up with his parents who came for Corn. Corn's injuries were not as serious as Davey's because he was asleep when the accident happened.

Sarge saw his parents and Corn off. As they got into the car, Corn said, "Thanks, Kuya."

"You're welcome. You're going to feel sore for a few days so don't forget your medicines." Sarge replied. "You said your classmate helped you?"

"Not helped. He was on top of me...like a shield..."

"Oh. Which one was he?" Sarge asked.

"Davey...Davey Mendez..." Corn replied.

Sarge was surprised upon hearing Davey's name. Davey was the restless, screaming boy Sarge calmed down earlier. He was also Aina's little brother. From what he gathered after talking to Aina, Davey was afraid of hospitals and needles. He was very sick when he was young that he became traumatized after numerous trips to the hospital for all sorts of tests and treatments. So, growing up, he would hide his discomfort and pain from his parents because he was afraid they'd bring him to the hospital again.

Like Ms. Luna, Davey was playing with his video game when the bus's wheel exploded. He grabbed Corn, who was seated beside him, and they rolled when the bus rolled and his foot got caught and twisted on one of the seats. When everything settled down again, he ended up on top of Corn, unconscious. Corn had some bruises and he sprained his wrist. Davey suffered a few cuts and a broken leg.

---

The chaos and frenzy of the accident in the emergency room took a greater toll on Aina. She became anxious and almost hysterical when she saw Davey hurt. "...I guess that's why they say that doctors don't treat their own families..." Sarge said as they sat next to each other in the trauma room floor when things 'returned to normal.' Exhausted, Aina drifted off to sleep even while chatting with Sarge. Sarge soon noticed that Aina became silent. She had fallen asleep and her head was bowed down. Sarge slowly and gently moved Aina's head to rest on his shoulder. Sarge then gently rested his head atop Aina's head and was soon asleep, too.