The Road Less Travelled
- – Let’s take the tunnel on seventh. Broadway may be blocked at this time of day.
- – I’ll let you pass to lead the way then.
At 10:43 in the morning, the streets were surprisingly busy. All of six lanes of Norwood Avenue were packed with people from all walks of life: a cable guy who was obviously late for an appointment with a client; an angry mom, trying to keep her toddler in his safety seat; a newly-licensed teenager, budging into a next lane ahead of everybody, and so on. Needless to say, the life of St. Kevin’s City never stops – not even for a coffee break. But for a Tuesday morning, six lanes of Norwood should have been more than sufficient for its citizens to avoid getting into traffic.
Sam swore underneath his breath.
- – This is un-fucking-believable! Like sardines in a jar, it’s so packed! What good is a siren if they can’t even move an inch? Jay, you have to call Jenny to ask for another route or something!
- – Hold on. Hello? Jenny, Norwood is a parking lot. Is there any chance of us getting access to an elec at this time? … Yes, I understand that a gunshot would takes precedence over a heart attack but my patient could die as well if we don’t get there in the next ten minutes! … We need an elec now! … Hello? … She hung up…
- – What’s her problem?
- – All of our ten elecs are out on call as usual. There has been another riot at the airport. Once again, only cops are allowed to be taken in.
- – So what are we supposed to do?
- Somebody in the back bumped into the stretcher Jay so carefully attached to the seat of his bicycle to be dragged along behind him.
- – I’m going to go see if anybody needs that Porsche that’s sitting in the ditch.
- – Are you out of your mind?
Jay brusquely got off the seat of his bicycle to untie the stretcher.
- – What are you doing, Jay? That woman isn’t worth losing your life over!
- – Then what is?!
- – Look, she’s old, had a heart attack. Shit happens! When you grow old, you expect these kinds of things to happen to you, you know?
- – You shouldn’t grow old expecting to die of flu because the stupid ambulance can’t get to you in time! What good are trees and all this stupid nature if it all comes at a price of human souls? All of this greenery is stained with blood, whether you want to see it or not. … Do you remember how to hotwire cars still?
* * *
The glass of rain water had come in handy as Sam’s throat was parched after sitting for three hours in a stuffy courtroom. Gosh, the defense attorney, was rounding off his final statement before seating down: “Therefore, as you can see, ladies and gentlemen, these two young men are nothing but selfless patriots of humanity, putting their own necks on the line to save an innocent. I urge you to make a decision in favour of citizens of St. Kevin’s City who need people like Mr. Rojam and Mr. Taikovsky. Thank you.”
There was hardly any enthusiasm left in the jury; everybody wanted to leave the horrid place that reeked of death – the sooner, the better. Jay poked Gosh slightly on the shoulder,
- How good are our chances, do you think?
- We’ve walked into this courtroom knowing that pleading this case may be just as useless as trying to budge an elephant with a feather. You guys are smart. You read the newspaper. When was the last time that Kevin had let any of his nature offenders walk out of the courtroom alive?
- Two years ago, there was a huge scandal about his cousin smuggling beef on the black market.
- Yes, his cousin was an exception but to be sentenced to life is not much of an alternative to an electric chair.
- How is it that lawyers still manage to make money in cases such as these…
- Hey, don’t point fingers! You could have waited and the electric car would have picked up your butts, carried you over to your patient and got you back to the hospital in due time!
- Yup! Another delivery to the morgue! And look at that! We also saved a bundle on the supplies we would have otherwise needed to save the patient! It’s a win-win!
Already sick of the bickering, Sam interjected,
- Can we please focus on avoiding electrocution at this moment?
- Hush! The judge is about to announce the verdict.
A man in his fifties, with patches of greying hair, cleared his throat. Sam wondered whether it was possible to preserve one’s mental health after being told of one’s approaching execution. Jay’s mind was filled with images of his two young daughters who would be left to the will of fate, orphaned, because their father went on a whim to be the hero of the day. The courtroom was dead silent with anticipation. The stench of sweat no longer bothered the nostrils. All eyes were on the judge. “Mr. Rojam, Mr. Taikovsky. Judging by the hopeful expressions on your faces, you don’t fully realize the weight of your actions’ consequences. For fifteen years, St. Kevin’s operated on the principles, which were made into laws, of St. Kevin’s Doctrine. Thou shalt not kill. And by hijacking that car, you have committed murder against some of nature’s most precious gifts. You’ve saved that woman but you might as well have killed a thousand other souls by contributing to global warming! To let you off the hook will communicate to the general public that we don’t have the guts to fight for the natural environment. But we do. For polluting, albeit with good intentions, I condemn you to a life sentence in prison. Case dismissed.”
~ Alexandra Polina ©
