The EMT turned off the EKG monitor and leaned to speak to the ambulance driver.

“You can cool down now Harry,” he said. “This guy is gone.”

The driver deactivated the siren and slowed the vehicle to the legal speed limit.

The EMT turned to the trainee sitting across from him.

“We usually run hot until we’re out of the family’s sight,” he said. “Makes them feel better for some reason.” He took a sip from his water bottle and continued, “We could take all day with this guy. It won’t matter to him.”

The trainee looked confused. “But he’s not dead Tom.”

“He’s brain dead. You can tell by the eyes.”

Tom the EMT casually pulled back Samuel’s eyelids. The trainee cringed, as he saw nothing but white.

“They’ve rolled back into his head,” Tom explained. “We’ve got him stable, but he’s sung his last tune.”

This was the first dead man the trainee had ever seen. He had a sense sadness that, in time, would fade.

“Poor bastard,” he said. “Should we check his wallet to see if he’s a donor?”

Tom swallowed another drink of water and answered, “Yeah, I guess that’s a good idea. Can you grab his wallet?”

“Yeah I’ll get it.”

The trainee reached into Samuel’s back pant pocket and pulled out a black leather wallet.

“Nice wallet,” he said.

Tom gave a smug giggle and added, “Yeah, did you see his car?”

Harry sounded in from the front. “I saw it. That was sweeeet. Jet black fast back. Don’t get no sweeter. He lived large while he was with it.”

The trainee opened the wallet and began searching through its many cards.

“Holy shit,” he exclaimed. “This is Sam Levitt.”

He took a look at the man’s face, and then the card. “I didn’t notice it before. It was all too tense.”

“Who’s Sam Levitt?” Tom asked.

“You know. The actor.”

”Don’t know him.”

Harry interrupted excitedly. “You mean the guy from the Kill Zone and Kamikaze Code?”

The trainee responds, “Yeah that’s him.”

“Damn!” Harry added.

Tom’s memory was finally jarred. “Oh yeah, I saw those. Shit you’re right. He doesn’t do action movies anymore though does he?”

“Well, he doesn’t do any movies anymore,” the trainee answered in a sarcastic voice.

The two giggled over the brain dead body.

The trainee added, “I guess he got too old or out of shape or something. He started doing dramas. I guess they were pretty good. Not my thing though.”

“Not mine neither,” Harry said. “Chicks don’t go for dramatic actors. Action movie guys and rock stars. That’s what the girls like.”

“They say comedians get the best girls.”

“Bull,” Tom said. “I’m with Harry. When’s the last time you saw a comedian with a super-model? Doesn’t happen. Now that guy, what’s his name, Simon something?”

“Simon Beat,” Harry answered.

“Yeah, Simon Beat. That guy gets all the action. Like I say, if you killed Simon Beat, Mick Jaggar and Sylvester Stallone there’d be enough super-models to go around. Those guys hog them all.”

The trainee laughed. “Who’s he seeing now? That actress…”

At that moment the three men had a mutual realization. Their playful banter ended. They looked down at the man with pity.

The car drove in silence for several moments. Equipment rattled and beeped as the three reflected on their run-ins with heartbreak.

The trainee again rifled through the contents of Samuel’s wallet. “Here’s something,” he said.

“A donor card?” Tom asked.

“No. It just says In Event of Death, and then gives a phone number.” The trainee looked confused and flipped the card over. “It just says Cryo-Corps.”

To Be Continued