Halloween Night In A Hospital [FICTOID]

At twilight they brought the centaur in for acute alcohol poisoning.

She’d started pounding back peppermint schnapps at an office costume party, then graduated to gin fizzes at a local bar, dancing a lambada on a table before being thrown out.

Her trajectory is somewhat uncertain after that, interweaving with a dozen other people until at last she passed out on a crosswalk.

Some sober benefactor (thank God for designated drivers!) loaded her in the backseat of their car and dropped her at the nearest ER.

The ER felt placid, the proverbial quiet before the storm.  The centaur became their first customer of the evening.

They slapped an oxygen mask on her, jabbed an IV in her for hydration, and pumped her full of thiamin and glucose to stave off brain damage.

Eventually she stirred and groaned, cracking open one eye.  “Where am I?” she asked.

“In First Avenue Hospital,” said the handsome ER doctor.  

He would have to be handsome, the centaur thought.  “What happened?” she asked.

“You had a little too much fun,” said the doctor.  “I think you’ll be okay but I want to consult with a veterinarian first,” he added, throwing in a wink.

The centaur groaned and closed her eye:  A cute doctor with a sense of humor was too much for her to bear.

The doctor was about to crack another joke when the doors burst open and paramedics rushed in a victim wrapped in the mangled papier-mâché remains of a gondola costume.

It’s going to be a long evening, the ER doctor thought with a sigh.

© Buzz Dixon