That Certain September

by Joseph Grant

I awoke as always when the alarm went off and began to get ready for my shift as an X-Ray Tech at Saint Vincent’s Hospital. As I was taking a shower, my wife told me about the first plane hitting the Trade Center and I muttered Oh, God and quickly rinsed and toweled off and got into my scrubs. On my way to the hospital, I was confused to see the smoke and debris from what appeared to be the other Tower, now inconceivably engulfed in flames as well and I remembered thinking to myself how it was going to be a rough day in the O.R., with an overwhelming number of casualties. As I reached the emergency room entrance, I came upon a great deal of commotion and I spotted our Chief of Staff, Dr. Grenadus, ordering what looked like an army of volunteers who were hurriedly carrying planks of wood in this direction and that. People from all walks of life and from seemingly every ethnic background, all working together, were hammering the planks together for makeshift stretchers for the injured that would surely flood our doors any given moment now. In one of the cruelest ironies of that dreadful day, the stretchers were abandoned, never to be used.

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Joseph Grant, author of A Far Away Place, is originally from New York City and currently resides in Los Angeles. His short stories have been published in over 40 literary reviews and e-zines, such as Byline, New Authors Journal, Howling Moon Press, Hack Writers, New Online Review, Indite Circle and Cerebral Catalyst. Upcoming pieces will soon be published in Literary Tonic. His work has also appeared in The New York Bar Guide (as a reviewer) and in various newspaper articles that have appeared in The Pasadena Star, Whittier News and the San Gabriel Tribune. "Indigo," a work of verse, was published by Alpha Beat Press, and he has recently completed his first novel.