AGAINST HOPE
by: PEBBLES
Part 7
~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~
Doug was not sure
how long he had been sitting up against the tree trunk with his
arms wrapped around Luka - the injured man’s full
weight resting against his chest. The fire was already
beginning to die down and he knew he ought to get up and feed it
with more sticks. He was just so cold and the effort
required to get out from behind Luka seemed beyond him.
Luka had not made
any response to Doug for some time – he was probably
unconscious. Doug reckoned he must have lost at least a litre of
blood from the fractured femur – possibly more - and
there was no sign of a pulse in his leg last time he checked.
Worse still, his body temperature was unlikely to be improving
under the circumstances. Doug knew that time was running
out and yet he still waited, respecting Luka’s wish not to
be left alone.
Although he could
no longer summon the energy to speak and couldn’t even see
Doug anymore - everything had gone black – Luka was in fact
still hovering on the edge of consciousness. Doug’s
voice seemed to be coming from a long way away but he could still
just about hear him and could feel Doug’s arms about him.
He felt comforted by this and tried hard to concentrate on what
Doug was saying.
“Hey,
they’ve got to be looking for us by now. Kerry will
have half the emergency services in the county on the case.
Can’t you just see her getting them all organised? She’d
never miss an opportunity to kick ass – not our Kerry!
Don’t you just love her?” Doug smiled to himself,
picturing Kerry on the warpath. “She and I have had
our run-ins in the past and I can’t say that I ever really
liked her but there’s no one I would rather have on our side…”
At the mention of
Kerry’s name, all kinds of memories came flooding back to
Luka, like a cinema show. Kerry’s face when he first
told her about how he had lost his family. He had pulled no
punches then, being so angry with her. She had been
completely taken by surprise and every emotion she was feeling,
from confusion to horror and guilt, had been written clearly
across her face.
Another time, not
long after he had started at County, they had worked together to
collect evidence from some poor woman who had been raped and
murdered. Her quiet demeanour had struck him as so
unexpected from a woman who seemed to specialise in high volume
tirades. They had worked together as if they had done so
for years, each anticipating the others moves. He had seen
her with new eyes that day.
There were
countless other images of Kerry working beside him at County.
She was one hell of a good doctor and managed the department with
a zeal that belied her diminutive size. Luka had come to
regard her with the greatest respect – not that it stopped
him arguing his point when necessary. And to give her
credit, she always listened to his point of view.
More recently, he
had seen yet another side of Kerry: singing along to The
Stranglers at Mark and Elizabeth’s engagement party. It
had been an evening to remember and he had had the pleasure of
driving her home at the end of it. He wondered if she had
remembered in the morning how she had got into her bed, fully
clothed and who had tucked her in and wished her sweet dreams
before quietly letting himself out of the house.
Kerry asleep on
the plane on the flight over, had been another revelation. She
had fought so hard to stay awake but fatigue and the Macallan
single malt had finally won the day. Her head had lolled against
his shoulder and he had shamelessly rested his head on the top of
hers and listened to the little contented sounds of her
breathing.
About half an
hour later she had shifted her position and her head had slid
down his chest to rest across his lap. Carter had raised
one eyebrow and then, like a gentleman had turned his back and
tried to get to sleep himself. Luka had remained awake for
the rest of the flight trying to ignore the erotic fantasies,
which kept threatening to invade his mind and from time to time
shifting his position in the hope that she would not wake up
whilst still in such a compromising position.
But the one
memory, which stood out above all the others, was of dancing with
Kerry just a few hours ago. What was the song that had been
playing? He struggled to remember the words.
‘Come
running to me when things get out of hand
Running to me
When it’s
more than you can stand.
I said I’m
strong
Willing…’
He could almost
sense her in his arms now, the way her body felt under the silk
of her dress and the smell of her hair invading his senses.
He had wanted so much to lift her face to his and kiss her soft
lips. What would she have thought of that! Was there
any chance she might have responded to him? Oh, God, I’m
not ready to die now, he suddenly realised. He was falling
in love with her. He had to cling on, had to see her again.
He had to tell her, had to find out…
~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~
Kerry leant
against the side of the police Range Rover, trying to ease the
pain in her leg. Why did her body have to let her down always?
She cursed quietly under her breath. This was taking too long
– way too long.
They had been
parked here for a good half-hour whilst the search party combed
the verges for any sign of the two missing men. Carol had
been less than certain that this was the spot but she thought she
had recognised a group of particularly large stones right by the
side of the road and efforts had so far been concentrated around
them.
The officers had
tried to persuade them all to remain inside the warmth of the
vehicle but Kerry just could not sit still and wait – not
that she could do much more out in the cold. From time to time
her hopes were raised by the crackle of a RT set and brief
exchanges of information between the officers, but nothing had
yet lead them to Doug and Luka.
Just as it looked
like they were going to give up here and move the search further
on down the road, there was a loud shout and Sergeant Crosby set
off running towards the commotion. Kerry crutched after him
as fast as she was able without a flashlight. She heard the
doors of the Range Rover slam as Carter and Carol followed
behind.
“What is it?
What’s happening?” Kerry eventually caught up
with Sergeant Crosby who was deep in discussion with his men.
He broke off at her interruption.
“One of the
men has caught a strong smell of wood smoke. He’s gone
further down the valley to try and locate its source. It
may only be campers but we’ve got to check it out.” He
turned back to his constable to redirect the search efforts
towards to valley floor.
Kerry took a few
steps in the direction that Crosby had indicated.
“Dr Weaver!”
The sergeant’s voice froze her to the spot. “Don’t
move another step!” Having got her attention, he dropped his
voice a few decibels. “There’s an almost sheer
drop right in front of you! We don’t want you falling
down there – now do we?” He was by her side now,
his hand under her elbow. Kerry, feeling both annoyed and
shaken, allowed him to lead her back to the road.
Carol and Carter
had heard the whole exchange. Carol’s eyes registered
her distress.
“Oh my God,
Kerry! D’you think they’ve fallen down there?”
She voiced the question that was shouting inside Kerry’s
head.
Crosby answered
for her. “We’ve no reason to suspect that. But
I’ve sent a couple of fellows down to check it out. There’s
a safe way down just fifty yards further along.” He
broke off as his RT crackled into life. “Crosby here,
repeat that, will you? Right, we’ll get the doctor
down right away”
“They’ve
found them.” He turned to the constable. “Get
Doctor Reeves down there with a stretcher and I’ll get on
the blower for the Air Ambulance. “As soon as he had
finished with the constable, Kerry butted in.
“What’s
happened?” Her face was white and strained. Without
realising it she backed away from Crosby fearing what he was
going to say.
“They’re
both down by the stream. One of them is unconscious with a
broken leg and hypothermia. The other is pretty cold but
otherwise Okay. Now, if you’ll excuse me I must get a
call in to the Air Ambulance.” He turned back to the
Range Rover.
Kerry turned to
the others, opening her mouth to speak but finding no sound came
from her lips. She looked first at Carol who stared back,
her eyes full of fear. Then to Carter who reached out and
took her hand. Only then did she realise that she was
shaking.
“I’ll
go down with them and see what I can do, Kerry. Don’t
worry, I’m sure they’re going to be fine now we’ve
found them. These guys are pretty well equipped.”
He squeezed her hand before letting it go. “Okay?”
“Thank you,
John.” Kerry managed to say before Carter was off,
hurrying after the others, leaving her and Carol standing by the
side of the road. She put her arm around Carol, realising
that the other woman was experiencing the same fears as herself
only for a different person.
Carol hesitated
for a moment and then pulled Kerry into a tight hug. “I
can’t believe this is happening.” She said before
breaking down into sobs. “I’m sorry Kerry, I can’t
seem to get a grip on myself.” She sniffed, releasing her
grip on the older woman.
“It’s
Okay. We’re all really tired. Shall we go back
to the vehicle and try and find out what’s going on?”
Carol just nodded to Kerry’s suggestion but her legs began
to propel her back towards the lights of the Range Rover, letting
Kerry hold on to her arm for support.
As they reached
the vehicle, Crosby handed Kerry his RT receiver. “Dr
Carter wants to talk to you.” Kerry took the set in
her hand and pushed the transmission button.
“John, are
you there?”
The set crackled
for a moment and then Carter’s voice came through. “Kerry.
Doug’s on his way up now – he needs to get a hot bath
and some dry clothes.”
Kerry was
momentarily speechless, feeling like a brick had been slammed
against her chest. “What about Luka?”
“He’s
in pretty bad shape. He’s unconscious and in shock
with a pulseless leg but I’m most worried about the
hypothermia. These guys have got warming packs and blankets
on him and were already replacing fluids but I don’t want to
risk moving him before the chopper gets here. There’s
too great a risk of causing cardiac dysrhythmia.”
“Yes, your right.” Kerry struggled to remain calm. “Have you any idea of his core temperature?”
“We haven’t
got a low enough reading thermometer. But I suspect it’s
dropped below 31degrees as he’s not shivering anymore and
his pupils are dilated and only slightly reacting to light.
His pulse is slowing despite the blood loss from fracture. We’ve
got to assume a worst case scenario.”
“Just do
what you can, John. The helicopter will be here soon.”
She bit hard on her lip to try and stop the sob that was welling
up in her throat. Crosby’s raised voice cut through
her thoughts.
“I don’t
fucking believe it! Well, get on to the boys at Culdrose
and get straight back to me!” Seeing Kerry and Carol’s
shocked faces, he explained. “The Air Ambulance is fog
bound at Exeter!”
End of Part 7
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NOTE: The song is
‘Willow’ by Joan Armatrading.
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