Sharon Sala - Going Gone

Suddenly the plane was filled with searchers.

“Radio for a medevac! We have a live one!” Reno shouted while Cameron continued to assess her injuries.

She was burning up with fever, which meant infection and possibly internal injuries. He found the first-aid kit beside her, and when he began examining her body, discovered the ACE bandages she’d wrapped around her rib cage, the gash in her head and the wound on her leg. She’d tried to doctor herself, but it was obvious she was in dire need of more extensive care.

“A chopper’s already in the area. They’ll be here within minutes,” Reno said as he dropped to his knees beside Cameron. “Looks like she was trying to patch herself up.”

“She works for the Red Cross,” Cameron said, remembering all the times he’d seen her working tirelessly, helping others in times of disaster. This time she was the one in need.

Reno eyed the nest she’d made of all the clothes, and the little food and water stash beside her.

“Looks like she’s quite a survivor,” he said.

Laura moaned.

Cameron cupped her cheek. His voice was steady, but his hands were trembling.

“Help is coming, baby. Hang on.”

Her lips were cracked and bleeding from the cold, and her long blond hair was bloody and matted, but she’d never looked as beautiful to him as she did right now.

“Help?”

When he heard her voice, he reached for her hand. “Yes, Laura, help is here, baby. We found you.”

Her eyelids began to flutter, and then she opened her eyes.

“Cameron?”

“Yes, honey, it’s me.”

A frown rippled across her forehead.

“Are you real?”

He gave her hand a slight squeeze.

“I’m real, and we’re here to take you home.”

Tears slipped from the corners of her eyes.

“They’re dead. They left without me.”

He leaned down and kissed the side of her cheek, so overcome with emotion his voice was shaking.

“I’m really glad you waited for me to find you.”

She blinked so slowly that he thought she was passing out again, and then all of a sudden her eyelids flew open.

“The wolves...have to hide.”

“No, baby, they’re gone,” Cameron said.

She clutched his arm in sudden panic. “No. They dig. They’ll find me.”

Cameron looked over his shoulder, then shouted at Reno, “Where’s that chopper?”

“On approach,” Reno said.

Cameron cupped Laura’s cheek. “The medics are here. They’re going to take you to the hospital.”

A visible surge of panic swept through her as she clutched his sleeve tighter.

“Might die. Need to tell you—”

Cameron’s stomach rolled. “You are not going to die, do you hear me, Laura?”

“—to tell you I love you.”

He swallowed past the lump in his throat, then leaned down and whispered in her ear, “I love you most.”

The familiar words brought tears, and then her eyes rolled back in her head.

“They’re here!” Reno called, eyeing a pair of medics as they came through the trees carrying a backboard and a stretcher.

Cameron patted her arm and then began looking through the stuff she’d gathered around her. He saw her purse and put it beside her so the medics would take it. Laura knew her job well and always traveled with a copy of her medical history and prescriptions. When he moved it, he saw four cell phones lying beneath it and groaned, imagining her panic and frustration at having so much technology in her hand and none of it working. He tossed her cell phone in her purse and left the others behind.

Then all at once the medical team was there. He moved aside, watching as they stabilized her neck, started an IV to push fluids and then rolled her onto the backboard, taking precautions even though it was obvious she had been mobile. After Cameron’s insistence and a brief explanation, they strapped her purse on with her.

“Where are you taking her?” Cameron asked as they headed out the door.

“University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora,” an EMT said.

Cameron followed them out. Unwilling to let her go, he helped carry her through the snow to the open meadow where the chopper had landed. He wanted to go with her, but once he saw how small the chopper was, he didn’t even ask.

She was still unconscious when they strapped the stretcher down inside the chopper. As they began lifting off, the air filled with wasplike shards of icy snow. Cameron turned away to protect his eyes, and when he looked back again, they had gained enough altitude that they were already heading back.

He watched until the chopper was little more than a speck, and then ran to catch up with the others. The search teams were in the process of leaving. The bodies and the wreckage belonged to another kind of team. Armed guards were standing by until the authorities came to remove the bodies. Then the NTSB would show up to recover the plane.

He looked around for Reno, saw him standing near their snowmobile and moved as fast as he could to get there. “Are you getting ready to leave?” he asked.

“Yeah. We need to hurry. Night’s coming, and we don’t want to be out here on snowmobiles after dark.”

“When we get back to camp, will anyone be going back down the mountain?”

Reno shrugged. “They may wait until morning to break camp, but we can ask.”

One thing at a time, Cameron thought, and climbed on.

Three

It was after dark when Cameron caught a ride with a van load of searchers on their way back to Denver. The ride down from the mountain staging area was even more treacherous at night, but about halfway down he got a cell signal and was finally able to send Sarah a text. Ever conscious of losing the signal, he kept details brief.

Laura alive. En route to University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora.

Her answer to him was just as abbreviated.

On my way. Between planes at airport. Thank you forever for giving Laura back to me.

He wouldn’t begin to take credit, but he understood what she meant.

When they finally saw the lights of Denver in the distance, everyone breathed a little easier. By the time the van reached the community center where the initial search and rescue had been set up, it was almost eight o’clock.

Cameron unloaded his gear with the others and headed into the community center to change back into street clothes and get the rest of his belongings.

He came out a short while later, his stride long and hurried as he crossed the parking lot. It felt like snow, but so far the overcast sky was holding whatever it carried. He tossed his bags in the trunk of his rental, entered the hospital address into the car’s GPS and took off through the city.

His belly growled as he pulled up at a stoplight, a reminder that he hadn’t eaten since the sweet roll this morning. After all that had happened today, that felt like a lifetime ago.

When the light turned green he accelerated through the intersection, then swung into the first fast-food drive-through he came to and ordered. He ate as he drove, washing his meal down with a cold Pepsi and wishing he’d asked for coffee instead. But he had to admit it was a smart move, because he felt less shaky, which was good. And once he got there, he wasn’t leaving Laura’s side.

Still, the closer he got to the hospital, the more anxious he became. By the time he pulled into the parking lot, a sense of finality was setting in. He’d done all he could have done by helping find her, and whatever was happening now was out of his hands. He had to trust she hadn’t survived all that horror for nothing.

As he headed toward the entrance, he felt a raindrop, then another, but before he got into the building it had turned into snow. He lengthened his stride.

Learning she was in Intensive Care wasn’t surprising, but it amped up his concern. Visiting hours in ICU were on the hour, every hour, and brief. He glanced at his watch and headed for the elevator. It was almost nine.