Joanna Neil - Love Islands - Summer Kisses

‘Shut up,’ said Nathan sharply, tuning the man out.

‘Rachel. How are you doing in there?’

There was a creak above him and several of the crew ran forward with their hands above their heads. ‘Watch out, Doc. Some of these are going to go.’

Of course. They’d been so close they couldn’t see the bigger picture. They’d been so quick to think about getting to Jack they hadn’t considered the swaying semi-collapsed tower.

Rachel gave a little squeak. ‘He’s breathing. But he’s unconscious,’ she shouted. ‘Definite sign of a head injury with a head lac, and a possible fractured ulna and radius.’

‘Any other injuries?’

‘Give me a sec. I can’t see his legs but I can feel his pelvis and abdomen.’ Nathan held his breath. His brain was trying to calculate how long it would take to medevac someone out of here. A few seconds later she shouted again. ‘His pelvis seems intact and his abdomen is soft. But there’s a few barrels right above us that look ready to come crashing down. Do you have anything we can use to keep us safe?’

Nathan started shouting to the crew. ‘We need something to put over Jack and the doc. What do we have?’

A few members of the crew pointed to some piles of wood. But there was no chance of squeezing those in amongst the barrels. Nathan’s brain was working frantically. Yesterday, he’d read a list of the challenges that the celebrities would do over the next few weeks. It sparked something in his brain. ‘Wait a minute. What about the inflatables for the water challenge later—anyone know where those are?’

He hadn’t even seen them but, from what he could remember about the challenge, they might help.

Ron’s eyes lit up. ‘Yes! They’ll be perfect!’ He turned on his heel and ran towards one of the equipment storage cabins.

Nathan’s black medical bag thumped down beside him. He didn’t even know who’d brought it. He just stuck his hand inside and pulled out a stethoscope. He ran forward and threw the stethoscope inside. ‘Rach, can you sound his chest?’

There was a muffled response. Ron and the others were still running around. The feeling of camaraderie struck him. When something happened, all hands were on deck. He didn’t know most of these people. He could count on one hand how many names he knew. But it didn’t matter; everyone was working towards one purpose and that he could understand. It had been the way of his life for five years in Doctors Without Borders.

Ron stopped next to him, clearly out of breath—he’d need to remember to check him over later. ‘We’ve got them—almost like giant sausages. They’re thin enough when they’re deflated to wiggle them through next to the doc.’

‘How do you inflate them?’ His brain was starting to see where this could go.

‘With a pressure machine.’

‘How quickly can they go up?’

‘Within ten seconds.’

He ran his fingers through his hair. ‘When that inflates will it push all those barrels outwards?’ How on earth could he keep Rachel and Jack safe?

He turned to the technician next to him. His logical brain was trying to calculate how to do this. ‘Put one on either side. They stay in the middle. That way, all the barrels will fall outwards.’ At least he hoped and prayed they would. He glanced at the anxious face next to him. ‘What do you think?’

Ron gave a small nod. ‘I think you’re a genius, Doc. Let’s get to work, guys.’

They moved quickly, trying to get things in position.

Nathan took a deep breath and moved forward. ‘Rach?’

Her voice echoed towards him. She sounded stressed. Climbing in amongst the barrels was probably starting to feel like a bad idea. ‘It’s harder than I thought. Chest clear and inflating on one side, but I can’t get access to the other—he’s lying on that side.’ There was a definite waver in her voice. What he really wanted to do was crawl in beside her. But unless that space got about two foot wider there was no physical possibility of that—not without putting the already teetering pile at further risk.

He signalled to Ron. ‘How soon will you be ready?’

Ron’s face was red and sweating. He gestured towards the other guys. It might look like chaos around them but everyone seemed to know exactly what they were doing. They all had a purpose. ‘Two minutes.’

Nathan crouched down, pushing himself as close to the entrance as he could. ‘Good. Rach, listen to me. We need to get you and Jack out of there. The barrels aren’t safe; they could fall at any minute. But we think we’ve got something that could help.’

‘What is it?’

‘Ron and the guys are going to manoeuvre some inflatables in beside you. They’re rolled up like sausages and should squeeze through the gap. One will be in front of you and Jack, and the other behind. I’ll give you a signal and we’ll flick the switch to inflate them. It’s quick. It only takes ten seconds, and once they inflate they should push all the surrounding barrels outwards. You need to keep your head down. Are you okay with that?’

‘Is there any other option?’ Her voice sounded shaky.

Nathan bit his lip. He was trying to make it sound as if this was perfectly planned when they both knew it wasn’t. ‘This is the quickest and safest option. You’ll be out of there soon.’ He switched back to doctor mode. ‘How’s the patient?’

He tried to shut out all the outside noise and just focus on her. How was she feeling in there? Any minute now the whole pile could come crashing down on top of her. He didn’t even want to give that head space. He couldn’t give that head space. Because it might actually make his hands shake. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t seen her in years. It didn’t matter he had all this pent-up frustration and rage wrapped up in memories of her. This was Rachel.

He didn’t want her to come to any harm. No matter what else went on in this world. He couldn’t push aside his protective impulses towards her. He didn’t dare to think about anything happening to her.

He’d just managed to see her for the first time in eight years. And, no matter how he felt about anything, he wasn’t ready for that to be over.

Her bravado was obviously starting to crash. ‘He’s still unconscious. We’ll be able to assess him better when we get out.’

Ron tapped him on the shoulder, standing in position with the bright yellow, tightly coiled inflatables in the crew’s hands.

‘Rach, hold on. Ron’s ready. Get yourself in position.’

He couldn’t imagine what it must be like in there with the heavy barrels stacked all around. It took a good ten minutes for Ron and the rest of the crew to slowly edge the giant sausage-like inflatables into position and connect them to the air pressure machines.

It was the first time in his life Nathan had ever cursed his muscular frame. He should be the one in there. Not her.

He spoke in a low voice. ‘Are you sure the rest of the barrels will fall outwards? None are going to land on them?’

Ron met his gaze; there was a flicker of doubt in his eyes. ‘I’m as sure as you are.’

Nathan glanced towards the crew member standing with his hand on the air pressure machine. ‘Get back,’ he yelled to the rest of the crew members, who scattered like leaves on a blustery day.

Nathan couldn’t help himself. He rushed forward as he signalled to the crew guy. ‘Now, Rach,’ he shouted. ‘Get your head down!’

Strong arms pulled him backwards just as the switches on the machine were thrown. It was only ten seconds. But it felt like so much longer.

The giant sausages started to inflate, pushing everything around them outwards. The barrels teetering at the top started to rumble and fall, cascading like a champagne tower. Nathan couldn’t breathe. It was almost as if everything was happening in slow motion.