Chapter Two
Shocked, Lisbon was the first to move, feeling the heat all over her after the knock-down. Dazed she crawled back up, shaking her head slightly and pushing her hands against her ears against a loud ringing sound she couldn't shake off. Cho, having dropped the fire extinguishers, moved second, clutching his head and rubbing his eyes. He could feel the heat radiate from the blown-up car, fearing for just a second he was on fire. The flames rose high up to the skies but they weren't on him, he realized in relief.
Patrick Jane lay on his side as he opened his eyes, crawling up dazed, rolling from his side to his back, then upwards. Before he could stand up straight, his chest seemed to explode. An enormous surge of pain rushed through him and he clutched his right arm and chest with his left, screaming in pure agony.
Next to him Richfield remained unmoving to the ground, his eyes wide open, staring into nothingness.
"Jane!" Lisbon cried out, running to her consultant as he fell back to the ground, lying half on his back, half on his side, his face contorted in a form of extreme pain. She had never seen him like this before. He could barely move, barely breathe and held his left hand and arm tightly over his chest and right arm.
She tried to roll him on his back to take a better look but he refused, panting and heaving as she touched him. Then Cho was by her side and knelt on Jane's other side, gently touching the man's chest. He had a first aid degree but Jane's distress went way beyond that.
"Jane, can you hear me?" Lisbon asked, tears welling in her eyes. Feeling pretty dazed herself, her eyes still ringing from the blast, she was at a loss about what do to next.
To her relief, he nodded, yet at the same time she could see beads of sweat forming on his face, his eyes halfway open as if to fight off the excruciating pain inside of his chest. His legs were pushed together, almost in a fetus like position. His back was tense and tight. She almost wished he was out of it. A large piece of metal lay besides him, having caused the impact to his chest.
"Richfield is dead," Cho said, casting a glance aside at their pilot. A large shard of metal protruded from the man's chest, the car's metal entering his body so fast and with such force he probably didn't even know what hit him. He was dead before he hit the ground.
Lisbon's thoughts went crazy as she realized the consequences. There was no way for them to leave with a dead pilot on their hands, so help had to come from elsewhere. "We have to get help here fast," she said, her hands still on Jane's back and arm. "How bad is it?"
"I'm not a doctor but from the looks of it, I think he might have broken a couple of ribs. I'm thinking punctured lung," Cho replied calmly, his hands gently examining Jane's chest, then exploring the rest of his body. "I don't see any other injuries, no broken bones anyhow."
Cho's hands lifted Jane's eyelids. "I don't think he has a concussion and he seems quite alert. Jane, did you bump your head? Can you talk to us?"
Jane looked at his colleagues, shivering in pure pain, teeth clattering as he tried to speak. "N – n – no bump. C – c – chest … hurts."
"You broke a few ribs. I think your lung is punctured," Cho replied calmly and honestly, knowing Jane would see through lies immediately. "We need to move you to the plane and get you out of the sun."
"N – n – no, leave me. Hurts." Jane took deep breaths as he spoke. Cho didn't like the way he breathed. There was a crackling sound clearly audible.
"I know but we can't leave you out here in the heat either," Cho said firmly. "You'll dehydrate within the hour, if a sunstroke doesn't get you first. It's too humid and hot out here. This valley is too hot for us to stay long in it."
And tonight it will freeze out here, Lisbon thought, trying to remember what Richfield had said. Hadn't he spoken of wild animals as well? All she could think of now was that Palm Springs was a 20-minute flight out. Basically, at this very moment, they could have been at world's end and their situation couldn't have been worse.
Lisbon felt extremely grateful for Cho's curt and efficient reactions, having difficulty to concentrate as she fought the battle against her pounding ears and her fears for Jane's life. "How are we going to move him?" she whispered. "He can't walk."
"We'll have to drag him to the plane, there is no other way," Cho said. "Then we can radio for help and hopefully find some medical equipment to help him." Cho looked at Jane, saying kindly, "we'll be right back."
Then he pulled Lisbon away from her consultant to a short distance where Jane couldn't hear them. "This is bad, boss. Really, really bad. I'm at a loss here too. All we learn in these First Aid courses is how to patch people up and resuscitate them. I don't even know where to start here. But I do know he needs help now and we are not the people to give it to him."
Lisbon nodded, staring at Jane's heaving and shaking body as his lungs tried to suck in air he couldn't hold on to. She shook her head lightly, forcing her own pain to go away as she straightened her back.
"Okay," she said, feeling calm return. "Okay. First things first. Let's get him back on that plane, out of the sun. That might help him breathe better. This humidity is not doing it any good either. Leave Richfield's body here; there is nothing we can do for him anyhow. We'll radio for help; hopefully we'll find someone who can help us with first aid and instructions on what to do. And then we'll try to keep Jane as comfortable as we can while we wait for the cavalry."
Cho nodded. The two agents returned to Jane who had turned into a modus of silent whimpering, his left hand still pushing against his own chest as if to push out the pain. When she looked into his eyes, Lisbon noticed how they had gotten a glace over them, as if he were on medication and out there. She knew Jane had a lot of self-control and was able to block out pain but never before had she seen him suffering like this.
"Jane?" she said gently, knowing her voice was probably the only thing that would keep him with them. "We're right here and we're going to help you. But you need to help us too. We can't carry you back to the plane, you need to lean on us and stand. Do you think you can do that?"
Jane seemed to focus on her voice and listened intently to her. "I can't … move."
"Yes, you can, Jane. Come on, you're stronger than that. We need to get you out of the sun."
Reluctantly Jane nodded. Lisbon knew it took all the strength he had in him to even do that. Gently Cho kneeled; putting one strong arm behind Jane's back, pulling him up with him up by using his own weight as a brick wall against which Jane could lean.
With a loud and sharp cry that ran through Lisbon's body like a knife, Jane moved up into sitting position. "That's it," Cho said, grasping him tightly. He nodded at Lisbon and she stepped in as well, standing on Jane's other side and placing her arm gently behind his back. Jane continued to grip his chest with his left hand, supporting his own broken ribs.
Then he stood after another loud gasp, his legs not giving in but knowing that wouldn't take too long.
"You're doing great," Cho spoke calmly. "That's it. We've got you. Now all you have to do is take one step at a time. You won't fall, you won't pass out. We're right here."
In other circumstances Jane would have laughed at the patronizing tone of voice but right here, right now, he listened to Cho's smooth talking, clinging onto that like a lifeline. Somehow, deep inside of his brain, Jane was able to give commands to his feet. Slowly they moved, one step at a time, like a man who had just learned how to walk again.
Every single step cut like a knife through his chest. Jane could actually feel his broken ribs move and crunch against each other. It took all he had in him not to fall forward and just give up. He panted, out of breath and in pure pain.
After five long minutes they reached the hill. Jane looked at it with tears of pain in his eyes, knowing the toughest part was yet to come. He was exhausted.
"J – j – just leave me here," he whispered, his face sliding forward onto his chest, dark spot dancing before his eyes. "y – you go."
"Not a chance," Lisbon reacted firmly. "It's not high. You can do it, Jane. Now move those legs!"
Her voice shook him out of his stupor. Head lifted high, chin up, Jane held on tight for the pain. Up they went, footstep after footstep, up the small sandy hill behind which they would find the plane. In reality it would take about fifteen steps up, to Jane it felt like a marathon.
Constantly sinking in and out of darkness, he allowed the voices of his colleagues to guide him. They didn't let go, so neither would he.
