"Please hurry." Jim's voice seemed strained, even to him. He had been talking to the operator for at least five minutes, describing the accident and the location that they could be found. Jim was itching to hang up to return to the car to tell Pam that they had done it, help was coming.
"And the other person in the car, tell me about her injuries again."
Jim was getting frustrated- realizing that the operator wanted to keep him on the line. He had already given them every horrifying detail of Pam's injury- he didn't want to relive it again just yet. All he wanted to do was to return to the car.
"I've already told you that." He realized his voice was now ragged: scratchy like he had swallowed too much sand. The sun was beginning to come up; its soft glow peaking out over the trees and bathing the landscape in its radiance. He barely heard what the operator said in response, but he was becoming irritable.
"No, my cell phone won't work down there, I have to go and see if she's woken up." He curtly said.
"You let her fall asleep?" The operator ignored him, continuing on.
Anger flared in him for a moment. White hot burning anger. "I didn't let her fall asleep, she passed out. Do you think I would just let her fall asleep?" He hissed through clenched teeth. He pinched the bridge of his nose and clamped his eyes shut, realizing the angry wetness that was forming there. The image of Pam's face kept haunting him; it had been nearly an hour since he left her and he wanted desperately to get back to her.
"Has she regained consciousness?" The voice fluttered in his ear, distracting him from the image.
Jim ran his hand over his chin, feeling the stubble forming there. He shook his head, knowing the operator wouldn't see him.
"Sir? Has she regained consciousness?" She repeated.
"I don't know." Jim heaved a sigh, feeling the sun on his face, but the coldness biting into his cold limbs still. He didn't know what she said next, just telling them to please hurry, and snapping his phone shut, he fought his exhaustion to trot back down the hill, his energy momentarily returning to him in the form of fear.
He had to get back.
He barely glanced at the scenery around him, feeling his feet sloshing in the snow, and his breath quicken in his chest. He slipped, but this time he didn't fall- quickly recovering his footing and breaking into a full run, realizing the way down was a lot easier than up.
After what felt like forever, he saw the car again- and his stomach dropped. It looked so much worse in light; the frame was twisted and smashed, the two tires facing him flat and lifted off the ground. He felt his face sour into a scrawl, his jaw clenching and unclenching on its own.
Wrapping his hands into determined fists, he walked back over to the car, peering into the drivers side window, now wet with dew. He saw her. Her head tilted away from his, still in the position he left her in. He jerked open the drivers side door with effort and gently eased himself in.
"Pam?" He softly called, turning her cold face towards him. She didn't stir.
He bit his lip and gulped down the breath he was holding.
"Pam, hey." He tried again.
Her eyes fluttered weakly. Jim quickly readjusted himself in the car to hear her.
"Hey, is that you?" He stroked her face tenderly, waiting for her to recognize him. She nodded feebly, her eyes glazed over and soggy.
"Someone's coming," He smiled, sniffling against his worn out emotion that had taken hold of him. He meant to sound enthusiastic, but he sounded muted, defeated.
She nodded again, her eyes going foggy as her lids quivered back down.
"No, hey- don't do that. They're coming right now Pam, it's going to be okay." More forced enthusiasm. He tried to keep the panic at bay, but he was doing a poor job of it.
But she didn't open them again. Jim could hear birds chirping in the background; the early sun now filling the car with orange light. Jim could see her leg, partially hidden by his scarf, but the shrapnel still there, and the blood- god the blood he thought- her leg was almost black with dried blood. But Jim ignored them, desperate to regain the little hope he had.
"Pam, please. We're so close." His voice strangled.
He shifted his head over hers; turning his head to angle his ear over her mouth. He held his breath to hear her.
Nothing.
She wasn't breathing. "Shit. Shit. Shit-" Jims hand snaked into his pocket, pulling out his cell phone, prying it would have a signal. "Damn it!" He yelled, throwing the useless phone into the dash, turning around to see if he could see anyone that was promised to him.
'What do I do?" He screamed in his mind, realizing just shaking her wasn't doing anything but causing his eyes to cloud over and his breathing hitch. He leaned back over her again, careful not to let himself crush her and with trembling fingers he leaned her head back in the seat and plugged her nose while grasping her chin- opening her mouth.
He took one breath before leaning over her and covering her mouth with his. Her lips felt cold; not warm and soft like he remembered. He pushed his breath into her mouth, forcing her to take it. He pulled away and unzipping her jacket, pressed his ear back to her chest; waiting for something.
He felt a heart beat- a faint one. But no breathing.
He took her face in his hands and continued to desperately try to turn his breath into hers.
"Damn it Pam, come on! Don't do this!" He screamed into her face, not even causing her to flinch.
He heard it then, the siren. He didn't want to wait for them to make their way down here. So he made a split decision. They would meet them.
Taking her left arm, he slung it over his neck and he wrapped his own around her torso, and he slowly extracted her from the car. He moved with much more caution than he thought he was capable of- taking extra time not to further injure her leg. He pulled her limp body into the cool morning air, realizing he was shaking, but not from the cold.
He laid her onto the snowy ground, pushing more and more air into her lungs, one last ditch effort.
Finally he felt her cough into his mouth, taking a ragged breath in.
Jim laughed, half crying into her face. "I knew you'd come back." He spoke into her stirring forehead.
Without waiting for her to respond, he pulled her up, and shifting her position, he picked her up into his arms and with sturdy feet he carried her up to the wailing siren. To help.
"We're here!" He yelled into the distance, not yet seeing them. They were still too far to be noticed. His legs and arms screamed from carrying her dead weight in his grasp.
"Hold on, Pam- hold on." He cooed into her forehead- not sure if he was talking to her or himself.
The sirens were getting louder- they were getting closer. He shifted her weight in his arms and pressed on, finding hard earth to find footing on.
"We're down here!" He yelled again. He heard the sirens cut.
"Hey Bobby, I think I heard them." Jim could make out the voice before he saw them. All he had to do was make it over this hill. He didn't have to.
He saw the first man, short and clean shaven, clad in a blue shirt and dark khakis. He watched the man turn and yell. "They're here!" Then he ran down the side, snapping gloves on to meet Jim on the side of the snowy peak. "Is she breathing?" The man placed a plastic finger on her neck for a pulse.
"Yeah, she is now." Jim answered. Jim watched as two more men emerged; one followed the first down the peak, while the other disappeared back over the top. When the second man met him he put he hand on Jim's back and gave him a no nonsense, "Let us take her from here." As he moved his arm under Pam's head.
Jim would let go of her, holding tight. "No," he started, "I can take her."
The first man looked up at Jim's ragged figure, regarding him for a second. "You've done well. Let us take her." Jim finally nodded, as the shorter man tilted his head to the second one as he continued to slip his arm under Pam's head and firmly around her neck. The shorter man gripped her knees and they pulled her away from Jim's shaking arms.
He watched as they made their way back up the mountain- where he saw the third man had prepared a gurney. He watched, half dead as they loaded her onto the stretcher, and wrapping her in a neck brace, and moving over her quickly.
Jim felt his legs give out. Now that they had her safely in the ambulance Jim felt the sandbags lift off his shoulders and he sunk his head into the snow, his palms gripping either side of him. He took one large gurgled breath and blacked out, no longer hearing the birds in his ears or the warm breath of morning air.