Blaze Reflects, Vise Clamp, Leah & Bunny Shell
Réserve Faunique Ashuapmushuan – Hike to Helicopter
Wordy and Zach hastened to the helicopter at a faster clip than the rest of the group.
Zach wanted to get preflight checks done and have the bird ready to go when Mason arrived with Sam. He also needed Uncle Mark to prepare the back of the bird so there was room for Sam to lie down and to radio the La Dore hospital so they could prepare for their arrival.
Wordy was elected to contact Jules and Greg and give them Sam's status. It would take a gentle touch with Jules. He needed to be truthful but not brutally honest because Jules would not be able to be close to Sam for many hours.
As Wordy hurried trying to keep pace with Zach his mind turned to Shel. He hoped she and the baby were doing okay. He doubted that the contractions were just Braxton-Hicks contractions. Lilly, Holly and Allie were all born early. As much as he wanted to be here for Sam, he wanted to be at home for Shel and his baby.
Wordy thought the situation for he and Jules were somewhat similar. Both were hours away from the one person they loved the most in this world. The only difference was that Shel was in the process of giving life and Sam was struggling to stay alive. Wordy prayed for a good outcome for both of them.
Mason was careful of the terrain. The last thing he wanted to do was slip on the mud and jar Blondie. His heart was relieved yet concerned. Relieved Blondie was alive but the breathing he heard, or rather didn't hear, worried Mason a lot. He was also very glad that Blondie was unconscious because the pain would be unbearable.
William glanced at his son in Mason's arms as he shone the light directly in front of Mason. He wanted to make sure Mason's way was well lit. Samuel was alive. Alive.
He still shook with slight tremors as his mind replayed the images of Samuel falling off the cliff. Without realizing he was speaking out loud William said "Samuel you must have one hell of a guardian angel. How the hell you hung onto that bush with not only your weight but also Yawls' and in your present condition, I cannot fathom."
Blaze was on the opposite side of Mason. He was ready to lend a hand if Mason slipped and was lighting the way with his flashlight too. He let out a half-laugh as he said "Reminds me of that artillery strike Sir. How the hell he survived that, well it is beyond my comprehension. Miracle is the only word I have to describe it."
Jeff who was guiding the group in the most direct route to the helicopter added "Right up there with when he flew off the cliff to save Murphy in Special Forces training. You know some of the long-time drill instructors still talk about that occasionally."
Spike interjected "Add jumping off the roof to save Jules in Medicine Hat to the list of amazing survival stories." Then in a quieter voice that was gruff with emotion Spike added "And when Sam saved me from Vlad. Not sure how he was able to withstand everything Vlad did to him and still break those zip ties."
Mason, Blaze and William all thought but did not say, or when he survived three months of horrific torture.
William felt anger grow in him as he thought of the reason for Samuel's compromised lungs. He quietly added "Or how he survived Merrill's armor piercing round."
Blaze cringed inwardly. He had been too late that day to save Blondie from Plouffe's machinations and Merrill's bullet. He had been blind for six years to what the Major had done to Blondie. If he let it, guilt could consume him. Blaze took his own advice, advice he had counseled Blondie to take for years, and let the burden drop.
It was the past and there was nothing he could do to change it. He also realized like Jim he needed to move forward. He had for the most part. He had married the love of his life, Lizzy. Soon he would add his fifth son. Blondie, Ryan and Ben although not his son's biologically were as much his son's as little Sammy and soon to be born Nathan.
Blaze wondered how Lizzy was doing. Had Nathan been born already? Would he make it in time to see his son's birth? If not that would be okay. Lizzy would understand. Blondie had needed him. Once he got Blondie to the hospital and under the care of doctors there would be nothing more he could do. So at that point, he would head to Lizzy.
His thoughts turned to thinking about how much he enjoyed fatherhood and how lucky he was to have Lizzy. It was a path he never considered for himself until he had met the Ice Queen. That was the silver lining from the mission that hot summer day when he had been so distracted by learning his sister was still alive and that she and Matt had a boy.
When he was told Daphy was dead he never thought he would be an uncle. But with Daphy's Ben, Jim's two kids Brianna and little Matt, Mason's son Lachlann and Blondie's daughter Sadie he was uncle to five. It was probably better that he begin the transition to a desk job now. So many things had changed since the first day Blondie walked into his life all cocky and brightly smiling and laughing at something an equally smiling and laughing Matt had said to him.
Blaze thought that many of the things he took for granted, the good things in his life, would not have happened if he had not met Blondie. That kid drew people together.
Although he and Winds were tight for more years than he cared to count, never had he commanded a unit quite like the unit he had with Blondie, Matt, Patch, Ripsaw, Mason and Winds. They were all pulled closer together in the common goal of protecting Blondie. They had forged unbreakable bonds of brotherhood without blood.
Too bad they had not figured out who they should be protecting Blondie from. They had all thought it was the General that Blondie needed protection from. Blaze glanced at the General and thought, oh how wrong they all were. The General loved his son dearly and would go to the ends of the earth for him. Just like Blaze would.
It still rankly Blaze that Major Plouffe had done a superb job in covering his tracks. For six years, Plouffe made Blondie and the rest of them think it was the General that was sending Blondie on all those missions. Blaze shook his head as he put a clamp on his feelings as anger tried to rear its ugly head again.
Blaze knew he had lost his cool once today and he did not need a repeat. He had come so close to actually pulling that trigger on Tocci. To him she seemed like a female Plouffe. He was glad that Winds put his hand on his shoulder. It pulled him back from the point of no return. Blaze knew that he would have become a murderer the instant he pulled that trigger.
If he had done that then he would miss out on all the good things that made up his life now. Blaze let his mind bring up images of a very pregnant Lizzy and conjure images of what little Nathan would look like when he was born. That made him smile. His life was good. No his life was great. He had found his own version of the beauty of life that Matt had always spoke about.
As they all walked in silence for some time, William felt anger continue to grow in him. Hearing that Plouffe had raped Yawls brought back so many angry memories about Plouffe. There was not a single thing redeemable in Plouffe. Not a single thing.
William angrily muttered "Plouffe died a too easy death. If I could just dig Plouffe up and make him pay for all the harm he has caused so many people I would. He almost won today."
Blaze was brought out of his musings hearing the General's angry tone. He calmly stated "But he didn't Sir."
The men then walked in silence. The only sound was the muted sounds of boots tramping on damp earth and leaves. All the wild animals were silent as the group of men passed through their domain.
Sam had roused enough to hear all the conversation but did not have the strength to lift the lids of his eyes or indicate he was awake. He was having more and more difficulty getting air in. His chest hurt so badly, like a vise clamp was closing around it tightening with every breath.
When it became utterly unbearable and he knew he needed help, Sam managed to breathlessly voice "Matt … help … me."
"Samuel, what about Matt?" William asked not sure if he heard the soft words spoken behind the oxygen mask correctly. Was Samuel hallucinating and thinking Matt was here?
Sam tried to answer but he was hit with a coughing fit that had him jerking in Mason's arms.
Blaze quickly said to the General "Blondie believes that Matt is his guardian angel. He fell down the stairs in Scotland and thought he saw Matt. Blondie talked to Matt like Matt was actually there. He has a fever, he might be hallucinating again. Matt was always there for him when he was in pain."
It was a short but violent coughing fit that left Sam weakened, gasping for air and feeling like the vise clamp around his chest just squeezed tighter.
Mason halted as soon as Blondie began coughing. His eyes sought out Drake as Blondie struggled to breathe as he said "Blondie breathe."
Drake rushed forward and checked Sam's pulse. It was racing and far too rapid. He asked "Sam what's your pain level?"
Sam could not get enough air in and the agonizing pressure in his chest was increasing with every small sip of air. Talking was impossible. Sam managed to hold up eight fingers.
If Spike had not been shining his light at Sam they would have missed the slight movement of Sam's hand. Spike said "Eight. Sam is trying to show us eight."
When he could not get another breath in the pressure in his chest was too great, Sam managed to open his eyes. His eyes were frantic and pleading when they locked on his dad's eyes. His mouth opened and closed like a gulping fish out of water.
Sam was suffocating and could not tell them.
William, Blaze, Spike, Mason and Drake all yelled simultaneously "He's not getting any air."
Mason immediately went to his knees and laid Blondie on the ground. Drake dropped next to him and began his assessment. Blaze, Jeff, Spike and William stood shining lights for Drake to see and work.
Drake looked at Mason "His lung has collapsed. Grab a fourteen gauge catheter and cut me a piece about four inches long" he said as he reached into another part of his pack to get antiseptic wipes, three gloves and a pair of scissors. Drake gloved up and then took the small scissors and snipped off the tip of one of the fingers on the third glove.
He cleaned the area on Sam's chest with the antiseptic wipes as he urgency called out "Sam close your eyes. NOW!"
Sam closed his eyes mostly because he could not hold them open any longer.
William dropped to his knees near Samuel's head and gently put his hand over Samuel's eyes. He leaned in close to Sam's ear as he whispered "You listen to me son. You will fight. You will live. Jules and Sadie need you. I need you. Fight son. Fight."
Once Sam's eyes were closed and covered Drake pulled out a three inch long, fourteen gauge needle. He inserted the needle through the fingertip of the glove to create a one way valve and then quickly inserted the needle all the way to the hub into Sam's chest. Drake withdrew the needle leaving the hub in place. He placed the needle out of Sam's line of sight then quickly attached a very large empty syringe. Drake then pulled the plunger up, withdrawing the air from Sam's chest cavity.
Sam finally was able to draw in a gasping, shallow breath as the pressure in his chest diminished.
Mason handed over the four inch piece of catheter as Drake removed the syringe from the hub. Drake secured the catheter to the hub and then taped it to Sam's chest, careful to avoid the second degree burns. Drake wondered what caused those burns.
William gently caressed Samuel's forehead as he uncovered Samuel's eyes. Samuel was so hot to the touch. William could tell the fever was rising.
He looked down and was greeted with blue eyes that had calmed from the frantic pleading for help. But his son's eyes were filled with pain. William wished they could give him pain meds.
William softly said "I know it hurts son. We will stop the pain as soon as we can. I promise to get Jules here quickly. You just concentrate on breathing."
Drake sat back on his heels and let out a relieved slow breath "Pressure and a bit of the pain should be lessening now Sam."
Sam gave a slight nod as he sucked in another shallow breath. The vise clamp on his chest was indeed lessening a bit.
Spike asked "What collapsed his lung? I thought you said his lungs were not punctured."
Drake checked Sam's pulse again and found it still elevated but not like it had been. Although high, that was to be expected after nearly suffocating and the amount of pain Sam was surely in.
Looking up at Spike, Drake answered "Due to his prior lung trauma, Sam has some weak spots on his lungs. I believe the infection and violent coughing fit he just had caused one of those weak spots to burst. When it burst, it allowed air to escape from his lung and into his chest cavity causing the lung to collapse. The valve will work until we get him to the hospital."
Then he looked at Mason and said "Pick him up again. We need to get moving. If you can try to position him so his head is elevated. It will make it easier for Sam to breathe.
William quickly took off his jacket and folded it in fourths as he said "Put this between your arm and Samuel. It should raise him a bit."
Spike and Blaze did the same thing and in short order Mason was again carrying Blondie with three jackets providing enough bulk to raise Blondie's head.
As Mason walked he whispered to Blondie "You know I think I believe you now. Matt must surely be your guardian angel. You've survived too much shit not to have a plethora of guardian angels. But Matt is surely the leader of them."
Sam laid his head on Mason's chest as he tried to breathe through the pain. This was one time he wished he could have pain meds but understood why they could not give them too him. It sucked big time. He wished he would pass out again, even for a little while for some relief.
Mason's foot hit a slick spot. He jerked to remain upright. Blaze and William reached out to steady Mason and prevent him from falling.
The jerk was small but enough to send pain lancing through Sam's chest. As his vision grayed and unconsciousness came to claim him again Sam thought, thanks Matt.
Mason's guardian angel, Dubbiel whose name means bear-God and was an angel of protection, looked at Matt as he demanded angrily "Why did you make Mason almost fall? It caused Blondie more pain. Mason is feeling guilty enough without you adding to his guilt."
Matt reached out and touched Sam's cheek as he responded sadly to Dubbiel "Sam needed relief from the pain. I had to cause more pain so he would go unconscious. Just whisper to Mason, Sam is not in pain right now. Mason will understand that."
The group of men made good time to the helicopter without any more incidents and Sam remained unconscious for the duration of the remainder of the hike.
Réserve Faunique Ashuapmushuan – Base of the Ridge
Scott and the rest of Charlie unit had raced in the direction of the gun shots. They had made it to the base of the ridge in record time. It was a good thing that they did not have to swim the river to reach it. This time of year, it would be ice cold and not crossable without tempting fate to induce hypothermia.
They had scanned the area looking for any sign of Sam when they first arrived. Scott, Galloway, Phil, Leah, Craig, Daniel and Tyler had all stopped dead in their tracks and looked up at the ridge as they heard the several voices yelling no. The anguish was clear in the voices.
Sound carried so well in the night of this remote area. There was no traffic or city sounds to disturb the quiet. It was one of the reasons Scott liked to camp here. Not that he had gotten much opportunity to go camping in the last six or seven years. Scott had not gone camping since that ski trip with Sam and Spike and that was four years ago.
After the yell of no it had gone silent.
Scott thought that whatever happened up on the ridge was bad. He had half expected to see or hear Sam's body crashing down the mountain. Then they heard Uncle Will's and Sam's gut wrenching roars.
They had all shone their flashlights up the ridge when they heard that but the top of the ridge was too far away for their lights to reach. Relief had washed through Scott when he heard Mason calling for ropes.
Scott sat on a rock at the base of the ridge, took off his pack dropping it near a bush and leaned back on the rocky surface of the cliff. He would wait for Mike's news. Mike was trying to raise Cameo. But the signal strength was wonky at best.
Leah sat next to Scott and she could see the lines of worry in a face that looked so much like Sam's it was uncanny. She placed her hand on his knee offering a bit of comfort and said "Sam is going to be okay. We heard Mason call for ropes and Wordy tell Sam to hang on. They got him. I'm sure of it."
She didn't say I'm sure because if they didn't Sam would be down here with them now. She had learned to curb her awkward statements over her time with SRU. Leah had the whole team to thank for that. They were all great mentors.
Leah leaned back and closed her eyes. She was exhausted like the rest of them. They would wait here until Mike was able to get through to Cameo and determine what they should do next.
She let her mind think on Sam. He was a good guy. A really good guy. She still remember her first lethal. Sam had taken the time to walk her through the process even though his nephew Ben had been taken by terrorists. Sam had stood there on that hot summer day and made sure she was alright.
Heck, he had saved her life earlier that day too. Leah was still in awe of him running across the window and launching himself at Ran Long Hee. She chuckled.
Scott looked at Leah and asked "What are you thinking about?"
Leah smiled and said "Hee Ran Long."
Scott chuckled remembering what Sam had told him about that day.
Tyler looked with a bit of confusion at Scott and Leah and asked "Who ran long and why is that funny?"
Leah looked at Scott who nodded slightly then turned to Tyler and said "It was before your time. We had a warrant call. The subject's name was Ran Long Hee. Spike jinxed us when he flipped the name Hee Ran Long. Sam ended up chasing the subject for nearly two miles on one of the hottest, muggiest days of summer. The whole day cumulated with some seriously strange things."
Then she let her mind dwell a bit on that whole time. The team had been awful to Leo. She had a part in that although she had tried to be welcoming. The others were just so distraught that Sam was just gone and they could not get any information about him.
She blew out a breath and put those memories away then said to Tyler "That's how your team's sniper, Mike Fringle, joined SRU. He came in as a temporary for Sam while Sam recovered from some injuries."
Phil laughed and said "You know, I think that is the main path to SRU these days. Sam gets hurt, temp replacement comes on board and when an opening is available the temp tends to get the open position. That is how Jude, Kaleb, Chad, Sean and Xing all joined SRU."
Leah nodded and said "Yep, that whole reserve officer training program came about as a result of Sam. His light duty tends to mean intensive training for everyone. It used to just be the reserve officers but Commander Holleran expanded that to include whatever team is working when Sam is on light duty."
Mike was pacing as the radio finally crackled with Cameo's response. Mike quickly said "We heard shouting from the top of the ridge. Did they get Sam?"
He listened as Cameo explained what had happened and what the plan was. Mike's heart felt lighter as he turned to the group waiting expectantly for news.
Mike grinned "They got Sam. He is serious but stable as they head for the helo."
Whoops were yelled by members of Charlie unit. Phil and Tyler slapped each other's back. Their TL had beaten the odds again. They had found him and gotten him out alive.
When the celebrating quieted down a bit Mike continued "They are evacuating Sam first to the local hospital. Then Zach will return to get those left watching the subjects. We need to head back to base. We get the pleasure of a night hike and driving all the SUVs to the hospital."
Then Mike amended that "Well not quite all the SUVs, Ed and Lance took one and are already on their way to the hospital. Sean stayed back so Cameo was not left alone."
Scott stood and said "What are we waiting for?"
Everyone picked up their packs and hoisted them on their backs to prepare for the hike back to the SUVs.
Bending down to pick up his pack, Scott's hand brushed something soft on the bush near his pack. He switched on his flashlight and shined it on the bush. He stared for a long moment.
Leah had donned her pack and started to head out. She took ten paces before she realized Scott was not moving. She asked "Is everything alright Scott?" as she headed back to Scott.
She stopped and looked at what Scott was looking at. Mike, Phil and Tyler joined them. They stared a bit dumbfounded.
Coming out of his stupor Scott reached out and picked up the empty shell of love worn yellow bunny rabbit. Scott's voice was incredulous and soft "Sadie's bunny."
Tyler grinned "That's where the stuffing came from. Sam must have had it. That was a smart thing to do."
Mike grinned "Sam was well trained to survive and use whatever he has available to increase his chances of survival."
They all looked up the cliff. This is where Sam would have landed if he had fallen.
Scott slung his pack over his shoulders and said "Let's move out."
He gripped the furry bunny shell and smiled. Sadie would get her daddy and her bunny back.