STORM RIDERS
These good fellows don't belong to me, but I promise when I'm done to pick um up, dust um off and with a kiss on the cheek return them safely home.
We are the captains of our own ships sailing the sea of life, but in times of stormy weather, you will discover true friends when they don't hesitate to be a lighthouse. ~Dodinsky
A/N: This week I had the privilege of attending the 50th Anniversary of LA Co EMS, held at the LA Co Fire Museum. The key speaker was Kevin Tighe. Now, if that doesn't inspire me to write, nothing will. Now, hold on, we're not done yet…
Chapter 36
Roy sat at Eli's bedside. He was okay, until he sat down, feeling the weight of the endless crisis, cold and wet weather, and the overall situation he found himself in. He watched Hank, as he moved from room to room, checking on everyone. Sometimes he chatted with Earl, sometimes Karl if he was home at the moment. Roy knew how worried he was about the ones who had not returned yet.
"I'll sit with him. Go eat."
Roy looked up. "I'm okay."
"I wasn't asking," Hank said with a soft concerning scowl.
Knowing it wasn't best to argue with his Captain, even if they were off duty, he stood up. He respected the man and took his direction as something he should most likely do anyway.
"Thanks, Cap. Any word from Mike and Marco?"
He shook his head. "Nothing yet. I'm sure they're fine."
The loud knocking on the door got everyone's attention. Roy watched Thomas open as he sat at the kitchen table. Dillon Merrick was standing there with the red headed boy, Sam. Their arms were full of supplies.
"What's all this," Ruth asked with surprise.
"Well, Brian sent me over to the community resource center to do inventory on stock when the weather started getting bad. Then I had to go pick up this nut, who thought it was okay to go driving in the middle of a monsoon." He shoved Sam with his shoulder, urging him inside so they could close the door. "When we realized we were stuck on this side of the bridge, we just gathered up a bunch of stuff and brought it here. Thought you might need it. We've got more in the truck, cots, blankets, extra kerosene for lanterns if the power goes out, and a bunch of food."
Sam laughed and pushed his box to Thomas. "I brought games."
"Nice!" Thomas said as they headed back to the bedroom.
"Not so fast," Ruth called him back. "You boys need to help unload that truck and sort through the supplies."
"Yes, ma'am," they chanted together.
Roy headed to the door, but Hank pointed to him. "Sit and eat."
He couldn't help but smile, the sarcastic reply of 'yes dad' on the tip of his tongue. Once everything was inside, Hank brought the last box into the kitchen for Ruth to sort through the food items. Roy had finished eating and was drinking his coffee.
"I have a feeling we're going to need this extra bed space by morning."
Hank nodded. "Now, we just need everyone else to get back home."
The next door opening didn't have a knock, it was just Karl coming in with a man clutching a young boy, who looked to be about six.
"Roy?"
"What happened?" Roy asked, visually taking in the injured man and quiet child. Both were soaking wet.
"Car accident. I found them walking by the side of the road." He nodded at them. "This is Jose, and his son Manuel, that's all I've been able to get out him so far."
Hank and Ruth guided the men into the dining room, which now held some extra cots.
"Is he hurt?" Roy asked the father.
The man seemed dazed, and Roy could see the cut that was still bleeding on the side of his head. They guided him to sit down on the bed, the boy was alert and looked scared.
"Cap, can you get me the blood pressure cuff and some first aid supplies to clean them up?"
"Sure, Roy."
Gently, Roy tried to pull the son out of the man's arms, but he just tightened his grip. "Okay, I need you to let go, so I can examine him. I'm a paramedic, and I can make sure he's okay."
Still, the man just held tight. He was able to check the child's pulse, which was a bit high, but acceptable. He was pink and breathing easily. "Are you hurting anywhere?" He asked him.
The tiny head shake was a little reassuring.
Hank reappeared with a small box of supplies. Roy dug in them and got enough to put pressure on the man's cut, which didn't seem to phase him, then started to clean up the blood on his face and neck.
"Do you need help to separate them?"
Roy shook his head. "No, he seems okay. Let's just give him a minute." He was able to get a blood pressure on them both, the boy was normal, the father's pressure was increased, but again, acceptable in the situation. Moving back, he decided that Ruth might be able to help and encouraged her to come to take care of them.
"Just be patient with him, let's get some warmed blankets for them both until we can get them into dry clothes."
Ruth smiled softly. "Of course." Moving over to them, her voice was motherly, soft and tender as she cleaned off their faces with warm water and carried on a one-sided conversation with them both.
Thankfully once they passed the stop sign intersection, it only took about another fifteen minutes to reach the small white house sitting alongside the graveled road. The lights were out, and it appeared abandoned, with overgrown bushes, an unkempt yard and even had broken out windows on the side.
Dismounting, they tied up the horses to the front porch and stepped onto the creaky, rotting steps.
"Someone lived here recently?" Chet asked in disbelief.
Johnny shrugged and knocked on the door. Chet was about to laugh at the notion, then it gently swung open in the wind. The men gingerly stepped inside.
"Hello?"
The inside appeared to still hold all the furnishings, though they were now covered with dirty sheets that moved with the wind sneaking in from the shattered panes. The air was musty and old, telling of wet mildew and rotting walls.
Johnny put his sleeve over his nose. "What is that smell?"
Chet's face was all scrunched up. "Something dead. It has to be something dead."
"Start looking for tanks, so we can get out of here."
They went in separate directions with Chet taking the downstairs. From the living room, he walked through the dining room. The table was covered in a brown cloth, making it difficult to tell how much of the coloring was from filth, and how much was original. Chet pinched his nose in the kitchen. The sink was full of dishes that no one bothered to wash before leaving, now with nine degrees of growth and an odor that had the lineman almost heaving. When a rat dropped out of the pile and ran across his feet, Chet jumped back, stumbling and falling into a pile of rubbish that held one dead animal. Back on his feet in an instant, he quickly brushed himself off and headed back to the stairs.
Johnny ventured up the dust-covered stairs. Old pictures still adorned the walls, hanging crooked were black and white photos that were now yellow and aged, showing children playing in fields, tending to cattle, elderly folks sitting on a large front porch in rocking chairs. All living in a house much different than the one he stood in. They spoke of another life before the man sold his family farm off. Looking in each of the bedrooms, he finally found the one that the man most likely used.
Metal rails were on the bed, to keep him from falling, and hospital appearing bottles with medicine and open syringes were scattered on the bedside table and the floor. What they were looking for was sitting by the window. Three green tanks of oxygen. Turning the dials, he grunting to find one already wide open and the tank emptied. Luckily the other two were still full.
"Nothing down there but a dead raccoon," Chet said as he came in the room. "Hey, you found them!"
Johnny nodded. "Two are working." Searching the bedside drawers, he found two unopened nasal cannulas and tucked them into his coat pockets. He took out the HT.
"Roy? Do you read me? Roy? This is Johnny."
All he could get was static. "If you can hear me, we have O2 tanks and are heading back." Shaking his head, he looked up. "Let's get back to my place."
MaryAnn looked up when the door opened and almost cried.
"I was so worried, Nicholas, where have you been?"
He laughed softly. "Well, things didn't go as planned." He then updated her on what had happened since leaving the house.
"Eli? That's terrible, is he okay?"
Nick looked solemn. "He wasn't doing well when I left. I know Roy is really concerned."
"Is there anything we can do to help?"
"They just need that oxygen tank of mine upstairs."
"Where are they?" She looked behind him.
He frowned. "They were right behind me. They should be here any minute, and they'll take the tank back with them, so I can finally stay in for the night."
With a big smile, she hugged him again. "Good. This night is just a little too crazy for me."
"Where's Grace?"
"I haven't been able to keep that girl home all day. If anything happens to her..."
"She'll be fine, she's a strong one."
Rose came around the corner, her arm all bandaged up. "Good you're back home, Nicholas."
"Thank you, Rose?" Only when he turned around did he realize there were four children piled up on the couch. "What happened here while I was gone?"
She smiled at him. "Well, things didn't go as planned."
After he went upstairs and redressed, she had coffee waiting for him in the kitchen where they talked more about what all was going on. The loud banging on the door made everyone jump, and Nick ran to open it.
Standing on the porch was Mike holding up Brian, then Marco was standing with Suzanne and SJ.
"What the…?" He quickly ushered them inside. "What happened?"
"Our car flooded and when we got out, Sara Jane ran from us. Oh, MaryAnn, it was horrible, we almost lost her. Mike and Marco here, they helped us save her."
Mike looked at MaryAnn. "We need to get Roy on the radio right away. Brian almost collapsed, he's not feeling well at all, and the road is blocked, we couldn't get back to the Webbers."
Nick stepped up. "I'll get him on the radio, Mary hon, get them dry and warm."
She nodded. Mike followed Nick to the kitchen where the radio sat on a small desk in the corner.
"Whisper104 to RUP45W, do you read?"
There was a slight pause before the crackling grew again, the connection not very strong.
RUP45W, we read. This is Thomas.
"Thomas, this is Nicholas. I need to speak with Roy, it's an emergency."
Roy was right by the radio and took the mic. This is Roy. His stomach was in a knot over what else could possibly happen.
"Roy, this is Mike. We have Brian Wilson here, he's complaining of chest tightness, feels like his heart is beating too hard, he's pale and short of breath."
Roy immediately felt the breath of Dillon at his back. Brian was his father in law. Mike, what's his pulse?
"Pulse is 126, respirations 32."
"Roy, he has angina, and takes nitroglycerine for it," Dillon told him.
He nodded. Mike, did you hear that?
"10-4."
See if has some with him, if so, he needs to put it under his tongue now. Did Nick have the oxygen tank?
"He has some, Suzanne is getting it for him now. We also have oxygen."
Start him on 10 liters, have him lay down. Is everyone else alright?
"Marco is worried about the baby."
Dillon almost fell in the chair beside him. Roy shot him a look and saw the father had gone white as a sheet.
Mike, what happened?
"She fell in the water, near drowning. Required some mouth to mouth for about three minutes then came around. She's breathing okay, but she's really cold." He paused, and there was mumbling in the background. "Her vitals are heart rate 120, respirations 40, she's pink but sleepy."
Roy put his hand on the young father's arm. "She's going to be okay."
Dillon just nodded as his eyes filled with tears.
Mike just warm her up and watch her breathing. Is there any way you can move them here?
"It will be a while. The road is blocked by a fallen tree right now. We've got to get back out there and move it."
Understood. Keep me posted. RUP45W out.
Ruth put her arm around Dillon's shoulders. "That precious baby is going to be just fine. She's got a whole house looking after her right now. Honey, do you know where Izzy is?"
"Yea, she's working at the hospital. She ended up working a double because the ER was so busy."
"Then she's safe too. We'll get you all back together as soon as we can."
He looked up to Roy. "I can go get them."
Roy shook his head. "The road is blocked, and they have a truck to get back. Right now we don't need more people out in this mess. She's in a safe, warm place and my friends will take good care of her."
If the man decided to leave, Roy knew there was nothing he could do about it and the father in him knew nothing would stop him from reaching his hurt children. But, right now, with one crisis after the other, he also knew he had to do everything he could to hold things together.
Johnny wasn't sure if there had ever been a time he was more grateful to see the roof of his house come over the horizon. Heading straight to the barn, he slid off Thunder and opened the doors to get them out of the weather. The horses were exhausted, foaming with sweat, their sides heaving with breaths from the hard run back. Taking a few minutes, they untacked and brushed both down before putting them into stalls with hay and water. With tanks in arms, they headed to the house.
Johnny stopped in the rain and put his hands on his hips. "How in the world?"
"What?" Chet asked. Then he saw it and laughed.
Rookie ran to him and jumped up on his legs, barking and yelping his greetings. Johnny rubbed his head.
"I'm pretty sure I left you in the Webber's barn."
"Guess he knows he way around town," Chet said.
"Guess you do, boy. Come on, let's get back inside."
Inside, where even the cold dark living room was a welcome site.
He shook his head at Chet, who was headed to the couch. "No rest for the weary."
Chet sat down. "Just sixty seconds. All I ask is sixty seconds."
Johnny laughed as he picked up the phone to check for a dial tone. His phone was out too. Again, he tried the HT but got nothing but static. He turned on the radio in the hallway only to find nothing but static there also.
"Antenna must be down."
Sitting beside the phone, he picked up the small piece of paper with Lily's phone number. He hadn't stopped worrying about her and Matthew, but had no idea where to even start, even if she was on this side of the river for some reason. Right now, he had to finish this one task.
"Let's get those tanks back to Roy."
Chet wearily nodded and stood up, stretching out the riding stiffness. "I'm so going to feel this tomorrow."
Johnny groaned. "I feel it right now."
Grabbing his keys, they ran back out into the storm and climbed into his truck with Rookie sitting between them, unwilling to miss any of the action. Turning around in the yard, he headed down the driveway only to find headlights coming right at him. They were repeatedly honking the horn also. Both men hopped out and found Eddy waving as he ran to them.
"Eddy? What's wrong?"
The man was frantic.
"We need you quick, down by the feed store!" His arms were flailing all over the place.
"Hey, hey, just calm down now. What's going on?"
"It's Patrick Webber, he was trying to put up sandbags, and the tractor turned over. We can't get him out."
Johnny was confused. "The feed store is on the other side of the river, we can't reach there."
Eddy shook his head. "No, Bowman's, down towards 38."
He remembered passing it when going back and forth to Bobby's but didn't use it because they didn't stock his brand of horse feed, so he never went back. "Okay, show us where."
Chet was hanging on to the dash. "These roads won't even be passable soon."
Johnny agreed. The river was flooding everything around it quickly as the evening progressed. "I'm not so sure they are now."
The feed barn also acted as a community storm shelter that housed not only extra feed for the supply store but also town supplies, emergency food rations, salt for winter and sand for emergencies. There were probably three hundred bags of sand already made and most had been placed to form a wall of protection for the road that led out of town. Unfortunately, their hard work was not able to keep up with the rising waters.
Eddy's car stopped not far from the building where the ground sloped upwards, away from the flooded area below. Johnny parked right beside him. They hopped out and ran over to the turned over piece of equipment that held a front loader with spilled bags around it. It was upside down, and Patrick was trapped under it with only part of his upper body visible. Complicating things was a heavy stream of water rushing down the slope around them. As he took in the position of the tractor, his brain finally registered that someone was sitting with Patrick. Johnny's eyes got wide when he realized who it was. She was holding his head in her lap, trying to keep it above the water level as it rose around them. Johnny glanced over to her, shock registering on his face and his heart racing. He quickly crouched beside her.
"Lily? Are you hurt? Are you okay?!"
She looked up at him. "I'm okay. The water, it was starting to cover his face, and we tried to move him but couldn't. I was so scared he would drown before we got him out."
Johnny nodded back to her, looking at her from head to toe, wanting to make sure she wasn't hurt.
"Lily, where's Matthew?"
She looked confused at his question. "He's still at my friends. I didn't get back over the bridge before it was flooded. He's fine. They're not in a flood area."
"Okay." He looked over to Chet, noting he was also checking out all areas of the tractor.
Patrick wasn't moving, so the first thing he did was search for a pulse on the unconscious boy. It was there and stronger than he expected to find, but he was unable to elicit any response from him. The only visible injury was a contusion to his forehead.
Chet walked around the loader and returned to Johnny. "It's top heavy and deep in the mud, no way we can push this off of him." Crouching down by the others he looked under it. "What about digging him out instead?"
Johnny got on his hands and knees, feeling the icy cold water rushing past them. He glanced over to Lily, knowing she was sitting in the water flow, soaked to her skin.
"Chet, can you take her place?"
She adamantly shook her head. "I've got him, just get him out."
He nodded, not having time to argue, and moved to Patrick's other side, then laid down beside him.
"Here," Chet said, giving him a flashlight to look underneath with.
He scooted under the edge of the tractor, as much as he could. The opening was tight, but reaching down Patrick's body, he could feel space between him and his chest. "It's not laying on him, his chest is clear, but I can't reach any further."
"I think he might be caught on something." He kept straining to reach further. "There should be enough room around him to slid him out."
Lily leaned onto her side, mimicking the movements of Johnny. Her hand moved down Patrick's other side. Rookie moved closer to her as if his presence could help her or protect her.
"Be careful, some rough spots under here," he warned her.
She leaned in further. "Here, I feel his belt. I think it's, yea, it's caught on something."
Johnny reached over towards her, finding her hand and following down her fingers.
"That's it," she said without hesitation. "Can you feel it?"
"Yea, hold on." Feeling past her hand, he found the gear shift that Patrick was hooked onto. The trouble was his fingers couldn't reach the buckle, and space was too tight to try and safely cut him free.
"I can get it." She strained further inwards. "I can get it."
Chet knelt beside her wanting to help, but she had already slid in so far there was no way for him to also fit. Taking Patrick's head into his hands, he patted her leg. "I've got him, be careful."
"Just get it lose if you can, we can slide him out then. Chet, can you get him by the shoulders?"
"Sure, Johnny." Positioning him ready to pull Patrick out when signaled, Chet called back. "Ready!"
She pushed forward until her shoulder was crammed against the side of the tractor as her fingers worked at undoing the belt buckle.
"AHHHH!" She cried out suddenly.
Rook whimpered, and Johnny strained to see her. "Lily!?"
Her face smoothed out the painful grimace, grateful that couldn't see her. "I think I cut my arm, I'm okay. I've almost got it now."
"Eddy! Grab the first aid box from the back of my truck," Johnny called out.
Johnny pointed the flashlight towards her arm to try and see, but there wasn't enough free space to even see her face.
"Stop, you're hurt," he said gently tugging on the arm he could reach. "Get out and let me finish."
"No, I've got it, wait," she strained harder.
"Lily, please!"
"There! I got it!"
As soon as Patrick shifted slightly, Johnny let go of her and grabbed the boy only to feel the loader shift around them all. Johnny scrambled out from the equipment.
"Now!" He barked at Chet, who grabbed Patrick and began pulling.
At the same time, Johnny reached down and got two handfuls of Lily's coat, jerking her backward. In a few seconds, they were all clear of the tractor and on their backs from the sudden release. Lily was laying right beside Johnny, his arms wrapped around her. He was up instantly, his fingers searching her arms, looking for the laceration.
"Where?"
She was looking at Patrick. "I'm okay, is he alive?"
Johnny found the rip in her coat and the cut at her left upper arm. It was deep and bleeding heavily. "We need to stop that bleeding right now," he said as he clamped his hand around her arm, pressing hard to keep stem the flow of blood.
"Chet, pulse?"
Chet nodded. "He has a pulse, and he's breathing on his own."
Everyone jumped when the loader shifted and fell further into the hole that they had previously occupied. Johnny could feel her shaking in his hand.
"We're okay," he told her with a smile.
"And him?"
Johnny took his free hand and pulled his belt out of its loops, the one with his prized turquoise buckle that had been handed down from his great grandfather. "Chet, get him covered if you can. Any other injuries?"
He took the belt and wrapped it around her arm, pulling it tight enough to make her grimace. "Sorry."
"It's okay, tight, but okay."
"Can you wiggle your fingers for me?"
She flexed her hand, and he checked her perfusion to make sure the belt wasn't too tight.
"Good."
Standing up she wavered a bit.
"Alright," he grabbed her other arm. "Feeling light headed?"
She nodded. "A bit."
"Okay, sit down over here."
"I'm okay."
"I need you to sit, so I can focus on him."
"Johnny, his left leg is broken."
"Please, sit for me."
Nodding, she sat down beside Patrick. Johnny quickly moved to Patrick and began his head to toe rapid assessment, finding no injuries other than the suspected concussion and broken leg.
"It's a miracle," he said to himself. "Let's get this splinted." Looking around for supplies he saw Lily up and moving again.
"There's some wood over here," she called over to them. "Wanna help, boy?" With a pat to the dog's head, they headed to the other side of the accident.
Johnny smiled. "Hey, that buckle's important to me, I want it back."
She didn't answer, just nodded and disappeared around the loader.
In the dark, uphill from them, there was a brilliant strike of lightning followed by a thundering crash reaching from the sky to the distant ground. Everyone felt the electricity tingle through them. Instantly, the water rushing past their feet rose and became more turbulent. Johnny could hear that something was headed for them and time was running out fast. He grabbed Patrick and pulled him back towards the truck as fast as he could.
"Get clear of that water!" He called out, his arms waving frantically in the dark.
The debris was also growing larger when a couple of huge branches swept past them, telling of a large tree taken down by the last strike of lightning. Johnny knew more would be heading downhill. Eddy grabbed Lily's empty hand and started pulling her through the water, towards Johnny and Chet.
"GET OUT OF THE WATER!" Johnny screamed over the thunder.
Johnny started silently urging them to hurry when he saw her stumble in the debris. He froze as she fell into the rushing water, only for a second. Then he lunged towards them as Eddy's hand slipped from hers. When a tree trunk impacted the tractor, the noise was deafening. Then, in an instant the tractor was gone and so was she.
"NOOOO!"
Roy checked back on Jose and his son. Ruth was talking to the boy, who was now just sitting beside his father. The man had fresh tears in his eyes. Roy approached them and reintroduced himself, the father allowing him now to check them both more carefully.
"My wife," the man said softly. "My beautiful Mia."
"Was she in the car with you?" Roy asked, fearing the answer.
Jose nodded. "Si, she was already gone." Tears ran down the man's face as he pulled his son close again.
"I'm very sorry for your loss," Roy said with deep empathy. He couldn't imagine what had happened. "Try and get some rest."
After checking vital signs on everyone, he took up residence at Eli's side again. His color was off, and Roy desperately needed that oxygen for him. The monitor continued with an irregular pattern, the increase in medications weren't having any effect. He was a ticking time bomb, and Roy felt like he was just sitting around watching the fuse burn down.
Racing to the waterline, he moved with everything he had in him. Scanning in the pouring rain, he tried to see any hint of her brown coat and blue jeans. His boots splashed through muddy water, jumping over branches until he was knee deep in the heavy current.
"LILY! LILY!" He quickly turned around. "CHET!"
"LILY!" He just kept yelling, his heart racing in complete panic. A glance behind him and he saw Eddy running past him, moving downstream, and Chet now calling her name. Following Eddy, he moved deeper into the water, pushing a couple of large broken branches to the side, then felt a hard grip on his arm.
"JOHNNY!"
He knew it was Chet, but he wasn't going to stop, not until he found her. He had to find her. However, Chet had no intentions of letting go.
"Chet, Stop! I have to find her!"
"Johnny, the water is too fast! It's going to sweep you away too! We need help!"
"LILY!" He screamed into the raging river, into a storm that didn't care who was lost. Every fiber of his being knew he couldn't just leave her here, and going for help, they would be too late.
"Johnny, she's gone. We have to look further downstream."
He knew that punching Chet wasn't an option, but right now he needed to hit something. His heart was aching so hard that pain raged through his chest. His heart wanted to find her, but his head knew the horror it had just witnessed.
Then he started running downstream. "LILLY!"
Chet looked back to Patrick and knew they couldn't just abandon him. "Eddy! Stay with him."
Then in a dead run, he went after Johnny.
Mike retook Brian's vital signs and felt like he could breathe again as the man sat up and chatted with his wife. His color was back to normal, and his heart rate was down. Angina. The man had angina. Mike would never underestimate how someone felt when they had an attack. He was sure the man was going to die, and most likely so did Brian.
"Dillon is at the Webbers, he knows you're here," Mike told them.
Suzanne's eyes went wide. "Poor boy, he's probably scared to death about SJ. Can we update him?"
Mike smiled. "Sure. Nick is by the radio now."
Looking over he saw Marco and Mrs. Rose having a lively conversation. What surprised him was the fluent Spanish.
"Rose's mother was from South America," Brian told him. "I can tell she's really enjoying it. There aren't many folks around for her to talk to."
Mike smiled. "So is he. How are you feeling?"
"Much better. And I wanted to tell you boys again, how much we appreciate what you did."
He wanted to mention Grace being there and how she was the one who actually saved SJ's life, but Johnny had told enough stories about Earl and Brian's hatred of her and easily remembered the man's anger from the riverbank. There was no reason to stir the pot now.
"I'm glad we came by when we did. Try and get some rest. I'm going to update Roy."
The update sent a wave of relief through the house. While he was surprised to hear that Rose was also at Whispering Pines, having lost her house and getting hurt, Roy was glad that everyone was stable. The next chore was getting them moved to him for the rest of the night.
RUP45W this is ECHO11R, do you read?
Roy sat down at the desk. "This is RUP45W, go ahead."
Roy, this is Ferrin. It's arranged. You and Johnny have emergency approval by the Orange County Commissioner for temporary paramedic privileges in this county. I'm your referral physician. Just keep coordinating with me, I'll be here all night.
Another sigh of relief. He knew it was possible, but in this type of crisis, he wasn't sure if they could get it done so quickly. "10-4. Thanks, Doc."
How's Eli doing?
"Still hasn't regained consciousness and we're still waiting on oxygen. I also have three more patients at Pines right now, waiting to be transported to me. A 2 yo, near drowning, reported to have stable breathing, she was hypothermic, but now warm and doing well. Mrs. Rose is there, has a cut on her arm, stable. And the Sheriff had an angina attack, but now has nitro onboard and is on oxygen, he's reportedly feeling better. Also, we just had a father and six-year-old son come in from an auto accident. Vitals are stable on both. The boy is unhurt, but the father has a large laceration to his head that is going to need stitches. The bleeding is stopped with pressure."
Keep them warm and continue to monitor vital signs. I know you don't have access to a lot of fluids over there, so if you think someone needs them, let me know. Otherwise, I think we need to ration them for critical patients. Ferrin let out a sigh. Your census is going to be higher than mine if you don't slow things down over there.
"Doing our best to bring it to a grinding halt, doc. Trust me."
I'm sure you are. Keep me posted. ECHO11R out.
When he turned around in the chair, Hank was leaning in the doorway. They knew where Mike and Marco were now, they were safe.
"Where the hell is Gage and Kelly?"
Roy could feel the stress radiating off his friend and Captain. The man wouldn't rest until everyone was back in one place. But then, neither would he.
Johnny reached a barricade of piled up debris where the river turned south. He came to a halt, his hands on his knees as he panted to catch his breath, even coughing in the cold air. Chet was right behind him.
He felt frantic, shaking his head. Looking up to Chet, he couldn't fight back the tears that were threatening to come out. "I can't lose her like this."
"I know, but we need help. Patrick's hurt bad, we need to get him out of here."
Not a muscle in his body wanted to head in the other direction from her, but he knew Chet was right and with a grief-stricken heart, they headed back to the truck. They quickly put a temporary splint on Patrick's leg and eased him into the cab with them. Johnny climbed in, then suddenly realized someone was missing. Jumping out, he began whistling.
"ROOK!" He looked around frantically for the pup. "ROOKIE!"
"Johnny!"
He looked back into the cab where Chet was holding onto to the still unconscious Patrick.
"He knows where he is, he'll find his way back home. He's done it before, he will again."
Johnny was starting to feel a little overwhelmed now. Patrick had shown no signs of coming around, Lily had disappeared right before his eyes, and now Rook was gone.
"Johnny?"
Eddy was now standing beside him with Wes Jackson. It would have been a tight contest to know who reacted the strongest to seeing the right-hand man of Bobby standing beside them. Johnny just shook his head. There was no way he could deal with Bobby right now. None.
Wes put his hand up. "Easy, Johnny. I'm not here on business, was just passing by and saw the ruckus. What happened?"
Johnny still felt almost breathless. "I need help."
After explaining the emergency, Wes put his hand on his shoulder. "Get Patrick to the house. I'll take Chet and Eddy and start searching downstream. I've got a few hands stranded at the ranch, I'll call them to help too."
Johnny couldn't leave. It was Lily. "I can't."
"We won't stop looking until we find her," Chet told him.
"She was hurt."
Chet nodded. "I know. We'll find her."
Knowing he needed to take responsibility for getting Patrick back to his father safely, he climbed into the truck and cranked it. He was unable to hear anything above the storm and rushing water but was able to see the men load up into their trucks and head downstream, riding alongside the flooded waters as closely as they dared.
"Hey, Johnny! Need any help?"
He looked over to see Vic running towards him. He immediately saw the small cut on his cheek. "You okay?"
"Yea, a little trouble with my footing down the front porch. Where are you headed?"
"Going to Webbers. Come with me, Roy's doing triage there, we can take care of that laceration."
"We're going to see MaryAnn, it's my wife."
Johnny wasn't sure what he meant. "What?"
The fireman's eyes got big, and he pointed at the car. "She's in labor!"
He had no idea how he was going to keep such a promise to Johnny. Standing right beside him, he'd seen her fall, then get swept away, and his heart ached too knowing how much Johnny loved her.
Wes pulled over. "Chet you drive, Eddy, you and I will run the bank for a while, then we'll rotate. My men will start from that end and move toward us. Hopefully, she's found a way to the riverbank, and we'll find her there."
Chet nodded knowing it was all they could do. There were no elite search teams or air support now. Just a handful of men on a desperate mission.
Johnny climbed back out and ran over to the car with Vic to find Robin in the back seat calmly breathing through a contraction. He opened the door and sat down by her feet.
"When are you due?"
"This week, and of course he picks today to come," she said with a smile and small laugh. "What is it about storms and babies coming?"
Johnny knew this was her third, which meant it could go very fast. "How often are your contractions?"
She let out a slow deep breath before answering. "About every five minutes."
It was frustrating. They were so close to the hospital. The building over the raging river that was completely inaccessible to any of them.
"Do you think you can make it to the Webber Ranch?" He asked trying to determine how much time they were looking at.
She nodded confidently. "I've got another hour at least. I have slow labors. He's coming, but not right this minute."
Vic leaned in beside him. "We were heading to MaryAnn since we are trapped on this side of the river. She's a midwife."
That caught Johnny by surprise, he had no idea. "Roy is at the Webber's, he can help with the delivery."
She patted his hand. "We trust MaryAnn, and we know where Roy is if we need help. We'll be okay."
"I'm headed there with Patrick now, call us if you need any help."
Johnny knew none of them had time to sit around and argue about it. He nodded and reinforced to get Roy if they had any trouble. With the plan agreed upon each pulled away with different destinations.
"Ready to try tackling that tree?" Nick asked the men.
They both nodded.
"Okay, let's load up the equipment and see if we can clear a path for you."
The water hadn't risen a great deal, but still enough to be noticeable. Mike put on his gloves and grabbed the chainsaw, Nick grabbed a second one, while Marco grabbed the ax. Immediately, they began to disassemble the giant annoyance in the pouring rain.
MaryAnn worked in the kitchen, while Rose sat at the table and kept her company. SJ was sound asleep with Suzanne in one of the bedrooms and Brian was resting on the couch. When the radio crackled, MaryAnn went over to answer it.
WHISPER104, this is SDW28, do you read?
MaryAnn glanced in the living room and saw Brian was still awake.
"SDW28, this is WHISPER 104S."
There was a pause on the line. Read you MaryAnn, calling to check on your charges. Is everyone okay?
Her heart was pounding in her chest. How was she going to tell him Grace left and hadn't come back yet?
"Karl, Nick is out on route 11 working on a downed tree, he could use some help."
Another pause.
Understood. SDW28 out.
She turned to look at Rose who just shook her head with worry. MaryAnn couldn't tell him anything about Grace, not with Brian in earshot. But now he would find Nick and get an update. Then he would be on a Grace hunting trip.
Karl pulled his truck up to the shining headlights sitting just on the other side of the tree. The men's faces were shadowed to him until he got close enough to see who it was. He waved to them.
"Need some help?"
Nick nodded. "Absolutely, this monster is taking too long."
The tree had been too big to move with the truck, it's root end still well grounded into the earth and holding it in place. Their goal had been on taking it apart in pieces, which took longer, but their options were limited.
Karl held out his hand to Nick, "next?"
"I can keep going."
"I know, but I can't stay for long, and I've been stuck in the truck, so let me get some energy out," he said with a smile.
Nick smiled back, shaking his head. Then he passed the saw over.
"Brian's at your place?"
Nick nodded. "Him, Suzanne and the baby."
His anxiety was already rising. "And Grace."
"Would you mind passing me the saw back first?"
Mike and Marco looked up at the man's very serious tone.
Karl smirked and passed it back. "Spill it."
"She left the house on Maji, going to check on some friend, she didn't say who."
"Andie?"
Nick shook his head. "Their house flooded, and Grace brought the kids to us." He watched Karl open his mouth. "And Grace too, a tree fell on her roof, she got her out."
The man was now trying to decide between being angry at her, or proud of her. Most likely both.
Marco spoke up. "She saved the Sheriff's grandbaby too, in the river."
"She was in the river!"
Marco nodded. "For just a couple of minutes, but she saved her, then disappeared."
"Then where did she go?"
Nick looked at the other men. "She didn't know Johnny wasn't at home, he was at the Webbers."
"Was? What happened?"
Mike stepped forward. "He got a lead on where to get some oxygen tanks. He and Chet went for them, then planned on stopping back at his place before heading back to the Webbers."
"Did he say where?"
"Someone named Tibberman?"
Karl shook his head. "That area is completely flooded, five foot at least."
Mike and Marco exchanged looks.
"If she comes back to the house, tie her damn butt down to the chair." Now he was angry. "Can you handle this?" He asked the men.
Nick rested his hand on his shoulder. "Go find her, we'll be fine."
"Roy? It's Eli."
He nodded to Ruth and went straight to the man's side. He was short of breath, had congestion in his lungs, and his rhythm was unstable. Glancing around, he made a mental note that the defibrillator was at their side and a small shoebox held the emergency heart drugs. Shaking his head, he knew they wouldn't be enough if Eli coded again. Where was that damn oxygen?
After obtaining some vital signs, he returned to the radio with Hank at his side.
"How bad?"
Roy couldn't even answer, his heart was too heavy.
"ECHO11R, this is RUP45W, do you read?"
This is Ferrin, we read you, Roy.
"I have a status update on Eli, doc. He is now short of breath, and I hear rales bilaterally. He continues to throw PVC's. Pulse is 130, respirations 40 and labored, pressure is 98 over 50."
There was a painful pause on the other end.
It sounds like he's going into failure. Give him a bolus of plasmanate, then cut his fluids back to less than fifty an hour. Continue the lidocaine drip. Do you have access to Dig and Lasix?
Roy had never given either of those. "I'll have to check doc, and I've never given those before."
I know, but his heart is working hard to keep going, and he's not going to be able to do it all night. We need to ease the cardiac load some. Both meds have been around for decades, and are pretty safe and I'll walk you through the dosages. We also need some pressure support.
Writing down the information, he was still shaking his head. "What side effects should I watch for?"
I'm giving him on a low dose to try and avoid further arrhythmias. Otherwise, nausea and headache are the most common. Does he have oxygen yet?
"Negative doc, we're still working on that issue."
Damn it, Roy. I wish I could bring you what you need. Do what you can.
"We will, doc. RUP45W, out."
The road conditions were getting more dangerous, and he found it slow going to get to his destination. His mind kept replaying saving Patrick and Lily being swept away. What had he done wrong? What had he missed? She was right in front of him, then she was gone in the blink of an eye. And now, it seemed like every heartbeat ached in his chest. What was he going to tell Eli? The man was already in trouble, how could he tell him this now?
When the tires swerved, he jolted himself back to the road and screeched to a halt at the mudslide that lay ahead of him. For a moment he had to just sit and gather his thoughts. Turning around, he decided to head to the back-ridge road that ran close to the church and would drop take him onto the back roads of the Webber ranch. He'd used parts of the road since the flooding started, with the higher elevation keeping him out of the water danger. It probably wouldn't even take that much longer since the road was in much better condition than most tonight.
He wondered where Rook was. Had he run off after Lily? Was he back to the house waiting on him to return home? He nodded, knowing the pup knew he way around the valley probably better than he did. He'd find his way back home. Then he decided. The moment he dropped Patrick off, he was heading back out to find the others and he would search every inch of the riverbank until he found her. He wasn't going to tell Eli she was gone. He was going to bring her back.
Vic kept telling himself he had made the right call as he inched his way down the road. Nightfall had come early and the black starless night, mixed with a vicious spring storm, left him with no visibility. This was the worst he had ever seen the weather rage on for so long.
"How ya doing, baby?" He called out behind him.
Her deep breaths were getting stronger and deeper. "I'm okay. Are we close?"
"Almost there."
He was lying. He could barely see the road. All the signs were down, and there were no house lights to be seen anywhere. They lived on the other side of town and driving around these back roads was not second nature to him. He needed signs and visible landmarks to get to his destination.
"OH GOD!"
He stopped the car and whisked around, "what!?"
"My water just broke and, and.." she was reaching down. "I have his foot in my hand."
He wasn't a medic, but he'd been a fireman long enough to know this was bad and they were in big trouble. Their last two babies had come into the world easily, and he had even helped to deliver them. He couldn't do this, that much he was certain of.
"We're almost there, honey, hold on!"
From the backseat, there was no reply, only heaving panting, and groans. He recognized the sound, she was pushing now. The windshield wipers struggled to help any with visibility, and he kept reaching up to wipe the fog from the inside windows. Soon, she started crying, then screaming with each contraction.
"Hold on, baby. DON'T PUSH!"
"We have to STOP!" She was screaming with each contraction now.
He was frantic and completely panicked now, stopping wasn't an option out here in the middle of nowhere.
Then a light from Heaven shown down for him. Now, he knew exactly where to go.
"No," Hank said adamantly.
Of course, Roy agreed with him, but he had to ask. "I don't have any of these meds. I need to go back to the pharmacy, Hank. Otherwise, Eli's going to die tonight."
Hank looked around at the sea of cots holding sick and injured people, including children. He shook his head again. "When Johnny is back, we'll figure something out. Until then, I need you here."
Mike, Marco, Chet, and Johnny were all still gone. The group from the Webber's should be back soon, then maybe he could send them back out. He knew it was a lot to ask of anyone. Maybe too much.
"Coffee?"
Roy shook his head. "I'm good, thanks."
Earl filled his thermos and tightened the cap down. He took in the man sitting at the table and frowned.
"Do you have everything you need to take care of these people?"
More hands? Knowing where Johnny and Chet were? Less sick and injured? Daylight? A doctor? Specific drugs?
Roy hesitated. "We're working on getting some meds from the pharmacy, but I think we're pretty stocked up on everything else for now."
The older man nodded. "I didn't expect all this when I agreed to be a first aid station."
"I don't think anyone expected all this."
"Ready, dad," Thomas said as he came into the kitchen.
"Where are you going?" Roy asked with concern.
"Checking the back fences. We'll be back."
Of course, Roy had no control over the man and his own property, but couldn't everyone just stay in one place? "Be careful."
This time Earl let out a small smile. "Always am, son. Ruth is upstairs if you need her."
Roy returned to the radio and contacted Mike at Pines.
"You're already halfway there, Mike."
What do you need?
The road up here was getting bad now, covered in mud and debris. Johnny suddenly questioned his choice. He could get himself back to Roy with Thunder, but there was no way he could travel that far with Patrick. The young boy was leaning against the door, still unconscious. He swallowed hard.
"Hang in there, Patrick. We're going to get you home."
His headlights let him see just enough to know that water was running down from the bank beside him onto the road, then over the steep edge to the other side. When he felt something hard hit the truck, he also instantly felt the vehicle shift underneath him, sending him into a hydroplaning slide.
Then everything went black.