Chapter Thirteen: Saved
The four teenagers crowded around Alex, as Paulo dropped down beside him. 'He's alive' Amber whispered happily.
'Only just.' Hex replied. 'Look at him'
Paulo was checking Alex's' injuries carefully. He was trying to avoid looking at Alex's face, because he was deathly pale, the vivid red scratches and cut above his eye standing out sharply against his skin. His blonde hair was a dirty grey from the dust, and his breathing was shallow. Moving his hands to Alex's ribs, he winced as he saw the gash, and felt the broken ribs shift slightly under the pressure. 'I think we are going to have to take him back to our camp. We cannot move him far until his injuries have been dealt with.'
Paulo drove the truck close to Alex, and carefully Hex lifted him into the back. The two girls climbed in, the excitement at finding Alex alive again marred by the severity of his injuries. It didn't take long to drive back to the camp and transfer Alex to one of the blankets, by the fire.
As Hex sent an email to Amber's uncle updating him, and asking him to send the plane later than intended as it was due to pick them up later that day, Paulo took out Alex's survival kit from one of the backpacks.
'Li? Could you get some water from out of the truck please?' Li nodded and went to fetch it. Amber decided to leave Paulo and Li to clean Alex up; she didn't really want to watch and instead took the file she had found next to Alex over to Hex. 'I found this. Do you know what it is?' Hex took the folder from her and opened it, scanning the first page. Then slowly, he grinned 'Alex is a genius.'
Paulo poured the water into a tin and added the potassium permanganate. Crouching down by Alex, he carefully cut away the t-shirt from the wound and removed it. When he could clearly see the gash, he took a cloth and started cleaning it. Intent as he was on the job, Paulo didn't notice Alex's eyes flickering open.
Li did though 'Alex?' Paulo glanced at him 'How are you feeling?' he asked as Alex opened his eyes and looked indistinctly at him. 'Like a building fell on me' he mumbled, closing his eyes. Paulo grinned at Li 'Perceptive isnt he?'