Jess woke to find herself laying on two packs somewhere in what she assumed was outside of Norrel. She tried to sit up but could barely move and decided against it. Her left arm and both legs were numb. She was dizzy and her head hurt immensely. Her sides ached with every breath she took. She also felt significantly nauseated.
"Leon?" she asked turning her head slowly.
"Yes? I'm here," he answered moving to her side. "How are you feeling?"
"Dizzy and my head's killing me. My left arm and legs are numb and I can't breathe without getting a sharp pain in my sides. Plus I feel really nauseated. Otherwise, everything's just great." She took a breath, and asked, "What happened anyway? I remember being on the rock hill when the last bomb went off, that's it."
"The rocks you were standing on collapsed after the blast and you were buried," Leon told her. "I dug you out and drove out here."
"Thanks. How far are we from Norrel?" asked Jess, attempting to shift a little.
"About five miles or so, we still have a long way to go," said Leon, helping her. "I don't want to leave until you have some of your strength back though."
"No. We should leave immediately. Besides, I'm not going to get any better just sitting here. We need to get going," replied Jess.
"Are you sure?" asked Leon.
"Yes. The sooner the better," came the stubborn reply.
"Alright, I'll take the backpacks to the four-wheeler, and then get you."
Leon slowly took the packs out from behind her and secured them on the vehicle. Jess winced with the pain of the movement and took a deep breath. The feeling in her arm and her legs was returning, giving her more pain.
Leon came back and knelt down beside her. "Ready?"
"As I'll ever be," she replied.
She put her right arm around his neck, he put his left arm around her waist and they slowly rose together. Her head swam a great deal and her right leg wouldn't support any weight. Suddenly her dizziness and pain overtook her. She leaned over and heaved.
"Sorry about that," she said regaining her composure. "How embarrassing," she uttered under her breath.
"That's okay. Take it easy," he replied having heard both remarks.
They slowly made their way to the four-wheeler. Leon got on and then lifted Jess on to the seat in front of him.
"Hold on as tight as you can, and stay with me," Leon said to her as he turned on the engine.
As they drove, Jess clung to him as best she could. She felt very tired and was in a lot of pain. She knew that the ride back was nearly five hours long going 65 miles per hour the whole way from the bus ride in but she felt her strength dissolve with every passing minute. Before the first hour on the road was up, she was struggling to stay awake.
Leon sensed this and drove faster. He began to talk to her, trying to keep her awake. She was responsive and talked back, weakly. They were able to get by two more hours doing this and finally came up on a house.
Leon parked the four-wheeler in the driveway, made sure Jess would be okay for a few moments alone and ran to the porch. He pounded on the door until a young woman with blonde hair opened the door.
"Sorry to disturb you ma'am but do you have a phone? I close friend of mine has been hurt really badly and needs help," he said to the lady.
"Yes come in, the phone is down the hall in the living room," said the lady, looking at his blood stained shirt.
Leon ran inside, picked up the phone and dialed. He arranged to have a helicopter pick them up and hung up. He ran back outside and told Jess the news. Twenty minutes later they heard the helicopter and watched it land. Leon carried Jess to it and they flew off toward home.