Chapter 9
Chapter 9
The squad truck was slowed down, marginally by the small trees and foliage that were mowed over by the excellerating vehicle. Once it reached the bottom of the revene it's nose was partially embedded into the soil. Then the weight of it's body was too much to keep it upright. With one last protest it fell upside on with a groan that should have echoed through the canyon.
The darkness was welcome. Both of them had blacked out before the sudden stop. The situation was dire indeed. Even if they both were alive, no one would have any idea of where to find them or even realize that they were missing. To make things worse it was almost nightfall.
The pain seeped through the blanket of nothingness that had enveloped her. Slowly she became aware of her surroundings. At first she wasn't sure where she was or what had happened. Then like the shards of glass all around them, slivers of her memory was returning.
"Thank GOD that we were wearing our seat belts" Was the first thought that ran through her mind.
"Craig?" She it took her breath away, literally, to try and look at him. He was unresponsive but had a strong pulse. "Can you hear me?" The pain racing through her body told her that among other things, she had a fractured sternum. She gingerly moved the parts of her whole body, to see what her other injuries might be. She knew she couldn't save her partner, if she ended up collapsing.
The list included, broken ribs, right hip pain, her head and of course her sternum. She was more pain than she had ever experienced before. She knew she had to find a way of making it over to the driver's side, so she could assess him to get an idea of what she was up against.
Saying a prayer of strength she managed to cut off her seat belt. Then with plenty sighs and grimacing she pulled and crawled her way to her partner. She thought ahead and as she was making her way around the truck she found what supplies she could to treat him. Some of it came flying out of the squad when it landed. However the drug and trauma boxes were intact. Part of her was afraid that it might catch fire. So she needed to secure whatever supplies she could before that happened.
Approaching the driver's side she could see that he was regaining consciousness, slowly but surely. "Craig, can you hear me? Easy, easy, take it slow. Try not to move. I want to check you out first." It didn't take a paramedic's insight to see that his left arm and leg were broken.
"A.J.? Are you alright? Oh my GOD, I am so sorry, this is all my fault!" Exactly what had happened was coming back to him.
"NO! You did what you could, if we would have nailed that idiot we all could have been killed. Now you just let me worry about things." She knew him well enough to know that right now the truth seemed to hollow.
"I will be right back, I need to get the stokes and back board, if I can find them."
"Call Rampart and County." His voice was regaining some of its strength.
"I wish I could partner. The radio in the squad is trashed and I can't find the HT or the Bio Phone. For now I am going to need your help to get you out of there." She left his side to retrieve the stokes and back board.
"Hey there Skippy, read for a ride?"
"That is not my name and you know it, Chickee!" He understood what she was trying to do.
It took a multitude of baby steps but with his help she managed to cut his seat belt and get him and his broken bones splinted and in the stokes. One of the many miracles to follow was that somehow with rope she managed to pull him far enough away from squad, so he was out of danger.
It didn't matter that she wanted to keep going, her body was refusing to go anywhere. Time was not on their side, however she had no choice but to rest for a few minutes.
Propping herself up, she hears a sound that she is familiar with, the sound of the engine driving down the road. Not caring what Brice or anyone else would think of her, A.J. cried like a baby.