For a moment, as Kayla had raced toward him from the back room, Steve had felt his heart leap. She was safe. He thanked God that she was safe. As Kayla had dropped to her knees beside him, their eyes had met - just for a split second - and Steve could see his own relief reflected back at him.
Then Kayla turned her attention to Shane, and Steve came back to Earth and the reality of what had happened.
He had no idea how to help, but when Kayla asked for something to stop the bleeding, Steve had looked up and seen Kim's suit jacket. Once he had given that to Kayla, he again had felt useless. Kayla was the professional; Steve would just be in the way, he figured. Finally, he had done the only other thing he could think of - he had walked over to Kim to try to give her some comfort.
Now, as he held Kim close, Steve watched Kayla beg Shane to hang on and heard the concern in her voice. Unbidden, the old resentment began to rise in Steve, but, almost as quickly, he squelched it. Shane had just saved his life and might be bleeding to death. It could just as easily be Steve lying there, dying.
"Steve!" He realized Kayla was calling to him. "Call an ambulance. Please."
Steve finally jerked into motion. He remembered the phone in Shane's car. "Sure," he said. "There's a phone in the car. . . ." Without finishing, he let go of Kim and ran toward the main entrance door. He pulled it open and ran toward where they had left Shane's car, near the entrance to the airfield. But Steve had only taken a few steps outside when he spotted several cars speeding toward the hangar. Steve ran forward as the lead car pulled to a stop and Roman and Abe jumped out.
"We have two down." Steve pointed back toward the hangar. "Cal's dead and Shane's in really bad shape. I mean really bad."
Roman and Abe exchanged looks. Abe spoke first. "The ambulance is already on its way. I'll tell them to hurry."
Both men turned back to the car. As Abe grabbed the radio to call for the paramedics, Roman pulled out a first aid kit and began sprinting towards the hangar. Steve chased after Roman.
Once back inside, he saw that Kim had crouched down next to Shane. Roman rushed toward them, crouched down, and asked Kayla what he could do. Kayla gave him a few suggestions and he started pulling supplies out of the kit. "Come on, buddy," Roman said to Shane.
To Steve's eyes, Shane seemed to have grown more still. His skin had gone grey and, while his eyes were open, Steve doubted Shane was really seeing anything. He also was not gasping for air like before. Steve did not know if that was a good sign or not. He suspected it was not.
The paramedics and Abe rushed in a moment later. Pushing Kim and Roman aside, the paramedics began working with Kayla. They placed a mask over Shane's face to help him breathe and were doing something with a long needle that forced Steve to look away.
Steve watched helpless, not knowing what to do. He glanced at Kim, who was standing again and looked equally lost. "Come here," he said, putting an arm around her.
"He can't die," Kim breathed, clutching him tightly. She was shivering. "He just can't die."
"He won't," Steve said, wondering if he sounded remotely assuring. "Shane's a tough dude." He then remembered he had said that before and decided against saying anything more. Kim might detect his doubt, so he just held her, silently.
The paramedics and Kayla continued to work. The paramedics began hooking up some IV bags as they got Shane ready to transport. Kayla continued to press Kim's now-red jacket against Shane's chest. Kayla's own clothes were dark and wet.
"I'll ride with the ambulance," she said, as the paramedics slid Shane onto a gurney, lifted it, and began to roll him out.
Kimberly nodded. "Kay . . . He's going to be all right, isn't he?"
Kayla did not answer immediately. She gave them both a mournful look, before finally responding. "I don't know, Kim. I just don't know."