Elliot!" The voice in his head felt foggy and far away. He rolled onto his side, eyes still closed. "Elliot! Help!" The second cry jarred him awake. He sat up, feeling frantic. His eyes darted around, and sure enough, Noah wasn't lying peacefully in his sleeping bag.
"Shit!" He flipped the sleeping bag off of himself and tore out of the tent in the direction of the voice. The freezing ground froze his socked feet as he rushed in the direction of Noah's voice.
"Noah!" He bellowed in the direction of the trees.
"Over here! Oh God, hurry, please!" His voice shook with panic. Elliot's heart pounded relentlessly, and he felt the familiar surge of adrenaline running through his veins.
Elliot crashed into the trees; follow in the direction of Noah's voice. Somewhere behind him he heard Dickie's and Eli's footsteps.
He stopped when he didn't immediately see Noah among the trees. "Noah!" He called again.
"Here!" He yelled back.
Elliot rushed towards Noah's voice and continued to run until Noah's curly hair came into view. He was sitting on the ground, and he appeared perfectly fine. It wasn't until he completed his visual assessment of Noah that he noticed the petite body lying next to him.
"Wha?" He didn't get the word out because Noah's panicked explanation began spilling out.
"I... I think she's still alive. Look," he stammered. Noah pointed to the girl's chest, and sure enough, there was a barely discernible rise and fall to her chest. "I checked her pulse. I think, I think I found one, but she's really, really cold."
Elliot rushed over and kneeled on the other side of the girl's body. Noah had a death grip on the girl's fingers, but Elliot had enough space to make a rough assessment.
The girl appeared to be a young preteen. Ten or eleven, maybe? He noticed dried blood covering her face. He brushed her hair away from her forehead, revealing a large laceration.
The crunch of dirt and rocks beneath boots grew closer as Dickie and Eli rushed toward them. They skidded to a stop when they took in the scene in front of them. Elliot didn't have much time to explain, not like he had a lot of information himself. Regardless, this child was alive, and she needed immediate medical attention.
"Dickie. Jog up the hill where there is service and call 911. Tell them we are bringing in a hypothermic child with a severe head wound." When Dickie froze Elliot barked out, "Go!"
Once he took off, Elliot's eyes moved to Eli. "Turn on the truck and crank up the heat. She's freezing, and we need to get her warmed up now!"
Eli's eyes widened at the sudden seriousness of the situation before he ran off in the direction of the truck.
Once both boys were gone, Elliot returned his attention to the girl laying lifeless on the ground. He began talking Noah through what he was checking, hoping to soothe some of Noah's obvious panic.
"That head wound looks bad, but it's not bleeding anymore, which is good." Noah nodded with his hand still gripping the girl's frozen fingers. Elliot noticed how loose one of her shoulders looked. "I think her shoulder is dislocated; we are going to have to be very careful when we move her."
"Are we supposed to move her?" Noah asked, blue eyes glistening with tears. "In health class, they said never to move someone who's injured until paramedics get there."
Elliot nodded. "That's true in the city, but it's different out here. It will take too long for an ambulance to get here, and there wouldn't be a good place for a life-flight chopper to land. We are going to do our best to keep her as stable as possible, but we have to get her out of here as soon as we can."
Elliot continued his physical assessment. He lifted the girl's shirt enough to expose her belly button, and his stomach turned. "Shit," he muttered.
"What?" Noah clamored up a little so he could see what he was looking at.
Dark, fresh bruising darkened her lower belly button. "That bruise means she is still bleeding on the inside," he explained. He lightly pressed on the spot with the most discoloration. Sure enough, her belly felt tight. He lifted her shirt a little more to expose her ribs. The bruising discoloration continued up her rib cage. Based on the depressed skin in one area, he suspected a severe rib fracture. They needed to get this girl out of here. Now.
"Noah. I need you to get your sleeping bag." Elliot ran through the items on their packing list, trying to think of something they could lay her on that would keep her stable during the winding drive down the mountain. The only thing he could think of was the small food prep table. "Go get that sleeping bag. We need to get her as warm as we can, okay?"
Noah's eyes dropped to the girl, and his hand tightened on hers. Elliot understood the hesitation to leave her, but he couldn't take care of Noah's feelings right now. Not when this girl's life was literally hanging by a thread. "Go!" He barked.
With tears rolling down his cheeks, Noah nodded and rushed out from the cluster of trees. As he left, Dickie jogged back over.
"EMS is headed this way. I gave 'em a description of our truck; hopefully we'll meet them somewhere in the middle so they can get her in an actual ambulance."
"Great. Good." Elliot's mind raced. "Fold the legs down on the prep table. We gotta keep her steady before we get her in the truck."
"Got it. I'll bring it over." He ran back in the direction of the campsite.
"Sanitize it!" He yelled after him.
Elliot returned his attention to the child on the ground. "Come on, baby girl. You got this. Come on." He pulled off his coat and draped it over her. It might not do much, but it would at least shield her from some of the early morning chill. He felt otherwise helpless. Images of a rescue pulling Clem's body from a ravine continued to force their way into his thoughts, but he couldn't feel his feelings right now. Compartmentalize. He had to turn it off and default to his training. He wasn't an EMT, but years in law enforcement provided a necessary fluency in emergency first aid.
Frantic footsteps lumbered back through the trees. Both Dickie and Noah were returning with their needed items. Noah looked awful, and Elliot knew that this was utter hell for him. He hated that his youngest boy had to live through something like this twice.
Dickie dropped the table on the ground next to the girl and slid in next to Elliot. "What now?" He asked breathlessly.
"Where's Eli?" Elliot wondered aloud.
"Clearing the backseat of the truck. We still had a bunch of crap in there from the ride up." Dickie answered quickly.
Elliot nodded and reached out for Noah's sleeping bag. He unzipped it most of the way so it would be easy to slide up her body. "We gotta keep her as still as possible, okay?"
Both of his kids nodded and waited for more instructions. "Dickie, I need you to stabilize her neck while Noah helps me lift her enough to slide her into the sleeping bag."
"Okay," Dickie said as the all shuffled positions. He took his place at her head. Holding her jawline and neck so he could keep her neck as straight as possible.
Once he was sure Dickie was ready, Noah helped him slide the sleeping bag over her body. Elliot zipped the sleeping bag all the way up before giving more instructions. "Noah, I need you to switch with Dickie. It's really important that her neck stays still. Dickie and I are going to lift her onto the table, but I need you to hold her head. Can you do that?"
"Yeah, yeah." Noah's voice was shaking, but he seemed sure. Elliot met Noah's eyes. "Take a breath. You've got this, okay?"
Noah bit his lip, and Elliot knew he was trying to keep his emotions under control. He took a slow breath and fisted his hands a couple of times to steady his hands. He mimicked Dickie's previous position, eyes remaining completely focused on the girl's face. "Ready," he finally breathed out.
"Okay, on three." He made sure their eyes were on him as he counted. "One, two, three." They all simultaneously lifted and easily got her on the table.
"Dickie, give me your jacket." He reached for his that had been cast aside before slipping the girl in the sleeping bag.
He complied quickly, and he used the arms of the jackets to tie her to their makeshift spinal stabilization board. It wasn't ideal, but it was the best they could do.
"Let's get her to the truck. Remember, we gotta keep her still, so let's do this quick but steady, alright?"
"Yeah," Dickie said breathlessly. "I can do that."
This situation was unfathomable, but he was really proud of his oldest son's composure under this pressure. He hadn't ever seen him like this, and it was incredible to watch.
Just then, Eli came tearing through the trees. "Truck is ready! I have the heat blasting."
Elliot glanced over to Noah, who still had his hands on the other child's head. He turned back to Eli. "Get Noah in the truck. Dickie and I will carry her over." To Elliot's surprise, Noah didn't move. His eyes remained on the girl.
"Come on, Noh!" Eli urged anxiously.
"I'm staying with her," he said stubbornly. His bright blue eyes lifted, and Elliot saw a stubbornness that was so unlike him.
"We will be right behind you, bud." Dickie tried convincing him.
Noah still seemed unsure, so Elliot added, "You can sit in the back with her. We need someone to keep her head still, but I need you to get in first, okay?"
Noah's eyes drifted to the girl's limp body and then back to Elliot. He looked like he might continue his defiance, but he took a slow breath and released his hold on her. He took one more breath and tore his eyes away from her face. "Okay. I'm coming."
He and Eli jogged to the truck. Eli had parked it right against the tree line so they could more easily load her into the backseat.
With the boys out of the way, he returned his focus to transporting her to the truck as smoothly as possible.
"Ready?" He prompted Dickie.
"Yes," Dickie replied firmly.
With another countdown, they lifted the table and moved towards the truck slowly. It felt excruciatingly slow, but he couldn't let either of them trip on their short journey to the truck. Navigating the tree roots proved challenging, but they managed to keep her body still as they slid the table into the back seat.
Noah looked to Elliot for reassurance as he held the girl's head still. Elliot nodded his reassurance.
"Eli, sit on the floor and make sure the table doesn't slide." He immediately hopped in the truck and sat on the floor, hands moving to the table's edge to keep it steady. Elliot slammed the truck door and jumped into the driver's seat.
Elliot took a breath. They got her in the truck, and she was still breathing. Unconscious, but breathing. He glanced over his shoulder once more and sent a silent prayer heavenward that she would survive this trauma. For her sake, and for the boys'. If she died, he wasn't positive any of them would get past it.
-000-
A/N
You okay out there? Probably not. Hang in there.