Authors: Jennifer Moore
Roy stood a bit away from the group as he continued to give instructions into the phone.
Hakim watched, unable to help as Shelby’s skin paled further, and she became disoriented and less responsive.
She repeated her requests for water, but Nasir insisted it would cause her to vomit. The most important thing was to keep her warm and control the bleeding.
The adrenaline that had fueled Hakim’s rush to save Shelby ebbed and exhaustion took its place. The silence between the men grew, and he supposed the others must feel the hopelessness of their despairing thoughts as heavily as he did.
The purr of snowmobiles sounded, and soon after, the Search and Rescue team came through the trees.
Two EMTs parked and hopped off their machines.
A technician knelt in the snow and inspected Shelby’s injuries. He held her hand and leaned close to look at her eyes. “What’s your name?” he asked. “Can you tell me your name?”
Shelby was unresponsive.
The technician looked at Hakim who still pressed the gauze to her forehead. “How long has she been like this?”
“Perhaps twenty minutes. She was speaking when we uncovered her, but has become increasingly confused and exhausted. Her name is Shelby.” Hakim heard the despair in his own voice.
“Shelby, can you hear me?” The technician patted her cheek. “How long was she buried?”
“Around twenty to twenty-five minutes,” Xan answered.
“The survival rate decreases significantly the longer a person is buried,” the EMT told them, checking Shelby’s eyes and pulse. “Someone uncovered within fifteen minutes has a ninety-two percent survival rate, but after thirty-five minutes, that rate drops to thirty percent.”
Anguish twisted in Hakim’s chest like a snake. It devastated him to see someone so full of life a half hour ago lying limp and pale in the snow. Especially when that someone was Shelby.
“She’s in shock,” the EMT told his partner, who unloaded their equipment. “We need to get her off the mountain, now.”
The technicians used an inflatable splint to stabilize Shelby’s leg, as they lifted her onto a toboggan attached behind one of the vehicles. They wrapped her in blankets, stretching straps across her body to hold her onto the sled.
“She’s real lucky.” The technician threaded an IV into her arm. “Most of the avalanche rescues I’ve been on have turned into recoveries.”
“Are you giving her something for pain?” Hakim asked.
“Not with her head injury. We’ll leave that up to the doctor. Just fluids for now. She’s pretty dehydrated from loss of blood. You did the right thing by not giving her anything to drink. The digestive system is one of the first things to shut down as the body goes into shock. She would have been sick.”
“Where are you guys taking her?” Xan asked.
“We’re meeting the ambulance on the canyon road about two miles west. Follow us, and we’ll find out what hospital they’re going to.”
With little effort, Xan and Roy plodded across the transformed bowl, retrieved their machines, and met Hakim and Nasir on the trail.
The trip out to the road was somber.
The rescue team rode through the trees, taking the smoothest route, followed by the four men. When they reached the ambulance, the technicians loaded Shelby inside and packed hot water bottles around her body.
Xan spoke to the driver and returned to tell the others they were taking her to Wilcox General.
Hakim rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. His chest was heavy as he watched the doors close, and the ambulance pull away.
****
Pushing through a fog of confusion, Shelby struggled to open her eyes. Where was she? What was that beeping sound?
“Shel, hey.”
Xan’s face came into focus. Suddenly, everything came rushing back—the darkness, the roaring of the mountain, the horror of being trapped under the snow. She tried to sit up, but the pain in her head made her stomach roll over.
“It’s okay, Shel. Just relax.”
She was grateful Xan kept his voice low, because her head felt like it would burst. “Xan,” she managed to whisper. “The room is spinning.”
“Close your eyes. I’m right here.” He lifted her hand.
She squeezed his fingers gratefully and started to slip back into the fog until Xan spoke again.
“Just worried sick about you.” He kept his voice low. “You’ve been in surgery for a while. I called your dad. He’ll be here in a few hours.”
Knowing her dad was coming eased some of her anxiety. “Thanks, Xan,” she whispered as she drifted back to sleep.
****
“It’s all right, I’m just checking your vitals,” a stranger’s voice said as Shelby opened her eyes.
A large African-American woman stood over her, viewing the dial of the blood pressure cuff around Shelby’s arm. “Still pretty low, hon.” She pulled out the ear buds and wrapped her stethoscope around her neck, then noted something on a chart. “My name’s Linda. You’re in post-op recovery. Can I get you anything? Water?”
Shelby smiled at Linda’s rubber ducky-decorated scrubs. “No, thanks. I’m okay.” She looked around, but the effort caused the room to spin again. Instead, she focused on the ceiling tiles.
“How’s your pain level?”
“Not too bad,” Shelby lied. She did not want any more medicine muddling her thoughts until she knew what was happening.
“You’ve got a morphine drip here. Anytime your pain gets too strong, just push on this button for another dose. The beep means it’s working.” Linda bustled around the room as she talked. “You can’t do it more than once every six minutes, but it will help. I’ll wrap the button around the arm rail so you can find it. Anything else I can do?”
“Could you turn off the lights?”
“You got it, hon.” Linda switched off the fluorescent lights.
The relief on Shelby’s eyes was instantaneous. A soft nightlight glowed on the wall behind the bed, preventing the room from becoming completely dark. “Thanks, Linda.” Shelby spoke slowly in order not to slur her words.
“Here’s the call button if you need me.” Linda draped the cord over the other arm rail. “Dr. Gardner should be checking on you in the next half hour or so. And your collection of handsome young gentlemen is waiting out in the hall. I’ve had to kick at least one of them out of here every hour in order to do my rounds. You must be quite the heart-breaker.” Linda’s voice carried a note of laughter. “All right, then. I’ll open the door and let the hottie-parade begin.”
Shelby heard Linda speaking to someone in the hall, and a figure walked through the open door. In the dim light, Shelby couldn’t make out his face. She rubbed her eyes to get rid of the dazed feeling in her head. Her skull felt like cotton was stuffed inside.
“Hey, Shel.”
“Xan.” Shelby hoped he couldn’t hear the disappointment in her voice. She’d thought for a moment…
“How’s the ankle?” Xan grasped her hand.
“Aches, but my head is killing.”
“Yeah, you got a concussion. Your forehead is pretty bruised, and you’ve got some stitches. But it’s your ankle they operated on.”
Shelby had a vague memory of the ER. She remembered being wrapped in an air blanket that surrounded her with heat. X-rays, doctors, hot water bottles. The mention of surgery helped dispel any lingering mugginess, and she forced her mind to concentrate. “How bad is it?” Her heart sank. An injury would kill her entire ski season.
“Pretty bad, from how the break looked up on the mountain. The doctor didn’t tell us much, since we’re not family. You know, HIPAA or whatever.”
She shifted and sucked in a breath through her teeth as pain shot through her head. “I can’t remember very much. Must be the drugs.”
Xan rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. “You’re lucky to be alive. We were freaked out for a while there.”
“Thanks, Xan. Thanks for rescuing me.”
“I helped, but really, the huge Arab was the one who saved you.”
“Nasir?” Shelby asked.
“I guess he has some kind of commando training. He knew what to do to stop your bleeding and even did mouth-to-mouth. Who knew such a giant guy could be so gentle?”
Shocked, Shelby didn’t know what to say. The thought of Nasir doing mouth-to-mouth made her stomach clench in embarrassment. “Is Nasir here?”
“Yeah, he and Hakim have been in the waiting room all day.”
Her heart leapt. “Could you get them? I want to thank them.”
“Uh…Yeah, sure,” Xan said. “I’ll see if I can find ’em.”
She thought his voice sounded a little reluctant and squeezed his fingers to show her gratitude. “Thanks, Xan.”
“I’ll be back to check on you, okay?” He laid her hand down on the bed.
While Shelby waited, the hammering in her head grew worse. The pain in her ankle rose to a throbbing ache. She still hadn’t seen a mirror and had no idea what her head injury looked like, and she couldn’t lift her head to see her ankle. She needed to push the morphine button but wanted to act coherently when she saw Hakim again.
He is here!
Did this mean he wasn’t going to Kentucky? Would he keep in touch? Maybe see her again?
A soft knock drew her gaze to the doorway. Although the room was semi-dark, she recognized Hakim’s silhouette as he came to stand next to the bed.
“Shelby Jo,” he said in a quiet voice.
Her heart rate sped up and the monitor beeps followed suit. “You’re still here. I thought you’d be in Kentucky by now.”
“I could not leave until I was certain that you were all right.”
“Where’s Nasir? Xan told me what he did. I want to thank him.”
“I will give your message to Nasir.” Hakim gave a short nod. “His ways are very traditional. He would not wish to offend you, but he would feel uncomfortable coming into your room to speak with you.”
Shelby realized what she had interpreted as rudeness—his unwillingness to make eye contact or to shake her hand—had really been a form of respect. She grimaced, feeling ashamed for judging him so harshly. “Oh, I understand. Please tell him how grateful I am.”
“I will. I also owe Nasir a debt of gratitude for what he did. If not for his training…”
In the darkness, she felt his fingers brush her hair off her forehead, avoiding the wrappings over her stitches. She reached up and grasped his hand. Even though almost every part of her body pulsed with pain, what she felt from Hakim’s touch caused her skin to tingle.
“Hakim…” Shelby said after a moment. “This is goodbye, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” he said. “Shelby Jo…”
“You have to go, I know.” Tears pricked at the back of her eyes. She had only known this guy for a few days.
Why am I crying? It has to be the medication.
“I have enjoyed the time we spent together, Shelby Jo Walker.” He paused. “There have been very few opportunities for me to make new acquaintances. Your friendship has been very special.”
“Yeah, bruised, bloody, and doped-up on painkillers is how you’ll remember me.” Shelby wrinkled her nose and grimaced.
“I am confident there are enough pleasant memories of our time together to overshadow the sad ones. My first snowball fight, for example.”
“That reminds me, I owe you some major payback for that little snow shower you gave me.” She let go of his hand and tapped her fingertips together like an evil genius.
He laughed quietly and then took her hand again. “I wish I did not have to leave you like this. Your recovery will be a difficult one, and—”
“My dad will be here soon to take me home to Culver Springs.” Shelby’s words rushed out. “I’ll manage.”
“Goodbye, Shelby Jo Walker.” He set down her hand and turned to go.
“Goodbye, Hakim.” She barely managed to whisper the words before pushing the morphine drip button, hoping the drug could dull the ache in her heart.
Chapter Five
Shelby stretched across the back seat of her parents’ full-size pickup. Her mom had covered her with blankets and propped her up with pillows, but Shelby still felt every bump and curve in the road on their five-hour drive.
The conversation with the surgeon had left her discouraged. He’d explained she had a trimalleolar fracture, which meant all three bones in her ankle were broken and held together with plates and screws. She couldn’t put any weight on her foot for six weeks. Her dad pushed her to the car in a wheelchair and loaded her new crutches in the back of the pick-up with her luggage.
Shelby’s parents, Burke and Debbie, stayed with her in the hospital overnight, although she asked them to at least sleep in the soft bed at her apartment. She hadn’t been surprised when they insisted the chairs in her hospital room were just as comfortable.
They always meant well. They loved her and wanted to take care of her, but she knew the next few weeks would be hard. Her parents weren’t the best at giving her the space she needed.
She sat up and rested her cheek against the cold window. Shelby always enjoyed the familiar drive to Culver Springs. Even in the dead of winter, she saw a beauty in the desert country that most people overlooked. The car twisted through another canyon, and she gazed across the barren terrain. A few straggly bushes and trees stood stoically, breaking up the harsh landscape. Here and there, fences marked cattle country. Most ranchers built their enclosures using odd-shaped, crooked branches strung together with barbed wire. Shelby thought this type of fence complemented the desert terrain better than the artificial-looking manufactured railings used by wealthy ranchers.
Frozen snow drifted in ribbons across the road, blown by the almost-constant wind. Cracks formed by water zig-zagged here and there in the hard, flat ground, invisible until a person practically fell into one. Some of the deeper cracks ran for miles, forcing animals and humans alike to find alternative routes around them. The land was unpredictable and exciting, and in winter, the weather was severe.
Shelby let out a frustrated sigh. After trying so hard to be independent, here she was, totally reliant on her parents. Not doing things for herself piqued her frustration, and she dreaded the “talk” her parents would have about where her life was going. She knew they would bring up her accident as another reason for her to move back home and settle down.
As the vehicle left the highway and drove into town, Shelby felt memories leap from every direction. Unlike most towns its size, Culver Springs had resisted modern super-stores. Instead, the majority of business took place in small, family-owned shops. The two-block expanse of Main Street functioned as the commercial hub for the town and surrounding ranches. Main Street ended at the high school, where the entire community turned out on Friday nights to support the football team, The Culver Crusaders. The oldest houses stood in the center of town, with newer constructions growing on the edges.