Whitewater Rendezvous

“Does it hurt when I try to move it?” Chaz asked. With one hand supporting Megan’s shoulder, and the other her arm, she slowly and gently moved the arm outwards and up.

Megan grimaced. “Ow, yeah.”

“Okay, that’s enough, I think.” Chaz felt a surge of relief. Megan seemed more alert than she was a few minutes earlier, so her head injury was probably not serious. But Chaz couldn’t take the chance that there were factors invisible to her. “I’m not a doctor, but I’ve had fi rst-aid training, and I don’t think you’ve broken any bones. A bad sprain or strain, I think, in your shoulder. Your head is another matter.”

“What’s it look like?” Megan asked.

“I put a couple of butterfl y bandages on it and got the bleeding stopped. But you’ll need medical attention. That cut will probably require stitches, and you took a pretty good knock on the head. I think a doctor will want to run some tests and make sure you don’t have a concussion. Head injuries can be serious.”

“Shit.” Megan blinked. “You mean the trip is over for me? I might be all right in a day or two.”

“I’m sorry, Megan.” Chaz zipped up Megan’s dry suit so she’d stay warm. And so you can stop staring at her breasts. Get hold ofyourself, already.

“We can’t take any more risks with you. We’re going to need to airlift you out.”

“Damn.”

“Oh, what a tough break,” Justine said, coming around to stand where Megan could see her. “What can I do for you? Anything?”

“Can’t think of anything that would help,” Megan told Justine, then looked at Chaz. “The trip goes on, right? I haven’t screwed this up for anyone else, have I?”

“Stop that,” Justine said.

“Yeah,” Yancey said. “You’re what’s important right now.”

“I don’t want the rest of you to miss out because of me,” Megan repeated.

“It shouldn’t be a problem to continue the trip.” Chaz took a long look at Megan, in part checking for signs of shock, but also…just looking. Megan’s skin was pale and clammy from her long immersion in the frigid water, her hair was wet, and she was shivering slightly.

“Cold?”

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KIM BALDWIN

“Yeah. A little.”

“Justine, can you get her bag and pull out a hat and gloves for her?” Chaz asked. She reached into the raft, grabbed a sleeping pad, and laid it beside Megan. “See if we can scoot you over onto this and keep you off the cold ground.”

Megan accomplished that with a little help and a muted groan.

Justine got her gloves and a hat on, and Chaz located a thin survival blanket from her bag and tucked it around Megan.

She leaned down until her face was close to Megan’s. “Better?”

“Yes. Thanks.” It was all Megan could do to answer. She felt exhausted, barely able to stay awake. The adrenalin rush from capsizing was gone, and her arms and legs seemed to be made of stone, like she had fought a few rounds with a much larger opponent.

Chaz stood. Addressing Yancey and Justine, she said, “I need to talk with Sally while we wait for the others to get back. You two mind keeping an eye on her a minute?”

“You got it,” Justine answered for them, and she and Yancey crouched down next to Megan and started making awkward conversation.

Chaz could tell they were nervous. No one was going to feel confi dent until they got Megan to a doctor. She walked a short distance downstream with Sally.

“Couldn’t have happened in a worse place,” Sally said under her breath as soon as they were out of earshot.

“Yeah, no chance of a plane getting in here.” Chaz studied the steep canyon walls on either side of them. The terrain was too steep and narrow for a helicopter rescue, but they couldn’t stay here. Any kind of rain or big melt in the mountains and they’d be in trouble in a heartbeat. “We can’t get a signal out here, with these rock walls, and we can’t wait for a rescue by river. Much as I’d like not to move her, we gotta keep going.”

“So, what are we looking at?” Sally asked. “How much farther before we can call for help?”

“The river leaves this canyon soon and crosses some tundra before it heads into another one. We could set up camp there. It’s got a nice fl at spot for the tents, and I’m sure we can get a clear communications link out.”

“How long to get there, do you think?”

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Дата добавления: 2015-11-14