One foot in front of the other. She could do it. It didn’t matter if the pain was unlike anything she had felt before.
But the slow breathing wasn’t helping. Everything started to go blurry again, and she felt like she was going to throw up.
“We’re almost there, Lily,” Travis said, encouraging her to keep moving.
Holding on to the encouragement in his voice, she tried. She really did, but she couldn’t make it. She stopped suddenly, the dizziness making her sway on her feet. Travis was right there, though, holding her steady. She was so glad he was with her. Her body was growing weaker by the second. She looked up the hill to where help would be waiting for them. It looked so far away.
“Can you go get my dad, Travis?” she whispered.
“Come on, we’re close, you can make it. I don’t want to leave you alone,” he said, his arm going around her waist as he nearly dragged her forward a few more steps.
“Travis….” At least, she thought she’d said the word. She couldn’t be sure. Everything was getting dark, her limbs feeling heavier than ever.
“Lily!” she heard by her ear, and then everything faded into oblivion.
8
Wolf took another look down the dirt road, waiting to see if his daughter was on her way back. It had been close to two hours since Lily and Travis had disappeared down the slight embankment leading into the small farming community. Everyone else was already back, waiting on Lily and Travis to return. They were only supposed to have been gone a short time. The agreement had been that they would stay close. She was always a willful child, he thought to himself.
But Travis would keep her safe—he trusted the boy to do that, he reminded himself for the hundredth time.
Fred and Regan had found a car they were sure had gas in it, but Lily and Travis had taken the only two cans and the hose. They would get the gas from the other car as soon as the kids were back. His eyes scanned the horizon once again, hoping to see his daughter walking along, the gas can in her hand and the two of them walking around casually as if they hadn’t taken longer than they should have.
He was just about to turn back to the group when he heard his name being called and looked up, trying to find the source. Everyone else was still chatting while sitting in the shade the van provided and enjoying the afternoon respite. He cocked his head to the side, listening intently.
“Did you hear that?” Wolf asked them, waving for their attention.
“Hear what?” Regan replied from her place near the back of the van, where she was sitting on a lid from one of the totes to keep off the ground.
“Shh,” he snapped, thinking he’d heard the noise again and wanting to quiet the conversation—he could swear he’d heard his name being called again.
He walked toward the edge of the road and looked down over the grassy field that led to the road into the farming community. And his heart nearly stopped beating when he saw Travis struggling to carry his daughter, shouting his name as he almost tumbled down under the weight of his burden.
“Lily!” he screamed out, already racing toward them.
His heart was suddenly pounding so hard in his chest, he could barely breathe as his eyes remained locked on his daughter’s lifeless body bouncing in Travis’s arms as the boy struggled to keep moving forward.
“What happened?” he shouted, taking Lily out of Travis’s arms and looking at her arm, bleeding through whatever makeshift bandage had been put in place. Her face was pale, and he could see a red bump on her forehead.
Travis was breathing so hard he could hardly speak. “She. Fell. Glass.”
Heather was racing toward them now, her face twisted up in fear. “Oh no!” she cried out when she saw Lily passed out in Wolf’s arms. “Get her to the van!” she ordered him needlessly.
Wolf hurried forward, carrying his baby girl in his arms and trying his best not to jostle her.
“Clear the back of the van!” Wolf commanded, sending Heather running back up the hill.
“I’m sorry,” Travis said from behind him. “I told her to stop running.”
Wolf ignored the teen, his focus on his daughter lying in his arms, her head dangling backwards, her long hair brushing over his arm, her eyes closed and her mouth slightly open. He could see the dried tears on her cheeks. It was like a knife being twisted in his gut, the thought of her hurting, and he hadn’t been there to help her or comfort her. He couldn’t think of anything else right now but getting his little girl help. He wished like crazy there was a hospital emergency room he could take her to.
His thoughts raced in a million different directions as he tried to rein in his focus. Why had she fallen? How had her arm been so seriously injured in a simple fall? Had someone done this to her? He forced himself to push all that aside. For now, he had to get her to Tabitha. She was the next best thing they had to a doctor. He moved through the dry grass in the field, heading for the van parked on the road above while making sure he didn’t trip and fall with her in his arms.
Fred and Geno appeared in front of him, clearing out of the way as he kept moving forward, both of them visibly shaken to see Lily in such a state.
“Lily?” Fred croaked, his voice harsh with emotion as he reached out a hand to touch her head.
“Don’t!” Wolf barked, and Fred snatched his hand back.
Wolf crested the hill to see RC and Regan tossing stuff out of the back of the van, boxes and totes flying out of the way as he made his way to them. Heather was folding blankets on the floor of the vehicle, creating a bed for Lily while Tabitha dug through the tote with all of their medical supplies.
Wolf headed to the back of the van, his father’s eyes on his. Wolf could see the fear in RC’s eyes, but he wouldn’t dwell on it. This was an emergency, but they’d get past it. He couldn’t lose his daughter. He wouldn’t.
“Put her in here, Wolf,” Tabitha instructed in a friendly, but firm tone as she pulled on a pair of purple gloves. She wasn’t panicked in the least, he saw, as she dropped to her knees next to the blanket, ready to tend her new patient.
RC reached out from his perch in the van to help take Lily from his arms. Wolf watched his father cradle his child, looking at her pale face before he carefully laid her on the blankets. The moment Lily was on the bed, Tabitha sprang into action. RC climbed out of the van to make room for Tabitha to work. Heather took his place, dropping to her knees on the other side of Lily, her hand holding Lily’s one good hand. She began to whisper words of comfort as she stroked the back of Lily’s hand. Wolf only watched, looking for any sign of movement from Lily, praying she’d open her eyes.
“Did she lose consciousness?” Tabitha asked in a clinical tone, not bothering to look away from Lily as she assessed her.
Wolf turned to look at Travis standing beside him. He was shaking his head. “No. I don’t think so. It happened so fast,” he muttered. “I got to her seconds after it happened and she was awake.”
“What did she fall on?” Tabitha asked, checking Lily’s eyes with a flashlight.
“The road.”
Tabitha nodded as she ran her fingers through Lily’s hair, her fingertips massaging Lily’s scalp. “Good. Okay, did she complain about anything else besides the arm?”
“No. She didn’t even know she’d done it at first. She tried to sit up and screamed,” Travis said on a sob. “Then she was dizzy, after we started walking….”
Geno, in an uncharacteristic move, put his arm around the kid, offering comfort as they all stood outside the van, the sun beating down on them, but no one seemed to notice the heat. All of them watched Tabitha work on Lily, no one saying a word.
“I need the bottle of water from the kit and a towel from the laundry tote,” Tabitha ordered.
Regan rushed to fetch the needed items. Wolf could only stare at his daughter, wondering why he’d ever let her go off on her own. It had been a stupid call. He would regret it for the rest of his days. She would never leave his sight again, he told himself.
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“Is it an open compound fracture?” Fred asked.
“Scissors,” Tabitha demanded, holding out her hand to Heather, who quickly put the tool in her hand. The two worked together like they had been doing it for years.
“Tabitha, is it a compound?” Fred asked again.
Wolf could hear in the man’s voice that he was crying. He didn’t turn to look at him. If he did, he knew he would burst into tears, as well. He had to be strong for his daughter. Crying wasn’t going to help her. He didn’t know what would help her, but he knew crying wasn’t it.
And, just as tellingly, Wolf could tell Tabitha had purposely ignored Fred’s question. She didn’t want to answer, which worried him. He knew what a compound fracture was, and he also knew the implications of that kind of injury in this kind of setting.
Tabitha looked up, meeting Wolf’s eyes before looking at Fred. “It is. I believe only a grade one, possibly a grade two,” Tabitha replied, carefully cutting away the shirt.
“What does that mean?” RC asked.
“It means her broken bone pierced the skin, but the opening is small. The bone isn’t protruding from the wound now, but it did.”
“Her bone came through her skin?” Geno gasped.
“Yes,” Tabitha snapped.
Travis covered his mouth with his hand. “Oh no. I thought so. I was hoping I was wrong.”
“There appears to be another cut that isn’t from the bone. Two separate injuries,” Tabitha said, squirting the bottle of water over the cut and letting the water run down her arm. Heather handed her a towel without saying a word. Tabitha gently propped up the injured arm with the towel, elevating it slightly.
“There was broken glass on the road, like from a beer bottle or something,” Travis offered.
“Good. That makes sense. It’s a nice clean cut,” Tabitha said, her fingers moving over the injury.
“How bad is the cut?” Wolf winced when he saw Tabitha probing at the injury with her finger. He was glad Lily was out cold. That would have been extremely painful, had she been awake. He knew it was necessary, but it didn’t make it any easier to watch.
“It’ll need to be closed. I’m washing it out now to get out any rocks and debris. Thick beer bottle glass is a good thing.”
“How is that a good thing?” Wolf growled.
“I’ll be able to see any shards easily. I don’t see any. The cut isn’t terribly deep and it’s clean. You did a good job covering it, Travis,” she assured the boy.
Wolf breathed a sigh of relief. “The bone? Is the bone a clean break?”
Tabitha nodded. “It is. It appears to only be the ulna.”
“That’s a good thing, right?” Wolf asked.
“Yes,” Tabitha said, nodding her head.
Regan looked at him. “What’s the ulna?”
“It’s the skinny bone in the forearm. It should heal with no need for surgery,” Tabitha explained.
“You’re doing great, babe,” Geno offered.
The man was right—his wife was handling all of this with a degree of patience and calm that he couldn’t have garnered up if it had just been him taking care of his daughter. A stranger, maybe, but not his daughter. Having her along right now meant everything. His emergency field medicine training had taught him how to handle things like this, sure, but having to work on his own daughter would have been a different matter. He wasn’t sure he would have been able to remain so calm and be able to find out all of the pertinent information without losing his temper, let alone retaining the necessary focus.
“I’m going to have to set her arm and it’s best to do it while she’s still out,” Tabitha said, her voice hesitant for the first time.
“Is it going to hurt?” Travis asked in a strained voice.
Tabitha looked up, smiling at the boy. “Yes, but once it’s lined up, it will feel better. She’s passed out right now and won’t feel it. That’s why I’d prefer to do it as soon as possible.”
“Why did she faint?” he asked her.
“Maybe the pain? She’s lost some blood, but it doesn’t appear to be too bad. I need to set this and wrap it right away. This type of injury is very prone to infection,” Tabitha said, returning her focus to her patient.
Wolf watched as bloody water spilled onto the towel. He still couldn’t believe Lily had been so seriously injured in the short time she’d been gone. She had never been hurt like this before. No broken bones, no stitches—nothing. And now, the one time he let her go off on her own, she nearly died. He knew the risks of infection with that type of injury. He’d done enough survival medicine to know the threat was real, and without IV antibiotics, she could very easily develop septicemia.
“Can you get me my suture kit?” Tabitha asked Regan, who once again dug in the tote and handed supplies into the van.
“You’re going to close it?” Wolf asked with shock.
“I’m going to suture the cut that’s above the point where the bone pierced the skin, and then we’ll set her arm. I won’t close the other injury. I’ll need to irrigate that twice a day. For now, we’ll keep it covered.”
He nodded his head. “We need antibiotics.”
Tabitha looked at him, a grim look on her face. “Yes, we do. It’s critical we find some now. No amount of cleaning this wound will combat the infection. It isn’t a matter of if, but when.”
Heather gently stroked Lily’s arm, whispering words of comfort to his daughter’s sleeping body. His gaze moved to Regan, who was digging in the tote again. She pulled out several packages of four-by-four gauze pads and handed them to Tabitha.
“Anything else?” Regan asked.
“You’ll need a splint,” Fred mumbled.
“I have a couple wooden spoons in the kitchen supplies,” Heather volunteered.
Fred moved to check the labels on the totes and boxes, and found the right one and began to dig in earnest, pulling out the two spoons.
“ACE bandage,” Tabitha ordered, sending Regan back into the medical supplies.
Wolf swallowed down his emotion, impressed at how well they were all handling the situation and working together. Everyone wanted to help in some way. It gave him a small bit of comfort to know Lily was well loved and cared for. Heather’s organization had certainly come in handy. He couldn’t imagine how much more stressful things would have been if anyone had had to search for several minutes or longer to get what they needed for Lily. In another situation, it could have meant the difference between life and death. Watching Tabitha work on his daughter, he decided he would never take organization for granted again. It was a more valuable skill than he’d recognized in the past.
They all stood quietly watching as Tabitha stitched up the gash on Lily’s arm. He could hear Geno suck in a breath each time Tabitha pierced Lily’s skin with the needle. The needle threading through Lily’s skin was hard to watch, but it wasn’t long before Tabitha had stitched it closed and carefully covered the area with a gauze bandage.
“Wolf, I need to set this bone. It might be a little uncomfortable for her. Can you please hold her legs? Heather, you hold her arm,” Tabitha ordered.
Wolf grimaced, the thought of his daughter being in more pain for another minute gutting him. The fact that he had to contribute to that pain was even harder to deal with. “Okay,” he rasped, putting his hands on her ankles.
“Regan, can you jump in here and help me? I need you to put those sticks alongside her arm while I wrap the elastic bandage around them and her arm.”
Regan climbed into the back of the van, being careful not to bounce the van or touch Lily as she managed to move in beside Tabitha. Only their small sizes made it possible. If it had been Wolf or any of the other men, they never would have been able to make it happen. Once again, he was grateful for the people in his group, and for things he’d never thought to be happy for.
“I’m ready,” Regan said, holding the spoons.
Wolf winced when Tabitha pulled on Lily’s wrist, causing Lily to
scream out in pain, her eyes jarring open in panic for a moment. His heart felt as if the very blood were being squeezed from it as he held his daughter’s legs down as she fought to get away from the pain. She jerked once and then passed out again.
He heard soft crying from behind him. He had no idea who it came from.
“The worst is over,” Tabitha whispered as she wrapped the bandage around the sticks that would keep Lily’s forearm mobilized.
He was glad it was Tabitha having to set the bone. He knew there was no way he would have been able to inflict that kind of pain on his daughter, even if it was for her own good. He’d seen the look on Tabitha’s face and knew it hurt her, as well, but she’d done it. She was a strong woman—stronger than he’d given her credit for, he realized now.
The three women carefully got out of the van, everyone staring at each other as they did.
Wolf finally let go of his daughter’s ankles and took a deep breath. “This should have never happened.”
“It was an accident,” Heather said softly.
Wolf turned to glare at her. “An accident that could have been prevented, had an adult been there.”
Heather shook her head. “You don’t know that.”
“How did it happen?” he asked Travis again.
The teen swallowed, but met his eyes. “We saw a car. I had already siphoned some gas from one car and Lily wanted to do the next. I told her I would do it, but she kept saying she wanted to. She took off running across the road. I was behind her, carrying the gas can that had maybe a gallon of gas in it. I didn’t want to run and spill any.”
Wolf nodded his head. “And?”
“And she turned to look at me without stopping, and then fell. She put her arm out to catch herself,” he whispered.
“This happened because she tripped and fell?” Wolf asked.
Travis nodded.
“See, it was an accident that could have happened anywhere,” Heather said in a placating tone.
Survivalist Reality Show: The Complete Series Page 62