Caught Inside

by Mandi Greenwood

  After what seemed like a lifetime, they heard him call out. 'Okay,' he bellowed. 'Hold tight. I'll tell you when to pull.'

  Aisley's palms were sweating and the rope kept slipping through her hands. She noticed Chandra had twisted it twice around his hands for a tighter grip, so she did the same. It was a bit better, but she still didn't know how they were going to have a happy ending here. Her feet kept sliding on the dirt path, even after she doubled her efforts. She strained on the rope. This was like a bad dream.

  Cate yelped as the rope cut into her palms, but she didn't let go. They heard Willa cry out with pain.

  'Okay,' Stewart yelled. 'Oh crap, she's fainted! Pull us up now!'

  They pulled as hard as they could. Chandra was worth both of the girls strength-wise, but he was struggling too. The rope wasn't moving backwards at all now that two people were hanging off it.

  'Chandra!' Stewart shouted. 'Come on, man! My arse is out in the wind here!'

  'Trying,' Chandra panted.

  Despite their best efforts, the rope started to pull the three of them closer to the edge.

  Things were starting to look bleak when all of a sudden Archie came dashing up the path towards them. Without a word, he seized the rope and finally they stopped sliding towards the edge. But it still wasn't enough and progress was too slow. Aisley could feel her strength failing. Her arms were trembling like crazy and she bit her lip so hard she could taste blood. She could hear Cate panting behind her, and once more she wondered how this could possibly end well.

  Like a miracle, Lucan arrived with Freya's father. With two more helping, the rope was dragged up with ridiculous ease.

  Stewart reached the top quickly with Willa sagging in his arms like a big rag-doll and as soon as his auburn hair appeared beyond the crumbling edge of the path, Chandra left the rope pulling to the others. He grabbed the shoulders of Stewart's t-shirt and yanked him and Willa up onto solid ground, tearing Stewart's t-shirt in the process. All three of them ended up in a tangled heap on the path until Chandra dragged himself free of the other two and crawled out of the way.

  Aisley sobbed with relief. It was over! She dropped the rope, her palms on fire.

  Willa was still unconscious, as white as a sheet with the lower part of her left leg bent at an abnormal angle. Just looking at it made Aisley feel like she was going to be sick.

  Puffing and panting, Stewart got untangled and helped Freya's dad gently lay Willa out on the path. 'Willa?' he said, shaking her. 'Can you hear me?'

  'Her leg is broken,' Mr Biddy said. 'It's probably a good thing she's fainted.'

  Stewart took one of Willa's dirt-caked hands in both of his and chaffed it absently.

  Freya appeared, hurrying up the forest path towards them. 'The ambulance is coming down the hill,' she called. 'How is she?'

  'Awful,' Stewart groaned. 'She's a mess!'

  'Once she gets some medical help she'll be fine,' said Mr Biddy encouragingly. 'I'm going back to the clearing so the ambo's can see exactly where we are.' He jogged briskly down the path.

  The rest of them waited in a loose circle around the unconscious Willa.

  Pancakes and Painkillers

  Willa was strapped onto a stretcher and carried the relatively short distance to the ambulance. By then, she'd regained consciousness. She was in a lot of pain and she cried out every time she was moved. The medics gave her a pain-killing injection and by the time she was settled in the back of the ambulance, she'd relaxed and was half asleep.

  Stewart climbed in to the ambulance. He wanted to go to the hospital with her and nobody could talk him out of it. Freya went with her dad back up to the house. She was going to help her mum gather up Willa's things and take them along to the hospital.

  Aisley, Chandra and Lucan stood at the edge of the clearing, watching the ambulance bump its slow way back up the access road. Cate stood nearby, and Archie sat on a fallen tree stump. Nobody said anything for a little while. They were all worn out from the morning's drama.

  Drew came strolling casually down the grass path, hands in his pockets. 'Is the crisis over?' he called cheerfully.

  'Nice of you to come and help,' Archie muttered.

  Drew spread his hands. 'You know what they say,' he replied. 'Too many cooks and all that.'

  'Speaking of cooks,' said Lucan. 'Is there much in the way of food in that kitchen? It's breakfast time.'

  Aisley stared at him in amazement. Was it only breakfast time? How was that possible? 'I feel like I've been up for hours,' she said. 'I can't believe it's only…' She contemplated her bare wrist.

  'Seven o'clock,' Lucan told her.

  Only one hour had gone by since Cate and Archie woke them up. So much had happened!

  'There's heaps of food in the kitchen,' Archie told Lucan. 'I checked it out last night.'

  'Well,' said Lucan. 'If anybody is interested, I can cook my world-famous pancakes for breakfast?'

  'Yes!' Drew punched the air. 'I'm interested!'

  'I wasn't hungry until you mentioned food,' Cate said. 'Now I could eat an elephant.'

  Drew took her hand. 'I'm pretty sure elephants are off the menu.' He kissed her on the cheek.

  'Just a pancake then,' Cate said smiling at him. Aisley was surprised. She'd obviously been wrong thinking Cate was getting over him.

  'I can transform Lucan's pancakes into Eggs Benedict if that turns you on,' Drew was saying. 'It's the only thing I remember from Food Technology.'

  'You can cook?' Cate flirted. 'Who knew?'

  'Well, let's say I know how to make it look good.'

  'The perfect man, huh?'

  'You tell me?' He reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear.

  It was all too much for poor Archie. He dragged his feet over to the edge of the clearing and stood with his back to the others. Aisley watched him go, her heart hurting for him.

  Cate walked away with Drew and Lucan, climbing the path up to the house.

  Aisley's hands were still stinging and she took a tentative look at them. Her palms were red and puffy from rope-burn but she thought they'd be okay. She just had the insatiable urge to dip them in ice water and make them go hisssss!

  'How are your hands,' she asked, looking at Chandra properly for the first time since the drama began. 'Chandra? What's wrong?' Archie looked around at the tone of her voice.

  'It's okay,' grunted Chandra, clearly meaning the opposite. He sat down on the stump Archie had vacated, his face tight with pain.

  Aisley put her hand on his shoulder. 'It's not okay,' she argued. 'You don't look okay at all. You look awful.'

  'Gee, thanks.'

  'You know what I mean.' She crouched down in front of him, trying to catch his eye. 'What is it? Are you sick?'

  'My hands.' They were clenched into loose fists and he was holding them in mid-air in front of him like they were made of glass.

  Aisley took one of his hands in hers and forced it open. 'Oh no!' she gasped. She opened the other one as well. His palms were shredded, all bloody and cut to ribbons from the rope. He'd been at the front, taking most of the weight and she clearly remembered the ropes twisted twice around his hands. Now they looked like someone had tried to remove the skin! It was no wonder he was in such agony.

  'Damn, what a mess,' mumbled Archie taking a closer look.

  Chandra was making no effort to act brave now, and his teeth were clenched in pain.

  'You said nothing,' Aisley said.

  'Willa was the one in trouble,' he muttered. 'This is just a few cuts and grazes.'

  'Skip the macho bullshit,' said Archie, solemnly.

  'Ditto that!' Aisley agreed. 'We should go and raid the first aid box in a major way. Can you walk?'

  Despite his pain, Chandra managed to smile. 'It's my hands, Ais,' he told her. 'Not my feet.'

  'Smarty dick!' She was relieved he was with it enough to make a joke.

  Chandra stood up. For all his bravado, he was quite pale and staggered a step or two before Archie g
rabbed hold of him. 'Bit o' shock happenin' I do believe.' Archie adopted a Texas drawl. 'Lean on old doc' Evans, son, and we'll make it back to the homestead 'afore dark.'

  With Archie for support Chandra managed to walk back up to the house but by the time he got there he was trembling so much that his teeth were chattering.

  Lucan was behind the breakfast bar, cooking up a storm when they arrived, and Drew was clattering around in the cupboards. Cate was perched on a barstool, watching hungrily as Lucan poured batter and turned bacon. The house smelled divine. They even had the coffee maker bubbling.

  Archie deposited Chandra carefully on the couch while Aisley hurried to the bathroom to see what she could find in the way of bandages. By the time she returned he was leaning against the cushions with his eyes shut, his hands resting palms up on his knees. He was still trembling.

  By now, the others were fully aware of Chandra's predicament and Cate was looking a bit green. 'Ew gross,' she moaned. 'I don't think I can eat my Eggs Benedict now.'

  Archie fetched a wet cloth and dabbed cautiously at Chandra's wounds making him hiss in pain. 'Sorry,' Archie muttered. 'But if there are bits of rope left in there they'll get even nastier.'

  'I know, I know,' Chandra muttered, opening his eyes. 'Don't worry. Just ignore me. I'm being a wuss.'

  'Not!' barked Cate from her barstool. 'Lordy, lordy!'

  'What she said,' Lucan added. 'Your hands look like mincemeat.'

  'Errk!' Cate screwed up her nose. 'Now I definitely don't want my breakfast!'

  Aisley rummaged in the first aid kit and Archie watched as she used antiseptic and bound Chandra's hands in white gauze. 'Not too shabby, Ais,' he said.

  'Thanks.' She smiled at him. When she was finished, Chandra appeared to be wearing a pair of white mittens and he waved them in the air for everyone to see.

  'I'm fixed,' he said.

  Drew snorted. He was feeding his face with a pancake smothered in honey. 'You can't do anything with them,' he said, his mouth full. 'But damn, you look good!'

  'No flag waving,' added Lucan, flipping another pancake. 'No push-ups and no abseiling.

  Archie grinned. 'No yo-yo's for a while,' he said, stretching out his legs and putting his feet up on the coffee table. 'No smacking, and definitely no playing the paper, scissors, and rock game!'

  'No clapping,' Aisley said, warming to the theme. 'No handstands or cartwheels.'

  'Sorry to be a misery guts,' said Cate. She'd obviously rediscovered her appetite and was devouring the Eggs Benedict that Drew had made for her. 'But in all seriousness… no surfing… for a little while, anyway.'

  Chandra looked crestfallen at that thought. Aisley knew he and Stewart had been planning to surf as much as they could over the next week of the holidays. Well, that wasn't going to happen now. Although she suspected with Willa in the hospital, surfing might be the last thing on Stewart's mind anyway. She patted his knee sympathetically.

  'Oh well,' Chandra murmured, leaning his head back on the cushions again. 'I'll survive.'

  Aisley got up and made a cup of tea for him. She made it strong with two sugars to help with the shock, but when she tried to hand it to him, she realised he couldn't take it.

  'No cup holding,' he said sadly as she put the cup on the coffee table.

  She gave him a sympathetic hug. 'Don't worry,' she told him. 'I'll do anything for you that you can't do for yourself. You can count on me, okay.'

  'Thanks.' He smiled gratefully at her.

  Archie laughed. 'Gosh, Ais,' he said. 'I really hope for your sake that he doesn't need to go to the toilet anytime soon! You just might regret that offer.'

  Everyone had a bit of a chuckle but Aisley was defiant. 'I don't care,' she said firmly. 'He needs a nurse and I'm it. That includes going to the toilet, and eating and showering and… whatever else he needs!'

  Chandra gave her a look, his brown eyes full of appreciation. 'That's really nice of you, Ais. You're amazing. How did I get so lucky?'

  Archie gagged loudly. 'Oh please,' he cried. 'Enough! You'll put me off my food.' He got up and went over to the breakfast bar. 'Speaking of which, are there any pancakes left?'

  Lucan passed him a stack and Archie took them and perched on the vacant stool next to Cate.

  She gave him a dark look. 'Trust you to bring up the toilet humour,' she muttered.

  'What?' He spread his hands. 'If the man's gotta go then he's gotta go. And believe me, at some stage he will need to go.' He drowned his pancakes in maple syrup and grinned at her. 'That's nature.'

  Cate rolled her eyes.

  Soon after that, Freya rang to tell them Willa definitely had a broken leg and collarbone and would be in the hospital for a few days. 'Her mum and dad just got here,' she said. 'Stewart and I are heading back soon.'

  'Why did she even go out there in the middle of the night in the first place?' Lucan wanted to know. He'd taken the rest of his breakfast to the couch next to Chandra and Aisley

  'She told me she wanted to pretend to be lost,' Aisley said. 'But she couldn't see in the dark and that was why she fell.'

  Lucan was puzzled. 'Why would she pretend to be lost?'

  'To make Stewart worry,' Aisley explained. 'She figured if he was worried enough then he'd be so relieved to find her safe that they'd get back together again.'

  Drew looked appalled. 'This whole drama was about getting back with Stewart? She's one messed up chick. Seriously.'

  'Well, he really cares about her,' Aisley shrugged. 'I'm not saying it was a good idea, but where is he now? At the hospital. Maybe her plan has worked after all.'

  'He's mad,' Drew said shortly.

  'You can't help being attracted to someone,' said Lucan. 'You fall in too deep before you realise you can't swim.'

  'Nice analogy,' Archie told him. He glanced quickly at Cate and she looked back at him. There was an electric moment between them that everyone in the room felt, then she turned away and the moment ended.

  'Willa has issues,' said Aisley quietly. 'She needs friends, not critics.'

  'Stewart is better off without her,' Drew said stubbornly.

  'Because you're the expert on relationships, right?' Archie muttered.

  Drew looked at him. 'Do we still have a problem, Arch?'

  'Nope.' Archie shrugged. He leaned his elbows on the breakfast bar and peered into his coffee mug. 'Just saying.'

  Somehow it got to be afternoon. Chandra sat out beside the pool with Stewart. They were watching Aisley, Cate, and Freya verse Archie, Lucan, and Drew in a bizarre game of water volleyball in the pool. Archie was wearing a pair of outrageously large novelty sunglasses he'd found in the kitchen drawer earlier.

  Stewart had opted to sit out to keep Chandra company. Also, he was wasted after the morning crisis. 'Why are hospitals such depressing places?' he complained.

  Chandra stretched out on his banana lounge. 'Might have something to do with all the sick people in them,' he guessed. 'But then again, people get better in them too, so look on the bright side, you pool-side pessimist.'

  'Is that anything like a pathetic poo-poo head?' Stewart gave him a crooked smile.

  'Is that anything like a pathetic poo-poo head?' Stewart gave him a crooked smile.

  Chandra smirked. 'Say that three times fast,' he challenged.

  'That three times fast.'

  Chandra tried to flip his middle finger at him and then realised it was something else he couldn't do, and that made Stewart laugh.

  'Piss off,' said Chandra serenely.

  They sat in silence for a while and Stewart's smile faded. 'Sitting in that waiting room made me want to slit my wrists,' he said morosely. He opened a can of Coke and swallowed half of it at once.

  'You were gung-ho this morning,' Chandra said, changing the subject. 'You had the whole action-hero thing down. Most impressive.'

  'Thanks.' Stewart looked at the volleyball game without really seeing it. 'Truth is though I sort of acted without thinking. If I'd stopped to give it some
thought, there is no way I would've gone over that cliff.' He shuddered, remembering. 'You just push on and do what you have to do, right?'

  'Mm hm,' Chandra agreed. He thought of swimming out to save Wade the year before. At night, in bad weather … yep. He'd have lost his nerve if he'd had time to think about it too. Sometimes he dreamt about that night, and in his dreams he always lost his grip on Wade and couldn't save him. In his dreams, Wade got washed away and all Chandra could do was tread water and watch helplessly. He didn't tell Aisley about those bad dreams. He was fairly sure she'd had her own nightmares regarding that night.

  'Sorry about your hands, man.' Stewart pulled Chandra back from his thoughts.

  He waved his white mittens. 'Not your fault,' he said. 'Next time I rescue someone I'll remember to bring my gloves of steel.'

  'They're pretty painful though, huh?'

  'Better than they were,' Chandra replied truthfully. 'I popped some painkillers.'

  'It was smart of Ais to think of the rope,' Stewart said. 'When Cate rang and told us to grab one I could've kicked myself for not thinking of it first.'

  Chandra nodded.

  In the pool, Aisley accidentally splashed Drew in the face and he retaliated by grabbing her around the middle. He held on a bit longer than necessary but she eventually fought free and waded to the far end of the pool, well out of his reach.

  'Did you see that?' Stewart asked. 'You cool with him being all over Ais?'

  'Not particularly,' replied Chandra mildly. He held up his bandaged hands. 'But I think I'll pass on knocking him out,' he joked.

  'I'll knock him out on your behalf,' Stewart frowned. 'He's a real douche these days.'

  Drew kept his hands to himself after that and Chandra relaxed and watched the volleyball game. He was completely mystified. 'Can you figure out the rules here?' he asked.

  Stewart was at a complete loss and shook his head. 'No idea,' he said, watching Cate whack the ball to Lucan. 'Isn't the aim to beat the other team?'

  'Usually.'

  As they watched, Lucan politely returned the ball to Aisley, who in turn passed it to Archie.