by Karin Baine
Getting to the final was a big deal. The season tended to be pretty flat if it ended before they made it to Nottingham so the fact they’d made it all this way had left most of them on a high. With any luck they’d be taking the trip back home with some silverware so they didn’t have to come back down to earth too soon.
Gray motioned for silence again. ‘That being said...’
There was a collective groan as they waited for the kicker.
‘Tomorrow is another day, another game, and there’s no time for resting on our laurels. I want you all up bright and early for drill practice.’
Another groan went up. Although Gray didn’t linger on sentiment too long, pride was there in his grin. Somehow he managed to make Hunter feel a part of it all. That sense of belonging was something he’d been searching for a long time but he was afraid to embrace it. Nothing in his life had ever been secure for long and he wanted to change that for Alfie as well as himself.
Suddenly, there was a loud bang, followed by the screech of tyres as the bus jolted from side to side and the driver tried to regain control.
This wasn’t good.
Gray, who was still out of his seat, was flung to the floor but he was too far out of reach for Hunter to make a grab for him.
They seemed to gather speed, the confused shouts in the dark adding to the sense of disorientation. The coach veered off down some sort of embankment, branches clawing at the windows failing to slow them down. Glass smashed all around as gnarly limbs reached in and grabbed at the passengers inside.
He glanced over at Charlotte, who was hanging on to the armrest so hard her knuckles were white. He hated being this helpless, pinned by his seat belt as they hurtled at speed and unable to protect her. The driver was hitting the brakes and doing his best to swerve through the trees threatening their survival.
After what seemed an eternity of pinballing between obstacles in their path, there was another loud crash. Even Hunter was lifted out of his seat with the force of the impact as the vehicle hit its final resting place, wedged into a tree trunk.
For a few stunned seconds the only sound was the dying breath of the engine and the flickering headlights before they gave up the ghost and plunged them into complete darkness. He fumbled in his pocket for his cellphone to call for help but there was no signal. At least it came in handy as a torch if nothing else. Some of the others had had the same idea and fireflies of light began to appear in the shadows. He undid his seat belt and went to Charlotte first.
‘Are you okay?’ He shone the light in her face, forcing her to blink. She was pale but conscious and the relief was so overwhelming it was all he could do not to gather her up into his arms and hug her tight.
‘I’m fine. You?’
‘I’m good.’ Now he knew she wasn’t badly hurt.
‘Can you smell smoke?’
Hunter sniffed the air and swore. There was no mistaking that acrid odour slowly filling the bus and his lungs.
‘We need to see who’s been hurt.’ She unclipped her seat belt, her thoughts firmly on the welfare of everyone else.
‘We’ve got to get them as far from here as possible.’ From the front of the bus he could see the smoke curling out from beneath the crumpled hood and there was no time to waste.
The electrics were shot so he was forced to use brute strength to prise the doors open and let some much-needed air into the vehicle. He helped the driver stagger outside into the night first and went back to assist those who needed it.
‘Gray? Can you hear me?’ Charlotte was kneeling by Gray, checking his pulse. He was lying face down in the aisle, unmoving, and blocking the exit route for everyone else.
Hunter went cold at the thought of the injuries he could’ve sustained, tossed around like a ragdoll. Unlike everyone else, he’d been on his feet, unsecured and unprotected, as they’d bumped and smashed their way down the embankment. While Charlotte took care of Gray, he quickly checked the bus for other casualties but luckily everyone else seemed okay.
‘Guys, can you make your way out of the emergency exit at the back and get as far from the bus as you can, please?’ he shouted to those moving about at the back so they weren’t putting themselves in more danger by waiting here if there was a chance of fire on board.
He crouched down beside Charlotte, holding his own breath and waiting desperately to hear any sound of life coming from his friend on the floor.
There was a moan as Gray came to and let Hunter breathe again.
‘We have to get him out of here.’
‘We really shouldn’t move him until we know the extent of his injuries. He took quite a knock back there.’ The doctor in Charlotte protested about the proposed evacuation and he understood why—she didn’t want to exacerbate any injuries he’d already received, but they were fast running out of options.
‘Charlotte, we have to move. Now.’
She followed his gaze outside, where flames were already beginning to lick at the windscreen.
‘Okay, but we need to be careful.’
‘On the count of three we’ll roll him over onto his back. One...’
‘Two...’
‘Three.’
Charlotte cradled Gray’s head so he wasn’t jarred too much and Hunter eased him into a better position for them to help him. He was breathing at least and there was no sign of blood. That didn’t mean there weren’t any internal injuries but they couldn’t leave him here. Charlotte was already coughing violently and Hunter’s eyes were streaming from the effects of the smoke. If they left him here he’d die from smoke inhalation alone.
‘You come down this end and take his feet and I’ll do the heavy lifting.’ It was going to be awkward trying to get him off this bus in one piece but he knew neither of them were leaving without him.
With another count of three they managed to lift him off the floor. Charlotte backed down the aisle, steering Hunter towards the door with Gray’s full weight resting in his arms. His lungs burned with the effort as they stumbled their way down the couple of steps. They didn’t stop even when they got outside just in case there was a fuel leak that could see them all blown sky high.
‘Careful setting him down,’ Charlotte reminded him as they reached the road, where the rest of the guys were. A few of them bundled their jackets together to pull together a makeshift bed so at least they weren’t laying him directly on the cold, wet tarmac.
Hunter had never been as glad in his life to hear Gray groan as they set him down and he knew his stubborn friend would be okay.
‘Is everyone else here?’ Hunter yelled to the crowd standing at the side of the road.
‘We’ll do a head count.’ Charlotte made sure Gray was comfortable before she was back on her feet, giving everyone a provisional check-over and singling out those she suspected needed medical treatment. ‘You have some cuts on your face. There could be some glass left in there. Take a seat on that tree stump over there. Has anyone phoned for an ambulance?’
‘Wait, where’s Scotty?’ As far as Hunter could see at first glance the team was all here but their kit man was noticeably absent.
‘I thought he was behind us.’ Floret confirmed he’d been on the bus but there was no sign of him in this current line-up.
‘I’ll go back and look for him.’ He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he’d left someone behind in the wreckage.
‘Hunter, you can’t.’ He felt Charlotte’s hand on his arm but even her touch wasn’t enough to deter him from doing what was right. Scotty had family too and he knew if he’d been in the same position he’d want someone looking out for him.
‘I have to. I promise I’ll be careful.’
‘In that case, I’m coming with you.’ Charlotte stubbornly strode alongside him and he knew he was wasting time fighting a losing battle.
‘Scotty? Are you here?’ he bellowed as they reached the clearing where the bus was barely recognisable as anything other than a cloud of smoke.
‘Over there.’ Charlotte pointed towards a flash of colour in the midst of the grey, a small figure sitting huddled on the ground at the back of the bus.
‘Scotty? You can’t stay here. The bus is on fire.’ He hooked a hand under his elbow and helped him to his feet but the stunned kit man didn’t seem to grasp the severity of the situation.
‘Let’s go.’ Charlotte was there as always when he needed a hand and took Scotty’s other arm so they were able to hurry him away from the scene. As they climbed the embankment towards safety there was a loud bang and the sound of smashing glass as the fire took hold and blew out what was left of the windows. It had been a close call, as his pulse rate would attest to.
‘Scotty, are you all right? Talk to me.’
He heard the concern in Charlotte’s voice a fraction of a second before their patient’s legs went from beneath him and he collapsed, a deadweight in their arms. They had no choice but to fall to the ground with him only metres away from the road.
Charlotte felt his forehead. ‘His skin is clammy.’
She took his wrist. ‘His pulse is rapid and faint. I think he’s going into shock.’
Hunter positioned him on the ground so his head was low and his legs were raised and supported to increase the flow of blood to his head. Charlotte loosened the collar of his shirt to make it easier for him to breathe.
The distant sound of sirens filtered through the night.
‘We need to keep him warm.’ Charlotte whipped her jacket from around her shoulders and tucked it in around him. ‘The ambulance is on the way, Scotty. Give me a nod that you understand what’s happening.’
There was a small acknowledgement.
Charlotte was working hard to keep him engaged, checking his level of response, and Hunter knew it was because there was a danger this was more than emotional shock after the accident. It could also be a life-threatening medical condition as a result of insufficient blood flow through the body, leading to a heart attack or organ damage.
‘Hello?’ The crunch of forest debris underfoot and sweeping torch beams dancing in the distance signalled the arrival of the emergency services, guided by a few of the players.
‘We’re over here!’ Hunter shouted, and waved them over.
Charlotte gave the rundown of injuries, the most serious ones being Gray’s and Scotty’s. The paramedics ably took over, checking Scotty’s vitals and wrapping him in a warm blanket. As Hunter and Charlotte got up from the damp earth, she began shivering uncontrollably. He held her close, trying to transfer some body heat.
‘We should get you seen too.’
‘I’ll be all right. I just have to make sure the others get checked over at the hospital and I’ll go back to the hotel for a bath and bed. You should probably let Alfie know we’re okay in case the press gets hold of the news we’ve had an accident.’
‘I will as soon as I know you’re going to be okay.’ He was a little taken aback she was thinking about Alfie when she’d been so sure she didn’t want to be part of their family. That instinct to reassure him, the knowledge his welfare was the uppermost thought in her mind, said she was already invested in them both. It was a revelation that changed his own ideas about what was best for all of them. If there was a chance they could be together and work this out, he wanted to cling to it.
‘I can’t believe you followed me down here.’
‘I wasn’t just going to sit back and watch you get hurt, now, was I?’ She’d put herself at risk for him and Hunter struggled with the urge to kiss her. In that moment all that mattered was that she was safe. He brushed away bits of leaves and twigs that had become tangled in her hair along the way and the movement revealed a small cut on her forehead he’d missed up until now.
‘You’re hurt.’ He reached out and sticky blood coated his fingers.
‘I banged my head on the seat in front when we hit that tree. I’ll probably have an egg-shaped reminder in the morning.’ She moved her hair back over her face to hide it, as if that would somehow solve the problem.
‘You could have whiplash or concussion even. You know what could happen if that’s left untreated. Do you have any pain? Blurred vision?’ Head injuries, especially those caused by a high-impact crash, could lead to serious complications, ones he wasn’t going to risk.
‘Hey, who’s the doctor here? I think you’ve a tendency to overstep your jurisdiction, Mr Torrance.’ Her defences were back up as she stepped back from him and out of his hold.
Unfortunately, it was in that second her knees buckled and belied that she wasn’t as indestructible as she made out. Hunter made a grab for her before she could hit the ground and scooped her up into his arms. Despite her huge personality, she weighed virtually nothing and he was reminded of how vulnerable she really was despite her insistence otherwise. He wasn’t prepared to take any risks where her health was concerned.
She might claim she didn’t want him in her life but that didn’t mean he’d simply stop caring about her. She’d made an impression on his heart that could never be erased, even if he did move to London.
‘Let’s get you into the ambulance with the others.’ He carried her up through the trees himself, with no intention of leaving her until he knew she was safe.
* * *
Charlotte’s head was in a whirl and it wasn’t entirely down to the knock she’d taken in last night’s crash. Hunter’s words and actions towards her simply didn’t marry. One minute she was finding out he was planning a move to London with no thought for her, the next he was refusing to leave her hospital bedside, playing the role of a concerned partner. It wasn’t fair when she was supposed to be getting used to not having him around. How could she remain aloof and disinterested in someone who was so clearly passionate about helping others, and about her?
He’d stayed with her until she’d been discharged in the early hours of the morning when she’d assured the medical staff she’d return if any other symptoms of concussion occurred. Gray had been kept in for observation and apparently they’d run a battery of tests on Scotty too. When she’d begged the nurses for information they’d told her he was on an IV for fluid resuscitation to raise his blood pressure again and they were looking at an ECG and bloods to determine any underlying heart problems. A bump on the head seemed minor in comparison but Hunter had insisted she get checked over too.
He’d even offered to stay with her back at the hotel—on the floor, of course—in case she needed him during the night. She hadn’t accepted his offer because one night simply wasn’t enough any more. She wanted for ever. For too long she’d been denying she was in love with the man because she’d known it would bring her nothing but heartache, and she’d been right. When she’d found out about the job in London the sense of betrayal, the knowledge he would happily abandon her in pursuit of his ego, had turned her into that wounded, lonely girl again.
In the end she hadn’t even had breakfast with him. He’d been a complete no-show for the meal with the team, and was still missing here at training. Uneasiness settled heavily in her stomach along with the few bites of toast she’d managed. She knew where he was, he was off making great plans for his future in London without her.
Last night had proved to her how far she’d fallen for him because she’d never been as scared in her life as she’d been when he’d said he was going back to that bus. She didn’t want to imagine her life without him in it if something had happened to him. It didn’t matter because she hadn’t fought any harder than he had to save the relationship and he’d taken that as her acceptance of his choice to leave.
If she’d only told him she was in love with him, that she wanted to spend every day with him and Alfie, he might’ve stayed, but she’d been too scared
to take that risk and she’d lost him anyway. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at her own stupidity, continuing to let the past overshadow the good things in her life now, and in the early hours of the morning it had been a hideous combination of both.
There was one familiar face waiting at the arena for practice but it wasn’t the one she’d hoped to see.
‘Gray? What on earth are you doing here?’
‘The same as everyone else, I expect,’ he said, coming to watch the drills out on the ice alongside her.
She rolled her eyes at him. ‘You know very well what I mean. What are you doing out of hospital?’
‘They sent me home so someone who actually needed a bed could have one.’ He folded down one of the seats and gingerly sat down, clutching his right side.
‘Hmm. Well, if they actually discharged you I’m sure they told you to rest.’ She doubted his version of events. If nothing else, they were supposed to notify her when he was released to avoid this very situation.
‘Nothing’s broken, just a couple of badly bruised ribs.’ He adjusted his position and sucked in a breath even with that minimal effort.
‘I’m sure it’s still painful though.’ It didn’t take a doctor to know that sitting all day in an uncomfortable chair in a cold arena wasn’t going to help a rib injury.
He patted his jacket pocket. ‘I’ve got my painkillers right here. It’ll take more than a few bruised ribs for me to miss this game.’
‘Well, take it as easy as you can.’ Which was akin to asking a lion not to roar, but she was well aware nothing she said would persuade him to rest and aid healing.
‘How are the rest of the guys? Are they fit enough to win?’
‘They’re a bit shaken up, battered and bruised, but there’s nothing to rule them out of playing. Scotty got the all-clear too but he’s doing the sensible thing and staying in bed, like he was told.’
It might be harder to keep their minds on the game after the shock of the crash. Although now Gray was here it would be a relief for them to see him and he’d certainly be a motivator to get them going. That only left one of their party MIA.