EMPulse

by Deborah D. Moore

  “What about his hands?”

  “I think he must have had his left hand under his body, and that little body heat helped. I removed only the tip of the pinky. The rest will be fine. His right hand is another story. The tips of all four fingers were lost down to the first knuckle, and the tip of the thumb is gone. I’ll keep an eye on that hand for another week to see if that was the extent of the damage.”

  “Speaking of another week, are you going to be okay in here for that long?” Claude asked.

  “No, we’re not. That heater is great, though it is barely keeping it fifty degrees in here. We’re going to have to figure something else, Claude, and soon. I’m open to any ideas you have.”

  “I’m going to scout the houses close to Main Street, see what’s empty that has wood heat. I can’t get you moved for a few days though, not with this storm coming in,” the sheriff said.

  “I can hold out for a few more days. Oh, and we lost Mabel this morning, so there are only four patients to move, plus some equipment.”

  ***

  During the short walk home, Claude noticed the increase of wind and then the snow began to fall. The afternoon storm hit with a fury common to the Rocky Mountains.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  Dr. Sam Cory made his rounds in the early daylight. The storm was still howling after three days, and the daylight was merely a brighter hue to the blankness of the snow.

  Kyle moaned softly when he tried moving.

  “Mr. Polez, are you awake?” the doctor asked cautiously. “Kyle?” he asked again, hoping the more familiar name might rouse the patient.

  Kyle blinked his eyes and looked around. “Where am I?” he croaked out and winced with pain.

  “Don’t try to talk yet,” Dr. Cory warned. “Your throat is likely dry and sore. I’ll bring you some water.” Soon after, the nurse, Nancy Tibbs, was at his side with a bottle of water and a flexible straw.

  “Take only small sips to start, Mr. Polez, not too much.” She held the straw to his lips, his pale blue eyes fixed on her face and her short blonde hair. “Yes, that’s good, just a little more.” She set the bottle on the table next to him and backed away, his eyes followed her.

  “Does your throat feel better now?” Dr. Cory asked.

  Kyle nodded. “Where?”

  “You’re in a hospital in the town of Avon, Montana. You were found buried in the snow at the outer edge of an avalanche. Do you remember any of that?”

  Kyle shook his head and closed his eyes briefly. They called him Kyle and that sounded familiar but he couldn’t remember anything else. “How long?” he whispered.

  “You’ve been here for over a week now. It was pretty touch and go there for a while. You were half frozen when the sheriff brought you in. You were lucky they found you when they did. Another twelve hours and you would’ve been dead.” The doctor stood. “You rest now. I’ll be back later.” He picked up the chart hanging from the metal post at the end of the bed and walked to abandoned desk where he could sit and make notes on Kyle’s progress.

  Kyle looked around the room, noting the high ceiling and stainless, unlit light fixtures. There were two other beds that he could see, although there could be more, he couldn’t move his head far. The air smelled cool and oily to him. He closed his eyes and was quickly asleep.

  ***

  “Do you think he’ll be alright, Sam?” Ellen asked, placing her hands on his shoulders, massaging them gently.

  “It’s too early to tell. Physically he might recover, although the real test will be mentally, when discovers the amputations.” Sam swiveled the chair to face her. She leaned down and gently kissed him.

  “I wish we didn’t have to keep our marriage a secret, Sam,” Ellen frowned.

  They’d had a small wedding over the summer, and decided it best to stay quiet about it lest the hospital administrators transferred one of them.

  “As soon as Claude gets us moved into a house and we get the patients settled, we’ll tell everyone. How’s that?”

  “I’d like that.” She backed away when she heard Nancy pushing the morning cart down the hall.

  ***

  Allison stood gazing out at the falling snow. “Claude, does it look like it’s letting up some to you?” she asked hopefully.

  He came up behind her, sliding his arms around her waist, and rested his chin on the top of her blonde head. “Actually, it does. This has been a long snowstorm, and I’m ready for it to end.”

  “Me too,” Henry said from the table where they had all just finished their lunch of soup and toast. “I like you two, but I’m getting tired of gin rummy.”

  Two hours later the snow had completely stopped, although the wind continued to push the drifts around until midnight. The stars sparkled in the night sky brighter than anyone remembered.

  ***

  Henry and Claude tramped through the knee deep snow to the town offices. By nine in the morning the sun was blinding in its brilliance, making both wish they had not forgotten their sunglasses.

  “Three days without heat in here could mean trouble for the plumbing,” Henry said.

  “Nope, I already drained the pipes. I’ll get a fire going and then we need to check out a couple of houses on Main or near Main for the hospital to move into. They aren’t going to last much longer where they are.”

  “Did you also ask Mike to bring his horses back in after the storm was over?”

  “Got it done, Henry, stop worrying. I do need to find someone to relieve the deputy I had stay to guard the pharmacy, though. Once we move them, they should be safer.”

  ***

  “Doc, we’ve found a four bedroom bungalow with a loft and a basement. It was one of the homes occupied by snowbirds, and I doubt they’ll be coming back any time soon,” Henry explained to Sam Cory.

  “Excellent! When can I see it?”

  “We can go right now, it’s only a few blocks away, just off Main on Carlisle,” Claude replied. “And the best part is it’s mostly furnished.”

  “Doctor, Mr. Polez is awake again and complaining about the pain in his hands,” Nancy said.

  “Can we talk to him?” Claude asked.

  “Let me check him over first, and give him a shot of morphine, then you can question him. You can come with me now if you like, just hang back, okay?” Dr. Cory led them to the far side of the room and stepped around a modesty screen. “Mr. Polez, I’m glad to see you awake again. The nurse said you’re experiencing some pain. Where?”

  “My right hand. I can’t move my fingers and they really hurt,” Kyle complained.

  “I see. I’ll give you something for the pain and then we need to talk,” the doctor said. “This is Sheriff Claude Burns, who found you, and this is Mayor Henry Hawkins. They’d like to ask you a few questions.” Sam Cory backed away to give Ellen room to administer the shot. Kyle stared at her quietly. Something about her blonde hair was familiar to him.

  “Mr. Polez, do you remember anything about the avalanche? We found you buried about a half mile south of the Geo Dome Resort,” Claude asked.

  “I can’t help you, Sheriff. They say my name is Kyle Polez, and it sounds familiar, but I don’t remember anything else.”

  “Kyle, remember that I said you were half frozen when they brought you in? I meant that literally. I’m going to remove the bandages from your right hand. There was extensive damage from frostbite,” Dr. Sam talked as he cut away the wrapping, exposing the inch and a half nubs that used to be his fingers.

  Kyle gasped at all the stitches covering what remained of his hand, and then he passed out from shock.

  “Ellen, I want you to keep him sedated. I’m going to look at this house they have for us.”

  Dr. Sam left with Claude and Henry.

  ***

  “The place is perfect, Ellen. There are three bedrooms
on the main floor; two have two twin beds and the other has bunk beds. I think we can take those down and make that a surgery. There’s the upstairs loft that we can use, and the finished basement would be a good place for the pharmacy and any other staff, like Nancy,” Dr. Sam said to his wife. “Since the wood burner is in the living room, I think for now we should line up the beds there to take advantage of the heat. Those bedrooms might be too cold right now, although they’ll be fine after the weather breaks.”

  “The couple that lived there had a lot of family that would vacation with them and set it up for drop in guests. The living room might eventually make a good waiting room or reception area,” Claude said.

  “Where are the owners now?” Ellen asked.

  “They’re snowbirds, and I think they winter in Arizona. They stopped at my office to tell me they were leaving, so I know they left in October,” Claude answered. “I don’t keep track of where everyone goes, though. We have around five hundred that leave for the winter. I usually get cellphone numbers in case of an emergency, but cells don’t tell me where they are.”

  Four of the community women cleaned the house quickly, moved and made all the beds, readying them for the patients. The move took the rest of the day once Mike came into town with the wagon and his team of horses.

  ***

  “Since you’ll be staying at the house too, Nancy, we wanted you to be the first to know something,” Dr. Sam said.

  “Sam and I got married last July,” Ellen said. “We’ve been keeping it quiet, but there isn’t any need to anymore.”

  “I’m so happy for you,” Nancy said, giving them both a joyous hug. “I’ve noticed how chummy you two seem, so it makes sense to me now. And thank you for telling me first.”

  ***

  Jerry Collins sat in his wheelchair at the kitchen table playing solitaire and waiting for his daughter Mae to come home. He heard the back door open.

  “It’s about time you got home. I messed in my pants again; you need to clean me up right now!” he demanded. She came up behind him and smoothed his wiry gray hair down. Suddenly she grabbed a fist full of the thin hair and jerked his head back. In one quick move she drew the straight-razor across his throat, ending his constant complaining.

  Mae dropped the razor in the kitchen sink and left.

  ***

  Dr. Cory let himself into the café where his friend Mae worked. Her eyes lit up when she saw him and quickly checked her reflection to make sure her makeup was still perfect. She knew he was older than her, and that it wasn’t right to fall in love with your doctor, but she had.

  “Hi, Dr. Cory. I haven’t seen much of you since this power thing. It’s good to see you.” Mae tried to be as cordial as possible while her heart beat erratically just being near him. “Can I get you some coffee?”

  “No thanks, Mae. I came for a favor.”

  “Anything for you, Sam,” she slipped, calling him by his first name, something she did only in her fantasies.

  “We’re going to have a small reception at our new location, and I’d like it if you could come up with some simple catering for the event. It’s a double celebration, really.” His eyes twinkled with inner happiness. “The moving of the hospital of course, and the announcement that Ellen and I got married.”

  “M-m-married?” Mae stammered. Her fantasy world began to crumble.

  “We were married last July, but we’ve kept it a secret. Now that we don’t have to, we’re going to announce it to everyone. You’re one of the first to know.”

  “Married,” she repeated quietly, struggling to keep a neutral expression. “Congratulations, Dr. Cory. I’ll see what I can come up with.” Her grip on reality started to slip even more. “Oh, and can I ask you to stop and see my dad? He’s been complaining about his chest hurting again. I don’t like leaving him alone all the time. Since I have to be here, though, I don’t have much choice. Opening up at seven in the morning and then not having anyone to relieve me makes for a really long day.”

  “Of course I will. Your place is only a few houses down now. I’ll stop on my way back,” Sam said. “And, Mae, thanks. You’re a good friend.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  Geo Dome

  Jeff and Adele made their way to the other dome across the freshly fallen snow. The recent blizzard had dumped twenty inches on them and their snowshoes sunk eight inches with each step.

  “Come on in, boss-man,” Aaron said, opening the door. “That was some storm. We’ll have a lot of digging out to do to get back into the workshop.”

  “Which brings up a question, Aaron. Have you gotten any closer to the water heater issue?” Jeff asked, accepting a cup of coffee from Gwen.

  “Yes and no,” he answered. “I’ve carefully disassembled our water tank brain box over the past few days for something to do. However, when the circuits were fried so was the heating element. Sorry to say, I can’t get them working again. I’m going to try the stove next, but I’m thinking that has even more complicated wiring, so I don’t have high hopes.”

  “That’s disappointing.” Jeff sighed. “At least you tried.”

  “Now that the snow has stopped and we can get out again, I’d like to cook us a nice dinner,” Chet said, hoping to cheer up everyone. “Do you remember what tomorrow is?”

  “Tomorrow?” Adele furrowed her forehead in thought.

  Chet grinned. “It’s New Year’s Eve!”

  ***

  “How is it we still have so much wine, Jeff?” Adele asked as they were selecting the various wines to go with dinner.

  “I had already restocked the cellar before Thanksgiving, getting ready for the winter season. Winter here is just as busy as summer, only I usually have more couples and fewer families, and I’m always at capacity. That’s twelve hotel rooms and six domes, which is a minimum of eighteen couples per day. There are only seven of us now. The wine will last a long time,” Jeff explained. “Chet suggested two bottles of white, three of red, and three champagnes. That’s more than a bottle person. I think it’s going to be a tipsy party.” He laughed.

  “Do you know what he’s preparing?”

  “Nope, I do know it’s going to be great though. Chet really is an amazing chef. I’m lucky to have hired him away from a place in New York. Of course, I doubled his salary to do it.”

  “Did you double Aaron’s salary, too?”

  “I didn’t have to. Aaron and I went to school together. We’ve been best friends for a long time, ever since we were kids. I think he would work for free just to work here doing whatever he wants to. That I won millions of dollars is secondary, the bond is our friendship,” Jeff said, wheeling the heavy cart to the recently dug out entrance.

  Back at the condo where dinner would be, they pushed the champagne and the white wine into a mound of snow to chill and took the red inside.

  At seven o’clock, Jeff and Adele snowshoed the short distance to join their friends. Adele had insisted on wearing a skirt and was forced to walk a bit slower than normal to hold the hem up so she wouldn’t trip.

  Jeff uncorked the well chilled chardonnay to serve with the crab-stuffed pasta appetizer, and the pureed pumpkin soup.

  “Save room for the main course,” Chet warned. In the center of the large wooden table he placed a whole tenderloin, seasoned and grilled to perfection, garnished with jarred spiced crabapple slices and a side dish of cheesy potato puffs. Jeff poured the red wine for everyone.

  With dinner over and full champagne flutes now in front of everyone, Walter stood to propose a toast.

  “I want to take this opportunity to thank each one of you for taking me in like you did. You would have been in your rights to shoot me. Now, I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but I’m going to leave.”

  The protests and questions came from everyone.

  “Please, let me finish,” Walter said.
“Gwen and I have decided to walk into Avon tomorrow. It’s only ten miles, so we should make it easily in one day.”

  “Why?” Adele asked, looking at Gwen.

  “It’s so hard not knowing what’s going on,” she pleaded. “What if things are back to normal elsewhere?”

  “What if they’re worse, Gwen?” Beth said.

  “Then they’re worse, and we might be back.” Gwen brushed a tear from her cheek. “You have all been so wonderful to me, but I miss my family. I want to try and reach them.”

  ***

  The sun rose in the morning to a brilliant blue sky. In spite of the gorgeous weather, the day was somber.

  “I’ve packed several sandwiches for you,” Chet said, obviously distressed, “and bottles of water.” He set the two full backpacks on the table and stepped back.

  “You’ll need these,” Jeff said, handing them two pairs of sunglasses.

  Aaron stood in front of them, checking out their gear. “Boots are good, jackets look appropriate, two pair of gloves, and hats with ear flaps. Good.” He put his hands on his hips and glared at the two. “I don’t like this one bit, not one bit. Please, be careful.” His lower lip quivered ever so slightly.

  Adele and Beth took their turns giving hugs and then helped with the backpacks.

  “When you get into town, go to the town offices and find Sheriff Burns. He’ll help you,” Jeff said. “And you can come back, anytime you want to.”

  The five remaining survivors kept their eyes on the pair until they were out of sight.

  ***

  Ten hours later, Gwen and Walter were snowshoeing down the middle of Main Street and went into the Sheriff’s office.