“Do you know if my parents had heard yet that we were missing? Have you been in touch with them? I’m kind of worried that they’ve been worried about us.”
The firefighter gave a short laugh. “Oh, yeah—they’ve been worried about you, alright! And the rangers aren’t too happy with you, either!”
Dan looked miserable but didn’t try to defend their actions to the man. He and Pete exchanged glances. “Have you notified Patti’s parents that we found her?” he simply asked.
“The rangers weren’t sure. The radio transmission they got from you this morning was so garbled, it was hard to tell what you were saying. But they thought you were trying to tell us that you’d found her and that everyone was okay. They passed the word along to her parents and yours. That gave them some hope. But of course, they don’t know you’ve been in the middle of a forest fire since then!”
“Could you please radio them now that we’re safe and on our way down?” Dan asked.
“Already been done, son, as soon as we recognized you coming out of the smoke! We’re going to make a quick stop at the ranger station to get your dad and the little girl’s parents, and then take you all down to the medical center in Estes Park to be checked out.”
Kristi, in the other ambulance, knelt between Patti and the old man. She held Patti’s hand and called her name softly, over and over. A couple of times the child’s eyelashes fluttered but she remained still and unresponsive, breathing through the oversized mask on her face. Greeley was unmoving and silent, as well. Kristi kept glancing at him, but he never opened his eyes.
Finally she heard him croak, “Girl!” She turned to look at him and saw him staring at her. “Girl, I heard ya prayin’ back there. Ya reckon God heard ya?”
“I know God heard me, Mr. Greeley. He saved us, didn’t He? But even if He hadn’t saved us, I know without a doubt He heard—and He cared.”
“If’n He cared so much, how come He let ya get caught in that fire in the first place? How come He let ya get lost in the mountains?”
“I don’t know, Mr. Greeley. But maybe it was so we would meet you—and we’d be having this conversation about Him right now.”
There was a long pause and the old mountain man closed his eyes once more. Kristi was beginning to think he’d fallen asleep again when he spoke gruffly, “Yea, that’s kinda what I figger, too.”
There was another long pause. “I been runnin’ away from things for a long time now—runnin’ away from God, too, I reckon. I’m thinkin’ He sent you kids to me with a message. Y’all called me an angel. I’m thinkin’ y’all are the angels—messengers from God.”
Kristi reached for his old weathered hand. “Mr. Greeley, you can make things right with God—it’s not too late. Simply turn back to Him. Ask Jesus to save you from your sins and He will. He’s promised He will! It almost was too late, back there in the fire. But now you have another chance, and I think in your heart you know it’s time, don’t you?”
“Yea, it’s time, fer sure.” The old man’s eyes spilled over with tears as he closed them. “Lord, Ya know I been a stubborn and foolish man all my life. I turned away from Ya when I was a young man; even said I hated Ya. But now I know Ya love me and Yer givin’ me another chance. I’m truly sorry fer my sins, Lord, and for treatin’ Ya the way I have. I’m askin’ Ya to forgive me, God, and make me a new man. Please, Lord. Amen.”
Kristi had tears running down her own cheeks. She gave the old man’s hand a squeeze and prayed, “Thank You, Lord.”
Greeley wiped the tears from his face with the sheet the firefighters had placed over him, and blew his nose on it. He said quietly, “Ya know, my ma used to call me her angel-boy when I was just a little tyke, ‘bout the age of that ‘un.” He nodded toward Patti. “She said that was why she named me Gabriel. Later, when I turned away from God, I hated my name. Didn’t want to be reminded of no angels, or God, or even my ma. I knew she was prayin’ fer me back home. Ma’s been gone a long time now, but I’m thinkin’ she must be rejoicin’ in Heaven right now, knowin’ her boy’s comin’ Home.” He paused. “Ain’t got no reason to hate the name Gabriel anymore. Guess I’ll have to start usin’ it now.”
Patti moaned just then and Kristi turned to look back at her. The little girl’s eyes were still closed but she lifted her hand, reaching for Kristi. “Shh, shh, Patti-Cake,” she said softly. “I’m right here. You’re okay.” Patti moved her head and whimpered a bit, but then lay still once more.
The ambulance turned into the ranger station a few minutes later, with the other rescue vehicle right behind it. Within moments the ambulance doors were thrown open and a sobbing young mother was reaching for her baby. Beyond her, Kristi saw Patti’s father—and her own.
“Daddy!” she cried as she scrambled to get out of the ambulance and out of the way of Patti’s parents. “Dad!”
Steve Cameron lunged forward and wrapped his daughter in his arms. A second later the door of the rescue vehicle had flown open and the rest of the teens had surrounded them. Steve caught both of his sons in his arms, as well, and hugged them tightly. “Thank you, Lord! Thank You, Lord!” he breathed in a sigh of relief. A minute later he let go of his own children and hugged each of their friends, as well.
His face looked old and worn. Dark, puffy circles were under each eye and he looked like he hadn’t slept in a week. All three of his children felt terrible, knowing they were the cause, at least partially, of their father’s distress. “Dad, how’s Mom?” Dan asked quickly.
“Your mother is okay—or at least, she would be if she hadn’t been frightened out of her mind and worried sick about you kids. She’s still in the hospital in Denver. Her surgery was postponed until we found you. She wanted to come back with me, but the doctors would not allow it. It was hard for me to leave her there alone when she needed me, but I had to come back.” His voice shook as he tried to swallow the tears that were close to the surface. “I talked to her a few minutes ago, so she knows you’re safe. She sends you all her love.”
He scanned his children’s faces. “You were in a forest fire?” his voice cracked and faltered. “Are you hurt? Are you burnt?” He brushed at the ash in Kristi’s hair and tried to rub a smoke smudge from her nose.
“We’re okay, Dad! Honest! Just a couple tiny little burns where the sparks hit us.” Skeeter said. He grinned his old freckle-faced grin. “There were angels protecting us, Dad! It was cool!”
“I’m sure there were, Skeeter. Thank You, Lord,” he fervently prayed once again.
“Dad, we can explain…” Dan began hesitantly.
“It’s all my fault,” Kristi interrupted.
Steve held his hands up. “Let’s not get into that right now. We’ll talk about it later. The important thing is that you’re alive and well.”
“And that we found Patti,” Kristi quickly added. “And that Mr. Greeley accepted the Lord as his Savior a few minutes ago!”
“What! Wow, that’s great! Cool!” the other teens exclaimed as they heard the good news.
“Greeley? Who’s Mr. Greeley?” Steve asked.
“Gabriel. Gabriel Greeley. Our angel.” Kristi simply said.
“Your what?” Steve started to ask, but just then the firefighters were unloading the “angel” himself from the park ambulance and putting him into an ambulance from the medical center.
Patti came next with both her parents close by her side. Another ambulance was there for her. She looked so tiny on the long stretcher. Patti’s mother started to climb into the ambulance but then turned back to the teens. She rushed over to them, “Oh, how can we ever thank you!” she cried. “You brought our baby back to us! And you almost lost your own lives doing it. Thank you so much! I can’t tell you…”
“It’s okay,” Kristi said gently. “Just go with Patti now. See—they’re waiting for you. We’ll see you at the hospital, okay?” Kristi walked the young woman back over to the ambulance and watched as it drove away with its siren blaring and lights flashing.
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She stopped at Greeley’s ambulance and looked inside. “We’ll see you at the hospital, too, Mr. Greeley,” she said.
The old man nodded his head. “Call me Gabriel,” he said.
Kristi smiled. “Okay, Gabriel. And thank you again for all you did for us.”
“It’s me what should be thankin’ y’all,” he said. The paramedics closed the door and Kristi returned to her father.
“I’ll take the kids myself to the medical center,” her dad was saying to the rangers. “I agree, they need to be checked out, but it looks like there are just a few minor burns and cuts and scrapes. We’ll check out Skeeter’s ankle, too, although he says he just twisted it.”
“Okay, then,” one of the rangers said. “We need to get these rescue vehicles back up to the firefighters in case they need them. Kids, we’ll need to make a report on what happened up there in the mountains, so after you’ve been checked out, you’ll have to come back here and tell us all about it, okay?
With nods and handshakes and a million thanks, the Camerons and friends climbed into their big van and left Rocky Mountain National Park—praising the Lord all the way.
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CHAPTER ELEVEN
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Miracles
Skeeter had an x-ray taken of his ankle at the medical center and just as he’d been saying all along, there were no broken bones; in fact, it wasn’t even sprained. He hobbled out of the examining room with a phony limp and a big silly grin on his face. “Wanna kiss my owie?” he asked Robyn, sticking his foot in her face.
“Eww! No, and I don’t want to kiss any of your boo-boos, either!”
They each had several bandages on various burns, cuts and scrapes. Pete needed a couple stitches in a gash on his shoulder. They looked battered—but not beaten. They were tired, and yet happy.
“My bandage is bigger than your bandage!” Skeeter teasingly boasted to his older brother.
“Careful, Squirt, or you may have another one that’s even bigger!” Dan teased back.
They had called Rachel as soon as they got to the medical center. She cried and laughed at the same time when she heard their voices. They had to reassure her over and over that they were all fine. Finally she said, “Get here as soon as you can! I won’t be happy until I can hug you all again! But at least, now maybe I can get some sleep while I’m waiting.”
“Yes, Mommy, do that,” Kristi said. “We love you and we’re sorry we put you through all this.”
“I know, Kristi. We’ll talk about it when you get here. Love you. Bye, for now.”
As soon as the emergency room doctor was through with her, Kristi insisted on finding Patti and her parents. She was directed to the pediatrics unit. Robyn and Anna went with her.
They stood outside the door to Patti’s room, not sure if they should intrude or not. The young parents stood with their arms around each other, looking down at their slumbering child. Mrs. Ling finally looked up and saw them in the doorway.
“Oh! Please come in!” she beckoned with a smile. “I’m so glad you came. I wanted—actually we both wanted to thank you again from the bottoms of our hearts for all you’ve done for our baby.” Her husband echoed her thanks and shook their hands. “We don’t even know your names, though,” she said.
The girls introduced themselves and mentioned the guys and Mr. Greeley who had also helped in Patti’s rescue. “How is she doing, Mrs. Ling?” Kristi asked.
“Patti’s doing better now. She woke up a little while ago for a few minutes. According to all the tests they’ve run, there’s nothing seriously wrong with her—just exhaustion, trauma and a little smoke inhalation. She should make a full recovery in a few days.”
“Oh, that’s so wonderful!” the girls all exclaimed at once. “She’s such a dear little child,” Kristi continued. “I’ve been praying for her ever since I saw her in the airport.”
“Well, your prayers have brought about a miracle—and I’m not just talking about the miracle of bringing her back to us. A few minutes ago, when Patti opened her eyes…” the young woman choked up. She wiped her eyes and continued, “a few minutes ago she—she reached up for me and said Mama! That was the first time she’s ever said Mama—the first time she’s ever said anything! It’s a miracle!”
Kristi’s eyes were shining. God was so good! He allowed her to be a part of the rescue of this precious little girl, and then He let her share in the joy of her reunion with her parents, as well.
Patti stirred just then and opened her eyes. She looked from her mommy to her daddy and then she noticed the girls standing a few feet away. She made a little noise and then stretched her hand out toward them. “Kri—Kristi” said a tiny voice they had never heard before. A small smile lit up her face.
“Hello there, little Patti-Cake!” Kristi whispered. She bent over the bed and put her face close to Patti’s. “What a beautiful, beautiful smile! Did you know I prayed that one day I would get to see that beautiful smile of yours? And now you’ve said my name, too! What a wonderful extra-special gift that is, Patti! Thank you so much!” Kristi took the child’s hand. “Jesus helped us bring you back to Mommy and Daddy. You were missing them, weren’t you? I’ll bet there’s someone else you’re missing, too. Look—here’s Teddy Bear! You dropped him again and I put him in my backpack for you.” Kristi pulled the stuffed toy from her pack and placed it in the little girl’s arms. He smelled like smoke and was much the worse for wear, but Patti hugged him close and went back to sleep again.
The girls stayed a while longer and told the Lings how they had found Patti in the mine, and all that had happened since then. They exchanged addresses and phone numbers, and with many hugs, a million thanks and several backward glances, the girls left the little family and went in search of Steve and the boys.
They found them in Gabriel Greeley’s room. The old man was hooked up to several monitors and had a number of tubes and wires connected to him. He was still receiving oxygen and looked pale and tired, but otherwise he was smiling.
“Mr. Greeley’s had a small heart attack,” Steve explained. “We were just about to leave so he can get some rest.”
“Will you be okay?” Kristi asked in concern.
“Fer sure! I’ll be outta here in less than a week, the doc says. Say! Look what yer brother gave me!” Greeley held up a well-worn Bible. Dan carried it with him whenever he could. Now he wanted the old mountain man to have it to help him in his new walk with the Lord.
Steve stood and told the young people it was time to say good-bye. He took the old man’s hand and said fervently, “Thank you again, sir, for what you’ve done for my family and our friends. You rescued them—twice—and allowed us to be reunited again. We can never repay you.”
“The way I see it is, they rescued me and reunited me with God. Least ways, they showed me the way and the Lord did the rescuin’ and reunitin’. Ain’t no way I can repay that either, so I guess we’re even! God has a way of workin’ His miracles in all our lives, I reckon.”
“You’re right, Gabriel. His work in our lives is always a miracle. Take care, friend. We’ll keep in touch.” The young people took turns hugging the old man and shaking his hand and then left him to get some much-needed sleep.
“One more stop before we head to Denver and your mom,” Steve said as they climbed back into the van. “We have to go back to the park and have a little chat with the rangers. They weren’t too happy when you didn’t come back last night like you were supposed to.”
The teenagers were quiet on the way back to the ranger station. They were ushered into a conference room, along with Steve Cameron. There were several rangers there, and although they didn’t really look threatening, they weren’t smiling, either.
They had Dan start at the beginning. It was the first time Steve had heard the full story, as well, and he sat on the edge of his seat, clenching his hands together. Pete and Kristi contributed once and a while, but the other three sat quietly, not speaking unl
ess spoken to. The teens finally finished their account of what had happened and sat back, waiting.
The rangers looked at one another. Finally one of them said, “Well, you made that very clear. Thank you. Ordinarily, pulling a stunt like that would have landed you in so much trouble your heads would be spinning! But now I can see how the timing of the events and the seriousness of the Ling girl’s plight caused you to make the decisions you made.” The teens began to relax a bit until the ranger held up his hand. “I still think you should have come back for help, and let experienced searchers go after the child, but I suppose you did the best you could in the circumstances.”
Skeeter spoke up for the first time, “One thing that is hard to explain is how we felt that the Lord was leading us step by step and answering our prayers for guidance as we went along. Like the arrow sign, and the Golden Steps and the teddy bear. You can’t ignore things like that,” he said seriously. Kristi looked at her younger brother with respect and gave him a little ‘thumbs up.’
The ranger looked slightly uncomfortable. “Uh, well, yes, I suppose you’re right.”
Another ranger stepped forward. “You are right, young man. You’re all to be congratulated, I think, on finding the missing child and bringing her safely back. You’re heroes, in my estimation, and to her family, as well. Well done!” The other rangers nodded in agreement and stepped forward to shake their hands. The teenagers finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Dan said, “We don’t consider ourselves heroes. We just happened to be where the Lord wanted us, when He wanted us there. But Mr. Greeley really is a hero. He saved all of us from the bear, and then again from the lightening and forest fire! I hope he’ll get the recognition he deserves for what he did.”
One of the rangers laughed. “Knowing old Greeley, I doubt he’ll want any recognition! But we will keep a closer eye on him now that he’s had a heart attack and is living all alone. We’ll take care of him,” he promised the teenagers.
Rocky Mountain Rescue (Kristi Cameron Book 3) Page 7