Hunter didn’t comment but he sat heavily when he’d put everything else down. He picked up Keith’s wrist and felt for his pulse. ‘I’ll get less woozy in the next hour. Any change here?’
‘No. And I can’t see any easy solution to shelter unless I find an overhang we can build a fire under. I’d like to have a quick look up the escarpment because it is cave country.’
Hunter grimaced and then smiled grimly. ‘A cave. I’ll let you claim home-turf advantage there. You go as soon as we get a line going to replace some of Keith’s fluid volume—there’s not much else we can do for him until he wakes up. Hypothermia is probably more of a danger at the moment while he’s stable, and you won’t find anything in the dark.’
Then he really looked at her. Despite the dirty streaks on her face and a red bruise in the middle of her forehead, she looked remarkably calm considering their predicament.
She was incredible. ‘You are amazing, Kirsten Wilson. A lot of women would be having hysterics about now.’
‘If I thought it would help, I’d provide some for you, but I think we’ve been remarkably lucky.’ She smiled at him and suddenly Hunter was just very thankful she was OK. Things weren’t great but they could have been horrific.
He smiled back. ‘You’re right. Three out of three alive is…incredible. I think fluid replacement will help Keith a lot until we get rescued and can get some blood into him. It could be a lot worse.’ That awful frozen moment when he’d first woken and thought that Kirsten was dead flashed into his mind and he closed his eyes as if to block it out. A hell of a lot worse!
When he opened his eyes she was watching him with concern, but she didn’t comment. Instead she picked up the red box and started to lay out the cannulas.
‘It will have to be the biggest of the small, I’m afraid. At least we have paediatric stuff as well as neonatal or it would take a year to run enough fluid into Keith.’
Within minutes they had two bags of fluid dripping into Keith’s veins and more beside him for later.
‘I think he’s unconscious from loss of blood more than anything else, but who knows what injuries he sustained when the cockpit sheared off, or how high he was when it happened?’ Hunter tucked the extra fluid bags under Keith’s legs to raise his feet and then wrapped a space blanket around the pilot and sat back on his heels. ‘I’ll watch him, you go for your look around.’
CHAPTER SIX
THE orange drug additive labels looked bizarre where Kirsten had fixed them to the nearest tree, but any help to find her way back seemed a good idea. She nodded soberly to Hunter and turned to go.
‘Be careful.’ Hunter’s voice followed her as the bushes closed behind her and she didn’t look back because there was something in his voice that warned her that he was having second thoughts about her going. Hunter did not need another invalid, and he would know as well as Kirsten that she couldn’t afford to get lost or injured.
Everything was wet and, except for the sound of water running somewhere, incredibly quiet. Where the huge rainforest trees reached up to the sky and sealed the canopy, the side of the mountain wasn’t too difficult to traverse. Landmarks were either green or brown, but mostly green. Green moss seemed to cover everything and vivid lime-fronded giant stags and elk horns littered the forest floor where they’d fallen.
Where one of the hundred-year-old giants had crashed to the ground and exposed its roots to the sun, the light had reached the soil and the proliferation of undergrowth made it difficult to go forward. Tangled vines and scrubby bushes blocked her path when that happened and she had to widen the circle around where Keith lay.
The chill in the air was more noticeable now that the rain had stopped and everything dripped cold water when she touched it. In the back of her brain she knew there must be thousands of leeches in the mulch and the thought raised the hair on the back of her neck. Sensibly, she resisted checking her legs.
She shuddered and forced her mind away from the sudden crawling sensation she could imagine going on under her trousers. It was ridiculous to be scared of leeches but such were phobias. There was no way she was going to look down and see one crawling up her socks. If she did that, Hunter would hear the hysterics he’d expected. She trod doggedly on, curving up towards a darker patch she could see ahead.
Finally she reached the shadow of a crevasse that snaked down the hill in the direction of the wreck. She squeezed between the towering rock faces and the formation split into two sandy bluffs that ran down the mountain as if cleaved by a giant’s axe.
She brushed away the spider webs with a stick as she went, and a whisper of excitement suggested she’d found what she’d been looking for. Kirsten had been a member of a caving club a few years back and this type of formation often ran down hills and branched off into caves. There was no roof in the crevasse, so some light reflected down into the corridor, but as a shelter it would only keep out the wind. Water trickled down the walls in places so they would have extra water if they needed it.
Maybe the whole mountain was a honeycomb, she thought as she ran her hand along the back wall. She couldn’t see out into the forest now because thick scrub obscured the open wall and she realised she must be near where the huge tree had fallen and exposed the undergrowth. If she peered hard she could see the trees through the covering and she decided to try a little further along.
Suddenly the crevasse ballooned out into a large overhang and a darker area at the back of the overhang promised an interesting excursion later. But this would do if she could find an easy way to reach the forest floor again.
Animal trails in the sand gave clues to previous tenants and she crouched down to see if there was an exit trail nearer the ground. There was a small worn path burrowed through the vegetation about twenty centimetres high and the same wide. Through the gap, about fifty metres away, Kirsten could see the opposite side of the wreck so Hunter and Keith weren’t far away.
She couldn’t fit through the hole but she could enlarge it if she had some way of cutting or breaking the branches. The beauty was in the closeness of the overhang exit to the wreck and any supplies they wanted to move into cover for the night wouldn’t have to be carried far.
Buoyed by excitement of the find, she memorised the angle of the wreck and several odd-looking trees, and headed back the way she’d come until she could ease out of the crevasse. Her bright-orange-stickered tree shone across the forest floor and she picked up the pace, unsure how long she’d been away. By the time she re-entered the clearing she was breathing heavily and she drew a deep breath so she’d be calm when she reached Hunter. She could have saved the effort, though, because he had a scowl on his face.
Hunter had been anxiously scanning the surrounding area for the last half-hour. By the time he’d heard her coming he’d already called himself all kinds of fool for letting her go. Then, when she walked into the clearing as if she’d been for a Sunday stroll, he had to restrain himself from picking her up and crushing her against him because he’d been so worried. Crazy thoughts to have but probably understandable nerves left over from the crash.
‘How’s Keith?’ Kirsten’s words prevented any foolishness and he glanced away from her to the pilot.
‘He’s had four litres of fluid and his blood pressure is coming up. The pad and bandage seem to have stopped the bleeding and I think cerebrally he’s lighter.’
‘That’s wonderful. My good news is that I’ve found a decent overhang and maybe even a cave, but we need something to cut through the branches or at least protect our hands when we break them. There’s another opening not far from the wreck so moving any equipment should be easy, too.’
‘Great!’ Kirsten missed his irony. ‘Let’s do it because I’d say we’re about fifteen minutes from another downpour and I’d like to get Keith out of the weather if we can. I’ll cap the IVs and we’ll just have to leave him for a few minutes for the benefit of getting him under cover.’ He gestured to the pile of assorted retrievals he’d made and lifted
a broken piece of metal with a jagged edge. ‘We never fly without one of these.’
She smiled back at his lighter tone and as she brushed past him to head back to the wreck he reached out and held her arm. ‘Kirsten.’ She stopped and turned to look at him and because they were alone in the wilderness it was nice to even have that contact. ‘I was worried while you were away. I’d rather we did things together from now on.’
‘OK.’ He could tell she didn’t get it but he wasn’t going through that agony again.
‘I mean it. I don’t want you going off on your own without telling me. I don’t want anything to happen to you.’
‘Hunter.’ She put her hands on her hips. ‘I have done survival courses and gained my Queen’s Scout Medal. You and I and Keith have come through a helicopter crash, which puts us right up there beside the luckiest Lotto winners. Somehow I don’t think a bush walk is going to kill me.’
He watched her walk away. Of course, he could always strangle her himself. Instead, he followed and watched her pause beside the wreck and glance off into the scrub. Then she walked unerringly to a dense bush and bent down.
As he came closer he could see the small animal trail that seemed to lead into the bush. ‘We need to enlarge that trail,’ she said.
It only took ten intense minutes as Hunter sawed and ripped the branches from in front of the overhang, and behind him Kirsten had an superb view of just how strong he was as she dragged the broken branches and undergrowth away. The entrance needed to be big enough for Hunter to get through carrying Keith, and they were driven onward by the first few drops of rain. Suddenly they broke into the overhang and Kirsten turned her face toward him, pink-cheeked and exultant.
‘That was impressive, Dr Morgan. So you’re not just a pretty face.’
He narrowed his eyes at her. ‘Flirting is against the rules.’
‘I think the rules can go hang,’ she said soberly, and turned back toward Keith.
‘I think so, too,’ he said quietly to her retreating back. He glanced once more into the darkness of the overhang and hoped to heaven he could force himself to go in there. The idea of Kirsten finding out he had a fear of caves wasn’t an attractive one, but there was little he could do about it.
He followed her quickly back to where Keith was lying, and Hunter brushed Kirsten away as the rain began to fall more heavily. ‘Bring what you can and get out of the rain.’
He picked the pilot up, heaved him over his shoulder and set off doggedly for the overhang. Kirsten frowned after him but couldn’t do anything else to help except what he’d asked.
She loaded herself up and followed what was becoming a beaten path to the overhang. When she got there, Keith was lying on his side and Hunter was resting with his eyes shut against the side wall quite close to the entrance.
‘Move towards the back, out of the cold,’ Kirsten said as she moved past him deeper into the belly of the overhang.
‘I’m right here, thanks.’ There was something strange about Hunter’s voice and she turned back to look at him.
He stayed facing the outside. ‘Are you OK, Hunter?’
‘I’m fine.’ He glared at her. ‘And you have a leech on your leg.’
That’s when Kirsten lost it. Her eyes met his and widened and then she looked down at her ankle and the black skinny worm that was trying to burrow through her trousers. ‘Get it off me.’
She started to shake and Hunter stood up and inched along the wall towards her. ‘Then come out towards me. I can’t go in there.’
‘Get it off me.’ Her voice was rising and Hunter edged a little closer. ‘Come here, then.’
She picked up her feet and ran towards him. ‘Get it off me.’
Hunter bent down and scraped the leech off with his fingernail. It stuck to his finger and wiggled its tail.
‘Oh, my God. Kill it.’ Kirsten could barely look at the insect but she couldn’t look away. ‘Kill it!’
‘Bloodthirsty little woman, aren’t you?’ Hunter ground the bug under his heel and pulled her into his arms and he could feel the shudders that ran through her body. ‘It’s OK, Kirsten. It’s only a leech and it’s dead.’
‘There’s probably more under my trousers but I’m too scared to look.’
He nodded that he understood. ‘Turn around and I’ll check you.’ He lifted her ponytail and checked her neck and pulled the damp MIRA T-shirt away from her skin and looked down her back. Apart from her bra strap, there was nothing there.
He crouched down. ‘I’m going to lift your trouser legs now. Stand still.’ Kirsten stared at Hunter’s dark hair as he lifted her left trouser leg and flinched when she felt him scrape her shin. ‘Now the other one.’ He lifted the other leg and she felt him scrape her knee-high socks twice more.
He stood up. ‘No more. You were lucky.’
Kirsten shuddered again. ‘On my survival course I wore full-length pantyhose under my jeans. They can’t get through pantyhose, you know.’
‘Thank you for that piece of trivia. Next time I go to a rainforest I’ll wear full-length pantyhose.’
She knew he was trying to make her laugh and the picture of Hunter in pantyhose, like some largerthan-life male ballet dancer, did draw a weak smile.
‘Hold me for a minute, please, then I’ll be fine.’ It was as if the leeches epitomised all the fears from the day and concentrated them on the fact that she’d had the creatures attached to her as she’d walked around.
Hunter squeezed her against his chest once more and the contact warmed her as nothing else could have, then he put her from him to look into her face. ‘We need a fire, and food would be nice but water is more important. We need to make a last trip to the wreck, get the flares and survival kit and anything we can use to keep warm or burn before it gets dark. Are you OK now?’
Kirsten took a deep breath and passed a shaking hand over her face. ‘I’m fine,’ she said in a small voice. ‘Thank you. I hate phobias.’
‘Tell me about it,’ Hunter said dryly, determined not to go there. He decided he liked the bossy Kirsten better, although there was something adorable about the panicked one. But there wasn’t time to dwell on those thoughts.
The light was fading outside. They needed to get settled and find some wood for the night and the next half-hour went quickly.
When they came back to the overhang for the last time, Keith’s eyes were open. ‘Where are we?’
Keith’s voice was weak but they both heard him and knelt down beside him.
‘Welcome back, Keith.’ Hunter’s voice was calm and he met Kirsten’s eyes with relief. ‘You managed to get us down safely, but you’ve been out for an hour or two and we were getting worried.’
‘The chopper?’
‘Not much left, I’m afraid, and the storm is still overhead. Looks like we’ll have to stay the night here but they’ll probably find us tomorrow morning.’
Keith tried to shake his head but winced and stopped. ‘I should have turned back earlier.’
‘The storm sucked us in. Easy to say afterwards.’ Hunter patted his shoulder. ‘You did a great job getting us down.’
Keith opened and shut his eyes a few times as if to clear his vision. ‘Where did you say we were?’
Kirsten leaned towards him. ‘I think it’s Banda Banda mountain. They have trails to the top so a ground crew will come in as soon as they can.’
He lifted his arm to look at the cannula taped there. ‘I feel terrible but guess I’m lucky I crashed with medical types.’
‘I imagine you’ll be black and blue by tomorrow and weak as a kitten. You lost a lot of blood and Hunter’s given you fluids until they can replace the blood when they get you back to a hospital.’ Kirsten glanced at Hunter. ‘We’re all feeling pretty lucky. How’s your pain?’
‘My back hurts and my ankle feels like it’s broken but at least I can feel it.’ His voice trailed away and his eyes closed.
Kirsten felt Keith’s pulse. The beat was definitely stronger than i
t had been two hours ago and the rate had dropped to just over a hundred. ‘I think he’ll be fine.’
‘Let’s get this fire going.’ Hunter held out the box of matches from the aircraft’s survival kit. ‘You do the honours, Miss Queen Scout, while I get some more wood. If we can get it going we can dry the next lot of wood as we go along.’
Kirsten took the matches and crouched down to the tiny pile of dry kindling and paper they’d salvaged, along with some leaf litter that had blown into the overhang.
Soon tiny flames danced above the sticks and Kirsten fed the fire carefully to make sure it had a solid centre. Hunter came back with more wood to find she’d cut the top off one of the empty plastic IV flask bags and collected water from one of the wall trickles. ‘Any ideas what we can use to boil water in over the fire?’
‘Shame we don’t still carry steel vomit bowls or potties,’ he teased, as he began to stack the few blankets rescued from the aircraft before heading back to find anything else that could be useful.
Kirsten pulled a face at his departing back. ‘I’ll find something.’
‘That idea is top-drawer,’ Hunter quipped when he came back. He couldn’t help but smile at Kirsten’s ingenuity. She was leaning over the coals stirring emergency-ration soup from the survival kit in the small steel drawer that had held the needles, as if it were the most normal kitchen appliance in the world.
‘My pot even has a handle.’ Kirsten grinned up at him and the impact of her smile made him realise again how glad he was that she was alive. It was tragic that it had taken a helicopter disaster to put their relationship into perspective. Kirsten still meant the world to him. And it was unlikely his feelings were going to change.
Keith woke up for half an hour and managed to swallow a little of Kirsten’s soup, and they all discussed the rain that poured down outside as the three of them sat huddled together in front of the fire and tried to dry out. The sides of their bodies that faced the fire were warm and Keith drifted off to sleep again. Hunter and Kirsten weren’t ready to sleep yet.
The Pregnant Midwife Page 8