“My phone.” She blurted out. Reaching down her left side she connected with her purse, exactly where she remembered placing it when she’d taken up the position to protect her head. Shifting a little she was able to reach in and pull the phone out. When she touched the screen it lit up. There was a crack down the middle of the screen but she didn’t care, she would be able to use the flashlight function. Swiping down she pressed the flashlight icon and a bright white glow lit up the area.
As she suspected there was shelves surrounding them as well as boxes and cans. Turning a little so she could see over her shoulder at what was resting across her back, she winced at the movement.
“Okay there’s a shelf resting on my back, but I don’t think I have any broken bones so I’m going to lift it up. Once I lift it I should be able move a little better.”
“Where are you going to put it? We’re all covered here.” This question came from Randy. She hadn’t thought that far ahead but what she did know was that she wasn’t going to hurt anyone more than they already work.
“I’ll figure it out.”
Nadia spent the next couple of minutes lifting the board. Because it was a shelf, it wasn’t too heavy and she was able to slide it over her head and down so that it rested on the other piece of wood covering her leg.
She groaned as she straightened her spine, it felt glorious to stretch her cramped muscles. “I’m okay, just stretching,” she commented before anyone could ask. “I’ve got the shelf off me, it’s resting on my legs.” Nadia picked up the phone again and shone it around the room. To her left she could make out a couple of people lying down. To her right, Cerise was lying on her side, her face pale. Worry for her friend threatened to overwhelm her but she pushed it aside. With what Cerise had said, she could be suffering from internal injuries and she needed help fast.
Right opposite her was Randy whose lower body was covered with the bulk of the items that had been on the shelves. Nadia looked at the barman, making sure to keep the light from shining right in his eyes. “Randy, how you doing?”
He grimaced. “I’ve been better but I’m okay. Do you think you can get out?”
Nadia cast another look around. If she was careful and kept a hold of both the boards, she should be able to lift them and stand up. She could then put the boards where she sat so they weren’t resting on anyone.
There’s no could about it, Nadia. You have to do it. You have to get help.
Her inner voice was right and gave her the courage to begin the process of freeing herself. As she worked she could hear some shouts from people outside of the space they were occupying. Nadia had no idea if they were rescue workers or if they were the other people in the building.
Randy started calling out we’re in here while she shifted and contorted her body. First she got one leg free and then the other, during the process her side ached and it confirmed her suspicion that she had injured her ribs.
After what seemed like forever, but was only about five minutes she was standing. Her head spun and pounded and she closed her eyes, gripping the pieces of shelving as if they could keep her upright.
“You’re not going to fall at my feet, are you?” Randy asked with a hint of humor. “I’d be honored but I’m taken.”
Nadia chuckled. “Well darn, here I thought I might have a chance with you.”
“Sorry darlin, my Marlene is the light of my life and I’m grateful she’s in San Antonio visiting our daughter and not here. I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to her.” His voice broke and Nadia carefully placed the boards down so they didn’t disturb anyone. She reached over and laid her hand over his where they rested on the debris.
“I promise that I’m going to get help and get us all out of here.” She stood and looked around at the people she could see and especially at Cerise who still had her eyes shut. “I promise.”
“I know you will,” Cerise said as she opened her eyes, the pain she was experiencing plain to see.
Nadia squatted back down and carefully reached through the small gap between the wood and cans piled on her friend. She prodded Cerise’s belly. It was firm a big indicator that her roommate was suffering some internal injuries.
How was it that she was able to stand? How come she didn’t have any broken bones or internal injuries, but the rest of the people in the room were seriously injured? It was a question she couldn’t answer and wasn’t meant to answer.
“I’ll be back as fast as I can. I just have to work out a way to get out of here.”
Nadia shone her flashlight around. Did it seem dimmer than it was only a moment ago? God, how could she see if her battery died.
“Tarpley Volunteer Fire Department, anyone in the vicinity?” Nadia recognized that voice. It was the sweetest sound she’d heard in the last hour.
“Buff! Oh thank God, we’re in here.” She picked her way carefully to where the door used to be but now stood a collapsed ceiling and doorframe. She banged on the pile, coughing when some dust floated in her face.
“Nadia, is that you? Are you okay? Keep talking so I can get a good handle on where you are? How many people are with you?”
“Yes it’s me. We’re in the pantry, well what’s left of the pantry. There’s five of us in here. I’ve got badly injured people here.” She banged on the wood again and received an answering one. “Buff?”
“Yeah, Boston, it’s me. I need you to move away from where you’re standing I know you’re close to me. I’m going to try and get some of this rubble away from you.”
The sound of his voice was a welcome relief and the adrenaline that had been keeping her going began to subside. A shiver rippled through and she wrapped her arms around herself as she willed her body to get itself under control.
They were in the middle of a disaster and although her head and sides ached, she was an able bodied physician. She would be needed to help and assess everyone. Even treat patients. The first ones she’d assist would be the people in this room.
“Nadia, you still there? Have you moved a safe distance away?” Buff’s voice sounded so confident and sure, as if she had nothing to worry about.
She shuffled back until she was sitting on the boards she’d lifted off herself, keeping hold of her phone tightly in her hand. The light was still working but she didn’t know for how much longer. In the confined space it was comforting. “Yeah, I’m safe.”
“Okay, I’m going to start removing some of the debris. It’s like a game of Jenga, but I’ll let you know that I was good at the game so you’re in safe hands.”
Again his confidence rang through every word he spoke. Nadia imagined this was how he sounded when he addressed a patient, before he’d become affected by the sights he’d seen. The fact that Buff seemed so in control was at odds with how she’d seen him that first day. Then again, if he couldn’t do his job competently enough he wouldn’t be a member of the volunteer fire department.
The walls groaned and little bits of plaster and dust sprinkled down on them. “Buff, be careful we’re getting some stuff drifting down on us.”
“Roger that. I’m almost through.” A second later a large opening appeared and she saw the familiar shape of a firefighters hat poking through the gap. Buff raised his flashlight and waved it around. The beam was brighter than the small one on her phone and she winced when it hit her.
He breathed in deep and she worried that seeing them may trigger an attack. God, she had to stop thinking that anything would set him off. She had to have faith that in this situation Buff’s training would kick in and override anything. To expect that anything he came across would trigger an attack was doing an injustice to him. He didn’t deserve that. What he deserved was her trust and belief in him.
“How does my bar look, Buff?” Randy’s voice seemed weaker than it had not long ago. She could imagine the pain level was becoming more than he could deal with.
“Honestly?” Buff asked and when Randy nodded he continued. “It doesn’t look good.”
“I thought as much. What about everyone else that was here, we were full because it was trivia night.”
“From what I understand there are few injuries but nothing serious. Looks like this area suffered the most damage.”
“Okay. Well this place can be rebuilt, lost lives can’t be replaced.”
For a second Buff lowered his head and Nadia noticed a slight tremor in the hand holding the flashlight. She saw the moment Buff collected himself and looked the barman in the eye. “You’re right. Now I’m going to go get some of the other guys to help. Here Nadia, take this.” He lifted a large bag that had a big red cross on the side. Nadia got up and grabbed it off him.
“Thanks.” Everything she would need to help with the injuries to stabilize the occupants of the room enough before they could be transported to hospital, would be in that bag otherwise Buff wouldn’t have handed it to her.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes. Hang tight.”
“We’ll be waiting.” Nadia said at his retreating back. She gripped the handles of the bag a little tighter while biting her lip to stop herself from calling Buff back. She closed her eyes and counted to ten. On each exhale of breath she pushed out her fears for the situation she found herself in. For the worry for her friend Cerise that she would be too late and not be able to save her. The same worry for Randy that his legs wouldn’t be able to be saved. Worrying wouldn’t help her in a situation like this. People’s lives depended on her and she was going to make sure every single person in this room got out alive.
If Buff could deal with his demons tonight, then so could she.
Chapter 6
Buff raced back to the front of what remained of Randy’s Hellhole, it really lived up to its name now. The place was pretty much wrecked but at least no one had died. Not so far anyway. The room where Nadia and the others were, was trashed.
“Pops?” Buff spoke into his radio.
“What you got for me, Buff?” Pops responded.
“Several victims in what used to be the pantry in the kitchen. Randy’s got severe leg injuries. There are at least three other victims with serious injuries as well. Nadia is there but she appears to just have a head wound. I left her with my medical kit and she was going to start treating those that she can.” He pulled his hat off and closed his eyes. His demons were close to the surface, and the last thing he wanted was to blank out and walk into danger. Pops voice sounded strong and sure over the radio, as if he could feel Buff’s panic.
“You all right, son. Do you want to go help the guys removing the tree debris for the road?”
Buff appreciated what Pops was trying to do. Even though he was of more use with his medical skills than his chainsaw abilities, the older man was giving him an out. There were plenty of other people who could help with debris cleanup. He’d found out that once the guys at the dude ranch had heard about the tornado from his dad, they all wanted to do what they could to help. They’d arrived in town all fired up to get their hands dirty.
As with all storms, the rain had cleared when he arrived at the devastated center of town. He could hardly believe the damage the small town had suffered. So many buildings destroyed or half destroyed. And as Pops said their headquarters had been spared.
Buff took a deep breath and depressed the button on the radio. “I’ve got this, Pops. Between Nadia and I, we’ll get the vics stabilized ready for transportation. She said she was a doctor but I’m not sure what sort.”
“She’s an ER resident and from what I’ve heard a damn good one too.”
Trust Pops to know everything about her. He had his finger on the pulse. But it was a relief to know that Nadia was used to dealing with high level traumas that turned up in the ER.
“Right, as soon as we can get some ambulances into town, we need two here. If we can get a couple of life flight helos that would be even better.” How easy was it to slip into his military skin and fire off rapid instructions? Easier than he thought it would’ve been.
A smidgeon of hope blossomed in his belly. Perhaps all he needed to erase his PTSD attacks was a natural disaster where he had no choice but to be fully involved. At the crash sites or fires they attended where they had injured victims, there were a couple of other medics who could take the lead. But a situation like this, there was no time to take a step back. As Pops said, all hands on deck was needed.
“Already put the call in. Two of the major hospitals in San Antonio are sending their helicopters as well as two from Austin area.”
“Great. What’s their ETA?”
“Well Austin’s getting the storms we had, but San Antonio will be here in about thirty minutes now. Ambos are going to take a little longer.”
Buff prayed that the ambos could get here sooner rather than later. At least they had a couple of copters coming. “I know there are probably a lot of victims but I really need one of those life flight helos for Randy and the other girl, I think she’s Nadia’s friend.”
“Will do what I can.”
“Thanks. I’ll be heading back in now. Make sure the crew that’s clearing the debris are careful. The room looks like a house of cards ready to collapse with one wrong move. Out.”
“Roger that. Take care.” Buff knew Pops would take everything in hand and direct the correct people to the areas that needed the most help.
Once he stepped back into Randy’s place he noticed that a crew of guys were waiting for him. Shit, Pops had worked magic or he’d already had a crew nearby ready to help. No doubt it was the latter as they’d already helped the others out of the restroom area. They’d been able to get them evacuated out the back and not through the building.
“Pops radioed that there were some people trapped inside. Where do you want us to start?”
Buff looked around the room and then back at the men. There were six in total. Easy to break into two teams. “I need three in here to clear a path wide enough for the paramedics and their gurneys to get through to the back. Then another group of three with me to help remove the debris where the victims are. Not sure if Pops told you but it’s a precarious situation so we need to take care.”
“Yes, sir.” One of the younger guys said. Buff nodded. It had been a long time since he’d been addressed as sir.
Leaving the group to follow instructions, Buff led the other three men down the narrow pathway back to the kitchen. When he arrived he could see that Nadia must have given some pain relief to Randy as the other man’s eyes were closed and the tension that had been etched on his face when he found them had disappeared. Two other victims, a man and a woman were both sitting up. The woman was holding some gauze against her arm and from where he stood he could see the blood staining it. There was still debris around them but, like Nadia, they weren’t badly injured.
“How’s everything going?” he asked as he picked his way over to Nadia’s side.
“Good. I gave Randy some morphine for the pain, just enough to take the edge off. I didn’t want to give him too much until we can fully ascertain the extent of his injuries.” She glanced over to the woman lying on the ground, her face as white as the dust from the ceiling tile. “Cerise is not doing well. She’s got internal injuries but I’m not sure the extent of them.”
“San Antonio and Austin area hospitals are sending some life flight helicopters our way. I requested with Pops that we get one of the helos for Randy and Cerise.”
Her shoulders slumped and he knew it was from relief and not tiredness. “Good. Those guys will be able to help stabilize both of them while you and I treat them.”
She thought of them as team? A warm sensation filled the parts that had died a little while on deployment, nudging them to come alive again. Nadia believed in him, even after witnessing his attack. He appreciated that more than he could say. “What about the other two people?”
“Margie has a deep laceration on her left arm and a suspected concussion. It’s not stitched yet. I can’t be sure without x-rays but I think Roger has a broken ankle, a
nd,” she lowered her voice, “I know he got hit on the head because we all did, and he has a small laceration on the right side of this skull. Unlike me, there is a depression at the wound site so I suspect he has a fracture and will need to be treated carefully too.”
A few short sentences confirmed to Buff that Nadia was a more than competent physician. “What about you? What are your injuries?” He watched her closely to see if she was presenting with signs of a concussion considering, in her rundown, she’d mentioned the lump on her head. Also he could see for himself the head wound that she’d hastily put a bandage over, probably to keep the blood out of her eyes.
“I’m fine.” Typical physician, always pushing aside their own injury to the side to help others.
A commotion diverted his attention from Nadia to behind him—a paramedic team had arrived. He hadn’t heard the helo arrive, but they probably landed far enough away from the pub so he didn’t pick up on it.
“Understand we’ve got a couple of patients?”
Nadia brushed past him. “Yep we have.”
He stood back and observed the way she, again, systematically detailed the injuries to the two paramedics. They determined that Cerise was the most critical patient and needed to get her out first, then Randy.
Over the next hour they worked together as a team, with his combat experience and Nadia’s ER knowledge, as well as the life flight crew, they were able to extract both Cerise and Randy without incident.
“You should go with them,” Buff commented as they followed the team back out to the helicopter.
Nadia shook her head and winced, he’d noticed that her movements had been a little restricted and sometimes she pressed a palm against her chest as she breathed. “I’m fine. There’s probably a lot more injured people that need help.”
Buff opened his mouth to argue more, but they’d reached the copter and Nadia rushed over to Cerise’s side, stopping them for a second before they loaded her up. He had no idea what she was saying, but she leaned forward and gave her friend a kiss on the cheek and quick hug. As they loaded her into the helicopter he noticed Nadia surreptitiously wiping her eyes.
Fighting For Nadia Page 5