Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 96165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
“I’m ready to run,” Jacob promised. “Just get us those stretchers.”
However, that request turned out to be easier said than done as the first of the rescue crew arrived, a heavily geared man and woman he’d known for years. Knowing how experienced and competent they were made Linc that much happier to see them, pulse speeding up as making it out in time seemed like a real possibility now.
“Well, Reid, what’d you get yourself into this time?” The woman, Duski, rushed toward them.
“Not me. Nelson.” He gestured at Garrick’s prone form, movement making his head pound again. “See to him first. I’m just a bum leg and a couple of bruises.”
“That bump on your head looks pretty nasty,” Cyrus said as he joined Duski in kneeling by Garrick. “The others are bringing more equipment, but we’ve got a situation. Cargo burst open. One backboard and C-collar survived the jump, but we’re left with only one of the two field stretchers.”
Linc could already tell where this was going. His rather empty stomach turned to a lead-lined pit of dread.
“Nelson gets the first-class ride out of here.” He flexed his leg, testing. He’d gotten by earlier with a sort of half-crawl, but that wasn’t going to get him very far. “You get him loaded. I can maybe hoof it.”
Slowly and painfully, but he could do it. And he could already tell by the tilt of Jacob’s chin that no way was he even entertaining the idea of leaving Linc behind. But he didn’t say anything aloud, instead helping them prepare Garrick for transport, stabilizing him as best they could with the first-aid equipment on hand. Jacob wasn’t kidding about Garrick’s legs being in rough shape, and Linc had to look away at one point as they moved him. Not because his stomach was weak, but that was his friend, his buddy, and it was killing him to see him like this. And also knowing how easily that could be Jacob lying there weighed heavily on him. Fuck. All it would have taken was one stubborn insistence from Jacob that he be the one to climb and...
Bitter acid rose up in his throat before he could even finish that thought. And if it was Jacob over there, fighting for his life, then Linc might have truly lost everything. All day, his mind had been whirring, trying to get him to a place where he could both give Jacob what he wanted—deserved—and still live with himself, but now...
Well, now he knew, with painful clarity, there was no living without Jacob. Hell, he’d been one-hundred-percent okay with giving his life to save Jacob’s. And if there was no life without Jacob, then maybe his many principles could be reduced down to one simple truth. He lo—
“What’s our status?” The arrival of the other two jumpers interrupted his introspection and spurred a new flurry of activity. One of the new arrivals was clearly hobbled from the tree landing with a pronounced limp, but everyone worked together while waiting for the final word as to whether they would shelter in place or try for an extraction.
Jacob and Cyrus fashioned Linc a crutch from one of the fallen branches while the others worked on Garrick. Finally, Command decided that the wind and fire conditions were such that they could make the trek to the creek, then take it to the designated spot where they were going to try to get a helicopter in, but they were bringing the collapsible shelters along in case the fire turned on them.
“Ready? You sure you don’t want us to carry you?” Jacob stuck close to Linc while the others transported Garrick.
“I’ve got it.” Linc hoped he wasn’t lying as he tried to match the pace set by the stretcher bearers and not wanting the other guy with a twisted ankle to outdo him. They were a ragtag crew for sure, trying to outrace both the fire and their own limitations. The terrain was rocky and uneven, especially tricky without the road to guide them, relying instead on compass work and the guidance of the command center. Not used to a crutch and head still fuzzier than a ten-year-old sweater, he stumbled more than once, but each time Jacob was there to steady him. They drifted farther behind the group with the stretcher, but Linc tried to keep his focus on each step.
The boulders became bigger obstacles as they neared the creek, and he struggled to get around stones he would usually bound over.
“You can do it,” Jacob encouraged.
“Trying,” he gritted out.
“Let me help more.”
“I’ve got it.” Frustration made him snappier in the face of Jacob’s unending patience.
“I know, but we need to pick up the pace, and like everyone always says, we make a good team. Lean on me.”
They did make a good team. Linc flashed back to the weeks of training, building the play set for the kids, and dozens of other memories over the years. They’d always worked well together, an effortless team. Partners. And it was a bond and level of cooperation that went beyond friendship, beyond coworkers. He wasn’t ever going to find this with another soul.