helped control both internal bleeding and pain. He had received some fluid replacement to help counteract blood loss but he was showing signs of shock with raised respiration and heart rates. The sooner they got him into a hospital’s emergency department the better.
There were plenty of people to help with the difficult task of hauling the stretcher through the tunnels leading back to the surface but there was no way to avoid the more precarious start to the journey by having to pull their patient up the vertical wall beside the ladder.
‘I’ll go up with Bruce,’ Alex told Sam. ‘You get up top and direct the rope work.’
Having ascended the ladder, Sam looped a rope around a solid piece of rock and clipped a carabiner on her belt to the anchor. She fed another length of rope through a belay brake on the wall that had clearly been used as a means of descent before the ladder had been installed and this rope was secured to the Stokes basket. She stationed another person beside her to control a rope attached to Alex’s harness and they both pulled in the extra length as the stretcher slowly moved upwards.
Sam watched the strength Alex displayed, climbing the ladder with only one arm, hooking his legs around the thick edge wires to put his feet on the rungs heels first and help prevent any sway. He had his other hand through one of the gaps cut near the rim of the heavy plastic of the Stokes basket and Sam had the silly impression that if their ropes failed for some reason, Alex would simply keep hanging on and save their patient from plummeting to the floor of the cave.
Totally impossible, of course, but that was the kind of confidence Alex exuded. Normally, it inspired Sam to push herself a lot harder in the hope that Alex would be as proud of his partner’s abilities as she was. Sometimes she actually got the impression that Alex was doing the same thing but they had become so closely welded as a team over the last few years that it was hard to tell just who inspired whom.
What if the thrill was permanently gone for Sam? A lack of passion would be reflected almost instantly in her performance. Maybe it had been already, the way she had allowed herself to get stuck. Alex hadn’t seem perturbed, however, and that was both a relief and a warning. The thought of seeing concern—or, worse, disappointment—reflected in those dark eyes was not a pleasant one.
‘Almost there, Alex,’ she called. ‘It’s well over the lip. We’re going to start tipping the basket back and then drag it onto flat ground.’
Even with help, the effort required was enough for Sam to have to catch her breath for a moment. Bruce was not a small man.
‘You OK?’ Alex was unclipping his rope.
‘Absolutely. You?’
‘Nothing a strong coffee won’t cure. Let’s get moving, eh?’ He dropped to a crouch. ‘How’re you doing, Bruce?’
The response was a mumble that Sam couldn’t make out. ‘Is his GCS dropping?’ she asked with concern. A drop in consciousness could be a sign that the level of shock was worsening rapidly.
‘He’s a bit drowsy. I topped up his morphine before we started up the wall.’
Sam nodded. ‘Probably a good way to be. It’s not going to be a very comfortable trip being dragged over rock.’
It was uncomfortable for everyone and it felt like the longest three hours Sam had ever experienced. Only two things prevented it from being unbearable. One was that Bruce’s condition remained stable and he wasn’t too distressed by the trip even on some rougher patches.
The other was that Sam managed to maintain her usual stoicism and kept the growing dismay that she had turned some corner in life and was about to fall into a void completely hidden.
Or so she thought.
Right up until Bruce had been despatched in a rescue helicopter with a new paramedic crew to accompany him to hospital. Until Sam had spent time trying to offer what comfort she could to the pregnant wife of one of the men still missing and until she had been given a hot meal and drink and directed to sit down and rest near the fire roaring in a concrete barbecue area of the campground that marked the entrance to the caving network.
Alex folded his long legs to sit beside her a few minutes later, balancing a heaped plate of hot casserole and potatoes on his knee.
‘What’s up, Sam?’
The habit of doing anything necessary to live up to the privilege of being Alex Henry’s partner was not something Sam could easily relinquish. She certainly wasn’t going to admit to the sensation that she was standing on the edge of some emotional precipice. Alex was unlikely to be able to understand, let alone sympathise with, such a situation.
Or would he?
‘You look tired,’ he said succinctly. ‘Let’s hope our relief team arrives before they summon us underground again.’
‘Yeah.’ Sam was grateful for a believable reason for any odd vibes she might be emanating. ‘It was a hard one, wasn’t it?’
‘Cool, though.’ Alex spoke between mouthfuls of the savoury meat dish. ‘I wouldn’t mind doing a bit of caving that didn’t have the pressure of being a rescue situation.’
Sam’s smile felt a bit strained. A year ago—even a week ago—she would have encouraged such an interest. Would have felt the same way, in fact, and angled for an opportunity to accompany Alex on a new venture.
‘So?’ Alex couldn’t have satisfied his hunger enough to explain the way his fork hung halfway between his plate and his mouth. The intensity of the glance that came Sam’s way wasn’t diminished by the flickering firelight, and she found it unnerving.
‘“So”, what?’
‘Are you up for it? Shall we see if we can hook up with a caving expedition when we’ve got a few days off?’
‘Maybe.’ Sam pushed a piece of food around her plate, her appetite fading rapidly. What on earth was wrong with her?
She looked up, knowing that distraction would be readily available in the busy scene around them. The numbers of rescue personnel continued to grow steadily. Experts in all sorts of areas had been called in by now, even people from the army who dealt with explosives.
Alex ate in silence for a minute until he had scraped his plate clean. He eyed Sam’s half-eaten meal. ‘You going to finish that?’
‘Nah. I’ve had enough. Here…’ Sam handed him her plate. ‘You have it, Alex. You’re a bottomless pit.’
‘So are you. What’s the matter, Sam? You sick?’
She shook her head, carefully avoiding direct eye contact. ‘Just tired. And I’m worried about Courtney.’
‘The pregnant woman?’
‘Yeah. That’s her over there, sitting in the Red Cross tent.’
‘She looks as though she’s being looked after.’
‘I don’t think hand holding and offering cups of tea are helping much. She’s terribly withdrawn. I tried talking to her after Bruce’s wife went off in the helicopter with him. She’s absolutely distraught. I think she’s convinced herself that Steve is dead.’
‘She
