by Akart, Bobby
Alpha stepped forward to get a closer look. “What about the guy with the busted-up shoulder? How’s he gonna make it to shore with just us pulling him in?”
Tyler walked up next to Alpha. “He’ll probably flail about, trying not to drown. The pain in his shoulder will be agonizing, so he’ll scream until he passes out.”
A slight grin came over Alpha’s face. “Okay, I’d pay to see that. Let’s reel them in, but if they give us any trouble, we’re gonna throw them back. Deal?”
“No problem,” said Tyler, who turned to get the wet suit on.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Armageddon Hospital
The Haven
Angela raced out onto the deck of the Haven’s medical facility and arrived at the parking area just as Alpha brought Tyler’s medical cart to a stop. Tyler was wrapped in a sweatshirt and a camouflaged jacket, but he was still shivering uncontrollably.
“Ty, how bad is it?” she asked as she immediately grabbed his wrist to check his pulse. As she spoke to him, she studied his eyes to assess his level of mental acuity. “How long were you in the water?”
“Tah, tah, ten minutes,” stuttered Tyler as a fit of shivers overtook his body.
Alpha raced around the cart to help Tyler stand. “Hey, Doc. It was more like twenty. He was having trouble freeing up this idiot, and then we couldn’t get the rope out to him to tow him back to shore.”
“Okay, okay.” Angela was frantic, as she never imagined having to work on her husband. “I’ve got a fire in the cast-iron stove, and Donna’s waiting with blankets. Get him inside first.”
Angela went to the back of the cart and looked at the unconscious young man thrown in the back. They hadn’t bothered to cover him with a blanket or jackets, opting instead to keep Tyler warm. She immediately saw that his shoulder had been dislocated. Just as she turned to get Alpha, Ryan pulled up in the Ranger with Charlie riding shotgun. She jumped out first.
“We’ve got another one,” exclaimed Charlie. She threw open the rear passenger door of the Ranger and pulled out an older man, who was restrained with zip-tie cuffs. Like Tyler, he was shivering uncontrollably but didn’t appear to be injured further.
“Okay, get him inside by the stove,” she instructed Charlie before turning her attention to the injured man in the back of the medical cart. “Ryan, can you help me carry this one inside?”
Ryan nodded and then Alpha appeared from inside. “I’ll get the other end, Doc. You take care of your husband before you deal with these ass clowns.”
Angela’s immediate concern was for Tyler and the risks to his body caused by being in the frigid water for so long. Hypothermia occurs when a person’s core body temperature drops below ninety-five degrees Fahrenheit. To a layman, a three-and-a-half-degree drop below the normal ninety-eight-point-six degrees doesn’t sound like much. However, a sudden drop coupled with the dampness of the water can be potentially fatal.
In a cold river, the body loses heat through the process of radiating through the skin, conduction with the cold surface water, and convection from the constant currents. Overall, hypothermia causes moisture within the body to evaporate.
Just a four-degree drop can induce mild hypothermia, or HT 1, evidenced by shivering and near normal consciousness. While she was concerned for Tyler’s safety, he was a young man in great physical shape. His body would be able to withstand the loss of heat and potential dehydration associated with even a twenty-minute period of exposure to the icy water. His ability to answer questions, albeit off by ten minutes, relieved her concern. He’d warm up by the fire and be fine within the hour.
The other two men were in a much more serious condition. The older man, who was barely conscious, was no longer shivering. His demeanor and appearance indicated he was borderline incoherent, unaware of his surroundings. Angela’s initial opinion was that he was suffering from moderate hypothermia, or HT II.
She’d examine him after she tended to the unconscious younger man. It was possible that his dislocated shoulder had resulted in more pain than the body could handle. The injured man was also relatively thin compared to the man who accompanied him.
Angela walked alongside the stretcher as Ryan and Alpha brought the younger man inside. She touched his neck and forehead. By her best guess, his body temperature was below eighty degrees, an extremely risky level. He was likely near death and clearly in severe hypothermia, or HT III.
“Get him off the stretcher and let’s cut off his wet clothes,” said Angela as she grabbed a gurney that was stored against the back wall of the Armageddon Hospital.
“What about this one?” asked Donna.
Angela was in her element. “Same thing. If he can’t take his own clothes off, cut them off for him. Ryan, I need more blankets and another set of hands.”
“I’m on it!” Ryan raced out the front door and called for Blair on the two-way radio.
Angela went to check on Tyler, who’d undressed himself and was wrapped in a white hospital blanket. His shivering had subsided.
“Whadya say, hero?” she asked as she popped a thermometer into his mouth.
“Hmm, ooh-kay,” he mumbled, allowing the thermometer to bob up and down as if he were talking with a sucker in his mouth.
Angela checked her watch. “Three minutes, Ty. Don’t move until I come back.”
She turned back to the older man, who was now naked under another white cotton blanket. His front was open, exposing his genitals. “This isn’t gonna be enough to keep him warm, or covered,” she said, pointing down between his legs without staring. “Can we unhook his restraints until we get his body temperature up?”
“No,” bellowed Alpha from the other side of the room. “We don’t know anything about them.”
Angela shook her head and wrapped another blanket around the front of the man. He began to shiver again and his eyes began to close.
“I’ll get the other gurney,” offered Donna, who quickly jumped into action.
“Guys, help me hoist him on the gurney. Cut loose these restraints. You can cuff him to the rails if you want, but I’ve got to wrap him up better than this.”
Alpha and Charlie lifted the man onto the gurney after his wrist cuffs were removed. All of the blankets fell to the ground, leaving him naked momentarily. After he was cuffed to the rails, Angela wrapped him up again and slid him against the wall next to the stove.
Blair suddenly burst through the door, carrying an armful of wool blankets. “These should help,” she said as she stopped to survey the situation. She shook her head with a look of disgust on her face. “Tyler first.”
“I’m fine, seriously,” he said, rejecting the offer of the warmer blanket. Blair threw it in his lap anyway.
She handed one to Donna, who replaced the wet cotton blankets on the man cuffed to the gurney. The heavy wool had an immediate effect on him, and his eyes opened and darted around the room.
Alpha noticed that he’d become coherent and walked up to the gurney. He pulled his sidearm and cocked the hammer as he pointed the gun towards the man’s forehead.
“Give me a reason, buddy,” he hissed, causing the older man’s eyes to grow wide.
Angela shook her head and turned to Donna. “Can you help me with this one? I’ve got to set his shoulder and then do some tests.”
“What can I do?” Donna asked.
“Let’s roll him over onto his back. Charlie, will you help Donna hold this kid down? I need you to provide resistance as I gently snap his shoulder back into place.”
They got into position and nodded when they were ready. The young man’s body was limp due to his lack of consciousness, making the procedure somewhat easier. Angela took a deep breath and pulled.
Crack!
“You broke it, good job,” said Alpha, who was watching from the end of the gurney.
“No, I didn’t,” insisted Angela, who then ignored Alpha’s laughing. “Okay, ladies, help me get him positioned so that I can wrap his entire body with bla
nkets.”
“I need to cuff him,” said Alpha.
“No, not yet,” Angela said with a hint of frustration at Alpha’s interruptions. “He’s not going anywhere.”
“Now what?” asked Donna.
“The goal of treating hypothermia victims, regardless of stage, is essentially the same. First, you prevent further heat loss by using blankets and placing the patient in a warmer space than the outdoors.”
“Okay, check,” said Blair.
“Next, we have to be careful not to manhandle him too much. His body is very fragile right now and could deteriorate rapidly. He’s susceptible to cardiac arrhythmia due to his heart muscle being irritated by the large drop in body temp. I really wish we had a heating pad or a couple of electric blankets to deal with this.”
Ryan had reentered the hospital. “I’ll get on the radio and ask around. I’m sorry, but I never thought of that when we were setting up.”
“Thanks, Ryan,” said Angela with a smile. She walked away from the unconscious man and approached Tyler. “The next few minutes will be critical. Let me check his body temp next.”
She pulled the thermometer out of Tyler’s mouth and looked at it. She patted him on the head.
“Now may I have a Dum-Dum?” he asked.
“No, but you’ll live. Don’t move.”
Angela removed the protective shield from the thermometer and placed it on a rolling metal table near her office. She looked in a cabinet until she found a rectal thermometer.
“He’s unconscious, so this will help us get a quicker, more accurate reading,” explained Angela. After a minute, she checked the results. “Good, he’s up above eighty. Eighty-four, to be exact. Let’s keep him warm. In fact, Alpha, give me your socks.”
“What? Why?”
“We need to warm his feet. It’s important to get his extremities warm first.”
“No, not gonna happen,” Alpha objected.
“He needs his groin and armpits warmed, too,” Angela shot back. “You wanna do that for me instead?”
“No,” he said with a gruff as he began to unlace his boots.
Angela smiled and winked at Donna. She got a kick out of teasing Alpha. Warming the feet wasn’t necessary to keep the young man alive, but it would help prevent frostbite and the possible loss of his toes.
After placing Alpha’s warm socks on the man’s feet, Angela stepped back and exhaled.
“Okay, now we observe and wait.”
Chapter Thirty
Armageddon Hospital
The Haven
“All right, Angela, it’s time for you to take your husband home,” admonished Charlotte Echols as she shut the door to the Armageddon Hospital behind her. Donna and Angela had swapped two-hour shifts watching over their three hypothermia patients, and now Charlotte was going to take the graveyard shift until dawn. Tyler was fully recovered and was keeping Angela company while the two intruders were regaining their strength. After a brief visit with their parents, Kaycee and J.C. were taken to Haven House for a sleepover with Chubby and The Roo.
“Yeah, it’s been a long day,” she groaned, looking at her watch. It was just past midnight. “Charlotte, it’s so late. Are you sure you and Echo are up for this? I can find someone else who is—”
“Younger?” Charlotte finished her sentence. “Don’t you worry about me, Dr. Rankin. I’ve sat up many a night over the years caring for family members who were ill. On the farm, we took care of our own and didn’t bother running to the hospital for every ailment. I can handle a six-hour shift until Tom and Donna arrive in the morning.”
“I’m gonna speak with Echo,” said Tyler as he made his way outside. He’d been acting as security, watching over the two men as they slept.
“So, Doc, do you have any special instructions for me?” asked Charlotte.
Angela walked over to the man whose shoulder had been dislocated. “Well, as you know, this young man was in much more serious condition than his older friend. I’ve repaired his separated shoulder and I’ve immobilized it the best I can considering his restraints. I told Alpha he wasn’t likely to go anywhere, especially in light of the fact that he’s nude under these blankets, but you know how our head of security can be.”
“Oh, yeah,” said Charlotte with a snicker. “He can be brutish at times, but as my husband always says, he couldn’t think of anyone he’d rather share a foxhole with.”
“I suppose.” Angela laughed as she felt the young man’s face and forehead. His color was returning, and his vitals were near normal. She made her way to the other gurney.
“What about him?” asked Charlotte.
“This gentleman appears to have fully recovered. I have to say, Charlotte, Tyler fished them out of the water just in time. Just another five minutes and frostbite would’ve been the least of his problems.”
“Does he understand what’s happened to him? He’s partially dressed, but still seems out of it,” Charlotte observed.
“No, and it kinda concerns me. His condition wasn’t near as bad as his young friend. He should’ve fully regained his faculties by now, or for sure when we dressed him. Ryan found a pair of fleece-lined Wrangler khakis and some wool boot socks to cover his lower half. I left his upper half undressed so I can check his vitals without fighting through clothing.”
“He’s still tied down with those plastic cuff things?” asked Charlotte.
“Yes, although not as tight as when they first brought him in. I was concerned about him losing circulation in his fingers and hands, complicating the healing process from his potential frostbite.”
Charlotte walked to the IV-drip bag that was attached to the young man. “Do I need to change this? I’ve never done it before.”
“Nope, he’s good to go until Donna comes in at six. She’s familiar with the process. Also, his catheter is in place and the bag has been emptied. No worries there.”
“Good,” said Charlotte with a laugh. “I don’t want any part of that.”
Angela smiled and headed for the door. “I get it. Listen, Echo has a radio, right?”
“Yes, always.”
“Then please do not hesitate to wake me if there are any complications. I can be here in less than five minutes. Promise?”
Charlotte joined her and opened the door, allowing a rush of cold air to enter the room as they finished their conversation. The two women joined Echo and Tyler on the front porch of the Armageddon Hospital to talk about the day’s events before the Rankins loaded up into the medical cart to head to their cabin for some much-needed rest.
“Good kids,” said Echo as he and Charlotte watched them drive away. “They seem so young yet so mature. You don’t see that much nowadays.”
Charlotte nodded in agreement as she wrapped her arms through her husband’s, enjoying the warmth of the hug. “We’re lucky to have them both, and how about Tyler? I heard he had to argue with Alpha to go into the river after those two. That young man unselfishly risked his life for two strangers.”
“Yeah, pretty amazing, really. I hope when these guys come to, they appreciate what everybody has done for them.”
Inside the hospital, the voices of the Echols were muffled and barely discernible. It wasn’t their conversation that woke up one of their patients, but rather, the sudden rush of cold air that hit him, causing his body to shiver.
The older man had been in and out of consciousness throughout the entire ordeal. At times, he was oblivious to his surroundings, and other times he was completely lucid but chose to hide it from his captors. Because, after all, that was what they were. He and his young companion were prisoners, and the big man with the deep voice had made that abundantly clear.
That was why the prisoner didn’t let on that he was conscious. He knew nothing about the people who had rescued him, only to treat him like a common criminal afterwards. His mind had raced as he listened to their conversations, wondering if they were some kind of cult. He’d made up his mind as soon as his ability to focus ca
me back that he needed to escape.
So, after they loosened his restraints, enabling him to flex his hands and fingers, he got to work on the right wrist cuff that was closest to the cast-iron stove. The heat emanating from the stove caused the plastic to soften.
Through barely opened eyes, he studied his captors, who periodically left him alone or turned their attention to their other patient. Slowly at first, and then with increased vigor and strength, he twisted and turned his right wrist in the cuff until it grew larger. Eventually, it was large enough for him to slide his wrist out completely and then return it to the restraint when he was being attended to. When he was alone, he removed his right arm and worked diligently at stretching and twisting the left cuff until eventually it was loose enough to free his wrist.
Now, as the doctor and her husband, the fella who’d saved their lives, had left the hospital, the man had a decision to make. His buddy still appeared to be unconscious and incapable of escaping. He simply couldn’t help that. He needed to go.
He considered overpowering the older lady who’d been assigned to watch them overnight. However, he was concerned the man on the porch was armed. He presumed that her husband was elderly as well, and his reflexes might be slow. But even a bad shot can find his target once in a while, and he didn’t want to die. He’d cheated death once that day; getting shot at was pushing his luck.
He took a deep breath and steadied his nerves. All he had on were the khakis and a pair of socks. It would be cold, but his body now knew what extreme cold felt like. He decided a run through the woods in the cold, crisp Carolina air might actually feel good.
Decision made. He carefully slipped out of the restraints and quietly removed the covers, keeping one of the gray wool blankets to wrap around his upper body. He made his way past the other gurney, pausing to tell his unconscious friend that he’d send help, before approaching the rear windows of the building.
