If I Should Die lk-3

by Allison Brennan

  “Peachy.”

  He was lying facedown, his mouth coated with dirt, his jammed shoulder rendering his entire right arm useless. He used his left arm to help push himself onto his back, and he cried out again. A dislocated shoulder could be easily fixed, but until he could force it back into place the pain was nearly intolerable.

  “What happened? Sean?”

  He couldn’t respond until the initial wave passed, fearing he’d pass out again. He’d dislocated his shoulder twice before, he knew how to pop it back in-if he could stand. He moved his leg. It wasn’t broken. That was a big fat plus. But something was wrong with it.

  “Dammit, answer me, Sean Rogan!”

  “I’m still here, Princess.” He tried to sound normal, but his voice was scratchy and weak. He could make out faint light from above, but his vision was cloudy. The entrance to the shaft was partly blocked by trees and shrubs, but there was enough light for him to see shadows. He judged that the shaft was about eight feet square and twenty-five feet deep, but his vision blurred again as he tried to focus on his immediate surroundings. He closed his eyes, though in the back of his throbbing head he knew he shouldn’t because he probably had a concussion. How long had he been out?

  “Tim is here with me. We’re going to get you out.”

  Though it hurt like hell, he pulled his body up so he could sit against the wall. The pain helped wake him up, and he didn’t know whether to swear or be grateful.

  He realized as he righted himself that a sharp, squat piece of rotten wood protruded from his jeans. Blood seeped from the wound and he didn’t know how deep the oversized splinter was embedded.

  He leaned against the side of the mine shaft, his dislocated shoulder bumping against the rock, and he grunted.

  “Sean? Where are you injured?”

  “My shoulder. Dislocated.” He felt like puking, which wasn’t a good sign. His head was still spinning.

  “I’m coming down there,” Lucy said.

  “No!” The effort to shout exhausted him. He couldn’t have Lucy down here. What if he was dying? He didn’t want her to watch him die.

  Stop being so melodramatic, Rogan. You’re not dying.

  It sure as hell felt like it.

  “Unless you tell me that if I toss you a rope you can climb out on your own, I’ll be there in two minutes.”

  “Lucy-”

  A deep, male voice said, “Sean, I have equipment in my truck to get both of you back up. Give me a couple minutes and I’ll lower Lucy down.”

  It was useless to argue. How else was he going to get out of this pit? He just didn’t want Lucy to see him like this.

  But of course Lucy could handle it. She could handle anything life handed her. Even him in this condition. He just … hell, he didn’t know what he was thinking. The pain was making him stupid.

  He closed his eyes again. He thought he heard Lucy talking, but it was far away.

  “Sean? Hang tight. Okay?” Kneeling at the edge. Lucy braced herself when she heard no answer. She squeezed back tears. She was usually so much better at closing off her emotions, but Sean was in a bad way and she was pretty certain he’d passed out again.

  From behind her, Tim said, “Lucy, let’s get my gear.”

  She didn’t want to leave Sean, but the faster they gathered the equipment, the faster she could get down there and check out his injuries. A dislocated shoulder she could fix. But there was more. No one could fall that far unscathed. His arm or leg could be broken. His back. He could have a concussion. He wasn’t responsive, and that worried her more than the shoulder.

  Tim’s truck wasn’t far, and he had plenty of rope and mountain gear. “I only have one harness,” he said. “I’ll lower you down, and you strap Sean in and I’ll pull him up.”

  “How can you do it alone?”

  “Alone?” He patted his truck. “I have a winch.”

  She tried to smile, but it felt unnatural and forced.

  Tim squeezed her arm. “We’ll get him out. He’s going to be fine.”

  She had to believe it.

  Lucy watched Tim’s vehicle cautiously approach the mine shaft. There weren’t many trees blocking access, but the bushes and fallen branches left over from winter storms made it cumbersome even for the large four-wheel drive. Finally, the truck was in place.

  Tim called down. “Sean? You doing okay?”

  “Yep.” His voice was faint.

  Lucy checked Tim’s equipment. The harness was simple and lightweight, primarily used for rappelling, not rescue. But it had a metal ring to attach the rope, essential to Sean’s release since he wouldn’t be able to pull himself out.

  She strapped on the harness, attached the rope, and checked all the buckles.

  “You’ve done this before.” Tim handed her a small flashlight.

  “Only in training. My specialty is water rescue, not getting-my-boyfriend-out-of-a-mine-shaft rescue.” Her attempt at humor was weak, but Tim smiled.

  She quickly rappelled down the side of the mine shaft. She landed hard, but kept her balance.

  “Impressive,” Sean said, his voice strained.

  “I live to impress you,” Lucy said as she removed the harness. She wasn’t one for playful banter, especially when she was so tense, but it relaxed Sean. Little light made it down this far and she turned on the flashlight.

  He’d pulled himself into a slumped position against the rock and dirt wall. She smelled blood, and looked at Sean. Wood protruded from his leg, and his jeans were soaked in blood. She averted her eyes, just for a second, to gather her strength.

  “You smell like smoke,” Sean said.

  “I got a little dirty putting the fire out.”

  “You okay?”

  “Much better than you,” she said. “I think-” She hesitated, a familiar smell flitting under her nose. She breathed in, smelling mostly soot and her own sweat. She exhaled and breathed in deeply.

  Then she identified it.

  A decomposing body.

  Lucy had worked for a year in the morgue; she knew what a dead body smelled like. This was subtle, but still putrid, likely from the dampness in the tunnels as well as bacteria and molds that feed on body tissue and organs in such an environment. It smelled like cold storage, when organic matter breaks down extremely slowly.

  It’s probably an animal. A large animal.

  It was much colder down here than on the surface. How cold did it stay in the summer months? She had no idea. But it was spring now, and if someone had fallen into this pit last year, the body could have frozen and just now started to thaw.

  She pulled a more powerful flashlight from her backpack and shined it around the area. There was little except broken wood, some old, rusty tools, and a pitch-black corridor leading off the mine shaft-no telling how long the tunnel was or where it led. But no dead body in sight.

  “You’re not thinking of exploring the caves?” Sean said, half-joking.

  “Of course not.”

  She knelt next to him and stared at his leg.

  “It’s just a splinter,” Sean joked without humor. Then he said, “It hurts, but not half as much as my arm.”

  She inspected his dislocated shoulder. She wasn’t a doctor, and would have at first thought it was broken. But she trusted Sean’s assessment. “We’ll have to secure it-”

  “Just pop it back in.”

  Lucy stared at Sean under the flashlight, which made his face appear extremely pale. A sheen of sweat coated him even though it was frigid. “What?” She knew exactly what he meant, but hoped he wasn’t asking her to do it.

  “Duke usually helps. You have to-”

  “I know what to do, but I don’t want to.”

  She sounded childish. Adjusting a dislocated shoulder was agonizing, and she didn’t want to hurt Sean.

  “I can’t do it alone, Luce. I need you.”

  She let out a long breath. “Okay.” She had no a choice.

  “Do it fast.”

  “Hold
this.” She handed him the flashlight.

  “Relax.”

  Sean tensed. “Maybe-”

  “Relax,” she repeated. “If you’re tense I could damage something. You have enough injuries as it is.”

  “Okay.” She felt him try to calm his muscles, but he began shivering. It was cold down here, and his injuries and blood loss could put him into shock.

  “Count to three, okay?” she said.

  “All right.” She didn’t touch him yet, but positioned her hands so she could push and twist the shoulder back into place in one smooth move. “One,” Sean began and forced his body to relax.

  She grasped Sean’s shoulder with one hand and pushed against his chest to hold his body against the cave wall. She pushed and barely heard the bone pop back into place over his sudden scream.

  She bit back her own cry. He was right-it had to be done-but she didn’t have to like it.

  Sean’s eyes squeezed shut and the muscles on his neck stood out. He’d dropped the flashlight and it rolled a few feet away, casting a ghostly light over their surroundings.

  “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” she said.

  Sean was shaking. She took a blanket from her backpack and put it over his chest. She didn’t want to accidentally bump the wood in his leg. He grabbed her hand and squeezed.

  “It’s okay,” he whispered through clenched teeth.

  “I hate to hurt you.” She held a water bottle to his lips and he sipped.

  She sat with him for a long minute. Dislocated shoulders were painful, but putting them back in place was twice as bad. Fortunately, other than general soreness, the pain dissipated quickly.

  He swallowed, drank more water, then breathed deeply. “Better.”

  “Your head-”

  “Yes, I probably have a mild concussion. I was knocked out for a minute or three. But other than a growing bump on the side of my head and a whopper of a headache, it’s fine. Not even bleeding.”

  “Much.” She wetted a clean piece of gauze and wiped dried blood and dirt from his scalp and face. Sean was so much like her brothers-take a beating and still get up fighting, even when they needed to lay low for a while. “I’m keeping an eye on you tonight, since I’m pretty certain you won’t let me take you to a hospital.”

  “I’d have to be unconscious before you could get me anywhere near a hospital.”

  “I need to take care of your leg,” she said. “Drink some more water.”

  “Bossy nurse, aren’t you?”

  She smiled. “I’m sure you’re not a model patient.”

  “I’ll be a great patient. Especially if I’m bedridden with you.”

  She snorted. “One-track mind.”

  “We’re still on vacation, Princess.” He paused and gave her a half-smile. “We were on vacation, until someone nearly burned down the lodge. You know what this means, right?”

  “Don’t-”

  “Exactly. This doesn’t count as our vacation. I should never have let Duke convince me this would be a quick and easy assignment.”

  “Well, except for your clumsiness, I’m glad we can help Tim. He’s heartbroken about what’s been happening.” She assessed Sean’s leg with the flashlight. The bleeding seemed to have stopped, but she couldn’t be certain it wouldn’t start up again. “I’m going to cut your jeans.”

  When her hand brushed against the wood, Sean ground his teeth against the surge of pain.

  “Sorry.”

  He’d need a tetanus shot, antibiotics as well. She carefully cut away the material. “How did you end up at the bottom of this mine shaft?”

  “Just lucky.”

  “We found the ATV you were riding by the highway.”

  “The kid busted his quad. I chased him, he did a quick turn and I slipped right in here.”

  Lucy stopped what she was doing and looked at Sean’s face.

  “An intentional trap?”

  “I think it was a spontaneous idea on his part.”

  “You said he was a kid?”

  “No older than seventeen or eighteen. He’s not doing this alone. He was scared of someone. I’m going to find him. I almost had him convinced to trust me-then he bolted. I suspect he planned to circle around back to my quad in the hopes I’d left the keys in and he could get to it before me.”

  “You did leave your keys in it.”

  He shook his head. “I was stupid. Rookie mistake.”

  Lucy gently pulled away the scraps of material. She pulled an emergency combat tourniquet from her first aid kit-the C-A-T used by the military and EMTs were not usually found in an over-the-counter kit, but she’d enhanced her supplies. She wrapped it around Sean’s thigh above the stake and cinched it into place.

  “I’m going to pull this straight out, pour water on it, then-”

  “Just do it.”

  Lucy laid out the rest of her supplies and propped the flashlight on her backpack. This time, she didn’t count. She assessed the angle, then pulled the stake straight out of Sean’s thigh. Nearly an inch of the sharp wood had gone in. She poured water liberally over the wound.

  His eyes were closed, his jaw clenched, his face covered in a fresh layer of sweat. The grime and dirt from the mine coated his skin, his dark hair falling forward over one eye. She needed to get him someplace warm, clean, and dry.

  She patted the injured area with a thick wad of gauze, then checked the bleeding. The tourniquet was doing its job. She hadn’t thought any major arteries had been hit, considering the location of the stake, but she wouldn’t remove the tourniquet until they got him out of the hole.

  She held the gauze there for a long minute. Tim called down. “Lucy? Sean?”

  She looked up. The sunlight was brighter. It was eleven in the morning, though it felt as if much longer than four hours had passed since she and Sean first smelled smoke.

  “I’m bandaging his leg, then I’ll get him ready to bring up.”

  She lifted the gauze. The skin was red and starting to turn purple. She sprayed antiseptic on it and Sean’s body jerked. She bit back another sorry, took a fresh bandage from the kit, and taped it on the wound.

  “You’re good for now,” she said.

  “A minute,” he said.

  She packed up the first aid kit, then sat next to Sean and took his hand. “You’re going to be okay,” she said, more for herself than for him.

  He put his arm around her and held her head to his chest.

  She squeezed back tears. Why was she about to cry? Sean was fine. It might take him a few days to go running, but he hadn’t broken anything, he hadn’t died.

  A tiny sob escaped.

  “Luce?”

  “It’s nothing.”

  “I’m okay. You know that.”

  “I know.”

  He kissed the top of her head, and that made the tears fall. She didn’t understand why she was so upset. She’d get Sean out of this pit, take him to the cabin, watch him all night to make sure the concussion didn’t cause him more problems, and by tomorrow …

  What if he’d died?

  There were so many things she wanted to tell him, things she didn’t know how to say. The thought of Sean dying terrified her. She’d lost people in her life, people she cared about. Her cousin. Her ex-boyfriend. Her brother Patrick had been in a coma for nearly two years and though she prayed daily, she never thought he’d wake up. That he’d survived and was now back to his old self was a miracle.

  With all her hard-fought strength, her ability to close off her emotions, she found her walls crumbling as she pictured Sean sprawled on the floor of the mine shaft, dead.

  To Sean’s credit, he didn’t try to get her to talk about it. Maybe he understood her better than she did-he seemed to get her even when she was confused.

  “Are you ready?” she asked.

  He looked down into her face. Her breath caught at the emotion twisting his face. “I love you, Lucy.”

  Say “I love you.” Tell him.

  She wanted to,
but not here. Not now. Her feelings were all jumbled, fear and relief and an aching rawness.

  She kissed him instead. “How’s your shoulder?”

  “Sore, but functioning. I’m more than ready to get out of here.”

  Lucy helped Sean put on the harness while he remained sitting, since he couldn’t put much weight on his bandaged leg. Then she helped him stand. He leaned heavily on her, showing Lucy that he was in more pain than he wanted to admit. “You’re going to have a lot of bruises,” she said.

  “I’ll expect you to kiss every one of them. You might have to bathe me, too.”

  “The sacrifices I’m going to have to make.” She wondered if she could get a doctor to come out to the lodge.

  The scent of decay hit her again. This time, Sean hesitated, too, and looked down the tunnel.

  “I smelled it when I first came down,” Lucy said.

  “No,” he said, knowing what she was thinking.

  “I won’t go far. I promise. Just check it out. If I don’t see anything within a few feet, I’ll turn around.” She clipped on the hook to the harness belt. “I’m not reckless, Sean. It’s most likely an animal. But just in case-” She didn’t say it.

  “And if you don’t check it out now, you’ll be back here tomorrow.”

  “How do you know me so well?”

  Sean kissed her lightly. “I know you better than you know yourself.”

  A sudden unease crept up the back of her neck at the truth of Sean’s statement. She called up to Tim. “He’s ready!”

  Tim said, “Okay, Sean-I’m starting the winch.”

  After an initial jolt off the ground, Sean was lifted slowly to the surface. He used his good leg to keep himself from hitting the wall, his hands holding the rope.

  Once he was out of the shaft, Lucy breathed easier. She called up to Tim, “Make sure Sean gets water and blankets. I’ll be ready in a few minutes.”

  Lucy picked up a stick to mark her way-she wasn’t taking any chances of getting lost. She aimed her flashlight toward the tunnel that led from the ventilation shaft.

  She knew very little about mines, but was aware that they could be unstable and extremely dangerous. Because there was no active mining, she suspected her greatest danger would be from unmarked openings or debris left over from the mining days.