“You don’t have to,” she said. “We can wait for them by the golf carts, or we can have someone take us back to the command center.”
“Golf carts,” I said. “I want to be here if they find my mom.”
She led me away from the group to the carts, where we took a seat. When I looked back to where Ink and Dice had been standing, they were gone, and several of the guys were looking over the edge while others were pulling and adjusting ropes.
Daphne tried to keep me engaged in conversation, but my attention kept going back to the group. “I’m sorry,” I told her.
She smiled kindly. “You don’t need to apologize. I’ve been in your shoes before. Tell me what will help. Do you want to talk, or would you rather sit in silence?”
“I honestly don’t know. I’m used to being in the middle of emergent situations, not sitting on the sidelines.”
“We can work with that. Let’s assume they find your mother. What can we do to prepare for the injuries she might have?”
“She could have a broken extremity, so they may need to splint it before moving her. She might have cuts or lacerations that need a pressure dressing.”
“Officer Perkins,” Daphne called and gestured for him to come over. “Presley is an ER nurse. Do you have first aid supplies she could go through and get the things they will likely need to prepare her mother for extraction?”
Officer Perkins looked at me with kind eyes and seemed to understand my duress. “Yes,” he nodded. “I’ll have one of the officers bring the kit down from the command center.”
“Thank you,” I said.
When the first aid supplies arrived, I busied myself sorting through the things I thought we’d need and the things that wouldn’t be of use. I tried to take my time because I knew there wouldn’t be anything else to fill the time while we waited. Unfortunately, we hadn’t heard anything from the guys before I finished.
I was just about to ask if they could check in with Dice and Ink when I heard Ink’s voice on the radio Officer Perkins left with us at the golf cart. “We got her. She’s alive.”
If I’d been standing, I would’ve collapsed to the ground. As it was, I slumped into Daphne’s side. But his next words had me grabbing the supplies I’d gathered and running to the group. “She’s hurt. We think her lower leg might be broken, and she’s got a head injury. She’s alert and talking.”
“Can we get these supplies down to them?” I asked.
“Yes,” Carbon said. “Put them in this basket.” I did as he said and watched as he sent the basket down to them using the rope system.
“We’re sending some supplies down,” Phoenix said over the radio. “Presley’s going to tell you how to use them.”
He handed the radio to me, and I blinked at him in surprise. He snapped his fingers in front of my face. “Come on, Presley. Snap into nurse mode.”
Shaking my head, I grabbed the radio and rattled off instructions. They had just gotten her leg stabilized when the rescue crew arrived.
Officer Perkins brought them up to speed before they sent their own people down with a litter to get my mother.
And then we waited. And waited.
Dice appeared first. Then Ink. I sprinted across the distance and launched myself at him before he could detach himself from the rope system. “Thank you!”
He wrapped his arms around me and held me against his chest. “She’s going to be okay,” he assured me before placing a kiss on top of my head and stepping back. “Let me get this gear off so we can follow them to the hospital.”
Moments later, I saw the litter with my mother appear and ran to her side. “Mom!” I cried.
“Presley,” she said loudly. “I lost my hearing aids and can’t hear a damn thing. Where’s your dad and Ariel?”
I pointed toward their campsite. “Back there. They’re fine,” I said slowly and loudly.
She nodded. “Frisco?”
“He’s fine.”
She nodded and closed her eyes for a second. When she opened them again, she looked at me with a small grin. “Which one of those handsome fellas is yours?” Without her hearing aids, she was talking much louder than normal, so everyone heard her question.
I covered my face with my hand and shook my head. “Ink is my friend. Dice is engaged to Daphne.”
