Gage—or does he prefer Doc?—tears an antiseptic package open with his teeth, then swipes it over his side from his arm all the way to his waist. A second pad cleans the scalpel, one end of the tubing, and finally, his fingers.
“Take this,” he says, pressing the scalpel into my palm before collapsing onto the sleeping bag and feeling along his ribs until he finds the worst of the bruising. “Make a deep cut…right here.”
I swallow hard. “There has to be another way.”
“Isn’t.” His voice is getting weaker. The pauses between his words longer. Most of the color has fled from his skin. “You’ll know…when you’ve hit…the right spot. Tube…goes in. Tape it down.”
His eyes drift closed. Fuck. No. I can’t lose him too. Mom. Dad. Chris. Logan.
Doc and Gladys are the only two people left in this world I care about.
“Gage? Doc! Look at me!” His lips are blue. His chest is barely moving. Little starts and stops. “Please don’t die on me,” I whisper.
I press the scalpel to the spot between his ribs. It slides in easily. I expected it to be like cutting a steak. Not…a stick of butter.
Blood trickles down his side. Too much. “How will I know? You didn’t tell mehowI’d know.”
The harsh, coppery scent burns my nose. Too many memories.
Logan’s blood running over my hands. His eyes, staring up at me, shimmering with tears. The way his mouth moved but no sound came out. My sobs when I knew he was gone.
I take a deep breath to try to still the tremble in my fingers before I push deeper. The plane bobs gently on the water, and I have a blade an inch deepin a man’s chest.
What if I cut something…vital? What if my hand starts to shake too much? Or the wind picks up? Is this far enough? He’s barely breathing. If I kill him…
Cool fingers cover mine. Thank God. He’s still alive. Still conscious. He doesn’t make a sound—I’m not sure he can—but pushes down, forcing the scalpel even deeper. I feel a pop, then hear a hiss of air before his hand falls away.
“Doc? Please. Come back to me!” For the first time in years, I start to pray.
The blue tinge to his lips disappears. He’s no longer struggling for each breath. I almost drop the tubing twice—my fingers are so slick with his blood—but eventually wedge one end into the gash and tape it to his side.
Wiping my hands on my light gray pants, I try to calm my racing heart. “Is that enough?” He’s so still. Only the slow rise and fall of his chest give me any comfort. What if I did it wrong? What if he dies anyway?
The seconds stretch into minutes. How long until I have to call the number on that phone? Will the man on the other end even come if Doc isn’t awake—or alive—to ask him? And how will he find us?
I’m about to reach for the phone when Doc groans softly. Linking our fingers, I squeeze gently. “Open your eyes. Please?”
“Working…on it,” he whispers. Another sound—more of a grunt this time—and he focuses on me. “Clamp. End…of the tube. Now.”
I fumble for the springy metal, then secure the clamp around the part of the tube furthest from his body. “Like that?”
“Just…like that.” He lets his head fall back against the sleeping bag with a sigh.
“You’ll be okay now?” I hate how pitiful I sound, then again, I did just perform some sort of demented surgery on him while we float in the middle of the Sound on a downed plane.
“Fucker…broke my rib. It caused…a pneumothorax. Collapsed my lung. The tube…will keep me breathing. For a while.”
“A while?A while?How long is that?” Shit. He’s not reassuring me. If anything, I’m more scared now than when Parker had a gun to my head.
“Long enough. If McCabe answers the phone.” His voice is getting stronger, but he closes his eyes and shudders. “Hurts like…a son of a bitch.”
“Do you have something in your kit I can give you?” One of those vials has to be a painkiller.
“Not yet.” Doc grimaces, the muscles of his neck straining as he tries to lift his head. “Need to stay focused. But…hand me…the phone.”
Doc
The hole in my chest burns. I need supplemental oxygen, antibiotics, stitches…and morphine. But if I give myself a shot now, I might not be alert enough to keep myself alive. Or convince McCabe to come for us.
