Page 45 of Trail to Trouble
“His pulse is weak.”
A rush of relief surged through her. They weren’t too late.
Cap and Chief went to work, slipping a cervical collar onto Hunter, then they slipped the field gurney under him and lifted him out of the large hole. Hunter didn’t move or make a sound the entire time.
They set him on the level ground and quickly assessed his other injuries. The wrapping she’d fastened around him to put pressure on the gunshot wound to his shoulder was saturated with blood but didn’t look glossy, so it must have slowed, or even stopped. That had to be a good sign.
Chief studied the wrap. “It looks like it’s working. We’ll leave that for now and get him to the ambulance.”
“Ambulance?” Hannah questioned.
“Yes, there should be one waiting for us where you came up onto the street, by the bridge,” he replied.
Cici knelt next to Hunter’s head. “Stay with us. We got you.”
There was no response from Hunter.
Cici fought away tears.
The chief took a moment to study their surroundings. She presumed he looked to see if they’d been followed.
Cap and Chief each grabbed a handle of the stretcher near Hunter’s shoulders, and she and Cici grabbed the handles by his legs. He was heavy, but come hell or high water, she’d hold her own and get Hunter to safety as quickly as possible.
Bianca followed them, carrying the backpack that Cici had been wearing earlier.
Hannah’s breathing labored as she stepped on the uneven terrain and over downed trees. There was no simple path in sight, so she did the best she could.
When they got to the river, the chief looked over his shoulder and bounced his gaze between her and Cici. “Should we take five?”
“I’m good,” Cici immediately responded.
If Cici could continue, she could as well. She didn’t want to be the one to let everyone down, and she knew Hunter needed medical attention long before now.
“Me, too.”
“Okay, but you have to say something if you need a rest. We don’t need to be carrying two people out of here or hurt him any further if we...”
“We’re good,” Cici cut off his words.
“Okay.”
Chief and Cap continued along the river, but just inside the woods for cover, like Hunter had instructed her to do, just in case someone was watching them.
Within minutes, the refreshing sight of that stone bridge she’d come across earlier came into view. Soon, Hunter would get the medical attention he needed.
Atop the bridge sat an ambulance.
Her feet moved quicker in response to the chief and Cap’s increased pace. With the end of the trail in sight and help waiting for Hunter, it suddenly became easier to keep up with the long-legged men leading the way.
When they reached the low rocky bank, where she had to hurl herself up on earlier to reach the road, they paused and set Hunter on the ground.
The chief directed them to switch positions. He and Cap grasped the handles of the gurney, one at Hunter’s head and one at his feet. He told her and Cici to lift from the side away from the bank to help guide him and Cap, as they lifted the gurney to the awaiting EMTs and two firefighters.
Once they handed Hunter off, the five of them climbed up the bank. She ran to Hunter’s side. He’d been loaded onto the ambulance gurney, so when she leaned over to kiss him on the cheek, she didn’t have to lean too far. His pasty white cheek was cool.
“Please be okay. Please,” she whispered.
His eyes fluttered open for the briefest of moments, and in the split second before they closed again, those amber flecks in his chestnut irises flashed.
