9. Lana #2
Toren’s butt left the ground. He let out a quick grunt of pain as he moved from sitting to standing, and for a moment, we teetered on the edge of losing our balance. A quick shuffle from me kept us upright, and he was able to fully unfold.
“You okay?” I looked up at him. A paleness shone on his cheeks, battling for space with the redness brought on by the cold.
“As I can be, yes.” He glanced over his shoulder at the ground. “We need to figure out what we’re doing with that. I can’t carry it.”
I peered around him at his giant pack. “Leave it. I’ll come back for it.” I wasn’t sure how I’d lug it out of here, but I’d find a way. Maybe I could drag it.
“It’s got most of our medical supplies in it. We’ll need them for my ankle.”
“I know, but I can’t help you and carry both backpacks. Mine’s lighter. You’re heavy. It’s staying here for now.”
“Grab the trauma kit out of it, at least. I can bandage my ankle while you come back for the main pack, then.”
That was a good idea.
Making sure he was steady before I let go, I picked my way around him and unzipped the bag, digging through the contents. The kit was near the top and small enough I could tuck it into my backpack.
Once I had it stowed, and my bag back on my shoulders, I returned to Toren’s side. He had a little more color to his cheeks now.
“Are you holding up okay? You’re not going to pass out on me, are you?”
He shook his head. “I’m good. Let’s go.”
Tucking myself under his left arm, I tunneled my hand under his coat again, threading my thumb through one of his belt loops to keep a firm grip.
With my help, he managed to get out of the dip between the rocks and back on top of the pile. It wasn’t easy, and there were several curse words thrown around, but we made it.
Slowly, we picked our way over the mess of boulders, back the way we came. When we neared the edge of the landslide, we sat down and scooted our way to the forest floor, so we didn’t fall going downhill.
Back on solid, less bumpy ground, walking was much easier. Toren was able to bear some weight on his ankle, which helped tremendously. It still took us nearly an hour to reach our campsite again, and we only slipped once. Somehow, we stayed upright.
I helped Toren ease into the tent, then took off my backpack and removed the first-aid kit before propping the bag behind him for support.
“Do you need anything else before I go back for your pack?”
“Help me take this boot off.” He pointed to his foot.
“Oh. Right.” Dropping to my knees, I pulled off my gloves, then raised his pant leg and tugged on his shoelaces.
The bow slithered free, then the lace ends unwound from the lace hooks.
I pulled on the crossed ends, loosening the shoe as much as possible to minimize the amount of tugging on his injured joint.
It still hurt, though, as I pulled the boot off. His face scrunched, and he hissed a breath through his teeth as his foot slid from the shoe. I winced, wishing I’d been able to get it off without pain.
I let the shoe drop to the tent floor with a thud, then looked at his ankle.
My nose wrinkled. I didn’t even have his sock off yet and could see the swelling.
“What happened, anyway? How did you fall?” I asked as I rolled the wool down.
Mottled red and purple bruising slowly appeared as I peeled the sock off.
It looked terrible and had to hurt more than he was letting on.
“I slid down that top boulder, and my foot got caught in the crevice. My ankle rolled and threw me off balance. I couldn’t catch myself and fell over the side.”
“Well, at least there aren’t any bones sticking out.” I propped his foot in my lap. “Can you wiggle your toes?”
Five digits moved independently, albeit with a grimace on his face.
“Can you feel me touching everywhere?” I skimmed a fingertip over several spots, hoping there wasn’t any nerve damage.
“Yeah.”
“That’s good.” I squeezed the end of his big toe and watched the blood refill the capillaries.
It looked normal, so I checked the other toes.
“Your circulation looks like it’s intact.
” Thank goodness. Everything seemed to work right, which was great news.
I couldn’t imagine the effect a badly broken foot or ankle would have on not just his livelihood but on his life in general.
He’d still be on limited movement for a while, but not completely out of action.
He nodded. “Just wrap it. I think it’s just a sprain. I didn’t feel any crunching when we were walking back. It just hurts.”
I opened the trauma kit and found the compression wrap. With quick movements, I wrapped his ankle and secured the Velcro edge. “There you go. Do you want your sock back on?”
“I can do it.” He picked it up off the ground, but the pinched expression on his face the moment he extended his arms to put it on had me snatching it from his hands.
“Lana—”
Spearing him with a look that shut him up, I slid the wool over his toes and tugged it up over his foot and lower calf. There was no need for him to play He-Man when I could save him from the pain and do it.
He picked up the first-aid kit to dig through it.
“What are you looking for?”
“Painkillers.” He held up a packet of ibuprofen.
I arched an eyebrow. “That’s not going to do much.”
“Well, it’s all I’ve got. Hopefully, it takes the edge off.”
I had my doubts, but kept my mouth shut. Rolling up to my feet, I headed for the tent entrance. “I’m going to stoke this fire, then go get your bag. Do you need anything else?”
Toren swiped a hand over his face and let out a soft groan. “Um, someone to find my hunting guide card and make sure it’s still valid, because I’m a dumbass and should have better watched my footing.”
I chuckled softly. “Accidents happen to everyone.” I wagged a finger at him. “Even those with lots of training.” Ducking through the doorway, I grasped the zipper. “I’ll be back soon.”
“Please be careful. I’ll come after you—somehow—but it’ll take me a long time to reach you.”
The first shudder of unease worked its way through my body as it hit me just how remote we were and just how much trouble we could be in if something happened to me as well. “I will.”
“Follow the same path we took to get back, so I know where to look if you don’t return.”
I nodded. “Give me a couple hours before you come looking.” With a quick zip, I shut the tent flap most of the way, then picked up a long stick and shoved it into the fire, stirring it back to life.
I added a couple more pieces of wood, then put the poker stick off to the side and stepped back into the rain.