Chapter Twenty
No. No, no. He couldn’t move. His face was buried in icy snow, his chest, hell, he couldn’t breathe. It took a huge effort, an enormous effort just to move his head to the side and suck in air imbued with thick, suffocating smoke, and pain, pain was everywhere. His head swam. He was going to pass out; don’t pass out, Rico, you have to…
Something was burning.
Voices. Men shouting for ambulances, a child crying and shockingly, a man screaming, howling without words. That wasn’t him; he wanted to scream but there wasn’t enough air, why wasn’t there enough air? Mama, Papa, somebody help me.
A hand was touching him. A white-hot flash of agony as his body was moved made him black out for a second, then the hand was rubbing over his face. Better, he could breathe again but oh God, it hurt so much. His chest… was he having a heart attack?
A voice, telling him not to move – as if he could move. What had happened? Where was Stacy? The hand was still on his shoulder, but the voice was talking to someone else and it was all washing over him. Rico closed his eyes, then immediately opened them again. If he was going to die, he wanted to see the world as he went. But his father – he couldn’t leave Dad. And Stacy – he still hadn’t told her he loved her.
Yellow. Something yellow. An ambulance. More people, more voices washing over him, and now he did close his eyes because swirling darkness was everywhere. They were moving him, doing things to him and he couldn’t stop them and the pain was worse and worse and – and then it eased, and warmth flushed though him. Something was clamped over his nose and mouth – oxygen. Breathe, Rico.
They were moving him again, putting him into an ambulance, more voices, one right up close telling him to hang on, they were going to hospital. A lurch, and more pain. They were moving. Where was Stacy? Oh God, they were taking him away from Stacy and he couldn’t stop them, he couldn’t even tell them.
On, and on, and the pain was ebbing and flowing and so was the world. The voice was silent, but it was still there, breathing close by.
A jerk, and he slid sideways as another voice swore and oh God, what was happening now?
‘A little skid, that’s all,’ said the near voice. ‘We’re okay, and we’ll be out of the bad snow soon. Hang on in there.’
But he couldn’t hang on; the darkness was getting closer. He couldn’t see any more, he couldn’t breathe. Stacy…
And everything went black.
***
Emily was shaking in the passenger seat as they finished that horror retreat up the motorway, and Stacy turned off the engine.
‘I’ll have to go and find him,’ she said, pulling her hood over her head.
‘Sirens!’ said Emily, sitting straighter, and Stacy nodded. Help had arrived.
‘You stay here, in case we need to move the car again. I’ll see what’s happened.’
Stacy could hardly speak, she was so afraid. That other man’s car had an electrical fault. What if Rico had been bending over it when – no, no. It didn’t bear thinking about. Her stomach cramped as she fought her way through the snow. Two men were sliding their way downhill in front of her, and she walked behind them, arms crossed across her chest as she fought the blizzard, realising with every step how easily someone could be lost and die in conditions like these, and oh, was Rico okay? It didn’t seem likely or he’d have come back by this time, and shit, it was taking way too long to get to him. Stacy’s teeth chattered, and she bit down to stop them, tasting blood.
The snow was slackening as they reached the head of the queue, and Stacy’s heart plummeted at the sight of a single car with a burned and blackened interior. The engine area was covered in something that could have been foam from a fire extinguisher, and the bonnet was lying on the road about ten yards away. A police car and a fire vehicle stood further along, but there was no sign of an ambulance. An officer came forward and spoke to the two men, but Stacy didn’t understand.
‘Please,’ she said in English, as the officer drew breath. ‘My friend – he came to help with a car, and I can’t find him.’
The officer’s face was grim. ‘His name?’ The English was heavily accented, but Stacy sobbed again, in relief this time. He would help her find Rico.
‘Rico Weber.’
‘He’s hurt. An ambulance has taken him and another man to the hospital in Chur. The road will clear soon and you can go there.’
Stacy burst into tears. ‘I can’t drive to Chur! I’m English – I’ve never driven in Switzerland!’
A second officer approached and the first one moved away to speak to him. Stacy heard the word ‘tourist’. After a brief conversation, the first man came back. ‘I will drive you to Chur. Your car?’
‘It’s about fifty yar– I mean, metres, back,’ said Stacy, pointing up the motorway. For the life of her she couldn’t think of the make, so she added, ‘It’s silver-grey.’
‘Go there and wait. I will find you when the road is clear.’
Stacy forced her feet back up the sloping road to the car, where Emily was shivering, tears running down her cheeks. Quickly, Stacy reported what was going on, and Emily climbed into the back to allow Stacy into the passenger seat.
‘At least he’s alive, Stace. He must have been conscious too, to tell them his name.’ Emily sat huddled in her jacket.
Stacy shivered. ‘They could have got that from his ID card in his wallet.’ She closed her eyes, trying to breathe calmly. Everything that could be done, was being done. She would ask for more info when the police officer arrived.
It was another twenty minutes before he appeared, however, by which time the snow had almost stopped. He got into the driver’s seat with a nod to the two girls, then started the engine as the queue of cars moved forward.
‘Is Rico badly hurt?’ Stacy held her breath, but the man only shrugged.
‘I don’t know. His head and his chest. We see in Chur. I must speak with him too.’
‘How far is it?’
‘Fifty kilometres.’
They fell silent as the car drove on, at a surprising speed considering the conditions. This man was obviously no stranger to driving in snow. Stacy’s stomach was churning madly, and she clasped her hands together, squeezing them between her knees to stop them shaking. Please, please let Rico be okay. Just minor bumps and bruises. But her nursing training meant she knew all the terrible injuries someone standing near an exploding car could have suffered, and every single one of them was whirling through her mind. And oh, if only she hadn’t pushed him away that day.
By the time they arrived in Chur, the snow had stopped completely and the roads were almost clear. The officer drove into the hospital car park, and motioned to the girls to stay seated. He spoke into his radio, then turned to Stacy.
‘We go to find your friend. Then you organise for the car.’
‘Yes,’ said Stacy. She would call Ralph, and let him decide what was to happen. She and Emily followed the officer into the hospital, where they were directed to a bank of lifts.
‘I’m glad we don’t have to find him ourselves,’ whispered Emily, as they emerged on the second floor and followed the officer along a corridor.
Stacy was glad too. The officer pointed to a row of seats, then strode around the corner. Stacy and Emily waited in silence. Stacy’s nerves were at breaking point. Rico hadn’t called her, which must mean he was unconscious, or too badly injured to phone. Or was his phone damaged? Had anyone here been in touch with Ralph? Her fingers shook as she checked her phone. No calls, but she did have Ralph’s number in her list of hotel employees.
‘Good afternoon.’ A middle-aged doctor was standing with the policeman beside her chair.
Stacy leapt to her feet. ‘How is he? Have you called his father?’
‘He is alive,’ said the doctor. ‘Are you a relative? No? Do you have a number for his next of kin?’
Stacy opened her phone and gave him Ralph’s number, nausea rolling around in her stomach. No info for non-family initially, it was the same in the NHS, and now she knew how all those people she’d met as nurse felt when they were in the same situation she was now. No info was the only way, but it was still brutal when you were worried sick.
She blinked up at him. ‘Will you ask Ralph to call me – Stacy – after you speak to him?’
‘Of course.’ The doctor shook hands with the policeman, and went into a nearby room, closing the door behind him.
‘I go now. You are okay, yes?’ The policeman’s face was kind.
Stacy nodded miserably. ‘Thank you so much.’ She sat down again to wait. This was awful.
Emily squeezed her hand. ‘We’ll know more soon.’
They sat holding hands for another ten minutes, then Stacy’s phone trilled out, loud in the silence of the corridor. Ralph. She pressed connect, not caring if it was allowed here or not.
Ralph’s voice was strained. ‘Stacy? Rico has broken ribs and bruising on his chest and back, but he’ll be okay. He was unconscious when they brought him in, but he came round briefly and was able to talk to them. They’re keeping him sedated for the moment. It seems that he was already walking away when the car exploded, and some part struck him on the side. They said he was incredibly lucky it wasn’t worse.’
‘Thank God. So what’s happening to him now?’
‘He has two chest drains, one on each side, and they’ve done X-rays and a scan to check for other injuries. I’ll come to Chur straightaway, and call you when I know more. You go back to Lakeside. Take care, Stacy.’
‘The car’s near the entrance to the hospital car park,’ said Stacy. ‘I’ll leave the key on the ward.’
Ralph ended the call, and Stacy leaned back in her seat, feeling her legs ache. It was bad enough, but it could have been so much worse.
‘Stace?’ Emily’s voice was shaking, and Stacy passed on the news.
‘Here’s the new plan. We’ll take the train straight to the airport, and I’ll wave you off before I go back to Grimsbach, and I’ll let you know the minute I have news.’
Emily stood up. ‘He’ll be okay, Stace.’
‘I know.’ And thank God. Stacy felt as if she’d been run over by a bus; moving around was almost painful. That would be stress, or shock, or…
Or sheer, blessed relief that the man who was ‘nuts about her’ was going to live? It was something she’d have to think about.