Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
Mitch raced back to the front of what remained of Buck’s Roadhouse, grimacing at what he saw. The place was pretty much wrecked but at least no one had died—not so far anyway. The room where Nadia and the others were, was trashed.
“Gene?” Mitch spoke into his radio.
“What you got for me, Mitch?” Gene responded.
“Several victims in what used to be the pantry in the kitchen. Buck’s got severe leg injuries.
There are at least three other victims with serious injuries as well.
Nadia is there but she appears to just have a head wound.
I left her with my medical kit and she was going to start treating those that she can.
” He pulled his hat off and closed his eyes.
His demons were close to the surface, and the last thing he wanted was to blank out and walk into danger.
Gene voice sounded strong and sure over the radio, as if he could feel Mitch’s panic.
“You all right, son. Do you want to go help the guys removing the tree debris off the road?”
Mitch appreciated what Gene was trying to do.
Even though he was of more use with his medical skills than his chainsaw abilities, the older man was giving him an out.
There were plenty of other people who could help with debris cleanup.
He’d found out that once the guys at the dude ranch had heard about the tornado from his dad, they all wanted to do what they could to help.
They’d arrived in town all fired up to get their hands dirty.
As with all storms, the rain had cleared when he arrived at the devastated center of town. He could hardly believe the damage the small town had suffered. So many buildings destroyed or half destroyed. And as Gene said their headquarters had been spared.
Mitch took a deep breath and depressed the button on the radio. “I’ve got this, Gene. Between Nadia and I, we’ll get the victims stabilized ready for transportation. She said she was a doctor but I’m not sure what sort.”
“She’s an ER resident and from what I’ve heard a damn good one too.”
Trust Gene to know everything about her. He had his finger on the pulse. But it was a relief to know Nadia was used to dealing with high level traumas that turned up in the ER.
“Right, as soon as we can get some ambulances into town, we need two here. If we can get a couple of life flight helos that would be even better.” How easy was it to slip into his military skin and fire off rapid instructions? Easier than he thought it would’ve been.
A smidgeon of hope blossomed in his belly.
Perhaps all he needed to erase his PTSD attacks was a natural disaster where he had no choice but to be fully involved.
At the crash sites or fires they attended where they had injured victims, there were a couple of other medics who could take the lead.
But a situation like this, there was no time to take a step back.
As Gene said, all hands on deck was needed.
“Already put the call in. Two of the major hospitals in San Antonio are sending their helicopters as well as two from Austin area.”
“Great. What’s their ETA?”
“Well Austin’s getting the storms we had, but San Antonio will be here in about thirty minutes now. Ambulances are going to take a little longer.”
Mitch prayed that the ambulances could get here sooner rather than later. At least they had a couple of ‘copters coming. “I know there are probably a lot of victims but I really need one of those life flight helos for Buck and the other girl, I think she’s Nadia’s friend.”
“Will do what I can.”
“Thanks. I’ll be heading back in now. Make sure the crew that’s clearing the debris are careful. The room looks like a house of cards ready to collapse with one wrong move. Out.”
“Roger that. Take care.” Mitch knew Gene would take everything in hand and direct the correct people to the areas that needed the most help.
Once he stepped back into Buck’s place he noticed that a crew of guys were waiting for him.
Shit, Gene had worked his magic or he’d already had a crew nearby ready to help.
No doubt it was the latter as they’d already helped the others out of the restroom area.
They’d been able to get them evacuated out the back and not through the building.
“Gene radioed that there were some people trapped inside. Where do you want us to start?”
Mitch looked around the room and then back at the men.
There were six in total. Easy to break into two teams. “I need three in here to clear a path wide enough for the paramedics and their gurneys to get through to the back. Then another group of three with me to help remove the debris where the victims are. Not sure if Gene told you but it’s a precarious situation so we need to take care. ”
“Yes, sir.” One of the younger guys said. Mitch nodded. It had been a long time since he’d been addressed as sir.
Leaving the group to follow instructions, Mitch led the other three men down the narrow pathway back to the kitchen.
When he arrived he could see Nadia had given some pain relief to Buck as the other man’s eyes were closed and the tension that had been etched on his face when he found them had disappeared.
Two other victims, a man and a woman were both sitting up.
The woman was holding some gauze against her arm and from where he stood he could see the blood staining it.
There was still debris around them but, like Nadia, they weren’t badly injured.
“How’s everything going?” he asked as he picked his way over to Nadia’s side.
“Good. I gave Buck some morphine for the pain, just enough to take the edge off. I didn’t want to give him too much until we can fully ascertain the extent of his injuries.
” She glanced over to the woman lying on the ground, her face as white as the dust from the ceiling tile.
“Cerise isn’t doing well. She’s got internal injuries but I’m not sure the extent of them. ”
“San Antonio and Austin area hospitals are sending some life flight helicopters our way. I requested with Gene that we get one of the helos for Buck and Cerise.”
Her shoulders slumped and he knew it was from relief and not tiredness. “Good. Those guys will be able to help stabilize both of them while you and I treat them.”
She thought of them as team? A warm sensation filled the parts that had died a little while on deployment, nudging them to come alive again. Nadia believed in him, even after witnessing his attack. He appreciated that more than he could say. “What about the other two people?”
“Margie has a deep laceration on her left arm and a suspected concussion. It’s not stitched yet.
I can’t be sure without x-rays but I think Roger has a broken ankle, and,” she lowered her voice, “I know he got hit on the head because we all did, and he has a small laceration on the right side of his skull. Unlike me, there is a depression at the wound site so I suspect he has a fracture and will need to be treated carefully too.”
A few short sentences confirmed to Mitch that Nadia was a more than competent physician.
“What about you? What are your injuries?” He watched her closely to see if she was presenting with signs of a concussion considering, in her rundown, she’d mentioned the lump on her head.
Also he could see for himself the head wound that she’d hastily put a bandage over, probably to keep the blood out of her eyes.
“I’m fine.” Typical physician, always pushing aside their own injury to the side to help others.
A commotion diverted his attention from Nadia to behind him—a paramedic team had arrived. He hadn’t heard the helicopter arrive, but they probably landed far enough away from the pub so he didn’t pick up on it.
“Understand we’ve got a couple of patients?”
Nadia brushed past him. “Yep we have.”
He stood back and observed the way she, again, systematically detailed the injuries to the two paramedics. They determined that Cerise was the most critical patient and needed to get her out first, then Buck.
Over the next hour they worked together as a team, with his combat experience and Nadia’s ER knowledge, as well as the life flight crew, they were able to extract both Cerise and Buck without incident.
“You should go with them,” Mitch commented as they followed the team back out to the helicopter.
Nadia shook her head and winced, he’d noticed that her movements had been a little restricted and sometimes she pressed a palm against her chest as she breathed. “I’m fine. There’s probably a lot more injured people that need help.”
Mitch opened his mouth to argue more, but they’d reached the copter and Nadia rushed over to Cerise’s side, stopping them for a second before they loaded her up.
He had no idea what she was saying, but she leaned forward and gave her friend a kiss on the cheek and quick hug.
As they loaded her into the helicopter he noticed Nadia surreptitiously wiping her eyes.
Without even second guessing himself he strode over to her and gathered her close. He breathed in and caught the faint traces of coconut mixed in with dust and blood. “She’s going to be fine, Boston. They’re both going to be fine. You did everything right.”
Nadia shuddered in his arms and buried her head further in his chest. He closed his eyes, relishing the human contact.
It had been so long since he’d allowed himself to let someone close.
Even before his discharge he’d closed himself off.
It had been the only way he’d been able to cope with what he saw on deployment.
Why would he share that horror with anyone?
If he couldn’t cope, they sure as hell wouldn’t be able to.