Chapter Five #2
Carter was going to do his best to wheedle the truth out of him. Dalton knew his twin. But just as his brother had straightened and started toward him, both their phones alarmed with the tone reserved for search and rescue. Simultaneously, they dug phones from pockets and checked the screens.
“Looks like a hiker with a sprained ankle in a canyon off County Road 3,” Carter said.
“Roxanne lives off County Road 3,” Dalton said.
“That’s your crush’s name—Roxanne?” Carter pocketed his phone. “If this is her, I’ll get to meet her.”
Dalton shut off the water while Carter coiled the hoses and tucked the rest of the cleaning supplies out of the way. Then they piled into Carter’s Jeep and raced to search and rescue headquarters.
A dozen volunteers milled around the headquarters building by the time Carter and Dalton arrived, including their sister, Bethany.
She hurried to join them, her dark curls pulled back in a high ponytail.
Bethany had been the first to join Eagle Mountain Search and Rescue, something she didn’t hesitate to remind her brothers if she thought they were being too cocky.
“Hey, Bethany,” Dalton said. “How’s it going?”
“Business is booming. I probably shouldn’t have left Ian alone, but I hated to miss out.” She glanced over her shoulder at her fellow volunteers, who were gathering around their captain, Danny Irwin.
“Nobody wants to miss out,” Carter said and led his siblings to the meeting up front.
Carter was right. As tough as search and rescue work could be sometimes—both physically and mentally—it was also compelling.
No one wanted to miss the dramatic moments others would talk about for years.
And even something as routine as this supposed sprained ankle could turn risky if reaching the injured person required negotiating dangerous terrain.
“We have a female in the canyon with an ankle injury,” Danny said. “Says she’s unable to walk and get out on her own. She doesn’t have any water or emergency supplies with her.”
“How did she get down in there?” Ryan asked. “There aren’t any hiking trails in that area, and there’s no good climbing routes, either.”
“Not sure,” Danny said. “We’ll have to figure out how to get down to her when we get there.”
“What’s her name?” Carter asked.
Dalton glanced at his brother. He had wanted to ask that question, but hadn’t wanted to call attention to himself.
“Don’t know,” Danny said. “We’ll find out when we get there.”
They caravanned in several vehicles to County Road 3.
They were several miles from Roxanne’s house, Dalton decided, as Carter pulled his Jeep in behind Grace Wilcox’s Subaru.
Danny was already standing at the edge of the road, peering down into the canyon.
“The slope isn’t too bad here,” he said when the others had gathered alongside him.
He indicated a faint path, probably made by wildlife.
“We can work our way down through there. Watch out for loose rock.” He pulled out his phone and punched in a number.
Moments later, a woman’s voice answered. “Hello?”
“This is Captain Danny Irwin with Eagle Mountain Search and Rescue. We’re on our way into the canyon right now. Can you give me an idea of your location?”
“Um, I’m by some scraggly trees with orange and brown leaves. There’s a bunch of rocks.”
The rescuers exchanged looks. The canyon was filled with rocks and the scrub oak she was describing.
“Look up to the canyon rim,” Danny said. “Can you see any houses or any unique rock formations?”
“Let’s see. There’s this sort of ledge of rock sticking out from the side of the canyon. No houses. Oh, and there’s a really tall pine tree.”
“I think I know where she’s talking about,” Ryan said.
“Sit tight and we’ll be there as soon as we can,” Danny said. “How’s the ankle?”
“It’s really swollen and it really hurts.”
“We’re on our way.”
Ryan led the volunteers into the canyon.
At the bottom, he turned west and they began bushwhacking through thick oak brush, thin, vine-like branches grabbing at their clothes and rocks shifting beneath their feet.
“Not exactly an easy hike,” Grace commented.
“What do you think she was doing down here?”
“Maybe she wanted to photograph the leaves,” Deni said.
“Or she saw a cute animal and followed it in,” Sheri Stevens said. “I remember a call for a lost hiker and it turned out he had decided to follow a bobcat to try to get a photo and ended up with no idea how to get back to the trail.”
After twenty minutes of fending off scratching brush and maneuvering around rocks, someone at the head of the line shouted. Moments later, Dalton and his siblings joined the volunteers gathered around a woman with dark red hair. “Debra?” Dalton asked.
Debra looked over at him. “Oh, hi, Dalton. What are you doing here?”
Aware that everyone had turned to look at him, Dalton felt his ears burning. “I’m with search and rescue,” he said. “Are you okay?”
“I hurt my ankle.” She gestured toward her left foot, which was propped on a rock in front of her, her hiking boot on its side on the ground below.
Danny knelt in front of Debra and prepared to examine her foot, while the other volunteers began unpacking first aid supplies.
Some of them, like Dalton and Carter, waited for instructions.
It didn’t look as if they were going to need to rig ropes or clear brush, but you never knew what might transpire during even a routine rescue.
“Do you have any water?” Debra asked. “I’m really thirsty.”
“Of course.” Grace handed her a bottle of water. She nodded to a pack on an adjacent rock. “Have you been down here awhile?”
Debra drained half the bottle, then paused. “Only a couple of hours. It wasn’t this hot when I started out.”
“Did you drink all the water in your pack?” Sheri asked.
“Oh, the pack’s for my drone. There’s no water in there.” She yelped and scowled at Danny. “Take it easy. You’re hurting me.”
“Sorry about that,” Danny said. “Looks like a moderate sprain. You’ll need X-rays, but we’ll wrap it with some cold packs and get you out of here.”
“So, like, will you call a helicopter or something?” Debra asked. “I’ve seen that on television.”
Danny managed to keep his expression neutral. Probably why he was captain, Dalton thought. “No need for a helicopter,” he said. “We’ll carry you out on a litter.”
The volunteers who had been tasked with carrying the pieces of the wheeled litter were already assembling it nearby.
Dalton began stretching, preparing to take his turn as one of the litter-bearers.
Hauling a patient over this rough terrain wasn’t going to be quick or easy, but they had managed worse.
“How did you end up down here?” Grace asked, as she handed Danny chemical cold packs and elastic bandages. “There’s no trail that I remember.”
“I came down here to fly my drone and take some pictures, but I guess I got too close to the canyon walls and crashed the drone. I climbed up and retrieved it, but coming down I fell and hurt my ankle.”
“How’s the drone?” Carter asked.
“The drone’s okay. It’s in my pack.”
“Pretty rough hiking,” Danny said. “How did you get into the canyon?”
“I parked on the road and came down. There was kind of a trail.”
Dalton peered up at the canyon rim. How far were they from Roxanne’s house? “What were you taking pictures of?” he asked.
“Somebody told me there are petroglyphs on some of these canyon walls. I wanted to see if I could find any.”
“I don’t think there are any petroglyphs in this canyon,” Eldon said.
“How do you know?” Debra asked. “I could have been the first to discover them.” She looked down at Danny. “What are you doing? That’s really cold.”
“I’m putting these cold packs around your ankle to reduce the swelling and relieve the pain.”
“Oh.” She looked back up at Dalton. “Have you talked to Roxanne today? How’s she doing?”
Dalton was conscious of Carter—and everyone else nearby—listening in to this conversation. “I haven’t talked to Roxanne today,” he said.
“Some boyfriend you are.”
Now he was sure his face was flaming. “Roxanne and I are just friends,” he said. “I met her the same day I met you.”
“In that case, you and I should go out sometime,” Debra said. “I promise, I’m a lot of fun. Roxanne strikes me as pretty dull.” She smiled slyly and winked. Dalton’s face burned. Had she actually winked at him?
Someone behind him made a choking sound. He turned to see Bethany, her hand over her mouth. She sent him a sympathetic look and shook her head.
“How does your ankle feel now?” Danny asked.
Debra looked down at her wrapped foot. “Cold. Pretty numb, actually.”
“We’ll remove the cold packs when we get to the road and let the EMTs check you over.” Danny stood. “Any other injuries?”
“No.” She glanced at her pack. “Well, my drone’s a little cracked, but I don’t suppose you fix those.”
Danny shook his head. “We’re ready for the litter now.”
Dalton, Carter, Eldon and Ryan brought the litter over. Grace and Sheri helped Debra onto it and deposited her pack behind her head. “You need to wear this,” Danny said, and held up a helmet.
“Why do I need that?” she asked.
“In case we drop you,” Eldon said.
She opened her mouth as if to protest, but Danny was already sliding on the helmet. “Now lie down and we’ll strap you in.”
“What if I don’t want to be strapped in?” she asked.
“Unless you’re planning on walking out on that injured ankle, we have to strap you in,” Danny said.
She lay back then. “You’d better not drop me,” she ordered.
“We haven’t lost a patient yet,” Eldon said and positioned himself at one corner of the litter.