Page 19 of High Country Escape
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 actuallywinkedat 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?”