It was harder than it should be. She wasn’t on a flat surface. She was still halfway up the twisted bleachers. Her hands were already fixed in position. Now she was stepping downward with no weight to steady herself. But the hands at her waist were strong and firmly reassuring. Not only did they feel as though they could take part of her weight, they also felt as if they could keep her straight and steady. She felt her way with one foot, finding another part of the bleachers to stand on. Then she shifted her weight, ready to move the next foot.
The firefighters watched her constantly, as did Jack, the gurney sliding steadily closer toward her. Jack was finding it easier to move; he could put a little weight on the gurney as he found his footing to move. Amber concentrated on the firm hands at her waist and the steadying voice of Kate. When she finally felt her foot reach a thick plank of wood on the floor, she let out a huge sigh.
Kate gave a laugh. “Don’t be too relieved,” she said. “We’ve still got a bit to go. And, believe me, these guys couldn’t put planks of wood in a straight line if they tried.”
Slowly and steadily they moved. Jack’s eyes were on hers. He didn’t talk. He just kept watching her. In any other set of circumstances she would have been slightly unnerved. But it wasn’t like that. It was reassuring.
Once they reached the entranceway and stepped off the wood and onto the normal flooring in the corridor outside, Jamal was waiting with a bag and mask to take her place. He gave her a gentle nudge. “Let me take over for a bit,” he said as she stumbled back wearily and stretched out her aching hands.
The gurney was lowered to the ground. Jack moved instantly to the side of the gurney and lifted the edge of his wound pad. Amber couldn’t help herself. She had to see too. She knelt on the floor next to him. Lana had appeared too and fixed a BP cuff around the janitor’s arm, checking his blood pressure and taking his pulse with her fingers. “Can’t beat old-fashioned methods.” She winked at Amber.
Amber could see a bead of sweat on Jack’s brow. Just how long had he been in position while she’d been dealing with other patients? “Has it worked?” she asked.
Jack gave a relieved breath. “I hope so. It looks as if a clot has formed.” He looked at the readings that Lana had taken. “His blood pressure is low. His pulse fast and thready. He’s not regained consciousness. He really needs to be back at the hospital.”
Amber nodded. “I agree. I’ve got another patient next door with a broken arm, and a possible head injury. I also patched up a woman with a shoulder injury and another with a whole array of cuts to her face and arms.”
Jack sighed. “Before I got called here, I dealt with an older man with a crush injury to his lower leg. Part of the ceiling caught him when it was ripped off. And a woman who sheltered some kids and ended up with a spinal injury.” Amber’s eyes widened but he shook his head. “She’s not paralyzed but she’s got a loss of sensation in one of her legs. She needs proper assessment. We’ve got two kids who had asthma attacks because they forgot their inhalers. We managed to find some and they’re stable now. Another kid had a minor seizure but that’s stopped and he’s come around.”
Jamal pulled a list from his pocket. “Here. I collated some details while you two were trying to get electrocuted,” he said wickedly. “We radioed in, and they’re sending a few extra ambulances in our direction.” He looked at Jack. “You just need to decide who goes first.”
A list. She’d forgotten. She’d forgotten about her own list.
Jack must have caught the expression on her face, because he raised own eyebrow in silent question. She shook her head and stood up. “You’ve got this. Let me see if there’s anyone else needing to be patched up before the ambulances arrive. I’ll let you know if there’s anything serious.”
She stretched out her back for a few seconds, trying to relieve the ache she was feeling, and made her way back to the main gymnasium. There were a few more staff, helping patch patients up. She found her pack again and emptied its contents on the floor next to her, then made a quick check of Kel and her broken arm, giving her some more pain relief and checking her neuro obs again.
The evacuation center had over two thousand people in it—they were lucky there weren’t more seriously injured. Lots of the people in the center volunteered to help and some had first-aid certificates or previous experience in the health service.
Jack appeared at her side. “Have you finished sorting out who goes first?” she asked him.
“We’ve got fourteen people who need transport to the hospital sometime soon. I found out our janitor is called Hugo. He’s going, along with the lady with the spinal injury, a woman with a head injury and the older gentleman with the broken tib and fib. We only have two ambulances initially, so I’ve had to prioritize.”
Amber leaned in a little and looked at the list in his hand. She could see Kel, the woman with the broken arm and head injury, on the second list. On any other day of the week, she would have wanted to get her assessed sooner. But things were different here. She wasn’t unconscious. The other patients would actually take priority.
Jack must have noticed her expression. “You don’t agree?” He seemed surprised, but held up the list for her to look at. “If you think differently, let me know.”
She swallowed. She hadn’t expected that. He actually wanted to know if she had other ideas—even though this wasn’t her specialist area. Her fingers crumpled around the list in her pocket as she shook her head. “I don’t disagree. I understand why you’ve prioritized them. How much longer until we get ambulances again? I’d like to get Kel checked over in the next round of patients.”
He pulled out the radio from his pocket. “The first should arrive in around ten minutes. It could be an hour before they’re back.”
“Do we stay here?”
Jack gave her a curious stare. “You can’t let it go, can you?”
“What?”
He smiled and shook his head. “Don’t pretend with me. You’re itching to find out about the close contacts of the meningitis, aren’t you?”
He handed her the radio. “Here. Call in. Check on Aaron and Zane and see if anyone has recorded seeing any more of the close contacts.”
Amber took the radio gratefully. She wanted to find out how many people were still out there without any medicines. She talked into the radio as she walked back toward the entrance point where Chrissie was based. It only took a few minutes to find out that Chrissie had managed to find the group of boys who had come from the surf school. They’d thought there were six, but it turned out to be seven. One of the boys who was supposed to go someplace else had been delayed by the weather and ended up here. Amber signaled to Lana, and she came and helped her talk to the teenagers and distribute the antibiotics.
Jack appeared at her side. “Ambulance is here. We’re loading the first patients. How are Zane and Aaron?”
She gave her head the briefest shake. “Good, and not so good. Aaron has picked up. He’s started to respond and come round. Zane is still the same. No change. His BP and temp are in normal limits but he’s just not woken up yet.”
“Has there been disease progression? Septicemia?”
“Thankfully no. But this whole strain worries me. I’d be much happier if I could find the rest of the close contacts.”
Jack seemed to stare ahead for a few seconds. Then the edges of his lips seemed to hint upward. “I was going to ask if you wanted to head back to the hospital with the patients, or if you wanted to stay here and treat any more casualties that come in.”
She could hear the slight edge in his voice. He was teasing her. Just a little. “Or…?”
He drew himself up and pushed his shoulders back. It was that second—that second that she saw the man who had served in the army and done two tours of duty. The man who had saved lives and had to jug
gle priorities in a way she probably never would.
He met her gaze with his dark brown eyes. “Or we could volunteer to stay out here. To help at the bus, or elsewhere, and see if we can drop any more of the antibiotics off.”
Her heart gave a little leap. He got her. He understood her. She smiled and folded her arms across her chest. “I think I’ll take option three.”
CHAPTER FIVE
IT WAS DARK. More than dark—with the power cuts throughout the city it was virtually a blackout. It seemed that only sporadic places had power, so parts of the city glowed like little bulbs on a Christmas tree. Total wrong time of year.
It made Jack catch his breath. Dave, their driver, had helped take people back to the hospital and they’d coordinated with Ron in ER and managed to visit a few of the addresses in the surrounding area where close contacts resided, along with a few other addresses where they’d been asked to check on vulnerable adults.
They decided to go back to the evacuation center and help as best they could. The school kitchens had been opened and manned by a whole host of volunteers. Chrissie pressed some food into their hands and pointed them down a corridor. “We’re short of space. But you’ll find somewhere down there to sit down for the night.”
Amber looked down as her stomach growled loudly. Her hair was pulled back from her face in a haphazard way and there were tired lines around her eyes, but somehow they still had a little sparkle. “Oops. I’d forgotten how hungry I was. It’s been a crazy day.” She leaned her head against his shoulder.
Jack paused in the corridor; he couldn’t help it. “I feel like we should go back to the hospital in case there are other patients to see.”
She lifted her head back up. “Jack. Take a breath. We’ve been working all day, and if we have to pull a night shift, then we will. But let’s just sit down for five minutes.”
He took a deep breath. That angsty feeling that had been in his stomach all day was still there. It was constantly there. He’d just learned to live with it. Learned to live with the fact he was always looking over his shoulder, waiting for the unexpected.