Island

Nan had helped him kneel down, then he sat back on his legs. He asked Lisa where she hurt. She had said mainly her back but really everywhere. He asked if she had tried to move. She responded that it was extremely painful trying to move at all. He asked her if she could feel her legs and feet. She said she didn't know, then said she could feel all the cuts. He asked if she could move her arms and she said she could but it really hurt her back when she did. He told her to just wiggle her fingers for him. She did that. He asked Nan to help him up.

He moved to Lisa's feet and knelt down again. He told her to close her eyes and for her to tell him when she felt him touch her. He had waited a few moments, then with one fingertip he lightly touched her ankle. She told him she could feel that. He did the same to her other ankle and she responded.

He hadn't known what to do. His brain had barely been able to form words for him to speak. He suddenly thought of the raft. He asked Nan if she had seen it. She told him they had looked up and down the beach all morning but hadn't seen it. He had wondered exactly what medical supplies were in the first aid kit. He noticed Lisa was only five feet away from the waves that were sloshing up along the beach. For some reason he imagined some big wave hitting the shore and washing her out to sea.

He thought they should move her immediately. But, if her back was broken, maybe moving her was the worst thing to do. He thought of a backboard and realized it was a stupid thought. He then thought of the waves again. He had no knowledge of tides and that sort of thing, but the image of some huge wave washing over her kept popping into his mind. His head was screaming with pain. He truly hadn't been able to think straight at all.

Nan knelt down next to him then. She looked at him wide eyed, and asked if he was all right. He had realized he had been frozen in thought for a long time, he didn't know how long. He looked at Lisa and she was staring at him with fear in her eyes. He couldn't remember telling her to open her eyes. He told her to relax. He cupped his palms behind her ankles wondering if pulling her legs might relieve the pressure on her spine if it was a pinched nerve. He looked at her face. She was staring at him then she smiled slightly probably trying to reassure him that things were going to be all right.

He again wished he knew what the hell to do. He looked at his hands on her ankles and decided pulling her legs would be stupid, might be something that would make things worse, maybe cut her spinal cord. He pulled his hands off her ankles. He asked if her back pain was getting worse. She told him it was the same as before.

Ann had rushed up at that moment, screaming that Liz was sort of awake and vomiting. He asked Ann if she had turned Liz over or her face to the side. She told him no. He told her to run back as fast as she could and turn her head to the side and not to leave her.

Lisa asked how he was feeling. It had almost made him smile when he realized she was the first person to ask and that he had absolutely no idea of how to answer. He stared at her and finally said he had a headache. He told her she was going to be okay and asked if she would be all right alone for a few minutes. She said yes. He told Nan to help him up again. He had to stand still for a few seconds with his arm around her shoulders because he had suddenly felt like vomiting and fainting simultaneously.

When the pain subsided and the nausea got under control, they made their way back to Ann and Liz. Liz had passed out again. He looked at the pile of sticks Ann had gathered. He told both Ann and Nan to look for more sticks, slightly thicker ones, try to find a few that were flat if possible. He looked at the trees. Palms were the only thing he could see. He told them to go farther into the forest but not to get lost and to try for fifteen minutes or so.

He had sat there looking at Liz. He tried to think. The pain in his head seemed to get worse as soon as the two girls had run into the trees. He felt like vomiting again, but squelched the urge. He had no real idea of what to do for any of them. He realized he was working on bits and pieces of information learned over his lifetime watching TV and movies, some of which, possibly all of which was incorrect or misremembered.

With Lisa he had done that "examination," that touch test from some TV medical drama. He had recalled it was supposed to be on the soles of bare feet, not ankles but he hadn't wanted to lift her feet to take her sneakers off. He looked at Liz's broken, swollen forearm. It was slightly angled where it shouldn't be angled. He had no idea of how to set it. If they did what he planned, it might just make it worse, maybe create a compound fracture in the process shoving some bone shard out through her skin. He knew tropical islands were perfect breeding grounds for bacteria. If that happened it might go septic. She'd die if they weren't found. That had been the first moment he thought about rescue.

They would have to make a fire, a big fire. Another movie entered his mind. Tom Hanks' bloody hands from rolling a stick in his palms trying to start a fire, how he had figured out a different technique, rubbing a stick on a flat piece of wood and some fuzzy tinder to get a fire started.

Nan and Ann returned running. Both had gotten nearly armloads of sticks, none were flat. They spread them out and he chose six that looked the best. He told the girls to hold Liz's upper arm and elbow. He held Liz's wrist with both his hands. He had again realized he had no knowledge if what he was doing was the right thing. What if rescue was ten minutes away, some boat or plane, some doctor on board? But, then again, what if they did nothing and made it worse by doing nothing. What if they waited and she woke up and then they did what he was planning to do and she'd feel all the pain. He finally decided that doing something was better than doing nothing.

He told the girls to hold Liz's upper arm as tight as they could and he started pulling her arm at the wrist, increasing the strain with each passing second, scared to death he was doing something stupid. He watched the bulge of her swollen arm. It didn't change. He pulled harder. Liz became semi-conscious. She started screaming.

The girls instantly released her upper arm. He had shouted to them to hold it fucking tight. When he had yelled he thought his head was going to explode again. When they grabbed the upper arm he pulled even harder, Liz twisted her torso and screamed louder. The bulge on her arm started to lessen. He pulled harder. Liz screamed even louder then passed out. The arm looked swollen but more normal. He stopped pulling but kept tension on her arm holding her wrist. He told Nan to hold on tight, and Ann to feel under the arm, to see if any bones were poking out. She did and said nothing was sticking out.

His head had been pounding too much for him to have bothered with any prayer of thanks. He told Nan to keep holding on as she was, and that Ann should take off her and Nan's shoelaces, realizing they should have done that first. He looked at the selected sticks. He told Ann to put them around Liz's forearm, that she should tie the laces around them. Ann couldn't do it by herself. He held Liz's wrist with one hand, shifted on his knees to the opposite side of Liz, and then replaced Nan's hands on Liz's lower biceps with his free hand. Nan moved and tied the laces while Ann held the sticks in place. He released Liz's arm when they finished. Her arm stayed straight. He sat back, closed his eyes and tried to get the pain to lessen in his head.

A few moments passed before his eyes opened again. He told the girls to open Liz's life vest and then gently push their hands under Liz's back, feel along her backbone, see if they felt any swelling or bumps anywhere on her spine or her back. He watched them do it. Both girls said they didn't feel anything odd. He told Ann to stay with Liz, to keep Liz's head turned to the side in case she threw up while she was passed out, and to shout for them if she came to again. He said if she woke up to ask Liz immediately where she hurt, especially if her back or neck hurt at all. He added that Ann should cup water in her hands and try to wash out the gash on the side of Liz's head too.

He told Nan to help him up and get back to Lisa. When they got to her, Lisa had spoken first, asking how Liz was. Nan told her that they had set her arm but she was still passed out. He knelt down and sat back on his legs. He asked her if the back pain was still bad. She said yes. He asked if it was upper or lower. It was mostly lower. He moved to the knee of her left leg and told Nan to get on the other side. He had recalled another way to lessen the pressure on her spine, other than the traction of pulling her legs. It would be much safer too, at least he had thought it would be.

He told Lisa to try to completely relax her entire body. He said they were going to raise her knees a little and she should tell them immediately if the pain got worse. She nodded at him. He told Nan to do what he did. He cupped his palm behind Lisa's knee and slowly raised it a couple inches making her heels drag in the sand. He asked her if her back felt better or worse. She said a tiny bit better. He slowly raised her knee a few more inches and Nan followed suit. Lisa said that made it even better. They raised her knees a few more inches. Better. A few more inches. Better. The soles of Lisa's sneakers were flat on the sand. He told Lisa to stay as relaxed as possible and told Nan to hold Lisa's knees together so she didn't have to tense her legs to do that.

Lisa looked at him and smiled softly and had said, "Thank you, Doctor."

He started to smile then had immediately turned away from them, and bent forward planting his palms on the sand. His back arched and he dry heaved violently. He had thought he was going to pass out. Both girls frantically asked if he was all right, and asked what they should do for him.

He fought to stay conscious. He turned around on his hands and knees and then sat back on his legs again. He wiped his mouth and realized the side of his jaw hurt too, not just his head. The backs of his legs started hurting too, not bones, but his skin, a burning sensation. He asked them how bad he was hurt. Nan told him he had a really bad, long gash on his head, and that she and Ann had thought they could see his skull earlier. She said the backs of his legs were badly scraped up. He felt his jaw first. It was swollen. His hand started moving to the top of his head and Nan had almost screamed for him not to touch it. That had told him all he had needed to know.

Lisa then told Nan to rip her tee shirt and somehow bandage his head. Nan said they had used a sock earlier and it must have fallen off. He wasn't sure why he had, but he told Nan not to rip her shirt, that a sock would do. Lisa told her to get something, that her back was fine and she could hold her legs by herself.

He told Nan to wait a second. He moved on hands and knees and replaced Nan's hands on Lisa's knees. Nan got up and ran down the beach. Lisa smiled at him. He now vaguely recalled he had smiled back, but maybe he didn't. He asked her to describe his head wound. She had bitten her lower lip for a few moments, then said it deeply cut about four or five inches long on the right side top of his head. It looked like his scalp had curled under both edges of the gash, it was open about a half of an inch.

He had stared at her pretty face for nearly a minute probably trying desperately to think of some funny retort. He had finally told her that he guessed he wouldn't have to worry about combing a part in his hair anymore. He had hoped she'd at least smile, but he recalled she had bitten her lip again and her eyes had welled with tears. He had forced a smile to his mouth, then told her she had very sexy knees. She had smiled briefly while she rolled her eyes.

Nan came running back, holding a bloody sock and another that wasn't bloody. She ran into the water and wrung both out in the foaming waves at the shore. She came back and asked him if the sea water would infect the wound. He told her he thought salt water would be good for it. She asked how to put it on, how to get it to stay on. He told her to just place it down and try to push the scalp together. He noticed her hands start to tremble.

When she pressed the wet sock down, he had thought he'd pass out. It had felt like she had just stuck her hand inside his brain. He had probably shouted something like, "Enough!" or maybe he had cursed. Nan had jerked her hands back. He moved his right hand and gently placed it on the wet sock, and again he thought he'd pass out. He felt himself swaying to the side.

Nan had nearly screamed, "What should I do?! What should I do?!"

He righted himself, stayed sitting back his legs and told Nan to hold Lisa's knees. No one spoke for a few minutes until they heard Ann's surf muffled voice screaming that Liz was awake. He told Nan to run over there and if Liz could understand to ask her if her back hurt at all, ask her where all her pains were located. He reached for the tops of Lisa's knees with his left hand and palmed them. He noticed he was getting hot, the sun was very bright. He wanted to get his life vest off. He asked Lisa if she was getting hot. She said, "A little." Then like an afterthought, she smiled. He didn't understand the smile at all. He told her he thought they should leave her vest on for a while. That it might be painful to get it off. She said, "Okay."

Nan ran back a minute later and told them that Liz didn't think her back hurt much. Just her head and her arm. He asked her if Liz had vomited again. Nan said she hadn't. At that moment he had become completely mindless again. He didn't know what the hell to do next. He finally thought they could at least move Liz farther away from the water in case some big wave came in.

He looked at Lisa's face, her eyes squinting at him in the sun. The sun. They should all get out of the sun. He told Nan to help him out of his vest. When they got that off he told her to get his tee shirt up to his neck. It was soaked with water and sweat so it took a few moments. He gently held the sock to his wound and felt the pain skyrocket again. He raised one arm, then the other, switiching hands on the sock. He told her to work the shirt over his head. He pressed down a little harder on the sock and again he thought he might faint. He raised his hand when Nan told him to. She slipped the shirt over his head and off. He told her to get a handful of the longest sticks they had gathered.

She ran off and returned a minute later. He asked if Liz was still awake. Nan said she was and that she was crying. Ann was trying her best to make her comfortable. He told her to rinse his shirt out then make a canopy with it and the sticks to keep the sun off Lisa's face. He watched her do it, she laid the shirt flat on the sand, then tied the sleeves and then opposite ends of the hem to sticks. He told he to rinse the sand off in the water again. She did and wrung the shirt out. She planted the sticks in the sand making a covering a foot and a half or so above Lisa's face. He then told Nan to put his life vest over Lisa's knees. When she did it, he palmed the vest. He told Nan to see if Liz could move, and that if she could, she and Ann should get her in the shade, one of them should sit with her, and the other should look around for a little stream or spring, maybe some fruit tree.

Nan said she had seen coconuts on the ground. He knew those were worthless without something to crack them open. He guessed Nan knew that too. She said she would look deeper into the trees. He told her not to get lost and not to eat any fruit she picked until they looked at it. She said she wouldn't. He again told her Ann should stay with Liz forgetting that he already had. Nan nodded then asked about Lisa and him getting into the shade. He said they shouldn't move Lisa quite yet and that he'd stay with her. Nan said okay, and then ran to the other girls.

He had closed his eyes and tried to ignore his throbbing brain. A minute of silence passed and then Lisa broke it. She told him he should go into the shade too, that she would be all right alone. He somewhat recalled telling her to shut up, that he had a headache, and remembered giving her a quick smile. His mouth and throat had been bone dry. It had felt as if his tongue was swelling up. Even more than wanting a drink of water, he wanted to lay down and go to sleep but he sort of remembered that wasn't good to do with a concussion, at least he had thought he shouldn't.

He asked Lisa if he had told Nan to try to keep Liz awake. She said she couldn't remember if he had. He told her to tell that to Nan when she got back if he forgot to. She said she would. She then looked scared and asked him if he thought her back was broken. He had told her he didn't think it was. He said maybe it was possibly a pinched nerve even though he had absolutely no idea how badly she was injured. They hadn't talked much after that. After a half hour or so, he had moved, turned to face the water, and sat on his ass, with his knees up. He rested a forearm on his knee, and kept his palm on the life vest shading Lisa's legs. He told her to scream at him if she saw him falling asleep. He asked her if she felt like dozing off and she had told him yes, but she would stay awake.

He wasn't sure if he had passed out or fallen asleep for a while, but if he had, Lisa woke him, saying that Nan had been gone a long time. He had asked how long she thought it was. She said about two hours. He had noticed the shadows from his legs had changed on the sand. He turned to look where Ann and Liz were. He raised his arm and waved for Ann to come over.

She got up and ran to him. He asked if Liz had passed out again, vomited, or fallen asleep at all. She said she had been awake since they moved into the shade and hadn't puked. He told her to go into the forest, not so deep that she couldn't hear the surf and to call for Nan. Call out and then wait to hear an answer, then call out again, like that. Ann looked scared. He told her to help him get over to Liz first. Ann nodded. He asked Lisa if she would be okay alone. She said she'd be fine.

Ann walked him over to Liz. He sat next to her in the shade very glad to be out of the sun. Ann ran off into the forest. He asked Liz how she was feeling. Her eyes were still teary, she said her head and arm hurt horribly. He told her not to go to sleep and to make sure he didn't go to sleep either. She said okay. He vaguely heard Ann calling out for Nan. A half hour later, he saw a figure appear at the end of the beach beyond Lisa. It was Nan. She had something cradled in her shirt. She was walking fast, almost running. She dropped to her knees next to Lisa. He wasn't sure but he thought she was crying.

She stayed there for a few minutes, dropped whatever it was she had cradled in her shirt, and then got up and trotted to him. Her eyes were teary when she came up. She told him she had gotten all turned around and lost. She said she found some round yellow fruits but didn't know what they were. She picked a lot of them, then had gotten scared when she heard some animal running through the brush. She had run away from it as fast as she could and had dropped most of the fruits from her shirt, and then she had gotten so lost and all turned around. She had stopped talking then, and started sobbing.

He pulled her close and put his arm around her. When her crying had subsided, he told her she had to walk back into the forest, not far, but to call for Ann. She was calling for her somewhere not very far in. He told her to always be able to hear the surf and not go deeper than that. He had seen she was still scared to death but she got up and jogged into the palms. Ten minutes later she returned running with Ann. They were both breathing heavily when they dropped to their knees. A few moments later, Nan stood up and said she'd check on Lisa and get the fruit she had picked.