Nicholas's Hope Ch. 01

"Clint. Come in Clint."

"Clint here. You find the couple Tom?"

Looking back over his shoulder at Nicholas, he let out a sigh as he replied, "I did yes. Could you phone the paramedics? We have an injuried lady here, she is going to need more medical attention once I get her out of these woods. We are about 45 out."

"Copy that, I'll call them and have them here waiting for you."

"Roger that. Out"

"Out."

The rest of the ride was silent, and Nicholas fought the urge to close his eyes as Tom wove in and out of the trees, not keeping to any real path in his haste to get back to the ranger's cabin.

It took a little more than the 45 minutes that had been told to Clint before Tom pulled up next to a small log cabin. The cabin was a nice size, with the typical dark logs and green roof exterior. Radio antennas lined one wall, and three satellite dishes graced the roof. An overhang to the side sheltered the ranger's personal vehicles, and in front of them was parked an ambulance.

Tom dismounted, reaching for the woman in Nicholas's arms as he said, "I don't know if you have a preference for hospitals, but the drivers will take you into Spokane and you can have your pick of the hospitals there.

Nicholas nodded, grateful to be getting off the quad. His backside had gone shortly after the ride had started.

The paramedics quickly came out of the cabin, one of them going to the ambulance to pull the gurney out of the back. After setting it up Tom laid the woman gently on the gurney where the paramedics removed the solar blanket and quickly cut through the shirt Nicholas had put on her.

"What happened here?" One of the paramedics asked.

Looking at the name tag, Nicholas quickly filled Daniel in, he elected to tell the truth about her and how he had found her. "I was hiking through the woods and found a fallen tree. I had elected to use it to make a shelter to weather out the storm and found her there. She had a few pierced places due to the branches falling on her. Since I had no way to radio in for the rangers I removed the branches and stitched places that needed to be stitched."

The paramedic that was currently working on the woman paused long enough to look up and Nicholas and smile, "If you hadn't done what you did sir, this woman wouldn't be alive. I'm going to leave the stitches in for now, that way the doctors can take care of it and we won't open it up to infection out here. Great job Nick."

Blinking in surprise, Nicholas looked a little closer at the paramedic. "Celeste? I had no idea you had become a paramedic, when did that happen? I thought you were on your way to pre-medical studies when I saw you last."

Celeste chuckled, "That was three years ago Nick, I've since been married and had a baby. Life changes some people's plans."

Nicholas nodded, watching as Celeste and Daniel pushed the gurney back into the rear of the ambulance, locking the bed into place.

Celeste climbed into the back and Nicholas followed suit as Daniel closed the doors and walked around the vehicle to climb into the drivers seat.

"Where do you want us to take her?" Daniel asked

Nicholas didn't hesitate, "Sacred Heart in Spokane if you can swing it."

"Celeste, is she going to be stable enough for an hour and a half?"

"Should be Daniel, I just put in a hep lock. I'll attach a bag now." Turning to Nicholas, she smiled saying, "So how have you been?"

Back at the cabin, Tom stood in the same place, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

A man's voice interrupted his thoughts, "What are you going to do?"

"The only thing I can do Clint." Tom sighed, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a cell phone. Taking a slow breath he quickly died a number from memory, waiting for the answering voice on the end of the line.

"Hello?" A gruff voice answered.

"It's me."

"Tom. What's your reason for pulling me out of bed mid-day? I had a.." the voice hesitated," promising engagement at the moment."

Taking a deep breath Tom started, "We have a slight problem..."

TO BE CONTINUED...