Brown, Dale - Patrick McLanahan 09 (44 page)

           
Now, with the survival pack clutched
safely in her arms, she felt better. I may be hurting, she thought, and I may
be down hard, but I’m not out of the game yet.

 
          
Walking
was out of the question, so she crawled. She didn't know which way to go, so
she decided just to go away from the glow of the fires from the crash scene.
That seemed a good choice, because the direction she chose was downhill. After
a few dozen yards, she found a big pine tree. Feeling around its base with her
hands, she noticed the ground underneath the thick bottom branches was dry, so
she crawled underneath. Hey. she thought, those survival instructors were
right: it’s surprisingly comfortable in here. It smelled good, and after a few
moments, it even started to feel warm. Man oh man, what a break. She heard a
scampering sound and figured she had probably disturbed some ground squirrel's
rest, but she didn’t much care who or what she was sharing that warm, soft,
pine-needle- cushioned ground with right now.

 
          
She
knew she had to keep going. She had only moved a very short distance away from
her landing spot, and they could find her easily by her drag marks. But she had
to take time to check herself out. get her thoughts together, decide on a plan
of action, then do it.

 
          
The
first thing she had to do was take care of herself. Annie opened the survival
pack, a square green nylon case about eighteen inches square, three inches
thick, and weighing about twenty pounds. A tiny red-lensed flashlight was right
on top, which helped her inventory the rest of the kit—even that tiny bit of
artificial American-made light helped to lift her spirits. She was finally back
in control of her environment, at least a little bit.

 
          
Four
pint-sized cans of water—she drank one can immediately and put the others
inside the leg pockets of her flight suit. Waterproof matches—inside her flight
suit, between her T-shirt and long-underwear shirt. Survival rations: dried
beef bars, granola bars, fruit bars, chocolate bars. One dried beef bar and one
fruit bar in her flight suit, the rest back in the survival pack. Folding
knife, in her flight suit. A space blanket, silver on one side, black on the
other, in her flight suit. Vacuum-packed sleeping bag, compressed and squished
into a nine-inch-long, three-inch-diameter tube, in the survival kit. Pretty
amazing shit. Signal mirror, around her neck, along with a magnetic compass.
Wool cap, on her head. Aha, the good gadget: combination satellite survival
radio and GPS satellite navigation receiver—in her flight suit pocket, along
with two spare batteries, which went inside her T-shirt next to her skin to
keep them warm.

 
          
Signal
flares, smoke signaling devices, flare gun with forest-penetrator cartridges,
back in the survival pack. Booklets, fishing kit, first-aid kit, mittens,
compression bandages, snare wire, a wire saw, aspirin tablets,
water-purification tablets, a small tarp to make a tent, nylon twine, a
radiation tester, two pairs of socks sealed in plastic, a canteen—all stayed in
the survival kit for now. except she popped two aspirins and washed them down
with water to help take the edge off the pain in her back and shoulders.
Everything but nylon stockings, chewing gum, gold pieces, Russian rubles, and
condoms ... oops, a moment later she found the condoms. They stayed in the
survival kit.

 
          
Annie
felt immensely better after she closed up the survival kit. She had read that
the vast majority of crash victims who died while in a survival situation never
even bothered to do the simplest things, like seek shelter or open their
survival kits. They were either in a daze, in shock, or simply couldn’t believe
the situation they were in. Most of the time they ended up dropping all their
gear and walking off in circles until they died of exhaustion, hypothermia, or
shock. The old saying was that crash victims who died in survival situations
died of embarrassment. Annie understood that feeling very, very well right now.

 
          
Checking
herself out didn’t take long. The pain in her back was immense, now spreading
from her spine and radiating out to her legs, arms, and neck. Her nose creaked
and snapped like cellophane, and in the survival mirror she could see blood
covering her cheeks and chin and thickly caked in her nose, but if there was
any pain from the broken nose it was being overshadowed by the pain in her
back. Her whole body was sore, and she knew she was going to find some
humongous bruises. Her butt hurt badly, and she thought she might have a broken
tailbone. No other obvious injuries. Annie counted herself very, very
fortunate. She knew that she could have easily ...

 
          
“Annie,
this is McLanahan. Do you hear me? Annie?”

 
          
“General!”
Annie exclaimed aloud. The global satellite transceiver they'd planted under
her skin, powered by the thick rubber-coated bracelet on her ankle, sort of
like a futuristic miniature OnStar assistance device—my God, it was working,
even way out here in the middle of nowhere. “I hear you! I hear you!”

 
          
“I
read you loud and clear, too, Annie,” Patrick McLanahan said. “Lower your
voice. I assume you’re safe for now. What’s your situation?”

 
          
“I’m
under a tree.” Annie said. “I was just resting, checking my survival gear out.
I'm okay. My back hurts, I got a broken nose and maybe a broken butt bone, but
otherwise I'm okay.”

 
          
“Good,
You did the right thing,” Patrick said. “You can divvy up the survival gear
later.”

 
          
“Already
did it. I even had some water and a couple aspirins.”

 
          
“Good
job. Okay. We're with you now, we have your location, and help's on the way:
You’re going to have to find Dev, then find as safe a place as you can to hide
until we can send in the rescue teams.”

 
          
Annie
almost burst into tears when McLanahan mentioned the “rescue teams”—she finally
felt she might make it out of this alive. “What about Dev?” she asked. “Are you
talking to him? Can you find him, too?”

 
          
“We're
still picking up life signs from Dev, but there’s no answer from him,”
McLanahan said. “He’s about two hundred yards east of you, but we can't be too
precise. If you feel up to it. I'd like you to try to join up with him, check
him out, hide him if you can, and help him. Are you able to move?”

 
          
“I
think so,” Annie replied.

 
          
“We
know the weather’s bad, but that will help you stay concealed,” Patrick said.
“It’ll be tough going, but give it a try, I’ll direct you as best I can, but
you have to move several yards before your position will update, so it’s
imprecise. I don’t want you falling into a ravine trying to find him in the
dark, and I don't want you to get captured. If you can't do it safely, go back
to your nest there, or find another hiding spot, and stay hidden.”

           
“I’ll find him. Don't worry.”

 
          
“Good.
We’re putting together a rescue package for you as we speak. The entire
Intelligence Support Agency is gearing up to launch a rescue. You’re heroes for
what you did for Weston and his crew, Heels. They’ll move heaven and earth to
get to you.”

 
          
“Thank
you. sir,” Annie said, not embarrassed by the gush of joy and relief in her
voice. “Thank you so much. I—I’m sorry for what l did. I disobeyed orders, and
I got us shot down. I take full responsibility for whatever happens.”

 
          
“The
cost of the Vampire is already being deducted from your paycheck, Annie,”
McLanahan quipped. “You have about three hours until local sunrise, so you'd
better get moving. Take it nice and slow and easy. Good luck. We’ll let you
know if we hear from Dev.”

 
          
Annie
looped the survival kit across her body under her right arm, pulled the watch
cap down over her head and ears, then crawled out from under the pine tree, The
pain in her back was still there, but thanks to the aspirin and her improved
attitude, the pain was only talking, not screaming, to her now. Sure enough,
the snow and wind had increased in intensity. Visibility was almost zero.
Fortunately, the snow was less than a foot deep, which made moving relatively
easy.

 
          
“General,
I’m heading east,” she spoke into the frigid air. “A Pave Hammer tilt-rotor
hovering overhead would sure be welcome right about now.”

 
          
“We’re
right here with you, Annie,” came the reply. “The PJs are on the way.” Annie
didn’t ask how far out they were or how long it would take for them to
arrive—she didn’t need to ask any questions when she potentially wouldn’t like
the answers.

 
          
It
was slow going. Using the compass from around her neck, Annie simply went from
tree to tree, about ten yards at a time. She used the flashlight sparingly,
shining the beam just two or three yards ahead at a time to avoid detection.
She tried to count paces but gave up after tripping a few times on rocks, relying
on the subcutaneous transceiver and Patrick McLanahan’s deep, solid, reassuring
voice to guide her.

           
She had gone perhaps fifty yards
when she heard a noise. She turned and saw a pair of headlight beams slicing
through the freezing rain. As the headlights got closer, she realized she was
only about a dozen yards above a dirt road. The truck using the headlights
shifted into a lower gear and slowed. "‘Oh, shit,” Annie said softly, “a
truck just came out of nowhere. I think they saw me.”

 
          
“Can
you hide?” Patrick asked.

 
          
“I’ll
try,” Annie said. The truck was heading toward her, up a slight grade. Annie
immediately ran forward in the opposite direction, not daring to use the
flashlight. She extended her arms out in front of her, but still couldn't help
colliding with trees, crashing into boulders, and tripping on rocks. The pain
was back full force. But she ignored all of that and kept on running. She
didn’t care what direction, only that it was away from the truck. “I... don’t
hear the ... engine revving anymore,” Annie panted. “It must have stopped.”

 
          
“Keep
going as long as you can, then find cover,” Patrick said.

 
          
“I’ll
try,” Annie said, breathing hard. “I’ll...” She tripped once again and fell,
sprawled out face-first in the snow. She was about to leap to her feet and keep
running when she realized that she hadn’t just tripped on something—she had
hooked her foot on something ... something like string ... like .... parachute
risers.

           
Annie wheeled around and dropped to
the snow. She caught the risers again and pulled. More nylon cords came out of
the snow. My God. they
were
parachute risers! “I found a parachute! I
found a parachute!” she cried out.

 
          
“Lower
your voice, Annie. I can hear you fine,” McLanahan said. “Is it Dev?”

 
          
“Stand
by.” She frantically pulled on the risers she could find, the snow flying in
all directions. No, wrong direction— she found the white parachute canopy. She
whirled around and began pulling and digging in the other direction. Please,
God, oh please, let it be him. Let him still be alive....

 
          
She
found the body under four inches of fresh snow, lying faceup. He still had his
helmet on. his clear visor down and his oxygen mask connected. His parachute
risers were wrapped around a nearby tree, meaning he had either landed in the
tree and then fallen, or was dragged and crashed into it. Using the red-lensed
flashlight, she whipped off the oxygen mask’s bayonet clips on the side of his
helmet. A gentle cloud of steam escaped. “General, I found him!” Annie said. “I
found him! I think he’s still alive!”

 
          
“Thank
God,” Patrick said. “Check him over as best you can before you move him.”

 
          
“He
looks like he’s okay, just unconscious,” Annie said as she began to examine
him. He was securely bundled up in the cold-weather gear she’d seen him put on.
She saw a big scrape against the left front side of his helmet and guessed he
must have hit a tree face-first. “I don’t see any broken bones. He’s just
unconscious,” Annie repeated.

 
          
“If
he’s still in his parachute, unfasten his risers and drag him as far as you can
away from there,” Patrick said.