The Journal: Raging Tide: (The Journal Book 4) (21 page)

“Let’s pull in here and drive around back,”
I suggested. There were two of the distinctive dark green and light
blue trailers, both missing tires.

“Well, there’s bound to be more,” Jim
shrugged. “Let’s keep moving.”

Just past the silent ski hill with its
chairlifts frozen in time was another business that rented moving
trailers and this time we got lucky.

“That one is way too large,” he pointed to
one near the front.

“This one over here might do us,” I said
spotting a smaller unit, listing to one side. “Darn, it has a flat
tire.”

“Tires we can change.” Jim opened the back
doors to the covered unit and stepped inside. “The floor is solid,
and it even has a moving dolly.” He stepped back out and looked
around the yard. “I can switch tires from that trailer and we can
be back on the road in twenty minutes.”

He jacked up the large trailer with the
tools from the Humvee and removed two of the tires. I didn’t
question him taking two; it’s always good to have a spare. Jim left
the large, open trailer sitting on its empty axle. He rolled one
tire and I rolled the other over to the smaller trailer. He
loosened the lug nuts on the flat tire, jacked it up, and removed
it quickly. As he was putting the good tire in place, a tremor hit
and the jack slipped.

“AHHHH!” Jim screamed. The axle had fallen
on his hand! I wrenched the jack out and pumped it up again, and
then helped Jim pull his left hand free. There was so much blood it
was hard to tell whether he had two or three smashed fingers. He
sat with his back against the trailer and stifled a moan. I ran to
the Hummer and backed it as close to him as I could get.

“Let me wash it, Jim,” I said calmly, and I
poured a bottle of drinking water over the wound. It immediately
began gushing red again, but I had seen enough. I grabbed one of my
t-shirts and wrapped it around his hand. “I’m going to take you
back to the base. You need the medic.”

“The pain is making me dizzy, Allex, I don’t
know if I can even stand.” He groaned again as he tried.

“Don’t try to move.” I went back to the
Hummer and got my small med-kit. I found the vial of painkiller and
filled the syringe. I swabbed his muscular shoulder and jabbed. “I
gave you something for the pain and it should act fast. The moment
the pain subsides, we have to move fast to get you into the Hummer.
I can’t do it alone, you will have to help before the meds knock
you out.”

“Knocked out sounds good,” he moaned. “Let’s
do it.” I helped him stand and he leaned heavily on me for the few
steps we needed to go. I closed the passenger door and slid behind
the wheel, driving as fast as possible back to the base.

Twenty minutes later I pulled up to the gate
and the guard stepped out. “ID please.”

“Open the damned gate! The colonel has been
severely injured!” I shouted, my adrenaline raging. The young man
looked inside the Hummer and saw the bloody wrappings. The gate
lifted and I barely cleared it in my hurry.

I jumped the curb in front of the field
hospital as two orderlies came out with a wheelchair. I was very
glad to see them, as I wouldn’t have been capable of moving an
inert Jim. They managed to get the unconscious colonel into the
chair and I followed on their heels.

“I got a call from the gate. What happened,
Lieutenant?” Captain Josh Marley asked, unwrapping the bloody shirt
from Jim’s hand.

“He was changing a tire when that aftershock
hit and the jack slipped. I rinsed it off with drinking water only.
Two fingers look bad, Doc. I gave him a shot of Demerol,” and I
told the medic how much. He nodded.

“You two,” Marley said to the orderlies,
“get him on a gurney. STAT!” Marley turned to me. “You might want
to wait out here, Lieutenant. It’s going to get messy.”

“I’m not leaving him, and don’t worry about
me. I assisted my husband in several surgeries, including one on my
own son after he was attacked by wolves,” I stated, following
Marley into the surgical suite.

“Lieutenant, I don’t need an assistant, and
I definitely don’t need another patient.”

“I’ll make you a deal,
Captain
,” I
said. “I promise to stay out of your way and if I feel the least
bit faint, I’ll leave.”

He eyed me and said nothing, then he handed
me a mask and a pair of gloves.

I sat on a stool at the head of the gurney,
wiping cool water on Jim’s slack face. Captain Marley irrigated the
wounds again. “The ring finger is broken and can be set. The small
finger is smashed, pulverized, and I’m going to have to amputate
it.”

“I know he would want you to do whatever is
necessary,” I replied. “You’ve got excellent surgical skills,
Captain, and it’s obvious you have experience. Where have you
served?”

“I did three tours in the sandbox, ma’am.
I’ve patched up more young men that stepped on IEDs than I care to
think about,” he answered without looking up. “Unfortunately, that
included a lot of amputations.” He straightened and splinted the
ring finger. “I don’t mean to sound too casual about this,
Lieutenant, but the amputation will be quick and relatively simple.
The bone is completely crushed and the tissue is totally
separated.” He sliced the skin to have a flap to stitch over the
nub and dropped the mangled digit in a metal bowl. In less than a
half hour, the surgery was finished and Jim’s hand was wrapped in
bandages.

“May I ask where your husband served,
Lieutenant?” Marley asked casually as he scrubbed.

“My husband wasn’t military, Captain. He was
an ER trauma doctor down in Saginaw. He died from the flu last
year,” I added, knowing that would be the next question.

“Can I assume you will want to stay here,
near Colonel Andrews?”

“Definitely,” I replied. “How long will you
want to keep him?”

“He should be fine to leave tomorrow
morning. I’m sure the colonel would disagree with me, but as I
said, this wasn’t a bad injury.”

*

I sat beside a sleeping colonel, my
adrenaline dump beginning. I got shaky, then very tired. I rested
my head against his bed and dozed.

*

“Lieutenant? Allex?” I felt someone shaking
my shoulder and opened my eyes.

“Major Kopley,” I acknowledged him and sat
up straight, stretching the kinks out of my neck.

“I was notified that Jim had been injured.
What happened?”

“He was changing a tire when the jack
slipped. One broken finger and Capt. Marley had to amputate the
pinky. He should be fine and we’ll leave again in the morning,” I
answered.

“I think you should stay the rest of the
week, give Jim time to recover,” Kopley said, taking command.

“It will be up to Jim, though I’m fairly
certain he would want to get back on the road, Major.”

“Even if I make that an order?” Kopley
pressed.

Some serious strategy was needed, and a
serious lie.

“Major Kopley,” I said, standing to face
him, “I know you have attempted to access my records, and you have
found you don’t have a high enough clearance. I’m not at liberty to
discuss my orders with you or anyone else, but I will tell you one
thing you didn’t find in my file. Jim may outrank me, but
you
don’t! So don’t try to give
me
orders,” I said
with all the anger I was feeling about our situation. I sat back
down.

Major Kopley looked both stunned and
chastised. “Yes, Ma’am.” He turned to leave, then turned back.
“Lieutenant, Colonel Andrews is my friend and I wish only the best
for him. I would be honored if you would join me for dinner in the
officers’ mess at eighteen hundred hours. You still need to
eat.”

“Thank you, Major, however, I’m having two
trays sent down here. I wouldn’t think of leaving Jim alone at a
time like this,” I replied, softening my stance.

*

“Allex?” Jim called out.

“I’m right here, Jim,” I answered, moving so
he could see me.

“You’re so pretty,” he said, closing his
eyes again.

“That’s because you’re on some good drugs
right now,” I laughed.

“Pretty and brave… smart. So strong. I think
I fell in… with you…at… wedding. Not a sham,” he slurred and dozed
off again in a drug induced haze.

Wow, that was a revelation I didn’t
need.

He struggled to open his eyes again. “What
happened? Where are we?”

“That trailer slipped off the jack during
the tremor and smashed your fingers. We’re in the infirmary at
Sawyer.” I laid my hand on his cheek. “You’ve got one broken
finger, and … your pinky finger had to be amputated.”

His eyes flew open and he lifted his hand.
“No wonder it hurts.” He drifted away again.

A half hour later, our two dinner trays were
delivered: Chicken noodle soup with crackers for the patient and
chicken breast on rice for me. The adrenaline rush had left me
hungry, and I ate quickly so I could be done before Jim woke.

*

His eyes were clearer and not so drug-fogged
when he awakened again. He took a deep breath and yawned.

“I smell food,” he said without the least
trace of slur to his voice.

“Chicken noodle soup and crackers is all
Capt. Marley will let you have. Tomorrow night, though, it’s just
you and me, a steak, and a bottle of wine.” It was good to see him
alert. I cranked the bed up to a sitting position and helped Jim
have his meager dinner. Then I gave him the Darvocet Marley had
left him and Jim went right back out.

April 27

I laid down on the one of the other beds in
the infirmary after taking off my boots last night. Someone draped
a blanket over me at some point and I drowsily relished the
softness that covered me.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” Jim said. He was
already sitting up and eating breakfast.

“Hey, you, how do you feel?” I asked,
sliding out of the bed to stand by him.

“I’ve had better mornings,” he chuckled
around a bite of toast. “My hand hurts like hell. Marley said I was
lucky. I’ve managed my entire life without losing a body part, and
now this.” He held up his bandaged hand, scooping eggs with his
other one.

“It could have been much worse, Jim. I’m
just glad we were still so close to the base.” I shuddered at the
thought of this happening further away. What would I have done?

“That’s what Marley said too, Allex. Your
quick thinking resulted in the loss of one finger instead of my
whole hand.” He looked at me and smiled. “Thank you. I can deal
with a missing finger.” He took a sip of coffee and noticed me
staring at it. “There’s a tray over there for you.”

“Scoot over, Colonel,” I said, climbing onto
his bed with my food tray. We chatted and ate until Capt. Marley
came in.

“Major Kopley was quite adamant that you
could leave if you wanted unless I felt that would be detrimental
to your wellbeing, Colonel Andrews. I can see that you are
recovering rapidly.” Apparently the major had an about face after
my mega lie. “Your uniform was laundered by Smitty and will be here
shortly, sir. Once you’re dressed and fitted with a sling, you’re
free to go.”

*

“Do I really need this sling?” Jim
griped.

“Yes you do,” I answered before Marley had
the chance. “Your hand needs the support and the elevation. If you
left it down by your side it would start throbbing in no time.
Buck-up, Colonel, it’s only for a few days.” Marley handed me a
small bag with extra gauze for changing the bandages, some
antibiotic cream, and a small bottle of pain pills that Jim would
need later.

The morning
was minimally brighter than yesterday. The gray, ash-filled clouds
looked thicker and more ominous as we drove out of the confines of
the military base.

“Don’t you give me any grief about me
driving, Colonel. You’ve done ninety-nine percent of the driving
ever since we left Moose Creek,” I snapped at him.

“My lips are sealed. By the way, what did
you say to Steve that made him ask me about your rank?” Major
Kopley had stopped by the infirmary while I was bringing the Humvee
around.

“Oh,” I hesitated, “he threatened to order
us to stay on base for the week, so I had to lie a bit more.” I
told Jim what I said and he laughed.

“That would make you a Lieutenant
Colonel
, Allex, the only rank that separates a major and a
full bird colonel. No wonder he was so solicitous.” He laughed
again. It was good to see him in a pleasant mood.

*

I pulled into the parking lot of the trailer
rental, where the unit we wanted waited still jacked up. I finished
changing the tire, spun the lug nuts on, and consented to Jim
tightening them down, one handed. Together we got the trailer
attached to the Hummer and were soon on our way again.

I found the entrance to the subdivision
easily and wound around the curves cautiously until we came to the
long driveway.

“Everything looks the same,” Jim commented
as I ascended the still smooth concrete. The first thing I noticed
was the grass turning green and the towers of dried leaves piled in
the corners of the portico. We’d been gone a month. I made a full
circle on the oval apron, aiming outward, and then backed up a few
feet.

“I’ve never been very good at backing up a
trailer, so if you want it closer, you’ll have to do it yourself,”
I said, getting out of the big vehicle. I retrieved the door key
from where we had hidden it weeks ago, and after testing that the
door was indeed still locked, I inserted the key. We both drew our
weapons and I nudged the door open. Crushing dried leaves
underfoot, we entered the house.

We cleared each floor as we had done before.
All was as we had left it.

“I think it’s safe to bring our gear in,”
Jim said.