Echo-Foxtrot (6 page)

The monitors beeped quietly as he took hold of Lou's hand. “Hiya. You look like death warmed up, but I guess you only look as good as you feel. I'm sorry. If I hadn't been angry, none of this would have happened and you'd be OK and with the rest of us, not stuck in here on your own.”

Now he was here, he didn't know what to say. “We've got an ‘escort,' as General Merrick puts it. His name is Sergeant Peterson and he and Jack are best mates, it seems. I wouldn't be able to lose him in a blizzard. I can't stay long, because he's probably on my tail as I speak. Need to get back before Staci wakes and misses me anyway. Mum and Dad have grounded me for the rest of my life. At this rate I shall be ninety before anyone trusts me again.”

The overhead lights flicked on, making him jump.

“Ninety-five,” Jack told him furiously. “You'll be ninety-five before anyone trusts you again. You were told Lou was off limits tonight. Rules are made for a reason, not to be ignored or broken if you don't like them. And you are the
last
person I would have expected to pull a stunt like this. You keep insisting you're an adult, so act like one.”

Jim's heart pounded and his stomach felt like a box of rocks as it sank into his shoes. “Sorry.”

Dr. Andrews fixed him with an angry glare. “You are so fortunate your father isn't here right now. I'm within an inch of calling him. Perhaps I should do.”

Jim shifted uncomfortably, his face burning. He knew he was going to get yelled at, but even so hadn‘t expected it to be done in front of an audience. “How did you know where I was?”

“It wasn't rocket science!” Jack said. “We have security cameras everywhere on base, which made it easy to find you. The escort is for your protection as well as ours. Dr. Andrews had very good reasons for not wanting Lou to have visitors tonight.”

Jim's face burned like it was on fire. “Sorry. I just wanted to see her and tell her what we did today. We've been together every minute of every day for so long now; it doesn't seem right without her.”

“Go back to bed,” Jack told him firmly. “Airman Thomas will take you.”

Jim squeezed Lou's hand. “I'll see you tomorrow. By the way, you missed out on fast food. And there were so many cars in town. Ailsa had forgotten about traffic. The green man is white here. Weird.”

“Jim. Bed, now,” Jack said firmly. “Don't make me repeat myself, or we really will call your parents.”

“I can always sedate you,” Dr. Andrews added.

“OK. I'm going.” He squeezed Lou's hand. “Good night, sleep tight, and don't let the bed bugs bi—” He broke off as Lou's fingers gently tightened on his hand. “Jack, she squeezed my hand.”

Dr. Andrews went to the bed and shone a light in Lou's eyes. “Lou?” she said. “Can you hear me?”

“Go.” Jack pointed at the door, his tone leaving no more room to maneuver.

Jim left the room, but waited in the hallway. He kept watch from the doorway.

Lou tried to move her head away from the light. Her fingers moved again and she moaned softly, coughing against the ventilator.

Dr. Andrews put the torch down and began to remove the ventilator.

Lou moved her head and moaned.

Dr. Andrews said, “Lou, can you hear me? Open your eyes for me.”

Lou's eyes flickered open.

“Good girl.” Dr. Andrews took her hands. “Can you squeeze my fingers for me?”

Lou did so.

“Well done.” Dr. Andrews glanced across at a nurse. “Go get Mrs. Benson.”

“She's in my quarters,” Jack said. “I'll stay here with Lou. She'll need a familiar face.”

The medic nodded and ran from the room.

Lou whispered, “It hurts.”

“I can do something about that.” Dr. Andrews injected something into the cannula. “Give it a few minutes and it should help.”

Jack took her hand. “Hi,” he said.

“Jack? Where am I?” Her voice, no louder than a whisper, was croaky.

“Anderson Air Force Base on Guam.”

“I thought I dreamt you on the beach.”

Jack smiled. “No. I'm quite real.”

“Where's Mum?”

“She'll be here in a minute.” He took the cup and straw from the medic. “Do you want a drink?”

“Please. My throat hurts.”

“Just a sip.” He lifted her head and held the cup as she took a mouthful. He laid her gently back on the pillows and put the cup down. Dr. Andrews injected something else into the drip and adjusted it.

“The others?”

“They're here, along with Bill and Di Kirk. Asleep, or they should be. Jim—” Jack beckoned him over. “You can have two minutes, then go to bed.”

Jim moved to Lou's side. “Hey…”

“Jim…”

“Yeah. I'm here.”

“Not your fault,” she whispered.

“Yes, it is.”

“I don't blame you.”

“Lou!” Footsteps ran down the ward.

Lou turned her head slightly. “Mum.”

Jim stood back against the wall to keep out of the way. Tears burned his eyes.
Thank You, God
.

Nichola gathered her daughter in her arms. “Lou, I thought I'd lost you forever.”

“I'm sorry, Mum.”

Nichola finally released Lou from the hug and laid her back down on the pillows. “I am so mad at you,” she said. “It was a stupid, thoughtless, selfish, cruel thing to do. Have you any idea what you put us through?”

“I didn't want Jim to go alone.” Lou's face contorted with pain. “It hurts,” she said. “My leg…”

“They couldn't save your leg, love,” Nichola said gently.

“I never expected it to be fixable.”

Dr. Andrews came over. “I'll give you something to make you sleep. That should help.”

Lou tightened her grip on her mother's hand. “Don't go.”

Nichola gripped her hand tightly. “I'm not going anywhere.”

Jack tapped Jim on the shoulder. “You need to get some sleep as well, Jim. You can come and see her again in the morning. Stray again and the doc will carry out her threat.”

Jim nodded. He was tired enough to sleep without sedation. “OK.”

8

Lou slept fitfully, despite the sedative. She woke suddenly and looked at the clock. Half past six. She wondered if it were morning or evening, but figured morning as it was dark outside. The lights were dimmed and she was in a private room now rather than a huge ward. Her mother was gone. Perhaps the nurses had chased her to bed.

She lifted her head slightly and looked down at her legs.

She recoiled in shock and a sense of loss enveloped her, crushing her with a weight so heavy, she gasped involuntarily. It was gone. She could feel it, but it was gone.

A stab of grief plunged deep within her. What would she do now? She'd never walk again. She watched as her dreams vanished into the cloud that was descending over the bed. She could never become a world-famous archaeologist and find Atlantis or El Dorado now.

God must really hate her.

She looked out of the window. The sky was beginning to lighten and beyond the glass, the birds started to sing. Tears ran down her cheeks.

The medic on duty came over to her. “Are you OK?”

Lou shook her head.

“Shall I get your mom?”

Lou shook her head again. “No,” she cried.

“Are you in pain?”

“A lot.” She watched as the medic picked up the chart and took it to the desk.

Lou watched as the sky grew paler. Another dawn she didn't want to see. The medic came back. “I can't give you anything for another three hours.”

“Sounds about right,” she whispered. “Mafuso and Ailsa kept saying that too. All the time.”

“I'll speak to Dr. Andrews when she comes on duty at 0700.” The medic went back to the desk.

Lou wiped her eyes against the onslaught of tears, but it was a losing battle.

Despite the growing light outside, around Lou it seemed to grow darker. When breakfast came at 0700, she pushed it around the plate, but didn't eat anything.

Dr. Andrews came over. “Good morning. How are you?”

“Not hungry.”

“Can I get you something else instead? Maybe some toast or some cereal?”

“No.”

“The nurse tells me you need some pain meds?”

“Yeah,” Lou said.

“I'll increase the dose slightly, but if you don't eat, you won't get better. Are you sure you don't want this? The others have done nothing but eat since they've been here.”

“Just make sure they have enough. We're almost out of food again.”

“We won't run out. There's plenty for you as well.”

“I'm not hungry.”

“I've got one of our trained counselors coming in to see you—”

“I don't need a shrink because I'm not hungry,” Lou snapped, interrupting her. “There is nothing to talk about. My life as it was is over. End of story.” She turned away and shut her eyes.

As the footsteps moved away, she opened her eyes and lay with a fixed stare at the ceiling. She slowly moved her gaze across the tiles, counting the lights. Lots of them.

Dr. Andrews returned with the morphine. “It's not a full dose because it's too early still.” She injected it and looked at Lou. “We'll get you mobile tomorrow.”

Lou snorted. “Mobile? I can't walk, can I?”

“Wheelchair. We'll also organize some crutches and see about getting a prosthesis fitted.”

“A what?”

“Artificial leg, but one thing at a time. Would you like to sit up a little?”

“OK.”

Dr. Andrews picked up a control next to the bed and pressed one of the buttons. Slowly, the bed rose until she was sitting slightly.

“Thanks,” Lou said.

“How's the leg doing?” Dr. Andrews asked.

“It hurts.”

“Other than it hurts?”

Lou turned her head and looked at the doctor. “You mean aside from the fact that my leg isn't there?”
What's with the obvious questions?
She sucked in a deep breath. “Like I said, it hurts. And my toes itch.”

Dr. Andrews examined the stump. “It's looking all right. We'll leave it uncovered today.”

Lou grimaced. “Can't you at least hide it so I can't see it?”

“Sure we can. Be right back.”

Lou sighed. Why was everyone being so nice to her when she didn't deserve it? It'd be best just to push everyone away so they wouldn't care so much when she died.

Because that was still going to happen. She knew that. Mafuso said so and no one had told her otherwise.

Dr. Andrews returned with a leg shield. She placed it over Lou's legs and arranged the covers so the stump was hidden from view but left uncovered. “How's that?”

“Better, thank you.”

Dr. Andrews smiled. “Your mom will be in soon. I expect the others will be too. Can I get you something to read?”

“No thanks. I'll just sit here and look out the window.”

About an hour later, footsteps echoed across the room. She turned as they came over. “Hi, guys,” she said as Jim, Staci, and Ailsa came over.

“You look better,” Jim said. “How're you doing?”

“Still here,” Lou replied. “So what's happening then?” She nodded at the figures by the door. “Who are they?”

“The bloke is Sergeant Peterson and the woman is Staff Sergeant Chaney. They're our escorts,” Ailsa explained.

Staci rolled her eyes. “They only gave us a woman so Sergeant Peterson doesn't have to go where no man has ever gone before…the ladies' room.”

Ailsa and Staci sat on the bed and Jim sat in the chair next to it. Lou looked at them. “You have ‘escorts'? Why?”

Jim grimaced. “General Merrick says they are for our ‘protection' on the base, unquote. Really I think it's so we don't do a runner again.”

“Who's General Merrick?”

“She's in charge of the base.”

“So you guys can't go anywhere without an escort?”

“No, but then Mum and Dad are here as well.”

Lou shifted on the bed. “Are they really here? Are they all right?”

Jim smiled. “They're fine. There was just no way for them to send a message home after the tsunami and quake. Once they did, we'd already left.”

Staci nodded. “And they grounded us for like forever.”

Lou looked thoughtful. “Mum was here. And Jack. He called her Nicky. No one ever does that, 'cept your parents.”

“She's been staying at his place since she came out in December, along with Mum and Dad. They're obviously friends. Friends shorten each other's names,” Jim said. “Like you call me Jim and I call you Lou. Rather than James and Louisa.”

“Dad never did. He always called her Nichola.”

“But then she always called him Robert and never Bob.”

“True.” She paused. “So what have you guys been up to?”

Jim pulled the big parcel out from the side of the bed and gave it to Lou. “We did this.”

Lou opened it. Her picture looked wonderful in its new frame. Far better than she'd ever imagined when she sewed it. “Wow. Thank you.”

“The girls chose the frame and mount, so if you don't like it, blame them.”

“It's lovely.” She passed it to Ailsa. “Can you wrap it again for me? Then I can give it to Mum. Ta.”

“We did other stuff too,” Staci told her. “We went clothes shopping and we went to get fast food yesterday. Today we're going on a tour of the island.”

“Sounds fun. Today I get to sit up.”

Ailsa smiled at her. “Would you rather still be on Agrihan? I know I wouldn't.”

As tempting as it was to shoot back a sarcastic answer or say yes, Lou just shook her head. Probably best not to upset the others by saying she'd rather not be here.

“It's strange having to do what grown-ups want again,” Staci said. “Having done what I wanted for so long.”