False Horizon - Alex Archer [27]
“Help me wedge the door open,” Annja said.
Tuk came alongside, and then as Annja held the door handle down he leaned and drove the door back with the force of his body. Annja looked at him and smiled. He might have been tiny but he had a lot of power in that body of his.
Together, they got the door open. Annja looked at Mike. As she twisted, she grunted as a sharp lancing pain shot through her ribs. They were tolerable, but would also need taping at some point.
First things first, she took Mike’s pulse and found it stronger now than when they’d first crashed. That was a good sign. He was breathing well. But his cheeks were pale.
From the waist down he was covered with snow. Annja frowned. “We’ve got to get this away from his body. It’s leeching the warmth right out of him.”
Tuk nodded. “All right, let me help. You have an injury from the crash, it would appear.”
Annja nodded. “You’re no picture of perfection yourself, pal. You’ve got some blood on the top of your head.”
Tuk frowned and reached up. His hand came away sticky and dark. “I hit the top of the cabin when we crashed. I am all right, though.”
“Head injuries often look worse than they are,” Annja said. “I’ve had enough of them myself.”
Tuk stared at her and then looked back toward Mike. “Let me get him shoveled out of there.” He bent low and started scooping the snow out from around Mike’s body. Annja watched him work. He seemed to possess a store of energy.
But who was he?
“You want to tell me what you were doing in our plane?” she asked.
Tuk glanced at her. “I’m afraid my weakness for alcohol resulted in me stowing away there last night.”
“Last night?”
“I was out drinking. I staggered past the airfield and realized I’d never make it home. The planes looked comfortable. I only intended to sleep off my hangover and then head back home.” He shrugged. “However, that plan was soon cast to the wind when I awoke to find us all in the air.”
“You could have said something.”
Tuk shook his head. “I’ve never flown before. I decided it would be best to just let you get us wherever we were going. I took solace in the fact that we would eventually have to return to Katmandu. Once back, I would simply steal away with you and your friend, none the wiser.”
“So much for that plan, huh?”
Tuk smiled and resumed digging out Mike. Annja saw his brow crease with concern. Then he started digging faster.
“What’s wrong?”
Then she saw it. Bloody snow.
“No!”
Tuk nodded. “He must have an injury we cannot see.” Tuk’s hands came away bright red as the snow and ice melted and mixed with the blood. “It’s vital we stop the bleeding as soon as we can.”
Annja maneuvered her way around to the back of the plane where the bags and Tuk had spilled out. She rummaged through the bags and came up with a first aid kit. It wasn’t anything exhaustive, but she found sterile gauze and pressure dressing inside.
She hoped it would work.
She moved back to Mike’s side. Tuk had successfully gotten rid of most of the snow. Mike’s lower torso was now exposed. As Annja came around, she saw what Tuk was staring at and frowned.
“It’s his thigh,” Tuk said. “It appears that a piece of metal pierced it from the plane’s body. Probably when we crashed it came through and shredded part of his leg. He’s lost a fair amount of blood.”
Annja tore open the pressure dressing and handed it to him. “Get some on the wound.”
Tuk dutifully took the dressing and pressed it into the wound.
The effect on Mike was almost instantaneous. His eyes shot open and he screamed. Annja put a hand on him and tried to calm him down. “Hold still, Mike. It’s Annja. I’m here.”
He stared at her. “Are you okay?”
She smiled. “Think so. Took a shot to my head, but that’s nothing new there. I passed out twice, but I’m feeling pretty good now aside from some broken ribs.