Sudden Impact - Lesley Choyce [13]
I went west along a narrow trail. I tripped over roots and rocks, stumbled and banged up my legs, but I kept going. Up ahead was the rock outcropping that looked out over the Northwest Arm of the harbor and on out to sea. It was our place.
I thought again about that afternoon we cut detention and Kurt brought me here. I’d never even been to the park before. It was at the end of town where people with money lived. The sun had been going down over the water. It was golden and the pine trees were lit up with the sunlight. He had touched my hand and said, “Let’s just be quiet and watch.” We looked out over the water for a long while. That’s the kind of guy Kurt was.
The trail twisted up the slope, and I had to grab onto the tree roots to keep from sliding down the loose stones. My eyes were having a hard time focussing and my lungs felt ready to explode. Where the trail stopped I heaved myself up onto the rock outcropping, the place we called the Ledge.
I felt his hand as I pulled myself up, even before I could see his face. His hand felt cold. Kurt!
He looked like he was just curled up asleep. I bent over him and put my ear to his mouth. My heart was racing so fast, and I was breathing so hard that at first I couldn’t tell … I held my breath and waited. I felt his breath on my cheek. He was breathing. He was alive, but he wasn’t okay. I rolled him over but couldn’t see any bleeding.
I knew that the problem wasn’t on the outside. It wasn’t anything you could see. His breathing was shallow and jerky. I needed to get him back to the hospital—and fast—but I couldn’t carry him down. It was too steep and too dangerous. I wasn’t strong enough and, besides, I could do more harm.
I think that the hardest thing for me to do, just then, was to leave him alone. All I had on was a light jacket and I threw it over him. Then I scrambled down from the Ledge and ran for help.
When I got to the main pathway, I stopped two guys on racing bikes. I asked one of them to phone an ambulance. The other one I asked to search for the cop I’d seen. They could tell from how freaked-out I was that I was serious. They sped off in opposite directions, and I sat down in the dirt to gather my wits.
chapter thirteen
The ambulance arrived and the attendant, Martha, recognized me at once.
“Get in,” she said. “You’re getting to be a regular customer.”
I was shaking and just plain scared. She put a blanket around me and cupped an oxygen mask over Kurt.
“It wasn’t my idea,” I said. “He should have stayed in the hospital.”
She gave me a curious glance. “Nobody said it was, honey. Relax. Boy, you sure have your hands full looking after this guy. You’re sure he’s worth all the trouble?”
“Yeah, he’s worth it,” I said. I liked her. I knew that she was teasing me in a gentle way to make things seem less scary. I knew she was someone I could trust. While we talked, the driver was whipping down the street with his siren going.
“Shut that damn thing off,” Martha said. “We’re almost there. So just can it.”
The siren wound down with a mournful howl that faded to nothing.
“Know anything about how a liver works?” I asked her.
She shrugged. “Can’t live without it. That his problem?”
“Yeah, I guess he needs a new one or he dies.”
“Transplant time?”
“If they find a donor before it’s too late.”
We backed into the ambulance loading bay and had just come to a stop when another ambulance came roaring in beside us. That driver had the siren up full blast. It was murder on the ears. Two orderlies were about to unload Kurt when the driver of the other ambulance yelled. “This one first. Heart stopped twice. Head injury. Got to get him in quick!”
The orderlies headed to the other ambulance.
I jumped out and started after them. “Wait! We’re important too,” I said. But Martha had grabbed hold of my shoulders.
“Just be calm. Your boyfriend’s more or less stable. That, over there, sounds very bad. Be cool.” She adjusted