Alex paced back and forth across the floor. For the millionth time, she looked at the clock. Nearly an hour and a half had passed since Daniel went in search of Dylan. The storm was all but over, having blown itself out before it got really bad. If nothing was wrong, the minister and her son should have been back by now. Alex was getting more scared by the minute.
The redhead turned to Molly, who had returned forty minutes ago. “They should have been back by now, Mol. I know something’s wrong.”
Molly nodded, almost as worried as her friend. “I think you should call Kevin.”
Not hesitating a moment longer, Alex picked up the phone and dialed Kevin’s number. Twenty minutes later, he and several volunteers were gathered at the Widow’s Walk. Kevin gave each of the volunteers a trail or back road to cover, then headed off in the police SUV to search the trail that Alex had said she believed Daniel had gone to search. The wind had nearly stopped, for which the cop was grateful. Even so, it was a challenge navigating the trail, which was barely wide enough for the vehicle to go down. Fallen limbs and branches were all over the road. Not having room to go around them, Kevin had no choice but to drive over them. Worried that he’d get a flat tire or that the SUV would be damaged by one of the larger limbs, Kevin crawled up the trail. Then he came to an obstacle that he couldn’t take the SUV over. An enormous oak tree had fallen across the trail, completely blocking it. Sighing, the cop parked the car and got out, prepared to walk the rest of the way.
Grabbing his walkie talkie, he stepped to the left to go around the tree. That’s when he noticed something amidst the limbs. Moving closer, he realized that it was a bicycle. Suddenly scared, Kevin ran forward.
“Dylan? Dylan, are you here? Dyl--” Kevin came to an abrupt halt, his heart leaping up into his throat. A still form lay beneath the limbs of the tree a few yards from the bicycle. Suddenly feeling sick, the cop realized it was Daniel.
Kevin scrambled over the limbs and branches, ignoring the splinters and scrapes he was getting. “Daniel!” Finally reaching the minister, he knelt beside him. It wasn’t until then that he saw something lying beneath Daniel and realized that it was Dylan. The minister’s body was almost completely covering the boy. Neither one of them was moving. There was blood covering Daniel’s face and hair. Terrified of what he would find, Kevin felt for the minister’s pulse. The cop’s eyes closed for a moment in relief when he found one. He was unable to check Dylan’s pulse.
Kevin grabbed his walkie talkie and called the one he had left with Alex. “Alex, this is Kevin. Do you read me?”
“Kevin! Did you find them?” The redhead’s voice sounded as if she was at the breaking point.
“Yes, I found them. Alex, listen to me. There’s been an accident.”
“Accident? What’s wrong? What happened?” The fear in Alex’s voice had skyrocketed.
“A tree fell on them. You need to get Doctor Watson up here right away. We also need some men with chainsaws to get them free.”
“How bad is it? How bad are they hurt?”
“I don’t know, Alex. We have to get them free as quickly as possible.”
Not even bothering to sign off, Alex ran to the doctor’s office. Molly, who had heard the whole conversation, began calling people whom she knew had chainsaws.
The instant Doctor Watson saw the expression on Alex’s face, she knew that something terrible had happened. The redhead quickly told her the situation, and the doctor immediately got to work gathering what she thought she would need.
“Alex, grab that back board there and the cervical collars,” she said as she snatched up bandages and vials of drugs. Everything was put into the doctor’s truck.
“I’m going with you,” Alex said.
Doctor Watson looked at the redhead for a moment, then nodded. They climbed into the truck and took off.
Alex stared straight ahead, her mind filled with terror. She kept picturing her son’s face, happy and smiling. If she lost him, there would be nothing left for her. And then she found herself thinking of Daniel, of his smile, his warm brown eyes, the feel of his lips on hers when he kissed her. What if he died? The thought sent a shockingly intense feeling of grief through her.
It seemed like forever before they saw Kevin’s SUV. Beyond it lay the tree. Doctor Watson had barely managed to get the truck stopped before Alex was out of it and running toward where she saw Kevin. She clambered over the limbs with maddened haste. Then she saw Daniel, and she froze. The minister was pinned beneath a large limb. His blood-covered face was chalk white. He was utterly still, appearing not even to be breathing. Alex felt anguish sear through her at the sight, making her feel like she was going to pass out. Choking back a cry, she tore her gaze from Daniel and looked around for her son.
“Where’s Dylan?”
“He’s here, Alex,” Kevin said gently.
The redhead covered the last few feet and saw the top of her son’s head poking out from underneath Daniel’s body. She fell to her knees beside them.
“Dylan? Dylan, sweetheart, it’s Mommy.” She reached out and touched her son’s hair. She jumped, startled, as his head suddenly moved. “Honey, can you hear me?”
There was a small sound, and Dylan’s head moved again. “Mom?” came his muffled voice.
Alex’s hands flew to her mouth. “I’m here, sweetheart. You’re going to be all right.”
“Where am I? Something heavy is on me.”
“It’s all right, Dylan. We’re going to get you out in just a few minutes. Just lie still, okay?”
Doctor Watson had knelt on the other side of Kevin. She was taking Daniel’s pulse, her face grave. “Dylan, it’s Doctor Watson. Are you feeling any pain?”
“My head hurts and my arm too.”
“Is that all?”
“Yeah. Where’s Daniel?”
Alex met the doctor’s eyes for an instant.
“Honey, Daniel is lying on top of you. That’s what the heavy weight is that you feel,” Alex explained, trying to keep the fear and anguish out of her voice. Her eyes went to the minister’s pale face. He had not moved. To Alex’s tear-filled eyes, he looked dead. But she knew he wasn’t, even though Doctor Watson hadn’t given any indication that he was alive. He couldn’t be dead, he just couldn’t be.
There was silence for a moment. “Is he dead?” Dylan asked in a trembling voice, uttering the question that Alex had been afraid to.
“No, Dylan, he’s not dead,” Doctor Watson told him. “But he is hurt. We’ll have both of you out of there soon.”
“The tree started falling. Daniel ran toward me. He grabbed me and threw me on the ground. I don’t remember anything else.”
“That’s okay, sweetheart. You’re doing fine.” Tears were running down Alex’s face. It was clear what had happened. The minister had attempted to protect Dylan with his own body, using himself as a human shield.
“Kevin, go get the back board and both cervical collars. They’re in the back of my truck,” the doctor said quietly. The cop immediately complied.
Just then, another truck pulled up. Four men climbed out with chainsaws.
“Dylan, some men have arrived with chainsaws,” Alex told her son, wiping away her tears. “They’re going to use the saws to cut the tree limbs so that we can get you and Daniel out.”
As the men made their way through the tangle of limbs, Doctor Watson checked Daniel’s pulse again. She carefully probed his head, searching for the source of the blood. She soon found it, a deep laceration just above the left temple.
“How is he?” Alex asked softly.
“I can’t be sure. His pulse is weak, but steady. It worries me that he’s showing no sign of regaining consciousness. I’m concerned that there may be a skull fracture and hemorrhaging in the brain. I’m also worried about internal and spinal injuries.”
The men got to work on the tree, severing the limb that was on top of Daniel from the trunk of the tree and cutting off the upper part of it and removing some of the larger branches extending from it. They were finished in a matter of minutes.
“All right, you need to lift the limb straight up. And be careful,” Doctor Watson instructed.
Grasping the limb, Kevin and the four men lifted it away from Daniel’s body. They set it back down a few feet away.
With extreme care, the back board was put against Daniel’s back and he was rolled over onto it, the doctor holding his neck straight. The moment her son was freed, Alex ran her hands over him.
“Dylan? Are you okay? Are you in pain?”
The boy shook his head. “My head kinda hurts, and my arm is sore.” He tried to sit up, but Alex held him down.
“No, Dylan. Just lie still until the doctor can take a look at you.” She looked over to see that Doctor Watson had put one of the collars on Daniel and was now checking his eyes. She then listened to his heart and lungs with her stethoscope and ran her hands over his body, probing gently.
The doctor looked at the men who’d come with the chainsaws. “I need one of you to move your truck out of here so that we can get out. The rest of you clear the trail back to town of all those limbs and branches.”
As everyone did what they had been told, Doctor Watson turned her attention to Dylan, who was staring at Daniel, fear on his face.
“Is he gonna die?” the boy asked.
The doctor paused a moment before answering. “I don’t know, Dylan. He’s badly hurt. We’re going to get him to a hospital as soon as possible. Now, let’s check you out.”
Doctor Watson looked him over, checking for broken bones and other injuries. There appeared to be nothing worse that some pulled muscles in his right arm and a tender spot on the back of his head.
“You’re going to be fine, Dylan, though you won’t be throwing any baseballs with that arm for a few weeks.” The doctor looked up at Alex. “We’ll take an x-ray of his head just to make sure, but I don’t think there are any serious injuries.”
Relieved that her son was all right, but desperately worried over Daniel, Alex watched as Kevin and the doctor lifted the minister up and carried him to the back of the doctor’s truck. Helping Dylan to his feet, she went with him to the truck.
“Kevin, can you drive?” Doctor Watson asked. “I need to stay with Daniel.”
“Of course.”
“Dylan, maybe you should go and sit with Kevin in the cab,” Alex said.
“No. I want to stay with Daniel.”
Alex paused, then nodded. They all climbed in, the doctor on one side of Daniel, Alex and Dylan on the other. Slowly, Kevin began backing the truck up. Around a hundred feet down the trail, there was a small clear area to the side. He pulled into it and turned the truck around.
The drive back was agonizingly slow as they waited for the three men to clear the trail of debris. Her arm around Dylan, Alex kept her eyes on Daniel’s face, hoping for some sign of him regaining consciousness. But he remained still and silent, the only indication that he was alive being the faint rise and fall of his chest. Seeing the minister like that and knowing that he might die was ripping a hole in Alex’s heart. She couldn’t lose him like this, she just couldn’t. Life couldn’t be so cruel as to take him away from her in this way.
Without her being aware of it, Alex’s hand came out and began stroking Daniel’s hair. Even after she realized what she was doing, she didn’t stop. The simple touch was somehow making her feel better.
‘You have to be all right, Daniel,’ she told the minister silently. ‘You can’t leave us.’
They’d covered around a quarter of the distance back to town when they met a large group of people coming from the other direction. The islanders had come to help in whatever way they could. They all immediately got to work on clearing the road. Now moving much more quickly, the truck covered the remaining distance to town. Daniel was immediately taken to the clinic. The people who had come to help waited outside as Kevin and the doctor carried the minister inside, Alex and Dylan following behind.
“Contact the mainland and get a chopper over here,” Doctor Watson told Kevin. “We need to get him to a hospital as soon as possible.”
Alex sat with Dylan in the waiting room as the doctor went into the room where they’d put Daniel. Torn between wanting to stay with her son and wanting to talk with the doctor, she remained silent for a few seconds.
“Dylan, I’d like to go talk to Doctor Watson about Daniel. Will you be all right alone for a while?”
The boy nodded. “He looks really hurt, Mom. He didn’t move at all. Is he hurt really bad?”
“Yeah, honey, I’m afraid he is, but Doctor Watson is doing everything she can for him, and the doctors on the mainland will help him all they can too.” Kissing her son, Alex went to talk with the doctor. The woman was bending over Daniel, checking the reactions of his pupils again. The minister had been hooked up to a heart monitor, and the redhead was appalled at how slow his heartbeat was.
“How’s he doing?” she asked quietly.
Doctor Watson shook her head. “Not good. He’s in a coma, which is not a good sign. On top of the head injury, he also has three broken ribs. His breathing sounds good, so there’s no indication that any of the ribs have damaged a lung, but I can’t be certain about other internal injuries. There’s also a possibility of damage to the spinal cord.”
“You mean he could be paralyzed?” It was taking all of Alex’s self-control not to cry again.
“Yes, I’m afraid that is possible.”
Alex stared at Daniel. He had saved Dylan’s life, possibly at the cost of his own. If he died, she would never get the chance to thank him. She would never be able to tell him-- Alex cut off the train of her thoughts. She had to think positively. She had to believe that Daniel was going to be all right. Thinking anything else hurt too much.
The redhead went back out into the waiting room to find it crammed full of people. Looking out the window, she saw that there were even more islanders outside than before.
“How’s Daniel?” Callie asked anxiously.
“It’s not good,” Alex told everyone, failing to keep her voice steady. “A helicopter is flying in to take him to a hospital.”
There were murmurs among the crowd. Everyone’s faces held the same expression of worry.
“Is there anything we can do?” Ruby asked, her eyes full of tears.
“Yeah, someone needs to find out what his parents’ phone number is. I . . . I have to call and tell them what happened.”
“Do you want me to call them?” Father Mac asked.
“No, I think I should be the one to do it.”
Just then, they all heard the sound of an approaching helicopter. Clearing away from the clinic, the islanders made room for it to land on the road. Everyone in the waiting room quickly went outside to allow the EMT’s to enter. They waited silently, their eyes glued to the door. A few minutes later, Daniel was brought out. Alex heard several gasps of dismay from the crowd as they laid eyes upon the minister.
Daniel was quickly loaded into the helicopter, Doctor Watson climbing in after him. The doctor met Alex’s gaze, then turned to one of the EMT’s, asking him something. The man nodded. Doctor Watson motioned to Alex and Dylan, and they approached the chopper.
“I need to go with Daniel, but I don’t want to wait till I get back to take those x-rays of Dylan’s head,” she told them. “We can have them done at the hospital. There’s room for both of you on the helicopter.”
Not hesitating, Alex helped Dylan up into the chopper, then climbed in after him. She called to Kevin, who was standing nearby.
“I’ll call you when we know something,” she told him.
He nodded, then helped one of the EMT’s close the door of the helicopter. Moving back, he watched with the rest of the islanders as the chopper lifted into the air and flew away.