Medi-flight.
Flight Surgeon.
And then she was whisked away in a helicopter that landed somewhere nearby, and we were left in the rotor wash of snow and smoke, broken and defeated.
A grim-faced Chief Weller walked over to us, I was still sitting on my ass in the snow, in shock, I think, as Travis paced, watching the helicopter take off, Lucy cried standing next to me with her hand on my shoulder.
The whirl of the rotors faded into the night sky, carrying Frankie away from us, and I felt like half my chest had gone with her.
I just sat there in the glow of the fire trucks; helmet discarded in the snow with ash caked in the snow from Frankie’s skin. My lungs burned, but that was nothing compared to the ache clawing inside me.
Travis was a wall at my side, broad, steady, but even he looked hollow. His jaw was locked so tight I thought his teeth might crack.
“They found a body inside,” Weller said, his voice firm but measured. His eyes met ours with the steadiness of a man who dealt with tragedy like this all the time. “It’s burned to a crisp, but we’re assuming it’s Danny.”
Travis grunted, “It’s him. I heard his—” He cleared his throat and took a deep breath, “His screams.”
My lungs emptied all at once.
Relief.
Horror.
Disbelief.
They all tangled together in my chest.
“So, it’s over?” Lucy asked shakily.
Weller nodded his head, “As over as it can be. We’ll wait for the official confirmation from the medical examiner, but yes. It looks like he’s gone.”
I swallowed hard, a bitter taste coating my tongue.
Danny was dead.
The monster of Frankie’s nightmares was finally snuffed out.
Then why didn’t I feel lighter? Why did Frankie’s scream still echo through me like he was alive and laughing in the fire?
Weller’s voice softened as I pulled myself out of the snow. “Let me drive you all to the hospital. You can wait for updates there.”
“The kids,” Travis sighed, running his hand down his face in agony. I could feel the way he was torn through our connection.
“Will be fine with Maggie and Hal,” I put my hand on his back and led him away from the disturbed snow where I buried the woman we loved, trying to save her life. “I’ll give Hal a call on our way.”
He looked over at me, eyes searching, and for the first time in my whole life I saw such doubt and uncertainty in them. “I don’t know?—”
“I know.” I replied, squeezing the back of his neck as we walked, pulling Lucy with us as she tucked in against my side. “I know.”
The weighton my chest felt like I’d never take a deep breath again, even though I felt the pain in my ribs with each deep inhale.
My breath scraped like sandpaper up my throat, shallow and hot, as if the smoke still clung to my lungs. All I could smell was the smoke. It was overbearing and noxious.
My eyelids fluttered, heavy, the sterile glare of white lights cutting through the haze.
Hospital.
The antiseptic smell hit next, pushing past the smoke, and for once I welcomed that sickening scent. I tried to move, but my ankles and feet felt like they were held down with cement blocks, and wires tugged across my arms as I reached for the railing to pull myself upright.
