My thick parka and the backpack protected my fall, but I had neglected to wear my hat. When I went down my head hit the bare rock. Pain shot through my skull and my teeth knocked together on impact.
When I blinked my eyes open, I was staring up at the sky. Breaking my line of sight was a group of googly-eyed heads covered in soft gray fur, staring down at me.
“Damn.” I groaned. “Don’t eat me.” I joked with the penguin chicks, who were studying me with their usual curiosity — who was this two-legged creature with such bright red plumage, lying on their island?
My vision swam. I tried to get up but the island tilted sharply,the gray sky wheeling overhead, and then there was nothing. When sound came back it arrived in pieces — boots thumping on rock, moving fast and a man yelling frantically.
Then there were hands on me. My shoulders, my face. I tried to answer but my mouth did not open.
I recognized Sam’s voice, close and high-pitched, saying my name. I tried to open my eyes again. They did not cooperate.
His voice faded somewhere far away, then suddenly close, then far again, like I was at the bottom of a cave and the sound kept bouncing. I caught pieces of it.
“Waypoint, this is Beckett. I need Daniel on the line right now.”
There was a momentary delay then Daniel’s calm voice came through: “Sam. What’s happening?”
“Viktor’s down. Head injury.”
“Is he breathing?”
“Yes. Yes, he’s breathing.”
“Any bleeding?”
Sam’s hands moved to the back of my skull. His breath came out hard and fast. “Back of the head. Yes.”
“Don’t move him. Keep him still and keep him warm.”
“I’m on it.” The sound of his jacket rustling reached me, then a weight settled over me.
“How long has he been unresponsive?”
“I don’t know exactly. A few minutes at least. Maybe more.”
“Pulse?”
There was a pause. “It’s there. His pulse is there.”
“Sam. You know how to do this. Fingers on the carotid, count it out. Give me the number.”
“I’m — just… hold on.” Another pause, longer. Sam’s fingers pressed harder against my throat.
“Fifty-eight. Fifty-eight beats.”
“Good. That’s good, Sam. Give me a second.” I heard voices through the radio, Daniel talking with someone, and then I blacked out completely. When I came back to, they were still talking. I felt a new throbbing pain in my head. I groaned.
“Shit. Viktor?”
“Sam, what happened? Walk me through it.”
“I don’t — I wasn’t there, Doc. I didn’t see it happen.”
There was a beat of silence on Daniel’s end. “You weren’t with him?”
“No.” That one word was spoken as if he was in pain, not me. It was a bump to the head, that was all. Why was Sam overreacting? Slowly, I tried to peek through my eyelashes. Just a fraction.
Sam was sitting with his head bowed, radio in hand, cradling me in his lap. A cluster of penguins surrounded us. The daylight felt blinding and I had to shut my eyes immediately.
