“Will do.”
Ash has joined me, and I fill him in. “Rhonda broke her leg, and Top might be going into shock. See if you can get a medevac to them.”
He pulls out his SAT phone. “I don’t know if a helicopter can get to this elevation.”
I was thinking the same thing. “We’re probably going to have to transport you in the ATV,” I tell Rhonda. “Where is the break?”
“Below the knee. It’s not the femur, thank goodness.”
“You sound like you’re in some pain.”
“I’m not going to lie, it hurts, but I’ll manage.” She pauses and I hear yelling in the background. “Top is losing his mind. I don’t know what I can do for him.”
Ash taps my shoulder, shaking his head. “Rhonda, a medevac is a no-go. We’ll have to get you to a lower elevation before the helicopter can get to you. We’ll be there as fast as we can. Call me if anything changes.”
“Just hurry, please.”
“We will. Hang in there.”
I drop my gear and gesture for Ash to do the same. “We’ll be able to move faster this way.”
Ash’s gear flies off. We have our canteens and phones, but nothing else to weigh us down. The good news is, it’s downhill the whole way. We justneed to make sure we’re careful in this rocky terrain. One wrong step and one of us will be injured too.
We make it back to the camp in thirty-five minutes and I immediately see why Top is in bad shape. Rhonda is sitting on the ground part-way down the rocky embankment. Her leg below the knee is bent at a ninety-degree angle, and a sharp bone is sticking through her bloody pant leg. Her skin tone looks good, so it doesn’t appear that she’s lost too much blood. At least we have that going for us.
Top, sitting beside her, stares blankly at us, completely white, like he doesn’t have a drop of blood left in him.
“Come with me,” Ash says, pulling Top to his feet. “Riggs can handle this.”
As Ash leads Top away, I assess the situation. There’s not a lot I can do but bandage her up the best I can, then drive her out of here. As Ash takes Top for a walk, I retrieve the first-aid kit from the ATV and go to work.
It takes a little effort, but Ash and I manage to get Rhonda back to the ATV. When we have her strapped onto a padded bench in the back, her leg immobilized as much as possible, I wrap a blanket around her to keep her warm. It also has the added benefit of hiding her mangled leg from Top. There’s some color back in his face, but he’s not in great shape by any means as he sits on the floor holding Rhonda’s hand with a blank look in his eyes.
With those two situated, I take the driver’s seat as Ash hops in the passenger seat and checks the GPS. “I talked to the medevac people. They can meet us here. Should take us about an hour.” He holds the screen up so I can see where we’re going. Under the circumstances, an hourseems doable.
I throw the gearshift into drive and step on the gas. Ash lets the medevac people know we’re on our way, then squeezes between the seats to get to the back. I tilt my rearview mirror to see he’s unpacking the extra GoPros that we always have on standby.
“Good idea,” I call back.
He attaches one to a body harness and puts it on Top so that the camera rests on his chest. Then he attaches another one to a head strap and slips it on Rhonda.
“I should have thought of this,” she says with a weak smile.
“Nonsense,” Ash tells her. “I wouldn’t have if I were in your situation.”
“Liar.” She looks over at Top. “You should put a head camera on him too.”
“Good idea.”
Top doesn’t say anything as Ash slips a head strap with a second GoPro on him. I think he might still be in shock.
“You still have your camera on,” Rhonda says. Riggs and I have our usual cameras mounted on our chests. “Has it been on this whole time?”
“Hope you don’t mind.”
“I’m going to be on the show?”
Ash laughs. “Sweetheart, you’re going to be the star of the whole season.”
