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CHAPTER
ONE
SUNDAY MORNING
MID-JANUARY
BULL MOUNTAIN, EAST OF ASHEVILLE, NC
Flight paramedic Raina Price looked out the window of the chopper and pointed. “There! Two of them as reported.”
Penny Satterfield piloted the aircraft with an expert touch, aiming them toward the two stranded hikers on the side of Bull Mountain. Raina grabbed the binoculars and held them to her eyes. “One is on her back. I see blood on her head. The other one is moving and appears unhurt. She’s waving at us and looking pretty frantic.”
“There’s no place to set this bird down,” Penny said, her low voice coming over the headset.
No, there wasn’t. Not even for Penny, who could land pretty much anywhere. “Looks like it’s a day to go rappelling,” Raina said.
“Looks like,” Holly McKittrick, the nurse practitioner, echoed.
Raina didn’t particularly enjoy hurling herself out of thechopper—not like some who actually hoped for it. But she was skilled at it, and if it saved someone’s life, then ... okay.
She worked quickly, efficiently, strapping herself into the gear. She’d go down, assess the situation, and radio her findings.
After fastening the medical bag to her belt, she clipped the rope to the other hook and nodded to Holly. “I’m ready. You?”
“Ready.”
Holly would lower the basket and, if necessary, follow it down. Other emergency personnel lined the edge of the cliff, but no one had been able to get down to them.
“A little closer, Penny.”
“Getting there.”
Raina slid the door open, shuddering at the blast of cold air followed by a face full of snowflakes. She looked back at Holly, who had the stretcher ready to winch down. “Okay, here we go.”
“Let me know if I need to come down too.”
“I will. Stay tuned.”
She stepped out of the chopper and began her descent. With precision, Penny moved her right to the ledge that jutted from the cliff. Less than a minute later, Raina was next to the girls, while Penny continued to hover close, but not so close the wind from the blade interfered with the work.
“Help her,” the nearest teen pleaded, pointing. “She hit her head.”
The gash had stopped bleeding, but she’d taken a hard hit. “What about you?” Raina asked. “Are you hurt?”
“No. I climbed down.” She pointed to the rope behind her—the one still tied to her waist. “Sadie tripped and fell, then rolled over the side of the mountain.” A sob ripped from her. “I thought she was dead.”
“She’s not, hon.” Not yet anyway.Please, God, don’t let this child die.“Sadie, huh?”
“Yeah. I’m Carly.”
“Hang in there, Carly, we’re going to get you both out of here, okay?”
But Sadie’s head wound was concerning. A gust of wind cut through her winter clothing, and Raina grimaced, shoving aside the cold and focusing on the patient.
“When I saw how bad she was hurt,” Carly said, “I was too scared to move her. I ... I didn’t know what to do, but I have my dad’s SAT phone, so I called for help.”
“You did exactly the right thing.” She lifted Sadie’s lids to check her eyes. Concussion. “All right, Carly, you’re doing great. Where are your parents? Have you called them yet?”
