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Chapter Two
Whit lifted his aluminum shelter’s flap and coughed out all the smoke and crap he’d held in his lungs. With the fire’s passing, the air held little oxygen, and he quickly put his mask back in place.
That’s when his scalded face warned of a problem.
He blinked a few times, thankful for the slight vision that returned in one eye. His other had been singed badly and remained closed. Unable to touch it with his filthy hands, he tried using his water bottle to spray some liquid on it for relief. It just made the agony worse.
As he moved, he spotted the lump lying beside him. Terrified of the motionless body, he inched closer and carefully lifted that aluminum cover.
Jonas’s back appeared and thankfully, when he touched the body, Whit felt a slight movement. He was alive. Triggered by his relief, he crawled to where he could face the man. With his limited vision, he figured Jonas had passed out. Shaking his chest, he tried calling to him. “Jonas, buddy. Wake up, man. You’re alive. We made it.”
He stopped. Talking hurt. Plus the sounds he made were more like pitiful croaks and not loud enough for anyone to hear, let alone one in a state of semiconsciousness.
Leaning as close as possible without falling over the man, he tried to assess the damage on Jonas’s body. Problem was, he couldn’t see much of anything. Finally, he used his hands to feel over the uniform for any burn spots, but it all seemed intact. It must have been the lack of air that had affected his lungs.
Gathering his own working mask, he held it to Jonas’s face and breathed easier when the body shifted slightly. Feeling the smoke closing in, he knew they couldn’t stay there.
Falling back on his heels, the realization that they would be forced to make their way out of the mess, he tried calling Jonas again. He shook the man’s shoulder. No response. He fell back and closed his painful left eye, deciding to rest.Stop it you idiot. You have to move.
There was only one place he felt sure would still be safe from the debilitating smoke. If he could get them back to the cave where Tom was, then eventually the rescue team would find them.Jesus, man, come on. You can do it.
Lifting the body over his shoulder like they performed in training, he started to stumble through the burned-out brush. The air quality made it almost impossible to see and with his eye injury hampering him, he used his instinct for the direction more than anything.
Knowing he hadn’t gotten too far in his search for Jonas, and earlier he’d gone north, he turned in the opposite direction and headed for the taller mass he could barely make out in the distance.
Since everything appeared in his peripheral vision in grays and blacks, acceptable with the land having just hosted a fire, he didn’t give it much thought. Just took one step in front of the other until he heard a gunshot in the distance.
Tom.He must have fired the weapon because undoubtedly other wild animals knew about the cave as well. Whit listened to the sound and followed it’s direction. By pure good luck, he came across the opening.
Calling out, he hoped they wouldn’t meet any fleeing animals who might be interested in the two men. Lurching along with Jonas’s bulky weight getting to be unbearable, he yelled again before rounding the corner so Tom wouldn’t think he was being attacked and shoot at them.
“Jesus, Whit. Man, you’re back. Thank God you found Jonas.” Tom struggled to sit forward but fell back in agony at his body’s reminder of the bloody wounds.
Whit lowered his charge next to Tom and dropped on the ground too. He ripped off his mask, rolled over and clutched his body tight to hold in screams from the pain he’d just endured.
He must have passed out.
The next few hours happened in a fog. He heard voices. And at one point, knew Glen was there and talking to him. Words like, “You’re okay now, Whit. We’ll take care of you, man. Don’t worry.”
When he regained consciousness, he felt the bandages on his face mostly centered over his eyes.Christ in heaven, I’m blind.And that knowledge gave him the forethought to make Glen promise, “Don’t tell Demi you found me. Not yet.”
“She’s waiting to hear, Whit. I could tell by the sound of her voice she’s worried. In fact, she gave me a message for you… to tell the son of a bitch to get his ass home. I have to let her know you’re safe.”
“No. I mean it Glen. If you owe me anything, I’m calling in the favor. Just tell her I’m missing for now. Once I see the doctor about my face, we can discuss it again.”
And Glen had promised. And then he’d gently hugged Whit’s shoulder and whispered, “Whatever you say, man. Just remember, I’m here for you like you’ve always been there for me.”
When he next woke up, it was in a hospital. The specialist they’d called in had been there and gave him the horrible news. He might never regain all of his sight. With continued treatment and special eye drops, one eye would recoversomevision over time but the other had suffered more damage.
“What about an operation? Is there nothing you can do?”
“A Corneal transplant might be an answer, but we need to let the eye heal as much as it will on its own before making any decisions. Right now, you need to leave the bandage on and rest. No stress, no heavy lifting, no—”
“Living normally. I get it. I’ll behave. How long do I need to live this way?”
“There’s no saying for sure. Let’s take it one week at a time. If things look better next visit, we can discuss the different options. Look, Whit, I know it’s frustrating for you. Especially with the type of lifestyle you’ve always had. And I can only imagine what an average day in the life of a gold prospector must be like. But know this. You’re a very healthy young man and your body is your best friend right now. It wants to heal. Just let it do its job.”
“Fine. I get it. I’ll behave.” Whit thanked the man and brooded over his future. Some people were dreamers, and some were realistic. Whit fell into the last category.
