Page 18 of Stranded with the Surgeon
‘We’re in a national park. I’m not sure exactly where, but there are a lot of tracks used by trampers and climbers in the area. With a bit of luck I might come across one of them in a day or two.’ Guy crouched beside the red bag as he spoke. ‘I’ll take a few bandages and a clean dressing or two though. What do you need me to leave for your arm?’
‘My arm’s fine.’ Jennifer wasn’t even aware of the discomfort now. She had too much else to worry about. She followed Guy as he went back to the wreckage of the plane. ‘You can’t do this,’ she insisted. ‘You have to stay put. Everybody knows that’s what you’re supposed to do when you’re lost.’
‘Only if you don’t know what you’re doing,’ Guy countered. ‘Like you.’ He eventually had to give up the search for Jennifer’s handbag and he straightened and met her gaze directly for the first time since Digger’s death.
‘You’ll be all right,’ he said. ‘Keep yourself as warm as you can and melt some snow for water. I’ll leave you the extra jacket. You could take some more clothing off Bill and Shirley as well and put that on.’ Something like concern flashed momentarily in his gaze. ‘I’ll get help just as fast as I can.’
And then, with what seemed like total incongruity, he smiled.
‘See you in a few days, Jenna.’
* * *
Jennifer watched him walk away. Saw him stoop to collect the rolled tarpaulin and then keep walking. He reached the edge of the plateau, where he’d stood so long alone at dawn, and stopped for several seconds, perhaps confirming the route he wanted to take. With one hand on a huge boulder for support, he then stepped lower. Another step and his hand left the rock. A second later, his head disappeared from view.
He was gone.
Jennifer had never felt more alone in her life. Even her mother’s death, when she’d only been eight, hadn’t left her feeling this bereft. Or losing her only remaining family when her father had died so many years later. Feeling the last breath Digger had taken so recently had brought back too many memories of loss, and seeing Guy disappear over the edge of the plateau was too much.
Jennifer didn’t want to die. She especially didn’t want to die alone. And she was damned if she wasn’t going to do something to try and help herself. If Guy believed he could make it, there was no reason why she couldn’t keep up with him. Maybe they’d both die in the attempt, but at least they wouldn’t be giving up.
And they wouldn’t be alone.
She had no real choice in the end. It felt good to move – to make some decisions.
‘Sorry, Shirley.’ Jennifer had to grit her teeth to approach the dead woman. ‘I need to borrow your shoes and trousers. I don’t think a skirt and high heels are going to help me get very far.’
Having made the decision, it became urgent. Trying to cope with shoelaces and zips with frozen hands and a half-splinted arm seemed to take far too long. When she had put on the second jacket on top of her odd collection of garments, Jennifer stumbled in her haste to get to the edge of the plateau.
She stopped by the boulder where she had last seen Guy, and her hand went out for support. It wasn’t the first stage of climbing down, however. She needed the support to cope with what she was seeing. The steep, snow-covered drop was pierced only infrequently by visible rock formations. It looked totally impossible to cross and it didn’t lead, as she had expected, to the sight of a forest and a potentially manageable route. As far as she could see there were more ridges and plateaus with only snow, rock and grass tussocks. The bush line was miles away, lower than her by what looked like thousands of feet.
Where was Guy? Jennifer squinted against the glare of the sun on snow. Close to her feet she could see the prints he had left in the snow. Every second one seemed noticeably deeper, as though he was favouring his injured ankle. Her eyes tracked the line, crossed a rocky area and just picked up the marks again on the other side.
Raising her gaze a little, she spotted him. How had he gone so far in such a short time? He was halfway across the slope, heading sideways, not straight down. Of course, Jennifer thought, he’d be doing some kind of zigzag to get down safely. And if he’d gone this far in the time it had taken her to follow then maybe there was hope. The day was clear and there were many hours of daylight left.
He knew what he was doing.
Jennifer clung to the thought as she stepped down to the snow. She put her feet into the prints Guy had left, stretching her stride to match the steps he had taken. The scramble over the first patch of rocks was terrifying, but Jennifer forced herself to continue. She found a handhold with her uninjured arm and then a place for each foot. Then she was into the snow again, with Guy’s prints to guide her and provide reassurance that she wouldn’t slip to her death.
‘I can do this,’ she found herself saying aloud. ‘I can make it. Wait for me, Guy.Please!’
4
She wasfollowinghim.
It had taken several incredulous seconds for Guy to figure out what the moving blob on the snow near the rocks above and behind him was, and when he did, he swore aloud and kept moving.
This was the last thing he needed. The risk he was taking was huge but he was experienced. To have the liability of someone like Jennifer trailing after him spelled almost certain failure. He would have the concern of her safety hanging around his neck like a millstone, adding unwanted and probably overwhelming weight to every decision he would have to make. At best, she would slow him down enough to tip the balance against surviving. At worst, she could cause both their deaths.
Guy kept his gaze on the next outcrop of rock he was heading towards. He kicked the next step into the layer of snow with his heel, testing its firmness before allowing his whole weight to follow and praying that his injured ankle would take the strain yet again and not collapse and send him hurtling downwards like a human avalanche. He was moving sideways and down the vast slope. One step and then another.
He could just keep going, couldn’t he, and pretend he hadn’t seen her? He could probably increase his pace considerably once he got past this icy slope and then she would never catch up.
She’ll die, a voice in his head stated clearly.Is that what you want?
‘Of course not,’ Guy muttered. ‘But she’ll probably die anyway and take me down with her. She should have stayed where she was. I would have sent help… eventually.’
You weren’t too keen to stay, were you? the voice taunted.With three dead people for company? With Digger?
