Page 49 of Clear Path

Bodhi kept compressing Evan’s chest, while the professionals dropped their equipment and took over from Lucas and Tripp with precise, efficient movements.

“How long has he been down?” the female EMT asked.

“Almost thirty minutes,” Bodhi answered, his voice strained. “Twelve minutes of chest compressions only, until the AED arrived. He had a myocardial infarction. Before I could get him to chew and swallow an aspirin, he collapsed. No pulse, agonal breathing initially, then nothing.”

“Aaron says you’re a doc?”

“Yes.”

“This guy was lucky.” Then she commanded, “Stand clear.”

Bodhi backed away.

The machine analyzed Evan’s rhythm, then delivered a shock that made his body jerk.

The male EMT took over the compressions while his partner prepared an IV and epinephrine.

Bodhi sank to the ground and rested against a tree.

After the third shock, the male EMT announced, “We’ve got a rhythm.”

Bodhi exhaled shakily. Aaron clapped him on the back and handed him a bottle of water.

The EMTs stabilized Evan quickly—oxygen mask, IV fluids, medications—then transferred him to a portable stretcher designed for wilderness evacuation.

“He’s got a chance thanks to you,” the female EMT told Bodhi as they prepared to move out.

He shook his head. “It was a group effort. Without Aaron’s quick thinking to get an AED and Tripp and Lucas’s help, the compressions wouldn’t have been enough.”

The male EMT gave him a nod. “We called in a ‘chopper to airlift him to Pittsburgh from the trailhead.”

As the first responders disappeared into the trees, Aaron radioed Sadie to give her the update. She told him they were on their way back and had seen no signs of Rory.

Bodhi leaned his head back and closed his eyes for a moment.

When he opened them, Tripp said, “We never made it to the history center.”

Bodhi shook his head. “She’s not there.”

“How can you know?”

“Evan has Rory’s blood on his shoe. He saw her in the cave today. He collapsed before I could confirm it, but I’m pretty sure he’s been steering away from wherever he thinks she is.”

Aaron exploded. “Does he want her to die?”

“I think,” Bodhi said in a weary voice, “he wanted her to stay missing long enough to generate more attention for the plight of the displaced.”

“Christ,” Lucas muttered.

Tripp had picked up Rory’s discarded camera and was scrolling through the images. He paused on a photo of an old house—the only one remaining in a row of demolished structures.

“What’s this?” he asked.

Aaron leaned forward. “That’s Edward Kovalic’s place. It’s the last house standing on Company Row.”

Bodhi squinted at it. “Can you enlarge it?”

Tripp did.

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