Page 102 of Doing Life

“No, asshole, I’m not. You are, and we both know it, but let’s get Boone into the dry, and let’s get Chris over there, shall we? I don’t need this shit from you. Move, soldier.”

As far as he knew, he was the highest-ranked person here, and these men were his responsibility.

“I’ve got this. I don’t need help.” Chris sounded as if he were already moving.

“Good deal. Then Brick, help me with Boone. I need you to be my eyes, so you’ll have to go first, but don’t go so fast that I fall.”

“Yep. I can only take so much of his weight without my arm.”

“Okay, then we’ll do it like a lifeguard carry out of the ocean. We each take a shoulder and I stabilize his neck. We let his feet drag.”

“That’s doable.” Grunting and panting, they got Boone into a stabilized neck position, then dragged him, Brickcounting off yards to him so he knew how much farther they had to go.

It wasn’t perfect under the trees, but the amount of shelter from the pelting sting and noise of the rain the cottonwoods provided was huge. It disoriented him for a moment, but Chris called to them.

“I’ve got the blankets ready. One is doubled up to go under him, so bring him here, Brick.”

“On it! Eight more feet, Cap,” Brick puffed out.

“Thank God.” Boone wasn’t a huge guy, and he always felt lean when Lance had to touch him, but unconscious, his muscle weighed a thousand pounds.

“Let’s get him settled and covered, then we need to get Brick ready to go.”

“I don’t love leaving you here,” Brick said.

“Yeah, well—we’ll give you a bottle of water, a granola bar, and whichever phone has the most battery. The compass and shit works without service.”

“It does. And I’ll head back up and toward the first cell tower I see.” Brick sighed and shook his head, lowering his voice. “You sure you got this?”

“Absolutely. Chris isn’t broke dick.”

“I’m not. I’m broke back, but I got this shit.”

“See? He’s got this shit.” This wasn’t fucking warfare, and they weren’t in the mountains or out on the ocean. This was a well-traveled ranch land with a bunch of folks who knew where they were headed.

His biggest concern was Boone. The guy hadn’t so much as moaned.

Brick sighed. “Okay. I’m on it. Seriously. I won’t let you down.”

“Good man.” He reached out, and Brick gripped his hand.

“Help will be on its way.” And then Brick rose to leave them, his boots squelching in the mud.

Chris came over, his effort plain in the sounds he made. “What do I need to do?”

“Let’s make sure there’s no other things on Boone we can see. Besides that, we just stay warm.”

“Okay. I know basically what to look for, but I’ll catalog stuff, and you tell me if I need to do anything.”

“Copy.” He nodded to Chris. “You’re okay—I mean, you took one hell of a fall.”

“I think my ankle’s broke, but I’m not using it.”

Fuck him. “Does it hurt?”

“No, and it’s swollen, but there’s no blood at all.”

“Okay, let me feel of it. I need to see if I need to immobilize it or splint it. You said we have wrap bandages?”

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