Johnny Winchester: River Hunter Read Free

before
her and she could only hope someone would catch her when she fell.
    Too consumed with pain, she did not realize that Johnny
held her firmly, keeping her upright.  Nor did she notice that the other
four men surrounded her, waiting patiently while her faint passed, Chip still
filming it all.  Slowly, the worst of the pain passed and, aware again of
her environment, she nodded, signaling that she was ready to move on. 
Carefully, they made their way up the rise, pausing regularly to allow Suzi a
reprieve from the pain, until, finally, they were in sight of the camp.

The
First Night
    “Get my cot and sleeping bag,” Johnny said to Dave as they
entered the camp.  “And set it here next to the fire.”  This was one
of the few locations they’d fished where they could pack in more than a tent
and a shovel, for which he was suddenly very thankful.
    Dave darted into Johnny’s tent; Sam and Pete, grasping
his intent, went about starting a fire; Chip continued to film.  The cot
was placed next to the fire pit, covered with the bedroll, then Johnny and
Dave, as carefully as they could, settled Suzi on the bed, propped up by almost
every pillow in the camp, covered snugly in Johnny’s sleeping bag.  Dave
went directly to the Sat phone, hoping to get a helicopter to come get her.
    “Some of those cuts will need stitches,” Sam said
quietly.  “And I’m thinking that left arm must be broken.”
    “I reckon she has some broken ribs, too.  What say
we give her a bit to get over the hike and warmed up, then we’ll do what we can
for her,” Johnny replied.
    Sam nodded, then fetched the first aid kit, rummaging
through it to find the items he thought they would need.
    “Four hours?” they heard Dave ask.  “Okay…take her
vitals and call back…you’ll have a doctor there in half an hour?  Okay…no,
she’s talking.  She seems pretty out of it, but not really in shock…are
you absolutely sure you can’t come now?  Okay...we’ll just have to do our
best.  Yes, I’ll call back in thirty minutes.”
    “They can’t come get her?” Johnny asked, disappointment
and just a twinge of fear in his tone.
    “It’s a four-hour trip for the helicopter and it’ll be
dark before it can get here.  They can’t land in this terrain in the
dark.  They’ll leave first thing in the morning, but we’ll have to take
care of her tonight.”
    Putting his hands on his hips, Johnny drew in a deep
breath and blew it out slowly. 
    “We need to get her vitals and call back.  They’ll
have a doctor there in thirty minutes,” Dave continued.  “Sam, do you
think you can handle this?”  Sam had the most experience in first aid.
    “As long as she doesn’t go into shock, we’ll be all
right,” Sam responded.  “Although, I reckon if she was going to go into
shock, she would have by now.”
    “Let’s hope so.  What do you need us to do?” Johnny
asked.
    “You could talk to her, see if you can find out exactly
where it hurts.  And what happened to her.  The doctor and the rescue
team will want to know.  You two can help me,” Sam said, nodding at Pete
and Dave.  Then he went to work, ordering the two men to get this and that
as he needed them.  Johnny crouched at Suzi’s right shoulder, and Chip
kept filming.
    “Suzi?” Johnny asked softly.
    “Yeah?”
    “We can’t get a helicopter here until tomorrow morning,
but we can talk to a doctor in a few minutes.  So Sam’s going to take your
blood pressure and such, and patch you up as much as he can.  Is that
okay?”
    “Yeah.”  Raising her right hand, she waved it in
the air as though she wanted him to take it. 
    Thinking she needed reassurance, he took her hand in
his.
    “Thank you,” she said, in a weak voice infused with
sincerity.  Squeezing his hand slightly, she then released him.
    “Of course,” he said, somewhat surprised.  “It’s
your left side that hurts, yes?”
    “Yeah.”
    “And your left shoulder and