THE PASSAGE

Six Dead Men

Chapter 17

I pick up the rifle and aim at the thug as he bends down over Toby and draws the knife back up to stab him again. The air cracks with the rifle's report. Brain matter splatters against the wall. My God, I've just killed two people.

I set the rifle down and push the throttle forward, heading for the camp. The pier shakes as I come to an abrupt landing. I fumble clumsily with tying the boat to a post, then rush over to where Toby lies, stepping through pools of blood and dead bodies. Stooping down beside Toby, I gently cup his face in my hand.

"Toby, can you hear me?"

He looks up at me, eyes distant, and nods his head yes.

"Toby, you hang in there. I am going to get you some help soon."

I unbutton his shirt and gasp when I see the knife wound on his right side, blood oozing out, life slowly leaving him. A stray tear escapes me, pooling around his wound.

I lay my ear over his heart and listen to the beats. A speck of hope, maybe I can save him. I need to stop this bleeding. I look towards the camp momentarily, then back at Toby, and cup both of his cheeks in my hands and lower my head inches from his.

"Toby, you hang in there. I'll be right back."

I stand, then kick at the two men I shot. They appear to be dead. I go to the camp door and push it open, with my revolver drawn in front of me. There is no one in the living room. As I look around the place, I notice boxes stacked floor to ceiling. On a small table is an open gym bag, filled with large bills. An acrid odor fills my nostrils. Drugs, this must be a large-scale drug operation.

I sprint to the first bedroom and kick open the door. More boxes. I make my way to the next room. No thugs, only boxes. I quickly check the bathroom, but it appears those two thugs and Toby are the only ones here.

I rummage through the bathroom, dig through the cabinets, and luckily find some first aid supplies that I can use. I see a package of large bandages, a bottle of saline solution, and a large roll of compression wrapping. I gather all that up, as well as a couple of towels and washcloths, then rush back to Toby.

"Toby, where are Pop and Boudreau?"

He whispers something, but I can't make it out. I lean in closer.

"Two guys took them earlier," he manages to say. It's difficult for him to speak. I feel around Toby's belt for his phone but don't find it.

"Toby, where is your phone?"

He starts to speak but starts coughing and points down the bayou. I gather that they took the phone from him.

"Toby, we need to get you sitting up so I can bandage your wound."

I manage to pull him up to a sitting position and get his shirt off. I try to remember what little I can about anatomy as I inspect the wound more closely. It is on his right side, and it looks like the blade penetrated between the second and third rib, maybe third and fourth, I'm not sure. But I do know that it probably hit his liver, and this is not good.

"Toby, hang in there. I'll get you out of here soon."

I pour the saline solution on the wound to clean it and wipe away as much blood as possible with a washcloth. Next, I dry the wound with a towel, applying pressure for a few moments in an attempt to slow the bleeding before applying the bandage. Then, I wrap the compression bandage tightly around Toby's upper torso, putting as much pressure as I can on the wound.

Okay, now, my next focus is to get help. I need to get Toby to a hospital as soon as possible. With that in mind, I think to see if the dead guys have cell phones. I check the first guy's belt and find that he is wearing a phone. I click it on. The phone is asking for an access code. I see the 'emergency' link and press it, but nothing happens, crap.