Though the Monsters

Chapter 12

Last Days of Summer

            Flat rock will always claim it's pound of flesh. A fact that everybody seemed to forget, whether they were tourists or locals a day without a flat rock injury was once in a blue moon. As the summer days began running colder, fewer and fewer people were swarming the beach for a dip in the Bondi waves. Hadlee and the lifeguards were still stationed up and down the sand though as they were year-round waiting for one or two idiotic people to try their luck in the unforgiving waters. It was a particular quiet day when a booming knock rang through the tower. As Hoppo always said you could tell the general type of emergency or issue that you'd be opening the door for by the knock. This particular knock sent chills down the spines of everybody in the tower. Jethro, Nicola, and Hadlee all looked at each for a split-second before Hadlee swallowed hard and jogged to the back door. She pulled it open and nearly hurled at the sight of the teenage girl in front of her. She was scraped up from head-to-toe blood oozing from the jagged cuts along her arms and legs, but it was the chunk of skin that she was holding against her side that made Hadlee's stomach churn. Flat rock had quite literally taken a chuck of flesh from this girl.

"Jeth, ambo!" Hadlee screamed as she helped the girl inside.

Nicola came down the steps into the medical area and paled.

"Holy shit." She muttered, tossing gloves to Hadlee.

"No, no." The girl said.

"Hun, you are literally holding yourself together right now, what do you mean no?" Hadlee asked.

"M-my brother and hi-his girlfriend." The girl choked out.

Hadlee furrowed her brow but then realization dawned on her.

"They're still out there?" She asked.

The girl nodded.

"Oh shit," Hadlee said scrambling around the med bay grabbing two medical bags and the defib just in case. "Jethro two more ambos, launch the ski, and get two maybe three more people over to flat rock!"

"Hadlee wait for-"

Nicola yelled after her but she was already running down the prom. She really didn't have the authority to do things like this on her own but it had begun to rain and the temperature was dropping. With two more people, possibly severely injured people, down on flat rock and the weather turning, she didn't have much of a choice. The rocks were slippery and as she got closer and closer to the water she had to brace herself on some of the higher rocks to keep from falling.

"Hello!" She yelled. "Is anybody out here?"

Hadlee looked around for a few minutes hoping that she hadn't missed anybody.

"Hello!" She called again.

"Yes! We're here!" Somebody yelled back.

Hadlee whipped her head around and saw two people, a teenage girl and boy not far up the rocks from where she was.

"Okay, I'm coming to you. Just hold tight." Hadlee said.

She staggered up the rocks until she finally made it to them.

"Hadlee Grace, you better pick up." Harrison's voice came through the radio and Hadlee mentally cringed, he already sounded pissed.

She picked up her radio from where she'd clipped it to one of the med bags and cleared her throat before pressing the button on the side.

"Yeah Harrison I'm here." Hadlee said into her radio.

"Where are you?" Harrison asked, his voice tense.