Raven's Heir | ONC 2021 honourable mention

6 - Of choppers and coppers

The bright red helicopter of the air rescue arrived fifteen minutes later. Fifteen minutes of fear and anxious questions, of Theo staring down the slope as if he could make Roberto stand up with the power of his gaze. And of Matt suggesting wild theories about the journalist's reason to brave the unstable terrain. Catherine had an arm around Alice's shoulder, and Lou paced up and down the path. After I'd tested the ground and almost shared Roberto's fate, scrambling back to safety with dirty jeans and Matt's helping hand, none of us dared to approach the site of the accident.

Theo was the first to point out the noise of the rotor. The pilot pulled his bird into a wide loop before he hovered over the spot marked by the yellow fabric of Roberto's shirt. The fierce wind from the blades tugged at my hair, and Alice caught her laced sun hat just in time before it blew away.

A rescue worker in an orange helmet and coverall lowered himself from the cabin, communicating with his colleagues in the chopper using hand signs. Without chancing the unstable ground, he wrapped Roberto in a sturdy blanket, clipped it to a second rope and steadied him while the pilot gained height, winching them up.

As soon as they were both safe in the cabin, the bird speeded up and disappeared over the forest, leaving us watchers clueless about the victim's well-being.

"They'll take him to the cantonal hospital. I'll call them to check on him." Louis sounded exhausted.

Theo stared after the chopper with squinted eyes. "He's still alive."

"How can you tell?" Matt looked more boyish than ever, a few leaves sticking out of his tousled curls.

"If he were dead, I would've sensed him, his spirit. I didn't, so he must be alive." Theo's weird explanation made sense to me. He glanced down at the cottage, and a shadow crossed his face.

"Is something off?" I wondered how it must feel to be this sensitive to otherworldly activities.

"A faint presence, down in the house. But we can't investigate from here, as we have seen. We would need to approach by boat."

I studied the muddy flat between the building and the lake's edge, riddled with channels and water-filled holes. A former garden, perhaps, the crumbling wall still visible. A boat couldn't cross this treachery zone. "Let's go back to the castle. We need to discuss our options and try to find out if Roberto really had an accident."

Louis, who was following the Brits back towards the forest, overheard me and turned around. "What makes you think it wasn't?"

I rubbed my left wrist. Since Guillaume's nightly visit, the tingling seemed omnipresent. "Call it intuition. I'll be glad if I'm wrong."

<> <> <>

Of course, things weren't over yet. Back at the castle, a police car and a crowd of guests awaited us. Lou sighed and addressed the burly sergeant in his immaculate uniform. "How can I help you?"

The frown etched into the middle-aged man's face seemed to be a permanent feature—impossible to imagine him with a relaxed smile. "Did you call the emergency services?"

I stepped up. "That was me. Is there a problem?"

"No, but we still need to file a protocol." Bureaucracy had caught up with me. He pointed towards his deputy, a young woman who seemed to melt in her bulletproof vest. "Would you mind giving Officer Dumont your name, address, and details of the emergency?"

I did mind, but decided this wasn't the place to complain. While I went over the details with the friendly but pedantic officer, her superior grilled Louis and the British ladies. Matt and Theo, who were dismissed after a brief interview, dispersed the spectators and waited in the shade of the castle wall, discussing amongst themselves. I hoped they came up with a useful plan of action.