The Ghost of the Past

Buried

Jay came too after only a few minutes of being knocked out. He was covered in debris and had pain ripping through his body. His ears were ringing from the blast, he could barely hear as debris continued to fall from the upper level. He was trapped between the wall and large pieces of the floor from the level above. He tried to push the debris but pain fired through his left shoulder and he realized it was dislocated. Looking around he realized his only way out was to shimmy his way forward. The pain was almost unbearable but he forced himself through it to squeeze himself out the small opening above his head into a clearing. He held himself up with his right hand on the wall and tried to get his bearings and regain control of the pain. He couldn't see any of his team as the dust started to settle. He took his 2 way radio out of his vest pocket but found it had shattered when he had been thrown into the wall. Shaking his head he threw it to the floor in frustration.

"Call out so I can find you." Jay called out before coughing the dust out of his lungs. He held his left arm tight to his abdomen.

"Agh!" Jay heard over the ringing in his ears. He pushed past debris to a pile of shifting wreckage. He found Ruzek and pushed the drywall off of him. A heavy piece of equipment was on Adam's leg that took all of Jay's strength to push off with one shoulder. Adam cried out in pain and lay back breathing hard. Agony shot through Jay's dislocated shoulder and he fell to his knees when the leg was clear. After taking a few seconds to catch his breath Jay probed Adam's leg gently through his pants. Adam moaned in pain and gripped his pants.

"Your leg is broken Adam. I need to wrap the cuts and splint it but I need your help to put my shoulder back in place first." Jay grabbed Adam's shoulder with his good arm, gritting his teeth over the pain. Adam nodded his head, breathing hard and pushed himself to a sitting position while Jay looked for something to sling his arm with once it was back in place. He found a half roll of duct tape on a work table near where he had been thrown. He brought it back to Adam and knelt down next to him.

"I need you to hold my hand against your shoulder tightly while I pop it back into place. Don't let it slide or I won't be able to get it in. Alright?" Jay explained bracing himself for what was about to come. Adam took Jay's hand and held it tight against his shoulder. Jay took several breaths before nodding at Adam who held even tighter. With a quick motion Jay pulled away sharply through the agony and cried out before he felt the pop but then relief. He felt sweat drip down the side of his face as he gasped for breath.

"Jay! I'm sorry, did I do something wrong? Are you ok???" Adam loosened his grip on Jay's wrist and grabbed his uninjured shoulder.

"No, it's good. It's back in place but it hurt like mad." Jay took another breath before taking his hand and placing it across his chest. He guided Adam to use the duct tape like a sling for his elbow and another long strip holding his wrist to his left shoulder before the last strip of the roll to secure his arm to his chest.

"Thanks." Jay clapped Adam's shoulder. "Your turn. Take off your vest and long sleeve shirt. We'll cut the sleeves off to tie the splint on."

Jay stood and searched the debris for scrap wood the right size to splint Adam's lower leg. There was still no sign from anyone else from the team. By the time he found two pieces Adam had taken off his shirt and cut the sleeves off with Jay's knife. He cut the main part of the shirt in half and wrapped the cuts from the heavy machinery around the wounds.

"Feed the sleeve under the leg at the ankle and just below the knee." Jay instructed, feeling useless with only one arm. "I'm going to put the boards on either side of the break and hold it with my legs but you are going to have to tie it tight. It's going to hurt Adam. Are you ready?"

Adam took a few deep breaths as he was putting the sleeve under his leg. Jay put the boards on either side of the break and straddled Adam's leg, using his knees to hold the boards in place. Adam groaned in pain as he sharply tightened it and tied the knot. Jay backed up as Adam did the same for the ankle tie before laying back breathing hard.