Perfect Storm

Chapter 21 - Suspicious Minds: Part 2

Darkness.

Kate coughed in an effort to clear the dust and debris from her throat and mouth, lifting her throbbing head from the floor. The movement sent a bolt of pain down her right side, her eyes squeezing shut as she tried to wriggle herself free from whatever was pressing her into the cold concrete.

Opening her eyes and squinting through the haze, she realised that she was partially buried under the rubble that was formerly the shop front of the convenience store Hank had been in not minutes earlier. As the ringing in her ears began to fade, the noise was replaced with the sound of high-pitched alarms and people screaming in agony.

There were survivors.

Glancing down, Kate wiggled the fingers of her right hand, relieved beyond measure that all five digits moved at her command. The relief was soon replaced by horror when her eyes settled on her right bicep which had been speared onto a length of metal, blood seeping through the fabric of her coat and onto the floor. Biting back a cry of pain, she tried to lift her arm to no avail. She'd need help getting herself free.

'Matt. Hank'

Her eyes darted to the space around her, frantically searching for any glimpse of the two men she had pulled into the alcove with her.

"Hank? Matt?"

Her voice sounded gritty, no doubt as a result of inhaling smoke and dust but she ignored the scratching in her throat and continued to call their names. After what felt like hours of no response, she heard a familiar voice call her name.

"Kate?"

"Hank!"

Tilting her head backwards in the direction of his voice, she could just about make out his form moving towards her. The grey hair at his temple was soaked in blood, rivulets tricking down his face from some kind of head wound that Kate couldn't identify but, other than that, he looked relatively unharmed.

"Hank, where's Matt?"

Hank shook his head, coming to a stop at her shoulder as he surveyed the damage, fingers settling on her arm to keep her still.

"I dunno, you need to keep still okay?"

"You've got to find him Hank!"

She was becoming hysterical, her eyes scanning the haze for him as she once again tried to pull her arm free from the metal stake.

"Kate, stay still or you're going to do more damage."

"MATT!!"

His name tore from her throat and echoed in the air around them, fear emanating from every pore of her being. Hank shifted himself to her side, taking hold of her right hand and placing his left on her cheek, forcing her eyes towards his.

Panicked hazel met calm brown.

"Kate, listen to me. I need you to stay perfectly still. The metal could have nicked an artery so I need to get a closer look, alright?"

Nodding, Kate dropped her head back to the ground as tears began to gather in the corner of her eyes.

'Please God, he has to be alive.'

Hank was no medic but he knew enough to know that the location of the metal was precariously close to the brachial artery and one wrong move would leave her bleeding out on the floor. He took the fabric of her coat and shirt in his hands, ripping the material so that he could get a better look at the injury. The pole was around an inch in width and had penetrated her upper arm near the lateral head of her tricep, and exited the other side with at least eight inches of metal passing through her body. She was bleeding quite heavily but it wasn't enough to be a ruptured artery. The pole could very well be staunching the bleeding but the longer she was impaled, the higher her risk of infection. He knew he had to get her out of there.