Our Bruised Bodies | Bradley Bradshaw

ACT FIVE - PART FIFTEEN

Hours later Grace was woken by a familiar noise. It sounded like a fighter jet and then another following closely, which had her sit up instantly.

"Jake. Jake wake up!" Her good hand reaching out to shake Jake awake, but he didn't stir.

"Jake!" She called again, unable to keep the panic out of her voice. Glancing towards the entrance of the cave, Grace moved to press her ear to Jake's chest, only to find nothing, her own heart was beating so loudly in her chest, she wouldn't even hear a jet landing right next to her now.

Pulling back, she reached out with shaky fingers to hold them over Jake's nose in order to feel his breath on her skin, but she couldn't be sure and she had to see what was going on outside.

Pressing a kiss to the side of Jake's temple, she quickly stumbled to her feet and made her way out of the cave to stare into the sky. The weak winter sun blinding her as she came tumbling out of the cave, using her good arm's hand to shield her eyes from the sun. Instantly spotting two fighter jets in the air but she could not say who those belonged to. Then three more appeared from the other side which had Grace curse. They were engaging in a dog fight. Maybe they were another set of pilots that were lured into the same trap as them, but then as she already considered returning to Jake's side, for she couldn't just leave him like that a helicopter appeared which almost had Grace break down in happy tears for those were their guys.

The jets were out of sight as the helicopter landed a few hundred feet away, only for a team to instantly rush over to her.

"Captain Kazansky, it's good to see you up and about." One of the approaching men said. A navy seal Grace noted instantly, only for him to instantly reach out and steady her as her feet threatened to give in, while someone else draped a thick winter jacket over her shoulders.

"It's alright now, Ma'am. We're bringing you home." He promised her, which had Grace nod, before looking over her shoulder and towards the cave as she pulled the jacket closer.

"Lieutenant Seresin is in the cave. He requires immediate medical attention." She told the navy seal, that was holding her up on her feet.

"So do you, ma'am." A medic told her about to reach for her arm, but she pulled away almost stumbling to the ground and out of the hold of the navy seal that greeted her before.

"No time." The first seal said. "She stands on her own two feet, more or less, that's good enough until we're on the Trafalgar." The man added, his arm already around Grace's middle dragging her over to the helicopter while the rest of the team rushed into the cave, one of those stretchers with them to move Jake. Grace's legs barely touched the ground and then they were right in front of the open helicopter doors.

"Captain, we're taking care of everything now." The seal promised before lifting her up and into the helicopter, ignoring her complaints and her asking for Jake, in favour of putting an oxygen mask over her face as soon as she was seated, while a second medic injected her with something that made her all dizzy, before making her look at him.

"I will reset your shoulder now. That will hurt, Captain." He warned her but all Grace did was grit her teeth and tell him to go on with it, causing him to count to three, only to reset her shoulder at the count of two while they got Jake on the stretcher into the helicopter too.

Grace was asked if she needed any more immediate care which had her shake her head only for the second medic to rush over to help with Jake too. While Grace fought the dizziness once more.

"Who was that in the air?" Grace asked the navy seal after having to look away from the medics working on Jake while the helicopter left the cave and the forest just as the crash side behind.