Jayde wanted nothing more than to throw herself into his arms and let him hold her and make her feel safe, but there was a tightness she noticed about the corners of his beautiful golden-green eyes. She looked swiftly over his body and smelled blood, but she couldn’t see where he was hurt.
“What happened?” she asked as she moved closer to him.
“I got shot,” Tyson slurred.
Panic immediately set in as Jayde pictured the worst. “Where?” she asked, scared of what his answer would be.
“The shoulder. I’m going to need you to remove the bullet.” He faltered and dropped the radio he held.
Jayde picked it up and turned around. “Hold onto me. I have a pallet set up back here.” She flicked off the light and slowly marched into the back of the cave. All was silent save for Tyson’s labored breathing that mixed with the usual cave sounds.
Not a moment too soon, Jayde helped Tyson lie down on the rock that she’d used during the night. It was wide and protruded from the wall, plenty big enough for Tyson. The pallet she’d made was of one poncho and both blankets, the second poncho used as a pillow. He fell forward on his belly with a grunt as his body gave out. Setting the radio on the pack, Jayde felt his face in the dark and noticed that he was sweating.
“What do I have to do?” she asked, forcing herself to focus on the task at hand: removing a bullet. Now is not the time to be squeamish, Jayde. He is your ticket out of here; and if he’s injured, your chances of survival are severely diminished.
“Get my shirt off me,” he said in obvious pain. It seemed like a struggle just for him to turn his head so he could breathe and still talk to her.
“Do you want me to cut it off totally or just by the wound?” Jayde asked, totally confused about what to do. She helped him move his legs onto the pallet as well.
“Cut it off; you will need the extra material to bandage it later.”
“Okay hold still.” Jayde turned on the flashlight, laying it on his back so she could see as she carefully cut the sweaty shirt off of his firm body with the knife. She couldn’t withhold her horrified gasp once she saw the hole in his right shoulder. “Now?” She paused. “What do I do?”
“Clean it out the best you can to get out all the dirt. When you are ready, take your knife and heat the blade using the lighter in the pack. It’ll be hot after about thirty…forty seconds, then let it cool a little and use it to dig out the bullet. You will have to make the hole bigger to do that. Loosen it with the blade, and if you have to, pull the bullet out with your fingers; just make sure they are as clean as they can be,” Tyson said in a weakened voice.
He fell silent. She shook him just before his eyes could fully close, and when they locked on hers, they were full of trust, searing directly into her soul.
“Once you get it out, rinse the wound again. Then pack it with strips of the shirt. Wrap the remaining cloth around it to anchor everything in place.” Tyson shut his eyes again before adding, “You can do this Jayde. I believe in you.” He sighed deeply. “Ready when you are, Doc.”
Jayde looked around the cave, frantically blinking away tears. Dear God, she didn’t think she could do it. “Okay,” Jayde said, although whether to him or herself she wasn’t sure.
Mrs. Jayde Kincade quickly made strips out of his shirt. “Here we go,” she mumbled while she poured some water over them, washing away the sweat and dirt.
Tyson hissed in pain and arched his back off the rock. “Sorry,” Jayde whispered as she picked up the flashlight and looked down into the wound. He had been right; she would have to open it up some more.
Taking the lighter, she pulled out her knife and held it over the small flame, evenly heating the blade. She then set down the lighter and picked up the flashlight, putting the sterilized blade into the wound.
Whack! Jayde flew through the air courtesy of the reflex of one Tyson Kincade, Navy SEAL. The knife clattered to the dirt and the water in the bottle spilled onto the cave floor. Dazed, it took Jayde a moment to regain her feet. She located the light and searched for the knife.
Tyson was barely conscious so Jayde got some more water from the small pool at the entrance, noticing it was light out, and then headed back into the darkness. She bathed his head and cleaned off the knife.
“How the hell am I supposed to do this?” she asked, not receiving an answer. For a moment she just looked at the man lying there on his stomach and then she figured it out. Jayde got everything set up a second time and climbed on top of his prone body, her body holding him still…well more still.
She put the light in her mouth so it could be held directly on the wound, leaving her with two free hands. Drooling around the flashlight crammed in her mouth, she heated the knife for a second time. Before she put the metal to his skin this time, Jayde wedged one knee on his opposite shoulder so he couldn’t hit her again.
With strength she didn’t know she had, Jayde managed to restrict his flailing movements; and after several minutes of digging and prodding, she proudly held the bullet in her bloodied fingers. Quickly, she rinsed the wound out again and as she was getting ready to put the strips inside the hole as packing she stopped. She couldn’t do it; his shirt was too filthy. Her mind raced with possible options.
Still straddling his torso, she used the knife to rip off one of her pants’ pockets, taking the material from the lining and putting it into the wound. Then she used pieces of his shirt to put over that. After that, she ripped out the ties at the bottom of her pant legs and slit her shirt off at the midsection.
Tyson still hadn’t made a sound. She wiped off his forehead again and put a few drops of water into his mouth. Her head was killing her, so Jayde covered him with the blankets and moved silently up the cave to get some more water.
She cleaned off her own face and took a healthy swig of the cool liquid. Her body trembled with adrenaline as she wound down from the rush. Not sure what else to do, Jayde crawled in on Tyson’s left side. They shared the rock bed and body heat as they both slept the day away.
Jayde awoke first. She slid out of Tyson’s warmth in silence and shivered as the cold air from the cave hit her exposed midsection. She crept up to the front and drank some water, then came back to check on Tyson.
He stirred beneath her touch. “Jayde?”
“Who else would it be?” Relieved, she tried to sound lighthearted although he didn’t sound very well. “How are you feeling?”
“Like shit,” he ground out. “Did you get it?”
“Yep.”
“Good job.” She heard him struggling. “Can you help me get up?” he asked.
“Of course.” She assisted him in sitting upright. “Are you hungry? Thirsty?”
“Not really. Still feeling a bit out of sorts. Give me a second to get my bearings. We should be pressing on.” He moved his shoulder and let loose a string of curses.
Jayde grimaced in the dark, he was pissed. “I will be right back. I will get you some fresh water,” she said.
She melted into the dimness and slid up the narrow tunnel towards the entrance. At the pool she dipped the canteen in the water and stole a glance outside. It was no longer light out; in fact, it was extremely dark and pouring down rain. “I hope this isn’t going to create more of a problem,” she said to herself.
After filling up the canteen, she headed back down the darkened walkway, which she had come to know fairly well, with relative ease. As she entered the open area, Jayde saw Tyson had laid out something in his lap and was staring at it, the hushed glow from the flashlight illuminating him. He still looked a little pale.
“What are you looking at?” she asked as she handed him the canteen of fresh cool water.
“A map I took from the hut. We are about here.” He pointed with the hand holding the canteen. “And I think that if we call for help and set up a pickup we should be fine.” He took a swig of the water and handed it back to her.
“Where would we have to go to send the signal?” Was there more climbing to be done? To be honest Jayde didn’t think Tyson would be able to do any, not with his shoulder injured.
Tyson remained bent over the map. “If we could make here, I think it would be a good extraction point. We’d call and say we could make it in two days; I don’t know how far away my Team is, though. Regard-less, that might throw off the ones on our tail.” He rolled his shoulder trying to get mobility in it. “Speaking of, they should be closing in soon; we need to go.”
“I don’t think anyone will be traveling out there right now. There’s one hell of a storm raging. Even the waterfall seems fuller,” Jayde said.
“How did you make it up there without the light?” he asked as his finger plotted some points.
“I have figured out how many steps it is for me to walk anywhere in this cave. Except for those three passageways; I am not going in there alone. But from here to the entrance, I could run in the dark if I had to.” Jayde took another drink of water before heading for the pack to get some fruit and an MRE for Tyson. “Here,” she said and handed him the open MRE. “Eat this.”
Tyson looked up at her and smiled. “Thank you. For everything Jayde…I mean it.” He reached for the package and frowned.
“What?” Jayde asked.
“Where is your shirt?” He shone the light on her bared belly.
“I used some of it for your bandages.” She flushed as her dark arms slid around her midsection, trying to hide it from his gaze.
He chuckled, but then growled when the light hit her face. “What in the hell happened to your cheek?”