it took a strong effort to pull it out. Juliet seemed to be disappearing before P.J.’s eyes. She had been trapped in the freezing mud too long, she had to be losing a tremendous amount of body heat. He was worried that soon her system would begin to shut down. P.J. was afraid that any moment Juliet might pass out and thus become dead weight. If that happened, he would never be able to get her out by himself. With her car stuck across the road, lines down, and roads washed out all over town, help would not be possible. Taking swift and drastic action was the only hope they had. P.J. was going to have to leave Juliet here alone while he went to get supplies. There was simply no other choice.
Now, P.J. sat on his haunches with his arms wrapped around Juliet’s torso, his hat on her head, and his leather jacket draped over her shoulders. He held on to her tight, kissed the top of her head and murmured reassurances. P.J was doing his best to keep Juliet as warm and as calm as possible.
“Juliet.” He repeated low into her ear. “I have to go get us some help. I have some rope in the house, I need to go…”
“No! No!” She wrapped both her thin arms in a tight hold around his neck. “P.J. please. I can do it. We can do it! I’ll try harder, I will! We can do this! JUST DON’T LEAVE ME HERE ALONE!” Juliet begged P.J. in a terror filled scream that was loud enough to rival the storm. “PLEASE DON’T GO!”
P.J. felt it like a punch in the gut when he had to peel Juliet’s arms from his neck.
But when he had to kick off the hand that held his ankle in a death grip?
That, P.J. felt in his heart.
Juliet thought she might be dying. After suffering the pain of what felt like a thousand needles, now she couldn’t feel her legs. She was a lump of mud in the middle of a rising pool. The smell was terrible… mold, muck, decay, and now urine. Juliet thought idly that she must have peed her pants.
He had left her. P.J. had left her there all alone.
Juliet just prayed that he hadn’t left her there to die.
Juliet tried to keep her eyes glued to the path where P.J. had disappeared, but the force of the wind and the rain made it almost impossible to keep her head up. Juliet listened though. To every howl, to every creak, to every snap that might signal P.J.’s return. Her head hurt with an intensity that made her vomit in long, gasping shudders. Juliet’s belly burned with every heaving wretch. Her eyes became heavy, her brain was beginning to shut down. Juliet knew that she had begun to move in and out of consciousness.
“Juliet? Juliet? Damn it! Juliet, wake up!” She heard P.J.’s sharp tone. And Juliet wanted to respond to him, she did. She was just so tired. Through the haze, she heard the tinkling sound of glass breaking. It was a pleasant noise…like windchimes or…
Wham!
Juliet felt the sudden snap of her neck as it was pulled back. All at once, the powerful smell of ammonia crashed through the sensitive membranes of Juliet’s nostrils and rampaged through her lungs. She reflexively breathed in sharply. Her eyes watered, her face flushed. Juliet felt as though she had been kicked in the face by a donkey.
“Smelling salts.” P.J. explained abruptly, as he quickly unscrewed the thermos he held in his hands. “Two hour old coffee laced with whiskey. Hot and strong. Take in as much as you can. Now open up.” And without further ado, P.J. McCabe put a strong thumb and index finger on either side of Juliet’s cheeks and squeezed. Then he carefully poured long sips into her open mouth. When Juliet’s eyes met his over the thermos, P.J. tried to smile at her. “That’s good, babe. Real good. A few more sips to warm you, then you and me? We’re getting you outa here. Yeah?”
Juliet took one last, long, gulp of the bitter, bracing brew and called out weakly. “I’m ready.”
“Okay. Let’s do this.” P.J. took off the heavy rope that was wrapped across his chest and made a large loop. “Put your arms up, Juliet. Higher. Yeah, like that, but closer together.” He commanded as he dropped the rope to just under Juliet’s breasts. Then he pulled tight. When she winced in pain,