legs that felt like two wet noodles.
Charlie looked up as the woman approached. Oh, hell. She was pale and visibly shaking, looking at the unconscious bleeding patient as if she’d never seen blood before. She looked as if she was going to either faint or vomit. Or both.
Great. She was going to be as useless as a screen door on a submarine.
And yet...She’s all you’ve got, Charlie boy.
‘Gloves top drawer of the kit,’ he barked.
If she didn’t snap out of this stupor they were both in trouble. Yes, she’d been through a lot tonight. No doubt she’d thought she’d been a goner at one stage but there was a life hanging in the balance and every second counted.
He didn’t have time to baby her.
He only hoped she would respond automatically to his demands.
Carrie crouched and pulled out a pair of gloves. Her movements stiff and robotic.
‘Down here. I need you to put your hand here.’ She didn’t move and Charlie almost lost it.
‘I...c-can’t.’ Her teeth chattered violently.
Charlie bit his tongue and took a deep calming breath. ‘Look, lady, I know you’ve had a shock tonight but this is really, really important.’
‘I c-can’t.’
‘Yes, you can,’ he said encouragingly. ‘I need firm, even pressure.’
Charlie kept his voice quiet and composed despite the well of frustration rising inside him. Of all the people in the entire world tonight he was stuck with someone useless in an emergency. But then she surprised him by reaching out a shaking hand.
Charlie removed his slowly on a rush of relief as she took his place. ‘Firm. Even. Do you understand?’
She didn’t answer him, just stared with a look of horror at the blood covering her glove as if she’d never seen the substance before. But her technique was good and as long as she kept the pressure applied they could hopefully prevent this man from bleeding to death.
And it freed Charlie up to manage the airway.
Carrie didn’t feel the bite of the bitumen into her knees through the thin fabric of her hand-made, cotton, tie-dyed trousers. She didn’t hear the hum of insects or the stutter of her own panicked breath. She didn’t even hear the stranger rooting around in his medical kit.
The injured man’s blood totally consumed her.
She could feel its warmth though the thin barrier of latex. She could smell its pungent metallic aroma heavy on the warm night air. Knew that it would be sticky as it clotted around her hands.
Don’t die. Don’t die. Don’t die.
The chant helped her keep her mind off the roar of her own blood in her ears, the sweat beading her forehead, the nausea rolling through her intestines. Quickly she grabbed in some air, filling her lungs with it as fast as she could, over and over in time to the silent incantation.
Don’t die. Don’t die. Don’t die.
Charlie could hear his helper’s breathing as he applied an oxygen mask to the man’s face. If she kept it up, she was going to need the oxygen. ‘Hey,’ he said, forcing himself to minister to her needs for a few seconds. ‘You’re doing great, OK? Just slow your breathing down. Can you do that?’
Carrie shook her head, as everything around her spun out of control. Her lips were tingling. Her gloved fingers, covered in blood, were tingling. ‘I can’t...b-breathe,’ she gasped.
Charlie bit back an expletive. Christ, not now. ‘Yes, you can.’
His conscience pricked at his impatience. This woman had already been through a lot tonight and now he was asking more. She could have potentially been the victim here and what she probably needed more than anything else was some TLC but instead he was forcing her to do something clearly outside her comfort zone.
She was obviously one of those squeamish people who didn’t like the sight of blood so it had to be hard for her to help. Frankly, this sort of scene could be difficult for even hardened professionals.
He sighed. “Look at me.”
Carrie couldn’t move. She could only see the blood. Her mind started to play tricks. She was getting flashes of another place and time. Another patient. Another life-and-death situation.
So much blood.
She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head to expel them.
‘Look at me!’
Charlie was more forceful this time but it had the desired effect. Her head snapped up, panic flaring her nostrils and dilating her pupils. ‘You’re doing really well,’ he said gentling his voice again, lifting his hand to squeeze her shoulder. ‘The ambulance should be here soon.’
Carrie felt the warmth of his hand anchoring