“She’d gone into the kitchen.” Claudia’s voice broke. “I keep calling for her, but…”
“Okay, it’s alright.” Frankie closed her eyes and hoped her voice didn’t waver and transmit her concern. “If she was in another part of the house, it’s possible we just can’t hear her over the noise of the people helping with the rescue.”
“What should I sing?”
“Something upbeat? With a good tune, so we can hear you while we clear enough space for one of us to come down and treat you.”
Claudia’s started singing something that Frankie vaguely recognised as a hymn. She turned to see who was holding onto her ankles so she didn’t tip forward into the space they’d cleared. “What’s next?”
Lucas helped her swivel around so she was sitting on her bottom. “I need to get down there, get a drip in. Then assess her injuries, get her on a board, and out of there. She must be severely dehydrated by now. She needs to be at the hospital.”
“And her sister?” Frankie was horrified to again feel the sharp sting of tears stabbing the back of her eyes. She turned her gaze away, towards the sea, which was never far from view on the small island.
Lucas grabbed her hands and waited until she looked back at him before he spoke. “We’ve got to assume that she hasn’t made it if Claudia hasn’t heard from her. But when I get down there, I promise I’ll search for Naomi.”
“Don’t you think it would be better if I went down there? You should accompany her back to the hospital. In case her situation worsens.”
“I don’t want you going down there.” His tone was abrupt. “I can’t guarantee your safety so I can’t.”
“Can you guarantee my safety while we work in the hospital? Even while I’m on the island? Isn’t it right that aftershocks can be more deadly than the original earthquake?”
“That’s not the point.” Lucas pushed his wavy hair back from his forehead. “I can control this risk. You can’t go down there.”
“Hey, doc!” Henry called, his deep voice loud enough to stop Claudia’s singing. “You two going to sit up there and argue all day or are we going to get this lady out of there?”
“Do you have the rope ready, Henry?” Frankie asked, meeting Lucas’s eyes and daring him to challenge her again. “I’m slimmer than you, not as heavy, it makes so much more sense for me to go down.”
He shrugged. “But I don’t have anyone that would miss me.”
“Keep going, Claudia,” Frankie called down. “It sounds fab. The guys up here are going to attach me to a rope and I’m coming down for you.”
Frankie stood while the men fastened the rope around her body. “This is going to hold, right?” She smiled, trying to inject a little less gravity into the situation.
“Serve you right it you fell on your hard head.” Lucas grinned back, making Frankie’s heart squeeze. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
She pinned him with a glare. “It has to be me. I can do this.”
And she could. She knew she could.
As she was lowered into what was left of the house, she went through the things she needed to do when her feet touched ground: locate Claudia, get a line in, administer pain relief, and then do her best to immobilise the injured limb before getting her on a backboard, securing her to it, and letting the men pull her to safety.
Easy.
Except she’d never tied a knot in her life, save for the ones in the laces of her tennis shoes.
Frankie sucked in a deep breath, trying not to panic as the bright sun of the early morning made way for the dark, damp confines of the remains of Claudia’s house. Within moments, her scrambling feet touched solid ground and she untied the rope from her waist. She gave it two sharp tugs, the sign they had agreed on. They would now send down the backboard while she tended to Claudia.
She knew where the table was, but still used the torch to sweep around the room one last time before edging her way over to where Claudia lay.
“I’m here,” Frankie said, as she caught sight of the other woman’s hand. She picked it up and gave it a squeeze before lifting the coffee table up and out of the way. “I’m going to get an IV in first. That will start on getting you hydrated and then a bolus of morphine alongside that will help with the pain. Is that okay?”
“Thank you, thank you,” Claudia sobbed. “I didn’t think anyone was coming. Anyone other than God to take me home, that is.”
“It must be a disappointment for you to see me then.” Frankie tried to keep their conversation light as she located the vein in the crook of Claudia’s elbow. “Here we go, Claudia.”
She put her torch into her mouth and shone it towards Claudia. Frankie took the tourniquet and fastened it around Claudia’s arm. Swabbing the area, she felt with her fingers to make sure the vein she’d selected was okay.