A flashlight beam cut through the twilight. Carly appeared next to them. “I texted Sheila.”
Seth brushed some snow off the ground at his feet. Tire tracks leading into the woods cut through the dirt. A vehicle had gone off the road here.
“Please let me go first.” Seth took the flashlight and moved away from the women. He shone it down through the thick foliage. The ground sloped downward. His boots slid on a patch of ice. Reaching for a tree trunk, Seth got his feet back under his body. He parted the underbrush and caught a glimpse of blue below him.
“I see something.” Seth pushed his way through. Some of the branches were broken, but many had sprung back into place, hiding the vehicle’s path. He skidded another ten feet down the slope. At the bottom of the ravine, a blue cargo van rested nose-down, its hood obscured by evergreen branches. The rear bumper, sticking up in the air, was dented. Black paint streaked the chrome. Had someone in a black vehicle smashed into Bruce’s van?
Seth’s heart double-timed as he skidded the rest of the way down the slippery slope. His body didn’t stop until his hands hit the bumper. The van listed to the left, on the driver’s side. Seth went to the other side and hoisted his body up onto the passenger door. The window was broken. Shards of glass littered the interior.
Bruce!
His brother-in-law was slumped over the deflated air bag on his steering wheel. Dried blood from a cut on his temple caked the entire side of his face. His seat belt held him upright. The dashboard had folded, the twisted interior of the car pinning him in place. The console box was open, and an emergency Mylar thermal blanket was tucked around his upper body.
Please don’t be dead.
Seth reached into the vehicle, but his arm wasn’t long enough to touch his brother-in-law. He squirmed until his entire torso was inside the vehicle. Pulling off his glove with his teeth, Seth reached for Bruce’s neck. He nearly wept with relief when a weak thud hit his fingertips.
Bruce was alive.
But his skin was cold and his breathing shallow. Ignoring the tearing of his coat on a glass fragment, Seth wiggled out of the car. “He’s here! Call for an ambulance and a rescue crew,” he shouted as he scrambled back up the slope. There were blankets and first aid supplies in the Jeep, but Seth wouldn’t be able to get Bruce out of the van. A fire crew would need to cut him out of the vehicle.
He climbed back up the slope and burst out of the woods.
Patsy’s eyes begged for information.
“He’s unconscious. I can’t tell how badly he’s hurt, but he’s alive.” Seth turned to Carly, who was on the phone asking for assistance. “Tell them to bring hydraulics. He’s pinned.”
He went back to the Jeep and opened the hatch. Carly relayed the information over the phone.
Seth grabbed blankets. “What’s the ETA?”
“Twenty minutes.” She handed the phone to her mother. “Let me come with you.”
“You both need to stay here. It’s slippery, and the way the van is tilted, you’d never be able to get inside. I really need to focus on Bruce, not worry about you.” Seth hoped she understood. She didn’t like it when he was overprotective.
“All right.” She nodded. “Be careful.”
Seth skidded back down the slope and hoisted himself into the van. Bracing his weight on the crumpled dashboard, he attempted to assess Bruce’s condition. “Bruce.” He touched his face.
“It’s Seth. We’re gonna get you out of here. Help is on the way.” A single groan was the only response. Seth shone the flashlight down, but much of Bruce’s body was concealed. “Can you talk to me?”
Bruce moaned. “Can’t move.”
“The paramedics will be here any minute. They’ll get you out of here.” Without any ability to free Bruce from the wreckage, the best Seth could do was wrap a blanket around his shoulders.
“C-cold.” Bruce said. His eyelids fluttered. “I think my leg is broken.”
Seth tucked a second blanket around Bruce’s upper body. “Just hang on a little while longer. The rescue crew is on the way.”
But Bruce’s head lolled against the doorframe.
“Bruce?” Seth slid his hands down Bruce’s shoulder and arm to his hand. He grasped it. “Squeeze my fingers.”
There was no response. Did he not hear or was he unable to move? As the sound of a siren floated in the thin, cold air, Bruce’s breath rattled in his chest. Even though Bruce wasn’t responding, Seth kept hold of his hand. “Hold on, Bruce. They’re almost here.”
In the hospital waiting room, Seth made a cup of coffee in the machine. In a row of chairs against the wall, Carly and her sister flanked Patsy, each clutching one of her hands.
James entered the room. His eyes swept over the crowd. He pulled his hat off and walked to Seth. “No word?”
Seth shook his head. “No.”
“How was he when they brought him in?” James asked.