Frames Per Second (41 page)

Ben grabbed Jake and said, “Go in and call 911 and tell them people have been shot and we need an ambulance.”

Ben sat down heavily in the dirt. His right shoulder was bloody and felt as if someone had just swung a baseball bat into it. “Jesus,” he said as the first wave of nausea swept over him. He felt dizzy.

“Stay down,” Sarah said, coming to him. “I’m going to get something to raise your legs.”

He obeyed her, suddenly feeling very weak. He watched Andi as she ripped open Kurt’s denim shirt. His left side was punctured with three red holes. There was the smell of burned flesh and Ben could see blisters already forming on Kurt’s belly from the flash burns.

His face was white, with deep red circles around his eyes. Andi said his name, but he didn’t respond.

“Kurt!” she said louder.

Nothing.

She turned to Ben, her hand going to her mouth. “Oh God.”

Ben leaned over and put his hand to Kurt’s neck. There was a faint pulse. “He’s alive.”

Kurt coughed abruptly, and then curled tighter. Blood bubbled from his mouth, and his breathing was labored.

Sarah came back with pillows, blankets, and a stack of towels. “Let’s try to slow this bleeding down, and keep them warm. Raise their legs for shock.”

Ben could see Andi become visibly calmer now that she had something to do. She knelt beside Kurt and Sarah helped roll him over so they could slide a compress of white towels beneath him. Then she covered him and lifted his feet onto a pillow while Sarah turned to help Ben.

“You sticking with me?” Sarah said to Ben.

“You bet,” he said. Lainnie stood behind Andi, her lower lip quivering. Tears streaked down her face.

“Come over here, honey,” he said. “Keep me company, will you?”

“Daddy,” she said. She hurried over and knelt by his head. She touched his face. “Are you going to die?”

“Not a chance,” he said.

“Did you see what Kurt did for Jake? Did you see?”

“I saw, honey.”

Sarah said to Ben, “Let me look at your back.” She helped him roll over, making a face when she saw the wound. “I guess that’s good. Just like Kurt, the bullet went all the way through.” She put towels under him and then folded one onto his chest. She sat up, dug a roll of adhesive tape out of her pocket, and tore off long strips to bind the towels to him.

“How’s he doing?” Ben said quietly.

“I don’t know,” she said.

Just then, Jake came out with the portable phone. “They said a helicopter was already on the way back to Portland, and can reroute to us in just a few minutes. The doctor wants to talk to Mom.”

Andi took the phone and quickly outlined the men’s wounds. Ben could see the former reporter in her, the way she accurately recounted the facts regardless of the tears streaming down her face. She gave the phone back. “He said we’re to try to keep him conscious.”

Ben saw Lainnie looking at Kurt and then back to him. He reached up with his good hand and pulled her down. He kissed her, smoothed her hair, and said, “Help your mother now. Help Kurt.”

“Stay with us,” Andi was saying into Kurt’s ear. “Damn it, you stay with us, is that clear?”

“That’s right,” Lainnie said, suddenly. Lainnie moved over from Ben and took Kurt’s hand. “I don’t want you to go!”

Jake knelt beside him and touched Kurt’s knee. “Stay.”

Kurt coughed. He wiped at the blood on his lips.

“Damn it, Kurt,” Ben said. He forced himself to sit up. “Open your eyes.”

Kurt coughed again. Then his eyelids fluttered. “Yeah,” he said. “I’m here.”

“Good,” Ben said. “Stay here.” He lay back on the ground, exhausted.

Sarah held his hand tight, and smiled down at him.

“You, too,” he said.

“I’m not going anywhere,” she said.

“Yeah,” he said, looking over at his family.

He closed his eyes and kept them that way. He listened as Sarah talked to him quietly; he listened as Jake and Lainnie left Kurt for a time to come sit with him.

“Is he going to be all right?” Lainnie asked Sarah.

Ben heard the beat of the helicopter.

He opened his eyes. Kurt was talking with Andi still.

Ben smiled at his daughter and son. His voice sounded hoarse. “We all will.”