DARCIE HALF WOKE to the sound of knocking on her bedroom door. For a few seconds she struggled to open her eyes, calling groggily, ‘Who is it?’
‘It’s Jack. Can you come to the door, please? We have an emergency.’
Jack? Jack...? Darcie closed her eyes again.
Hell, what was she doing? Jack glanced at his watch. He rapped on the door again. ‘Wake up, Darcie! I need to speak to you!’
Jack! Oh, good grief! Darcie sat bolt upright as reality struck. Throwing herself out of bed, she padded over to the door. ‘What time is it?’ She blinked up at him.
‘Five o’clock—’ He stopped abruptly. She was pulling on a gown over a short ruby-red nightie, her breasts moving gently beneath the silk. Hell. His breath jagged in his throat. He stepped back and blinked. ‘Uh—we have an emergency out where some kind of film is being shot. Do you know about it?’
‘Not really. Lauren mentioned it. What’s happened?’
‘Apparently two of the actors have fallen into a disused well. The message the ambulance got was pretty garbled. But they’ve asked for medical backup. I’m sorry to disrupt your sleep-in but I think this needs both of us.’
‘OK...’ Darcie pushed the heavy fall of hair back from her cheek. ‘Give me a few minutes.’
‘I’ll meet you out front. Don’t mess about.’
Darcie made a face at the closing door. She pulled on jeans and T-shirt and pushing her feet into sturdy trainers she sprinted to the bathroom.
* * *
Armed with a couple of trauma kits from the hospital, they travelled in Jack’s Land Rover. ‘I’ve spoken to Mal Duffy, the police sergeant,’ Jack said. ‘He’s given me directions to the site. It’s about forty Ks.’
‘So, apart from the ambulance, who’s in on this jaunt?’
‘The state emergency service.’
Darcie nodded. She was well acquainted with the SES and their dedicated volunteers. ‘Mal heads up the local SES. Their vehicle with the rescue gear is kept at the police station but he’ll have to try to get a team together. At this early hour on a Sunday, it could be difficult.’
Jack raised an eyebrow, seeming impressed with her local knowledge. ‘In that case, we’ll just have to wing it until they get there.’
‘Why on earth would they be filming so early?’ she wondered aloud.
‘Maybe they wanted to catch a special effect with the light.’
She glanced at him sharply. ‘You know something about making films, then?’
‘Oh, yeah.’ He gave a hard, discordant laugh. ‘My ex is an actress.’
For a moment his words formed an uncomfortable silence between them. Darcie glanced at his profile but it told her nothing. Was he sad or mad or both? ‘Ex-wife?’
‘No.’ He paused infinitesimally. ‘We didn’t get that far. We’d been together for three years. But our jobs took us in different directions. In the end, the relationship proved unworkable.’
Of course, it hadn’t helped that when he’d got to England, where Zoe had been filming, she’d found someone else. He swallowed the residue of bitterness. His ego had taken a hard kick, but life moved on. And thank heaven for that.
‘I guess relationships are tricky at the best of times,’ Darcie responded quietly. ‘Do you have any idea what size this well might be?’ She changed conversation lines tactfully.
‘Going by my acquaintance with wells, I’d guess six by six in the old measurements.’
‘So—the size of a small room,’ she said consideringly.
Jack took his eyes off the road for a second to look at her. ‘Any problems with confined spaces?’
‘I’ve done a little caving...’ Darcie recognised the flutter of uncertainty in her stomach. ‘I don’t know how that equates with going down into a well.’
‘Only one way to find out,’ Jack said. ‘It’ll be dark inside and there’ll probably be rubble at the bottom. And I mean anything from rocks to old furniture. Usually, when a well is closed, some effort is extended to part fill the hole to make it less of a hazard. We’ll need to look out for rats as well.’
‘Rats?’ Darcie suppressed a shudder. ‘I hope they’re dead ones and long gone.’ A frown touched her forehead. ‘It’s daylight pretty early these days—how come they wouldn’t have known the well was there?’
‘I doubt it would have been used for years, and it’s possible that some attempt would have been made to cover it over.’
‘Well, whatever they did hasn’t been good enough. Why wouldn’t they build a roof or something?’
‘A roof!’ Jack hooted. ‘You’ve still a lot to learn about life in the Australian bush, Darcie. Our graziers have to make the best use of their time to stay viable. They can’t go around erecting a roof over every well they close. More than likely, they would have chucked some logs across the top. But with time they’ll have become overgrown, which will have only served to camouflage the rotting wood beneath.’
‘And there you have an accident waiting to happen,’ Darcie concluded.
‘By George, she’s got it!’
Darcie gave an exaggerated eye roll. ‘How much further, do you think?’
‘Hmm...ten Ks possibly.’
‘I hate this part of being a doctor out here,’ she admitted candidly. ‘Flying by the seat of your pants, not knowing what you’ll find when you get there.’
‘Comes with the territory, Darcie. You work as an outback doctor, you take on board the highs and lows.’ And if she hadn’t come to a realisation of that by now, then what the hell was she doing here?
‘I understand all that, Jack,’ she defended. ‘It’s just...medically, you can only do so much. And it’s so far from everything.’
Jack felt his mood softening. ‘Granted, we don’t have the backup of a casualty department,’ he conceded. ‘So we make adjustments. In our heads as well as practically.’ After a minute, he added, ‘Whatever path we follow in life, we’re probably conditioned by our backgrounds.’
‘Perhaps we are.’
‘I found working in London stressful.’
‘Did you?’ She sounded surprised.
‘You bet. London is an amazing city, so many centuries of history, but I felt as isolated in the heart of its busyness as you possibly do here in these great open spaces. I’m human too, Doctor. Just like you...’
They turned to each other, eyes meeting. Seeing the slow warmth in his, Darcie’s heart gave a little jiggle of recognition.
Suddenly, she felt a lift in her spirits, unexpectedly buoyed by his take on things. Perhaps they had, in quite different ways, quite a lot in common.
Within minutes they were at the location.
‘OK, let’s get cracking,’ Jack snapped, as they alighted from the Land Rover. He moved to organise the gear they’d need, tossing Darcie one of the high-visibility vests the hospital had included.
Quickly, Darcie slid into the vest and secured the fastenings. ‘We’d better find out who’s in charge.’
‘That looks like a site office.’ Jack indicated the prefab building. ‘We’ll enquire there.’
A short, stocky man behind the desk shot to his feet as Jack rapped and stuck his head in. ‘Blake Meadows,’ he said, and held out his hand. ‘I’m the film unit manager.’ His gaze flicked to Darcie and back to Jack. ‘You’re the doctors?’
‘Yes.’ Jack made the introductions. ‘What can you tell us?’
‘Two of our young actors, Jessica and Lachlan, have fallen into the well. We’ve managed to gather a few details. Jess caught her arm on a piece of protruding metal on the way down.’
‘So there’s bleeding,’ Darcie surmised.
The manager nodded. ‘At the moment, she’s been able to staunch it with her T-shirt.’
‘And the other casualty?’ Jack asked.
‘Lachy hasn’t been so fortunate.’ Blake Meadows made a grimace. ‘According to Jess, he landed on something hard—rocks maybe. Passed out. It’s his leg...’ He rubbed a hand across his face. ‘If this gets out, we’ll be in the news for all the wrong reasons. The company doesn’t need this.’
‘I don’t imagine the young people needed it either.’ Jack was tight-lipped. ‘Can you direct us to the well?’
‘I’ll take you.’ The manager hurried them from the office and towards an army-type Jeep parked nearby.
‘We probably won’t be able to do much until the SES gets here,’ Jack said, as they scrambled aboard and took off.
‘They should be right behind you,’ Blake said. ‘Frankly, I’m staggered with the promptness of everyone’s response.’
Well, at least their attendance was appreciated, Darcie thought critically, hanging on for dear life as they rocked through the scrubby terrain towards the accident site.
* * *
To their surprise, Mal Duffy was already on the scene when they arrived. He greeted both doctors. ‘Knew a short cut,’ he explained in his slow drawl. ‘This is my team for today. Meet Rod and Gez.’
With no time to waste, Mal and his team began erecting a tripod arrangement over the top of the well.
‘Do we have any head torches?’ Jack queried. ‘It’s going to be pretty dark down there.’
‘Ah—unfortunately, we don’t have any in stock,’ Mal apologised. ‘The lantern torches are high-powered and we’ll place them to give you maximum light. Best we can do.’
‘Put head torches on your list of priorities, then, please,’ Jack countered thinly.
‘Will do, Doc. Sorry for the glitch.’
‘Has the air ambulance being notified?’ Jack asked.
‘CareFlight chopper is on its way,’ Mal said. ‘There’s a helipad at Pelican Springs homestead. It’s only about ten Ks from here. So once we get the casualties out, our ambos can shoot them across to meet the chopper.’
Jack’s mouth compressed briefly. It all sounded straightforward enough but experience had taught him it probably wouldn’t be. And if that was the case, then they’d just have to deal with any curve balls as they were thrown.
Mentally, Darcie began to prepare herself, watching as the SES team made their preparations.
‘You OK?’ Jack asked, shooting her a sideways glance.
‘Fine.’ She flicked a hand toward the SES team. ‘I take it we’re hooked up to this pulley thing and get lowered in?’
Jack nodded. ‘We’ll wear a safety harness. I’ll drop in first and the SES guys will retrieve the rope and send you down. OK, looks like they’re ready for us.’
Within seconds, Darcie found herself swinging down into the well. She gave a little gasp as she landed unevenly on some kind of rubble. Releasing herself from the guide rope, she began to take her bearings. It was darkish in the cavity, as Jack had predicted, and the place had a repulsive odour. ‘Jack?’
‘Right here.’
‘Oh...’ Darcie nudged in beside him, watching as he aimed his torch across to the other side of the well, locating their patients. She heard the girl’s subdued whimper and said quietly, ‘I’ll take Jessica.’
‘Thanks. I’ll see what’s happening with Lachlan.’
Swinging the trauma pack from her shoulders, Darcie hunkered down beside the injured girl. ‘Hi, Jess,’ she said softly. ‘I’m Darcie. I’m a doctor. Can you tell me where you’re hurt?’
‘It’s my arm. I’ve been so scared...’ Her teeth began chattering,
‘And you’re cold.’ Darcie unfolded a space blanket from her supplies and tucked it around the girl. ‘Did you hit your head at all?’ she asked, beginning to test Jessica’s neuro responses.
‘No. I’ve done some stuntwork. I know how to fall safely. But Lachy’s really hurt, I think.’ She squeezed her eyes shut. ‘Please...’ she whispered on a sob. ‘Can you get us out of here?’
Darcie felt put on her mettle. Quickly, she sifted through her options.
Both Jess’s neuro responses and pulse were fine but she needed to be got out of this hell-hole and into the fresh air. ‘I’ll just need to check your arm, Jess.’ Gently, Darcie removed the bloodstained T-shirt. She pursed her lips. Jess had a deep gash from the point of her shoulder to her mid upper arm. The site was already swelling and dark blue with bruising. It was still oozing blood. Thankfully, there was no artery involved.
OK. Mentally, Darcie squared her shoulders. She needed to show some initiative here. She took the girl’s uninjured hand and held it. ‘Jess, we have trained people waiting up top. I’m going to signal for one of them to come down with a retrieval harness and take you up. The paramedics will take care of you until I can get up there and assess you properly. Is that OK?’
Jessica nodded. ‘My arm’s throbbing...’
‘I’ll give you something before you go. Do you feel sick at all?’
‘Bit...’
Darcie nodded. ‘I’ll give you something to combat the nausea as well. You’ve been really brave, Jess,’ Darcie said, shooting home the painkiller and anti-emetic. ‘Now, let’s get you up and out of here.’
It was all accomplished quickly and skilfully.
With Jessica safely out, Darcie concentrated on helping Jack with their other casualty. ‘How’s Lachlan?’
‘Fractured NOF possibly. But we can’t diagnose accurately without an MRI. His belly appears soft so it’s safe to get a line in.’
‘I think he’s coming round.’ Darcie felt a rush of relief.
‘It’s OK, Lachlan.’ Jack’s manner was calmly reassuring. ‘You’ve fallen into a well, buddy. Knocked yourself out. I’m Jack and this is Darcie. We’re doctors.’
Lachlan sucked air in through his lips. ‘Leg...’ he groaned. ‘Pain’s epic...’
‘Yep. Hang in there, matey.’ Jack gently lifted the youngster’s head and applied the oxygen mask. ‘Will you draw up morphine five and maxolon ten, please, Darcie? We don’t want him throwing up on us. As soon as we get him stable, we’ll follow with fifty of pethidine. That should get him through transportation to the hospital.’
Darcie shot home the injections quickly.
‘Let’s start splinting now,’ Jack said. ‘The sooner we get this lad out of here the better.’
Darcie’s eyes were on high alert for any changes in Lachlan’s condition as she watched Jack place the supportive splints between the young man’s legs. ‘Bandages now?’
‘Nice thick ones,’ Jack confirmed.
‘This shouldn’t have happened, should it?’ Darcie said, working swiftly to bind Lachlan’s injured leg to his good one.
‘Not if the location scouts were on top of their game,’ Jack agreed gruffly. ‘I think I’ll be having a word to the Workplace Health and Safety people.’
‘Report them?’ Darcie felt a lick of unease.
‘Just doing my job, Darcie.’ Jack was unequivocal. He looked at Lachlan’s still form. ‘Whack him with the pethidine now, please. I’ll make my way back over to the opening and give the guys a shout for the stretcher.’
As Jack moved away from her peripheral vision, Darcie felt the cave-like atmosphere close in on her, her hearing fixed on every tiny sound. A fragment of leaf-like debris floated down and landed on her shoulder. She gave an involuntary shudder, shaking it off, feeling the nerves in her stomach crawl. The conditions in the well were awful.
Darcie pulled herself up with a jerk. This wasn’t the time to start losing it. She had a seriously ill patient depending on her skills as a doctor. About to draw up the drug, she stopped and froze. In a second everything had changed. Lachlan was gulping, his eyes rolling back in his head, his colour ashen.
‘Jack!’ Darcie’s cry echoed off the earthen walls. Instinctively, she ripped open Lachlan’s shirt and began chest compressions.
‘What’s happened?’ Jack’s bulk dropped beside her.
‘He’s arrested!’
Jack’s expletive scorched the air. He would have to intubate.
With the speed of light, he began zipping open sections of the trauma pack, gathering equipment. Centring himself for a second, he prepared to carry out the emergency procedure. And drew back sharply. He cursed under his breath. This wasn’t going to work. He needed more light...
But there was none. He’d have to make do, feel his way.
Slowly, slowly, he passed the tube down Lachlan’s trachea, attaching it to the oxygen. ‘Now, breathe for me, Lachy,’ he grated. ‘Come on!’ He waited a second and then checked the carotid pulse in the young man’s neck.
Nothing.
‘We’ll have to defib him.’ Jack reached for the life pack. ‘We are not losing this one, Darcie.’ Jack’s voice roughened. ‘I’m counting on you.’
Darcie’s expression was intense. Every compression meant life for Lachlan. Her heart began to pound against the walls of her chest, her pulse thumping in her wrists and throat. She began feeling light-headed, perspiration patching wetly across her forehead and in the small of her back. ‘Jack, hurry...’
‘This is a bloody nightmare,’ Jack hissed between clenched teeth. ‘Be ready to take over the bag when I defib,’ he snapped.
Darcie captured a rush of strength from somewhere. Whether Lachlan ever woke again could depend on their teamwork now.
‘OK—do it!’ Jack’s command rang out.
Almost in slow motion Darcie reached out and took over the Air-Viva bag.
‘And clear!’
Darcie dropped the bag and sprang back, willing the volts of electricity to do their work and kick-start Lachlan’s heart.
A beat of silence.
‘Jack?’
‘Nothing. Let’s go to two hundred. Clear!’
Darcie strove to keep panic at bay, aware only of its grip on her gut and the slow slide of sweat between her breasts.
‘Start compressions again, Darcie.’ Jack looked haunted. ‘I’m giving him adrenaline.’
Darcie nodded, not capable of verbalising her reply.
Jack’s mouth snapped into a thin line, his fingers curling round the mini-jet, which already contained the lifesaving drug. ‘Come on, baby—do your job!’ he implored, sending the needle neatly between Lachlan’s ribs and into his heart. ‘Clear!’ He activated the charge.
A breathless hush as they waited.
Into the silence, the trace began bleeping and then shot into a steady rhythm. ‘Yes...’ Jack’s relief was subdued.
Darcie slumped forward, her energy spent. She felt the threat of tears and held the heels of her hands against her eyes, gathering her composure. ‘Oh, sweet heaven...’
Jack’s arm came round her shoulders. ‘Hey...’
‘I’m OK...’
‘You’re not.’ Jack turned her into his arms and held her.
Darcie allowed herself to be held, feeling the warmth of his body mingle with hers, melting into him, drawing strength from his strength and...the maleness of him. A need she hadn’t known existed rose in her, but before she could wonder at its completeness she felt the swift stab of reality. She drew back sharply. What on earth had she been thinking of?
Lachlan was waking up, fear and confusion clouding his eyes.
‘It’s OK, Lachy.’ Darcie beat back her own confusion. She took his hand and squeezed. ‘You’ll be fine.’
Jack swallowed, clearing the lump from his throat. He felt as though an invisible punch had landed in his solar plexus. She’d felt so right in his arms. And he’d so nearly kissed her. Taken that soft, beautiful mouth with his. And kissed her. Idiot. He drew in a quick, hard breath. ‘Think a shot of midazolam is called for here, Dr Drummond?’
‘I’d say so.’ Darcie nodded, glad for the return to professionalism. The drug would act as a light anaesthetic and ease Lachy over the trauma of the next few hours. She turned away. ‘Would you do it, please, Jack?’ She wrapped her arms around her midriff, feeling hollowed out.
* * *
‘Nice work, guys.’ Zach Bayliss loomed out of the shadow, towing the collapsible stretcher. ‘Could have been a whole different story, couldn’t it?’
Darcie felt as though she’d been to hell and back. Swallowing hard on the tightness in her throat, she pulled herself upright. ‘He’s ready to move now, Zach. We’ve got him back into sinus rhythm but he’ll have to be watched.’
‘Understood, Doc.’ Zach was a seasoned paramedic. He knew well the battle that had been fought here and, for the moment, won. ‘Let’s get this youngster on his way, then. If you’re ready, Jack, on my count.’
In unison, they gently rolled Lachlan first on one side then the other, sliding each section of the supporting plinth under him and snapping the pieces together. A sturdy rope was attached to each end of the stretcher and almost immediately it was being winched safely to the top.
* * *
With Lachlan safely loaded into the ambulance, the emergency crew gathered around. It had already been decided Jess’s care could be safely managed at Sunday Creek hospital.
‘Where do you want Lachy sent, Jack?’ Zach gave one last look inside the ambulance and closed the doors.
‘The Royal in Brisbane is our best chance.’ Jack was already pulling out his mobile phone. ‘I’ll alert the head of the trauma team, Nick Cavello. He’ll coordinate everything from his end.’
‘CareFlight chopper’s landed at Pelican Springs.’ Mal Duffy joined the group.
‘We’ll take off, then.’ Zach sketched a farewell wave. ‘You’re OK with Jess travelling with you and Jack, Darcie?’
‘I’ve already settled her in the back seat,’ Darcie confirmed. ‘Take care of Lachy.’
‘Will do.’ Zach threw himself into the driver’s seat of the ambulance. ‘Thanks, everyone,’ he called, before starting the engine. Within seconds, the emergency vehicle was being manoeuvred carefully away down the bush track.