Echo-Foxtrot Read Online Free Page B

ready.”
    Dad took the keys. “Thanks, Jack.”
    Jim looked at Jack. “Any news on Lou?”
    He shook his head. “She’s still in surgery and probably will be most of the night. I’ll see you in the morning.”
    Jim watched him leave. Salt burned his eyes. If Lou died, it would be his fault. How would he ever forgive himself? How would anyone else forgive him?
    God, please, he began and broke off. He didn’t know how to phrase it, but then it didn’t matter, as God knew his deepest desires better than he did.

5
    Beeping and hissing surrounded her. For a moment Lou thought she was in some kind of weird poacher trap. Not just one with vicious teeth, but hundreds of snakes that bit and stung. Voices echoed around her, snippets of conversation creeping into her mind as faces came and went.
    “How is she, Doc?” That sounded like Jack.
    “Colonel, are you still up? It’s 0330.”
    “Heading to bed now. I promised Nicky I’d check in first.”
    “It’s not good. We couldn’t save her leg below the knee and the infection appears to have spread. We’re pumping her full of antibiotics in an attempt to save the rest of her leg.”
    “Is she going to die? And don’t sugarcoat it either. I need to be able to prepare Nicky for the worst.”
    “It’s possible, yeah. She crashed again about half an hour ago. Each time that happens, it makes getting her back more difficult.”
    Everything faded again for a long time. Then more voices. “OK, we got her back.”
    “I want to see her…” That sounded like Mum, but she was in England.
    “Not now, Nicky…”
    “Yes, now.” Footsteps echoed, mixing with the snakes and the beeps. “What happened?”
    “She coded. We got her back this time. We’ll watch her carefully the next few hours.”
    “Coded? What does that mean? I don’t understand…Jack?”
    “Her heart stopped for a minute. But the doc got it started again. She’s got a long road ahead of her still. She’s very, very sick, Nicky. The doc doesn’t know if she’ll survive.”
    “This isn’t fair—she’s only sixteen. She can’t die. I can’t get her back only to lose her.” Someone brushed something across her face. “Lou? It’s OK. I’m here now. I’m not going anywhere. I need you, Lou. Don’t leave me on my own. I can’t do this, Jack. It feels like I’m saying goodbye.”
    ****
    Just after first light, Jim watched Jack leave the room at the end of the infirmary and glanced at Staci and Ailsa. They’d all been awake most of the night and now sat huddled on the one bed, waiting for news of Lou, which never came. “Jack, have you got a minute?” he called.
    Jack smiled and walked across the room. “Hi. How are you guys doing? You’re all up rather early.”
    “We’re worried about Lou. Where is she? They didn’t bring her in last night.”
    “They put her in intensive care. She’s pretty sick.”
    Staci gripped Jim’s hand tightly. “How sick?”
    “She stopped breathing in the OR,” Jack told them gently. “At the moment she is hooked up to machines that are breathing for her.”
    Ailsa asked, “What about her leg?”
    “The docs couldn’t save it because the damage and infection was too great.”
    “What did they do?” Jim asked, afraid of the answer.
    “They amputated it.”
    “Amputate?” Staci asked, not familiar with the term.
    “Cut it off,” Jack explained. “From here.” He pointed to just above his knee.
    Jim thumped the bed in frustration. “I should have turned back and made for land when it happened,” he said angrily. “I woke her up. I insisted she came with me, to pay her back for defacing the logbook. It’s all my fault. And we still could have reached help months ago if I hadn’t of wrecked the boat.”
    “Enough already. Lou doesn’t blame any of you. She blames herself. She told me that whilst we waited for the chopper to come back for us.”
    “Will she be OK?” Ailsa asked.
    “It’s too early to tell.”
    A man walked in and