The Navigators Read Online Free Page B

Florida Mine 31 with an injury accident. Requesting medevac. Standing by for instructions.”
    Medevac. A helicopter. If Riff had sustained any serious damage, that might make the difference. Good old Roger.
    “Riff.” Barry leaned over him. “Look at me. Can you hear me?”
    Riff’s eyes rolled around for a second, before gaining focus. The color returned to his cheeks.
    “You’re gonna be okay, Riff.” Melissa patted his shoulder.
    Riff bobbed his head. Then he coughed some more, spitting up mud and pond water.
    I handed him one of the water bottles and splashed some water onto his face and mouth. He took a drink. “Wh… wha…”
    “Take it easy,” Barry said. “Go slow.”
    Riff nodded. He opened his mouth again. “Why… is Roger naked?”
    In his hurry to help, Roger hadn’t bothered to stop and put on any clothes. Nobody seemed to notice until now.
    “Oh my God!” Barry laughed. Everybody did.
    “You’re welcome.” Roger dropped down onto the sand, exhausted.
    Melissa hovered over Riff. “How do you feel?”
    He propped himself up on one elbow, thinking for a moment. “Squeezed out.”
    “I bet,” Melissa put the water bottle back to his lips.
    Riff took a swallow. “Thanks.”
    “Riff…” Melissa bit her lip. “You could have internal injuries. We need to get you checked out.”
    “Oh, what crap. I’m fine. Let me up.”
    Everybody yelled, “No.”
    I spit a few grains of sand out of my mouth. “You were practically buried alive.”
    “I’m okay.” Riff shook his head. “I’ll be fine. Where’s the machine?”
    Barry sighed. “We lost it, buddy.”
    “What do you mean?” He lifted himself on one elbow. “We worked it free. We had it out!”
    Barry glanced over at the cloudy water. “It’s in there.”
    “I bet it is. Damn.” Riff stared at the muddy pond “We had it more than halfway dug out. I was pulling on it, and it came loose.” He looked around at all of us. “Next thing I knew, I was underwater.”
    Roger was still laying on his back catching his breath. “You almost died, and all you care about is a stupid fossil?”
    “We weren’t working on a fossil.” Barry ran a hand over his hair, hands on hips. “It was some sort of machine.”
    “Some discarded junk from the miners!” Roger waved a hand. “What’s the big deal?”
    I glanced at him. “It wasn’t junk. It was a machine of some sort. Something… old. Elaborate. I only saw part of it, but it sure wasn’t anything the miners left behind.”
    “That's not important right now.” Melissa put her hands on her hips. “What's important now is figuring out if Riff is okay.” She turned to him. “You tell me. How are your legs? How are your arms? Let's go through, step-by-step. Do you have any broken bones? Are you feeling any pain?”
    Riff put a hand on his side and winced, but waved her off. “Stop.” He sucked in a breath and squeezed his eyes closed, groaning. “I'm fine.”
    “See? You probably broke a rib. And I bet you're dehydrated.” Melissa wiped her brow with her sleeve. “Plus, you could still go into delayed shock.”
    “Oh, I was shocked all right. From having naked boy’s wang in my face. What the hell, Roger?”
    “You’re still welcome.” Roger flipped him off. The radio crackled. Shands hospital asked for an update.
    Barry glared at Roger. “Get rid of them.” Melissa’s eyes flashed at him. Barry put his hands up. “Just until we get this figured out, Missy.”
    “He needs to get checked out by a doctor!”
    I cleared my throat. “Barry, it is protocol…”
    “And he will, after we figure out what to say.” Barry rubbed his chin. “Look, we broke safety protocols. All of us. If we take him in now, we’re in deep shit. Shands will report it back to the university and Dr. Anderson will have no choice but to suspend us all.”
    Melissa shifted her feet. “But…”
    “But nothing. You know I’m right. If we go in right now, we’re screwed. We’re suspended.