Chapter 47—Loyal Friends

This is not a normal Sunday, Adele thought, as she refilled coffee cups and wondered what all this caffeine might be doing to her kidneys. She must have made ten pots since yesterday.

The other parents were back along with Devin's mother, Deedee, and Jake's sister, Lizzi. They fidgeted at the kitchen table or paced while waiting for a word from the team that had left before sunrise. Nikki's dad, Dr. Kasmanos, was at the hospital awaiting Devin's arrival by helicopter.

Adele's cell phone rang, and Laurita picked it up with shaky fingers. "Adele's phone, this is Laurita." She switched on the speaker.

"Laurita," Joe said. "I'm glad I got you."

"Have you found them?" She put her hand to her neck as if to secure her head.

"Well, sort of. We have Devin right here and we're waiting for the rescue helicopter." Deedee let out a sob and James grabbed her hand. "We decided not to carry him down," Joe continued. "His leg cuts seem infected, even though Christina's done a great job keeping the wounds clean. He'll be at the hospital soon, and they'll give him antibiotics right away."

"There's one more thing, Laurita," Joe said. "Christina wasn't here when we found Devin. Jake's combing the area now. She couldn't have gone too far; maybe she went to look for water. These kids haven't had any since yesterday afternoon.

Laurita's face turned ghostly pale, and Adele put a hand on her shoulder.

"Try not to worry—she's a smart girl," Joe said, as if reassuring himself.

James grabbed the phone. "Tell me about Devin," he said, chewing his thumbnail.

"There's not much more to tell, James. He's asleep, probably from exhaustion. I think he'll be fine once we get him some liquids and the care he needs." Joe sounded more confident than he felt. No use over-worrying everyone, he thought. "If you and Deedee want to head to the hospital, he might be checked in by the time you get there."

Adele patted James's shoulder and took the phone. "Call as soon as you know more. Laurita and Lizzi and I will hold down the fort." She shared a calm smile that belied her stormy insides.

* * *

Christina frowned at the compass she had borrowed from Devin's pack. She had never used one before. It wasn't rocket science was it? She pointed her compass toward the spot where she believed she had left Devin—to the southeast—and set out in that direction.

Stomach pains gnawed at her and branches snapped in her face, making her wish she had taken the ski pole. After a while she paused to look at a white flowering bush and a fat gray mushroom she had already hiked by. Realizing she was going around in circles, she dropped down hard on a log. Hair had come loose from a once-neat ponytail. Her face was smeared with dirt, and her once-tidy purple sweater looked as if it had been attacked by a feral cat and was covered with mud, cobwebs, and cave dust. Christina had never felt so lost and alone in her life.

Out of the lonely silence, she heard a chopping sound and looked up to see a helicopter hovering in the distance.

"Southeast!" she said, and with renewed hope took off toward it.

* * *

Nikki looked skyward as she and the search team made their way back to the trail base. Although the helicopter wasn't visible, she knew it was flying toward Devin. She felt a moment of relief, but distress rolled in like a persistent tide when she remembered Devin's condition and Christina's missing status. Would this nightmare never end? She put one foot in front of the other like a robot—one that ached for home and the sound of her mom's voice.

* * *

The helicopter's shadow darkened the plateau, and Jake realized he'd been grinding his teeth, waiting. Devin was getting worse, or at least his fever wasn't going down. Joe had taken his temperature every ten minutes, and it remained high.

"A high fever is actually good in some ways," Joe said, pulling out two new blister packs. "It means his body's fighting the bacteria." Jake barely heard him.

The pilot found a clear spot and landed thirty feet away while keeping the helicopter's blades moving. They pushed the air into a wind storm. Two men jumped out and a woman handed them a stretcher. The men sprinted toward Devin, and with Joe's help, rolled the boy onto the pallet. They grabbed the handles, lifted the stretcher, and walked carefully to the chopper. The woman grabbed one end, and within seconds Devin and the medics were on board. The craft lifted and banked east.

* * *

"Woo-hoo!" Christina shouted. She was back. Not wanting to waste time, she walked to the top of the downhill trail ready to catch up to the others.

"Where have you been?" Jake said, running out of the cave. His face looked grim. "We've been worried sick." He grabbed her shoulders as if she might disappear again.

"I know, and I'm sorry, Jake. How's Devin?"

"We won't know for sure till he gets to the hospital."

"How come you didn't go with the others?" Christina asked.

"I couldn't leave a team member up here alone, could I?"

Christina nodded slowly. Her eyes burned but she didn't want to cry. "I'm really sorry, Jake," she said again. "I know I should have stayed with Devin, but he needed water so badly. I only wanted to find a pool close by."

He grinned. "You found your way back, though."

Christina turned pink. "Yeah, thanks to the helicopter. For a while I thought I'd lose it, but I stayed focused like you taught me."

Jake grinned even wider. "Let's go," he said. "I'm to call Dad when we get down. He'll pick us up." He handed Christina a water bottle and two energy bars, and the two hiked in silence, reaching the base in record time.

Jake pulled out his phone. "Dad, we're here. Yup, she found her way back to the cave. I know," he said, and looked at Christina proudly. "How's Devin? Okay, see you soon." He punched off.

"What did he say about Devin?"

"Not much. He'll fill us in when he gets here in a few minutes. He was on his way."

Christina pulled out her phone to call her mom. "How long were you going to wait on the mountain?"

"I was going to build a fire and wait while Dad searched. He's a pretty good tracker."

"Oh," Christina said, curling her toes to keep from crying. She wasn't used to men caring about her. Except her grandfather, who had passed away last month.