With her ears ringing so loud they hurt, Vienna still heard Stella’s voice in the distance calling her name. Vienna forced her body to roll over and found herself almost on top of Raine. There was blood on Raine’s face and leg. She wasn’t moving.
“Is she alive?” She might have yelled it. Her ears weren’t working very well.
Stella dragged Raine’s pack off in order to lay her flat so she could check to see if she was breathing.
“Get out of here, Stella,” Vienna said. “If they shoot you too, none of us will get out of this. Go, I’ll try to get her to you. I can carry her.” She didn’t know if that was the truth. Her ankle was definitely twisted. Adrenaline and need made up for a lot.
“She’s alive,” Stella said with obvious relief, waiting until Vienna reached down to lift Raine’s slight body into her arms. Raine’s head lolled back against her shoulder. Seeing her leg, Vienna was grateful she was unconscious.
She hobbled toward the bend that would take them out of sight of the rifle. She couldn’t imagine what was stopping him from shooting until she saw the rest of the women holding mirrors and reflecting the sun back at the shooter.
“How bad is it?” Harlow asked as Vienna lowered Raine to the ground.
“I don’t know yet. I didn’t have time to assess.” Vienna did her best not to snap the answer. What had they expected? That she would keep Raine exposed so the shooter could kill Stella, Raine and her?
“That came out wrong,” Harlow said, flinging her pack on the ground and ripping it open. She took up the position at Raine’s head, leaving her leg to Vienna.
Vienna could see the leg was in bad shape. The bone hadn’t just been cleanly broken, but clearly the bullet had torn through with such force it had done major damage. She didn’t have to worry that the bullet was still inside. The exit wound was large. When she wiped the blood, she could see parts of the bone, and her heart dropped. They needed an orthopedic surgeon immediately.
“We’ve got to call in Search and Rescue,” she whispered to Harlow. “She’s only got hours before it will be too late to save the leg. And I’m being generous with the time.”
Harlow swore under her breath. “The head wound looks as if it’s from the granite, not a bullet.”
Vienna continued to work as fast as possible to stabilize Raine’s leg.
“There’s two shooters,” Shabina said. “I know because at one point they fired almost simultaneously. We’ve got to get out of here. We can’t stay on the trail either. We’ll have to get into the forest and try for a meadow where a helicopter can set down for Raine.”
Vienna tried to stay calm and breathe deep to clear her mind. She needed to figure this out and not move until they had a plan. “They’re across the ridge,” she reminded calmly. “Even if one stays up there with his rifle, the other has to hike to us. That’s most likely what they’ll try. We’ll be exposed the moment we move around this bend. We’ll send out an alert to Raine’s people, Sam and Search and Rescue. For one thing, we don’t want any innocent day hikers caught up in this.”
Vienna continued to work on Raine’s leg while she assessed their situation. The only real thing she could do was try to minimize the bleeding and stabilize it for travel. It would hurt unlike anything Raine had ever felt if she woke before they got her to the hospital.
“Oh no. I was the one tasked with bringing the GPS,” Stella said, panic in her voice. “I dropped my pack on the trail when I went to push the slab off Vienna. Raine’s is there as well and she’s got the most weapons and all those fancy things to call in the military.”
“Don’t worry about that right now,” Vienna said. “If someone did try to come hiking up that trail, we’d be able to hold them off.”
“With what? I just said Raine’s pack is on the ledge with the gun in it,” Stella challenged.
“She’s not the only one with a gun,” Vienna admitted. “At the moment we’re as safe as we can be unless they go all the way around to the other side of the trail. That’s not going to be easy for them. The first thing we need to do is to get word out we need help. Get into my pack, Stella, there’s a small plastic case I keep for emergencies. I have the larger version of the Garmin in there as well as my gun. The other case holds more ammo. I want both cases.”
She kept her voice quiet and soothing but absolutely firm, letting them all know she was in charge. She had to find a way to turn the hunt back on the hunters. If she didn’t, it wouldn’t matter how many helicopters they brought in. By that time, Raine was going to lose her leg. They wouldn’t be able to move her to a meadow where the helicopter could land.
“Make a gurney. Use your jackets. Be aware of any angle the shooter might get on you. You’ll need a couple of poles to put the sleeves through.” She had no idea what they were going to use, but her friends were an ingenious bunch.
The moment Stella handed her the Garmin, she got it up and running and sent the signal for help. Within seconds a text message came back asking if she needed help or if her device was accidentally triggered. She replied quickly, texting, Two snipers active in the White Wolf Trail at this location. One member of our party in bad condition. She wrote out what Raine would need and told them the trail should be cleared of any day hikers from either end. If there were campers, try to remove them if possible.
“In the inside pocket of my pack there’s a small laminated card with a number on it. I need that card.” It was difficult for Vienna to keep pressure on the leg with the wraps they had. Harlow had brought a medical kit, but it wasn’t a full-size one. They were traveling light.
Stella handed her the card. She texted again. You need to call this number immediately. When open line answers punch in this code. 4780981. You can’t make a mistake. Make certain you punch in those numbers. A person will pick up the line. You tell them who you are and that Vienna Mortenson has activated the call code for Raine O’Mallory. Raine has been shot and her life is in jeopardy. Tell them active shooters, at least two with sniper rifles, are present and we’re pinned down.
“I need more gauze and something stronger to put pressure on the wound,” she said aloud. She could only hope her lifeline, the man or woman on the other end of the Garmin, was taking everything she said seriously.
Supervisor. I have this correct. Active shooters. Trail to Pate. Switchbacks. One wounded. Military personnel.
Correct. Call this number as well. She gave them Sam’s number. Advise of situation. I will find a way to clear the shooters if possible to put helicopter down in nearest open terrain available.
“Vienna, someone’s moving on the trail. I can hear them coming,” Harlow said.
“I need you here with Raine, Harlow,” Vienna said decisively. “If anything happens to me, you take charge. Stella, you’re going to have to do the updates. I sent them Sam’s number and told them to advise.”
She took gauze from the outstretched hands of Shabina and Zahra. Both women had packed small medical kits. She wrapped Raine’s wound tighter and used the tape they gave her.
“As soon as you can finish stabilizing the leg for travel, get something together to carry her out of here.”
She took the gun and ammo, attaching the ammunition to the vest, and scooted on her hands and knees to the very edge of the bend where she could see their back trail. She could hear the sound of boots on rock. Shabina flattened herself against the rock and then held up two fingers.
Vienna gestured behind her toward the other women. “Tell them to get ready to leave as fast as possible. If necessary, you and Harlow can take turns carrying Raine.”
Shabina nodded and slipped back as quietly as possible. Vienna stretched her body out so she lay on her belly. Digging the toes of her hiking boots into the ground, she waited, gun ready. Her hands covered the grip of the pistol, stabilizing the weapon as she’d been taught so there was little recoil.
Small rocks slid, displaced by someone hiking the trail. The sound of male voices whispering was carried on the slight breeze fanning her face. Vienna took slow even breaths. She’d practiced hundreds of hours on a range, shooting at targets, never a human being. She was a nurse, pledging her life to saving others, and yet she was here, lying on the ground, ready to kill someone, something innately abhorrent to her. The terrible feeling of wrong didn’t lessen her resolve.
She caught a glimpse of a man as he rounded the bend of the switchback below the area where they’d been shot. He was medium build and was wearing a ball cap and hiking clothes. He looked familiar to her. She knew she’d seen him before. She studied the confident way he walked up the narrow trail of rock. Something about the way he moved caught her attention.
He turned his head to look back at someone just out of her sight. Again, she heard the low whisper of words, but couldn’t quite catch what was being said. The two men were still a distance away. But that movement, that head turn and the confident way he seemed to flow over the uneven rocks, triggered her memory.
Vienna knew she had seen him before. Not once, but twice. He had come into the coffee shop and sat behind them when her friends had discussed this very trip. He had also walked right on past the boulder the women were climbing. He’d been with another man, and neither had been friendly when she’d called out a hello. Not only hadn’t they answered, but they barely glanced her way. Their reaction had triggered a little red flag that noted the odd behavior in an otherwise friendly community.