He was lying still, moaning quietly, his cheeks pale and his lips blue.
Jack spoke to him quietly and checked his pulse while Bryony checked the other boy for injuries. Once she was satisfied that he was just cold and shaken, she erected the tent and helped him to scramble inside a casualty bag.
‘What’s your name?’
‘Sam.’
‘Well, Sam, that will keep you warm until we can get you off this mountain,’ she assured him, and he gave a little sob.
‘Martyn fell. His leg is awful. I saw bone.’
Bryony slipped an arm round him and gave him a hug. ‘Don’t you worry about that now,’ she said softly. ‘We’ll sort him out and get you both home. I’m going to pour you a hot drink and that will warm you up.’
She grabbed the flask that she’d packed and poured thick creamy chocolate into a mug.
‘Here—drink this. I’ll be back in a sec.’ Aware that Jack was going to need her help, she slid out of the tent and moved over to him.
‘Sam says that his friend fell.’
Jack nodded, still checking the child over. ‘He’s got a compound fracture of his tib and fib and he’s bleeding a lot. We need to get a line in, Blondie, and then splint that leg.’
Bryony reached for the rucksack and found what they needed, aware that Jack was on the radio again, updating Sean on their position and the condition of the boys.
By the time he’d finished on the radio Bryony had a line in. ‘Do you want to give him fluid?’
Jack nodded. ‘And then we need to splint that leg. It will help the pain and reduce blood loss.’ He leaned over the boy, talking quietly, explaining what they were doing, and Bryony gave a sigh. He was so good when anyone was in trouble. A rock. And he always knew what to do. Her confidence came from being with him.
She covered the wound on the leg with a sterile saline-soaked dressing while Jack carefully removed the boy’s boot.
He placed his fingers on Martyn’s foot, feeling for a pulse. ‘That’s fine—let’s splint this leg. We’re just going to give you something for the pain, Martyn, and then we’re going to put your leg in a splint. Then we’re going to warm you up and get you off this mountain.’
Bryony gave a shiver. The temperature was dropping fast and even in her top-quality gear she could feel the cold.
By the time they’d splinted the boy’s leg, Sean had arrived with the rest of the mountain rescue team.
‘Nice day for a walk,’ he drawled, glancing around him at the thick mist. ‘The views are fantastic.’
Bryony smiled. ‘Absolutely fantastic,’ she said sarcastically. ‘Enjoy your stroll, did you?’
Sean grinned in appreciation. ‘Didn’t want to rush things,’ he said, lifting an eyebrow in Jack’s direction. ‘Well?’
‘We need a helicopter but I don’t suppose there’s any chance of that.’
‘You suppose correctly.’
Jack sighed and checked the pulses on the boy’s foot again. ‘So we’d better carry them off, then. Good. I needed a workout.’
It seemed to take ages to organise both boys onto stretchers but eventually they managed to carry them out of the ghyll and started down the mountain.
By the time they reached the valley floor the mist had cleared and it was a sunny day.
‘I don’t believe this,’ Bryony muttered, tugging off her hat and shaking her hair loose. ‘What is it with our weather?’
Both boys were loaded into the mountain rescue team ambulance and then transferred to hospital under Sean’s supervision while Jack and Bryony followed behind.
‘Are you working today?’ Jack glanced across at her and she nodded.
‘Yes. I’m on a late. Why?’