Firestorm - 14. FS Chapter 14

A few minutes later, I found the tell-tale signs of a bite, with a small area red and swollen, on her lower calf muscle, after getting Angela to sit up, and grabbing my first aid kit, I grabbed a bandage and began to tightly bandage the leg. Once I was done, I asked Tom to pack up everything of theirs as we would be leaving the camp as soon as possible, and while he was busy doing this, I stepped out of the shelter, and tapped the ear piece to activate it.

“Staff Sergeant Mitchell Benning to Base, I have a priority one medical emergency, over”, I said quietly, “Cub, this is Warrant Officer Owens, receiving your emergency, please give me some more details of the emergency, over” I heard the familiar voice say. “Sir, I am at the Swamp Oak campsite on the Bibbulmun track, 26 kilometres south of Dwellingup.

I have a female patient, aged approximately 30 years old, minor injury of badly twisted ankle, and major injury of an unknow bite, possible spider, her respiration is fast, cold and clammy skin, sweating, she is conscious, and able to respond to my questions, request immediate chopper extraction, over” I said. “Message received Cub, standby for further information” Warrant Officer Owens replied.

“Who was that you were talking too, and how can you do that with no radio/” Tom said to me looking a little confused, as he stood nearby, “I am with a special regiment in the Army, and we have these little satellite earpiece communicators, that I can call my base to get help” I replied, as I glanced over to Angela. “What we need to do, once we know that help is on its way, is to make our way to a clearing just under a kilometre north west of here” I announced, and I walked up to Angela, to check on her condition.

“Base to Cub, help is on its way, do you have a place where the chopper can land, over” I heard WO Owens say in my ear, “Affirmative to that, there is a tree harvest clearing approximately 1.3 kilometres north west of our current location, just east of the Lane Poole reserve campsites” I replied, “Copy that Cub, I will relay the information, they will be there in 45 minutes, over and out” I heard the WO say.

“Ok Tom, just grab your mum’s backpack, as I presume that has all of your main essential belongings, just leave your backpack beside mine, and we will collect them later” I said to the lad as I squatted down and picked up Angela, who groaned with pain. “Tom, I will need you to lead the way, with my torch, but don’t get to far ahead of me” I said to Tom, and we set off northwards up the track, and 400 metres later we came to an access track.

“Turn left Tom” I announced when I saw the junction, and with a wider and smother track, I was able to pick up the pace a bit, and after a further 800 metres I could see the large clearing in amongst the small row of trees, and I could hear the distant sound of a chopper approaching. “Hear that Tom? That is the rescue chopper, come to pick us up” I said to the lad, as we walked through the light bush, till we finally arrived at the clearing, and I placed Angela carefully on the ground.

“Stay with your mum buddy, and pass me the torch” I said to Tom, and I walked out further in the clearing, where I waited until the chopper was fairly close, before I turned on the torch and shone it up in the air, and waved it from side to side, and some floodlights on the chopper turned on, shining on me and the surrounding area. Once it had landed, two paramedics stepped out, one walked in my direction, while the other retrieved a portable stretcher, and quickly I gave a brief of Angela’s condition, what I had done, and the respiration and pulse readings that I had taken.

“Some first aid training I see” the paramedic stated after I had given all the details, “More than that smart arse, now attend to your patient, and let’s get loaded and heading to hospital” I said in an annoyed manner, and I helped load Angela onto the stretcher, and carry her to the chopper and load her in, then I lifted Tom, into the back as well. The paramedic attempted to close the door, but I put my hand against the door, to keep it open.

“If you leave me behind, I can guarantee that you will lose your job” I snarled at the paramedic, “Who the hell do you think you are, you can find your own way back to the city” the paramedic said to me. “Wrong again Mr” I snapped and forcing the paramedic back with my hand on his chest, I climbed onboard and closed the door behind me. The stunned paramedic didn’t know what to do, shocked at being told what to do.

At that point, I spotted the pilot looking back at us, “I suggest you take off, if this lady dies because of your idiot partner, then it is on your head not mine” I said to the pilot, who nodded his head, and faced forward, and soon we were in the air and heading north to the city. Looking around the rear cabin, I spotted the oxygen, and I placed the mask over Angela’s face and turned it on.

Opening a few cupboards, I found the stethoscope, and the BP Cuff, and I soon was checking Angela’s Blood pressure. I called out the reading, which the paramedic noted down, followed by the pulse and respiration readings, before I handed the stethoscope over to the paramedic to let him continue, while I checked on Tom.

“Your mum is in good hands now, and we will be at the hospital in about 35 minutes, so try not to worry” I said to Tom, and I moved forward and sat in the co-pilot seat, and put the headset on. “Hello, I am Mitchell Benning, a qualified first responder with the Army, I am sorry about how I reacted to your partner, but he was being arrogant, and getting in the way of me travelling with you guys, I reported the emergency and I need to remain with Angela and her son” I said to the pilot, who nodded his head in understanding.

When we landed at the hospital, there was a medical team waiting for us, and they hurriedly loaded Angela onto a trolley and took her inside, and I guided Tom as we entered the hospital, where a nurse directed us to a quiet waiting area down on the first floor. “Tom, is there a purse in the backpack, with your mum’s driver’s licence and other items?” I asked the lad, who was looking very sleepy, and he nodded his head yes.

I let Tom lay down on seats, as I looked into the backpack and retrieved, the purse, where I found Angela’s Driver’s licence and health insurance card. Leaving Tom to sleep, I went looking for a nurse, to let them know identification and health insurance details of Angela. Once I had done this, I returned to the lounge, where I found Tom awake and crying, as soon as he saw me, he rushed towards me and hugged me tight.

“I’m sorry buddy, I just had to give the hospital some details about your mum, I won’t leave you alone again” I explained to Tom, as I bent down to pick him up, and he wrapped his arms around my neck, and I hugged him as I sat down, and waited to him to calm down a bit more. “Tom, I live with my aunty in Nedlands, once we know that your mum is ok and recovering, how about you come with me to my home, and my Aunty Jean, can give you some breakfast, and we can get you cleaned up and get some sleep” I said to Tom.

“Ok Uncle Mitch” Tom said softly and he started to drift off to sleep in my arms again, and I smiled as I listened to his slow breathing. About half an hour later, a nurse came into the room, and seeing Tom sleeping in my arms, she sat down beside me, and quietly explained that Ms Parker had been bitten by a red back spider, and the antivenom was now dealing with that, and her ankle has been treated as well, and that she was sleeping.

I thanked the nurse for the update, and asked her to jot down some information, and I gave her my home phone number and address, and asked the nurse to let Angela know that Tom is safely with me and my Aunt Jean, until she is well enough to be discharged from hospital. With Tom in my arms, and Angela’s backpack on my shoulder, I walked to the elevator and made my way down to the front entrance of the hospital, where I was surprised to see WO Owens waiting for me.

“I thought you might want a lift back home” to your Aunt’s place, Hillman Way, Nedlands wasn’t it” the WO said to me with a smile as he grabbed the backpack off me. “Thanks sir, I appreciate it, I also need to go back and collect the rest of my and young Tom’s belongings at the campsite” I replied. “You look after young Tom here, and I will do that myself, first thing in the morning” the WO replied, as we climbed into an Army vehicle and once I had Tom strapped in, we drove towards the western suburbs.

“Stirling Highway, and down Broadway is the most direct way there, thanks Sir” I said as I glanced back to check on Tom who was still sound asleep. “You better call your aunt and let her know you are on your way home” the WO said as he handed me his mobile phone. I glanced at my watch, and it was just after 0500 hours, and I hoped that Aunt Jean would not be to upset with being woken up this early, as I dialled the number.

I was a little surprised when the phone was picked up almost right away, “Is that you Mitchell, are you ok” my aunt said to me right away, “I am fine thanks, I bumped into some people on the track, who were injured and fell ill, I am on my way home now, I have ten year old Tom with me, his mum is in hospital recovering” I said softly, Ok, I will get some breakfast started for you both, see you soon” my aunt said and she ended the call.

Tom woke up when we arrived at my home, and he walked close to me as we approached the door, with me carrying his mother’s backpack, just as the patio light came on and the front door opened, with my aunt smiling, “Aunty Jean, this is Tom Parker” I said making the introductions, ‘Come in young man, let’s get some breakfast into you, then we will get you washed up and into bed” my aunt said taking charge of Tom.

After breakfast, I found a pair of winter pyjamas that were a little too small for me, and I gave them to Tom, along with a fresh towel, and showed him the bathroom, so he could have a shower. While he was cleaning up, I helped aunty make up the bed in the spare bedroom, next to mine for Tom to sleep in, and when Tom appeared clean and dressed for bed, we showed him his bedroom, tucked him in, and he fell asleep nearly right away. Once I had showered and changed, I too decided to catch up on some sleep, and I let Aunty Jean know that the guy who dropped us off may return with our belongings while we are asleep, and I headed to my room and promptly fell asleep as well.

When I woke up a few hours later, I was feeling refreshed, and looking at my watch, I saw that it was just before 1100 hours. Once dressed, I made my way to the kitchen, where I found my aunt chatting to Tom who was also dressed in fresh clothes, and looking around, I spotted my backpack near the hallway, and I smile. “Hello Tom, how are you feeling” I asked the lad with a smile.

“I feeling better now thanks, Aunty Jean just rang the hospital, and I spoke to mum for a little while, she said that she will be in hospital for a few more days” Tom replied happily, I was about to ask another question, when an unexpected voice hit my ear. I had totally forgotten about the ear comm’s piece, and it made me jump in fright, which Tom noticed, and he chuckled.

“Benning’s here Warrant Officer” I said after activating the comm’s piece, “Cub, I am just checking in to see how you are going, you were fast asleep when I dropped off your gear” WO Owens said, “All good thanks sir, I didn’t mention it before but my car is also at Dwellingup” I responded. “You will find it parked in your driveway, we found the keys in your backpack, see you at 0800 on Monday, Owens out” the WO said, and at that point I removed the ear piece out of my ear, and placed it in my pocket.

“I keep forgetting about that damn thing, I had it in when I went to bed earlier. Now Tom, could you possibly tell me a bit about you and your mum, like where are you from, and what were you doing on the Bibbulmun Track” I asked the lad. “We are from Victoria, Mum and I left home two years ago, to escape her abusive boyfriend, who had been hunting us no matter where we go. We went to Rawson, in the lower Australian Alps in Victoria, where we rented a remote cabin for about 4 months, which was awesome, as Mum and I started to do long hikes in the mountains.

When Dean found us up there, we fled into the mountains with just a backpack each, leaving everything else behind, and we hiked an Alpine walking track for two weeks, before we travelled to Tasmania and rented a house at Tullah, where we lived for about 8 months, till Dean found us again, and once again we fled into the mountains. This time we were prepared, we didn’t have any extra possessions, and we made sure that we were better prepared for long distance hiking, and we reached Southport about 6 weeks later, mostly living on freeze dried food.

We arrived in Western Australia about two months ago, and we lived in Mt Barker, while exploring the Stirling Ranges and Porongurup’s, before travelling to Albany, and hiking up the Bibbulmun track, until we met you when mum tripped on something and hurt her ankle” Tom said to us.

“Wow, you have had a real difficult time haven’t you, and this ex-boyfriend of your Mum’s seems to be able to track you down easily” I replied, “Mum thinks he has connections with crime bosses, who have police connections, that is how he keeps on finding us” Tom said sadly. “Well my friend, he will not be able to track you down, where I plan to hide you, and before all of this bad stuff happened, what did you mum do for an income” I asked.

“Well my grandad, left mum an inheritance income, so she doesn’t need to work, but before that she was a qualified high school teacher” Tom replied. “Ok, we you may not have to run any more, as I have the idea place where you and your mum can live, if I can get the necessary permission, but I will tell you more once I have spoken to a few people” I said with a smile. “After lunch, how about you take Tom to the hospital to visit his mum” Aunty Jean suggested to me.

“Yes, Aunty I was already planning to do that” I replied with a smile, and we chatted for an hour, while lunch was being prepared. Just before lunch, I went into my room, and put the ear piece back into my ear and activated it, “Cub to base, anybody copy?” I said, “CO here Cub, how can I help you?” came Lt Colonel Harding’s voice, “Sir, I need to speak to you on an urgent matter, can I see you as soon as possible please” I responded. “Ok Cub, I will be in my office on the base at 1600 hours, I will speak to you then, Base out” the CO said and the link ended.

Once we had eaten lunch, I drove Tom to the hospital to see his mum, and I stayed outside the hospital room, to let Tom spend some time with his mum. After half an hour, I entered the room and Angela smiled broadly, “Here is my guardian angel, hello Mitchell, thank you for everything that you have done for us both” Angela said to me, “It is my pleasure, I am glad that I was able to help” I replied. “Tom tells me that you and your Aunty Jean have been taking good care of my boy, and that you have some sort of plan to keep us safe” Angela said, I smiled and nodded my head, as I sat down a chair close to the bed.

“I am a Royal Australian Engineer Regiment member of the Special Air Command, based at Campbell Barracks, my main job is Weapons training, at our main training facility north of Perth. I spend a lot of my time there at the facility, which is a restricted area, for defence personnel only, and I have a meeting with my commanding officer this afternoon, to see if it is possible for you both to stay there, until this matter is resolved” I said quietly.