Chapter 794 Chapter 794
Bear leaned down and dug into the med kit. He found the flashlight and clicked it on. Dropping down onto his knees, he shone the light under the shifted dash. He cringed. It looked like it was pushing her legs backward, but he couldn’t be sure.
Lifting his head, he spoke loud enough for Shaelan would hear him. “I don’t see any blood, but both legs are crushed under the dash.”
“Define crushed for me.” She sounded so calm, and he was glad for it because if she panicked, he was going to lose it.
“Bent backward, or it looks that way. I don’t see anything sticking out, like bones.”
“Okay. In the med kit, there should be some straps. Find those and get them ready. When her legs are freed, we’ll put them around them to control the blood flow. A sudden rush of blood may cause more damage.”
Bear nodded. Calla reached and felt the side of his face. He pressed her hand into his cheek and closed his eyes for a second, then kissed her palm and bent back down to the bag.
“How are you doing, Calla?” Shaelan asked.
“I’m just hanging out,” Calla said.
Bear pulled a few more things out of the bag.
“You just try to relax and stay still. Keep your breathing and heart rate under control. Amari and Tripp are on the way. Fionna is with them.”
Bear exhaled and paused his search. Help was coming.
“Cool,” Calla said softly.
“How far away are they?” He asked and then spotted the straps and pulled them out.
“Cal figures at least an hour, maybe more, depending on the roads.”
An hour. He blew out a breath. It was going to be a very long, intense hour. He stood up. “Found the straps.”
“Okay. Cal needs to speak with you for a second.”
Bear looked at the phone. “All right.” He leaned over Calla so he could look into her eyes again. She held his gaze, and in her eyes, he saw she trusted him to get her out of this.
“Bear, once she’s free. Use anything, maybe a door to move her and find somewhere to hold up away from the crash sight. Kaid’s team is inbound to clean it up, but you need to find somewhere that’s sheltered and keep watch. We don’t know if anyone else is on their way there.”
Bear nodded and looked around. The other side of the road offered more treed-in areas. “Okay. I’ll find somewhere.”
“All right, Bear, let’s work on getting her out of there. Is Edda back with splints yet?”
He looked around and then saw her dragging some tree limbs up the ditch. “She’s almost here.”
“Okay, I’m told you will have no issues moving anything in the way, but I want you to do it gradually and have Edda keep an eye on Calla and her legs.”
Bear nodded as he looked at the way the metal from the truck was melded together with parts of the van. He turned and looked under the truck. “I think I’m going to have to see if I can get the truck to back up.”
“Okay. When Edda is there, do that. Someone needs to have eyes on Calla all the time from this point on.”
He turned to see Edda dragging the limbs. She dropped them beside the body.
The first thing he should do is probably move that. “She’s here.” He motioned for her to come over. She did quickly. “Stay with her while I try to back up the truck.”
She nodded.
“If it moves anything that might fall on her, you need to let me know.”
“All right.” Edda moved over and leaned in the door beside Calla.
“Calla? It’s Amari.”
Bear glanced at the phone. He didn’t know she was on the call, too.
“You hang in there, girl. We’re on the way.”
“Hi, Amari,” Calla said softly.
Bear went over and grabbed the man’s arms and pulled him behind the truck and then to the other side. It was a good thing he was dead because if he weren’t, Bear would have taken great pleasure in beating the hell out of him and then killing him again.
The truck door was stuck open, so he climbed in and saw the shifter was still in drive. It took some doing to get it into neutral, making him wonder what was bent and destroyed underneath the vehicle. Pressing the brake with both feet this time, he didn’t want it to roll toward the van or ditch and crush Calla more. He turned the key off and then tried starting it. He was completely shocked when it started. Something was pinging under the hood, so he may not have much time to do this. Slowly, he put it into reverse and looked at Edda. She nodded to him and turned back to watch in the van.
Bear eased off the brake and feathered the gas. It didn’t move. He repeated the action twice, making sure to hit the brakes and give Edda a second to assess things. When he heard the screeching of the metal separating, he leaned forward and watched Edda. Inch by inch, he did that until the truck bounced back after breaking free from the van.
Edda was still watching near Calla’s legs, so it had to be okay. Checking the direction the truck was steering, he pressed the gas again and then hit the brakes. Jamming it into park, he turned it off and jumped out.
Going around, he saw he’d given himself about eight feet of space to work in. He’d take it. When he went back to the van, he heard Shaelan talking, and Calla was responding, so he moved around Edda and looked at the large indent the truck had made. He was going to have to pull it out and away from Calla, one part at a time.
Glancing at his hands, he thought one thing. Gloves. He’d seen one of his on the floor by his seat. He wouldn’t be any good to Calla if he sliced his hands up. He checked all around them, looking for signs of anyone on the road or off it before going around to the driver’s side.
“Edda, when Bear gets her out, we’re going to tie off her legs so the blood doesn’t rush back to her feet. We’ll loosen them gradually every few minutes and check them until Fionna gets there. She was packed up to go out with the teams, so she has all the supplies and equipment needed.”
“All right.” Edda glanced at him as he searched the floor for his second glove.
He could see the worry and fear in her eyes but knew with all she’d been through, she would push through this too.
Calla turned her head and looked at him. “You okay?”
He wanted to scream that he was so far from okay that there wasn’t a word to describe it, but he nodded and felt his mouth simulate what he hoped looked like a smile. “I’m going to get you out now.”
“Kay.” She turned her head back.
“Shaelan?” It was Amari. “Can she just shift once she’s out and heal everything?”
Bear found the glove and glanced at the phone. “I don’t think that’s a good idea with the way her arm is bent.” He told her. “I can’t see the rest yet.”
“Shit,” Amari growled. “I hope the guys that did this are totally dead, Bear, because if they’re not, they will be when I get there.”
“They’re dead.”
“I might kill them again anyway.”
Edda gave the phone a startled look.
He shook his head. He didn’t have time to explain Amari to her. He wasn’t even sure what words he could use to explain her. Pulling the gloves on, he walked around the van. “Calla, you yell if anything I do shifts you or causes pain.”
“Kay.”
Edda reached in, took her hand, and held it.
Bear didn’t have to reach for his animal for more strength. He’d been close enough to the surface this whole time, waiting and letting Bear handle the situation. Leaning closer, he studied the mess, trying to decide what to pull first.
Locating what he thought was called the pillar, he gripped it. If it worked, he would be able to shift the dash, he hoped.
“Bear’s going to move parts now,” Edda said. “It might be loud.”
He hadn’t thought of that. Just as long as it moved, that is what mattered.