The Challenge(33)
Matt had always been the champion tree climber when they were younger, but he was too heavy now, with broad shoulders and strong legs and arms. And the branches were brittle and dry. If he climbed the trees, a branch could break and fall to the ground and kill him. Peter was even taller, and not as heavy, but he had a man’s body. Justin was taller and heavier and he was in no condition to climb a tree. He still couldn’t stand. His ankle was painful, and probably broken, after his encounter with the mother bear. They estimated that Tim was too heavy, too. Benjie wanted to try and they unanimously said it was too dangerous for him, and Noel was dizzy and weak without food and his blood sugar issues.
“I’ll do it,” Juliet volunteered, looking up at the dozen packages that hung there. “I used to climb trees all the time when I was a kid.” They looked skeptical. She was tall but very thin, and she had a much lighter frame than the boys. She weighed much less than they did, and there was a chance she’d get away with it. But if a branch broke and she fell, she could break her neck. The question was, how hungry and thirsty were they? But it wasn’t about food or water, it was about getting a fresh pump for Noel if there was one, before he went into a coma, maybe as soon as the next morning, or even that night. As far as Juliet was concerned, there was no choice.
“Are you sure?” Peter asked her before she started. He was worried.
“Yes,” she said without hesitating, and he bent over, so she could stand on his back. She jumped lightly up on him, and then shimmied up the tree at a surprising speed. She slowed as she got to the upper branches. Some of them were creaking and she heard one give a loud crack as she went past it. A few smaller, very dry branches fell, but she wasn’t on them. She tried to keep her arms wrapped around the trunk, but she needed the branches for support too. The tree scraped her bare arms as she went. Finally she reached the first three packages. She tapped them lightly and they fell neatly into Peter’s hands, and then Matt’s. Tim caught the next one. Noel caught the fourth. She had to switch trees then, and she felt like Tarzan as she did. There were three packages she couldn’t get to, but she got nine to the ground in all, and then cautiously made her way down. She got splinters in her arms and through her jeans as she descended, but paid no attention to them.
It was like Christmas when they opened the packages. They had nine pumps for Noel in all. Water, juice, dried meat, fruit, all different kinds of food, chocolate, thermal blankets, inflatable splints, one which fit Justin perfectly. They had everything they needed, including matches, eating utensils, and several flashlights. They all drank many bottles of water. Justin helped Noel change his pump, and within a few hours he felt better. His had been almost out and wouldn’t have lasted through the night.
They lay at the base of the trees, having eaten enough for the first time in three days. They had drunk all they wanted, and were warm under the blankets. They saw the night sky glow red from the fires through the branches. Later that night, as Peter and Juliet lay talking side by side, they saw two wolves rush past them. The animals paid no notice to the humans on the ground. They were fleeing the fires, and they saw several deer run past them too. There was a herd of bison grazing near them when they woke in the morning. They took off quickly.
The children had found the diagram of where they were supposed to go to meet their rescuers, and they headed straight downhill, through the thick trees. Peter and Matt supported Justin. The inflatable splint eased the pain enough for them to move him more easily. They had eaten more of the food before they started, and an hour later, they ran straight into their rescuers heading toward them. They walked for another hour to a clearing, with one of the paramedics carrying Justin on his back. There were two paramedics to make sure that Noel was fit to be moved. Two helicopters landed in the clearing, and all seven of them climbed aboard. Benjie sat with the pilot, and they flew off to Saint Vincent Healthcare hospital in Billings, where they would be examined.
Harvey was first to get the message, which he relayed immediately to the parents. He had cut the frequency to their radios until he was sure they were all alive, and now he was. He hadn’t wanted them to hear bad news over the air.
He reactivated their radios, and announced in his deep voice, “Seven brave little soldiers are on their way home!” All had survived.
They wheeled Justin into the hospital in a wheelchair, and the others walked in under their own steam. Benjie was jumping up and down, and Peter had an arm around Juliet. They were all beaming. And they were startled when they saw all the photographers and TV cameras in the hospital parking lot. They were taken in quickly. Sitting at his desk, Harvey was smiling, and wiped the tears off his cheeks.
Chapter 9
Tom was alone in his house when he heard Harvey’s announcement on the radio. He burst into tears, and sat there sobbing in relief. He called Beth immediately, to make sure she’d heard it, and she was crying too. She had stayed in her hotel room to avoid the press, but she wasn’t dressed yet anyway.
“They all made it. They all survived,” Tom sobbed. It was a miracle, and had been an enormous effort on the part of the Park Service and the National Guard. “I’ll drive you to the hospital if you want,” he offered. It felt like the war was over between them too. They were no longer together, but they weren’t enemies anymore. There was nothing left to fight about. Their daughter had survived, which was all that mattered.