“What do you mean?” asked Tom, as he assisted Lance to lay down as best as he could.
“No medical personnel,” Owen said.
“The flight attendant said no one responded.”
“How is that possible?” Owen asked. “An entire plane? I mean, we have a refueling tech, but not a medical person?”
“Maybe they’ll find someone.” Tom resumed his focus to Lance. “Are you okay?”
“No. But … what can I do?”
“Hang tight,” Tom told him. “At the very least, the fireman will be back. They all have some medical training.”
“Good news,” Trevor said when he approached. “I found someone. The only person onboard that said they had medical knowledge. She was reluctant.”
Tom raised his head to see Delaney walking to the front. “You?”
She nodded “Me.”
“Are you a nurse?” Owen asked. “Doctor?”
“No.” Delaney shook her head. “I have medical knowledge. I know the body.”
“Are you a nurses’ aid?” Owen questioned. “Physician’s assistant?”
“No.”
“Physical therapist? Anesthesiologist …?”
“Owen,” Tom warned.
“Candy striper?”
“Owen,” Tom snapped. “Let her answer.”
“I’m a morgue technician,” Delaney told him.
“A … morgue technician?” Owen asked, then shrieked some. “I don’t really know exactly what a morgue technician does, but I’m pretty sure that’s on the wrong side of the spectrum from what we need. How is that even medical?”
“Well it is,” Delaney said. “Look I didn’t raise my hand all enthusiastically. He asked, I told him what I was.”
“She has to know bodies well,” Trevor said. “And how they work.”
“I do,” Delaney said. “I’m not a medical examiner, but I am their tech. I assist with autopsies, prep the bodies. Preliminary exams, open them up …”
“Okay. Stop.” Owen held up his hand. “I get it.”
“So you know how it works,” Tom said. “You probably know what to do.”
“No, I’d be guessing,” Delaney answered. “But … I know what not to do.”
“That’s better than nothing,” Tom said. “The medical kit is by the door. I’ll show you.” He led Delaney to the door, leaving Owen to Lance.
Sure, Delaney wasn’t the dream choice to help in the medical crisis, but Tom would put his faith in her to help the injured man, because right then, she was the only choice.
<><><><>
Gary was on it. He watched the timer on Gabe’s phone, held the radio, and watched to make sure Gabe did everything he was supposed to for safe fueling. Not that the experienced young man wouldn’t, it was just a stressful situation and even the most experienced could make a mistake.
“How are we looking?” Gabe asked.
“Three minutes.”
Gabe nodded. “It won’t finish fueling, but I need time to rewind the lines, disconnect the ground wires and secure the caps.”
“Do you need to sump the tank?”
“Not on a plane this size, it’s like every three days,” he said. “We’ll do it next time, if we have more time. Worse comes to worst, we can just drop and run.”
Gary shook his head. “No, we don’t know if we have to come back here to fuel up again. I’d have it ready as best as we can. Short it a few gallons to save time for if we land again.” Gary lifted the radio. “Hey, Captain Jeff?”
“I read you,” Jeff, the pilot replied.
“Might want to prep the cabin.”
“Roger that.”
Gary lowered the radio and raised the phone again to check the timer. “Hey, who is Gene and why is he sending you a text to get out of here now?”
“Fuck,” Gabe blurted out. “He’s the geologist. Son of a bitch.” He hurriedly, jumped from the ladder, ran to the fuel pump and shut down the flow. “If he’s saying go, we go.”
Gary again lifted the radio, but before he could call out, the captain did.
“Just got word, we have to roll,” Jeff said. “What’s the situation?”
“We got the same,” said Gary. “Packing it up. Have someone at the door to shut it. You may want to alert the passengers that you might have to drop the masks.”
“Roger that. We have to move. No time to waste.”
Gabe glanced at Gary as he rushed back to the wing. “Good thinking.”
“I know how fast people can drop. You alright?”
“I got this. Get your gear ready, we may need it.” Gabe secured the gap and started rewinding the lines.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. The alarm sounded off.
Then came the tone of the text.
Lifted his eyes. “Shit. Gabe. Drop the line. Disconnect the ground wire. He says any second.”
“Get to the lift.”
“I’ll wait.”
“No, go, I’m good. You have a harder climb than me.’
Gabe was right and Gary knew it. He hurried to the other side of the plane. There wasn’t time to lower the lift and raise it. He was bogged down with equipment. Two SBAs, a bag with cannisters of oxygen for them and other things, not to mention he was still wearing the heavy clothing.
He shouldered the equipment and climbed up the side of the lift. It wasn’t as easy as he thought, his balance was off and he kept tipping back.
By the time he reached the top, he saw Gabe climbing.
Gary tossed his gear through the open plane door, causing the male flight attendant to jump back then he went to the edge of the lift, crouched down and held out his hand to Gabe to help him hurry over the top;
The engines of the aircraft fired up as Gabe rolled onto the level portion of the lift. Both men raced to and through the door. The male flight attendant was quick to close and secure it.
“Get seated, buckle up,” the attendant said as the plane jolted in a quick move forward.
The pilot wasted no time.
Gary reached down for his SBA and sat in the jump seat, pushing his gear aside with his feet. He
