Spinning Slowly Pinned to the Ground

Spinning Slowly Pinned to the Ground

Just seconds ago, she was standing on the rocky cliff, admiring the view. Now,

she was falling towards the rocks and trees below. With a strange detachment, she

looked at her feet. She was still standing on a large piece of stone. The thought was

amusing.

The first branch took her by surprise. The second was more substantial and

hurt her. Then, it was a series of sharp pains and flashes of green until she lost

consciousness.

She was freezing. She kept trying to move her arm, but it would not move. She

was conscious enough to feel her right arm pinned behind her back- Her left arm

was free, hut would not obey her commands. Her body started to shake out of

control. With all the. strength in her, she jerked her arm ,and passed out from the

pain.

She opened her eyes to the bright sun. Instinctively, she tried to cover them, but

her arm would not move. Turning her head, she looked in horror. She could see

her hand and sticking through the center was four inches of broken sapling. Before

she could scream, she passed out.

When she opened her eyes again, it was dark and raining. Her arm hurt and

the pain in her head was excruciating, Somehow, while she was unconscious, she

must have moved. Her right arm was free. She laid there with her mouth open

drinking rain water. She could feel her skin was burned from the sun. It was tight

and hurt. A few inches to her side, the water was running off a rocky ridge,

creating a fast stream. She positioned her head below it and drank deeply. she let

the water wash over her face. It felt cool and refreshing. She was no longer

freezing. she was cold, but, full with rain water, no longer dehydrated.

She tried to remember what had happened, but her mind was still cloudy.

Trying to focus on what day it was, she felt her groin go warm. She knew she had

just urinated. She was just too tired and in too much pain to care. It wasn't too

long before the rain stopped and she fell asleep. When she woke up, it was early

morning. Her left hand was still pinned to the ground. Twisting to her knees, she

pulled a knife out from a boot sheath. It took almost twenty minutes and every bit

of discipline ,the army taught her. She cut three inches off the sapling. Holding onto

her wrist, she pulled her hand off. Her head was spinning wildly. She immediately

put her hand in between her thigh and calf muscle and sat back in a kneeling

position. The pain was unbelievable, but the pressure would slow the bleeding. The

important thing was to remain conscious.

She sat like that for forty or Fifty minutes before looking at it. The bleeding

had stopped and that surprised her. Cutting off her pant leg from below the knee,

she wrapped it around her hand. The closest she could figure it was morning of the

third day.  She knelt and drank from a puddle. Then, leaning against a tree, she

fell asleep.  Fitfully, she slept through the rest of the day.

She was awake watching a group of small birds pecking around the (lead leaves

and brandies. One got close enough and she hit it with a wide branch. The first

swing stunned and the second killed it. She cooked it over some dry leaves and

twigs. It was hardly a mouthful, but it gave her strength.

It was time to assess the problem. She stood up and looked around. She had

fallen approximately eighty to ninety feet on to some pine trees. She was banged up,

but except for her hand she was alright. She walked fifty yards in one direction and

then back. Then, fifty yards in another direction. On the third trip, she found her

day pack. On the fifth trip, she found a stream. Walking into the water, she sat

down. The water was running fast and as it parted around her, she felt stronger.

She wanted to try and walk out, but she did enough hiking to know she should stay

put. Grabbing soap out of her pack, she scrubbed at her clothes. Then, she took

her clothes off and scrubbed at her skin. Hanging up her clothes, she started a fire

and boiled water in her canteen to wash her makeshift bandage.       

She was now twenty-four hours overdue. Someone will be looking for her. She

had left a full itinerary on her hiking trip. It was now just a matter of time, a day,

or, maybe two. She set up a lean-to and made camp, smiling as she mixed dry beans

and rice with some water. She would eat

She woke up feeling good. Stripping down, she washed in the cold water.

Then she gathered some thick water grass and piled it under a tree. She started a

fire and tested the water grass. She threw some on the fire and it sent up a dark

cloud of smoke. There was nothing left to do but wait.

She first heard the chopper early in the morning of the next day. It was still

too far away for the smoke. A few hours later it was closer and she piled on the

water grass. The chopper pilot came down close enough to make eye contact and a

quick salute. Then, he was on his way.

She broke camp and sat and waited for the ground crew to show up. She

thought hard about the last five days. She was very lucky, but then she always has

Been. Off in the distance, she heard them and started walking towards the sounds.

It was ten minutes later before she saw them.

"Major Brooks," the Colorado state trooper yelled. "Major Kathleen Brooks!"

"Over here, officer! My, these Rocky Mountains are hard on strangers."

"Yes, mam, they demand respect."

She was going home now. he took her pack and they headed back down the trail.

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