“Do you think you could drive to the affected area? They should have an Incident Command Post. They will have a triage and treatment area for casualties.”
If she’s hurt, I will never forgive myself. I can’t think about that now.
Sapphire’s mom adds, “We’ll leave now.”
“And call the fire department,” I instruct. “To report her missing.”
My girl is missing.
I’ve never wanted to be able to fly a plane so much in my whole fucking life. If I did I would be out of the hospital and on my way already.
“As soon as we find the Incident Command Post, I will call you, Eli.”
“Please, please,” I urge, “call me as soon as possible, ma’am.”
“It’s Lydia. Craig and Lydia.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Lydia.” I wish it were under better circumstances. “Sapphire’s going to be okay.”
Lydia drops her voice. “She survived sandstorms in Slab City; she can survive a rainstorm.”
But can she survive a mudslide? That’s something different altogether. I keep my thoughts to myself.
“Call me,” I say before Lydia quickly reels off to Craig, explaining what’s happened, the mild panic in her fast words making me panic even more too. I hang up the call with Lydia.
Cole’s already making a call, jumping into action, holding his finger in the air to stop me from talking. “Hey, Keller, how are you, man?” He lets Keller reply. “Good, good, hey, I need your help, urgently. Are you still a search and rescue pilot?” Cole throws a punch into the air victoriously. “Fucking A, do you have your own helicopter? Or can you fly one if I can get one for you?”
Max appears through the doorway with Paige, to visit Dad like they do every day. I’m so fucking happy he worked everything out with her; they couldn’t be more perfect for each other.
I hold my finger up to my mouth to shush them as Max mouths,What’s happening?
I quickly catch him up, then Cole and I are kissing Dad on the cheek quickly, saying goodbye, telling him we love him. He’s oblivious to the chaos going on around him. Cole and I dash out the door on our way to the airport, and I’m calling back to Max as I run along the hospital corridor to ask him and Paige if they can go and check on Ghost and feed him at my apartment.
Before I know it, I’m in Cole’s car, and he’s driving us to the airport, where he’s arranged to meet Keller, his friend, who has a helicopter that can help us find my girl, along with someone called Dexter who is a highly skilled emergency responder.
Hold tight, Sapphire, I’m coming to rescue you, baby.
44
ELI
The sound of Keller’s KA-SAR1 search and rescue helicopter’s rotors buzz and whine constantly, shaking the frame of the helicopter. Keller has been circling the affected area below for almost an hour with me and Dexter, Keller’s winch paramedic, acting as spotters, desperately trying to find my Sapphire, and we still haven’t found her.
When Lydia called me as I was hopping in the helicopter, I thought it was a glimmer of hope, when in fact all she called to tell me was that she registered Sapphire as missing.
Missing. Her status is unknown.
Fuck.
The unknown is slowly killing me.
“Where are you, baby?” I mutter to myself, looking down at the carnage below that looks like a sea of mulch, mud, and trees that’s cut a path through the valley, leaving a deep scar on the hillside.
Keller’s static-sounding voice travels through the headset, almost lost to engine noise. “Keep your eyes peeled. I can’t see much through the debris. That slope is total chaos. Trees, homes, everything’s gone. Wait. I’m picking up movement.”
“Where?” I perk up, on high alert, my back straightening as if it’s made of steel, eyes darting left and right through the cockpit windshield.
“Down by the creek bed.” Keller points to where he thinks he’s spotted someone.