Acquiring Trouble

sideways, passenger side first. Miles gripped the steering wheel as if he could control the car mid-air. The car’s hood dipped with the weight of the engine and hit the ground passenger headlight first. The airbag deployed a second before Miles’ s face slam med into the steering wheel. His head was knocked back with the force of the airbag, the impact crumpled the engine block causing it to collapse on his legs. He felt his right ankle snap rig ht before the car came to rest.
    The first thing that Miles noticed was the silence. He reached for his belt and unsheathed his knife. He plunged it into his airbag and filled his lung s with a huge breath when it deflated. Mariah’s eyes were close d and there was fresh blood dripping down the side of her airbag. He similarly ripped into her s, causing it to deflate. Mariah’s head slumped forward as he checked for a pulse. He let out a breath when he felt one .
    Turning in his seat, he clenched his jaw against the pain in his leg to check on Cade. Cade had been thrown from his seat and was wedged on the floor. Shouting his name , Miles reached frantically for him. He couldn’t reach his head, but managed to grab his hand. His pu lse was still there, thank G od.
    Mariah moaned and Miles immediately went to her. “Mariah? Mariah? Wake up, dear. Come on, you can do it. Open your eyes.”
    “Am I dead Captain?”
    “Not yet. Are you hurt badly?”
    “I can’t feel my leg.”
    Miles could hear the panic setting in and tried to calm her. “It’s okay. Breath e , breath e deeply.” He talked long enough to get her focused on her breathing. He had to get them out of here before those men found them —a nd they would if they didn’t move.
    Miles tried to pull his leg out, but his boot was stuck. He’d have to twist his whole leg in order to wiggle it out. Pain radiated through him and he broke out in a sweat as he forced himself to move. He grunted in pain as he pulled hard and fell out of his seat and onto the rocky ground.
    He pulled up his pant leg and said a quick prayer of thanks when he took off his boot . The broken bone wasn’t protruding, so he might be able to set it. He stood up and hobbled over to Mariah’s door. When he opened it, he saw why she couldn’t feel her leg. Everything below the knee was completely crushed by the car.
    “Okay. This is going to t ake some work. Let me fix my ankle and then I’ll get the crowbar out and pry you free. Keep taking deep breaths, okay?” Miles looked around and found two small boulders that he could use. These mountains were so barren there were no trees for making a splint .
    He hobbled over to the rocks, put as little pressure as possible on his leg , and sat down. Miles wedged his boot between the boulders and took a deep breath. This was going to hurt. He pulled sli ghtly until his ankle was in traction and then set the bone. He cried out in pain, but then sighed with relief. Now he needed to splint it, but he’d do that after he got Cade and Mariah taken care of.
    Hopping on one leg, he found the crowbar in the trunk and went to work prying Mariah’s leg from the wreckage. “I’m almost done. Can you feel your leg yet ?”
    “No. It’s still numb, why? What does that mean?”
    “It means you could be bleeding internally.” Miles pulled off his belt and cinched it tight around her knee before pulling out the last piece of metal pinning her down. “Come on, let’s get you out of here.” Miles helped her from the car and propped her against the small boulders he’d use d to set his ankle .
    Next he had to check on his brother. Cade was breathing, but still in a coma. He had some new injuries from the wreck, but they all seemed to be superficial. Miles pulled him from the car with much less hassle than Mariah and laid him next to her. It was time to tear the car apart if they were going to get anywhere. He used his knife to cut the seatbelts out of the car and laid them out on the ground. Then he went to the tru n k and took out the rope, emergency kit, and floor mat. H e dug out two holes on the top of the mat using his knife and threaded the rope through them.
    Miles pulled out his medical kit and used the tape to wrap around the ends of the rope, creating a place to grab without the rope slicing into his hands. Then he took his knife and cut four slits into the t h ick mat. He threaded two seat belts through them.
    “What are you doing?” Mari ah asked in complete confusion.
    “Getting you