Page 6 of Duty and Desire
“Shit. Private, what is that?” Scarlett asked.
“Private Radley, ma’am. He…” Scarlett rushed over.
“Get away from there, Private.”
He was too busy scrambling away from the chasm to respond.
Scarlett reached the hole.
What the fuck? Holy hell, we’re on a lake.
“Lake! We’re on a lake. Radley’s under.”
She began scooping the snow from around the hole, hoping to catch a glimpse of the missing soldier beneath the ice. He wouldn’t last long if they didn’t find him.
“Lieutenant, I need help. Radley’s under the ice. Someone needs to tie in a support in case it cracks further; we don’t all need to go swimming.”
Scarlett saw her lieutenant issuing orders from the corner of her eye while she continued to dig. The ice was so thick she couldn’t see anything.
Shit, I’m not going to lose a soldier on my first mission!
The general’s voice broke through her panic. “Captain, you don’t have time. You can’t afford to delay; the storm will bury you all alive if you don’t make it back.”
No, she wasn’t going to leave him behind. She clicked the receiver off, wincing. She was sure she would regret it later.
How the hell was she going to get him out? He’d moved away from where the ice had broken and could be anywhere.
That might work. She threw her pack to the ground, digging to the very bottom.
“Stand back.”
The flare rocketed into the water, and a second later the ice sheet was lit up in a bright, glowing red.
“There.”
A patch of darkness moving in the sea of red.
“Someone secure themselves and let’s start digging.”
She didn’t wait before sprinting over, axe at the ready, hacking into the ground right next to Radley’s shadow. Her squad mates dropped beside her, all furiously slashing away at the ground.
Lieutenant West reached in and pulled Radley up under the arms, dragging him onto the ice. He was shivering violently and coughing up a lungful of frigid water. Scarlett tugged her foilblanket from her pack as the lieutenant stripped Radley of his sodden uniform.
“One of you pass over your camo. Mine won’t fit him,” Scarlett ordered.
Three of them rushed to start unzipping.
“Just one will do, but quickly, we need to get him warm.”
Scarlett looked down at the radio clipped to her chest. This wasn’t going to be fun.
“Come in, command.” She held her breath as she waited for the response. After a few seconds, it came.
“Captain.” The general did not sound pleased.
“Requesting emergency medical support, ma’am.”
“You got him then?”