“Fire!” She pivoted and ran back to Jeff. His eyes wide, he looked up at her and back to Wagner. “How close?” The smoke alarms, one by one, concurred with her story. She held both hands over her ears and ran to Jeff’s side. “We have to get him out,” she shouted. Unbidden images of her own house on fire swarmed her thoughts. “Now!” He clenched his jaw and nodded. “I don’t know if it’s safe to move him! What if his spine—” “We can’t risk waiting.” Victoria leaned down. “You get his torso, I’ll get his legs. You have to let go of the wound for a moment.” “He’s bleeding too fast! If I let go, I don’t know if he’ll make it.” Victoria looked at Jeff’s shaking hands and was thankful Aunt Katie had provided her layers. She wore a navy cotton T-shirt underneath, so she pulled off the top blouse. She stepped over Jeff and slid the shirt underneath Wagner’s shoulder.
