Evergreen by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 11

Tom had worked in the mill for years and remained there, even after his wife had been killed on the snow-covered icy road leading into town. With no place else to go, he decided to stay in Evergreen knowing that Katie needed a stable life, and he had seen enough of the outside world that he believed Evergreen to be the safest place to raise her. After she graduated from high school, she would be given the opportunity to decide her own future - to forge her own destiny, be it college or staying in Evergreen. But, they had yet to have that conversation.

His day began like any other. Rising at five a.m.; showering, coffee, more coffee. He stopped at the market on Main Street for something quick before going to the mill. June welcomed him in as she did every day. Almost from the moment she arrived in Evergreen two years ago, she developed more than a passing fondness for him, but having learned of his past, she thought it would be best to keep her feelings for him deeply buried. However, as far as Tom was concerned, Joan was barely visible at all. His thoughts were consumed by his attraction to Christine.

Arriving at the mill, Tom pulled into the parking lot next to the side of the building where lumber trucks were already being prepared, some going up into the mountains to pick up newly felled timber, while others would be loaded with cut lumber, bound for Augusta. Although he worked with a chainsaw, Tom had to punch in and out every day before boarding the lumber truck the mountain. Presently, they were clearing a tract of tall pines from several hundred feet below the mountains rocky peak. Everyone on the team understood the hazards of felling trees while working on the uneven terrain of a mountainside. But in spite of the slanted earth, controlling the direction a tree falls in was still difficult and given the nature of the job, serious injury and death always loomed nearby.

That particular day saw him doing what he had always done. The chainsaw he used was designed and built for trees of larger girth, but with the blades increased length came a higher risk for injury. Felling a tree was usually a one-man operation. A wedge was cut out from the side the tree was to fall in. On the other side, a slot was cut just below the deepest part of the wedge. This, essentially, created a hinge for the tree fall from. It wasn’t so much where the tree would fall but whether it would roll on the way down. If the slot was uneven, the tree would roll as it struck the ground and regardless of its size, one could be badly injured or even crushed if the cuts were not made properly. But, that was never an issue for Tom. He was both skilled and experienced and was usually the go-to person when others were having problems. But, that day would fall far from routine. It would be one that would change his life.

Before cutting, every tree was inspected by several strikes with a hammer. Hollow trees were useless in the lumber industry. Solid healthy trees were marked with orange spray paint, while those of lesser quality were left unmarked. The blade had to be level every time and couldn’t be given too much force. A constant push was all that was needed. After a brief check of the chainsaw’s condition, Tom filled its tank with a mixture of gas and oil. He checked the chain and made an adjustment to give it more tension. If it slipped off the blade, its jagged edges could certainly rip open a limb. Probably down to the bone. Approaching his first tree, the initial cut went smoothly. The tree was solid and Tom didn’t notice any extraneous vibrations. The second cut was slightly bumpy but wasn’t something Tom was greatly concerned about. But, there was something about it that was highly unexpected. Upon inspecting the tree, a lapse in judgment had occurred. It contained a long narrow space that was home to a vast nest of honeybees. The vibration had more than agitated them and when Tom kicked the wedge out, he inadvertently breached the nest.

The bees roared out by the thousands, descending on Tom with the force of a military offensive. He dropped the chainsaw as it sputtered to a stop and began running. But, his reaction had come too late and Tom was left to blindly run through the woods. Each attempt to scream had been muffled by handfuls angry bees as they filled his mouth, nose, and throat. Falling into the clearing where the heavy machinery was operated, his distress quickly attracted the attention of his co-workers. They beat the bees from his body while carrying him to a safe distance. They would, eventually, fly back to their nest. But, Tom had received hundreds of stings and lay on the ground choking and coughing as more made an unwilling exit from deep within his throat.

His coworkers quickly put Tom into a company truck and rushed him off the mountain. They called ahead to the clinic, letting them know they were on their way. By the time they arrived, Tom was showing signs of respiratory collapse. His throat had become dangerously swollen and getting the proper drugs into him quickly would be critical to saving his life and as he was being driven to the clinic, one of his co-workers contacted the Sheriff. She immediately went to the school to retrieve Katie, notifying her of the accident. She drove her straight to the clinic to see her father before the decision to transfer him was made. Escorting her through the front door, Christine and Katie passed the secretary’s desk in the lobby. “Where’s Tom?” she asked.

The secretary quickly directed her to the clinics one and only trauma room, where the doctor was working to stabilize Tom’s condition. As they approached the trauma room, Christine motioned Katie back from the door. “Just give me a minute, okay?”

Katie stood just to the side of the door, listening. The doctor gave constant orders for lab tests and drugs. Epinephrine and Benadryl were only a few among many. “Hey doc,” Christine began. “How’s he doing?” The doctor continued working frantically as he spoke. “We’re still trying to suction bees out of his throat. But, he’s not staying here.”

“You sending him to Bangor?” Christine asked. The doctor walked toward the head of the stretcher and tipped Tom’s head back, as he prepared to intubate him. “Shit! I can barely see,” he began. “I need more light. And call Bangor. We need life flight up here.” Christine had never seen such chaos and found herself stepping back while trying to maintain a professional bearing.

“Uh, Katie’s in the hallway,” she said.

Having successfully intubated him, the doctor connected a number of tubes to a ventilator.

“She’s going to have to wait until his stable,” he answered. “And has anyone called Bangor!?” A nurse hurried into the room.

“I just got off the phone with Bangor,” she began. “Life Flight’s on the way, but they’ll be here in two hours.” The doctor nodded in acknowledgment. “Alright. Make sure to give them updates every fifteen minutes and I want vitals done every ten, got it?” He looked up at Christine, who still stood frozen with disbelief at what was playing out in front of her. “Sheriff?”

She had become so caught up in the event of life and death that his voice went completely unheard. “Christine?”

The doctor’s voice suddenly startled her back to the here and now as she tried unsuccessfully to hide her embarrassment.

“Um, I’m sorry,” Christine began. “What can I do?” The doctor understood that events like this don’t often happen in Evergreen and some people are a bit less equipped to deal with this particular form of crisis. He was calm in his request.

“Take Katie to the waiting room, alright?”

“Yeah, okay,” Christine replied. “I’m sorry.” She left the room and approached Katie, who was already close to hysterics. She had heard everything and knew how serious things were.

“Katie? Honey, we need to go to the waiting room, okay?” Christine’s voice was calm and controlled. She put a hand on Katie’s shoulder, moving it to the middle of her back as they walked toward the waiting room.

“When can I see my dad?” Katie asked. “It might be a few minutes,” Christine answered. “The doctor will let us know.”

The waiting room was not far from the trauma bay and as they sat down, Katie began crying. “Can you tell me what happened,” she asked. Christine turned towards her and searched for the words she’d use to both inform her as well as to ease her fears. “Well,” she began. “It looks like your dad cut into a tree that had a few bees living in it. Apparently, they didn’t like being bothered and your dad took a few stings. But the doc’s right on top of things so try not to worry. He’ll be okay.”

Christine didn’t feel comfortable at all with her response. She knew that things were far from okay. In fact, as she understood the situation, there was every chance that Tom could die before life flight arrived. In the field, accidents were to be expected; A falling limb; A chainsaw kicked back into a leg or an arm. But being swarmed by bees was almost unheard of and while the clinic was well-equipped to deal with such an event, it did so rarely.

Christine held Katie in her arms as the minutes went by like hours and nearly thirty minutes after Tom’s arrival, the doctor appeared in the doorway of the waiting room.

“Katie?”

She got up quickly and stepped towards him, expecting to hear the worst.

“Is he going to be okay?” she asked. “Can I see him?” The doctor looked on her with a kind face, one that had likely been practiced throughout his career.

“Well,” he began. “Your father got stung by some bees. Quite a few, in fact. But, he’s stable now.” Katie nodded her head slightly. Her answer was simply one softly spoken word.

“Okay.”

As they walked out of the waiting room, the doctor motioned for Christine to follow. Having seen many serious cases throughout his career, he knew how important it was for a family member to have someone to lean on.

Katie timidly walked into the trauma bay and cautiously approached her father - the tubes and wires. The rhythmic hissing of the respirator keeping him alive was a scene Katie had never before witnessed. Her eyes produced a sudden torrent of tears as she softly wrapped her hands around the rail of the stretcher. She inched closer to her father’s head, speaking to him quietly. “Daddy?”

Katie looked up at the doctor with an expression of desperation.

“Katie?” he said. “We’re going to transfer your dad to Bangor. They’re a lot more able to handle this than we are.”

Katie had fallen deeply into a state of emotional shock. “Bangor?! That’s at least three hours away!” Christine stepped up behind her and put an arm around her shoulder.

“Katie,” she began. “They’re going to move him by helicopter. It won’t take that long.”

Katie reached up and touched her father’s head, pushing his hair aside with her fingertips. His eyes were swollen shut. His body blown up like a week-old corpse. Katie had never seen anyone breathe through a machine and in her mind, the scene playing out in front of her left the grim impression of impending death. It was as though her world was about to come crashing down around her. A million thoughts ran through her mind. Without her father, Katie would be alone. She, like her father, would be made to feel as though she was alone in a crowded room. Evergreen: population one. One among many but still alone.

She sat at her father’s side until the rotors of the life flight helicopter could be heard beating against the air as it faded into view from the distant mountains. The parking lot was, by intent, made large enough to serve as an ad hoc landing pad. Now, as Tom was wheeled out, with the respirator in tow, Katie followed close behind. But, as he was loaded into the helicopters medical bay, Katie was informed that there was no room for an extra passenger, and she began crying uncontrollably, grasping at the foot of the stretcher. Christine intervened, yelling to the pilot that she would drive her to Bangor personally and pulling Katie away from the rotors increasing velocity, Christine promised she’d take her to Bangor.

“Don’t worry!” she yelled. “I’ll drive you down! We’ll get you through this, okay?!”

Katie nodded her head as tears continued streaming down her face. The helicopter raised itself up off the parking lot, turned back toward the mountains and roared off into the distance. Christine turned to Katie while motioning her towards the blazer.

“C’mon,” she began.

Before leaving town, Christine stopped to fill the blazers gas tank and soon were on their way towards Bangor. The helicopter would, no doubt, arrive at least an hour ahead of them. But as soon as they entered the highway, Christine turned the Blazers lights on and sped toward Maine’s Downeast area. Three hours later, they arrived in the parking lot of Bangor’s Eastern Maine Medical Center. Tom had already been admitted through the hospital’s trauma service and had been taken to intensive care. Getting directions from security quickly led them to his room. He was still on a respirator, with IVs in his veins and wires leading to a monitor mounted on the wall. The doctor in charge of his care informed Christine and Katie that Tom was being given anti-venom, as well as additional Benadryl and steroids. Katie was assured that her father was in good hands but extremely lucky. Some people can drop dead from a single sting, while others are barely affected. But, a swarm is capable of killing anyone. Tom, it seems, was being watched over by a very committed guardian angel.