sssarawolf
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Thank you for more.
Story Market Day
- Thread starter ComCamGuy
- Start date
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
All through the night, Garen and Kara were sleeping lightly. Each had loosened the laces of their boots and set aside their plate carriers. Both knew if they had to respond, seconds would count, so they stayed in a light hover; almost asleep, almost awake, and ready to pop up if and when the radio came to life.
Bekka’s sitrep was unsettling. They were trying to wrap their heads around it. The consensus was they needed some more info if it was available and didn’t compromise them. All four of them were debating the best course of action for a few minutes. After things went back and forth a couple of times, Garen issued his opinion and potential plan.
“OK, I think it might be best to look at the site more thoroughly. It might reveal if the bad guys are planning to come back, our initial worry. It also might provide clues on what else happened. Knowing what supplies they left behind might also be good to know if we end up needing anything there. While you guys look around, Kara and I will scour the maps for alternate routes out and away. What does everybody think?”
The consensus was unanimous.
Kara was throwing together some food when Angelique called out. Kara turned over cooking duty to Garen and went to see what Angelique needed. When she went into the room, Angelique looked relieved it was her and not Garen.
“Kara, I need some help figuring out how to……” her voice trailed off as her blush got redder.
“Not a problem. Which do you need to take care of?”
“I need to figure out how to get into the bathroom by myself if you guys aren’t here. I’d also love to get rid of this bag,” gesturing to the Foley cath and the collection bag.
“They are uncomfortable, but can be both convenient and a good medical tool for gauging how much fluid someone needs. Tell you what, let’s see how easily we can get you in and out of the bathroom. If it works well, then we can look at removing your tether. I don’t want to pull it, and then it need to go back in. Having one put in is an unpleasant experience, and you would be awake this time.”
“If it isn’t too much trouble, since I’m up, I’d like to take a shower and clean up. I know you guys cleaned me up some,” the blush reasserted itself, “but I would feel better being clean.”
“Ok, let’s work this in steps though. Let’s get you into the bathroom and on the throne, then, I can show you how to empty the bag, in case you need to sometime. While you are there, I’ll pop out and tell Garen we will be awhile and collect some more clothes for you to wear. At the same time, the shower will be warming up. Then, tell me when you are ready to go into the shower. I can help you get in there. Then you give a shout if you need a hand or are done. Garen should have food done by then. How does that plan sound?”
Hearing all the things she would need help with, rolling out at her in one fell swoop, she began to feel helpless and embarrassed. She also had a sense of ‘here’s what you are going to do, like it or not’. It wasn’t anything in the tone, or the mannerisms. It was just, well, this was the first time she was broken before and didn’t know what to do, how to act, how much was a ‘should’ and how much was a ‘must’. These guys were trained medical people. If they thought this was the right course, how was she to think different? She meekly nodded her head.
Kara saw something different in Angelique’s attitude. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but she knew they would have to keep an eye on her. Being injured can do funky things to your mind. God knew she had been through that merry go round a few times. She reminded herself to use all those soothing tones and phrases. She wasn’t treating Bekka, who was used to the ‘shut up and do it’ school of med treatment.
Bekka’s sitrep was unsettling. They were trying to wrap their heads around it. The consensus was they needed some more info if it was available and didn’t compromise them. All four of them were debating the best course of action for a few minutes. After things went back and forth a couple of times, Garen issued his opinion and potential plan.
“OK, I think it might be best to look at the site more thoroughly. It might reveal if the bad guys are planning to come back, our initial worry. It also might provide clues on what else happened. Knowing what supplies they left behind might also be good to know if we end up needing anything there. While you guys look around, Kara and I will scour the maps for alternate routes out and away. What does everybody think?”
The consensus was unanimous.
Kara was throwing together some food when Angelique called out. Kara turned over cooking duty to Garen and went to see what Angelique needed. When she went into the room, Angelique looked relieved it was her and not Garen.
“Kara, I need some help figuring out how to……” her voice trailed off as her blush got redder.
“Not a problem. Which do you need to take care of?”
“I need to figure out how to get into the bathroom by myself if you guys aren’t here. I’d also love to get rid of this bag,” gesturing to the Foley cath and the collection bag.
“They are uncomfortable, but can be both convenient and a good medical tool for gauging how much fluid someone needs. Tell you what, let’s see how easily we can get you in and out of the bathroom. If it works well, then we can look at removing your tether. I don’t want to pull it, and then it need to go back in. Having one put in is an unpleasant experience, and you would be awake this time.”
“If it isn’t too much trouble, since I’m up, I’d like to take a shower and clean up. I know you guys cleaned me up some,” the blush reasserted itself, “but I would feel better being clean.”
“Ok, let’s work this in steps though. Let’s get you into the bathroom and on the throne, then, I can show you how to empty the bag, in case you need to sometime. While you are there, I’ll pop out and tell Garen we will be awhile and collect some more clothes for you to wear. At the same time, the shower will be warming up. Then, tell me when you are ready to go into the shower. I can help you get in there. Then you give a shout if you need a hand or are done. Garen should have food done by then. How does that plan sound?”
Hearing all the things she would need help with, rolling out at her in one fell swoop, she began to feel helpless and embarrassed. She also had a sense of ‘here’s what you are going to do, like it or not’. It wasn’t anything in the tone, or the mannerisms. It was just, well, this was the first time she was broken before and didn’t know what to do, how to act, how much was a ‘should’ and how much was a ‘must’. These guys were trained medical people. If they thought this was the right course, how was she to think different? She meekly nodded her head.
Kara saw something different in Angelique’s attitude. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but she knew they would have to keep an eye on her. Being injured can do funky things to your mind. God knew she had been through that merry go round a few times. She reminded herself to use all those soothing tones and phrases. She wasn’t treating Bekka, who was used to the ‘shut up and do it’ school of med treatment.
sssarawolf
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Thank you for more 
Old Gray Mare
TB Fanatic
ted
Veteran Member
LOL! Not a codified method...
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Kara had helped Angelique to the bathroom and into position on the toilet. She showed her how to clamp off the drain tube from the catheter and how the collection bag was emptied. Kara turned on the shower and left Angelique on the toilet for a few to go converse with Garen and to change clothes.
Angelique was sitting there, deep in the throes of a ‘pity party’ to use her brother’s term for it. She was having a hard time digesting her lack of mobility, and the length of time it would take to get better. How could she help them now? She was dead weight, a useless mouth, something needing to be cared for, walked and watered. If she tried to get better faster, she could break something forever.
Kara was coming back to the bathroom when she heard the soft sobbing and the angry voice of Angelique talking to herself. This posed a dilemma for her. Did she go right in and try to comfort her, or should she give a bit of warning of her return so she could collect herself? She opted for the second option.
“Hey Angelique. I got some good news for you. Garen said we could go ahead and take the Foley out before your shower, now that you are up and about some.”
As Kara came around the corner into the bathroom, she saw Angelique wiping her eyes with some toilet paper. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were flushed, but she was looking up at Kara. Angelique looked up to see Kara in a tank top and running shorts coming back into the room.
“That’s great! How do we go about this? I assume it’s more than a simple tug it out?”
Kara reflexively cringed at Angelique’s mention of just tugging the Foley out. The long catheter stretched all the way up into the bladder where it was held in place by an inflated balloon like structure about the size of a date or a kumquat. This balloon was filled with saline and needed to be deflated before removal. She remembered doing a rotation at one of the psych hospitals for her paramedic. One of the nurses told her about a patient who pulled their Foley out without deflating it. The way she described it, he would tug and scream, tug and scream until he was successful. She described it at the time to be like ‘pulling a marble through a drinking straw’.
“There is definitely more than just tug. Let me grab the syringe and check the shower temp. “
Kara checked the preps and the water temp. The next part would be a bit more delicate.
“OK, Angelique, let’s get you out of all this extra straps and splints and such. I figure we get you ready for the shower and then pull the Foley. That way you will be ready to roll in and clean things up. The Foley has lubricant and such, some of which will be left behind as we remove it. You end up feeling like a gooey mess, but it’s worth it to get rid of the damn thing.”
Kara and Angelique removed the splints and such, explaining step by step how they were positioned, and how they needed to go back on to protect and stabilize the joints. Kara also helped position Angelique onto the seat of the wheeled walker in preparation to wheel her into the shower. Now came the delicate part for both of them.
“Let’s get you out of those clothes so you can get into the shower right after we pull the Foley.” Her voice was soft and reassuring, but she could see the anxiety building in Angelique.
Angelique’s heart rate was quite elevated. This was just like many peoples nightmares; ending up naked in front of people. She kept telling herself it was like going to the doctor, but it was different and she knew it. Now she was going to have to spread and expose her very private parts to Kara. The flush of embarrassment was competing with the color draining horror that Kara was going to have to manipulate her parts to remove the tube.
As Kara started gently checking the Foley site and deflating the distal balloon, Angelique realized more and more how much Allyson had done down there. She tried to will herself to pass out from embarrassment.
Kara leaned down a little closer for the next step. She held the tissue still with one hand while gently twisting and rotating the tube some to free any adhesions due to the length of time the tube had been in. She felt Angelique jump a little at her touch and she started squirming as Kara rotated the tube. She looked up at Angelique’s face.
“Are you ready?” Angelique didn’t do or say anything but bite her lip. Kara was sure she could feel her shivering or shaking. “Give me a nod or something if you are ready. It’s going to feel a little weird, but it will be over quick and won’t hurt. I promise.”
Kara’s hand on her groin sent a whole herd of elephant sized butterflies racing around her body. When she twisted the tube, it felt like nothing she had ever imagined and set off a shiver through her midsection. She heard Kara say something, but it took a moment or two to understand it. She was biting her lip and looking at Kara again. She closed her eyes and nodded once.
Kara saw the nod and pulled in one smooth motion. Once she started, she barely got her other hand out of the way of Angelique’s hands shooting to her groin. Kara knew the weird tickling sensation removing the tube can cause. She shivered involuntarily just thinking about it.
Angelique’s breathing stopped. Her hands flew to try and stop the source of the crawling, tickling sensation deep inside her. It felt like the tickle in the back of your nose when a sneeze is stuck, only times a million! By the time she could breathe again, Kara was standing up next to her, holding her.
“It’s all done. You’re OK. It’s all over.” Kara held her at arm’s length for a moment, looking in her eyes. “Feels pretty weird, huh? You might itch a bit, but now your pee is back under your own control and you don’t have that thing to drag around. Let’s get you into the shower.”
Kara was wheeling her into the shower when she dropped another bit of knowledge on her.
“Once you are done with the shower and get dressed, food, then homework. We have a stack of things for you to learn. You get to pick the first couple of topics from the stack, but you got a lot of learning to do. No just sitting on your butt.”
Angelique spent quite a while in the shower trying to get her mind and body back under her control.
Angelique was sitting there, deep in the throes of a ‘pity party’ to use her brother’s term for it. She was having a hard time digesting her lack of mobility, and the length of time it would take to get better. How could she help them now? She was dead weight, a useless mouth, something needing to be cared for, walked and watered. If she tried to get better faster, she could break something forever.
Kara was coming back to the bathroom when she heard the soft sobbing and the angry voice of Angelique talking to herself. This posed a dilemma for her. Did she go right in and try to comfort her, or should she give a bit of warning of her return so she could collect herself? She opted for the second option.
“Hey Angelique. I got some good news for you. Garen said we could go ahead and take the Foley out before your shower, now that you are up and about some.”
As Kara came around the corner into the bathroom, she saw Angelique wiping her eyes with some toilet paper. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were flushed, but she was looking up at Kara. Angelique looked up to see Kara in a tank top and running shorts coming back into the room.
“That’s great! How do we go about this? I assume it’s more than a simple tug it out?”
Kara reflexively cringed at Angelique’s mention of just tugging the Foley out. The long catheter stretched all the way up into the bladder where it was held in place by an inflated balloon like structure about the size of a date or a kumquat. This balloon was filled with saline and needed to be deflated before removal. She remembered doing a rotation at one of the psych hospitals for her paramedic. One of the nurses told her about a patient who pulled their Foley out without deflating it. The way she described it, he would tug and scream, tug and scream until he was successful. She described it at the time to be like ‘pulling a marble through a drinking straw’.
“There is definitely more than just tug. Let me grab the syringe and check the shower temp. “
Kara checked the preps and the water temp. The next part would be a bit more delicate.
“OK, Angelique, let’s get you out of all this extra straps and splints and such. I figure we get you ready for the shower and then pull the Foley. That way you will be ready to roll in and clean things up. The Foley has lubricant and such, some of which will be left behind as we remove it. You end up feeling like a gooey mess, but it’s worth it to get rid of the damn thing.”
Kara and Angelique removed the splints and such, explaining step by step how they were positioned, and how they needed to go back on to protect and stabilize the joints. Kara also helped position Angelique onto the seat of the wheeled walker in preparation to wheel her into the shower. Now came the delicate part for both of them.
“Let’s get you out of those clothes so you can get into the shower right after we pull the Foley.” Her voice was soft and reassuring, but she could see the anxiety building in Angelique.
Angelique’s heart rate was quite elevated. This was just like many peoples nightmares; ending up naked in front of people. She kept telling herself it was like going to the doctor, but it was different and she knew it. Now she was going to have to spread and expose her very private parts to Kara. The flush of embarrassment was competing with the color draining horror that Kara was going to have to manipulate her parts to remove the tube.
As Kara started gently checking the Foley site and deflating the distal balloon, Angelique realized more and more how much Allyson had done down there. She tried to will herself to pass out from embarrassment.
Kara leaned down a little closer for the next step. She held the tissue still with one hand while gently twisting and rotating the tube some to free any adhesions due to the length of time the tube had been in. She felt Angelique jump a little at her touch and she started squirming as Kara rotated the tube. She looked up at Angelique’s face.
“Are you ready?” Angelique didn’t do or say anything but bite her lip. Kara was sure she could feel her shivering or shaking. “Give me a nod or something if you are ready. It’s going to feel a little weird, but it will be over quick and won’t hurt. I promise.”
Kara’s hand on her groin sent a whole herd of elephant sized butterflies racing around her body. When she twisted the tube, it felt like nothing she had ever imagined and set off a shiver through her midsection. She heard Kara say something, but it took a moment or two to understand it. She was biting her lip and looking at Kara again. She closed her eyes and nodded once.
Kara saw the nod and pulled in one smooth motion. Once she started, she barely got her other hand out of the way of Angelique’s hands shooting to her groin. Kara knew the weird tickling sensation removing the tube can cause. She shivered involuntarily just thinking about it.
Angelique’s breathing stopped. Her hands flew to try and stop the source of the crawling, tickling sensation deep inside her. It felt like the tickle in the back of your nose when a sneeze is stuck, only times a million! By the time she could breathe again, Kara was standing up next to her, holding her.
“It’s all done. You’re OK. It’s all over.” Kara held her at arm’s length for a moment, looking in her eyes. “Feels pretty weird, huh? You might itch a bit, but now your pee is back under your own control and you don’t have that thing to drag around. Let’s get you into the shower.”
Kara was wheeling her into the shower when she dropped another bit of knowledge on her.
“Once you are done with the shower and get dressed, food, then homework. We have a stack of things for you to learn. You get to pick the first couple of topics from the stack, but you got a lot of learning to do. No just sitting on your butt.”
Angelique spent quite a while in the shower trying to get her mind and body back under her control.
sssarawolf
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Thank you, no those things are not fun.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Bekka and Allyson went through the site like a full-fledged CSI team. They looked at what was in the buildings, how many people seemed to be in each, what gear was left behind, what supplies were present, what ones were absent. They figured they needed to get the best image of what happened.
One of the things Bekka wanted to know was who shot the guys and from where. It would help her get a feel for what they might be up against. The bodies being moved made some of this difficult.
While Allyson was working the details, Bekka started looking at the two in the doorway. It was pistol rounds she figured. There were at least ten or twelve rounds expended. Bekka found the brass. The shooting was done fairly close up, maybe five or six yards. The brass was 9mm. She collected them. They looked a little different. They had stripes on them. The only pistol caliber weapons she could think of that did that were HK MP5s, similar to the ones she was using, but in a different caliber. A couple three round bursts would make sense. Not that this would be comforting.
She was also able to find what might be the shooting site for the other three. It was about seventy feet or so. Really damn close for a fifty caliber. Like a knife fight in a telephone booth close. Holy crap! Who would use something that close when the MP5s would work just as well at that range!
Allyson was finding some confusing stuff as well. The building they were keeping the prisoners in had nothing in it but some mattresses on the floor and some paper plates. The store room had a mix of stuff. Cases and cases of liquor were stacked in one place, a few cases of various food stuff were opened and a spot where more boxes probably were looking at the layout of the room.
The building the bad guys were using was stacked with food and drinks, but it looks hastily vacated. There were maybe some things they could take but that would be after they finished the investigation.
Bekka was the next to find an interesting development. In one of the pole barns, there was a firefighting skid on the ground, connected by a ratchet strap to one of the poles. This was a platform with a water tank and a pump normally used to fight fires. Frequently, these are used on flatbed trucks instead of a real firetruck, most commonly in rough terrain not reachable with fire trucks. These are expensive things and not normally thrown to the ground as this one obviously was. The corner was bent and mangled and the tank was split and leaking. To her, it looked like someone wanted the truck and not the firefighting gear. This was probably the bad guys wanting more hauling capacity for stuff from the city when they started losing vehicles to Garen, Bekka and crew.
Everything they saw seemed to be indicative of a hasty exit, similar to what they found at the stadium, with a few notable exceptions. There were no dead captives and the calibers used were wrong. Also the bad guys were not stripped. All of these things pointed to someone else cleaning up something. Maybe the extraction crew was more a hostile takeover than a rescue.
One of the things Bekka wanted to know was who shot the guys and from where. It would help her get a feel for what they might be up against. The bodies being moved made some of this difficult.
While Allyson was working the details, Bekka started looking at the two in the doorway. It was pistol rounds she figured. There were at least ten or twelve rounds expended. Bekka found the brass. The shooting was done fairly close up, maybe five or six yards. The brass was 9mm. She collected them. They looked a little different. They had stripes on them. The only pistol caliber weapons she could think of that did that were HK MP5s, similar to the ones she was using, but in a different caliber. A couple three round bursts would make sense. Not that this would be comforting.
She was also able to find what might be the shooting site for the other three. It was about seventy feet or so. Really damn close for a fifty caliber. Like a knife fight in a telephone booth close. Holy crap! Who would use something that close when the MP5s would work just as well at that range!
Allyson was finding some confusing stuff as well. The building they were keeping the prisoners in had nothing in it but some mattresses on the floor and some paper plates. The store room had a mix of stuff. Cases and cases of liquor were stacked in one place, a few cases of various food stuff were opened and a spot where more boxes probably were looking at the layout of the room.
The building the bad guys were using was stacked with food and drinks, but it looks hastily vacated. There were maybe some things they could take but that would be after they finished the investigation.
Bekka was the next to find an interesting development. In one of the pole barns, there was a firefighting skid on the ground, connected by a ratchet strap to one of the poles. This was a platform with a water tank and a pump normally used to fight fires. Frequently, these are used on flatbed trucks instead of a real firetruck, most commonly in rough terrain not reachable with fire trucks. These are expensive things and not normally thrown to the ground as this one obviously was. The corner was bent and mangled and the tank was split and leaking. To her, it looked like someone wanted the truck and not the firefighting gear. This was probably the bad guys wanting more hauling capacity for stuff from the city when they started losing vehicles to Garen, Bekka and crew.
Everything they saw seemed to be indicative of a hasty exit, similar to what they found at the stadium, with a few notable exceptions. There were no dead captives and the calibers used were wrong. Also the bad guys were not stripped. All of these things pointed to someone else cleaning up something. Maybe the extraction crew was more a hostile takeover than a rescue.
Last edited:
sssarawolf
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Thank you
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
In the end it was the weather that made the decision for them. The rain was back and getting heavier. Bekka and Allyson collected some odds and ends and a couple of cases of supplies that would fit in the cargo baskets of the little buggy and moved off up a side trail in the forest. The rain would wash their tracks down to unrecognizable if they stayed off the throttle and didn’t disturb too much. The wide footprint of the tires didn’t push the leaves around too much and with everything soaked, it's not like it was a trail of crushed leaves or disturbed leaves off of the trees.
Between the rain and the cold of the season, it would be a miserable trip and they would be lucky to get back home by dawn. Bekka was of two minds in this. Part of her just wanted to push through and get home. There is a term for this. It’s called ‘get-home-itis’ and has caused many a death. The smarter half of her said they should push till deep in the night and hole up for a few hours of sleep. She broached both of these to Allyson.
“Look, if we push through, we could be at the house by dawn.”
“Yeah, or the bottom of a ravine somewhere. If I knew the area, I would say I sleep and you drive, then we switch off. I don’t know it enough to do that in the daylight, much less in the dark. That’s the down side of bringing me rather than Kara or Garen.”
“True, but you are better at the investigatory stuff once we got there. Once you spend more time in the woods, you will get to know it better.”
“Hell, I have enough territory to learn just inside your compound!”
“True. Unless we find out or figure out something with these guys, I think we will all just play in our own yard for a while. It’s cold, wet and nasty, and the snow is coming. We have too much to do for ourselves to go traipsing all over the countryside more.”
“Yeah. We all need to get smarter and healthier.”
For quite a while, there was nothing but the sound of the tires on the ground, the rain on the hood and the low growl of the engine behind them.
Between the rain and the cold of the season, it would be a miserable trip and they would be lucky to get back home by dawn. Bekka was of two minds in this. Part of her just wanted to push through and get home. There is a term for this. It’s called ‘get-home-itis’ and has caused many a death. The smarter half of her said they should push till deep in the night and hole up for a few hours of sleep. She broached both of these to Allyson.
“Look, if we push through, we could be at the house by dawn.”
“Yeah, or the bottom of a ravine somewhere. If I knew the area, I would say I sleep and you drive, then we switch off. I don’t know it enough to do that in the daylight, much less in the dark. That’s the down side of bringing me rather than Kara or Garen.”
“True, but you are better at the investigatory stuff once we got there. Once you spend more time in the woods, you will get to know it better.”
“Hell, I have enough territory to learn just inside your compound!”
“True. Unless we find out or figure out something with these guys, I think we will all just play in our own yard for a while. It’s cold, wet and nasty, and the snow is coming. We have too much to do for ourselves to go traipsing all over the countryside more.”
“Yeah. We all need to get smarter and healthier.”
For quite a while, there was nothing but the sound of the tires on the ground, the rain on the hood and the low growl of the engine behind them.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Angelique looked over the pile of books on the table next to her bed. She was beginning to regret telling them she wanted to learn as much as possible to be useful. This was two or three years’ worth of learning compared to the volume of her standard high school classes.
There were six big textbooks on medical alone. EMT, Paramedic, two big volumes of Auerbach’s Wilderness Medicine, an old Anatomy and Physiology book, and a herbalistic pharmacology book made up her medical homework. Another stack of books was for combat tactics and skills, all the way from simple personal level stuff, through small unit tactics in urban and wilderness terrain, and down the rabbit hole of mental and spiritual aspects of combat. The third stack was more familiar and inviting to her. Wilderness and survival skills books from the archaic through the most modern were filled with many things she knew, coupled with a bunch of newer tweaks and tricks she wasn’t aware of. The new snares and fire building, the different cooking and shelter building she absorbed rapidly. She had relative elements already learned she could tie the new stuff to in her brain. The slightly different approach stuff was a bit harder since she didn’t think about them before.
There were books on mantracking, combat tracking, search and rescue lost person thinking, wilderness navigation, celestial navigation, animal tracking, and evading trackers and on and on. She loved to learn this sort of stuff, but the sheer quantity was overwhelming. Perhaps the part that really sent her into panic mode was when Garen told her this was her first semester load and next semester was gunfighting and melee weapons tactics and skills.
Just this pile of books alone represented easily several thousand dollars. Four professional post graduate level instructors for these topics in a class of one? Priceless. She was beginning to realize she was in a once in a lifetime position. She would never have gotten this sort of education even with ten years of college. She heard her grandfather’s voice in her head; ‘Never waste an opportunity to learn. Things can be confiscated or lost. Your mind is yours.’
She picked up the EMT Book and began to read.
There were six big textbooks on medical alone. EMT, Paramedic, two big volumes of Auerbach’s Wilderness Medicine, an old Anatomy and Physiology book, and a herbalistic pharmacology book made up her medical homework. Another stack of books was for combat tactics and skills, all the way from simple personal level stuff, through small unit tactics in urban and wilderness terrain, and down the rabbit hole of mental and spiritual aspects of combat. The third stack was more familiar and inviting to her. Wilderness and survival skills books from the archaic through the most modern were filled with many things she knew, coupled with a bunch of newer tweaks and tricks she wasn’t aware of. The new snares and fire building, the different cooking and shelter building she absorbed rapidly. She had relative elements already learned she could tie the new stuff to in her brain. The slightly different approach stuff was a bit harder since she didn’t think about them before.
There were books on mantracking, combat tracking, search and rescue lost person thinking, wilderness navigation, celestial navigation, animal tracking, and evading trackers and on and on. She loved to learn this sort of stuff, but the sheer quantity was overwhelming. Perhaps the part that really sent her into panic mode was when Garen told her this was her first semester load and next semester was gunfighting and melee weapons tactics and skills.
Just this pile of books alone represented easily several thousand dollars. Four professional post graduate level instructors for these topics in a class of one? Priceless. She was beginning to realize she was in a once in a lifetime position. She would never have gotten this sort of education even with ten years of college. She heard her grandfather’s voice in her head; ‘Never waste an opportunity to learn. Things can be confiscated or lost. Your mind is yours.’
She picked up the EMT Book and began to read.
sssarawolf
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Thank you
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
I can’t sleep. Allyson and I pulled over when the trees were blurring and made a small camp. It was nothing more than a tarp spread over the top of the buggy and tied off to a pair of trees, but it kept the rain from falling on us for a bit. I spent a little bit of time showing her how to make a little alcohol stove from some beer cans I scooped up before we left. I then filled it with some of the straight grain from one of the cases I loaded into the buggy from the forest camp.
Allyson was concerned about heat signature from the flame. I pointed out how I was digging down to get it below ground and covering it with the cup. I also had her look at it with the thermal scope we brought with us. The spot was tiny from five feet away. I also directed her attention to the back of the buggy, with its Shetland pony sized heat bloom. I made sure to tell her how good I thought her thinking was, and in truth I was proud in how far she had come in the scant weeks since this has started.
I was scared when we first picked her up. I was sure she was going to not understand and adapt. I was ready to walk away from her in the little forest turnout she was parked in. She reminded me of some of the clueless troops who were panicking and shitting themselves when they found out they were going to have to deploy to a war zone. “I just joined for the college!’ and “I can’t leave my kids, I have no one to take care of them!’ and all the other non-thinking and processing people I had to work around and carry extra load because of in my military career.
I was wrong. She has stepped up. It was a matter of not knowing rather than oblivious.
Angelique. She will bounce back, but I don’t know how thick that hard exterior is. If she breaks, we will put her back together. We have plenty of experience with Kara on that score. Besides, we owe it to Doug.
Garen and Kara and me, we are the same as we ever were. We have junior troops to train and lead. We also have no redeployment date, so we are in it for the long haul. That’s where Allyson and Angelique come in. The new blood will help. We have already proven we need more than just us three for the times ahead.
I want to get back to the house. There is nothing at the forest camp to indicate any plan in the near future for the guys that were there returning anytime soon. We will have to keep an eye that direction, but for now, that threat direction may have stabilized.
In a week, we will have probably a foot of snow trying to stick. We need to get the house and grounds ready for the long winter’s night.
Winter’s coming, and I am glad they are with me.
Allyson was concerned about heat signature from the flame. I pointed out how I was digging down to get it below ground and covering it with the cup. I also had her look at it with the thermal scope we brought with us. The spot was tiny from five feet away. I also directed her attention to the back of the buggy, with its Shetland pony sized heat bloom. I made sure to tell her how good I thought her thinking was, and in truth I was proud in how far she had come in the scant weeks since this has started.
I was scared when we first picked her up. I was sure she was going to not understand and adapt. I was ready to walk away from her in the little forest turnout she was parked in. She reminded me of some of the clueless troops who were panicking and shitting themselves when they found out they were going to have to deploy to a war zone. “I just joined for the college!’ and “I can’t leave my kids, I have no one to take care of them!’ and all the other non-thinking and processing people I had to work around and carry extra load because of in my military career.
I was wrong. She has stepped up. It was a matter of not knowing rather than oblivious.
Angelique. She will bounce back, but I don’t know how thick that hard exterior is. If she breaks, we will put her back together. We have plenty of experience with Kara on that score. Besides, we owe it to Doug.
Garen and Kara and me, we are the same as we ever were. We have junior troops to train and lead. We also have no redeployment date, so we are in it for the long haul. That’s where Allyson and Angelique come in. The new blood will help. We have already proven we need more than just us three for the times ahead.
I want to get back to the house. There is nothing at the forest camp to indicate any plan in the near future for the guys that were there returning anytime soon. We will have to keep an eye that direction, but for now, that threat direction may have stabilized.
In a week, we will have probably a foot of snow trying to stick. We need to get the house and grounds ready for the long winter’s night.
Winter’s coming, and I am glad they are with me.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
She is steadily improving. I thank you for your and everyone else's concerns and prayers on her progress.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Alright everyone, Questions, comments, ponderings on what has gone on? I can answer questions, discuss elements but I will not give away upcoming parts yet.
Part Two starts Monday. The end of part one was a request by the wife. She said "you should just cut it in the middle with a 'gee I'm glad your with me, Sam' ". She had not read the full Lord of the Rings series when we went to see the movie in the theater. When they got to the end of the first movie, leaving it with Sam and Frodo split from the rest of the Fellowship, closing with 'gee I'm glad your with me, Sam', she was somewhat livid. I had to listen to her all the way home going on and on about "There? They just left it THERE?". Being the malicious little imp she is, she figured to do the same to you guys. She is currently going through the first revised draft of what I have written so far. You guys have gotten version one. I have been going back through and making tweaks and corrections for grammar, continuity, and to make sure Kara sounds like Kara, and Bekka acts like Bekka. The wife is doing a better grammar check and build, as well as fixing and tweaking some elements for things like 'girls don't think that way, silly boy'. She has a much stronger background in published writing but is only able to fit it in some at a time. I keep telling myself that Rowling took seven years to finish the first Potter book. I am only closing in on nine months, so I think I may be ahead of the curve so far. I thank everyone for your support and comments. Without readers, writing gets hard.
Once again thank you for all your support. Part Two starts Monday, but i'm here off and on all weekend for questions, comments, detail elements and so forth.
Part Two starts Monday. The end of part one was a request by the wife. She said "you should just cut it in the middle with a 'gee I'm glad your with me, Sam' ". She had not read the full Lord of the Rings series when we went to see the movie in the theater. When they got to the end of the first movie, leaving it with Sam and Frodo split from the rest of the Fellowship, closing with 'gee I'm glad your with me, Sam', she was somewhat livid. I had to listen to her all the way home going on and on about "There? They just left it THERE?". Being the malicious little imp she is, she figured to do the same to you guys. She is currently going through the first revised draft of what I have written so far. You guys have gotten version one. I have been going back through and making tweaks and corrections for grammar, continuity, and to make sure Kara sounds like Kara, and Bekka acts like Bekka. The wife is doing a better grammar check and build, as well as fixing and tweaking some elements for things like 'girls don't think that way, silly boy'. She has a much stronger background in published writing but is only able to fit it in some at a time. I keep telling myself that Rowling took seven years to finish the first Potter book. I am only closing in on nine months, so I think I may be ahead of the curve so far. I thank everyone for your support and comments. Without readers, writing gets hard.
Once again thank you for all your support. Part Two starts Monday, but i'm here off and on all weekend for questions, comments, detail elements and so forth.
Grouchy Granny
Deceased
Can't wait! I check every day for the next installment.