Chapter 12: But is the rock ok?

I came to in the darkness, suspended in the air somehow, slowly swaying back and forth. I managed to open my eyes and focus just enough to see that I was hanging by a bunch of tethers under the grapple hook of the mule’s crane. The crane’s bright light was blinding me every time I swung through its beam, causing a fresh burst of pain in my already throbbing head. I wondered in confusion at what the hell had happened.

I also became aware that I was numb with cold. I could hear Agent’s voice softly speaking in my goggle headbands but could not comprehend her words. I rolled my eyes to the side and saw that I was being slowly swung around through the air and over towards the crates covering Mule Two. I slipped back into blackness just as I felt my back contact the crates.

I came to the second time still in the dark, maybe it was a bit brighter than before. This time I could feel a warmth on my face and I was not quite as cold. I opened my eyes and tried to focus through the double vision I was experiencing. I had lain there, slowly blinking for half a minute, trying to focus, when I heard Agents voice.

“John? If you can understand this, blink twice rapidly.”

I managed to do so.

“There is no need to speak. You are laying on the ground near the tunnel entrance back at the base camp. I need you to proceed inside so I can begin to treat your injuries in the medical crèche. I will assist you with your attempt when you are ready. Blink twice rapidly if you understand.”

My head hurt! I tried to recall what had happened. Why was I laying here on the ground in the cold? After a few moments I remembered Agents’ words and managed to blink a reply.

“Good. Again, do not attempt to move until you are ready”

Was I ready? No! Instead I lay there and tried to get the spinning in my head to stop and my eyes to focus. Eventually, my blurry vision cleared a bit and, although I was seeing double at times, I noticed that the warmth was coming from the flashlight set nearby in infrared mode. Also, I saw that I was laying on the ground on top of a bunch of the broken solar panels which had been converted into an improvised mat. A tarp had been draped over me and I wondered how I had gotten here and who had done all this.

“wwWha...” I managed to croak out.

“There was an accident, John.” Agent said, interrupting me, before I could continue to frog croak.

“You had been assisting in the retrieval of the mule which had become mired in mud in a ravine east of base camp. During the return journey you fell off the rear of Mule Two and struck your head on a large boulder. You were rendered unconscious and your body came to rest at the bottom of the gully near the water’s edge. From the symptoms now apparent, including the blood seepage visible on your hood, your disjointed eye movements, and various noticeable swelling, I conclude that you have suffered a concussion and may have an intracranial hematoma, or other serious internal injuries to your brain.”

She paused to allow me time to process that.

“hhHooww...” I started croaking again.

“I used the mules, the crane, the drones and numerous tethers, John. I will explain in detail later if you wish. Now, you must focus on getting to the medical crèche below. When you are able to sit up, blink twice.”

I thought about that. Could I sit up? I tried to focus and build strength for the attempt. My head wouldn’t stop throbbing and I was very nauseous. I moved my eyes just enough to look over my body. From what was exposed from under the tarp, I could see that tethers had been glued to my clothing at various points, including my waist, shoulders and probably my legs. Turning my head slightly caused a new explosion of pain! I could see through the haze that my head was surrounded by tethers and clumps of a rigid foam residue.

“With the head trauma you suffered, it will be best if you do not stand and instead crawl into the tunnel and proceed to the drop shaft. Again, blink twice when you are ready to proceed,” the machine said.

After a bit longer, some of the pain subsided and I slowly shifted my eyes to the crane’s camera, blinking twice. The crane’s grippers moved the tarp off me and then carefully grabbed the bundles of tethers around my shoulders. I took a deep breath and, working together, we managed to get my body into a sitting position. I paused for a moment, bracing myself in that position with my arms, waiting for my nauseous gut to settle and the swaying to stop. (it didn’t) The pounding in my head had lessened a bit though.

After a moment I noticed one of the drones had landed beyond my feet and was watching me, so I blinked twice towards it and started to strain myself over into a crawling position, again with the crane’s assistance. Once on my hands and knees, I just waited, swaying a bit, depending upon the crane to help keep me up and stable.

“John, rest for a moment. I will not be able to support you while you enter the tunnel and descend the shaft ladder. You must wait until you are confident that you can achieve this on your own.”

Well, I’ll probably die if we wait that long, Agent, I thought, getting angry.

“I have attached the winch rope to your shoulder tethers John, and as you enter the upper tunnel, I will pay out rope. At the shaft, I will use the winch to assist and retard your descent down the ladder.”

Clever ... maybe that would work. I wondered if she would use the rope to drag my carcass back out if I passed out again. Or, if I died there, would she just shut down everything where it sat, turn off the lights and turn herself off, I speculated morbidly.

She interrupted my dark thoughts and continued, “I will monitor your entrance and passage through the tunnel with the drones. Please proceed into the tunnel as soon as you are ready.”

I continued to wait, trying to regain some balance and strength, and slowly looked myself over as best I could. Despite my blurry, double vision, I saw that the tethers glued to my legs and feet had been cut off and only short remnants remained. Soon, I felt able to proceed, and sensing that, agent slowly released the shoulder tethers with the cranes’ gripper. I focused on the tunnel and saw the second drone waiting inside near the shaft. Here we go!

Trailing the rope, I slowly made my way down the entry tunnel. The nausea increased when I moved my head, so I tried to keep it as stable as possible. I slowly made it to the edge of the shaft and attempted to turn and begin descending the ladder. The vertigo was so bad that I would have toppled down the shaft if Agent had not held me from falling with the taut rope. I should have been smart enough to crawl down the tunnel backwards.

I quickly learned to keep my head level and fixed which allowed me to slowly descend, one rung at a time, sometimes pausing for many seconds to regain my balance. Eventually I reached the bottom platform where Agent had positioned a mobile work unit. The winch rope supported me as I again got into the crawling position. After I was on my knees and ready to head to the crèche, the mobile unit cut the winch rope loose from my shoulder harness made of tethers. I then relied on its manipulator arm for guidance as I crawled along the lower tunnel and its sloping floor.

Eventually we made it through to the main chamber and further to the edge of the medical crèche. I had noted that the mobile unit had prepared extra-large openings in the plastic bubble so that it could assist me the entire way to the crèche. Bracing myself on the edge of the crèche, the unit assisted me in disrobing, starting with removing my boots. My pants also came off in one piece.

My jacket was not so lucky as Agent was forced to cut the hood of the jacket off because of the mass of clotted blood cementing it to the wound in the back of my head. My shirt was also ruined when it was cut down my arms and sides and removed in halves. I did manage to spare my socks and underwear at least and slipped them off carefully without bending much or looking down.

“John, I conclude that the optimal way for you to enter the crèche will be to let the unit help you stand while continuing to bend and then roll your body over the edge and settle down inside on your front. I have removed the pillow and installed a cradle to support your head and face while still allowing access to your airways by the crèche instrumentation. This will also aid if you vomit during treatment due to nausea or pain.”

Lovely! I struggled to stand with the help of the machine and then slowly crawled over the edge as she had instructed and made it into the crèche on my hands and knees. I realized that I probably needed to piss soon and mentioned it to Agent.

“I will have the crèche install a catheter, John. I will numb the area beforehand as you will need to remain conscious because of various complications with administering anesthesia in your condition.”

With that bit of news delivered, I settled down face first with my face cradled in a support similar to what a masseuse uses. The crèche lid closed and the recess grew dark although Agent kept a dim pale light glowing behind me. She also kept my favorite soothing music playing softly to ... distract me? I began to be pricked, poked, fondled, jerked ... you get the picture.

My body grew numb in various spots so some of what was happening to me was probably painful. The worst came when the crèche removed the remains of the hood and began probing and cleaning my wounds. When a buzzing noise commenced, I knew my dreams of a full head of hair would have to wait.

So, that is how I spent the next several hours ... or days ... I’m not really sure. Eventually I was rolled over, and the medical crèche paused its work while Agent asked me many times to describe my remaining symptoms. My brain must have been judged stable or at least damaged no further and I was given an injection which put me out completely.

I awoke exhausted and with a headache. I lay there, puzzled at this a bit, remembering how wonderful I’d felt the last time I had awoken from bio-suspension. I asked Agent about this.

“John, the medical crèche was instructed to expedite your recovery and awaken you as soon as possible once you were judged able to regain full activity. The major internal damage has been repaired, you are no longer in danger and you are able to function, but you still need time to heal for full recovery. There will be some pain but medication included with the first aid supplies will mitigate this somewhat.