Jye clambered forward into the front seat and the driver reached up his arms to lift the boy down from the high cabin of the truck.

‘Down you hop, sunshine,’ he said. ‘I rang your nana and pa. They’re coming here to pick you up.’

The gentleness of the man, the fatherly way he carried the boy—that little moment of kindness almost undid Paula. But then the urgency of what needed to be done took over and she managed to collect herself.

While Paula and Carol rushed Nicole towards the glass doors, the truck driver handed Jye over to the woman from the front office.

‘Grandparents are on their way to pick him up,’ he explained to her, then turned to call out to Paula. ‘Do you need me? Can I do anything?’

‘No, we’re right. Grateful for your help,’ Paula called back.

Nicole could only manage a small voice. ‘Can you thank that guy for me?’

Paula raised her hand to get the attention of the truck driver. ‘Nicole says thank you.’

The guy nodded. ‘I hope she’s okay. I’m heading to the police station now. Gotta make sure they find this mongrel.’

In the treatment area, Paula scrambled to recall all the emergency stuff she hadn’t needed to remember for a long time. Examining Nicole, even without X-rays, it looked pretty certain the truck driver was right about the broken pelvis. Fractured ankle and ribs too.

‘I know it hurts, Nicole, but you’re going to be okay,’ Paula said. ‘We need to move you to a bigger hospital. A helicopter will be here very soon.’

‘Where’s Jye? My parents here yet?’ Nicole asked. ‘My mum and dad said they’d take him.’

‘Don’t worry. They’re on their way. We’ll look after Jye until they get here.’

Paula was confident—as confident as she could be with her limited trauma experience—that Nicole was not about to crash. The woman was in pain and in shock, but she was conscious, breathing well, and when Paula checked her over, felt her belly, there were no signs of major internal bleeding. The task now was to stabilise her and give her some pain relief for the helicopter journey.

While the nurse hooked up oxygen by nasal prongs, Paula set up a saline drip and put in a urinary catheter. There was a risk of bladder rupture, given the broken pelvis and the impact of a vehicle on a body.

‘I’m going to give you some painkillers now, Nicole,’ Paula explained. ‘Might make you a bit woozy but you’ll be much more comfortable, okay?’

Once Nicole was less panicky, in less pain, Paula asked her, ‘Do you know where Ruby is? Is she safe?’