[b]Medical Tent Bravo[/b]

Samantha turned to leave the tent, badly needing some air, but stopped when she realize how she looked. Much of the front side of her scrubs were covered in blood after the failed attempt to save poor Jenny's life. She didn't want those outside the tent to see her like this, even though she was pretty sure that the rumor mill was already spreading the news that they'd lost another life to the savagery of the C-130's crash landing.

She looked back to Dr. Biermann, finding him standing over the dead woman with his hands in his pockets and head lowered. He removed his glasses and wiped a tear from his eyes. The emotion and gesture resulting from it surprised Samantha. Biermann had thus far seemed so ... [i]unemotional[/i] about what the community was going through thus far, so to see him shed a tear over losing another patient was somewhat of a shock to her. 

She found herself feeling empathy and sympathy [i]both[/i] for him. Samantha had worked Emergency Rooms for years, and she'd seen Doctors lose a great many patients after automobile accidents or gangland shootings or violent domestic disputes. After a while, most of them ceased showing the deep emotion that came with losing someone on the table. Oh, it didn't mean that they were unfeeling monsters or anything like that. It's just that they often became desensitized to the losses. 

Samantha found herself very content with seeing that Heineken could still feel in this way.

She crossed over to a makeshift shelf unit, shed her bloodied scrubs, and slipped into a lightweight vest. The sun was threatening to disappear for the evening, and she knew that it was going to get much chillier very quickly once darkness arrived. Outside, she found the Mission Coordinator standing only a dozen yards away; she was obviously waiting for news about the emergency surgery.

Crossing toward Carol, Samantha only shook her head. The other woman's eyes instantly welled up with tears; Carol and Jenny had been friends as well as Mission coworkers, and of all the losses thus far, this ranked at the top as the most devastating, side by side with the loss of both of little Autumn Fitzpatrick's parents. 

[color=orange]"I'll get the crew to begin digging,"[/color] Carol said, referring to the preparation of yet another gravesite. [color=orange]"We'll wait until dark. Everyone doesn't need to see this."[/color] When Samantha nodded her agreement, Carol asked, [color=orange]"How's the Doc taking it?"[/color]

Samantha wasn't sure whether or not she should be speaking for Biermann. She replied, [color=orange]"He's keeping busy with the other patients, but ... you might want to check in with him at some point."[/color]

[color=orange]"I will,"[/color] Carol said. 

She took Samantha's hands in her own, asked if she had time to take a rest or at least get some food, then hugged her tenderly. When they parted and Samantha headed away, Carol looked off toward the forest's edge and caught sight of Paula's recon' team returning. She hurried over to them wanting badly to hear what they'd found.

[color=orange]"That's incredible,"[/color] she said after the team informed her of both the abandone airstrip and the freshwater creek. [color=orange]"We'll check it out more tomorrow and think about moving the camp there. We [i]have[/i] to be close to water."[/color]

[color=orange]"What about rescue?"[/color] one of the other survivors nearby asked with a harsh tone. He gestured a hand out toward the surf, asking, [color=orange]"How we gonna see a ship out there if we're all living in the jungle?"[/color]

Others who'd come closer to hear about Paula and Desmond's trek joined in the conversation, and within seconds it was a full blown argument about what the community should do. Carol called for quiet, then again, and finally a third time before she had the group's attention.

[color=orange]"We're not going to abandon the idea of rescue, people, trust me,"[/color] she promised. [color=orange]"We [i]have[/i] to move the camp to a place close to water ... but that doesn't mean that we can't station people here on the beach--"[/color]

She gestured toward the mountain above the forward portion of the C-130's fuselage, continuing, [color=orange]"--or even up on that peak to look for and to signal a ship or a plane if we see one."[/color]

Most conversation followed about who would man the lookouts, with some of the survivors volunteering while others argued that they shouldn't be [i]forced[/i] to stand watches. Carol found that argument odd, believing that anyone and everyone would be willing to keep on the lookout for rescue. But apparently, there were a handful or more of survivors who thought that they were above such labor. 

[color=orange]"[i]Listen! Everyone listen![/i]"[/color] she cut in again. Once relative silence prevailed, Carol finished, [color=orange]"We'll figure all of this out tomorrow. Nothing has to be decided tonight. For now, go back to whatever it was that you were doing and don't worry about tomorrow and moving and rescue. We'll deal with that tomorrow."[/color]

People began breaking off and returning to what they'd been doing. Carol concluded some conversations with people who simply had to ask more questions or make more comments. Finally, she got a break and turned to look off to the west, where the sun was about to disappear into the sea, just to the south of the island's west end. It was so beautiful that it made her forget what she was facing at the moment.