Twenty Degrees of Solitude

3

Walking through shin-deep snow with more than 6' of human in your arms was no easy task. Still, Sam was both a big man, standing a good 6'4" himself, and he was determined. Even so, it took almost twice the time it normally would to walk the mile back to the cabin, and he could feel the tremors racking the unconscious body in his arms. Upon reaching his place, he maneuvered the man in his arms slightly so he could turn the front door's knob and shove open the sturdy door with his shoulder.

Inside the cabin, Sam paused. He glanced down at the figure in his arms, contemplating, then moved across the large, open room to the fireplace, where a fire was currently burning. Between it and the wood-burning stove near it, the cabin was warm and cozy. It wouldn't do much for the unconscious man in his arms, however, if he didn't get the snow-frozen clothes off of him.

Sam snagged a throw from the back of a nearby armchair and dropped it to the floor, several feet from the screened fireplace, then used a booted foot to straighten it out a bit. He knelt carefully and laid the stranger on the throw, being careful not to let his head bump against the hardwood floor. 

He stood then and crossed the room, pulling off his thick gloves and undoing his heavy coat as he did. He tossed them onto a wooden chair at the small wood table in the 'kitchen' of the cabin, to be put away properly later; the heavy coveralls he was wearing over his jeans went next. He cursed beneath his breath and leaned over to unlace his boots when the coveralls got snagged on them. When the laces were undone, he shoved the entire cold, wet mess off at once, boots and all, and kicked them near the front door.

When he had shed himself of the heavy layers that had protected him from the cold outside – he would have had difficulty providing first aid in those – he quickly moved to a cabinet at the far side of the room. From it he pulled a first aid kit and several thick blankets. He hesitated only a moment before moving to the small closet and jerking it open. From it, he grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of boxers. They would probably be a bit large on the other man, but Sam couldn't leave him in cold, wet clothing.

Sam deposited his gathered items on the sofa, which sat several feet away, then knelt beside the stranger again. He began undoing the man's coat, working free the frozen buttons and zipper. It took several minutes, but finally he managed to remove the other's coat, hood and gloves. The boots took a bit more effort, due to the frozen laces and the fact that he didn't want to inflict anymore pain on the man's leg; finally though, he had those and the heavy snow pants off, as well. He tossed them nearby and started on the man's button down shirts.

It took a little while, but finally Sam had stripped most of the cold, frozen clothing off the stranger. He hesitated at the man's jeans, fearful of the possible broken leg; in the end, he found a pair of kitchen scissors and used them to carefully cut the jeans away. He did the same with the wet, cold t-shirt. Once that was finished, he draped a thick blanket over the man, and then set about inspecting him for damage.

The most obvious damage, besides the cold, red skin, was the bruising which crept down from the stranger's right temple. Careful prodding revealed a bump and a cut on his head, several inches above his temple, and another, along with another gash (which luckily didn't need stitched), near the back of his head. He cleaned away the blood as gently as he could, pausing as the unconscious man shifted, a frown creasing his brow, before going still again.

Sam estimated, from the frozen state of the other's clothing and the fact that the cuts were no longer bleeding, the man had been out in the cold, possibly unconscious, for at least two days. The high face cliff had shielded him from the wind, and being half-buried in the snow had, ironically, provided him enough warmth to keep him from freezing to death.

More gentle inspection revealed several more cuts on the man's side and back, along with a multitude of bruising. Thankfully, there was no sign of frostbite. He cleaned and bandaged what needed bandaging, before turning his focus to the other's leg. His initial guess had been correct: it was broken. It appeared to be a clean break, at least.

The man was shivering violently by the time he had finished his first aid, and Sam frowned. He would take care of his leg once he had the other warmed up a bit. He lifted the other carefully and carried his shivering form across the room, to the large bed located on the far side. He laid him gently on it and went back to the couch to grab the t-shirt he had pulled out of his closet earlier. He gently eased it onto the man, which was an awkward process, as he wasn't used to dressing other people. He glanced at the boxers the other had been wearing beneath his jeans; thankfully, they had dried while the man had been lying in front of the fireplace. Sam tugged the blankets up from the foot of the bed, where he had shoved them this morning, and pulled them up over the man, covering all but his broken leg. He retrieved the thick blankets he had tossed on the sofa and covered the other with those, also.

Dealing with the broken shin turned out to be easier than he had anticipated. He found several sturdy, narrow pieces of smooth wood in his back storeroom, and retrieved some ace bandages from a cabinet beneath the kitchen sink. He hesitated when he returned to the bed, debating: after a moment, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"This might hurt," he breathed as he placed large hands on the man's leg. He braced himself, drew in a steady breath, and shifted the leg slightly to straighten it out, trying to reset the bone. The stranger groaned in apparent pain, a shudder running through his body, but didn't wake. That in itself was a little concerning, but Sam figured it was also probably a blessing for the poor bastard. He splinted the leg, securing the bandages so they were tight but not so tight (hopefully) as to cause discomfort or loss of circulation. He wrapped a second length of bandage around the leg to further stabilize it. Once that was done, he drew the blankets over the man, then moved across the room to clean up his mess and hang up the coats and half-frozen clothing to dry.

Once the cabin was in order again, Sam tossed a few chunks of wood on the fire. He put a sturdy metal pot of water on the stove to warm it for coffee – he had a coffee maker but liked fixing it this way, also – then crossed to check on his patient.