Chapter 4
Scouter Connall’s eyes snapped open and a moan escaped his lips. The man’s eyeballs were all white with black pinholes for pupils.
Scouter Jeremy jerked back as Connall began to thrash around in the seatbelt. He leaped out of the van as Connall pulled against the restraints and began to slam back and forth in the seat.
“Jeremy, what are you doing? I need you to help me hold him,” Mike said, reaching into the van to try to push the man down.
“But….”
“No time!” Mike shouted. “You hold him while I lay his seat back. He’s having a seizure!”
Jeremy reluctantly climbed back into the van and leaned into the convulsing man. Mike released Connall and grabbed the seat release. He tugged at it, but the combined pressure of Jeremy pushing down on Connall and Connall’s weight jammed the mechanism.
Mike looked into Jeremy’s eyes. “You’re going to have to ease off for a moment so I can lean his seat back.”
Jeremy’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding!”
Mike shook his head. “I need to lay him on his back. With you pushing on him, the seat mechanism is stuck.”
“If you say so,” Jeremy said, quite obviously not convinced.
Mike nodded his head and Jeremy pulled his hands off Connall’s chest. The thrashing man immediately jerked forward and Mike was able to pull up the seat release.
“Push now!” Mike shouted.
Jeremy wasted no time, pushing Connall and the seat down into a reclining position. Mike jumped in to help Jeremy hold the man down as the seatbelt was no long holding Connall.
Mike looked over his shoulder and shouted at the other leaders who were climbing out of their vehicles to see what was wrong. “Go to my truck and get the straps that are in the wooden box in the back. Kyle can show you where they are. We’ve got to get Connall strapped down before he hurts himself.”
Scouter Steve nodded and ran to Mike’s truck, shouting for Kyle. Kyle climbed out of the truck and met Steve. The two had a quick conversation and he led Steve to the back of the truck. Steve was back to the van within a minute with several black four foot velcro straps. He climbed into the van through the passenger side door and manoeuvred around Jeremy to get clearer access to Connall.
“Start with his arms and chest. We’ve got to get him restrained so he doesn’t hurt himself or anyone else,” Mike said.
Steve nodded and began wrapping the velcro straps around the struggling man. He started with Connall’s shoulders and worked his way down. Mike gradually released the pressure on the injured Scouter until Connall was completely bound to the van’s seat. Only then did he step out of the van and stand back to look at Connall.
The man was still trying to sit up, the cords bulging in his neck from the effort. He made the occasional moaning sound, but no coherent words. The bite mark on his neck no longer oozed anything because a scab had already formed over the wound.
Steve and Jeremy exited the van and came around to talk to Mike.
“What the heck is wrong with Connall?” Jeremy asked.
“That was crazy!” Steve said, leaning into the van to check on Connall.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Mike agreed. “It was like he was attacking us. I’ve known injured people who have attacked their friends because of some delusion, but this was different. It was almost like Connall had no idea who we were.” He shook his head. “In fact, I’m not sure Connall even knows who he is right now.”
“This changes everything,” Steve said. “We should really stay at an accident scene like this, but with a hurt leader and several kids to keep safe, plus no sign of victims, we’ve got to get back to the city immediately.”
“You’re right, Steve,” Mike said. “But how are we going to do this? There’s no way Connall can drive, and all the other leaders have their own vehicles.”
“And we really shouldn’t move Connall now that we have him secured,” Steve said. He rubbed his chin and thought for a moment. “If you all can redistribute the other Scouts, I’ll leave my vehicle behind and drive Connall’s van. I’ll take my son Stan with me, but I don’t think any of the others should stay with us. I can leave a note in my truck with my contact information in case help comes. They can call me for details about the accident.”
Jeremy nodded. “That should work. I know Shaun can take more and I said I could take four more if we shuffled gear into your truck.”
“We can still move some of the equipment around so you can take more,” Steve said. “But now I’m thinking we put some in the van. I won’t be taking more Scouts and that will leave additional space for equipment. I just don’t want to leave anyone a good reason to break into my truck, is all.”
Shaun joined the three men just as Steve finished speaking. “Break into your truck? Why would anyone do that?”
Mike smiled at Shaun. “We were just deciding what to do next. Steve thinks we should leave his truck here so he can drive Connall back. He thought we should throw extra gear into the van so his truck isn’t such a big target.”
“So you’re thinking of leaving for the city? Makes sense,” Shaun said with a nod. “We’ve got to get these boys back.” He looked at the moaning Connall. “Connall too, it seems.”
“It’s agreed then,” Mike said. “Let’s get as much equipment into the van as we can and let’s get the heck out of here!”