FIRE AND ICE  

By Tessa Harvey


    Laneke cried, even as the tears froze on her face. Helga had bravely watched the awesome flickering fire of the Northern Lights at their most beautiful - but the cold was winning. 
    Had the Innuit been able to move her, she would have been wrapped in rugs and taken home. The ice now crept up her legs, her arms, her inner core. The child was fading. The medevac helicopter strobed overhead seeking the marked landing place. The men had moved swiftly, lighting flares, always on hand for an emergency. The people were often injured or ill for various reasons. The climate was brutal, life short.
    The two paramedics, one male, one female, were with Helga before the rotors stopped.    
    Working swiftly, the girl was foil-wrapped with immense care and stretchered to the waiting aircraft. They were airborne and gone in a great flash and then the noise fading as silence and dark crept back.

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