This fic is inspired by the prompt: put your iPod on shuffle and write a story about the first song that comes on. Now, I have a lot of pretty weird songs on my iPod, so I actually had to rummage around a bit before I found one that was compatible with anything. It's against the rules, I know, I know...
It's also a teeny bit inspired by the romance prompt: shove your characters into close proximity and see what happens. This, obviously, is not a romance fic, but it's just how it turned out.
The two girls' joint breath came out, ragged and rushed and petrified.
"Cleo?" Rikki whispered, and that frightened Cleo more than the darkness.
Because for the first time in all the time they'd known each other she actually sounded scared.
,/,,/,
Rikki reached out and grabbed Cleo, pulling her close. "Cleo. Listen to me. We'll be okay."
She felt the weight of the other girl's head on her shoulder. Along with something wet.
,/,,/,
The darkness weighed on them like a blanket lined with led. She felt Rikki's hands running through her hair, something that never would have happened had their life expectancy not suddenly shrunk into something close enough to cradle.
,/,,/,
Rikki squeezed her eyes shut against Cleo's harsh whispers.
"Lord, I'm sorry for anything bad I ever did in my life. I'm sorry for not talking to my mother for a while. I'm sorry for that fight with Bella the other day. I'm sorry I admired a boy when I know I love Lewis..."
She just held her tighter.
,/,,/,
Cleo let her head fall against Rikki's chest again.
"Cleo?" a halting, crusty whisper.
She murmured in response.
"We'll be okay. You have to know that. I'll get us out of here, if I have to break the elevator apart."
Cleo gave a slight nod and went back to not believing her.
,/,,/,
Rikki opened her eyes.
Darkness was still all she could see.
Cleo's head hovered next to hers, their bodies huddled on the elevator floor. She felt the brunette's steady release of breath, a life force she now knew as well as her own.
A small sound she'd come to treasure, because the alternative was too horrifying to bear.
,/,,/,
Cleo stared up into nothing.
Her eyes drifted everywhere.
Something caught her eye. One of the elevator buttons was glowing, flickering, faltering. Something sparked inside Cleo, in the hollow of her chest, something she'd forbidden herself to feel.
Hope.
The button flamed, and then faded.
And didn't come back.
,/,,/,
Rikki heard when Cleo roused, her arms stretching out and hitting her. She didn't utter a word of complaint, and Cleo didn't seem to notice.
"Rik—Rikki?" she murmured, voice affected with sleep. "It's cold..."
"Ssh," she whispered back, rolling over and bringing an arm around Cleo. "It's alright. We'll keep each other warm."
"It's cold."
"I know it is."
"It's cold."
Rikki ran her fingers through Cleo's hair, tough and greasy and strawlike after days of remaining unwashed. "It's alright, sweetie. You're alright. I know it is."
,/,,/,
Cleo dreamed.
She dreamed of faraway places, where the JuiceNet cafe was hovering three feet above the ground and booming with business. She dreamed of a place where Lewis was whispering to her, holding her close, filled to brim of promises that he'd never leave her again.
She dreamed of a place where Rikki was smiling, illuminated and happy and bright, her curls tumbling without effort down her shoulders. She laughed, and plucked one of the many daisies threaded through her hair and threw it at Cleo. "We're alright. Didn't I say that? You really should trust me more."
She dreamed of a place where there were no enclosed spaces, and everyone could run about as they pleased. There were no dark spots, and even in slumber, everyone had their eyes open.
But most of all, there were no elevators.
,/,,/,
Rikki coughed, her throat rough and dehydrated.
"Rikki..." Cleo murmured.
She felt something wispy coating her face, falling into her mouth, and finally realised it was Cleo's hair.
"Yes—" her voice cut off, succumbing to a round of loud, hacking coughs. "Cle—Cleo. I'm here."
"We're going to die."
She didn't have the strength to contradict her.
,/,,/,
Day and night had become nonexistent, after however many hours trapped in this neverending hell. She wasn't sure when, but somehow, all time had just floated away.
It was just her and Rikki's slow, laboured breathing alone in a paradox.
,/,,/,
Rikki gurgled on her own saliva.
She gasped, trying to sit upright, but her own strength failed her.
She lay down and closed her eyes, wondering if it would just be easier to stop breathing altogether.
,/,,/,
Cleo heard Rikki's struggles, heard as she lay down.
"Rik—" her tongue stopped moving.
There was a rasped, frantic murmur as her response.
Cleo let her head loll to the side, knowing that even if her sight had been rendered useless, that was where Rikki would be.
After a few minutes, her lips started to work again, and she whispered the two words that had been Rikki's mantra over their entire time captive, "I'm here."
,/,,/,
Words floated throughout Rikki's subconscious.
I'm here.
It was all darkness, but it was a different kind of darkness. It was infinite, not cramped like the terror of the lift.
I don't want to lose you.
Her feet hit something solid. She looked down, but there was nothing there. Still all black.
Please don't go.
She started running, just enjoying the sensation of her feet being able to hit something and keep going. Going. On and on. Forever.
Please don't leave me.
Rikki awoke with a tortured gasp.
She was in the elevator again, with it's too low ceiling and constricted walls.
Her head flopped on the side, the effort making her dizzy.
That was when she realised Cleo had stopped breathing.
,/,,/,
When rescue came, they were huddled together.
"They're here! They're here!"
They were still. Too still.
A paramedic rushed over to them, pressing two fingers into the inside of one of the girl's throat.
No pulse.
He lifted the girl up, and her head lolled back, her mouth falling open.
"Get the other one!" he said. "Be careful!"
He ducked out of the elevator entrance, bathed in the light of the foyer.
He heaved the girl onto a gurney, smoothing back her hair. He gently teased up her eyelids, shining a flashlight into her dark, hazel-green orbs.
He shook his head, biting down on his lip. No reaction. Not even the slightest dilation.
He pressed his fingers into the base of her neck again.
"Pulse," he whispered, his heart dropping into his stomach as he felt the weak, thready drum of a pulse. "Pulse! Godammit, get over here! We have a pulse!"
I was going to write a oneshot about how Emma got into a car accident and died, but so far I haven't been able to kill a character. Like ever. Let's see if that changes. ;)
P.S: I have no idea if that's normal procedure for a paramedic finding dead girls. Probably not. I'm also fairly sure someone would have found the girls by then, or the electricity would have come back on. Humour me and my inconsistencies. :/
IMPORTANT
P.P.S: This is an edit. I'm sorry, guys, but I looked it up and there was an entire thread on why songfics are banned. After reading the whole thing, I just really didn't feel comfortable having song lyrics in here. But if you want to listen to the song that inspired this: Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap, watch?v=XJD0j4sIkHA.