REGRETS

Chapter 1

This was a challenge on another site. As always, no copyrite infringement is intended. I do this because I love to. Let me know what you think!

The summer sun was high, glowing down on Senior Special FBI Agent Jack Hudson. The sweat beads rolled down the sides of his face, running into his eyes, causing them to burn. His face swollen and dirty as he lay half unconscious at the foot of a twenty foot rocky cliff. He rolled to his left, but the pain in his body and head warned him to stay put. The heat and pain caused him to pass out again.

He didn't know how long it had been before he opened his eyes again, but there was so much pain. His eyes stung from the salt of sweat and blood that were seeping into his face. His left eye was swollen shut, split at the temple, purple and yellow in color. The taste of blood in his mouth made him reach for his face. The pain in his head made Jack reach up to feel for the wound. His actions were slow and calculated. His memory of the events was foggy at best. What had happened to him would remain a mystery a bit longer.

"Ugggh." He groaned. He tried once again to push himself up into a sitting position. The pain in his shoulder and arm was almost unbearable. The pain was blinding white. He was finally able to pull himself up and lean against the rocky wall.

The searing pain in his upper left arm was catching his attention. He reached to the pain to find yet another pool of blood on his shirt. The wound was still oozing, but slowly. It was on the back side of his arm, so Jack couldn't tell how bad it was. He slipped the knot of his tie out and pulled it from his collar. He wrapped it tightly around his bicep, holding one end with his teeth. He looked to his right and noticed spider webs, luckily, no spider. He grabbed them, and mushed them into his cut. "Hope that old wives tale is true." He said. Jack again reached for his head, the blood that was on his hand when he looked seemed to be old. There was only congealed residue.

"Ugghhhh." He yelled again as he tried to move. He pulled himself up to a standing position. His head was woozy. His legs jello. "What the hell happened?" He mumbled through gritted teeth. His thoughts were scattered, jumbled. His memories confused. His recent past was coming slowly, in splotches here and there like lightning flashes. Jack reached into his pocket, surprised to find his cell phone there. He was even more surprised to find he had a signal. His first instinct was to call his best friend. The one person he knew he could count on, no matter what. Even though he couldn't remember a fight or a disagreement, he felt like something was wrong between them. He knew, no matter what the issue though, she would come for him. She'd always been there for him-always. His fingers pressed Sue Thomas' phone number. He didn't even think what he was dialing, it was instinct.

"Hi. You've reached Sue. Leave me a message." The message came.

"Sue? Sue, it's me. I need your help. Please…" He said as his vision blurred again. He slid to his knees holding his head. He hit the end button. Exhaustion gripped his body and mind. It took all his strength to stay conscious. Jack managed to find a small shadow at the foot of the cliff where he could at least get out of the scorching sun. He searched his pockets looking for any food or water. Nothing. He tried to focus on staying awake, but the hurt and exhaustion finally won and he faded.

His dreams terrified him. He knew, without a doubt, his Sue was gone. He'd lost her, forever. There were flashes of terrible fights, harsh hurtful words. Tears. There had been lots of them. Regret. There was lots of that too. He couldn't put his finger on what had happened. He couldn't conjure up the memory. It was faded. It was black and white. Scratchy at best. It was etched into his mind forever. He looked up to the sky, opening his one good eye. The sun was past high. His watch didn't work anymore, it broke in the fall, he surmised.

He was able to stand without feeling faint for the first time. He investigated his surroundings. There wasn't much other than flat, empty, hot land. The discomfort in his shoulder was excruciating. He slipped his belt off, wrapped it around his neck and slid his arm in. It did little to alleviate the pain, but at least it would keep his arm stationary so the searing pain would stop. He was right, the pain would dull into an ache as the afternoon passed.

"Where the hell am I?" He asked. Faint memory of fighting and being dropped in a trunk flashed. He spotted some plants a little ways away from where he was. He slowly hobbled to where he'd seen them. "Better not be some damn mirage either!" He grumbled.

He came across a large cactus standing as a lone guardian of an oasis of sorts. Jack reached into his pocket and took out is Swiss Army Knife. He cut a piece of the plant, careful not to pick himself. He slowly sucked the juice from the flesh. To his surprise it was sweet. Sweeter than he'd thought. His main concern was that it was fluid for his body. A person wouldn't last very long out here without something to hydrate him.

He gathered some dried piece of dead leaves and grasses that had fallen near the plant. There were a few sticks lying closer to the rock wall. He could try to make a fire to stay warm during the night.

"Why didn't I pay more attention to survival 101?" He complained. "Or the least I could have done was watch MacGyver a little closer!" He stacked the pieces he'd gathered biggest to smallest in a pile. He then took the lens to his watch and strategically placed it over the dried grass. "This better work!"

It took nearly a half an hour, but he finally was able to get the grass to smoke. He fanned it just enough to cause a small flame to flicker. "Woo Whooo!" Jack exclaimed. He gathered more wood and scraps of dead plants. He was able to find a couple of longer wood pieces to make a lien to. It was primitive, but it would have to do for now. With any luck, Sue would race around the corner any second and save him… like she'd done so many times before.

As Jack ate another piece of the cactus, his mind flashed back to the first full memories he had of Sue. They were on a case, staking out a suspects house. They'd been there all night, both were exhausted, and had gotten into a giggling fit. The nights they'd spent as man and wife undercover, their passionate kiss at Callahan and Merced. He could still feel her in his arms, taste her on his lips, and smell her on his jacket. That was one night he'd regretted just going home. Jack's long day had finally taken its toll on him. He fought the sleep, but it over took him. Night fell, the air temperature fell, and he woke shivering. He had been lucid enough, though, to put some rocks he found in the edge of the fire. Jack took two rocks, the size of baseballs, and placed them in his jacket. It was crude, but it worked. He would at least survive the night.

As Jack fell back to sleep, his mind drifted back a year earlier to the last night he remembered laying eyes on Sue. Back to the best and worst night of his life and the events that led up to that fateful night.

XOXOXOX