Disclaimer: I own nothing related to IAHB, not even the quotes I used from the last episode… Ok, so you're probably thinking that I've written WAAAAAAY to much in the past few weeks, and I know that your sick of me by now, but I got this idea a while ago from AZKABANCONVICT,(thank you thank you), and it was too good NOT to use, so I played it around my head a couple of times, and here's what I got. What would happen if the rescue in the final episode of IAHB DIDN'T go Disney perfect? This is sorta like Darkchilde's story HERO, but it will be different, I SWEAR I DON'T PLAGIARIZE…
Prologue
Her First Rescue
"You guys, she cannot cross that herself, one of us has to go there and get her." Val said anxiously. Her gaze was fixed on little Chelsea, who sat huddled on the table, her only lifeline- two thin wooden boards that lay over the electrified water.
"I'll go"/ "No problem" Tyler and Jamie answered simultaneously, ready to risk their lives to save a terrified little girl that they hardly knew. Hank had other ideas.
"Overruled, I'm doing it." He announced, stripping off his helmet.
"Hank we should take a vote-" Jamie protested.
"No arguments, I'm senior, it's my call." He declared, ending the disagreement before it began. Val watched as he stepped onto the shaky wooden boards that they'd slid over the flooded basement floor. "Please let this go right." She prayed silently, as he gingerly took two steps towards the terrified 6 year old. She inhaled sharply when she heard the wood groan and crack under the strain.
"Stop, Hank, get off your too heavy." Jamie ordered. Hank didn't need to be told twice, he was brave, sure, but he wasn't stupid. He scrambled back over to the staircase and landed, shaking, next to Val.
"Well if I'm too heavy, then so are you and so are you." He said, motioning to Jamie and Tyler. Val froze, knowing that there was only one other alternative. As if on cue, the other three EMTs turned to stare at her.
"I guess that leaves me." She choked out. Tyler's face paled. She'd never done a rescue like this before- he and Hank had never given her the chance to, but it was unavoidable. No one else could cross those beams, and waiting around for Rescue to arrive wasn't an option. He felt her hands tremble as she removed her helmet and handed it to him, and he let his fingers interlace with hers for just a moment.
"You can do this- you're the best. And besides, you have a lucky penny." Val was too scared to respond, she simply nodded dumbly, keeping her focus Chelsea, who sat waiting on the other side of the room. She'd appreciated his vote of confidence, and she knew that he was right, she could do this- but she couldn't help feeling a sense of dread press against her heart. Lucky penny or not- this hadn't exactly been the luckiest week of her life- far from it actually. She'd been verbally berated by an angry truck driver, messed up an IV, screwed up her paperwork, destroyed a jump bag…
"The water's getting higher!" Chelsea cried fearfully, pulling her out of her troubles. Now was not the time to think. Now was the time to do. The terror in her voice was enough to give Val the courage to take the first step across the beams. It held her weight, sturdy as ever. She took another, and then another, eventually finding herself in the center.
"Four more steps." She breathed, "Just four more…" She was where Hank had been before he turned back, her three steps equaling his two. She could almost reach out and touch the edge of the table. Val raised her foot and confidently took her next step, expecting to hear the muted thud of her foot hitting solid lumber. To her horror, all she heard was the unmistakable crack of splintering wood. Hank had unknowingly broken the boards his first time over, and Val's weight was all that was needed to finally snap them in two. She knew that she was going to fall, knew that she was going to die, but her hands instinctively grabbed for something, anything to keep her from toppling into the electrified water- she reached nothing but air. Chelsea screamed, and Tyler, Jamie and Hank watched in horror as she fell into the murky water, with only enough time to let out a gurgled cry before she felt a painful blast of energy course through her body, and the world faded to blackness…
***
AN: I KNOW I KNOW I can hear you yelling at me for ending the prologue there, but that's all I could think of! Besides, I didn't have any beta readers today, so this is unfiltered insanity. Ummm, the real story is going to be a song fic, and the title of the story is the name of the song! Can anyone guess what it is and who it's by? Email me and guess, and if you get it right, I'll send the chapter to you ahead of time. FUN! Oh, what else do I have to mention…. Oh yeah, wow, you guys liked Festival Days… Dang, I'm in trouble, cause now I gotta spend my vacation thinking of chapter 2, cause as I said 10 reviews, and you're close to it. I'm in a better mood today, so I'm not demanding a certain number of reviews to continue this, I'll just gauge public opinion from what I get. Oh, and chapter 4 of A Little Harmless Competition should be coming up soon, if my review goal is met. I'll tell you a secret… I made it so high because I don't know what I'm doing, not because I'm a mean review monger, putting the stakes up so high buys me time. So do you guys want me to continue this *sniffle* sad story? Cause I guarantee you this'll be sad. No comedy. In fact, I'm depressed just thinking about it… time for more chocolate cake… ~Makatibird
P.S. My new friend Montana Magic has some GREAT stories out… I especially recommend that you read Secrets, if you like T/V. Oh, and if you could do her a favor and review it? Tell her Makatibird sentcha, she'll know what's going on. THANKIE!