I forgot to mention a few things in part one--
1. It's been SO long since I've posted anything let alone M7--forgive my forgetfulness about how things are done. I'm trying to remember and figure it out. (yes I'm completely terrified)
2. This is for Vi. For Christmas, she requested a M7 story with something Christmas oriented and the other must have-- an Explosion!
3. Thank you so much to NT for betaing. Any mistakes you find--all mine!
4. Story is complete, just being posted in parts.
Ezra woke in a panic. His mouth and nose full, he couldn't breathe. Gagging, choking, spitting, he struggled to clear his airway even as the realization struck... he couldn't move.
Coughing up mud and swiping his face against the arm pinned under his face, he managed to get a breath of air. Gasping, he began to calm down, trying to get a grip and figure out what had happened and where he was.
The bust. The house; it'd been a meth lab. He'd been almost to the back door when it'd exploded and now he was guessing he must have been thrown just far enough to get him outside because he was lying in mud.
It was everywhere. He could feel it ooze up around his body-- icy cold and mixed with slushy melting snow. Blinking, he tried to see anything in the brutal darkness, but there was nothing. Breathing was easier now as he adjusted to the bitter taste in his mouth and managed to clear his nose. Taking a slow deep breath, he concentrated on the rest of his body for a moment. It felt like most of the house had come down on top of him.
His lungs burned, but now that his mouth and nose were somewhat clear…he could breathe. His left arm was stretched out as if he had raised his hand to answer a question in school. He was able to rest his forehead in the crook of his mud-covered elbow. His fingers clawed at mud and wood and other materials that he couldn't identify by touch. His right arm was twisted and caught beneath his torso. When he tried to rise up to pull it free of his body's weight, fire erupted through his side and lower back. He groaned at the pain. He was pinned.
Carefully, Ezra tested his legs. He could barely feel them through the numbing cold, but he managed to shift each one slightly in the rubble. His legs were free. All he had to do was move whatever was pinning him tothe soft wet ground fromoff his back, and he could work on getting out of there.
Taking another deep preparatory breath, Ezra used his left arm to push upwards, trying to arch his back against the pain and push whatever lay on top of him off. The pain was too much this time. It spiked through him, exploding in his back and spiraling up and down his right side as a scream echoed through the dark and he passed out.
"That chili done yet?" Buck griped as he picked up the remote and began to flip through the channels.
"It takes time to reach the perfect level of heat." Josiah grinned as he wiped his hands on a dish towel and leaned against the doorway to the kitchen.
"Buck!" JD interrupted. "Pick a channel already or check the guide!" he protested as Wilmington flipped rapidly through the channels.
Buck paused, leaving the station where it was. "What? I'm trying to find something to watch."
"You're not even looking at the screen!"
"Shut up." Chris' command cut through the half hearted argument as everyone focused on the screen and the announcer's voice.
"We're on location here on the corner of Birmingham where an FBI bust has gone wrong. The house that was the target of the bust has exploded and reports have come in that,even though most of the agents made it out of the building unscathed, one agent was caught in the blast and has yet to be recovered from the rubble."
The camera zoomed in on the scene showing an older two story building, the entire right side of which had fallen in. The roof was blown off,but the rest of the second story had come down in a pile, the whole building tilted to the right as if it was ready to fall on over at any second.
"Good, god, there's a guy under all that?" Nathan appeared out of the kitchen and moved closer to the group watching TV.
Vin leaned forward on the couch. He rubbed absently at his chest as he exchanged a look with Chris. "Didn't know the FBI were working any cases tonight," he murmured.
The phone rang, making everyone flinch before turning back to the screen as the reporter on the scene came back into view and began giving more details about the unexpected meth lab.
"Hello," Chris answered and moved toward the back of the room, avoiding the distraction of the TV. "Hey, Judge," he greeted.
"Chris." The whole tone of Travis' voice said it all.
"What is it?" Chris knew immediately something was wrong. Was it Mary? Billy?
"You've seen the news?"
Chris turned back toward the TV. "Just now, yeah. Why? What's going on Judge?"
"Chris." Travis' voice seemed to break a little bit. "It's Ezra."
"What?" The entire room seemed to freeze. Chris knew the others were watching him now. "What the hell do you mean, 'it's Ezra'?"
Vin was on his feet, the others following. Chriswas suddenly surrounded, but no one spoke as he listened to Travis fill him in.
"We're on our way." Even as he hung up, the others were gathering their coats.
Vin moved close. "Tell us."
"Ezra got called back to work with the FBI this week. He's the agent," he waved towards the TV, unable to find the words. Various scenarios ran through his head even as he watched the reporter. He focused on the pile of rubble, knowing now that Ezra was trapped under there somewhere. Was he alive? Was he burnt? The building wasn't burning, but if he'd been caught in the explosion…was he pinned?
"Chris?" Vin handed his coat to him.
Something clicked inside Chris, pushing away the fear and cementing the anger.
He grabbed the jacket and his keys off the side table. "Let's go get Ezra out of there."