AN: Chapter 2 reposted! My humble apologies to readers who were confused by the original Ch 2 I posted earlier today. I was getting very confused about the number of review questions I was receiving about who died after I clearly remember writing that part. I finally went back to read and noticed that somehow a couple of important chunks of the story had disappeared, from the middle of the document no less. They were pretty critical points so I'm sure I confused more than one reader. Anyway now fixed up and reloaded, hopefully it will make more sense this time around. Initially I thought I must have bumped something on copy/paste but even after fixing it it continued to cut out a major chunk of story, but at least it uploaded the full version as document form. And note to self: Don't EVER forget to preview.
Chapter 2: Getting out
Hotch shook his head again, trying to gain his bearings as he looked at the tree limb protruding into the cabin, hearing Morgan's shouts as he called to other team members over the slowly crackling frames.
The unit chief could feel the stickiness of blood on the side of his face but ignored it as he fought his way to his feet to help the others. Since his seat was closest to the cockpit he first made his way to check on the pilots as he saw Morgan working on the exit.
He barely had to glance into the cockpit to realize that the trees and branches that had broken through the windshield had likely killed both pilots instantly.
Making his way back to the cabin he scanned the interior of the dimly lit interior for the rest of his team. He wanted to call out but was having difficulty finding his voice as he saw that Morgan had finally succeeded in opening the emergency exit and was looking down, indicating that they were still not fully on the ground. He felt a wave of relief when he noticed it was JJ working to help Morgan as they retrieved the emergency ladder and began fastening it to the exit.
As he forced himself to keep his balance and made his way towards Morgan and JJ he then noticed Reid standing unsteadily near where Blake had been seated. Only able to see her legs as Reid blocked the rest of his view he started in their direction to see if help was needed to free their remaining team member. Getting closer he realized the young man was clearly in a daze, looking disoriented as he stared at Blake's body, it was obvious she was gone as a large piece of metal had gone through the chair and now the bloody tip of it protruded from her chest. Her head was still resting against the window as if she were asleep, Hotch felt his gut twist and could only hope that she had never woken up, by the looks of things her death would have been instantaneous. "Come on Reid, there's nothing we can do for her now," he finally said gently, taking the young doctors elbow and helping lead him over the wreckage of the interior and towards the exit.
"There should be a brief drop at the end, but not too far. The ladder should hold if we go one at a time." Morgan coached the others after his initial test of the ladders security, now glad they had all at one time been made to attend the training on the jet safety features and learned how to utilize the emergency exits. At the time they had joked about having to learn where all the emergency equipment was but no one was laughing now as he grabbed a flashlight to help get an idea of what awaited them on the ground.
In action mode and realizing that every minute was precious there was no discussion as they quickly began to exit, choosing in unspoken agreement that JJ should go first, followed by Reid, then Morgan and finally Hotch.
Morgan had briefly looked like he might want to argue and go last himself but one look at Hotch's determined face was all he needed to tell him the senior agent did not intend to leave the plane until the rest of the team was safe. The smell of fumes was becoming stronger as Hotch began to cough before he finally made his way onto the ladder, his knee protesting with a jolt of pain as his feet hit the leafy forest floor before he looked up to see the smoking wreckage wedged tightly in the majestic pines.
After they safely reached the ground the four survivors stood in stunned silence as they continued to view the wreckage. They watched silently as the flames grew brighter and the smell of the fumes continued to spread, instinctively taking a step backwards as they could see the blaze suddenly intensify, taking cover behind the trees as the jet suddenly exploded into a fireball, lighting up the darkness that still blanketed the forest as they could feel the heat on their faces.
"It's a good thing it's been raining and the forest is wet, or we'd have a forest fire to deal with," Reid's voice broke the silence of the group following the initial sound of the explosion as they tried not to think of the bodies on the plane now being charred by the fire.
"Hopefully we're close enough to civilization that rescue crews will be here soon. It's probably only a few hours until daylight," Hotch said, hoping his voice sounded strong despite the tremor he felt as he surveyed the remaining team members, trying to see how injured they were but struggling in the darkness.
They looked around for shelter but could see nothing in the dense forest. Finally taking shelter under a tall pine tree they huddled closely together as they began to feel the cold air seeping into their bodies. As the adrenaline rush began to fade Hotch could feel the pain starting to grow as his head and ribs began to ache, he could only imagine how much they would all be hurting in the next 48 hours.
Taking his eyes from the plane he looked across the faces of the team, taking in Reid's pale face and Morgan's intense gaze still viewing the plane, it was then he realized JJ was nestled next to him and looking down at her face he was met by the sight of frightened blue eyes returning his gaze as he wondered what his expression might be saying, hoping that it was one of calm reassurance even if that was far from what he felt as he wondered just where they had crashed. With their flight over so much mountain and woodland he knew finding them without the use of the plane's now destroyed tracking system would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.