Chapter 9- Darkness Descends

OK people! A warning before this chapter begins. Abuse trigger. There's going to be mention of child and spousal abuse. I DO NOT SUPPORT ABUSE OF ANY KIND. I wanted to make that clear. Also, language warning. There is going to be a lot of cussing. If this chapter is too difficult to read, I won't be offended. Also I'm sorry about the long wait. Life has been crazy for me. I'll try not to have such a long wait in between chapters again. Without further ado, the next chapter.

Elvis stood in shock. His mind blanked out, and he started to shake. "Wha- h-," he started to stutter. He took a deep breath and swallowed his fear so he could speak. "What are you doing here?" he asked as calmly as possible. "Oh you know, just paying my little boy a visit," his father said casually. An older, tall, blond haired man sat leisurely on his chair. He had the signature cowlick that all Cridlington boys shared. Elvis only shared a few physical traits with his father. His cowlick, his nose and his stunning blue eyes. "Well, you're not welcome here. Kindly leave," Elvis said coldly. "Now Son, is that anyway to talk to your old man after so long apart?" his father said with a smirk. "You may have helped create me, but you're no father of mine!" Elvis spat. "Apparently, I didn't teach you enough respect as a boy." There was a familiar dark glint in the man's eyes. "You bastard!" Elvis hissed. "Maybe you need a refresher?" The man sneered. Elvis instinctively froze up. 'Move,' he thought as his father took a step towards him. 'Move!' he mentally yelled to himself. But he was frozen in terror. Memories of his childhood flashed before his eyes. His father beating his tiny mother in a drunken rage, cowering under his bed while his father screamed obscenities and trashed the house, his father throwing him across the room and punching him for simply looking at him wrong. That last memory is what startled him out of his state. He wasn't a little boy anymore damn it! He was a full grown man! It seemed like everything was slow motion as Elvis watched his father's fist slowly go towards his face. Elvis hit the ground. "You better respect me boy!" his father said angrily. Something snapped in Elvis at those words. "Go to hell you cowardly son of a bitch!" Elvis said as he got up from the ground. "I will NEVER respect you! I'm not your fucking punching bag anymore, Tobias!" he yelled, getting up in his father's face. "What are you going to do, you little weakling? Hit me? You're pathetic and worthless, just like your whore of a mother!" That tipped Elvis over the edge. No one EVER spoke of his mother like that! In blind fury Elvis hit his father square in the face. "Really, boy? You wanna fight me? You're going to regret that!" Tobias yelled. The last thing Elvis saw was an object coming towards him then black!

Sam looked at his watch and then looked up at the clock. 7:00. Elvis was late. Sam sighed. Station Officer Steele was NOT going to be happy. "Still no Elvis?" Arnold asked. Sam shook his head. "I'm sorry Penny, do you mind staying here while I go get Elvis?" Sam asked. "I don't mind. It seems like everyone is late," she commented. "Hey!" protested Arnold. "Except you, Arnold," she said laughing. "It IS unusual that Station Officer Steele late," said Arnold. "But Elvis? He probably slept through his alarm again," Sam said with a chuckle. Oh, Station Officer Steele left a message on my phone this morning. He said that he had to make an unscheduled stop at Newtown so he'll be late." Sam told his colleagues. "Anyway, I'll be back," he called as he walked down the stairs. He hopped into Venus and drove towards Elvis's house. To be honest, it was a little irritating that he had to go get Elvis. It had been a rough few days. First, Bronwyn being in the hospital from the boat fire, then Ellie breaking her leg and having a concussion. All he wanted to do is sleep. Ideally, next to a certain lovely, firefighter. Sam smirked at this thought. Then again, it might not be such a great idea. They might not sleep. His smirk turned into a grin at this thought. Sam pulled up to Elvis's house and the smile instantly slid off his face. Elvis's door was wide open. Without thinking, Sam ran towards the door, and then stopped. Knots began to form in his stomach. There were bloody footprints leaving the house. Sam cautiously walked to the door, taking special care to not disturb the footprints. "Elvis?" he called. What Sam saw next shocked him to his core. He gasped and staggered back. "ELVIS!" he yelled! Elvis was laying face down on his living room floor covered in blood. Lamps and various bric-a-brac were scattered and broken into pieces. Chairs were flipped over. Blood covered everything! Sam kneeled next to Elvis and checked for a pulse. Nothing. Sam reached for his radio. "Sam to Penny!" Penny looked at her radio in surprise. She could tell by Sam's voice that something wasn't right! "Sam, what's wrong?" "I I I need Helen and Tom and the police to Elvis's house stat!" Sam radioed. "Right," came her answer. "Arnold, I need you to radio Tom, then the police. I'll call Helen," she instructed. "It's done. Arnold and I are on the way!" Penny radioed. "Copy that," came his quick reply. By now, Sam had carefully turned Elvis over and started CPR. "Come on Elvis! Stay with me man!" he begged. Outside he heard Jupiter screech to a halt. "WHAT THE HELL?!" he heard Arnold exclaim. He must have seen the bloody footprints. Sam knew they were in for a way bigger shock. Then they entered the room where Sam was working on Elvis. The state of their friend and co-worker bloodied and beaten brought them to a stupified standstill. "Guys, I need your help! He's not breathing!" Sam yelled. That startled them back into focus. Penny and Arnold worked to stabilize Elvis as quickly as possible. They heard the ambulance pull up. "Who-" Helen started to ask, but quickly stopped as soon as she started seeing Elvis. She took a deep breath, and pushed her emotions aside so she could focus. "Does anyone know what happened?" she asked. "No. I found him here. He was late so I came to get him," Sam said almost hysterically. "Sam, take a break. Penny, I need you to assist me. Arnold, please go take care of Sam," Helen instructed. They all nodded in response. When Sam walked outside, all the knots in his stomach came undone and he promptly began throwing up. Arnold stood next to him, not sure of what to do. He was scared. He'd never seen Sam react like this before. Ben pulled up with Tom. When they saw Sam throwing up, their jaws hit the floor. Arnold was pale. It looked like he had seen a ghost. "They're um, they're in there," he said quietly. "Tom," Arnold said as he grabbed his friend's arm, "It's bad," he warned. Tom nodded. He had seen some pretty god-awful things when he was in the Royal Air Force. He braced himself for what he was about to walk in on, and prayed that it wasn't as bad as it sounded. But it was. Ben promptly rushed out and threw up. Thankfully, he was able to calm down enough to help. Sam too, had managed to pull himself together in order to help. They all took turns giving CPR and trying to stop the bleeding. The next few minutes were a blur to the emergency workers as they struggled to keep Elvis breathing, keeping him from bleeding out, and getting him to the hospital in time. Everyone was in compete shock as watched him being rushed off to the Ocean Rescue Center where the helicopter was waiting.

What was left of the team silently drove back to the station. Ben rode with Sam in Venus. They were all in shock still from the events of the morning. None of them spoke as they gathered around the kitchen table. The police would be there soon to interview them. They were all so exhausted that they didn't bother to change out of their clothes. They heard a car pull into the station garage. "Must be the police," murmured Sam. "Newtown Police Department," came the voice. "We're up here," Ben called. The policeman came loudly up the stairs and opened the door. He was greeted by the sight of four people, all covered in blood. "I'm Officer Patrick O'Brien. I was called here because of the suspicious circumstances of your friends injuries. Is that correct?" he asked politely. They all nodded silently. Officer O'Brien took a sighed heavily. He could tell this was going to be tough. For everyone involved. "I know this is difficult, but I need to take each person's statement. Is there anyone else who isn't here that I need to take statements from?" he asked gently. "Helen Flood, the town's nurse." Arnold managed to say. "And Tom Thomas, our search and rescue pilot," Sam added. "Right, then I'll start statements from the lead firefighter. Who would that be?" Officer O'Brien inquired. "That would be me. Firefighter Samuel Jones," came the reply as Sam stood up. "We can go into the media room to talk," Sam offered. "Thank you. Oh and please do not remove any clothing. I'll need to gather them for evidence," Officer O'Brien said. The officer was just finishing taking Ben's statement as Helen and Tom walked into the station kitchen. They too, were covered in blood. "How is he?" Sam asked as he practically jumped out of his chair. Helen had a grim look on her face. "Not good," she said softly. Sam sighed heavily. "Thank you for your statement," they heard Officer O'Brien tell Ben. "Helen, Tom, you're back. How bad is it?" Ben asked. But the look on her face told him everything he needed to know. Her eyes were puffy and red. "What are the chances of him surviving?" Penny asked shakily. "The odds aren't good. And even if he were to survive, he may have severe brain damage," she told them. "Elvis may never be the same," Tom said sadly. Officer O'Brien heard all this. He knew their pain all to well. There was a risk of devastating injuries and death when taking these jobs. They all knew this when they were hired. But it didn't make it easier when one of their own was among the fallen. He cleared his throat. "Nurse Flood, may I take your statement please?" he asked. "Of course," she replied. Tom waited until the door to the media room closed before saying, "Poor Helen cried her eyes out the whole time we were flying back." No one could really blame her. Nothing this horrific had ever happened here. Only when all the statements had been taken were everyone allowed to remove the bloody clothing they were wearing. Penny let Helen borrow an extra shirt she had in her locker. Sam lent Tom one of his extra uniforms, while Arnold lent Ben one of his shirts. Everyone needed a shower. Arnold, Tom, and Ben used the showers in the station. But Sam just wanted to go home. "I'm going to head home and get cleaned up. Penny, I'll wash and return your shirt tomorrow ok? Thanks for letting me borrow it," Helen said. "No problem Helen," she replied. With that, Helen headed home. "Sam, I'm too exhausted to go home. Can I crash at your place?" Penny asked quietly. "Of course," he told her. Then a thought occurred to him. Has anyone heard told Station Officer Steele yet?" "Told me what?" came a voice from behind them. They turned to see their boss standing in the door. "It's Elvis sir, he's in the hospital," Sam said softly. The elderly man gasped. "What happened?" he asked aghast. "I'm not entirely sure of what happened, but he was clearly beaten. We have no idea if he's going to survive," Sam told his boss. "Oh my," I'll head back to the hospital to find out more. Then I'll have to call his mother. And lastly I'll have to tell Ellie," he said sadly. This was the worst part of the job, telling a firefighter's family that their loved one had been injured or killed. Except this wasn't on duty. No. This was an outright attack. "Isn't Ellie still at the hospital?" Penny asked. "No. She was released this morning and we wanted to surprise everyone," he said. There was an uncomfortable silence. No one wanted to be the one to tell Ellie about Elvis being attacked. Sam could tell that the two had become very close. Why else did Elvis come back with a huge grin last night? Sam sighed heavily. "I'll tell her, sir. You already have your hands full," "Thank you, Sam," Station Officer Steele said wearily. "Penny, I'm definitely going to need your help with this. Go ahead and check on Elvis. I've got this," he said. "If you're sure," Station Officer Steele said reluctantly. "I'm sure," he said. But he wasn't sure. Truth was that Sam was dreading what came next. The boys came out of the showers as they heard a scream! "NO!" They rushed into the control room to find Ellie sobbing on Penny's shoulder. They knew then that Ellie had found out about Elvis.

Station Officer Steele drove silently to the hospital. A thousand things ran through his mind. Mostly regret. Regret that he was so hard on him, that he wasn't as available to him as he should have been. It made him sick to think someone would hurt Elvis. He didn't see Elvis being a fighter to be honest. Elvis was a gentle giant. A big, lovable, goof ball. When Station Officer Steele arrived, he immediately went to the front desk. "Good morning ma'am, I'm Station Officer Norris Steele. I'm looking a firefighter who was airlifted here." "Of course sir. Are you his boss?" she asked. "Yes ma'am," he replied. "I need his full name and birthday please," she told him. "His full name is Elvis Llywelyn Florianus Cridlington. His birthday is January 8th 1993." She quietly clacked on the keyboard for a moment before speaking again. "Firefighter Cridlington is on level 3 room 323." "Thank you," he said hastily and he rushed up to see Elvis. When he got up to the floor, he again told the nurses who he was. They happily took him to his room. It was so much worse than what he thought. Elvis was hooked to a respirator. His face was distorted. His right eye was black and swollen shut. Half of his lip was stitched together. His left arm was in a hard cast. His head was wrapped up with blood soaked bandages. "Oh, Elvis. Who could do this to you?" he asked horrified. He knew what he had to do next. He took out his phone and dialed. "Hello? Is this Mary- Margaret Cridlington? Ma'am this is Station Officer Steele. I need to speak to you immediately. May I meet you at your home? I'll meet you in 5 minutes," He looked at Elvis one last time and whispered, "Hang in there, son," With that, he left to tell Elvis's mother the terrible news.

Back at the station, Ellie was sitting next to Arnold, who had a protective arm around her shoulders. Ben and Tom had set up a card table down in the control room so they could be with her. By now, Moose had heard the news and was there, trying to comfort his friends. Sam and Penny went to Sam's house. They were exhausted. "Do you want to shower first?" Sam asked. "At this point, I don't care. We can shower together for all I care. All I know is, I want to sleep. I want to pretend that this is all just a terrible nightmare." "Hey, shhh! I know baby, I know. We'll get through this together," he comforted. "Let's take a shower and sleep." "Agreed," Penny said tiredly. Sam took Penny's hand and led her to the bathroom. After a well needed shower, they crawled into Sam's bed. Utterly exhausted by the morning's events, both fell into a deep sleep, comforted by the arms of their lover.

Sam was awakened by the buzz of his phone. He groaned. For a moment, he forgot where he was and who was lying next to him. He heard Penny stir slightly then sigh. Sam smiled gently at the blonde angel sleeping next to him. He carefully reached over her and grabbed his phone. "Hello?" he answered softly. "Hey Sam. It's Charlie," came the voice. "Charlie!" he exclaimed surprised. Penny groaned then mumbled something that sounded like, "You're so loud, Sam." Sam carefully moved the arm she had draped over him. "Uh, just a minute, Charlie," he said quietly as he tip toed out of his room, grabbing his robe on the way. "Why are you talking so quietly?" Charlie asked. "Uh... no reason," He said said slowly. Sam cleared his throat. "Is everything ok? How's Bronwyn?" The questions came out quickly. "Well, she's still in a coma. The doctor said he may be able to take her out of the medical coma in a few days. But we're not sure how much damage was done. How are things there?" Sam sighed heavily. "I wish I could say good. Pontypandy has been through a terrible shock," he said quietly. He had hoped that it was all just an awful nightmare, but Charlie's call reminded him that this was all too real. Sam's answer caught Charlie off guard. "What do you mean, Sam? What happened?" Charlie asked. His voice was trembling with trepidation. "We're still trying to figure it out. But Elvis is in the hospital. He was assaulted. We still have no idea if he's going to make it or not," Sam told him. This news caused Charlie to gasp. "Oh my... Is the world going crazy?! Who would do that to Elvis?" "I know. Everything is falling apart." Sam said miserably. "I was going to ask if you could bring the kids up to see us, but I know you've got your hands full," "That's not all, Ellie was hospitalized for a broken leg and concussion.. she came home today, thankfully. It's been a rough few days," Sam told him. "What the heck?!" Charlie said. "Look, I'll have Gareth take the kids up after school. Since Elvis in the hospital, and Ellie will be on light duty, Penny and I will be filling in for them as needed. We'll help take care of the twins as much as we can. We're here for you," Sam reassured. "And I'm here for you too Bro. All of you. The firefighters of Pontypandy are family too. Please keep me updated on everything," "I will. I love you baby brother. Keep me updated on Bronwyn too," "I will. I love you too big brother," he said. "Talk to you soon," Sam said, then hung up.

"Sam?" called Penny. "I'm here babe," "Everything ok?" she was wrapped up in one of his extra bathrobes. She looked adorable! His big bathrobe was swimming on her petite frame. Sam couldn't help but to crack a small sideways smile. She reminded of him a small child wearing their parent's clothes. "Yeah. It was Charlie. The doctors are going to try and bring Bronwyn out of the medicated coma in a few days," Penny's face lit up. "Sam! That's great news!" she exclaimed. "Yeah it is," he said then his smile dropped. "No word on Elvis yet though," Penny walked over to Sam and wrapped her arms around him. "Hey, Elvis is a strong man. He just doesn't realize it," she comforted him. Sam sighed and nodded. But Penny could sense there was something else bothering him about this. "Ok. Spill," Sam looked at her surprised. "What do you mean?" he asked confused. "There's something else gnawing at you. What's on your mind, love?" Sam took a deep breath before speaking. "I don't think Elvis realizes how important he is to this team. Or to us. He may act like he's happy but I feel like there's a, oh I don't know, darkness he keeps hidden from us. I have a suspicion that his assault may have something to do with that darkness. I don't think he knows how much he means to me. And now, I may never get the chance to tell him." Penny looked a little guilty at this. "To be fair Sam, I never told him how much he means to me either. Elvis really is a one of a kind person. He's genuine, kind, gentle, and funny. I don't understand who who do this to him," "Neither do I," he whispered.

Since Ellie wasn't on duty yet, she took a bus to go back up to the hospital. She had a headache from crying so much. Ellie couldn't imagine life without Elvis. Just the thought made her want to cry again. She knew Station Officer Steele was there and probably Elvis's mother. Not exactly how she wanted to meet other members of his family. The bus was deadly silent. Even the normally cheerful Trevor Evans was quiet. News traveled fast in a small town. Everyone was stunned by this sudden and senseless act of violence. The usually short trip to Newtown felt like an eternity, especially in the deafening silnce. They pulled up to the hospital. "Here we are Ellie," Trevor said gently. "Thanks Trevor," she said with a sad smile. "Please kept us posted. If you need me, just call," "I will," she said as Trevor lowered her wheelchair out of the bus. Ellie slowly made her way up to the hospital door. She wasn't too sure what she would see. She could see a nurse working behind the front desk. Ellie cleared her throat before saying, "Excuse me, my name is Eleanor Philips. I'm here to see Elvis Cridlington. Could you tell me what room he's in please?" "Of course. He's on level 3 room 323. Visiting hours end at 9pm," the nurse said kindly. "Thank you," Ellie replied politely. She was fidgety in the elevator. Would he be able to hear her? Would he even know she was there? Then her thoughts wandered to the awful crime committed on Elvis. Who would do something so god-awful to such a gentle soul? It was sickening. The elevator ding startled her out of her thoughts. "Floor Number 3, Intense Care Unit" came an automatic voice. It only took Ellie a few minutes to find his room. She braced herself for the worst and knocked. "Come in," came a feminine voice. She reached the doorknob but paused to take a deep breath. When Ellie wheeled into the room, she had to choke back her tears. There were tubes everywhere, and he was heavily bandaged. "You must be Ellie," the woman said. She was a very petite woman. She had long, straight, raven hair that had streaks of charcoal grey. "I am," she replied politely. "I'm Mary- Margaret Cridlington. Elvis's mother. It's nice to meet you. Elvis told me that there were two new recruits at the station," she said. She was smiling but her green eyes were filled with sadness. "I wish we could've met under better circumstances," "As do I. But where are my manners? Please, come in my dear," Mary- Margaret said gently. "Thank you Mrs. Cridlington," "Please, call me Mary," she asked. "Um, ok. How is he doing?" Ellie saw pain in her eyes. "I wish I could tell you that he's absolutely guaranteed to bounce back, but I don't know. He was brutally beaten. I don't know if he'll ever be the same," Ellie bit her lip. "Who would do something like this? Elvis is the kindest, most gentle man I've ever met. I. I don't understand!" at this point Ellie broke down in tears. "There, there, dear, I know how you feel. You really care for him don't you?" "Yes. I care for him deeply,"

Down a few doors, Charlie was heading out to grab a bite to eat. He simply could not wrap his mind around everything that had been happening lately. What the hell had the citizens of Pontypandy done to deserve all of this pain? Charlie gave Bronwyn a tender, gentle kiss. "I'll be back soon Wynnie. I love you darling," he whispered. After one last look at Bronwyn, he quietly left the room and closed the door behind him. "I'm just going down to the cafeteria. Will you please let me know if anything changes?" Charlie informed the nurses. "Of course, Mr. Jones. Have a good lunch," replied the nurse. As he was walking to the elevator, he saw an older blonde man walk past him. 'He looks like a relative of Elvis's ...no, that can't be. The only family he has are his mum and his cousin. It must be a coincidence,' he thought. But Charlie couldn't shake the bad feeling he got when he saw the man. Something nagged him to go back to Bronwyn. Charlie turned around and walked back to Bronwyn's room. "Back already Mr. Jones?" asked a surprised nurse. "Oh, I uh, forgot my wallet," he told her. As he was walking past the nurses station he could clearly hear the blonde man ask for Elvis specifically. "I'm his father," 'That can't be right. Elvis never mentioned that he had a father. Something seems,off. I'd better call Sam,' he thought. When Charlie got back into the room, he locked the door and called Sam. "Hey Charlie. How's everything going?" greeted Sam. "Wynnie's still the same. But I've got a question for you. Have you ever heard Elvis mention his father?" Charlie asked. This caught Sam off guard and he had to stop to really think about it. "Now that you mentioned it, no. I always assumed that his father had either passed away or just wasn't in the picture. He frequently talks about his mum, Mary... Mary- Margaret I think is her name. I've even met her. She's such a sweet woman. Why do you ask?" "There's a man here who looks a lot like Elvis asking fo-" but he stopped mid word as an ear piercing scream rang out. Then, "BANG!"

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Things may get a bit intense in the next few chapters. As always reviews are welcome! Until next time!