a/n: this chapter is a bit of a shortie (by this story's current standards) but it's meant to be that way. Thanks for the encouraging words on this one, TroddenBlack. Thanks to everyone who read this, as well! ... kay, so sorry i havent updated i have a DAMN virus and my computer isnt working! will try to update faster!
Chapter Nine: Choking
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"Still the cold is closing in on us..."
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Sara ran down the white painted hall, the repugnant smell of half-heartedly scented cleaning products stinging her nose She darted into the waiting room, looking wild and frazzled. A TV was mounted on the wall, the chairs scattered around the room all empty. She turned on the TV, anxiously pressing the channel button until CNN came on. The volume was on mute, but she didn't need to hear the news anchor to comprehend the message.
The first shot she saw was the forest, charcoal smoke choking everything it touched. Then, she saw the telltale yellow uniform of a firefighter emerging from the smoke. The fireman had one arm around a man's shoulder, holding a mask over the man's face. As they stumbled toward the gravel road, the firefighter lifted the mask...
…It was Grissom.
Sara's heart raced, pumping excess blood to her limbs, causing them to tingle. Oh my God, let him be okay…
Her senses were numbed except for sight; she couldn't feel the absence of the cell phone in her hand as it fell to the floor, she couldn't hear the sound of Nick's panic-stricken voice yelling for her over the phone. She couldn't taste the bile in her throat, nor smell that sickening hospital smell of flowers. All she could do was watch…
The firefighter leaned Grissom up against the hood of a car. Although the shot was from a zoom lens, Sara could see his back shaking as he coughed. The suddenly, he seemed to come back alive and whirled around to the firefighter, grabbing his flame retardant sleeves.
He was yelling something at the firefighter, pointing hysterically into the forest. The man hesitated for a moment, but Grissom shoved his shoulders in the direction of the woods. The fireman ran off leaving Grissom staring vacantly after him into the smoke.
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Grissom watched helplessly as the fireman did as he had asked. His memory of what happened after the explosion was as sharp as a razor blade.
The heat; the blast; the dull pain as debris rained down from the sky like dark chunks of hail…the cold sting of the little girl's skin as he huddled around her. When the sound of the explosion was replaced by a constant ringing, Grissom finally looked up. The blaze glowed orange around him in the trees, smoke still abundant in the air. A coating of black soot lay around, covering everything in his sight.
He straightened his back, still on the ground, and ran a hand through his hair. His shaking fingers came away with blood. He knew he had to get out. He had to get up and move.
Get this little girl back to her mother. Get myself out of here alive…
He was coughing now, the smoke catching in his chest. He got to his feet, picking up the little girl again. He covered his mouth with an edge of the sleeping bag; desperately fighting to control the wheezing gasps of air he was intaking by instinct. He looked wildly for an escape, raking his brain for a mental map. Which way is back to base? He was still coughing, his lungs screaming for oxygen, his brain screaming for help, and his heart screaming for Sara.
Then he had stumbled towards the space where he couldn't see any orange. His line of vision only spanned about ten feet or so. A glance backwards told him that the only thing that had saved him from more debris was a large pine, its branches now littered with pieces of metal and fuselage. His thinking was fuzzy from lack of oxygen, and he continued to stagger away from the blaze, blinking rapidly. Soot coated his eyelashes, making it even harder to see.
The he heard a voice yelling faintly, the numbness and the ringing in his ears muffling it. He couldn't find its location amidst his own coughs.
"Over here!" He yelled, surprised at how stifled his voice sounded to his ears. He was deaf once more...
A man in a yellow firefighter's suit came into view out of the smoky cloud that descended over the forest, his reflective stripes catching what little sunlight had flittered through the now blackened canopy. The man ran over to him, pulling out a mask.
"Is she alive?" He asked. Grissom found him barely audible but read his lips. He shook his head sadly. The firefighter reached for the little girl, but Grissom held on fiercely. The man yelled something, and took the little girl from him. He felt too weak to do anything else as the man put the mask over his face and led him away from the little body at the base of the tree…
His brain was numb except for the movie playing behind his eyes, his actions a result of some kind of internal auto-pilot. As the fireman emerged carrying the little girl, Grissom walked up to him and took her in his arms. He walked along the road, willing the sting in his eyelids to go away. A woman told him that the gashes on his head and shoulder should be attended to, but he shrugged her off and kept walking.
The flurries of people were running back and forth, Grissom walking among them like a fish swimming upriver, set on his one goal. People attempted to stop him, but he just kept walking, his blank eyes barely acknowledging their existence. As he passed the bend in the road, camera crews ran over to him, but he just grimaced, walking on. A few other volunteers in orange vests kept them from rushing him, and Grissom didn't utter a word. He just kept going.
His legs did all the work for him. He was starting to feel the pain in his muscles and around his injuries as his brain cleared. Fresh oxygen was being pumped to his brain, clearing away the thick cobwebs of fuzziness. He just kept going, intent on what he had to do.
At last, he stood in front of the refrigerated trucks that served as a morgue, his trembling hands holding the little girl close to his chest. He climbed the stairs, ignoring the stares from a small cluster of people sitting at a nearby picnic table.
I'm going to find out who you are, I promise…
To be Continued...
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a/n: ooh, do i smell a surprise coming up soon? maybe...
