Chapter Ten

The fury of the vortex held the doors shut with a force stronger than Jaime's bionics, and she knew she was in serious trouble. OSI policy (and good common sense) dictated she should step back and wait, but Jaime was listening to her heart and her gut instinct. When she couldn't open the door, she dove through the hole Steve had made in his escape from 'the hook', using her own momentum and the pull of the wind to 'help' her get inside.

Through the heavy, choking cloud, Jaime saw a woman hunched down at the other end of the barn, with only her white-knuckled death grip on a support beam preventing her from being wrenched into the swirling, threatening mass.

"Nancy?" Jaime called, already knowing the answer. Phosphor began to cling to her body, as it was already clinging to everything else. Nancy Travers' eyes, already wide with terror, grew wider as the right side of Jaime's head began to glow. Jaime's ultra-sensitive ear picked up many sounds at once: the screeching maelstrom itself, moans and shouts that seemed to come from inside the vortex, the lone, plaintive cry of a solitary infant and Nancy's frightened whisper.

"Who – what – are you?" Nancy asked softly.

Jaime had no opportunity to answer. Fighting her way through the inter-worldly vacuum through sheer force of will, she made her way to the bereaved mother's side. Intending to toss Nancy outside through the rear doors, Jaime grabbed for her hand just as the woman's body was yanked from its anchor and pulled through the air. Her hand kept a firm grip on Jaime's as Nancy's body disappeared into the depths of the invisible tornado.

Jaime flailed her other arm toward the support beam, but just missed. The deadly suction of the vortex made it almost impossible to breathe, and she planted her feet as firmly as her bionic strength allowed in a last-ditch attempt to remain on solid ground, but the pull was far too powerful. Jaime, too, had begun to disappear when – at the exact same moment – both sets of barn doors were forced fully open, with the resulting cross-ventilation buying the extra split-second needed for another strong, determined hand to grab hold of Jaime's. Her head throbbed as her body struggled for any last remnants of oxygen still inside her. She could hear her own blood pounding futilely through her veins; Jaime knew she was dying.

Insidethe barn but still outside the vortex, Steve felt Jaime's tentative grip on his hand weaken as she began to be drawn away. "Jaime – I'm not letting you go!" he called loudly in the abyss. Tightening his hold on her right hand with his own bionic hand, he shifted his weight and firmly grasped her wrist with his remaining hand, straining every muscle in his body as he pulled with every ounce of his strength. He was grateful for the support of the harness around his chest, which was fastened to the earth-mover outside, but the suction was already tightening the straps unbearably and, like Jaime, he began to struggle for breath.

Once he was sure he had the best possible grip, he leaned backwards, braced himself and shouted to the team outside the barn. "NOW!"

The earth-mover's engine sputtered to life and the monster-machine pulled slowly away from the barn. Steve groaned involuntarily from the exertion as he pulled along with the moving vehicle. His heart was beating dangerously hard against a chest where ribs had begun to crack with the strain. He held tightly to Jaime's unseen hand, and her arm stuck visibly out of the swirling mass as he gave it another determined tug. He could feel her entire body vibrating, then her arm disappeared again into the evil, swirling vortex. This time, it seemed to Steve as though Jaime herself was pulling - in the wrong direction! Just as suddenly, the opposition ceased, the suction died and Steve fell backwards to the floor of the barn through the strength of his own fight.

Outside the barn, Oscar hollered to the driver: "Stop the engine!" Steve blinked his eyes to clear away the debris, and beside him – her skin porcelain-pale, but breathing and alive – was...Jaime. Her right hand was still firmly clasped in Steve's, but her left was gripping Nancy Travers' hand and Nancy's arm cradled...the baby.

The abrupt silence was as deafening as the wind had been just seconds earlier. Steve sat up, not even noticing his own pain, and cradled Jaime tenderly in his arms, as tears began to stream down her cheeks. Steve brushed them away and kissed her softly, drawing her even closer in a gentle, comforting embrace.

"The baby..." Jaime murmured, only partially conscious, as she and Steve were placed on gurneys and wheeled into the Medivac. Steve reached over to touch her cheek with his fingertips.

"The baby – and Nancy – are fine, Sweetheart," he told her softly. "They're already on their way to the hospital. Why don't you close your eyes now, and try to rest a little?"

"You both need to rest now," Rudy interjected, seating himself between them as the Medivac took flight, and fitting the duo with matching oxygen masks. "This time, you've truly been to Hell and back."

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