Sorry it took me so damn long to do this, my bad! Anyway, enjoy!

Somewhere Nobody Can Hear You

Jason

I stumble down the stairs, Cass at my heels. Just ahead is that fiery barricade and a small pocket of panicked people. It just can't be easy can it? No, of course not. I make a mental note to give the universe a big fuck you when I have some down time. I stop a few floors above the small group and the fire and put a hand on Cass's shoulder. "These people are in the midst of freaking the fuck out okay?" She nods, and I continue. "So we need to try to keep them as calm as possible if we want to be able to work together. Fear breeds chaos and we don't need anymore chaos. So if anyone asks about… about Steph-" A lump forms in my throat and I push it away. "Just tell them she's unconscious. Okay?" She swallows hard and nods again, her eyes becoming glossy. "Okay." I give her shoulder a reassuring squeeze and set off back down the stairs.

I get the the crowded landing and glace around quickly. I see five people, one of them a badly burned fireman, three of them seem relatively unharmed and the last one has her arm tied tightly to her chest with lose fabric. I cringe eternally, looking at the three intact people and seeing that all of them don't seem to have an ounce of muscle on them, while the woman with the broken arm is considerably bulky.

I move to approach them, suddenly aware of how much pain i'm in, my knee falters and threatens to give, Cass quickly maneuvers to my side and I use her shoulder as a support. My vision blurs considerably, and even with Cass beside me, my body threatens to crumple to the ground. My compromised wrist throbs and the hole in my side burns white hot. I blink, shake my head. I feel foreign hands on my arms, holding me steadily upright. "Hey are you alright buddy?" asks a voice from my left. "Sir maybe you should sit down for a while." Asks another. No! I can't sit down because if I sit down I won't be able to get back up! I look to Cass who seems to read my mind. "Just give him a second. This will pass." She explains cooly.

All five people scan us both for a moment and we're all still. The woman with the hurt arm looks to Cass and asks sweetly. "Honey, is she okay?" Pointing to Steph. Then it all floods through my head. My siblings, my responsibility. The adrenaline begins to slowly push the dark spots of my vision away, slowly letting me ignore the pain. Cass is taken aback by the question, and looks up to me in an emotional panic. I manage a nod and she reads the words behind it. Remember what I said. It's okay, just tell them. "No, she's hurt badly." Cass responds tears prickling in her bloodshot eyes. I blink hard once more before gently pushing the strangers off of me and loosening my hold on Cass's shoulder. They step back wearily, arms outstretched in case I lose my balance again.

"Hey man are you sure you're okay?" The fireman asks me. He's sitting on the floor in what I can only assume is excruciating pain. "Yeah, I've just got a few busted ribs and sometimes it just catches me off guard. I'm Jason by the way, these are my sisters Cass and Stephanie." The woman steps up first and extends her functioning hand in greeting. "Hello, I'm Gabriella," she motions to the Fireman "That's Tony and those three are Randall, Jefferson, and Emma." They all wave and I greet them with my winning smile. Gabriella turns back to me expectantly. "So, you got any ideas?"

I let out a small breathy laugh in response and she smiles slightly. "I don't think there's any chance of moving that." I begin and point to the billowing flames. "So that only really leaves two options. Either we go out the window…" I glace behind me at the 12 story fall and push past the knot in my gut. Gabriella speaks up from Tony's side. "What's the other option?" "Well it's not so much an option as it is the inevitable." I look back to her. And she nods stoically. "The tower falls and we all probably die." I shrug microscopically. Jesus I'm so exhausted.

There's an eerie silence, only occupied by the roar to the flames and the distant sirens 120 feet below us. The tower creaks in impatience and send chills racing down my spine. A small voice squeaks from behind me. "Then we have to go out the window. We can't just wait here to die." I turn to look at and find that it's Jefferson that spoke. He's small, maybe 5 ½ feet tall, with a skeleton like build. I look down to his loafers, his once finely pressed khakis, the white and blue button down that probably cost more than he'd like to admit. His hair is still combed over neatly, yet sweat gleams on his face. I look at this small man, standing as strongly as he can manage, being as brave as he could ever be, and I admire that.

I let myself smile. "Well then. What are we waiting for?" And just like that, the space brightens. I ask the others to go look on the higher floors for any sort of rope and me and Cass turn to the window. Cass sets Steph on the floor as you would a sleeping child, whispering something sweetly to her as she lowers her down. The action make my insides ache. Cass turns back to me and after merely glancing at the window states "I can kick through that." I shake my head. "Let me do it." She glares at me as if I'm the dumbest creature she's ever had the displeasure to encounter. "You are already compromised Jason let me do it." "Exactly!" She pauses and I continue eagerly. If it can keep her from hurting herself then I will, no questions asked. "I'm already compromised. It's better for one of us to me more compromised then for both of us to be compromised. I already can't do much right here, but you still can, it's only logical to keep you as strong as possible."

She swallows hard, soaking in the facts, chewing them slowly. Then, visibly unhappy about her conclusion nods. I let out a small sigh of release and approach the glass. It looks thin enough to shatter with one solid kick to the center of the paine. I ready myself, take a deep breath and kick.

The first sound I hear is the crunch of my ankle. Then the shattering of glass and finally the ripping of fabric. I feel Cass's hands gripping the back of my jacket to keep me from going through the window. She yanks me back out of what I can only imagine is panic and I land with an agonized thud several feet away. My body quivers violently and I feel like I might vomit. My ribs grib with each breath I breathe and it takes all I have not to pass out right here. My head pounds so forcefully it shakes my vision. I feel my leg growing wet and I curse vibrantly in my head. Cass is by my side, snapping her fingers in front of my face. I try to respond, to blink but i'm frozen. "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry…" she whispers to me as she makes her way down to my leg.

I recognize the unmistakable feeling of glass getting pulled from my skin and I want to flinch, to move away somehow, but my body lay enert on the floor, eyes staring stone like above me. She rips the bottom seam of her shirt off and ties it around the throbbing in my leg. Oh shit. Shit! Shit! Shit! My ankle. God fucking dammit! The room still spins but I manage to blink my eyes. The ringing my my head subsides and I learn the Gabriella is a veteran and is talking Cass through how to set my ankle. I squeeze my eyes shut in anticipation. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fu- CRACK.

I shoot up straight, temporarily forgetting the blazing fire it set to my ribs. A sort of guttural, primal, scream of anguish explodes from my throat. "Shhh shhh shhh." Cass soothes. The sound cuts off and my vision swims. "Jason. I'm just going to need you to take a few deep breaths. You're ok but that window cut you up pretty badly, it turns out it was reinforced. Your ankle is broken and has just been popped back into the socket. Okay? Jason can you hear me?" Gabriella's voice fades in and out as she talks to me. The others have returned and are talking about a fire hose. "The water is cut off, it's useless now." Responds Tony hopelessly. "But could we use it to lower us down maybe? Does that sound like something that would work?" inquires Emma. 'I don't know, maybe if-" Randall begins. "Yes." melts horsley from my throat.

"What?" questions Gabriella from beside me. "Yes." I cough again. "Yes what?" Asks Emma tentatively. "The fire hose. Yes. It- it'll work." I clear my throat and shake my head in a daze, vaguely aware of the questioning looks cast my way. "It will?" Asks Emma, a tinge of self praise in her voice. She elbows Randall gently and whispers in victory "I told you." Cass has her hand on my heart, something she does when she's trying to calm someone. I meet her eyes and find them strangely quiet. She nods and helps me unsteadily to my feet. Huh… I don't remember asking her to help me up. Inserts itself into my inner monologue. I shake my head one last time to clear the stubborn black spots that have invaded my vision. Leaning heavily against the wall I reach out "Hose please."

It takes some time but the 7 of us eventually tie two harnesses into each end of the hose. I slip one end around my waist and the other around Jefferson's thighs. "Don't panic, just sit in it like you would a swing and once you get low enough start calling out for help." His whole body started to shake violently as I spoke and I put a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay. We got you." Jefferson menouvers to the window sill and sits with his feet dangling down. The other 5 of us who are able, stand in a line, the hose wrapped around our writs. Ready. He edges off of the sill and I'm taken aback by how light he is. We slowly ease him down until I have my good leg pressed against the sill holding his weight steady.

Emma watches from the sill and when he finally catches someone's attention he drops the rest of the 7 stories into what was described to me as "A non-bouncy trampoline with a target on it." and that was good enough for me. Tony speaks up telling us it's called a life net, and we all cheer. Whilst dragging the hose back up we elect Tony to go next. He's the heaviest and the more people we have to lower his down the better. Next we lower down Randall, than Gabriella with Steph and then Emma.

"Alright Cass, step in." She waivers, wiping her eye with the back of her hand. "But Jason, what about you?" The question catches me off guard, the truth is I haven't even thought about me. My strong-guy act falter and I find it hard to tell her the truth. Honestly, I probably won't make it. "Don't worry Cass, I'll think of something. No way I'd leave you alone with those guys." I smile and I can tell she knows I'm lying but is choosing to believe me despite that. She wraps her arms around me, and we stay like that until the creaking of the building tears us apart.

She steps in and with one small wave, climbs off the sill. Down and down and down, she goes. Just about 8 feet of hose left when the tie around my waist begins to slip. Bile rises up through my throat, and I fumble with the tie. Holding her with one hand I try to tighten it but my grip slips and the hose tears through my grasp. I snatch it back with both hand and register the smell of rope burn and the screams of panic from the crowd below. I take a deep breath and try to continue lowering her down. Fist over fist.

But then the tower jostles violently and I scramble on my one leg, desperately trying to keep my balance. I slip, fall face first. I'm unable to catch myself and land with a crash on my side. The blinding pain in my chest causes me to momentarily go numb. I can feel the grip on the hose loosening. I fight for control over the pain, but by the time I grab hold again it's gone slack. I test the weight again and again in panic, but she's not there! She's just gone.

What will happen to Cass? Did she live? Did she die? It's up to you guys! Please review to leave your vote.