Hey all! I'm so sorry for the (once again) really long wait. I hope this chapter makes up for it. :)
-Chapter 11-
The raw air permeated the gaping holes and tiny pin pricks of opening in the torn building. Angell felt the onset of a shiver and held her breath to conceal the pain caused by the involuntary shaking of her broken body. A lone tear ran down her face and left a clean trail amidst the caked-on dust and grime of the building's past.
"Stop it," she hissed at herself. For heavens sakes, she was a cop. She shouldn't be acting this way no matter how much it hurt. She was tough. The youngest of four brothers, the daughter of a detective sergeant who didn't raise wimps for children. She was strong, invincible, stubborn....and in so much pain.
"Just stop it!"
-&-
Flack only had to glance at Angell to know what would happen if help did not arrive soon. He was horrifingly well aware of what came next. Her blood would continue to escape through the multiple cuts and lacerations, her skin would pale even more, and the onset of light-headedness would follow. Soon she would be slipping in and out of consciousness, and, unless he could free himself, he would be powerless to help. Flack cursed silently and began to think of a way to reach her. A large block of cement had found its resting point on his upper legs and pinned him onto the rubble. He was able to bend his knees and brace his feet to gain leverage, but the strength of the cement boulder won against the impressive strength of his arms as he pushed against it.
"Jess?" he threw her name out across the space.
Nothing.
"Jess!"
"Yeah?...." a soft reply came.
"Can you move at all?"
A shuffle.
A grunt.
A curse.
A cry of pain mixed with defeat.
"I-I can't. It's my right leg."
A plethora of terrifying possibilities bombarded Flack and he pushed them aside, not even wanting to think about thinking about them.
"What's wrong?"
Another pained, forceful sound from Angell. "There's a beam. It's too heavy, and I can't push it off."
"Try." It was a simple remark, but held so much expectation behind it.
"Don, I can't just kick it off! Believe me, I've already tried that!" she snapped as her voice broke. It was a heartbreaking sound, and Don flinched.
"Alright," he said softly. "Let's try something else."
-&-
Dust stirred up and found a new settling point as three pairs of feet cautiously climbed over metal, cement, and office furniture blown to pieces by the horrendous act. Mac led, followed by Stella, with Danny bringing up the rear of the group. They moved slowly and ever so carefully. A rock would dislodge and be enough to send a wave of panic, increase heartbeats, cause short gasps, and freeze them in their positions. Relieved sighs would usually follow with Mac turning around to make sure Stella and Danny were both okay. Few words were spoken, and even fewer were needed as they continued their climb.
"Flack! Angell!" They repeated over and over and then paused to listen. Nothing.
"Judging from where the front door used to be, Flack and Angell would most likely be over there." Mac pointed ahead at a jungle of demolished skyscraper.
Danny's eyes widened. "Mac, if they're in there, there's no way that....."
"Don't say it." Stella cut him off abruptly as determination flashed across her face. She shook her head and caused limp ringlets to follow.
The three continued on into the metal jungle.
"Flack! Angell!"
Pause.
"Flack! Angell!"
Pause.
The building shuddered and debris shifted ever so slightly.
"Mac, we should have waited for proper search and rescue teams to take us in." Stella softly said, frozen in place.
Another groan whispered through the rubble.
"Mac...." Stella's voice took on an air of caution as another groan echoed a little louder. She reached up and placed a hand on his shoulder.
Danny moved beside the two and stared at his boss.
"What do you think?" His words were twisted with his New York accent, "Is Stell right?"
Mac shook his head, not wanting to admit their defeat. "No. We keep going." He turned and they began to call again as more metal groans echoed through.
"Flack! Angell!"
Stella grabbed Mac's arm. "Did you hear that?" She insisted.
He cocked his head and listened intently. "Is that...."
"Flack." Danny stated.
-&-
Flack cried out in frustration as he pushed the cement block again and again. Sweat poured down his face, soaking his neck and chest.
"Don. Stop, please." Angell pleaded as a wave of dizziness passed over her.
He clenched his teeth as a creak of metal sounded. The shudders of the building had gotten closer and closer, and Flack prayed that its inevitable collapse would hold out until rescue came. "I can't. You need to go out of here."
"And so do you. Forcing yourself into unconsciousness isn't going to help either of us!" she snapped and moaned as another light-headed spell attacked.
"I kno- wait!"
"What?"
"Listen...." he responded and turned his head towards the cries.
A faint echo reached his inner ear. It was muffled, but...
"HELP!" Flack cried out and prayed that his voice was heard.
-&-
"They're over there!" Mac pointed and began to furiously climb over debris. "We're coming, Flack, hold on!"
"Mac, wait!" Stella called as she tried to chase after him through the obstacle course of sharp, twisted metal and coarse cement.
Another shift of debris. Another moan of metal.
Mac turned back in time to see a cement block tumbled down from the floor above, just barely missing Stella as she shrieked and jumped out of the way. It thundered to its resting place, effectively blocking Danny from following the two leaders.
"Hey!" Danny cried.
"Danny," Mac raised his voice, "Are you okay?"
"Fine, boss."
"Try to find another way to reach us. I'm going to keep heading over to Flack and Angell."
He motioned for Stella to follow and turned away.
Neither of them were prepared as all hell broke loose on the building.
-&-
"They're coming, Jess. They heard," Flack breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at her.
"Jess?...Jess!"
Angell lay limp with her eyes closed, and he knew she had passed out. She was pale...too pale, and Flack feared his predictions had been correct. If no one could reach her in time...no! He would not consider that possibility.
"Come on, Jess," he whispered desperately.
A loud thundering noise followed by a high-pitched shriek broke into his thoughts. The floor shook slightly as whatever had fallen found its new location of destruction. Flack laid his head back and listened to the voices as they conversed back and forth. Judging from the pitch, it had to be Mac, Stella, and Danny. The dominant voice- Mac-started to increase in volume, and Flack hoped that he was close.
He started to open his mouth, but was cut off by a deafening roar as beams holding up debris snapped like toothpicks and rained down on him. The floor began to violently shake as the painful moaning of rubble joined in the thundering sound. More shaking, quivering, falling, and suddenly Flack could feel freedom in his upper legs. He cracked an eyelid open and saw the cement block shift off under the intense duress of the earthquake-like state. And then....silence.
-&-
"Mac!" Stella shrieked as the initial jolt of movement forced her off balance and into a pile of shaking concrete and steel. She winced as an edge of metal caught her arm and cleanly sliced into her skin. The roar of movement was deafening, and she saw Mac struggling to reach her. Biting back a cry of pain she pushed herself back up and stumbled over the shaking foundation as she, dodging raining rubble, tried to reach Mac.
"Stella, hold on!" Mac cried and ducked as a chunk of concrete whizzed past his head. No doubt about it, the intact portion of the skyscraper was slowly caving in on itself. Another piece of debris fell, followed by another, and another. Stella was cut off from his line of vision as they began to pile up between them. Mac pushed onward, ignoring the tiny shards of glass and metal that tore into his arms.
"Mac!"
"Stella!"
The shaking stopped as silence once again filled the empty space.
-&-
Flack silently thanked the building for collapsing again as he forced himself onto hands and knees and began to climb towards Angell's still-trapped form. His arm caught on an exposed piece of metal and he held his breath as it ripped his flesh. He wiped the blood on his pants as he reached her and took her face into his hands.
"Jess."
She whimpered as her eyelashes fluttered ever so slightly.
"Shhh, shhh....it's ok. I'm here. I've got you," he reassured her and pressed a quick kiss onto her forehead. "I'm gonna get you out of here," he whispered and moved towards the large steel beam covering her right leg.
He pushed with all his strength and was rewarded as the block slowly inched its way off. Flack paused, allowing his arms to rest for a few seconds and pushed again. The beam landed beside Angell, and her face visibly relaxed at the decreased pressure on her leg. Moving to her left leg, Flack ripped off a piece of his sleeve and wrapped it around the ugly gash that continued to leak blood.
Panting, Flack laid down beside her and waited for his breathing to return to normal. Exhaustion fell over him and he closed his heavy eyes as he briefly rested.
"Don?" A whisper. He opened his eyes and stared into her chocolate brown ones.
"Hey. Welcome back," he grinned and took Angell's hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
"Can we get out of here now?" she asked. A tiny amount of color had returned to her face, but she was still so pale.
"You ready to give it a try?" Flack searched her eyes for her well-known determination.
Angell grinned slightly as her cop attitude began to return. "Let's do it."
-&-
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