Alternate
Chapter 13: Emergency
A/N: Well I felt like after that cliffhanger another chapter was in order. I hope you enjoy this and I don't want to sound greedy or desperate but I really do enjoy reviews and I would love to hear from all of you what you think.
Dedication: Wolfhound159, megspazzy and DaisyDay.
In the pitch black Daniel tried to stay calm. Panic would lead to hyperventilation and hyperventilation would lead to him expending his limited air supply faster. Kate would find him. He had to believe that.
"Pinning your hopes on a long shot Daniel," Rosenthal's voice taunted from somewhere in the darkness. Even though he was a hallucination, Daniel couldn't help being infuriated at his former therapist. "She won't even realize you're gone until it's too late."
"Shut up," Daniel ground out as he fought to keep his breathing even.
"How long do you think you can stave off panic?" Rosenthal taunted "You know what kind of slow asphyxiating death awaits you. Your time is limited. No one's coming to save you."
"Shut up," Daniel repeated as the fear and anxiety raged inside him. His best efforts to tamp it down were failing. He was terrified of the slow death that awaited. Being buried alive was one of mankind's primal fears. And it had haunted Daniel since the day he'd attended his Great Grandmother's funeral when he was four.
"Mommy, what if she wakes up?" he had asked as the first few shovelfuls of dirt were thrown onto the coffin.
His father had laughed.
"She's not going to wake up honey," his mother had told him, giving his small hand a squeeze.
"But what if she does?" he had persisted, his young mind not able to truly understand the prominence of death.
"Then she'll have to claw her way out of the grave before she runs out of air," his father had remarked in jest as he formed one of his hands into a claw and reached for his son.
"James don't scare him," his mother had scolded as Daniel stepped closer to her, his eyes wide.
As Daniel felt his breathing become more rapid agains his will he felt like a frightened child all over again. He could feel his chest tightening as the fear of his impending death gripped him. Tears filled his eyes as Rosenthal laughed. He tried and tried to regain something akin to composure but it eluded him.
Suddenly a new voice entered the small space "Come on dude," his younger self encouraged "Pull it together, you got this."
"No he doesn't," Rosenthal countered "He's a paranoid schizophrenic in a coffin under at least six feet of dirt, in the middle of the woods. There's no hope of anyone finding him in time."
"The people who care about him will find him," younger Daniel stated with absolute certainty.
"You idealistic idiot," Rosenthal mocked.
"No," Daniel said firmly as something occurred to him "He's right." He reached into his coat pocket and with tremulous fingers retrieved the phone that Max had given him that morning.
Upon turning the device on the light it cast shed an eerie glow on his tomb. He caught sight of Rosenthal and his younger self, their disembodied heads poking through opposite sides of the coffin. Daniel shuddered and forced himself to focus on the phone.
During his lectures he'd had the phone turned off even though Max and Kate were the only ones with the number as far as he knew. Looking at the screen he noticed he had several missed calls from Max and one from Kate. He immediately hit the redial for Kate and wondered if the wireless plan Max had chosen had good enough reception to make a call from underground.
Upon being dropped off at Daniel's by Agent Kruger, who remained outside for the time being, Kate immediately fell asleep on the couch. A few hours later she was awoken by her phone. A quick glance at the clock left her feeling confused, it was almost seven thirty.
"What's going on Max?" she inquired upon answering the phone.
"Have you heard from doc?" was the first thing out of his mouth.
Kate sat bolt upright "No," she replied "What's wrong?"
"He was supposed to meet me at the library at around five fifteen," Max explained "Around five thirty I called his phone but I guess he must have forgotten to turn it back on after class. So I went to his office... He's not there. I've been asking all over campus. A couple of students remember seeing him leave his office but that's it..."
"Okay Max," Kate struggled to keep her voice calm for the young man's benefit as she slipped into her shoes and stood up "Call campus police, I'll be right there."
As she hung up with Max and headed for the door she decided to try Daniel's cell phone for herself. It went straight to voicemail and she sighed as she slid into the passenger's seat of Kruger's car. If his phone was off it couldn't be tracked. It seemed that Daniel had found a way around Max's attempt at keeping closer tabs on him.
Kruger had just turned onto the highway when Kate's phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID and suddenly couldn't answer it fast enough "Daniel," she breathed "Are you alright?"
When he answered her his tone was trembling and full of fear "I... I... no I'm not..."
"Where are you?" Kate had never felt so frightened but forced herself to display so much composure before. He was so distraught that she didn't dare let a drop of fear in her tone.
"In a coffin..." he whispered, sheer terror in every syllable "Somewhere in the woods... about an hour and a half's walk from campus... Buried..." he choked on the word "Buried about six feet down..." Kate heard his ragged intake of breath and it was obvious that he was crying.
Quickly Kate relayed instructions to Kruger to have Fleckner start tracking Daniel's phone. "Daniel," it was becoming impossible for her to remain calm but somehow by some miracle, she managed "I need you to stay calm alright," she knew she was being a hypocrite but at least she had access to an unlimited oxygen supply "Just listen to my voice alright, take slow, deep breaths. We're coming for you okay."
"They'll never get here in time," Rosenthal taunted.
Daniel did his best to ignore his hallucination. He focussed on Kate's voice as he clutched the phone with both hands like the very literal life line it was.
"Talk to me Daniel," Kate couldn't keep the note of pleading from her voice as Kruger pulled over to let Max in the car. Kruger quickly filled the young man in as they turned in the direction of headquarters.
"I'm sorry," Daniel whispered.
"Don't apologize," Kate reprimanded "You've done nothing wrong."
But Daniel knew he had. His best efforts at keeping calm were failing miserably. He could feel his grip on reality dissolving entirely. He didn't want to die but it seemed like that was most assuredly what was going to happen. He didn't want to leave Kate.
His silence frightened Kate. She could hear his ragged breathing and the occasional whimper "Daniel," her tone was pleading now, not even the pretext of professionalism as they pulled into the FBI parking lot where Fleckner was waiting for them along with three other cars full of agents. "Stay with me Daniel," she told him as Fleckner, armed with a tablet on which Daniel's location was represented by a flashing red dot, got in beside Max "We're coming," she promised.
Kruger began driving according to Fleckner's instructions. Behind him the other three cars were joined by an ambulance and eventually a backhoe.
"I love you," Daniel whispered.
"I love you too," Kate was fighting back tears and losing "Just breathe Daniel. We'll be there soon. Just stay calm."
"I knew there was something going on between them," Fleckner remarked.
Max elbowed him hard in the ribs "Focus tech boy."
"I'll stay calm if you do," Daniel managed a halfhearted attempt at a joke.
Kate half chuckled "You'll stay calm in spite of whether I do or not," she informed him.
It was Daniel's turn to attempt a laugh "I'll try..."
"They'll never find you," it was Tasha Ogden who taunted him this time "You'll slowly run out of air and then the worms will come."
Tasha and Rosenthal laughed as Daniel became aware of hundreds of slimy, wriggling creatures crawling over him.
"It's not real, it's not real," he told himself.
Kate's heart broken into even smaller pieces. Being buried alive would wreak havoc on the psyche of someone without a mental illness. She couldn't even imagine what Daniel was going through. She wanted to wrap her hands around the throat of whoever had done this to him and squeeze the life out of them.
The FBI caravan had gone of road now. Kate's tears fell freely as she listened to Daniel trying to rationalize away whatever Hell he was experiencing "Focus on my voice," she begged "Just listen to me Daniel. I'll be there soon, I promise, we're going to get you out."
Daniel heard Kate's words and wanted desperately to believe them. Once again he tried to steady his breathing as he attempted to ignore the countless creepy crawlers.
"How do you know she's real?" Rosenthal postulated.
"I just do," Daniel nearly shouted at the specter.
"How can you be sure?" Rosenthal pressed "She's just a voice on the phone."
"I know she's real!" Daniel shouted.
"Who's real?" Kate questioned as the cars pulled up to a small clearing. The place where Daniel was buried was obvious. Agents piled out of cars and gathered around a patch of recently disturbed earth. Kate joined them. She took quick stock of all who were assembled. Pulling the phone away from her ear briefly, she shouted at Kruger "Where's the backhoe?"
"It wasn't able to make it this far in through the trees," he explained "We're gonna have to dig him out by hand." Agents Miller and Greyson were handing out shovels from the back ends of the other three cars. Kate reached for one but Kruger stopped her "You can't dig and talk at the same time," he reminded her, indicating the phone in her hand.
Kate nodded and put the phone back to her ear "We'll have you out soon Daniel," she told him.
"She's lying," Rosenthal sing-songed.
"You're stuck down here," Tasha said gleefully.
Even the hallucinated creepy crawlers had begun to whisper doubts and misgivings so that it was all but impossible to ignore them.
"K-Kate," Daniel called quietly over the phone.
"I'm here Daniel," she assured.
"If... you know... if I..." he stammered.
"You won't," she said firmly "You're going to be fine."
"But if I'm not..." he persisted "Promise... promise me... you'll be happy..."
"Excuse me?" Kate was taken aback by his words.
"Whatever happens..." Daniel whispered through ragged breaths and frightened tears "Be happy... find someone who sees you for... for the amazing... beautiful... strong... Incredible woman you are... Someone who isn't as messed up as me..."
Kate attempted to stifle a sob "You are not going to die!" she shouted as if her words alone could move the soil that trapped him "Stop talking like that!"
At that moment several shovels thudded against something. With Max and even Fleckner digging the number of shovels was nearly a dozen. It didn't take much longer before the coffin was fully uncovered. It was opened and several pairs of hands lifted Daniel out.
Kate pocketed her phone as she knelt beside him. By that time the sky had turned dark. The surrounding area was illuminated somewhat eerily by the headlights of the parked cars. Kate reached out and gently touched his face "I told you," she offered him a half smile.
Daniel stared back at her with wild eyes. His breathing was still quick and ragged and he still clutched the cell phone in both his hands. He said nothing but as paramedics rushed forward, fitting him with an oxygen mask and moving him onto a stretcher, he released the phone and reached for Kate's hand.
In the ambulance on the way to the hospital the paramedics administered IV diazepam in hopes that it would help Daniel relax or at least bring his heart rate down a little. As it began to take affect Daniel turned to Kate and in all sincerity he asked "You'd tell me if you weren't real?"
Kate almost laughed but something in the way he looked at her gave her pause. She leaned in close and stroked his hair "Daniel...?" she found words elusive at that moment. She brought her lips down to brush against his "Thank God you're okay," she finally murmured.
"You may be alive," Rosenthal interjected from his place standing beside Kate "But you and I both know you are not okay."