Morning Star
Chapter 19
When Gage woke from his nap he felt better than he had in days. If only the tightness around his heart that ached to make sure Syd was okay would dissipate, he might actually say that he was doing well. As he emerged from his room he realized that his hosts were both sound asleep, enjoying a siesta during the intense heat of the early-afternoon sun.
A plan immediately formulated in Gage's mind and he sprung into action. He hated to leave his hosts without a chance to repay their kindness, but he needed to find Syd NOW! He looked around the room and grabbed a woven sack hanging near the door. He filled a glass milk jar with water and ensured that the cap was securely screwed on. He added some bread he found on the counter and with a final look around the quiet room, he opened the door and silently slipped out.
Gage headed immediately for the nearly dried up river bed. He climbed down into the gulley created early in the spring when the water did flow through here, and he looked closely at the meagre flow of the water that still ran there to ensure that he headed in the right direction. Once again looking back at the home of the kind strangers who had saved him, and offering a word of thanks to them in prayer, Gage began the long walk back to Texas.
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Following Alex's phone call Walker and Trivette immediately began following the course the river southward and away from the Psychiatric Hospital property. About fifteen minutes earlier they had come to the conclusion that the only way Gage could have left the grounds was via the river and had begun making preparations to follow the river's course. Determining that it was more probable for Gage to have travelled south, they marked their starting point with a red flag and headed off.
As they scoured the banks each wordlessly dreaded that it was a corpse they would find. If Gage had been as badly injured as Sydney believed, it was highly unlikely that he could have survived a trip down this river, which had been a raging torrent the morning after the storm. And even if he had, it had been several days now. It was a very slim chance that their friend and colleague had survived, but both Rangers knew to believe in the unbelievable and to have faith when it seemed like all was lost. They would continue to search for Gage until they found him, dead or alive.
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On the rooftop of the hospital Sydney, Alex and Erica had to wait only minutes for the chopper to arrive. Her friends hoisted Syd, wheelchair and all, up into the cabin as soon as the door had opened, and the pilot thought to himself that he had never seen such an unlikely group of passengers in the 11 years that he had worked on contract for the Texas Rangers.
"Which one of you is Ranger Cooke?" he asked.
"I am." Replied Syd from her wheelchair, as Erica reached around her to strap the chair into place, and as the pilot turned to meet her gaze he took back his original assessment of the situation. This was not some helpless young woman in between the two professionally dressed women; this was a tough and serious Ranger who was clearly not going to let her injuries, whatever they were, get in her way.
"You know the river that runs through the old Psychiatric Hospital?" Syd asked the pilot and he nodded in response. "We need to fly out there and follow that river south. We are looking for my partner; he is out there somewhere and has been injured. He might be quite far south of the hospital property, or not, we don't know. We'll need to fly really low and look closely to see if we can spot him."
As the helicopter lifted off the roof of the hospital Syd felt her hopes rise. She finally felt in control again, and between them in the air and Walker and Trivette on the ground, they were sure to locate Gage. A tiny doubt tinged her thoughts that she might be wrong about the river, but she dismissed the negative thought. Her heart told her that Gage was there, just as it told her that he was still alive. If only she could trust her heart, she had allowed herself to have confidence the feelings of love there since her grandmother's death.
Smiling at her friends, Sydney took each of their hands and squeezed tightly as the chopper headed over Dallas and towards the more rural outskirts.
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Gage walked for a couple of hours in the intense heat of the sun. He walked beneath trees when possible and relished the shade they gave, even if it was only briefly. He stopped a couple of times and took small sips of water from the jar but resisted the cries of his aching body to sit down. Gage didn't think he had ever been more single-minded in his life and then a memory of Syd lying helpless on the floor of the crystal meth lab that time they had infiltrated the biker gang flashed in his mind. He remembered how his heart had raced as he tried to think of how to get her hand free and how determined he had been to knock down that metal table leg when he realized that was his only option. With seconds left to go before the building exploded Gage had known then they he couldn't leave Sydney there - that he would have died saving her.
He would not fail her now, he could not. Surely she was not dead, he would know it in his heart wouldn't he? He had always seemed to have some sort of sixth sense when it came to Syd; it was one of those things that he come to realize made them such good partners. And in fact, his sixth sense was not really giving him any signals right now. That usually meant that things were fine, but what if it meant that she was gone...Gage dismissed that thought and doggedly continued on his way north.
The brown trickle of water that had flowed through the peasant farmer's land was now significantly stronger; it filled the channel and covered Gage's feet up to his ankles. As he sloshed through the water, each step increasingly difficult as his feet sank into the mud, it never occurred to him to walk along the bank of the river. He was past exhaustion, suffering from the ill effects of his shoulder injury and too much time in the sun, all he could think about was that this river was the way home, the way to Syd.
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Walker and Trivette had travelled a significant distance down river, with no success, when the heard the sound of a low flying helicopter. Looking up they could not believe their eyes when they realized it was a Texas Ranger chopper, and were even more astonished when the chopper flew lower and three female heads popped out waving hello.
"Alex? Erica? Sydney!" Walker and Trivette exclaimed in unison.
"I'm going to kill her!" Walker said.
"Who? Sydney?" Trivette asked, absolutely delighted to see his wife up there supporting them in their search. It was an unexpected surprise that made his heart swell with pride.
"Alex!" Walker grinned, despite himself. "And then Sydney. Somehow those two managed to finagle that chopper and get it flown all the way down here. And how they got Sydney released so soon, I'll never..." He looked over at Trivette who was waving goofily up at his wife. "I'll bet that was Erica. I'll kill Erica too!"
"Anything?" Alex yelled down at Walker, knowing he was going to lay into her about this for a while, but his smile as he conversed with Trivette belying any anger he would profess later.
"No sign! Go south, and we'll keep looking here on the ground."
Alex gave them the thumbs up sign, as Syd indicated to the pilot that they need to continue searching along the river. Erica waved goodbye to Trivette as she kept her eyes peeled on the river for signs of Gage.
Looking out the open doorway had been difficult for Syd, trapped as she was in the wheelchair. Undoing the seatbelt that secured her body, but not the chair, Syd moved into a lying position on the floor of the helicopter. She had been happy to see Walker and Trivette but the fact they were alone meant that Gage was still out there, and there was no time to waste.
The helicopter flew right over the river, as slowly as possible, with the doors on both sides open. Syd and Erica looked out one side, and Alex searched out the other.
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Gage sloshed on in the middle of the river, by now it was well over his waist and his progress was very slow. Each step he took was painful, his legs felt like lead weights. His head was throbbing and the inflammation in his shoulder was so severe he could barely move his arm. He had long since abandoned the sack of bottled water, and the bread had been eaten during an early break under a tree. He could think of nothing to do but to move forward, against the current of the steadily increasing volume of water.
He felt the wind begin to pick up and the trees on both banks began to sway. His struggle up the river became even harder; the wind was creating ripples on the water's surface. Slowly the sound of a helicopter penetrated his consciousness and he realized that it was not a natural wind which was making his journey so much more challenging.
"Gage! Oh my God – there he is!" screamed Syd as she suddenly spotted the lonely and bedraggled figure struggling to walk up the river. "He's alive! He's there! Go lower! Go lower!!"
As the helicopter moved lower Gage found it impossible to continue walking. The water was up to his neck now, but waves were being created by the force of the chopper's blades and they were splashing over his head.
"Gage!" he heard his name being screamed. Syd? Was that Syd calling his name? As he looked up at the chopper and caught a glimpse of her long dark hair whipping around her face from the open door of the helicopter, he lost his footing and was suddenly completely submerged.
He struggled to reach the surface again but he had inadvertently swallowed water and found the task nearly impossible. Syd! Syd! He could hear the voice in his head crying out to her, but he couldn't speak. He finally managed to break the surface and inhale a gasp of air when the river swelled over his head again, and he felt himself being pulled under by the current.
"He's drowning!" Syd screamed. "We have to get him! Where's the rope ladder? Let me down, let me down!" She watched helplessly as Gage struggled to keep his head above water, each time disappearing beneath the surface for longer than before.
"No!" Erica spoke firmly as she swiftly removed her shoes and undid her seatbelt. "Back up Sydney, I'm going to jump in and get him. Move the chopper away as soon as I've jumped, the wind its making is causing the biggest problem."
Syd struggled to sit up and move away from the open door to give Erica enough room to stand. Alex leaned down and pulled the frantic Ranger towards her, holding her tightly in her arms.
"One. Two. Three." Erica plugged her nose and jumped feet first into the river.
"Move away! Move away!" Alex yelled to the pilot who immediately pulled the chopper up and to the east where he spotted a clearing large enough to set the chopper down.
As soon as the helicopter landed Alex undid her seatbelt and took off running towards the river. "Stay here Sydney, I have to help Erica."
Knowing her friend made the right decision but incredulous that she had been left alone, Syd struggled unsuccessfully to detach the wheelchair from its safety harness.
"Help me, please!" she begged the pilot. "I have to get to him."
"I'm sorry Ranger. I can't leave the chopper."
"Arrrgggg!" Syd let out a roar of frustration and headed off on foot, uncaring that each step felt like it was ripping the fragile healing tissues in her leg. Syd's awkward walk soon turned into an ungainly run, as she attempted to prevent further injury while moving as quickly as possible. She arrived on the river's edge just in time to see Alex pulling Erica and, yes, Gage from the river.
Gage was coughing and sputtering, his face red from choking on all the water that had tried to pass its way into his lungs. Erica patted Gage on the back and Alex bent down to smooth the wet hair from his face.
Syd froze in place at the scene in front of her. Looking up Gage saw Syd standing there, near the edge of the forest and he clambered to his feet.
"Syd!" his voice was hoarse and scratchy. It was the most wonderful sound in the universe.
Breaking free of her trance Syd clumsily ran towards Gage as he stumbled towards her. They met somewhere in the middle, a joyous crush of arms and legs that fell to the ground as each gave in to the comfort that only their love for each other could give them.
Sobbing fiercely now, Syd held Gage close to her chest, as his arms circling her waist. Buried in her warmth Gage felt Syd's tears raining upon his head and he felt his own eyes soaking what dry parts remained of her shirt.
"I love you, I love you." She whispered. "I was so scared, I thought I lost you." She rocked Gage back and forth, her body shaking with all the pent up emotion of the past few days.
Gage strained to sit up in her arms, reaching his hands up to cup her face and look her deep in the eyes. "That's never going to happen Syd. I love you too much to ever leave you." He captured her lips with his own, salt from their tears mingling with the river water dripping from Gage's hair. He pulled her close to his chest and she held him fiercely, each unsure of where one body started and the other began.
This was the scene that Walker and Trivette burst into moments later. The young Rangers clutched together in their intimate, emotional embrace; Alex and a dripping wet Erica standing near the river's edge, best friends with their arms around each other shoulder's, smiling at the young couple and proud of their involvement in the rescue.
Walker and Trivette moved swiftly over to their wives and embraced them tightly, each aware of how precious life is and how close they came to losing one of their own today.
Slowly the two couples came back to reality and Walker radioed HQ for a medical chopper. Walking back to the Ranger helicopter Alex recovered Erica's shoes and a blanket to wrap her in. She brought a second blanket which she placed tightly around Syd and Gage who were unwilling, and in actuality physically unable, to move from the location where they had landed.
Wrapped in each other's embrace, and secure in the knowledge that their friends were with them, Sydney and Gage gave into the pain of the injuries they had sustained and by the time the medical team arrived, they were both blessedly unconscious.
Chapter 19
When Gage woke from his nap he felt better than he had in days. If only the tightness around his heart that ached to make sure Syd was okay would dissipate, he might actually say that he was doing well. As he emerged from his room he realized that his hosts were both sound asleep, enjoying a siesta during the intense heat of the early-afternoon sun.
A plan immediately formulated in Gage's mind and he sprung into action. He hated to leave his hosts without a chance to repay their kindness, but he needed to find Syd NOW! He looked around the room and grabbed a woven sack hanging near the door. He filled a glass milk jar with water and ensured that the cap was securely screwed on. He added some bread he found on the counter and with a final look around the quiet room, he opened the door and silently slipped out.
Gage headed immediately for the nearly dried up river bed. He climbed down into the gulley created early in the spring when the water did flow through here, and he looked closely at the meagre flow of the water that still ran there to ensure that he headed in the right direction. Once again looking back at the home of the kind strangers who had saved him, and offering a word of thanks to them in prayer, Gage began the long walk back to Texas.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------
Following Alex's phone call Walker and Trivette immediately began following the course the river southward and away from the Psychiatric Hospital property. About fifteen minutes earlier they had come to the conclusion that the only way Gage could have left the grounds was via the river and had begun making preparations to follow the river's course. Determining that it was more probable for Gage to have travelled south, they marked their starting point with a red flag and headed off.
As they scoured the banks each wordlessly dreaded that it was a corpse they would find. If Gage had been as badly injured as Sydney believed, it was highly unlikely that he could have survived a trip down this river, which had been a raging torrent the morning after the storm. And even if he had, it had been several days now. It was a very slim chance that their friend and colleague had survived, but both Rangers knew to believe in the unbelievable and to have faith when it seemed like all was lost. They would continue to search for Gage until they found him, dead or alive.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------
On the rooftop of the hospital Sydney, Alex and Erica had to wait only minutes for the chopper to arrive. Her friends hoisted Syd, wheelchair and all, up into the cabin as soon as the door had opened, and the pilot thought to himself that he had never seen such an unlikely group of passengers in the 11 years that he had worked on contract for the Texas Rangers.
"Which one of you is Ranger Cooke?" he asked.
"I am." Replied Syd from her wheelchair, as Erica reached around her to strap the chair into place, and as the pilot turned to meet her gaze he took back his original assessment of the situation. This was not some helpless young woman in between the two professionally dressed women; this was a tough and serious Ranger who was clearly not going to let her injuries, whatever they were, get in her way.
"You know the river that runs through the old Psychiatric Hospital?" Syd asked the pilot and he nodded in response. "We need to fly out there and follow that river south. We are looking for my partner; he is out there somewhere and has been injured. He might be quite far south of the hospital property, or not, we don't know. We'll need to fly really low and look closely to see if we can spot him."
As the helicopter lifted off the roof of the hospital Syd felt her hopes rise. She finally felt in control again, and between them in the air and Walker and Trivette on the ground, they were sure to locate Gage. A tiny doubt tinged her thoughts that she might be wrong about the river, but she dismissed the negative thought. Her heart told her that Gage was there, just as it told her that he was still alive. If only she could trust her heart, she had allowed herself to have confidence the feelings of love there since her grandmother's death.
Smiling at her friends, Sydney took each of their hands and squeezed tightly as the chopper headed over Dallas and towards the more rural outskirts.
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Gage walked for a couple of hours in the intense heat of the sun. He walked beneath trees when possible and relished the shade they gave, even if it was only briefly. He stopped a couple of times and took small sips of water from the jar but resisted the cries of his aching body to sit down. Gage didn't think he had ever been more single-minded in his life and then a memory of Syd lying helpless on the floor of the crystal meth lab that time they had infiltrated the biker gang flashed in his mind. He remembered how his heart had raced as he tried to think of how to get her hand free and how determined he had been to knock down that metal table leg when he realized that was his only option. With seconds left to go before the building exploded Gage had known then they he couldn't leave Sydney there - that he would have died saving her.
He would not fail her now, he could not. Surely she was not dead, he would know it in his heart wouldn't he? He had always seemed to have some sort of sixth sense when it came to Syd; it was one of those things that he come to realize made them such good partners. And in fact, his sixth sense was not really giving him any signals right now. That usually meant that things were fine, but what if it meant that she was gone...Gage dismissed that thought and doggedly continued on his way north.
The brown trickle of water that had flowed through the peasant farmer's land was now significantly stronger; it filled the channel and covered Gage's feet up to his ankles. As he sloshed through the water, each step increasingly difficult as his feet sank into the mud, it never occurred to him to walk along the bank of the river. He was past exhaustion, suffering from the ill effects of his shoulder injury and too much time in the sun, all he could think about was that this river was the way home, the way to Syd.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------
Walker and Trivette had travelled a significant distance down river, with no success, when the heard the sound of a low flying helicopter. Looking up they could not believe their eyes when they realized it was a Texas Ranger chopper, and were even more astonished when the chopper flew lower and three female heads popped out waving hello.
"Alex? Erica? Sydney!" Walker and Trivette exclaimed in unison.
"I'm going to kill her!" Walker said.
"Who? Sydney?" Trivette asked, absolutely delighted to see his wife up there supporting them in their search. It was an unexpected surprise that made his heart swell with pride.
"Alex!" Walker grinned, despite himself. "And then Sydney. Somehow those two managed to finagle that chopper and get it flown all the way down here. And how they got Sydney released so soon, I'll never..." He looked over at Trivette who was waving goofily up at his wife. "I'll bet that was Erica. I'll kill Erica too!"
"Anything?" Alex yelled down at Walker, knowing he was going to lay into her about this for a while, but his smile as he conversed with Trivette belying any anger he would profess later.
"No sign! Go south, and we'll keep looking here on the ground."
Alex gave them the thumbs up sign, as Syd indicated to the pilot that they need to continue searching along the river. Erica waved goodbye to Trivette as she kept her eyes peeled on the river for signs of Gage.
Looking out the open doorway had been difficult for Syd, trapped as she was in the wheelchair. Undoing the seatbelt that secured her body, but not the chair, Syd moved into a lying position on the floor of the helicopter. She had been happy to see Walker and Trivette but the fact they were alone meant that Gage was still out there, and there was no time to waste.
The helicopter flew right over the river, as slowly as possible, with the doors on both sides open. Syd and Erica looked out one side, and Alex searched out the other.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------
Gage sloshed on in the middle of the river, by now it was well over his waist and his progress was very slow. Each step he took was painful, his legs felt like lead weights. His head was throbbing and the inflammation in his shoulder was so severe he could barely move his arm. He had long since abandoned the sack of bottled water, and the bread had been eaten during an early break under a tree. He could think of nothing to do but to move forward, against the current of the steadily increasing volume of water.
He felt the wind begin to pick up and the trees on both banks began to sway. His struggle up the river became even harder; the wind was creating ripples on the water's surface. Slowly the sound of a helicopter penetrated his consciousness and he realized that it was not a natural wind which was making his journey so much more challenging.
"Gage! Oh my God – there he is!" screamed Syd as she suddenly spotted the lonely and bedraggled figure struggling to walk up the river. "He's alive! He's there! Go lower! Go lower!!"
As the helicopter moved lower Gage found it impossible to continue walking. The water was up to his neck now, but waves were being created by the force of the chopper's blades and they were splashing over his head.
"Gage!" he heard his name being screamed. Syd? Was that Syd calling his name? As he looked up at the chopper and caught a glimpse of her long dark hair whipping around her face from the open door of the helicopter, he lost his footing and was suddenly completely submerged.
He struggled to reach the surface again but he had inadvertently swallowed water and found the task nearly impossible. Syd! Syd! He could hear the voice in his head crying out to her, but he couldn't speak. He finally managed to break the surface and inhale a gasp of air when the river swelled over his head again, and he felt himself being pulled under by the current.
"He's drowning!" Syd screamed. "We have to get him! Where's the rope ladder? Let me down, let me down!" She watched helplessly as Gage struggled to keep his head above water, each time disappearing beneath the surface for longer than before.
"No!" Erica spoke firmly as she swiftly removed her shoes and undid her seatbelt. "Back up Sydney, I'm going to jump in and get him. Move the chopper away as soon as I've jumped, the wind its making is causing the biggest problem."
Syd struggled to sit up and move away from the open door to give Erica enough room to stand. Alex leaned down and pulled the frantic Ranger towards her, holding her tightly in her arms.
"One. Two. Three." Erica plugged her nose and jumped feet first into the river.
"Move away! Move away!" Alex yelled to the pilot who immediately pulled the chopper up and to the east where he spotted a clearing large enough to set the chopper down.
As soon as the helicopter landed Alex undid her seatbelt and took off running towards the river. "Stay here Sydney, I have to help Erica."
Knowing her friend made the right decision but incredulous that she had been left alone, Syd struggled unsuccessfully to detach the wheelchair from its safety harness.
"Help me, please!" she begged the pilot. "I have to get to him."
"I'm sorry Ranger. I can't leave the chopper."
"Arrrgggg!" Syd let out a roar of frustration and headed off on foot, uncaring that each step felt like it was ripping the fragile healing tissues in her leg. Syd's awkward walk soon turned into an ungainly run, as she attempted to prevent further injury while moving as quickly as possible. She arrived on the river's edge just in time to see Alex pulling Erica and, yes, Gage from the river.
Gage was coughing and sputtering, his face red from choking on all the water that had tried to pass its way into his lungs. Erica patted Gage on the back and Alex bent down to smooth the wet hair from his face.
Syd froze in place at the scene in front of her. Looking up Gage saw Syd standing there, near the edge of the forest and he clambered to his feet.
"Syd!" his voice was hoarse and scratchy. It was the most wonderful sound in the universe.
Breaking free of her trance Syd clumsily ran towards Gage as he stumbled towards her. They met somewhere in the middle, a joyous crush of arms and legs that fell to the ground as each gave in to the comfort that only their love for each other could give them.
Sobbing fiercely now, Syd held Gage close to her chest, as his arms circling her waist. Buried in her warmth Gage felt Syd's tears raining upon his head and he felt his own eyes soaking what dry parts remained of her shirt.
"I love you, I love you." She whispered. "I was so scared, I thought I lost you." She rocked Gage back and forth, her body shaking with all the pent up emotion of the past few days.
Gage strained to sit up in her arms, reaching his hands up to cup her face and look her deep in the eyes. "That's never going to happen Syd. I love you too much to ever leave you." He captured her lips with his own, salt from their tears mingling with the river water dripping from Gage's hair. He pulled her close to his chest and she held him fiercely, each unsure of where one body started and the other began.
This was the scene that Walker and Trivette burst into moments later. The young Rangers clutched together in their intimate, emotional embrace; Alex and a dripping wet Erica standing near the river's edge, best friends with their arms around each other shoulder's, smiling at the young couple and proud of their involvement in the rescue.
Walker and Trivette moved swiftly over to their wives and embraced them tightly, each aware of how precious life is and how close they came to losing one of their own today.
Slowly the two couples came back to reality and Walker radioed HQ for a medical chopper. Walking back to the Ranger helicopter Alex recovered Erica's shoes and a blanket to wrap her in. She brought a second blanket which she placed tightly around Syd and Gage who were unwilling, and in actuality physically unable, to move from the location where they had landed.
Wrapped in each other's embrace, and secure in the knowledge that their friends were with them, Sydney and Gage gave into the pain of the injuries they had sustained and by the time the medical team arrived, they were both blessedly unconscious.