Author's Note: Okay guys, here we go, the climax chapter. The big action-y chapter. The one with suspense, romance, and big, BIG cliffhanger.
And oh, if you thought the snow was bad, you just wait… -insane, scary laughter is heard in the background-
No Words Here
Chapter Five: Say Anything
Laura and Sam once again found themselves at what the pair had now dubbed, 'the spot', despite all of the panic caused by the sudden arrival of snow. Ice laced the water closest to the drop-off, the water lapping at its edges, breaking off a little bit at a time.
The two lovers were oblivious to this action, as they laid in the narrow back seat of the truck on top of one other, kissing. Sam's button-down shirt draped off of the side of the seat, as was Laura's. The truck wasn't on, but they didn't have to worry about getting cold. They had enough body heat to warm a third-world country, which now was saying something.
Laura abruptly halted the make out session, raising her head to the window. "Sam, did you hear something?" she slid off of his half-naked body as he, too looked outside. Snow was falling gently, and all seemed calm and quiet… until…
"Help! Help!"
Sam and Laura quickly pulled on their clothes once more, both adding heavy jackets to their attire and departed from the warmth of the truck.
Snow crunched beneath their feet as they trotted to the source of the sound; the cliff.
"Where are you?" Sam shouted, cupping his hands along the edges of his mouth.
"Help me!" the heavily accented voice called.
The couple glanced down at the icy waters within one second of each other. A pale woman, the bright crimson of her blood all over contrasting with the whiteness of her skin. Snow clung to her eyebrows and long, dark hair. She appeared to be on the roof of a very small home.
"We're coming down to help you!" he yelled. "Just hang on!"
The woman nodded in understanding, a grateful look about her.
"Okay Laura… see those rocks down there?" he pointed to a zigzagged horizontal row of flint jutting like spikes from the drop-off. She nodded. "I think we can climb down those." He walked over to the first rock rising out, stepping onto it. "I'll go down first. Don't go down if something goes wrong." Sam's voice became gentler. "I couldn't risk you getting hurt… promise." Laura nodded again.
"Be careful," she added, though it needn't be said.
The first three steps down went without any disturbance, but the fourth large chunk of rock had cracked, a small piece breaking off and falling into the ocean, penetrating the ice. "I'm alright!" Sam announced, crawling down the rest with a bit of a Spider-Man esque (tehehe… I couldn't help it ). He leaped off of the last stepping-stone-like rock gently, shifting his weight cautiously on the thin ice. He edged over carefully toward the home, going ever closer…
The ice groaned, cracks forming around Sam's sneakers, the proceeded to open up, swallowing Sam in its wake.
"Sam!" Laura shrieked. She attempted to think, but nothing was registering with her in that instant. Then, she did the only thing she could think of. She jumped.
Laura completely ignored the pain that seared through her feet up to her knees as she landed, or that the coat of frozen water was failing to hold her up, that fissures were forming as she stood, then ran to the patch of open water. She dove, with her arms out protecting her head, into the deathly cold water. Laura gasped her last breath of air before her struck the water. The pain was immense. She could feel her arms being crushed by the power of the freezing cold liquid surrounding her, but that didn't stop Laura. She could see a half-conscious Sam a few feet away, and grabbed hold of him.
Laura began to kick her legs to the surface, to make it to the top of the water.
She swam as hard as she could, feeling debris strike her as she did. Laura kept going though; the debris didn't stop her. She and Sam were running out of time because they needed air. She felt the surface was near because she could see a bright light. She swam harder and faster than she had ever done before. Laura and Sam broke the surface a few moments later. That had to have been the longest time of their lives. They both gasped for air as they struggled on the surface.
Sam grasped the slippery surface of the ice, pulling Laura up with him. The woman and her home had disappeared from sight, a large patch of open water where her home was. He felt defeated as he looked upon the horrid sight, but realized he and Laura needed to get home, via the truck. They were both shivering and wet, and quite likely hypothermic.
A few minutes later, they were back in the truck, but in no better condition than when they were on the ice.
"L-L-Laura," Sam stammered through his shivers as he drove. "I-I need to tell you something…"
"W-What is it?"
"I—I didn't know if I was going to survive back there… I want you to know… I love you, and I couldn't stand not doing this," the truck halted, and he took her outside, bending on one knee. "Laura Chapman," he began, devoid of any stutters or inconfidence, and a smile upon his weary features. "Will you marry me?"
Gwen smiled as she looked upon the refugee encampment, sitting on a makeshift bench where a field of wheat was now being harvested, thanks to the sudden arrival of snow. She pulled her knit sweater closer to her skin as her scarf's entrails sailed in the air like a flag. Things were looking up.
But something was wrong.
A piercing scream filled her ears, not from a human mouth, but from an object falling from the sky a few miles away. It looked no bigger than a pebble, from so far away, but she knew better than to believe her eye.
It hit water, this she knew, because thousands upon thousands of gallons of water sailed into the air, and anything within an eight of a mile radius was parboiled in an instant. She also knew a good chunk of the refugee camp was in that area.
"Oh my God, all those people…" was all Gwen could say before she was knocked off her feet by the first shockwave. As the second sped towards her, the far less minor one toppled buildings and trees and anything that stood in its way, she braced herself to do something really stupid. As the shockwave hit, she tried to hold onto something, but she even lost grip on her own consciousness. Gwen saw a tree fly by and she latched onto it, holding on for dear life.
That was the last thing she remembered. The next thing she recalled was lying on the cold, wet earth. Gwen cried out for help, but her voice failed her. She sat up and looked around, feeling no pain. She didn't even know whether she was alive or dead. But she did when she looked to her chest. A two by four had been driven through her lungs, and she laid back as the throbbing pain began to arrive. A shudder went throughout her body, down her very fingertips, and by the time it was over, Gwen Rossum had died.
Author's Note: I know, I know, it's rotten of me to kill Brian's lady-friend and leave you hanging on the fate of J.D., Laura, Sam, Jack, Lucy, Michelle, Brennan, and so many others. That was the hardest thing I've ever written, and I'm really sorry. Seriously. I'll now accept death threats in my reviews xP