A/N: This fic was supposed to be a short one shot. Alas, that didn't work out, so I present you a finished chaptered fic with some team work and hurt/comfort.
Disclaimer: I have no experience with rescue operations or actual medicine. I tried to research, but *shrugs*. Take it with a grain of salt XD Hope you enjoy. Chapters will be posted daily. Sending a big thanks to my discord friend who kept cheering me on even if I was ready to give up 3
On the edge
Chapter 1
The rain was starting to pick up. And wasn't that just a wonderful culmination of the already sucky day?
Connor grimaced, brushing some raindrops from his eyes while he raised his other hand holding the historical looking cell phone.
He turned around, squinting at the display, trying to will the bars into existence. No luck.
He looked up at the sky, hoping at least the weather would take pity on their sad little group but if anything, the clouds seemed to be darker and denser than a few minutes ago when the rain started.
"This is all your fault. One would think an ex-marine could read the map better-" Will's disgruntled voice broke through Connor's thoughts and his teeth clenched. Wonderful. Let the blame game start.
Ethan Choi didn't even pause his stride to shoot a look of annoyance at his colleague. He was frowning down at the map and the compass, both of which were getting wetter by the moment. With a grunt, he packed the map up and put it into his backpack to try and keep it safe.
"We wouldn't have veered off the road if it wasn't for you rushing into the bushes and getting lost in the first place. A bit hard to navigate a map when the only thing around are trees."
Will snorted.
"I thought that was the first thing they taught you. Aren't you supposed to be able to survive with nothing on you?"
"I do have my knife," Ethan snapped back, his voice reaching a threatening pitch.
"Guys, this is hardly helpful," Natalie Manning piped in, trying to be the voice of reason. She was glad she had her cap on as it shielded her eyes from the rain, but it also made it a bit hard to glare properly at Will. After all, it was him who led them off the trail in the first place.
Will shot her a look of betrayal, arms raised.
"Hey, I already said I was sorry, but what the hell was I supposed to do? My bowels didn't take well to whatever was in that meatloaf served last night. And I wasn't about to shit my pants right in front of you all."
Ethan grumbled something under his breath and Natalie let out a long suffering sigh as the argument continued. This was exactly the reason why they were all there. In the middle of the woods, with nothing but one backpack that Ethan was allowed to bring after browbeating their trainer Mr. Statham into submission. Natalie had no clue what was in that backpack besides some first aid, water and snacks. She didn't dare to ask. She knew all they had on them were a total of two old flip phones, a map and a compass. And a set of probably messed up clues to get from point A to point B. That one was supposed to have led them to point C, which was the base camp with beds, shower and food.
Sadly, they never even reached point B.
And while it would've been easy to blame it all on Will, Natalie had to admit to herself that none of them were actually blameless.
After all... it was this bickering that got them into this mess in the first place. And Sharon Goodwin. Natalie grimaced, feeling the twinge of annoyance at the otherwise usually level headed woman. She thought that surely, one or two arguments during a highly stressful shift wouldn't be a reason for such measures. It wasn't even an unusual occurrence really... she and Will had butted heads quite often over the treatment of a patient, but usually it worked out well. Natalie wasn't sure what Connor and Ethan had argued about on that same fateful day a week ago, but rumors said it was an ethical issue involving patient treatment. Said patient was a veteran and while the patient himself didn't launch any complaints and to her knowledge had actually been released from the hospital, someone else bore witness to the scene. That someone was unfortunately the same person who was passing by the nurse's desk as Will and Natalie discussed their own differences about a patient.
It still might not have led to this kerfuffle if said person wasn't one of the silent sponsors of Gaffney.
They counted themselves lucky that the man had only taken the issue to Sharon Goodwin and that he was satisfied by leaving the resolution to Sharon.
Of course, when Natalie found herself called in for a chat, she didn't expect Will, Ethan and Connor to join her. She might've expected the chewing out, even accepted to take up an extra shift or two as a gesture of contrition.
What Sharon Goodwin presented them with however, was out of her scope.
"Clear your schedules, get a babysitter, pack some sturdy clothes. Next weekend you will have the pleasure of being the first group to experience our new team building program."
Sharon had announced it with a smile, but her eyes were serious.
The room fell into silence for a total of five seconds, until the words sunk in. Then the true arguing started.
Natalie wasn't even sure what protest came from which of the guys as they were all speaking at once. What she knew though, was that Sharon would not budge. She could see that in the set of her jaw, the patient silence. It was the look of a parent watching a bunch of kids protest an early curfew after breaking a family heirloom.
Natalie sunk into one of the chairs and waited, until all the arguments simmered down.
Sharon Goodwin nodded, understanding.
"This is not up for negotiation. Unless you want to find yourself moved into different shifts. Besides, like I mentioned... you will be the first. And I am hoping once the exercise is over, you will appreciate this wonderful opportunity and recognize it for what it is."
Famous last words if Natalie ever heard some.
So far the wonderful opportunity had brought them a long drive into what were arguably beautiful woods in late autumn, but what ended up to be a subpar camp with only a handful of employees and other unfortunate souls.
They had survived the night (luckily at least they each had their own room) and a somehow filling breakfast, before being presented with the challenge of the day.
Two teams, each with a map, compass and old phones (no GPS or Google maps available, no internet either). A paper with clues, looking almost like an old treasure map and off they went.
That had been five hours ago. A look at her watch told Natalie it was past three in the afternoon now. According to the previous information from Mr. Statham, the guy who was the so called expert facilitator aka trainer taking care of their team building experience, they had perhaps three more hours of daylight left. Her stomach grumbled, complaining about missed lunch.
"Any chance you packed some snacks, Ethan?" she interrupted what seemed like another brewing argument.
Ethan paused his glaring at Will and stopped, reaching into a side pocket of his bag. He tossed her a granola bar.
She thanked him with a smile and started munching. For a second she thought about maybe sharing, knowing well the guys must've been hungry too, but then Will opened his mouth.
"Oh great. Now you have a snack. When I asked two hours ago, you just forgot about it?"
"Asking and whining are two different things," Ethan noted dully, then put the backpack on his back. A clear sign he wasn't about to search for another snack.
Will was about to retort, clearly building up steam (Natalie wondered if he had low blood sugar, because he sure acted like a cranky toddler right about now) when there was a low rumble in the sky.
They all paused, looking up. Expecting to see lightning.
If there was, they couldn't see, what with the daylight and the thick canopy of trees. But the rain seemed to take up and the arguing died down. Their steps quickened in unison.
Connor wasn't paying much mind to their current predicament, his thoughts wandering. He thought about the cabin his family visited when he was a child. It belonged to his grandparents from his mother's side. While they did have money, the cabin was something akin to a family heirloom, inherited from generations before. As such it lacked a lot of comforts his parents required to be able to enjoy a vacation, including running water. Connor and his sister Claire had visited only once, but he did remember playing hide and seek in the woods, the mushroom hunting or all the spiders and insects crawling around. His sister's squeals as one of those spiders fell right on top of her bed still rang in his ears. Along with his grandparents' admonishments when he and Claire managed to walk off of a beaten trail in their hunt for adventure.
"Never leave the trail unless you know your way around," his grandfather told him as he led them back after a prolonged search. There was also some wisdom about the sun and the moss, or finding a creek, but all Connor really remembered now was the Hug a tree motto they were taught at school.
He snorted. The image of four studied medical professionals stopping in the middle of the woods during a storm and hugging a tree so ridiculous, yet so vivid, he had to look up and make sure the others hadn't stopped to do just that.
They most definitely did not. What they were doing was speeding up, heads down and watching their feet as the ground was becoming wet and somewhat slippery. Ethan had taken the lead with a level of focus and drive Connor usually saw when he was trying to figure out his patient. The same determination that led them here perhaps, combined with Connor's own stubbornness when it came to the man they were treating. But Connor didn't want to think about that.
The rain was getting cold, and while his light jacket was so far successful in keeping him dry, Connor could feel the water running down the back of his neck. It was like having an ice cold finger trail down one's spine. He shivered.
Another crack from the sky, followed by a low grumble made him speed up. He bypassed Natalie and Will, who were walking side by side, their arms almost touching. He smirked at the image, but didn't comment. Instead he caught up with Ethan.
"Any idea where we heading?" he asked, seeing Ethan frowning at their surroundings. After a few moments, Ethan gave a nod and pointed ahead. His shoulders sagged in relief.
"I think I see a trail there."
Connor squinted, having trouble seeing anything but trees and leaves.
"A bit to the left," Ethan added and there, Connor noticed it. A trail indeed. What was more interesting though was the clearing in between the trees further ahead. It looked like a very small hilltop. He could see the sky behind and nothing else. But perhaps they could get a signal for the phone there... or a better view around. They were supposed to be back at the camp over an hour ago, checking in two hours prior to that. Surely, someone was already looking for them.
If there was, they couldn't see, what with the daylight and the thick canopy of trees surrounding them. But the rain seemed to take up and the arguing died down. Their steps quickened in unison.
Connor flipped open the phone, checking the battery charge while covering the display from rain. He thought it was a stupid idea to leave their phones behind, but Statham was quite adamant. Something about the exercise having no point if they can just Google out the hints and navigate by satellite.
Connor grimaced.
They sure as hell could use a GPS right about now. Leaving them without a more reliable way of communication was a rather idiotic move in his opinion. His only consolation was that Statham must've reached the same conclusion as soon as they lost contact. He thought that the idea of losing four doctors from one hospital must've been driving the man crazy and Connor honestly found that satisfying. That should teach Statham a thing or two about not forcing people into unnecessary situations.
With a bit of pettiness, Connor hoped that Sharon Goodwin would get that message as well.
"Eureka," Will's voice broke through the silence as they indeed reached the path. While there was no signage or directions, the path looked clear enough. It had been used often it seemed, which led Connor to believe they might be closer to their goal than they thought.
Still, he wanted to take a better look around.
Ethan had stopped on the trail and pulled out the map, intent on figuring out their current location. Will was leaning his head down over him, gazing at the map, giving unhelpful hints, while Natalie was just looking miserable, rubbing her arms as if trying to get some warmth into them.
Connor paused, wanting to offer some help, but all he had was his own jacket that was slowly but surely getting soaked through as well.
Stepping ahead, he decided that finding out their position might be most helpful. Or getting a bloody signal.
Connor came to a sudden halt, taking an instinctive step backwards.
"Whoa!" he uttered at the unexpected sight. The little hilltop was actually a ledge.
Somehow, they had managed to climb up a hill and haven't even noticed. Either that or there was a canyon all along that they just weren't aware of. Squinting, Connor tried to take in the view. Everything was covered in a slight fog of rain, so at first, he totally missed the familiar structure. But Connor's sight was trained to notice the smallest of bleeds inside a body. He couldn't miss the set of wooden cabins down below and a curling trail leading to the woods from them.
"Guys?" he called out excitedly. "Think I just found our cabin," he turned round, a smile splitting his face as he pointed downwards.
Three pairs of eyes looked up at him from the perusal of the map.
Will grinned happily, while Natalie just looked relieved.
Ethan on the other hand frowned.
"You shouldn't stand there-" he started and Connor felt a jab of irritation. He found the camp, yet all Ethan could do was criticize once again? Typical. Connor shrugged, turning away from the trio and looking back down to where they were supposed to go. His mind already trying to figure out the fastest way to get there.
The phone in his hand suddenly vibrated as he got a message about several missed calls.
He rubbed the fresh rain off the display to see that the signal bar was lit up. Only one bar and it kept flickering in and out. Connor grimaced, raising his arm with the phone, turning from one side to the other. There. The phone vibrated again.
Connor grinned and took a step forward.
"Connor!" Ethan's voice rang out in warning and Connor instinctively turned, looking at him.
It was a mistake.
Suddenly, there was the smallest crack and his feet moved on their own accord.
The ground beneath him crumbled and he managed to take a step forward, the cell phone falling from his fingers as he instinctively leaned forward, arms ready to grab at anything and everything.
Connor saw Ethan lunging forward, as if in slow motion and it was such a ridiculous sight his mind couldn't comprehend.
But time didn't want to play catch up and suddenly there was nothing under his feet, only gravity pulling, along with rocks and mud and rain.
Connor's arms grasped and flailed as he tried to stop his movement... his fall.
It was to no avail.
He registered the feeling of his insides going up while the rest of him was plummeting down at growing speed. His fingers grabbed at stone and tree roots, only to be scratched and yanked as his own weight pulled him down. He heard a shout, syllables of his name, but it was all lost in the sound of air swishing past and the terror of the thought, the only one he had.
'This is how I die.'
Something cracked, incredibly loud, like lightning. A flash of pain, then a jarring stop.
After that, the world ceased to exist.