A/N: I just wanted to add a quick thanks to Soles for helping me out with some stuff I know nothing about.... and again big thanks to Pheral. You've helped make this whole thing better! The upcoming chapters will be a bit longer, so enjoy. HGirl, you are the best reviewer in the world... I hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long for this.
9. A HORRIBLE CRIME SCENE.
Alexx and Speed stared silently at the sight in front of them. Between the trees, their boss was hanging, arms spread out, dangling in the air. His head had tipped backwards, so they couldn't see his face from where they were standing. His torso was bare, covered in dark lashes and welts, dried blood crusted everywhere.
Carefully, as if she was trespassing holy ground, Alexx was the first to move. Her mind was screaming at her, surviving hanging like this for who knew how many hours was unlikely. Yet, she clung to a tiny glimpse of hope when she approached the body and knelt. Her hand gently moved forward, and she searched for her boss's ankle, the only part she could reach at the moment.
His skin felt cool to the touch.
The coolness wasn't too cold though, and he most certainly wasn't stiff yet. Closing her eyes in anticipation, Alexx searched for the right spot on the side of his ankle but if there was a pulse at all it was too faint for her to feel.
"Oh, honey... What did they do to you?" she muttered softly, and prepared to get up as her arm unwillingly knocked against Horatio's left shoe.
A slight spasm ran through the leg.
Her head shot upwards, as she stared at his body. Then, her hand deliberately touched his foot. Again, there was a faint response. It was barely noticeable but she saw it nevertheless, and her eyes widened.
"Speed, he's still alive!" she called out. "We need to get him down now."
Speedle, who hadn't dared to move an inch when Alexx was checking up on Horatio, now spurted into action. He had a knife out of his field kit in no time, and was running towards the first rope he could find.
"Whoa!" Alexx stopped him. "Careful now..." She stepped back and quietly studied the ropes that were holding Horatio up. Following them with her eyes, she tried to determine the best way to cut the ropes loose.
"Speed, get the blanket and come over here," she instructed.
She grabbed the blanket from him and quickly spread it out on the ground. "Here's what we're going to do. I want you to support Horatio as much as you can. I'm going to cut that rope first," she pointed to the one holding up her boss's right arm. "You've got to hold on, and make sure he's not moving too much. Also, I need you to lift him up enough, I don't want any more strain put to his chest."
Speed needed no more directions. After handing her the knife he stepped in place, his body against the dangling legs, then wrapped his arms around Horatio's waist. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he muttered when his hands felt welts he hadn't seen yet.
Alexx was already in the tree, and when she was certain Speed was in position, she cut the first rope.
Horatio's arm limply fell down. Speed wavered, but caught his balance.
Alexx jumped out of the tree and rushed to the other side. "Okay, make sure to lift him properly," she warned, then cut the second rope.
The other arm came down similar to the first. Speedle staggered a bit but stood, his legs slightly spread, in a now steady stance and was supporting and holding up the body of his boss. "Hurry up," he urged.
Alexx now hurried over to the last rope. It ran high up over a branch but was tied securely on the trunk of a tree way behind the spot where the Lieutenant was still hanging.
"Careful. The rope will come down on you..." Alexx warned. "Lower him onto the blanket, on his back." Then, in one fluid motion, she cut the last rope and watched how the tension in the line disappeared. She then sprinted back and assisted Speed in gently lowering Horatio onto the blanket. Alexx winced at the status of his back and also vaguely noticed the strange shape of Horatio's shoulder, but knew that was the least of his problems right now.
She dropped to her knees beside his head, and threw a thankful glance to Speed, who'd already cut open the knot of the rope still wrapped around Horatio's chest. She then tilted Horatio's head and lifted his chin, making sure the airway was open. He was barely breathing, the irregular gargling, wet sound telling her fluid was accumulating in his lungs from the compromising position he'd been in.
"Get help, and get it here fast, or we'll lose him," she snapped.
Speed had pushed the ropes aside, dug up his cell phone and was already punching in numbers.
Alexx wasn't paying attention. She only had eyes for her patient. "That's it, sweetheart. Keep on breathing." Her left hand pressed on his forehead to tilt back his head as she searched with the other hand for the right spot in his neck to check for a pulse.
Thready. Irregular. Weak and rapid.
"Come on, Horatio," she whispered softly to him. "Don't do this to us. You've come this far..." Keeping her left palm on his forehead she used her fingers and gently ruffled his red hair in an attempt to communicate comfort.
He gagged, gargled and choked, then shuddered.
Alexx, who still had one hand in his neck, lost the pulse before he actually stopped breathing. Her hands moved to locate the bottom edge of his ribcage, then she slapped the heel of one hand two fingers above the notch of the sternum and started chest compressions. Counting, she reached fifteen then gave two slow breaths, mouth-to-mouth.
Speed, who had finished his telephone call, snapped the phone shut and stared at the scene in shock. Alexx repeated the cycle four times, then stopped to check her patient.
She had a pulse, and she had him breathing again, albeit weakly and irregularly. "That's better, honey," she muttered. "Now keep this up. Help's on the way."
"Alexx?" Speed's voice was low, soft and filled with concern.
"He's holding his own," Alexx responded without taking her attention away from her patient. She kept one hand on his forehead to tilt his head and one hand in his neck. "Can you cover him? He's hypothermic and in shock. And get those ropes off his wrists."
Speed was there, immediately draping Horatio's shirt and jacket over the bare torso, then wrapping the ends of the blanket around his unmoving legs. Next, he set to work on the ropes.
"He's been bearing all of his weight hanging up there, compromising circulation and airway," Alexx explained softly, pausing a second to make sure Horatio was still breathing. "Fluid accumulates in the lungs... the thing that might have saved him was that his arms weren't spread out at a ninety degrees angle... He'd be dead if they had."
"What about the welts?" Speed asked, the image of Horatio's damaged chest still fresh in his mind. He'd managed to remove the rope from Horatio's left wrist and now moved towards the other.
"Right now?" Alexx said, briefly looking up to meet Speed's worried gaze. "Right now, the only important thing is to keep him breathing and to keep his circulation going. I hope we can manage that until help arrives."
"They're sending a chopper. And Cal and Eric should be here any minute now," Speed said. He had the other rope loose as well and wanted to do something else, something useful, but didn't know what.
"Go and mark the crime scene. There's nothing you can do here," Alexx suggested. "Take care of the kid, too."
