10. SAFE AT LAST.
Eric and Calleigh arrived at the campsite, parking their car next to the Hummer. They'd already been called by Speedle, so they knew a little of what to expect.
While Eric busied himself with helping Speed, Calleigh wasted no time and ran past the cabins. She found Alexx kneeling next to the supine man. The crime lab's EM was still carefully watching out for Horatio's breathing and pulse and talking softly to him the whole time, encouraging him to hang on.
Calleigh immediately dropped at Horatio's other side. She took in the rattling, labored breathing, the grayish, pale color of his otherwise rather pink skin and briefly closed her eyes in despair. "How is he?"
"Still alive," Alexx said curtly. She gently stroked Horatio's arm before placing her fingers back at the right spot on his neck. "You're a real fighter, aren't you?"
Fighting back tears, Calleigh silently stared at the man she secretly loved and reached out to take his cold, clammy hand in hers. "Alexx!" she called out as she saw his eyelids flutter.
"Well, well, well," Alexx commented in surprise. "You're not only a fighter, but determined too..."
Horatio's eyes slowly opened and his dull gaze drifted upwards, staring in confusion at Alexx. He tried his voice, but his tongue was swollen and he couldn't make much of a sound. He tried again. "H..rts."
Alexx nodded in sympathy. "I know it hurts, honey." Without relieving pressure on his forehead she moved her fingers and reassuringly stroked through his hair. "Don't talk. Concentrate on breathing, okay?"
She noticed the change in his breathing as it became more erratic and shallow. She lifted his chin some more and caressed his cheek with her thumb. "Easy. Help is on the way."
He choked. His eyes widened, panic evident in his gaze as he struggled to draw in another haggard breath. His chest was heaving and gargling, he started coughing and coughing, gasping and coughing. The strain was too much on his weakened body and with one last shuddering exhale, his eyes rolled up in his head.
"Alexx!" Calleigh cried out. She tightened her grip on his hand, while her other hand moved to grab and shake his shoulder, but stopped at the last second. "He's not breathing!"
"One thousand, two thousand, three thousand, one," Alexx already pinched his nose shut and blew air into his system for two seconds. "One thousand, two thousand, three thousand, two." She continued ventilating for a minute, then stopped to check him out once more.
Both Calleigh and Alexx sighed in relief at the sound of his labored breathing. Her fingers back at the side of his neck again, Alexx felt for a pulse and gave a faint nod. "There you are."
Again, pain-filled eyes opened and this time Horatio had Calleigh in his view.
Calleigh gently squeezed his hand. "Hi, handsome," she spoke softly. Despite her fear for him, she forced herself to throw him a soft smile. "Don't scare us like that again, will you?"
"So..rr," he slurred.
"Shh, don't talk," Calleigh whispered. "Just look at me and breath with me, okay? In... and out." She held his gaze and found a rhythm that he was able to hold. "Good. That's it. In... and out."
Alexx looked in satisfaction how her patient relaxed a bit and seemed to be able to continue breathing on his own.
A few moments later, the chopper had apparently landed nearby as three medics were rushing to them. The emergency doctor immediately repeated the checks for breathing and circulation, then ordered for an oxygen mask and portable IV's.
Alexx moved out of the way but Calleigh stayed where she was, holding Horatio's hand and her eyes never leaving his. He didn't seem to notice all the commotion around him, as he held on to her gaze for dear life. Only when they were ready to lift Horatio onto the gurney did she let go of his hand. "It's gonna be okay, Horatio. You're going to be fine," she whispered in his ear before getting up and stepping aside.
The two women stood watching how their boss and friend was loaded onto the gurney. Blankets were arranged around him before he was strapped securely to the board and then the medics turned to take him away to the waiting helicopter.
"I'm going with them," Calleigh said, her voice making it clear she wouldn't take no for an answer, and then rushed after them.
XXX-XXX-XXX
Eric and Speed had successfully taped off the cabin of Ned Sante's parents as a crime scene. It was hard for them to concentrate, however, knowing that Horatio was fighting for his life just a stone's throw away.
When the chopper had arrived, the two crime scene investigators had wasted no time in directing the medical personnel in the right direction. Only moments later, they stood silently, watching as the crew rushed back to the chopper, the gurney with the motionless body of their boss strapped on it between them. A silhouette of somebody familiar, the blond hair dancing behind her, was closely following the medics.
"Cal's going with him," Eric stated the obvious.
"Good for her," Speed agreed, a faint smile forming at his lips at the thought of a determined Calleigh getting what she wanted. "There should be somebody with him."
"Let's find Alexx," Eric said. "I can't do anything here at the moment. I just can't concentrate."
Together they headed to where they knew Alexx would be. She was still standing silently, and didn't respond to their approach.
Eric stared at the scene, took in the ropes scattered over the forest ground, then his eyes found the humming figure that sat, completely withdrawn in himself.
"Alexx?" Speed asked, drawing the ME's attention. "How was he?"
Alexx looked up. Her colleagues were looking expectantly at her, demanding a straight answer. "Look," she started. "I'm not going to lie to you. Horatio has been hanging by these ropes for many hours. It has compromised his circulation and breathing, he had lots of fluid build up in his lungs. He went into circulatory collapse, cardiac and respiratory arrest... Honestly, I'm amazed he was still alive when we found him."
"What about... the welts," Eric asked with hesitation, remembering what Speed had told him.
"I honestly don't know," Alexx said. "I haven't had the time to check him out. I noticed there were welts on his chest, and his back was a mess. I think his left shoulder was dislocated too, but like I said earlier to Speed, at that moment it was the least of our problems."
"Will he survive?" Speed asked the obvious question that was on everyone's mind.
"It all depends on the extent of his injuries," Alexx said. "I'm sorry, but that's all I can give you. Did you get anything out of the kid?" She motioned in the direction of the young man on the ground.
"No," Speed shook his head. "He was pretty unresponsive. I think you better talk to him. I'm going to call Tripp." With that, he took out his cell phone and started dialing.
Alexx faced Eric. "I'm going to talk to Ned here. You better start working on the scene. We need to catch them and we need to catch them fast."
Eric silently nodded, forcing himself to concentrate and start processing the scene.
Alexx sat down next to the younger man. "Ned? How are you holding up?"
Ned stopped rocking but didn't lift his head. "This is wrong," he muttered.
"Yes, it is," Alexx agreed. She deliberately kept her voice calm and gentle. "But Ned, Lieutenant Caine was still alive. Let's hope he'll survive, okay?"
"I... I can't..." Ned continued, each word followed by a soft sob. "He told us we had to do this. For Theresa."
Alexx frowned. "Who told you that?"
"Barbosa. Trade one soul for another, he said. Professor Metzger would have expected us to do this, he said."
"So... what exactly did you do?" Alexx asked, shuddering at the hold the Professor and that Colombian man had on those kids. "It is important for us to know."
"Ginny..." Ned lifted his head and stared at the black-haired woman for the first time. His eyes were reddened, his gaze distant. "Ginny distracted the Lieutenant. John and Mitch grabbed him, I think they used chloroform... Barbosa had a car waiting and brought him here."
"Did he, was he present the whole time?" Alexx was finding it hard to stay detached. This was her friend they were talking about.
"No. John was taking the lead. We waited until midnight. Dressed up, brought the candles out and dragged Lt. Caine out here and hauled him up in the trees."
This gave Alexx some idea about the passage of time. Given what time they had found Horatio he had been hanging there for about eleven hours. She flinched. That was way too long, she didn't dare think about what he'd been going through all that time.
"He was supposed to break," Ned whispered. He dropped his head back on this arms. "They were wrong. He didn't."
"What do you mean?"
"They said any human being would beg for mercy in the end."
"But he didn't," Alexx nodded. Knowing Horatio, that didn't surprise her.
"He kept trying to tell us that we were still under the Professor's control." Ned looked up again, a look of sheer desperation on his face. "They were beating him with chains and whips and still he remained in control! He was right! We were wrong. How can I ever look at myself again?"
"Where are the other students now, Ned?" Alexx asked. She took in his hesitation. When he made no attempt to answer, she continued. "There is no way you can undo what has happened, Ned, but you can start making the right choices from now on. And the first you need to do is help us bring the other students in."
He stared at her, as if slowly processing his options. "We're going to jail, aren't we?" His eyes never leaving the gentle woman next to him, he sighed. "They're after another dog. They will lynch it tonight. They'll be back..."
"Why didn't you go with them?" Alexx wondered.
"I couldn't..." Ned stammered. "It was wrong. The Lieutenant was right. I want my life back."
Alexx, her face grim, thought it was a bit late for that, but refrained from commenting. "I'm going to talk to my colleague, and then you're coming downtown with us, okay?"
He simply nodded.
