:Oblivion:
(First of all, I'd like to apologize to each and every person who read/reviewed my story for the time it took me to post the next chapter. My computer shut down for about two months and would not work, which was immensely frustrating in itself. Thanks to all for having much patience, and I will never leave you guys like that again! Without any further stalling, here's the next (short) chapter to L.O.F.!)
Darkness.
Immense, complete darkness filled the unknown space around her. She was lost, adrift in a world unrecognized. A spontaneous peace overcame her as she floated off into eternity; a subtle glee from nowhere in particular. It seemed perfect.
A soft, muffled voice sounded from a distance: perhaps miles away…gradually increasing in volume. The voice startled her; it seemed that her senses were slowly re-awakening. No words were comprehendible just yet, but the voice rapidly grew to voices – her sense eventually revealing that they were shouts.
Feeling came next. A slow, labored thrust beat nearby; slowing, slowing down – it's rhythmic, metronomic pumps working harder. Suddenly, a shrill, piercing pain exploded from below. The unbearable pinch shot up through her nerves like newly lit fireworks. With her nervous system's delay, pain seemed twice as bad as before.
Before…
What had happened before? Thought had, for the first time, failed her. Two slight pressures appeared and touched below her. She felt her neck cringe as her body was levitated. More voices. More cries. A fragment of memory broke through her amnesic barriers.
"I'd…I would like to speak with Grissom."
"Grissom is on a case right now, Sara, but if there is issue with him, there is issue with me."
"Ecklie…" her voice had an irritated tone.
"Sara, I want to know what is going on with you lately. You're not concentrating on your job."
"Since when was I not concentrated on my job, Ecklie? You want to try pulling over fifty hours a week and double overtime for two nights in a row!"
"Sara…"
"Just…let me know when Grissom is in."
…………………………
Choosing speed over caution, Grissom sped down the decomposing corridors, clinging to Sara's body. He grunted with effort, ignoring his pains, ignoring the protruding sharp corners which ripped his jacket. He glanced at her face. She looked so peaceful. A mysterious, beautiful angel with dark hair and eyes draped in his arms. Her broken body twitched as she let out a sudden, muted gasped. It was a last resort for air.
Grissom cried and increased his speed with an extra boost of adrenalin. Run, damn it, run. He continued to scour the warehouse, desperately waiting for the exit to come into view. Hold on Sara… Just hold on. He was now gasping for oxygen, his legs unable to work any longer. Wailing, the man shoved his feet outward and continued on, despite his protesting body. The warehouse was a hell of a maze. A wall suddenly slid to the left, a portal to the outside storm and a crowd of emergency officers. It was Catherine who opened the door, screaming something to Grissom. Sara was lifted from Grissom; her body carried onto a stretcher with over twenty personnel's scrambling and shouting. Catherine led Grissom out of the warehouse and he went immediately to the stretcher. His voice finally caught up with him.
"SARA!" he shouted to her, his bloodied hands staining the stretcher's handles. He was pushed back by the crowd and led away by his fellow CSI's. He continued to call her name, stricken by a distant wonder if she may respond.
