The torch light of her gun barely pierced the dusty blackness which surrounded them, the path was getting steeper and more dangerous with each step and all Sam could hear was the rumbling vibrations of the walls about them becoming less and less stable. Their descent was painstakingly slow and difficult and not only was Sam worried about the Lieutenant behind her, but she was wondering why they hadn't come across neither Daniel nor Cameron.
The tremors were getting worse as they went further downward, but they had no choice but the keep going. Rocks rolled by their feet making each step more precarious than the last. Sam kept her weapons light trained on the ground directly ahead of her, as was relieved when she saw Daniel lying just ahead of her. He was half sheltering himself from the falling rocks, and holding his arm in pain. Sam trained her light on him as they approached the steep incline not making it easy for them but eventually she reached him and crouched gingerly beside him, aware that he was in pain.
"Daniel, you ok" she had to yell over the din of the tremors
"Yeah, just a little shook up" replied Daniel before gritting his teeth in pain and he tried to stand "Think I've broke my arm though, I took a fall from pretty high up there"
"Ok once we get down and out of this...crevice, we can take a look at it, but we gotta get down first" replied Sam firmly, broken arms could be fixed, broken skulls weren't as easy. "Can you stand?"
Daniel nodded and accepted her help of aid, as she helped drag him to his feet. The ground shook once more and they heard a louder rumbling echoing behind them. Sam spun her light to shine behind them, but all that greeted their scope was dust. Parker leaned heavily onto the wall as rock and grit showered down about them and rolled by their feet. Sam grimaced and turned back to face Daniel as they leaned on the wall for support. Offering each other faces of encouragement and assurance that they'd get out of the predicament safely, they slowly made their way to move off again.
Sam felt the tremor as it shifted almost beneath their feet throwing them off balance. She pressed herself to the rock face and waited, closing her eyes to the dust as it attacked her eyes. Coughing as the dust clouded about her, she heard an anguished short yelp above the din before something soft bumped her leg softly before disappearing. She knew something was wrong without even being aware of what exactly. As the tremor subsided she opened her eyes and leaned back slightly from the rock. Glancing to her left she saw the hunched over shadow of Daniel as he, like herself, clung to the rock. Turning to check on Parker, her light shone into emptiness beside where he had stood. She lowered her light and scanned the floor, hoping that he may have merely slipped to the ground, pushing away thoughts that the bump against her leg had definitely not been a falling piece of rock.
Sam breathed heavily, choking on the dust as she sucked in her breath and tried to retain her composure. The urge to bash the weapon and light into the wall in exasperation came and went and she turned to face Daniel.
"Parker must have fallen" she yelled "We gotta move"
Daniel needed no more heeding and moved on as quickly as he could muster himself to go. Sam unclipped the light from her gun and handed it to him, before placing a steady hand on his shoulder for support and gripping as much as she could to the jagged rock beside her. The ground vibrated softly, but Sam noticed the decline didn't seem to be as steep and the passageway started to widen and as Daniel shone the light ahead of them, they saw a wide opening ahead of them at the end on the tunnel they were moving along.
Cautiously they approached the opening and Daniel trained the light on the ground as it started to even out. The vibrations still reached them, and small pebbles and rocks fell around them as they entered what seemed to be a cave from the tunnel. The torchlight passed over a crumpled form near the entrance.
"Parker" Sam said under her breath before leaving Daniel's side to approach him "Daniel see if you can see Cameron in here"
Sam neared Parker, flinching inwardly at the way he was lying, and she quickly shirked her pack from her back. Crouching by him, rock pelting onto her body from above, she managed to turn him slightly towards her. In the darkness she fumbled with his weapon still attached to his vest and located the light. Flicking it on, she pressed her fingers to his neck and checked for a pulse. Relieved at feeling a beat however erratic under her fingertips, she tried to assess his injuries. His face was battered and cut from his fall, blood congealing with dirt and grit on his face and neck.
"Lieutenant can you hear me?" yelled Sam, leaning over the young man, searching his face for any sign of consciousness "Parker?"
She noticed a flinch on his brow as he tried to respond to her voice.
Sam looked over the rest of his body, and she could see there was something wrong, the way one of his legs lay unnaturally twisted, an arm lying limp over his chest where she'd turned him. She felt a hand lie on her shoulder and looked behind her to see Daniel standing by her.
"I've found Cameron," he shouted to her, she bent her head as a shower of rocks hailed down on top of them. "He's in pretty bad shape"
Sam merely nodded and looked over Parker once more, her mind whirring as to what to do for the both of them. Taking the light from the weapon on Parker's chest, she stood and turned to Daniel.
"Where's Cameron?" she asked
Daniel shone his light awkwardly his left.
"Seems to lead into another passage, a way out maybe." He told her "He may have been looking for a way out of this place, looks like he took a knock to the head. The passage doesn't seem as secure as the one we've just came through"
"Okay, stay here with Parker, I'm going to check on Cameron and see if I can find a way out of here" said Sam
She quickly left the two and crossed the cave in the direction Daniel had pointed to. Noticing another tunnel leading from the cave as it evened out, she approached cautiously, aware that more stone and rock crumbled from the walls with the constant vibrations around them. Entering the narrower space, she shone the light on the softer ground and walked a few step, soon finding Cameron lying half propped up on the wall. He shifted under the light and Sam felt a rush of relief at finding him as she knelt by him. He gave a wan smile as he looked at her, and she frowned at the gash on his head.
"Hey" he mumbled, before cursing under his breath as a rock ricocheted off the wall and bounced of his leg.
"You ok?" asked Sam, lying a hand softly on his arm, and taking in the gash on his head. She reached for his pack, which he'd obviously removed when he'd entered the passageway. Flipping it open she searched for the small med kit they were all kitted out with. Cameron grabbed her hand and tugged at her for her attention.
"Got not time for that, gotta get out of here" his words were becoming slurred and Sam withdrew her hand, pulling out the kit and taking out a thick wad of cotton. She pressed it to his head receiving another torrent of expletives from the Colonel. Flipping the med kit closed and pushing it back into the pack, she took Cameron's hand and pressed it against the thick cotton.
"Hold this and don't move" she ordered before standing and pointing her light down the rest of the tunnel.
She took a few tentative steps, forward before pausing and shining her torch along the walls and above her. Dust was falling at a rapid rate, accompanied by pebbles and stone, and it seemed to be getting heavier. Doubting they had much longer to get out before the ceiling feel in around them, she turned back to Cameron, crouching back down by him.
"I'm going to get Daniel and Lt Parker, bring them back here"
Cameron seemed glassy and stared almost through her, and she leaned closer into him.
"Cameron" she said, watching as he blinked and tried to focus "I'm going for the others ok"
"I ain't going anywhere" Cameron mumbled, failing to humour her.
Sam stood and made a quick retreat back into the inner room to Daniel and Parker. The Lieutenant was still lying unconscious by Daniel who was holding tightly to his injured arm, kneeling, shoulders hunched by the Lt. Crouching by Daniel, she lay a hand on his shoulder and he turned to her, Sam was caught off guard by the look on his face. He seemed almost defeated; unconvinced they could escape the predicament they were in.
"Daniel we gotta get out of here now, make your way back to Cameron, I'll get Parker"
Daniel shook his head and didn't move from his position.
"Daniel…" Sam shouted louder, tugging at his good arm softly
"He's dead Sam" Daniel interrupted her, refusing to move
Sam paused for a moment, taking in her friend's look before looking over the body of the Lieutenant once more.
"No, I checked his pulse, he was responding…" started Sam, thinking Daniel had merely taken in the state of the Lieutenant and assumed the worst. Daniel's look confirmed he wasn't just assuming.
Sam quickly move position to the other side of the younger mans body and pressed her fingers to his neck and wrist, feeling for the tell tale beat. Neither region gave any response. Sam fought a moment of frustration, which threatened to overwhelm her. Stone and dust rained down about her at a rapid rate and she slumped back on her haunches looking over the young man and making a decision she fumbled at the young Lieutenants neck, removing his dog tags. Under different circumstances she would have applied CPR, fought to bring him back, but right now, they needed out and fast, or none of them would survive. Tucking the tags into a vest pocket, she grabbed the pack and stood.
"Daniel we gotta go" she choked throughthe dust which was starting to cloud around them, building up with each falling rock.
Helping him stand, she propelled the both of them towards the narrow passageway, praying the same fate hadn't happened to Cameron. Rock was raining steadily down on them as they entered the tunnel and reached Cameron. He still sat against the wall, mumbling incoherently to himself and didn't respond as they crouched by him.
"Cameron" yelled Sam over the din of crumbling rock and rumbling above their heads. She shone the light to his face and he flinched at the light. At least he was responding somewhat. Sam took a moment to clear her head. Swinging the pack she held in her hand, onto her back she swiftly hooked back to her vest, and picked up the other. She quickly helped Daniel attach it to his own vest and turned back to Mitchell.
"Ok Cam can you stand?"
Again Cameron merely blinked at his surroundings, holding his hand to his head and mumbling. Sam gave a growl of frustration and leaned down closer to him, placing a hand under his chin and turning his face to hers.
"Colonel Mitchell, can you hear me?"
Cameron seemed to respond better to the commanding voice of an officer and nodded his head.
"Ok" sighed Sam under breath "Mitchell, we have to go, Can you stand?"
Cameron gave a slight nod and started to move painstakingly slowly.
"Daniel lead the way" ordered Sam, pulling Cameron's arm over her shoulder and dragging him to his feet. He leaned heavily onto her as they started to move forward, his feet barely lifted from the ground and Sam found herself taking most of his weight and dragging him along with her.
(Just wanted to leave a quick note and say a very big thankyou for all the reviews/fb on this fic. FB/Reviews are always received graciously, and I usually like to reply to each one personally, but I haven't had the time this time round, so here's a big thanks to everyone and I hope you continue enjoying the fic...Sara Lou xx)