"We've got the van!" Colby's shout came over the radio.

Megan had done some expert driving on the rugged roads so they caught up with Colby and the others as his voice came over the radio. "Right behind you," she told him as she and David and Charlie exited the SUV. They peered through the open doors in the back of the van, frowning as they found it empty. Megan spotted a dolly lying on the ground, with nylon straps fastened onto it. "Look." She bent down and saw traces of blood on the metal frame. She dabbed a finger at it and realized it was still wet. "It's not dried. They haven't been gone too long. Is this on the map, Charlie?"

Charlie looked around, trying to look for a landmark to orient himself. He found one and scrutinized the map. "Yes," he mumbled as he scanned over the area. He looked up to the left of the van. "Over there."

Colby followed his direction and studied the ground. "I've got footprints!" He knelt and examined them more closely. "Okay, it's been a long time since Scouts, but I'm guessing a man and a woman, and judging by the man's tracks, he's walking unsteadily and carrying a lot of extra weight."

"Don," Charlie whispered hopefully.

"Okay, everyone listen up!" Megan called to the people around her. She glanced up and saw thick, black smoke floating across the sky. She could hear the fire and knew they were in a dangerous area. "I know this is a bad situation, but we can be certain Don is in there somewhere. I can't force you to, but I need volunteers to go in and search." She beamed as everyone present raised his hand. "I appreciate it you guys." She pointed to three agents and spoke to them. "I need someone to stay behind with Charlie and the paramedics, in case the Reiners come out armed and try to get away." They nodded, disappointed not to be looking, but knowing their job was important as well. "Everyone else split into teams of two. We're going to follow these tracks as long as possible, and then split up to search. Use the buddy system, people – I don't want to lose anyone because they got turned around in the woods or overcome from the smoke."

She gestured at Colby to go, and followed him as he looked for more tracks. She felt the other agents behind her and felt her hopes rising. Maybe they would be able to find him in time.

--

"Jackie!" John cried out in alarm as his wife tripped on a large root and fell down a short drop off. He ran to the edge and saw her lying on her back, clutching her knee to her chest. "Are you okay?" She didn't answer, but kept grimacing in pain. "I'm coming down!" He looked for an easy way down, but couldn't find one. He lowered himself to the edge of the drop off and slid down until he was hanging by his arms. He took a deep breath and let go, wincing as he landed on his ankle. He ignored the throbbing and rushed to his wife's side. "Jackie!"

"I think I messed up my knee," she whispered.

"That's okay," he soothed her. "I'll carry you."

"I lost the map and the compass, too."

Those words sent a shiver of fear down his spine. He frantically scoured their surroundings, searching for any sign of the two items. They needed those to find their way out of the woods. "Hang on," he told her as he kept looking. Five minutes later and he was still empty-handed. He moved back to Jackie's side and picked her up in his arms. "Just relax," he whispered. "I'll get us out of here."

Reiner looked up and knew there was no way they could go out the way they came, so he began moving in what he hoped was the same general direction. His ankle screamed at him with each step, but he ignored it as he blindly stumbled forward. The smoke seemed to be growing thicker and the heat was starting to make him sweat. John wondered if the fire had changed directions or if he had gone the wrong way. Suddenly he was falling, the ground having disappeared beneath his feet. He landed painfully on his back, crying out as Jackie rolled from his arms. He tried to get up to go after her, but froze at the intense pain in his back. Reiner looked down at his legs and tried to flex them but it was no use – he couldn't move them. He tried calling to Jackie, but received no answer. Then he noticed the blood running from a gash in her head. He collapsed back onto the ground and saw smoke getting thicker overhead. The injured man could only watch as it drifted closer and closer, helpless to do anything but cough as it invaded his lungs.

He was sad that he and Jackie wouldn't make it out of this, but he took comfort – and knew Jackie would have, as well – in the fact that Agent Don Eppes had died, too.

--

"They're gone," Colby told Megan, his voice muffled by the bandana he had tied around his nose and mouth to filter out the smoke. "We need to split up." Megan signaled the others to fan out and sweep the area. She stayed with Colby and let him take the lead, hoping his army instincts might be an advantage. He rounded a knoll and reached back halting her movements. "There!"

She stepped around him and felt overwhelming emotions course through her body. There – no more than ten feet in front of them – was Don, bound to a tree, his head sagging against his chest. She radioed the news to the other agents as she and Colby sprinted to his side. Colby bent down, took out his pocket knife and started sawing at the ropes binding him to the tree. "Don?" Megan pleaded, reaching a trembling hand out to his neck to check for a pulse. She didn't feel one, and hoped that it was just too faint for her to detect. Dead or alive, they would be bringing him out of here. Colby finally got through the ropes and without hesitation scooped Don up onto his shoulders. "Let's go!" he yelled over the noise of the fire.

Megan led the way, constantly checking back over her shoulder to make sure Colby was doing okay. They finally hit the road a few yards away from the ambulance and FBI vehicles. "Down here!" she yelled to the paramedics.

They looked at her and jogged toward her with a stretcher rolling next to them. Colby gently laid Don on it and used his knife to cut the flexi cuffs off of Don's hands. One medic inserted an IV while the other put an oxygen mask on Don's face and started charting his vitals. Now that they were out of the woods and in full daylight, Megan could really take in Don's appearance. He was filthy, his skin was dry and tight looking, and he had obviously lost quite a bit of weight. His chest was bright red where he had struggled against the ropes and, although he was laying on his back now, Megan had seen the bloody scrapes that covered it when Colby had picked him up. The most frightening part of his appearance was his complete and utter stillness – even his chest didn't appear to be moving, although Megan could see his faint breath fogging the oxygen mask. She couldn't ever remember him being so still.

A sudden, shocked gasp from beside her reminded her that Charlie was there with them. "Don," he whispered sadly. She put an arm around his shoulders and gave him a gentle hug. "He's alive, Charlie. We got him in time."

Charlie nodded but didn't trust himself to speak. Don looked so lifeless lying there on the stretcher, his head lolled to the side. Even when one of the medics unintentionally did something that should have caused him pain, he didn't stir. Charlie wanted so badly to reach out and hug his brother – to let him know that he was there – but he was afraid of getting in the medics' way. Soon, Don was strapped onto the stretcher and being whisked back to the ambulance.

"He's riding with you!" Megan called after them as she gently shoved Charlie in the direction of the ambulance.

"Okay, but hurry up!"

Charlie climbed into the unit and sat next to Don, staring at him in shock. They had found him and he was still alive – for that, he was thankful. But Don looked like he'd been through hell – suffering right up to the brink of death before being found. His heart broke as he thought about how much his brother must have endured before being tossed out like garbage into the fire. His attention shifted and he watched the medic as he monitored Don's vitals. Once he had a feel for where the medic would be working, Charlie slipped his hand into Don's limp one and lightly squeezed, bending over until he was next to Don's ear. "I'm here," he whispered. "We got you. Just hang on, okay?" Don didn't respond and Charlie felt the tears that had been forming in his eyes slowly trek down his face. "Please, Don."

Charlie reached up with his other hand and swiped at the tears on his cheeks. He watched as the medic tended to Don, soothed by the gentle ease with which he performed his job. Charlie began to feel a little bit useless, and asked the man, "Is there something I can do to help?"

The paramedic looked up and saw the need in Charlie's eyes. He smiled and handed him a moistened cloth. "See all that soot on his face? Wash it off with this, but make sure you avoid the red patches on his nose and forehead. Burns get infected pretty easily, so we'll leave those for the doctor." Charlie eagerly took the wipe and began gently wiping off the dirt on Don's cheeks. "Keep talking to him, too. You'd be surprised how much that helps."

Charlie nodded and began quietly rambling about the latest breakthrough on his Cognitive Emergence Theory, all the while tenderly brushing the cloth over Don's face.

--

Funny – he wasn't that hot considering he was being burned alive. Maybe he was already dead? No, that couldn't be – he was still in pain. You couldn't be on pain when you were dead, could you? He quieted his thoughts and listened carefully. A voice? No – voices. Two of them? One of them was very familiar.

"... here. We... you." Why was that voice so familiar? "Please, Don." Charlie? Was that really Charlie's voice? If only he could open his eyes and check – but you couldn't open your eyes when you were dead. He listened carefully and concentrated. That voice was still talking, but he couldn't understand any of the words it was speaking.

Wait, there was something else. A feeling – a touch on his cheek? Soft and cool, steady strokes all around his face. Very soothing. They seemed to be moving in time with that voice. That had to be Charlie. If only he could call out to him.

Don tried to draw a deep breath but it was futile. Drawing in enough oxygen to breathe was hard enough – forget talking. I could try to whisper. He attempted to move his lips to form the sounds, but his body refused to obey. The frustration filled his heart and he felt despair creeping in once more – maybe he really was dead? But then that voice was speaking to him again...

--

"Shh, Don," Charlie crooned in his brother's ear. "You're okay. I'm right here with you. You're not dead or dying – you're safe now." He felt a small smile cross his face. He'd been droning on about his research when he'd seen Don's eyelids twitch. It had only been a slight movement, but it had been enough to instill hope in Charlie's heart. "Just rest. I'll be right here with you the whole time." Don made no noticeable response, and yet Charlie knew that he'd heard him. He went back to talking about his work and maintaining a gentle, even rhythm with the cloth for the rest of the ride to the hospital.