"Charlie!"
Charlie awoke to Don's quiet but desperate cry. He scrambled to a sitting position and looked at his brother in the moonlight. "Don?"
"…Sick."
Charlie acted quickly, rolling him onto his left side and elevating his shoulders. He winced as wave after wave of paroxysms coursed through Don's body. His brother finally rid himself of the water from earlier and continued dry heaving for several more minutes. When he was sure Don was finished, Charlie carefully rolled him back onto his back, gently wiping his mouth with the hem of his dress shirt.
"Told you," Don whispered.
"I was hoping you were wrong." Charlie tenderly brushed his hand over his brother's hair as he found himself willing him to get well. Suddenly he felt that there was a very real possibility that Don might not make it. Tears stung his eyes but Charlie kept his focus on Don, bringing his free hand to rest on his brother's stomach. He lightly massaged the tense muscles there and allowed himself a small smile as the other man sighed in relief.
"Feels good," he murmured thankfully.
Charlie nodded silently, not trusting himself to speak as emotions swirled in his mind. He felt himself cracking under the weight of them and slowly eased forward until he was resting just over Don. His hands stopped their movements and he gathered Don in an awkward embrace. "You're going to be okay," Charlie spoke softly in his brother's ear, not sure if he was asking Don or telling him.
"I'll do my best," Don whispered back, and Charlie felt his brother's hand on his shoulder, pulling him closer. "I won't give up – I can promise you that."
Charlie pressed his face against Don's chest and nodded. "Then I won't either."
They held the awkward embrace until Charlie had gotten his emotions back under control. He pulled back and smiled down at Don, his confidence back in full force. "Sleep a little more," Charlie told him. "I will get us out of here in the morning."
Don smiled and placed his hand on Charlie's knee, lightly squeezing before allowing himself to fall asleep. Once he was certain his brother wasn't awake, Charlie focused on his own injuries. He'd been doing a very good job of hiding them from Don, but they were starting to really hurt.
Charlie slid his dress pants above his knee and gently prodded at the swollen purple flesh. He bit back a hiss of pain as he decided that his knee was, in fact, getting worse. He only hoped it would hold out long enough for him to get Don to safety. Charlie trailed a finger through his curls until he found the painful, swollen lump hidden there. He suspected that it was responsible for his near constant headache, slightly blurry vision, and bouts of dizziness. All in all, Charlie was proud of how well he was keeping his own injuries hidden from Don. His brother certainly didn't need anything else to worry him at this point.
Charlie found himself yawning and stretching, biting his lip as his stomach twinged in pain. He knew he had one heck of a bruise there, but it was better than what could have happened if he hadn't been wearing his seatbelt. He shuddered as memories of the crash assaulted his mind...
He drove slowly – ten miles under the speed limit – as he navigated the sharp twists and turns of the mountain road. He kept stealing nervous glances at Don, who was practically passed out in the passenger's seat. Charlie was worried at how sick his brother seemed to be, and – if Don wouldn't have killed him – he would have called an ambulance long ago.
"I'm fine," Don spoke with his eyes closed, seeming to read his younger brother's mind. "Just concentrate on your driving."
"I am," Charlie replied, rather defensively. "But I can worry and drive at the same time."
Don ignored him and Charlie kept his eyes straight ahead as they came to a sharp bend in the road. He carefully braked and began turning the wheel to ease the SUV into the curve. As they were almost out of it, a deer darted into the road and froze in the path of the heavy vehicle. Charlie's hands tightly gripped the wheel as he instinctively swerved to avoid the animal. The top-heavy SUV's tires squealed in protest and the truck lurched to the side, threatening to flip. Charlie quickly yanked the wheel in the other direction in a desperate attempt to keep them upright.
"Charlie!" Don called out.
Charlie looked up and saw the edge of the road, sans guardrail, looming ahead of them. He tried to steer the SUV back onto the road, but it was too late as its front tires left the road.
Unconsciously, Charlie held his breath as the truck plummeted down the side of the mountain, falling faster and faster, its tires occasionally bouncing against the rocky slope. He saw the ground rushing up to meet them and began saying prayers for their safety. They were interrupted by a loud groan of metal and the sound of glass shattering. Charlie's head slammed into something and his world started to fade to black. Concern for Don's well being flooded his brain but before Charlie could look to the seat beside him, he sank into oblivion...
Charlie glanced down at Don sleeping beside him. He supposed it was nothing short of a miracle that they had walked away from the crash alive. Now all they had to do was find help before their injuries caught up with them.
--
Alan watched as David and Megan hovered over the hood of their car, mapping out a search grid to cover the route in the mountains. Colby was leading another group of agents in searching the city roads. He fiddled with his glasses as he silently urged them to work faster. Coming to an agreement, the two agents summoned the other members of the search team and doled out instructions.
"We'll divide up into five teams of two," Megan told them. "Each team will be responsible for a two mile stretch of road. I know it seems like a lot, but we're short handed for now. Just be thorough and radio the second you have anything. Any questions?" No one spoke. "Alright then, see David for your assignments." Megan turned and approached Alan.
"Why are you short handed?" Alan demanded.
"All of these agents are here as volunteers," Megan told him. "Remember, Don and Charlie haven't even been missing for twenty-four hours yet. Once Don fails to show up for work tomorrow morning I'll be able to argue for more resources – hopefully even a helicopter. For now this is just a group of friends searching for a lost loved one."
"In the dark," Alan sighed hopelessly.
"Yes, but these guys know what they're doing," Megan assured him. "They know the signs to look for to tell if a car has gone off the road. You've got the best of the best here."
David issued orders to the last of the team and joined Megan and Alan. "Okay, they're off. I saved the closest section of road for you and me, so we can get back here in a hurry if we need to. Remember Alan, keep your phone and the radio on and with you at all times. Since you're staying here, you've sort of become our search coordinator by default."
"Fine with me," Alan nodded. "Please, just go find my boys."
--
Charlie woke suddenly, not sure of what had disturbed his sleep. He listened closely in the darkness, but the only sounds he heard were Don's soft breaths beside him. Propping himself on his elbow, Charlie gazed down at his brother and tried to make out his features in the moonlight. He squinted in the murky darkness and realized that Don was shivering badly. Alarmed because the night air was quite comfortable, Charlie placed a hand on his brother's forehead. "Oh God," he breathed as he felt the heat pouring from him. "Don? Can you hear me?" Don's only response was an unintelligible mumble as he restlessly tossed his head.
Charlie stared helplessly at his trembling brother and tried to decide what to do. He knew Don had a fever and that his body's shivering was increasing his temperature, but should he try to warm Don up to stop the chills or cool him off to lower the fever? As indecision ran rampant in his sleepy brain, Don suddenly cried out his name. "I'm here, Don," Charlie whispered. He made his decision and lay back down next to his older brother, carefully pressing their bodies together. Charlie held him close as he soothingly whispered. "Shh, it's okay. I've got you." Gradually the tremors stopped and Don lay still in his embrace. Charlie sighed with relief and buried his face in Don's shoulder, offering up another silent prayer for help.
--
The sun was just peeking out from behind the horizon when David's radio squawked. "Found something," the tinny voice reported.
"Go ahead," David radioed back.
"Agent Tyler in grid three, sir," the voice informed him. "I've got a lot of skid marks down here." He paused. "One set leads over the edge of the drop off."
"Damn," David swore as he met Megan's eyes. "Can you see anything at the bottom?"
"Too dark," Tyler said. "Plus, it looks like this part of the edge is part of an overhang. I'm not sure I could see anything even if the sun was up. Chopper would be nice."
"Yeah," David agreed. "It would. Wait there and Megan and I will be down there in a minute."
"Roger that, sir."
"I'm coming, too," Alan's voice called out over the radio.
"Alan-"
"Try to stop me," he growled.
David shrugged at Megan. "Just be careful that you don't hit any of us," he radioed back. He saw the concern in the other agent's eyes. "Let's hope it's them, and they're just hanging out somewhere nearby, with a really interesting story to tell."
TBC