Chapter 9: Shot
Alex slowly dug his way out of unconsciousness. Some instinct told him not to make a sound. The first thing he realized was that he was untied, slumped against the chair's back with his head at an uncomfortable angle. He didn't move though. Something told him to stay still. He could hear sounds of a struggle.
"Well catch her you idiots! Why the hell did you let her get away from you? She's a teenage girl goddamn it!" A man's voice boomed. There was a high-pitched scream of pain.
"Let me go! I'm not leaving without him!" A female voice shouted. Suddenly, Alex's brain made the connection. The guards must have realized he fell unconscious and untied him, only to have Cammie get away from them. He groaned internally, why was she causing trouble for herself! Didn't she know to just play along? He had told her K-unit was on the way! There was a whimper and a gasp and Alex jumped into action without thinking. He was on his feet in an instant, ignoring the dizziness of standing too quickly.
"Get away from her!" He yelled, jumping one of the guards and taking him out with relative ease. Cammie looked somewhat astonished that he was awake, or even alive for that matter. Alex took down the other guard as he froze with shock too. Suddenly, a gunshot rang out and everyone paused. Alex slowly looked down to see a fresh stain of blood blossoming over his chest. He make a noise somewhere between a choke and a chuckle and fell backwards, hitting the floor with an audible thump.
"Alex!" Cammie screamed. "Oh my god!"
"See what you've done girl?" Klokov shouted. "I've had to rush my lovely painful ending! You've doomed yourself and your friends as well. Without the boy, you're useless to me." Cammie launched herself at the Russian, screeching in grief and anger. He easily batted her out of the way and she landed next to Alex. Instead of getting up and attacking again, she crawled next to him.
"Alex," she whispered, scared that there wouldn't be an answer. There was a soft groan in reply. She looked back up, accusingly, to Klokov only to find that he already had his gun pointed at her.
"Might as well dispose you now," he sneered, cocking the gun. Cammie closed her eyes, resigned to her fate. A gunshot went off and Cammie waited for the pain, for the bright light for anything. Nothing happened.
Cammie opened her eyes to see the Russian on the floor with a bullet wound through his head. There was blood, so much blood, but not all of it was Klokov's. Alex's blood also soaked the floor. Four men burst into the room but Cammie didn't pay any attention to them. She only had eyes for Alex.
"Alex!" Cammie exclaimed, shaking his shoulder. His eyes were shut and his breathing was hitched. "Alex please, open your eyes. If you can hear me open your eyes!" Alex obeyed, grimacing in pain. Cammie could feel tears streaming down her face. The men had frozen, taking in the scene before them. Cammie didn't know who they were and she didn't care. She looked at the wound, panic making her thoughts scattered and unsure. Cammie tried to smile and be brave for him. It came out as a grimace.
"It's not even that bad okay. It's not even that bad." She said it like she was trying to convince herself more than him. She felt strong arms around her, pulling her away from Alex. She struggled but the arms were persistent, dragging her away from him.
"Alex!" She exclaimed. "Let me go! Please! Let me go!" She screamed.
"Calm down. I'm not going to hurt you. We're here to help," a man's voice soothed in her ear. Cammie wasn't listening. Her only thought was to get back to Alex. She swung her elbow up and heard a satisfying crunch as she broke the man's nose.
"Ouch! Son of a. . . Will you quit it! We're trying to help!" The man yelled. The arms around her tightened, pinning her arms to her side.
"Snake!" The man called.
"On it!" A dark haired man with a slight Scottish accent responded, moving to Alex. He started assessing the wound and murmuring to Alex.
"Stop! Don't hurt him! Please!" Cammie cried. "Alex!" The boy stirred a little, sensing her distress but the Scottish man laid a hand on him, murmuring comfortingly and he stopped.
"Fox, Eagle, go get the other girls," the man holding Cammie commanded through gritted teeth. One of the men, a blonde haired, blue-eyed man, moved to go down the hall. The other stood frozen.
"Fox!" The man repeated exasperatedly. "Go with Eagle!" Still, the last man stood frozen, staring horrified at the scene unfolding.
"GODDAMN IT BEN!" The man holding Cammie roared. "GO HELP EAGLE!" As if on cue, a shout of surprise and pain could be heard, shortly followed by a bout of swearing. This seemed to snap the other man out of his trance and he ran down the hall after his friend. Cammie stopped struggling. Ben? Where had she heard that name before? Suddenly, it clicked.
"You guys are K-unit?" She asked weakly.
"Finally!" The man behind her said, breathing a sigh of relief and loosening his hold on her now that she wasn't struggling. Bex, Macey and Liz walked into the room then, followed by Ben and Eagle. The man let her go and Cammie ran to her friends, embracing them all and crying.
"Cammie, we heard gun shots. What. . ." Bex trailed off as she saw Alex on the floor, surrounded by a pool of blood with Snake leaning over him, trying his best to stop the bleeding. "Oh no!" She whispered.
"Wolf!" Barked the man leaning over Alex, Snake. Cammie vaguely remembered Alex telling them that Snake was the team's medic, Wolf being the unit's leader. Wolf's head snapped from watching the girls to Snake.
"Wolf, we gotta get him out of here," Snake warned, schooling his expression to look as neutral as possible. "He needs to be medevaced out of here stat. There's a more than likely chance he could bleed out, especially given that he lost so much blood already."
"Cammie?" Alex murmured.
"It's okay Alex!" Cammie responded, trying to keep the watery tone out of her voice. "I'm okay and you're gonna be." Alex's breathing hitched as a wave of pain crashed over him and he grimaced.
"Alex, I'm going to give you some morphine for the pain okay?" Snake said, a little louder than he had to. Wolf recognized it as a subtle sign of stress. Alex shook his head violently.
"No," he said, forcefully. "'M fine!" He slurred.
"You don't have a choice," Snake informed him. "I'm only gonna give you enough to take the edge off the pain and maybe make you a little loopy."
"No Snake! Please!" Alex begged, trying to push the older man's hand away. Cammie walked over and kneeled on the other side of Alex. Snake paused, unsure what she was going to do. Cammie grabbed Alex's hand and squeezed it gently.
"It's okay Alex," she reassured him softly. "Tell me about Jack. What was she like again?" Alex squeezed her hand back weakly. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Snake injected the light sedative into Alex's arm. Alex's face showed betrayal but he seemed to relax a little. He closed his eyes against the pain again.
"Please don't hate me," Cammie whispered. Wolf led her away gently so they could move Alex and she turned into him, arms wrapping around him as she cried into his chest. Wolf looked unsure what to do for a minute before he wrapped his arms around her too. Bex, Liz, and Macey just looked scared.
"Eagle!" Snake barked. The man quickly moved to Alex and helped Snake lift him.
"We have a bird waiting outside for us," Ben informed the girls.
"Where even are we?" Macey asked, glancing at Cammie who was still curled up in Wolf's arms.
"Arizona. We're in the desert in the middle of nowhere. Guess they figured even if you did escape, it's not like you were going to get far. It's a twenty minute 'copter ride to the nearest hospital, or at least the nearest one with a helipad." Ben replied. The girls followed him out the door. Cammie jogged a few steps to catch up with her friends.
The rest of the walk to the helicopter was silent. Liz moved to Cammie's side and held her hand reassuringly. Ben and Wolf got in first. Then, Snake and Eagle gingerly handed Alex to the two other SAS men. Alex grimaced at the hand off but didn't make a single sound of protest. Next, the girls got in and finally, the two remaining SAS soldiers. Ben sat next to Alex, monitoring him, while Snake moved on to the girls.
"Alright you lot," he started. "If you have any injuries at all, fess up or I'll make it a lot worse for you later on." The girls all glanced at each other.
"I would do as he says," Wolf chimed. Then, under his breath, "Fucking mother hen is what he is." All the girls shook their heads no to injuries but Snake assessed them anyway. Finally, he got to Cammie.
"You're Camroon right?" He asked gently. Cammie nodded. "Did you know you're bleeding?" Cammie stared at him blankly. She hadn't spoken a word since Alex was administered morphine. Snake moved to touch her cheek and Cammie jerked away on instinct. The Scott held up his hands in surrender.
"I'm not going to hurt you Cammie," he said gently. "I want to help. You have a cut on your cheek. Did the Russian hit you?" Cammie nodded emptily, eyes filling with tears again.
"I'm sorry!" She apologized. Snake shook his head.
"You have nothing to be sorry for. Alex does that too. It's just instincts. He would describe it as a side effect of what you guys have been through," Snake assured, not realizing that that wasn't what she was apologizing for. He ran his thumb lightly over the wound, inspecting it. Cammie hissed in pain but didn't move. "You'll be fine. It just needs to be disinfected," the Scott informed. He grabbed a disinfectant wipe and carefully dabbed the wound. When he was done, they both walked over to Alex and Ben. Alex was staring at the ceiling emptily. Cammie slipped her hand into his and he squeezed it weakly.
"Hey Snake?" Alex asked softly.
"Yeah Cub?" The man replied.
"Am I gonna die?" He asked.
"Don't talk like that!" Snake answered harshly. "I'm not going to let you die, Wolf's not going to let you die, Ben's especially not going to let you die, Eagle. . ." He paused. "Well I think we know Eagle's going to kill us all some day."
"Hey! I heard that!" Eagle yelled back. Snake just rolled his eyes. Alex chuckled, winced, and stopped. There was what felt like an endless silence before Alex broke it again.
"Ben?"
"Yeah Al?"
"Do you think I'll see Jack again?"
"Alex stop it!" Ben commanded. "Don't you dare talk like that! You're not dying!"
"It's okay Ben," Alex said, tears welling up but not quite falling. "It's okay. I don't mind. At least I'll get to see her again right? Maybe I'll get to see Jack again. Dying can't be that bad if she's waiting for me." He said it with a watery half smile that disappeared as quick as it came.
"Oh Alex," Cammie breathed. "Please don't die. You can't die. I need you. Everyone in this helicopter needs you." Alex looked at her as if seeing her for the first time. He squeezed her hand again to make her pay attention.
"Remember the secret I told you?" He asked her. She nodded, her vision blurring as she tried to look at him through her tears. "I take it all back," he said, surprising her. "I don't want to die." Finally, the tears that had been building up fell. "This is so damn unfair! What did I do to deserve this life, this death?" K-unit was looking at Cammie in awe. Wolf snapped everyone out of it.
"Alex! I swear to god if you keep talking like this I'll kill you myself! You aren't dying! We aren't going to let you!" He yelled. "Don't make me sick Eagle on you! I'll do it! I'll even arm him with sugar!" The man threatened lowly. Alex half smiled again, resting his head on Ben's leg. He closed his eyes.
"Cub?" Snake asked. "You okay?"
"I just got shot!" Alex murmured indignantly. Snake sighed.
"You know that's not what I meant. Open your eyes." Alex obeyed but his eyes slid shut a few moments later. Cammie glanced to Snake worriedly. The man was frowning but when he noticed she was looking he carefully schooled his expression into one of neutrality.
"Cub!" Snake barked, tapping Alex on the arm. "Eyes." Alex obeyed again but his eyes stayed open even more briefly this time. "Alex talk to me," Snake commanded. "What's going on?"
"Just. . . Really tired," Alex sighed without opening his eyes.
"You can't fall asleep now," Snake said. "You have to stay awake until we get to the hospital at least." Alex opened his eyes again and squinted at the ceiling.
"Hey Snake?" Alex asked drowsily. "Is the ceiling supposed to be spinning?" Snake glanced at Wolf who immediately jumped up and went to talk to the pilot.
"Status report," Wolf barked at the man. "How far away are we?"
"Five minutes," the man shouted back. Wolf nodded.
"Snake, we've got five minutes," Wolf relayed. Snake nodded. He checked Alex's temperature. Alex's eyes had slid shut again.
"Cammie, try to keep him awake. It's the loss of blood that's doing this to him and he has a much higher chance of dying if he falls asleep," Snake ordered.
"Alex, wake up," Cammie called softly, gently shaking his shoulder. Alex's eyes fluttered but he didn't open them. "Alex please," Cammie called, a little louder. Alex groaned but still didn't open his eyes.
"You're going to have to be rougher than that," Ben said. He slapped Alex's cheek and his eyes sprang open. "Keep your damn eyes open," Ben commanded. Cammie squeezed Alex's hand uncomfortably tight, hoping it would help. Alex's eyes started to close.
"Alex! I swear to god!" Ben shouted. "Don't you dare shut your eyes again. Stay with me okay?" Tears were welling up in Ben's eyes. So far he had refrained from crying but the stress was starting to take its toll. Alex nodded but his eyes slid shut and Ben slapped Alex's cheek again. Alex groaned, eyes fluttering but he couldn't get them open.
"Two minutes!" Wolf called.
"Two minutes Alex. Two minutes," Ben repeated. "Don't leave me for two more minutes.
"Ben, I'm cold," Alex mumbled, shivering and leaning into the man. Ben took off his jacket and put it over him. There was a tense moment of silence as everyone looked to the horizon for the hospital. Finally, it came into view.
"Alex, still with us?" Snake called. There was no answer. "Alex?" Still nothing. Snake grabbed one of Alex's arms and pressed two fingers into his wrist, searching for a pulse. Cammie and Ben were both tensely waiting for the verdict. Snake shook his head grimly.
"It's really weak. He's definitely unconscious and there's no way we can possibly wake him up." There was another tense moment of silence as the helicopter hovered over the hospital and then finally landed. Wolf and Eagle were out in and instant. Snake and Ben gingerly picked up Alex. Snake said something to Cammie that sounded fuzzy.
"What?" She asked.
"Let go," Snake repeated. "Cammie, you have to let go of him." Cammie looked down to find she was still holding Alex's hand. She let go and watched as he was handed to Wolf and Eagle who then placed him on a gurney the hospital staff rushed out to them. Both of the men were restrained when they tried to follow. There was an argument and then they walked back to the rest of the group.
"We have to go sit in the waiting room," Wolf informed them, scowling. "They're taking him right to surgery and we aren't allowed. Cammie, your mom was informed that we have you and she should be here soon." Cammie nodded numbly and stared after Alex. She moved to stand next to her friends. The SAS men lead the group down to the waiting room. The four Gallagher girls sat together on one side of the room and the four SAS men sat on the other.
"Cammie, what happened after they took you?" Bex asked lowly so as not to be overheard. "We heard screaming. It sounded like just Alex and then it stopped and there were two gun shots." Cammie stared at her blankly for a minute and Bex almost thought she wasn't going to answer.
"He was tied to a chair and there were these heavy chains. It looked ridiculous," she whispered. The other three girls leaned in closer so they could hear her. Cammie didn't look at them. She stared into space, deep in her memory. "The Russian, Klokov, wanted me to help."
"Help with what Cammie?" Macey asked gently. Cammie met her eyes.
"Help torture him. The chains had some sort of electrical current thing that could be turned on and off. He made me press the button." Cammie dropped her gaze to the floor, unable to look any of her friends in the eyes. "He was screaming but I couldn't help him. I couldn't even get my thumb out from under Klokov's. It lasted forever. He finally let me stop and I ran over to Alex and he said just do it. He told me to listen to Klokov, to just do what he said because K-unit was on their way and they'd get us out."
"How did he know?" Liz asked.
"His watch. He called them before we left the hotel and warned them that if something went wrong they better hurry. They got there too late."
"Cammie, why'd he shoot Alex?" Bex asked. Cammie shook her head.
"Don't hate me," she cried, tears trailing down her cheeks for what felt like the hundredth time. Macey shook her head, wrapping her arm around her friend.
"Cammie, there is no way we could ever hate you," Macey soothed. "We just want to know what happened. It's not your fault he made you torture Alex okay? It's not your fault he shot Alex. We just want to know why." Cammie nodded, wiping the tears away.
"He made me do it again. He made me press the button until Alex passed out. The guards untied him but Klokov made them stop, saying I was the priority. I didn't know if they were going to take me back to you guys or not but they wouldn't let me see if Alex was okay first so I fought them and Alex woke up and knocked them out and then Klokov shot him."
"What about the second gunshot?" Bex asked.
"He was going to shoot me too but K-unit shot him first." The girls sat in silence for a moment and Cammie couldn't meet any of their eyes. Finally, Liz spoke up.
"It's not your fault Cammie," she said. "Klokov was crazy. Alex is tough. He'll pull through." Cammie glanced up at her and attempted a smile.
A/N: Hey guys. So, it's been awhile. Sorry about that. How did you like the chapter? Review and let me know. I wonder what's going to happen to Alex. Anyway, I'll just get on with my usual begging. Please read and review. I love hearing your comments! If you are a guest you can still review and I will respond to you in the next chapter. Thanks for sticking with me everyone!