Author's Note: New chapter! You know, the usual… Read and review!
Melinda walked through the door of Same as It Never Was Antiques, leaning heavily against Jim for support. He kept his arm firmly around her as they walked to the basement - the only remaining entrance into the underground. They paused for a moment in front of the boarded-up opening.
"You sure you wanna go through with this?" Jim asked, knowing the answer before he even posed the question.
"It's not about what I want to do." Mel said softly. "I don't have a choice."
Jim looked at her anxiously, and then looked back at the wall and slowly nooded. "Alright." He whispered, reaching for the hammer he'd brought with in his pocket.
He hesitantly loosened his hold on Melinda, and she wavered on her feet, causing him to reflexively tighten his grasp once again.
"Maybe you should sit down." He said.
Melinda shook her head, and put her hand against the wall for some extra stability. "I'm alright." She assured him.
Jim slowly let her go, and once he was sure that she wouldn't collapse, he began to pry the boards away from the tunnel opening. A few minutes later, they were venturing into the darkness.
The couple walked with their arms around each other, each carrying a flashlight in their free hands. Jim had a black duffel bag slung over his shoulder, complete with anything they might need - just in case. Both looked around nervously, unsure of who… or what… may be lurking in the shadows.
"It's freezing down here." Jim whispered as he felt Mel shivering. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah…" Mel replied distractedly. "We need to find the church. That's where Romano is keeping them."
They continued to make their way through the tunnels, swatting away cobwebs and string-like tree roots that would otherwise be hitting them in the face. It felt like they had been wandering for hours, but in reality it had only been about five minutes when Jim tripped over an unseen obstacle and lost his footing. He lurched forward, unintentionally taking Melinda down with him, and landed roughly on his hands an knees. He cried out as a sharp, throbbing pain ran through his right ankle. He tried to ignore it, though, when he looked over and saw Melinda lying face-down on the ground.
"Mel!" He called, trying to hide the pain in his voice, but falling short of success.
He dragged himself across the two-foot distance between them, and pulled her into his arms. "Mel, are you alright?"
Melinda drew in a deep breath and blinked a few times, trying to clear her head. "Yeah." She said, sounding dazed. Then she saw the expression on Jim's face, and she immediately became alert. "Are you?"
Jim winced, and tried to suppress a groan. "Yeah. I think so."
Mel scooted backwards, giving him some space, and he grabbed his ankle in pain.
"You're hurt." Mel said worriedly.
"It's nothing." Jim lied. "I just twisted it, that's all."
"Let me see." She demanded, tenderly pulling up his pant leg so she could get a look at his injury. She let out a small gasp as she pointed the beam of the flashlight towards his ankle. It was already badly swollen and taking on a purplish-blue tint.
"Jim!" She cried out.
"Honey, it's okay." Jim said.
"No it's not." Mel replied. "I think it might be broken… Or sprained. I don't think you should walk on it."
"I have to. We have to keep moving." Jim said.
Melinda looked at him for a beat, and saw the determination in his eyes. They both knew they couldn't turn back. She closed her eyes for a moment and sighed.
"What do you have in your bag?" She asked him.
"Some basic first-aid equipment: gauze, band-aids, disinfectant…. The usual." He said.
"Do you have anything to brace it with?" Mel suggested.
"Yeah… I do." Jim replied, unzipping the duffel and rummaging through. He stopped and looked up at Mel for a minute. "Since when did you get better at my job than me?"
"I have a good teacher." She said, smiling half-heartedly. Then she slowly pushed herself to her feet and took a deep breath, trying to ensure that she could stand on her own before saying: "Brace it and wrap it up, and I'm gonna go see how much further we have to go."
"No!" Jim exclaimed, looking at her sharply. "You're not going off on your own."
"Jim, it's fine. I won't go far. Just catch up with me when you're done."
"Mel!" Jim shouted, but she was already hurrying off, leaving him behind.
"MELINDA!" He tried again, but she was already around the corner and gone.
"Dammit!" Jim shouted. He tried to get up, only to fall back down, cursing under his breath at the excruciating pain in his leg. He quickly applied the brace to his ankle and tightly wrapped it so it would support his weight. Then, he shakily stood up and took off, limping, in the direction Melinda had gone.
Melinda was walking towards the church, as quickly as she could manage in her condition. She felt terrible for leaving Jim behind, but she felt that it was necessary. She had an overwhelming sense of dread; like something awful was going to happen, and with Jim already being hurt, she didn't want to risk putting him in danger.
She was coming up to the area where the church was located. She paused for a moment, taking in her surroundings. The air felt colder all of a sudden. She shuddered, and looked around nervously. She felt a sinister presence. She knew that Romano was near, and she had to remind herself to be brave. She'd come here to go up against him, and she couldn't let her fear get in the way. Still, a part of her wanted to run back to Jim and forget about everything. To just go home and pretend that none of it had ever happened. That wasn't possible, though. So she continued on.
She was a few yards away from the church, and as she came closer, she could hear the sound of whispering. It was exactly like her dream. She could hear the souls crying out to her, begging to be freed. She looked around once more, half expecting Romano to appear at any moment, but he was nowhere in sight. So she took a deep breath and approached the door. Reaching for the door knob, she was about to open it when she heard his voice in her head.
"I knew you would come… You're mine."
Jim stumbled through the tunnels, his uneasiness growing with every step. He couldn't see or hear Melinda anywhere. How could she have gotten that far ahead of him? Minutes ago, she could barely stand upright, and now she was nowhere to be seen.
He increased his speed, pushing through the pain of his injured ankle, desperate to find her and know if she was alright. He could see their destination in the distance. It wasn't much further… But it seemed like it was taking forever to get there. Then he saw her. She was standing right in front of the church, about to go in. He breathed a sigh of relief, but relief made way for panic when he saw something out of the corner of his eye.
A large stone pillar beside the church was beginning to teeter, as if it was being pushed by unseen forces. Then, it began to fall. To Jim, time seemed to slow down. He knew that he was screaming, but couldn't hear his own voice: only a low roaring in his ears. All he could focus on was the falling pillar, headed straight for Melinda. He ran. He no longer felt the pain of his injured leg. All that mattered was getting to her in time.
Melinda froze. She could hear Romano's voice as if he was right beside her. She could feel his malevolent energy. Why wasn't she seeing him?
Her confusion was immediately forgotten when she heard Jim's voice.
"MELINDA! MELINDA!!! NO!!!!"
She didn't see the reason for his cries until it was too late. The pillar fell directly on top of her, crushing her to the ground. Everything exploded into a flash of white, then red, and then darkness.
Jim felt like someone had torn his heart right out of his chest. He couldn't breathe, couldn't think straight… His legs gave out, and he fell to his knees beside her, hot tears streaming down his face.
The pillar was lying sideways across her stomach and hips, pinning her to the ground. He knew the prognosis was bad. Very bad. It was solid stone, it had to weigh a ton, at least. He grabbed her hand; it was like ice; and he struggled to find his voice.
"Mel." He gasped, before drawing in a short ragged breath. "Oh God…"
She opened her eyes halfway and stared up at him blankly. "Jim..." She whispered hoarsely.
Jim let out a quiet shuddering sob, and shook his head. "Please." He whispered through tears. "Please… don't leave me."
Melinda used what little strength she had to pull him close. He leaned down until his face was only an inch away from hers. A couple of his tears dripped onto her cheek, and she weakly smiled.
"It will be okay." She breathed. "I'll. Never…. leave…." And with that, her eyes slipped closed and her hand went limp in his.
"No." Jim cried. "No! Mel, don't do this. Please. Come back to me."
He put his trembling fingers to her neck, praying that he would feel even the faintest beating of a pulse. But it was just as he feared… He put his head down on her shoulder and began to hysterically cry.
A/N: I know, I know… Evil cliffhanger. But please don't panic… I'll update soon.