Authors Note – This one is a little short, but you should know me by now. I love Suspense.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Jared. He stood with mouth agape staring behind a boulder. They couldn't quite make out his expression from where they were, but their guts told them it wasn't good.
Jared was afraid to move. His legs felt week. His brother's face looked so pale in the beam of the flashlight. Seeley sat pressed between the wall of the cave and the boulder. He must have crammed himself into the nook to keep himself upright. His head was barely above water. Another 7 inches or so and he wouldn't have been able to be seen.
Brennan was the first to react. She pushed through the water as fast as her exhausted pain filled body would allow. She brushed past Jared who then snapped out of it and followed. The rest of the group trailed behind with Barrows and Mike in the rear.
Brennan dropped down directly in front of Booth and pushed her fingers to his carotid artery. Several seconds passed in silence as they waited for Brennan to speak. All they could do was stare at his lifeless face, they could see no sign he was breathing. Mike used the radio to let those on the outside that Booth had been found.
The crack of the male voice through the radio jolted Angela from her thoughts. 'Agent Booth had been found'. She waited for him to add more but it was silent. Found… found… she thought, but nothing was said about his condition. She wanted to grab the radio and scream at the man on the other end. Her thoughts then turned to the worst. No news was bad news. She thought, her excitement dying down.
She looked to see Caroline's expression fall to a deep frown as well. If he were alive he would have said. The man wasn't going to announce their friend's death over the airwaves.
Everyone outside the cave stopped what they were doing. Everyone remained silent to listen for further information. Many said silent prayers, others thoughts dipped to the worst. All were happy that he had at least been found. They had a helicopter on hand for medical transport if he were living and they would arrange a highly honorable funeral if not. Either way Agent Seeley Booth would get the honor he deserved for the hero he was.
Brennan finally started to sob. "I can't tell. I think he has a pulse, but if so it is faint and very slow."
Mike and Cam rushed forward to assess the situation.
"We need to get him out of here and warm. He has severe Hypothermia. But I don't think it is too late." Cam stated and Mike agreed.
Jared reached out and pulled his brother out of the nook he had wedged himself into. Wendell helped steady Booth and Jared threw him over his shoulder fireman style. "You guys are going to have to try and keep up." He yelled as he began running as fast as he could. The water hindered the speed of his travel, but the young man was in great shape and he was determined his brother would live.
The group took off running behind Jared. Brennan was struggling. Her body once again decided it had had enough. She stumbled and Wendell caught her before she went into the water. "Let me help you Dr Brennan." She looked at him and gave a week nod. He swooped her up like a groom would do to his bride and moved as quickly as he could behind the others. Sweets dropped behind in case Wendell needed assistance.
All their hopes were climbing though they were afraid that they may soon fall. They had found their friend. His pulse was almost nonexistence and he was barely breathing, but he wasn't dead.
Mike realized he hadn't radioed the others to inform them of Booth's condition. Breathing heavily and trying to keep up with Jared he pulled out the radio. "Have medivac standing by." He panted.
Cheers echoed through the area as the news came through. Details weren't given, but if he were dead there would be no need for the helicopter. They weren't out of the woods, but spirits soared.
Angela and Caroline embraced each other shedding tears of joy.
The team at the hole lowered a back board down to the two waiting men below the hole. They had cleared everything they could to allow extraction to go more smoothly.
It wasn't long before they saw the last man who entered wading quickly through the water with the man they had been searching for, followed closely behind by most of the others. They promptly prepared the back board.
Mike helped Jared lower booth onto the floating board while the other two men held it steady. Only now did Jared see the extensive damage his brother had sustained. He felt physical pain when he thought about the anguish his brother had gone through, but his heart swelled with pride that he had fought so hard to survive.
By the time Wendell and sweets showed up with Brennan they had already began raising Booth to the surface.
"Please put me down." Brennan said, beginning to feel squeamish in the young man's arms.
He gently put her onto her feet, but stayed close in case she needed assistance. She watched with an expression of relief upon her face. The faint light of dawn filtered downward. Brennan moved closer to the light relishing in it. It seemed an eternity since she had seen the light.
It took some maneuvering and much effort from the team above to get booth out of the cave. They just got him above ground, when Hodgins heard it.
"Run!" He yelled.
The men released the backboard from the cables and ran as quickly as they could as the ground beneath them crumbled.
The people below the ground couldn't hear Hodgins and watched the commotion above. All of a sudden rocks of all sizes began to rain down upon them. The group scattered, many of them diving into the frigid waters.
Brennan stood there her exhausted body not wanting to budge. She stared in shock as a large rock fell straight towards her. Jared saw her just standing there and charged towards her. He tackled her but a second too late. The rock came crashing down impacting them both as they hit the water.