REUNITED AND IT FEELS AWKWARD

SCENE EIGHTEEN

At a fast pace Dean appears out of the drift and in to the safety room where he stops to catch his breathe. Moisture in the air mask clings to his skin. He removes the mask and wipes his face. Across the room he sees the dead body and behind that the potty car he was thrown against. Then Dean recalls the Demon mentioning something about the smell and without the mask he gets his first whiff. "Oh, crap, I smell like crap." Quickly he takes the miner suit off and tosses it to the ground. Above him from the air tunnel a movement catches his attention. It is the laptop twirling on a descent down, down and past the safety room through the air shaft to a lower level of the mine. "Oh! Crap. When will I get a break?"

Picking up the roller cam Dean turns the camera on him, trying to get anybodies attention. "Hey, bomb, I am in here, bomb, two minutes." Then with the cam under his arm Dean runs up the mine shaft to the main entry. Stopping just inside the entrance he can see the four men and kids disappearing behind the forest coverage. The ground below his feet begins to shake. The muffled sound of a bomb blast echoes faintly through the air. "I am going to Texas if I ever get out of this." Dean runs out into the early evening sunlight and is blinded for a moment making him stop. The rumbling below feels like an earthquake.

Looking into the mine Dean can see a small red glow growing in size. Above him the rocks were breaking away from the entrance and falling, missing him by inches. With his only companion in this death race, a roller cam under his arm, Dean takes flight, each step quickly leading him to the security of the forest edge.

Watching in horror the SWAT team begins to yell, urging Dean to run faster. The commotion alerts Sam who has just reached the Impala with Dan. The ground rumbling, gravel bouncing below them. The windows in the Impala quiver. "Dean!" Sam rushes to the group of people with Dan behind him. Those who are not at the ambulances with the teenagers are standing just inside the forest. Waving their hands and shouting. Sam finds a clearing through the crowd and sees Dean running for his life with a cloud burst of dust growing in proportion behind him. The grey cluster of matter begins to glow an orangey-red. Sam shouts, "Run, run."

Through all the noise of yelling and rumbling sounds of rock and fire Dean picks up on Sam's words. Still in full running speed he looks up and can see his brother and the fear on his face. Just thirty more yards and he will be safe. Behind him the mine walls have begun to collapse, rocks covering the entrance until the deep cavern below collapses and the rocks just disappear where the mine floor begins to break apart. The once secure rock cavern has given in and plunges to the fiery gasses burning more then a hundred feet below the surface, engulfing the pit floor.

Swat members are holding Sam, dragging him away from the on coming danger of debris and fire. He is still yelling and watching in fear as the cluster starts to get ahead of Dean and then in an instant he is gone and all that remains is the very large dust cloud rushing into the forest where once everyone stood. Pebbles and Rock fly across the air breaking limbs off trees or embedding into tree trunks. The howling wind forces Sam to cover his ears. In his hunched down position the tears fall to the ground. Sam can't help but fear the horrifying loss of his brother.

The screaming howl of the blast is joined by screams of pain. The sounds almost unbearable begin to grow silent with the last of dust slowing down to a gentle breeze through the forest leaving behind a film of dirt on everything and everyone in the vicinity. Agent Hotchner, his blue silk suit covered in dust. His short black hair looking grey in color steps out from behind the SWAT control van with others who found safety there. "Reid we need to help get control of the situation fast. Find Agent Nick and keep him away from the mine area."

With a few men Reid walks over to where Sam was last seen and finds him standing in a mournful state. The dust streaming away down his face from the tears he can't hold back. His tall body sways back and he regains his footing with the help of officers. Sam wants to go to the mine and find his brother, but they help him to the one ambulance that remains on site. The other two headed to the hospital with the teenagers just before the dust cloud hit. Breaking himself free from the strong grip on his shoulders Sam wipes his face, smudging the dirt along his cheeks. "I am alright, please, I'm not going anywhere." Before Sam could get any inkling to find Dean's body a paramedic who was sent by Agent Hotchner pokes him in the arm with a sedative.

While Sam is indisposed men are running around checking the wounded. One man is sat beside him on the bumper of the ambulance. Blood soaked bandages conceal the rock that has replaced his eyeball. Hotchner approaches Sam. "Once the area has been secured and it is safe we are going to send a team in to find your partner. For now you need to collect yourself so you don't go running off half cocked into what could very well be your death."

Levi and another team member join them. "Agent Hotchner, we have several men down and I called in more ambulances to assist." They walk away to assess their situation. "The men that are able to help have already started checking in. Once we get ourselves regrouped we will secure the perimeter of the mine."

Stopping in the mist of chaos, Hotchner has to wonder and give his view point on the situation. "Your strategy sounds strong. I just don't think we are going to be getting back into the area and it could take months to find the bodies."

The young man who stood with his Commander gave insight to some hope. "Sir's," he pauses to assure he has their attention, "I think we might be able to find the dead teenagers and give their parents closure." He sees everyone's eyes on him. "While we searched the large room I took the liberty sir to put a tracking beacon on the inside of the barrel for the men to find their way back to the area." He hands the blinking receiver to Levi. "I hope it is still useful."

"If the tracking beacon is still attached to the barrel then we could use the receiver to see how far down the lower shaft goes and if it would be plausible to attempt such a dangerous rescue to give a family closure." Reid thinks about the consequences. "Should a team enter the mine and start breaking away the rubble they could easily cause another collapse." He looks to Hotchner. "I would love to give closure to the families, but at what cost will it take to do so."

: END SCENE EIGHTEEN

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