Chapter 10- Ascent
Nearly two hours had passed since Becker had lost consciousness. At first, Jess had panicked; her mind immediately jumping to the worst conclusion, but she had quickly found his pulse. Reassuring herself that he was merely unconscious, she had calmed herself and forced herself to draw in a deep breath. She refused he allow herself to think about what she would do if he died before help arrived. Becker could survive anything, she reminded herself. He was simply not allowed to die. Lester wouldn't stand for it, she thought, smiling as she imagined Lester complaining about the paperwork involved in replacing members of the team.
Jess kept two fingers pressed against Becker's throat to feel his pulse, a steady reminder that he was still alive. With no one to talk to, she realized just how alone they really were. She tried to avoid checking the time every few minutes, but there was little else to distract her. It had been almost six hours since the explosion. Time seemed to be passing very slowly and very quickly at the same time. She began humming quietly to keep the silence from overwhelming her. She eventually grew tired of that and began singing quietly any random song that popped into her head. At some point she began talking to Becker in between songs, reminding him that help was on the way, telling him random stories about her childhood and her life outside the ARC, and apologizing for her voice and song selection.
For almost an hour, she had been puzzled by a low, mechanical hum that was steadily growing louder. She suddenly realized that it had to be rescue workers digging through the rubble to find them and hoped they would arrive soon. From the way Becker had been talking, he had believed he was going to die. Of course, looking at him now, that did seem like a frighteningly real possibility. She put her hand to his cheek, finding his skin cool and clammy. He had lost a lot of blood, despite her best efforts to keep pressure on his wound, and his body was going into shock.
The machinery grew louder and louder, eventually growing nearly deafening, kicking up dust and causing gravel and bits of rubble to fall around them.
"Hey!" she yelled hoarsely. "Hello?"
The metal above them began to creak in protest and threatened to buckle as the machinery moved the rubble and upset the fragile balance that had saved them in the first place.
Knowing that the strain was too much and that the rubble would collapse on them if she did not attract the attention of the rescue workers, she yelled again, but realized there was no chance of them hearing her over the mechanical din. She looked around desperately for inspiration, her heart sinking into her chest when she realized what she had to do.
"I'll be right back," she promised Becker's still form.
She picked up the small torch from where it had been lying between them and rolled over to inspect the wreckage of Becker's overturned truck. It was going to be a tight squeeze- a very tight squeeze, she corrected herself on further observation- but there was no other way. She placed the torch in between her teeth, pushed her body up as far as she could in the small space, and pulled herself under the hood of the truck. She took a moment to pray that the machinery would not cause the truck to lose its precarious balance and crush her underneath it. Not for the first time, she mentally thanked Connor for his blunder with the laundry as the thick material of her jeans helped protect her knees from the broken glass and sharp bits of metal that covered the rough ground. Unfortunately, she had nothing to protect her hands and she did not have time to stop and fashion something for them. She gritted her teeth together as the palms of her hands were sliced open by the glass, smaller pieces embedding themselves deep in her skin. Finally, she had pulled herself far enough under the truck that she could reach the steering column and wheel through the shattered windscreen. Covering one ear with her free hand, she paused to glance back at Becker.
"Sorry about this," she apologized aloud to Becker, thinking to herself that perhaps it was best he was unconscious for what she was about to do and pressed down on the center of the wheel, sounding the horn.
Matt stared down at the machinery digging in the wreckage of the building. They had been at it for hours with no breaks. They were getting close, according to Connor; the signal from the black box was getting stronger. To keep themselves busy while Matt coordinated the rescue efforts, Abby and Connor had joined some of the workers who were physically moving the smaller pieces of debris away from the wreckage of the building to make room for the larger equipment. It was hard work, but he suspected it made them feel useful and less helpless. Lester had stuck around for the first few hours before disappearing to take care of what he had described as "political idiocy" and left them to continue their work.
The machinery was loud and he was sure his ears would be ringing for days, but he did not care. He was waiting for some sign that they were getting close. Over the din of the equipment, he heard another noise, one that was completely out of place. He signaled the man operating the forklift, motioning for him to cut back the engines. The man quickly complied and the noise of the engines lessened considerably as he shifted into a lower gear.
Listening intently, Matt heard the noise again, as did many of the other workers who froze in place as they listened.
"Shut it off!" he ordered. "Shut it all off!"
She heard the machinery slack off, growing quieter and she knew they had heard her. She pressed the horn a few more times for good measure before backing out slowly to pull herself back over the broken glass and return to Becker's side. A moment later the sounds of the machines stopped completely and she sighed with relief as dust stopped falling through the cracks of the rubble.
"Hello?" she called into the silence, her voice cracking. "Hello? Can anyone hear me?"
"Jess, Becker, is that you?" she heard someone call.
"Matt!" she cried, recognizing his familiar accent. "Yes, it's me! It's Jess!"
"Is Becker with you? Are you all right?"
"I'm okay, but Becker's hurt. Please hurry- he's lost a lot of blood."
"It's okay, just stay calm. We'll have you out soon, I promise. Just hang in there."
"Don't use the heavy machines!" she called. "The space might collapse."
"Give us a few minutes, Jess, we'll get you out."
She heard him shout a series of orders, presumably to the other rescue workers, followed by the sounds of shovels scraping the wreckage above her.
"You see?" she said to Becker. "We're going to get out of here. You'll be back to chasing dinosaurs before you know it. Just hang on for a few more minutes."
It was twenty more minutes before the rescue team finally broke through, pulling back the steel beams and concrete slabs to reveal the night sky above them. Seconds after the space was cleared, someone climbed down into the space beside her, shouting for the medics to follow.
"Matt!" she shrieked, throwing her arms around him as soon as he reached her. "I am so glad to see you!"
"Careful," he cautioned her. "I've got you, Jess," he said as his strong arms lifted her from the wreckage.
"Becker's hurt; he needs help," Jess said in a panicked voice, trying to turn in Matt's arms to see him.
"Relax, Jess, the medics will get him out and to the hospital. You need to go too," he said, nodding toward her shaking hands and he quickly ascended the pile of rubble, aided by the other workers as he climbed. "What happened?"
"Oh," she said, looking down at her hands, which were shaking and oozing blood. "I cut them," she explained vaguely, "getting to the truck."
They passed a small group of EMTs climbing down into the wreckage as Matt carried her out and she tried once again to turn to watch them.
"That was brilliant," Matt said, setting her down on the back bumper of one of the ambulances waiting at the edge of the rubble, "using the car horn like that."
She shrugged her shoulders, shivering violently. "It was nothing. Becker was-" Her voice caught in her throat and she fell silent.
A medic appeared at her side a moment later, a small, no-nonsense woman, wrapping a blanket around her shoulders and shooing Matt away. Matt winked at Jess and then returned to the wreckage to supervise the medics bringing out Becker. After quickly looking Jess over for any other obvious injuries, the EMT lightly bandaged her hands, telling her that a proper bandaging would have to wait until they got to the hospital. She took her time bandaging her hands, frequently scolding Jess and telling her to remain still, but Jess could not stop herself from trying to look around the woman to see what was happening with Becker. After an eternity, the woman finished and allowed her to stand.
"Don't wander off," the woman told her sternly. "I'm going to help them bring up the other victim and then we'll be leaving for the hospital."
Jess nodded her understanding and the medic hurried away. Jess followed as far as she dared, hovering nervously and watching as the EMTs carefully strapped Becker to a stretcher and carried him out of the wreckage.
"He'll be fine," a stiff voice next to her said, making her jump.
"Lester!" she exclaimed, pulling the blanket more tightly around herself. "What are you doing here?"
"My Head of Security and Field Coordinator end up trapped underneath a collapsed building while trying to capture two man-eating dinosaurs? The Minister's office was having a field day. Someone had to come out here and calm the politicians."
She nodded absently, barely hearing or acknowledging his words as she watched the EMTs carry the stretcher out of the wreckage and carefully load him into the back of the second ambulance parked a few feet away from the one waiting for her.
"How is he?" she asked the closest EMT as he secured the doors. "Will he be okay?"
"He's lost a lot of blood," the older man explained kindly, "and he won't really know the extent of his injuries until we get him to the hospital."
She nodded her understanding, wringing her bandaged hands nervously. "Please take care of him, he's-"
"We'll do our best, miss," he interrupted her, gesturing for the medic from the other ambulance to take her. "We've got to go now."
"I'm coming with you!" Matt called, jogging over and brushing the dirt from his hands.
"You can ride up front with me. Let's go."
Matt nodded to Lester before climbing into the ambulance which immediately pulled away from the scene, slowly navigating its way over the bumps and debris of the construction site.
"Jess!" Connor and Abby exclaimed in unison, running over to her side.
"We were helping clear the rubble so the ambulances could get out of here," Connor panted,
"He'll be fine, Jess, don't worry," Abby said, putting her arm around her shoulders as they watched the red taillights of the vehicle disappear into the distance.
"If you want to talk to her, you'll have to meet us at the hospital," the female medic said firmly, returning to the ambulance and pushing Jess inside, preparing to slam the door shut. "We've got to head out."
Jess cast a frightened glance at Lester, silently begging him not to make her go alone.
"Oh, let them ride with you," he said to the medic. "They won't be any trouble."
"I can't do that, sir," she said, not bothering to look at him. "Family only."
"But-" Jess interjected, somewhat pitifully.
"They are family." Lester said firmly, stepping in front of her and raising his eyebrow, daring her to question him.
She rolled her eyes but held the door open. "Get in if you're coming," she barked to Abby and Connor who quickly scrambled into the back of the ambulance with her.
"Thank you!" Jess called over Connor's shoulder, but Lester waved her off impatiently.
"I'll see you there. I've got to call the minister and let him know what's going on." He said before disappearing off towards the car waiting for him.
Before Jess could say anything else, the medic had closed the door. A moment later the engine roared to life and the vehicle slowly pulled away, leaving the construction site behind. As she watched the rubble and remaining buildings disappear, it occurred to Jess for the first time that she had really escaped. She had survived. Abby and Connor put their arms around her shoulders as she began to cry.
A/N: I hoped you enjoyed this chapter! Please review if you have a moment. The next chapter should be up very soon- it was originally part of this chapter, but the story sort of mutated beyond my control and it turned into its very own chapter.