Waves Above the Horizon
A/N: Hey guys. Here's the next chapter. I might post extra this week because the first chapter was so short, so I figured I might as well post an extra chapter. So here this is, a little bit early, but it's here. Don't forget to review, I love 'em!
Chapter 2
It had been long. Too long. Steve was gone for more than an hour. He should have been back in about ten minutes, not an hour. And it worried Danny, it was dangerous out there, it was more than likely that something bad had happened. That's all that Danny would think about. Sure, he could have found the kid and brought it to some shelter. Hell, he could've found a way to get the damned child off the island somehow, because that was just the way he worked. He could manage the impossible. He could manage the impossible with both hands tied behind his back, actually. Danny would never admit it, but it was pretty much true. So, he shouldn't have been sitting in the basement worrying about Steve, but that's exactly what he was doing.
"Danno, I'm hungry." Gracie's little voice squeaked into the room.
"Okay, Monkey, let's find something to eat. Uncle Steve has everything we need down here. I think he's prepared for a zombie apocalypse, if it ever comes to that. We know where we're going when the world starts to be taken over by brain-eating monsters." Danny joked, hoping to ease the tangible tenseness that floated throughout the damp cellar. It worked in a way. Grace giggled, but it died on her lips after a few seconds. She was really terrified, it reflected on her face and in her actions.
Danny walked over to the life supply of non-perishable food that sat on shelves on the opposite wall.
"So, we've got corn, green beans, carrots, chicken noodle soup, some crackers, Chef Boyardee, and some already cooked pasta. Anything sound good to you, Grace?" Danny asked her while picking up some random cans that were neatly stacked in a pile. Leave it to Steve to be readily prepared for a zombie apocalypse and have it all nicely set up at the same time.
"I guess I'll have Chef Boyardee and some crackers." Grace replied nonchalantly.
"Okay. A dinner for champions." Danny snorted and turned on the mini gas stove that would cook the food.
"Danno?"
"Yeah, Gracie."
"When is Uncle Steve going to be back?"
"He should be back soon. Don't worry, he's Super SEAL, remember? He's fine."
"I know, but I'm still worried that something bad happened to him."
She really was her father's daughter.
"I know, Gracie, me too. But, we have to trust that he's okay. I'm sure he's fine, we're just worriers, I guess."
Grace nodded her head then plopped herself on the cold cement ground.
"Danno?"
"Hmm?"
"Why did mom leave me?"
"You know that she loves you, right?"
"I know."
"I think she just figured that you would be in better hands with a cop like me. She just forgot to inform me what she was thinking. It was a stupid move on her part, but she didn't mean to hurt you."
"Okay."
Danny returned his attention back to making their gourmet dinner. He was actually grateful that they had a dinner, even if it wasn't exactly proper. But, Danny wouldn't have been making anything better, had there been no storm and they were at his house. He probably would have ended up making something similar to Chef Boyardee, anyway. As long as he didn't burn it, which was very likely, considering his cooking skills, they would make out alright.
"Here, I don't think that I completely ruined it. Just be careful, it's hot." Danny said, handing a paper bowl with Chef Boyardee over to Grace.
"Thanks, Danno. What are you having?" She asked him as she stuffed a whole ravioli in her mouth. She started huffing and puffing, trying to let the steam out of her mouth.
"I told you that it was hot."
She only responded by fanning her mouth with her hand, trying to extinguish the fire that erupted in her mouth.
"I'm not having anything right now. I kind of lost my appetite after making that stuff." He smiled and sat beside his daughter.
"Mister? Hey, are you alright?" A small hand tapped Steve lightly on the cheek. He responded with a moan. His head was throbbing in rhythm with his leg.
"Hey, are you awake?" The voice asked again.
"Mmm. Yeah…" Steve slowly peeled his eyes open to see large blue ones staring back at him. That snapped him out of his daze. He shot upright and immediately regretted it. A groan crawled off of his lips.
"Are you okay?" A little boy with dark brown hair persisted on with his questions.
"Yeah… Yeah, I'm okay." Steve replied. "What happened?" He rubbed the back of his head absent mindedly. When he pulled his hand back, it was covered in dark crimson blood.
"The tree started to fall, and you jumped out of the way. You kind of tackled me on your way down, you saved me. The tree would've fallen on me, but I'm fine because of you." The boy explained.
The memories started rushing back. There was a huge storm, the cry, the tree, the impact of the child on his shoulder. It all flooded his mind, making him feel overwhelmed in its presence. He got a sudden nauseous feeling and emptied his stomach's contents on the flooding street. He felt bad, doing that in front of this child, but it came so suddenly that he couldn't stop it.
"Mister, are you sick?" The child took a few steps away from him and squatted down next to the downed tree.
"No, it's okay." He wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "What's your name?"
"Spencer."
"Nice to meet you, Spencer. I'm Steve."
Steve gathered up all his strength and smiled at Spencer, earning a smile back in return.
"Were you the one that was crying earlier?" Steve questioned him, hoping that at least he found the kid that was in distress.
"Umm… Yeah… That was me." He replied, somewhat embarrassed.
"No, it's okay. I was looking for you. What happened?"
"My big sister… The water came in our house and then I couldn't find her. She just disappeared." He swiped away some tears that trickled out of his eyes.
"It's okay. We can find her after the storm passes. I'm sure that she's okay." He awkwardly reached out his hand and patted the child's shoulder. He wasn't one to comfort children other than Grace. Then he remembered that Grace and Danno were still stashed away at his house. He needed to get back to them, to make sure that they were okay. "We can go to my place. There's a little girl, about eight years old, over there, too. I just want to help you." Steve started to stand, but then realized that his right leg was pinned under the tree. It was no doubt broken, snapped in half, actually. You could tell by the way it bent, mid-shin, sideways. Thankfully his leg was numb for the most part.
"Shioooot." He bit his tongue as he cursed, he didn't want to scare the kid off.
"I was trying to get the tree off, it just didn't work. It's too heavy." The little boy said matter-of-factly. It seemed as if he tried everything to move the tree while Steve was out.
"Well, Spencer, thank you for trying. I think that I might be able to get it up." Steve scooted as close to the tree as he could without jostling his leg. He pushed on the heavy trunk with no budge whatsoever. It was going to be a little harder than he anticipated. He brushed his face on his shoulder, trying to get the sweat and rain that was flowing freely from his forehead to his chin. It just came back even wetter, though. It felt as though his brain was replaced with a balloon that was slowly building up pressure, ready to explode when it became too much to bear. He just hoped that it wouldn't come to that. He would rather have his brain inside his head in one piece rather than having little chunks of brain scattered about.
"Steve, it's too heavy. You have to cut your leg off." The boy informed him with a completely serious face.
"How old are you, Spencer?" Steve asked the child.
"Almost seven, why?"
"Oh, no reason." Steve internally chuckled. "I don't need to cut my leg off. I would never cut my leg off, trust me. Once the street floods a little more, the tree will start to float. I can just push it off of me and we can get out of here after that. How does that sound?"
Steve knew that his plan would work, but he was worried about the kid. And worried about Danny and Gracie. Spencer was wearing only a tank top, shorts, and a single flip flop. The wind and rain was making the weather almost unbearable. There was no doubt that Spencer could ultimately get hypothermia. Steve, himself, was already feeling really cold. He couldn't imagine what the kid was feeling. And then there was also Danny and Grace that he had to worry about. They were sitting in his house, hopefully basement, alone. Danny was a capable man, sure, but he wasn't ever in a storm like this. And, as far as Steve was concerned, Danny couldn't swim. With the ocean right in Steve's backyard, the house was prone to flooding. Along with flooding comes swimming. And along with swimming does not come Danny, he would be drowning. So, Steve was a little worried about that, too.
"Yeah, that might work. But…" Spencer's voice trailed off and he turned his gaze away from Steve.
"What is it?" Steve asked, concern growing on his face.
"I can't walk."
"You can't walk?"
"That's right."
"Why can't you walk?"
"I've been paralyzed since birth. I just can't move my legs."
Well, that just made things a whole lot worse. Steve was thinking that all he would have to do was get out from under the tree, patch himself up, and hobble his way home with the kid following behind him. Of course not, he would have to carry Spencer. He wasn't in any state for carrying small children.
"I'm sorry, Steve. You can just leave me, I understand." He said with sadness laced in his voice.
"There is no way that I would leave you here! I came out here to get you, and that's exactly what I'm going to do." Steve told him forcefully. He wanted to make sure that Spencer knew that he would never leave him alone. "Do you have a wheel chair?"
"Not anymore. I fell out of it and it floated away."
Then, Steve's leg was no longer numb. He could feel it, and it hurt like a son of a bitch. He hissed and grasped his knee in pain. He couldn't touch his shin, it would just make it worse, but he needed to hold on to something. His vision started blurring, gray spots appearing from thin air. He collapsed back on the ground in a heap, blackness swallowing him once again.
"Danno, I think something happened to Uncle Steve." Gracie broke the silence that encased them. He knew that they were both thinking it, but Danny was too afraid to admit it.
"It's okay, Monkey. He'll be back soon." He told her without much truth in his voice. He didn't feel like Steve would be coming back. It was getting close to three hours since he left, something must have happened to him.
"Danno, you need to go out and find him. He might be lost."
Danny really wished that he could go out there and look for Steve. That's all he wanted to do, actually, but he couldn't leave Grace.
"I can't leave you alone here or bring you with me. Either way, it's dangerous. I'm sorry, Monkey, but I just can't. I wish I could. We should just trust him and hope that he'll be back soon. He promised me that he would be careful. I trust him. Do you?" Danny wrapped an arm around Grace's shoulders.
"I trust him."
A/N: So, how was it? Give me your feedback and ideas. Don't forget to criticize, it helps. Thanks for reading.