Chapter Seven: Lost
Natalie began following the ravine. She had to traverse the difficult terrain. She reached what looked to be a waterfall. She looked down. The rock face had sharp ledges poking out of it that had been sodden by the water. Natalie sighed. She knew she had no choice but to go down. She carefully made her way down the rock face. Her fingers dug into the rocks.
She made it to the bottom. She followed the bank of the river. The river was flowing rather fast. She came to a bank that had foot prints leading away from it. They were rather fresh. She could see them thanks to the moon. She carefully examined them. They looked to be human tracks.
She decided to follow them. She hoped the find Will. She followed the footprints became drag marks. The drag marks were rather long like something was being dragged. She picked up the pace. She called his name loudly.
The drag marks stopped. A very pale figure laid in the dirt. She gasped when she realized who it was. "Will!" she dove down next to him.
Will didn't move. His clothes and hair were still soaked. Natalie touched his wrist to find a very weak pulse. His skin was cold to the touch. Natalie knew she had mere seconds to help him. She looked around for materials to make a fire. She found some sticks and quickly got them together. She then rubbed a couple together. The sticks began to smoke.
She blew on the sticks. Fire suddenly sparked. She pushed it underneath of the sticks. The sticks caught fire. She continued to blow on it until the flames grew higher. She laid Will by the fire. She stripped him of his wet clothes. She slung them over the branches of the tree they were under.
Natalie sat near him. She laid down next to him. She wrapped his cold arm around her warm body. She brought him close to her. Will didn't move. Natalie ran a hand down his cheek. She watched him for a while. Will still didn't move. His breathing was rather weak.
Natalie knew that she had to get him to Med but she had no idea where they were. She couldn't leave him to get help. All Natalie could do was pray that Will would wake up.
Three long days go by. Will was out cold for a long time. He felt something warm sitting by him. Warmth coursed through his body once more. He opened his eyes. He found himself staring at a fire. He let out a shaky sigh. The sigh was enough to make Natalie look at him. "Will?"
"N-Natalie.." rasped Will. His voice sounded like it hadn't been used in a while.
Natalie hugged him. She brought him close to her. She could feel how cold and clammy his skin was still. She knew he needed a hospital. "Will, I have to get you to the hospital."
Will shook his head. "N-no. I'm fine."
Natalie grabbed his face. "Will. Quit being stubborn. You need help now tell me how to get to Chicago so I can get help."
Will looked at her. He sighed. "Try heading North."
Natalie nodded. She put the fire out before standing up. She helped him stand up. Will weakly leaned on Natalie. He fumbled to get his clothes on. His clothes were at least dry. The both of them went venturing further into the woods.
Natalie saw smoke rising up in the distance. She picked up the pace toward it. The fire belonged to a camp. There were a couple of people idling in it. They both looked up at Natalie and Will. "Help. He needs help." begged Natalie.
The female at the site gasped. She fumbled to get her phone out of her pocket. She began calling for help. Natalie sat Will in front of the fire. Will looked at Natalie. "You really didn't need to do that."
"I had to. Your sick, Will. You will die if we don't get you help."
The female looked at Natalie. "The paramedics are on their way."
"But how will they get here?" coughed Will. "I don't think there's a city street for miles."
Natalie sat by him. "I'm sure they have their ways." She began checking him over. She noticed that the gash on his head was infected.
They heard the whir of helicopter blades after a while. Natalie stood up. She spotted a helicopter landing a few feet away from them. She helped Will to his feet. Will leaned against her. They walked toward the helicopter. The paramedics loaded Will up. They began trying to warm him up.
Natalie sat by Will. She held his hand gently. Will looked up at her. "You know..your making a huge fuss over nothing.." he rasped.
"Well someone has to fuss over you." she chuckled. "Besides, it's not nothing. Your temperature is well below where it's supposed to be. You need to be warmed up."
Will leaned his head against the gurney. He let out a cough. He did admit that he wasn't feeling well either. Natalie stroked the back of his hand with her thumb. She ran the back of her hand down his cheek. "Will, do you remember when you and I procreated in the woods?" she asked quietly.
He nodded. "Fondly."
"Well I've been sick for a couple of days. I think you got me pregnant."
A grin shown on his face. "Really?"
Natalie nodded. "However, how can we raise a child now? We've got a mad man after us."
"We'll figure it out, Nat." Will held her hand up to his lips. He kissed the back of it.
The helicopter arrived at Med. Will was quickly rushed to the emergency side of it. An older man rushed up to Natalie. "What do we got?" he asked as he was putting on a set of gloves.
"Will Halstead. He fell into a river rapid and was carried downstream. His core body temperature is low. He needs to be warmed up." replied one of the paramedics.
The man looked at Will. "Will?"
"Dr. Archer." rasped Will.
"Alright. Get him into a room and out of those wet clothing. Get him on some warm fluids and keep that room hot until he warms up." instructed Dr. Archer.
Will was loaded into a hospital bed. Natalie watched as he was cut free of his clothes. They wrapped warm blankets around him. They got him hooked up to warm fluids through an I.V. Will huddled down under the blankets. Natalie stood by him. She took his hand.
Dean watched Will and Natalie from the desks outside. He tapped Maggie on the shoulder. "Who is the chick he's with?"
Maggie dropped the device she was holding. She rushed over to them. "Natalie!" she shouted.
Natalie glanced up. She smiled as Maggie hugged her tightly. Maggie rubbed her back. "I was so worried! You and Will were both reported as missing. I can call Jay and have him call of the search now that both of you are-"
Natalie cut Maggie off. "Maggie, it's best if he didn't know. The less people that know we're here the better."
Maggie looked over her shoulder. She quickly drew the curtains and closed the door. She motioned for Natalie to continue. Natalie gulped. "Jack is after us. He sent a creature or whatever that thing was into the woods. It's like he knew where we were hiding. We can't risk anyone else getting hurt."
"Well you don't have to worry about all that as long as you are under police protection."
"Please Maggie, don't say anything. Don't even mention that we're here to Sharon. I have a feeling she's already mad at me for what happened with my mom in law."
Maggie bit her lip. She could see the pleading look on Natalie's face. "Okay. I won't let anyone know you are here." She went toward the door.
"Maggie, wait."
Maggie paused. She turned around. "Thank you." said Natalie.
Maggie nodded. She grinned. She stepped out to give them some privacy. Will coughed weakly. Natalie sat by him on the bed. "Are you feeling any warmer?"
"A bit. I feel horrible though." he rasped.
"I'll have Dr. Archer run a few tests." She touched his cheek. He felt a little bit warmer than he did before.
Will leaned into her touch. "So what now? Are we just going to hide here in Chicago?"
"I think that's the plan. Unless you've got somewhere else to be." mused Natalie.
Will shook his head. He held her hand close to him. He felt tired all of a sudden. He closed his eyes. He felt at ease knowing that she was safe.
Jack stood in his office. He felt a presence behind him. He turned to see a cloaked figure behind him. "Any luck?" asked Jack.
The figure shook their head. Jack let out a long sigh. "They must be in Chicago then. Send your men there. I want you to tear that city apart from every corner until you find them."
The figure bowed before disappearing. Jack heard the screen behind him click on. Static displayed on it. Any luck? Came a male voice.
"Not yet. They can't have gone far. I suspect that they are currently in Chicago. I'm having the Hand tear the city apart in search of them."
He heard the figure tsk in response. This is quite the mess, Jack. I'm running out of patience.
"Don't worry. Like I said. They will be found." promised Jack.
They'd better or else your head will be the one rolling next. Every one has their eye on you, Jack. The boy knows too much.
"Like I said, I will find them." Jack watched as the static disappeared from the screen. The screen went black once more.
Natalie watched Will while he slept. She saw his facial features twitch. Like he had gotten caught up in a nightmare. Natalie touched his cheek. "Will? Will? Wake up."
Will mumbled in his sleep. He whispered her name. Natalie kissed his forehead. "I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."
Will gasped at her touch. He settled back down. Natalie pulled the blankets back over him. She felt his skin. He was several degrees better than he had been. Natalie nodded in approval.
A light knock came at the door. Dean poked his head in. "Ms. Manning?"
Natalie looked to him. Dean walked into the room. "I have the results of Will's blood test. His white cell blood count is rather high which means he has an infection. Probably from the nasty head wound he had when he was out there in the woods. I'd like to start him on some antibiotics."
Natalie nodded. "Thank you, Dr. Archer. How long will he be here for?"
"About a week. His body needs time to heal."
Natalie kept the worry and fear out of her face. "Okay. Thanks."
Dr. Archer left the room. Maggie walked in after he left. "How is he?" she asked.
"His body has warmed up some. They found out he has an infection. That does explain him being delirious in his sleep." Natalie held her arms close to her chest. "Maggie, since we'll be in town, can we stay with you?"
"Sure, Nat. You know you are always welcomed at my place. How long are you going to stay in the ED?"
"Dr. Archer says about a week." replied Natalie.
Maggie nodded. "That'll give me time to get a guestroom together. Alright, I'll leave you two love birds alone." Maggie then stepped out.
Natalie sat down next to Will. She takes his hand in hers. Will's hand folded over top of hers instinctively. Natalie let out a sigh. She then leaned back letting her back rest against his side. She stared up at the ceiling. She slowly closed her eyes. She rested beside him.
Will ends up in the ED for a week. During this week, Natalie starts to feel even more terrible. Morning sickness had caught up to her. She hadn't been this sick since she had Owen. She left the bathroom and ventured into Will's room. Will had finished buttoning up his shirt.
Maggie tapped on the door. "The taxi is here. I've already given them the address." She handed Natalie a key. "Here's a spare to get in."
"Thank you so much, Maggie. I promise you we'll be out of your hair once we're safe." said Natalie.
"Oh girl. I'm not even worried. You lot take care on the way home, okay. Do be weary. We've been getting reports from patients that some weird dudes have been hanging around. PD has already been notified about it."
Will nodded. Him and Natalie left the ED. They got into the taxi that was waiting outside. Natalie tucked the spare key into her pocket. She leaned up against Will. Will wrapped an arm around her. The two only hoped that it would get better from here.
Jack paced around his office impatiently. The screen in front of him clicked on. We're running out of time, Jack.
"I know. They've been rather hard to find. I swear to you that I'll-"
You know what, Jack? You have forced my hand. I'll have to get involved in this. Send a member of the Hand to my location. I'll help you find these people.
Jack felt a hard lump form in his throat. He swallowed. "Of course."
A dark ginger haired man hung up the phone. He stared at it for a while. "Then you and I will part ways. I know how to deal with failures."