A/N: Sorry y'all, been CRAZY busy this week, and I'm planning a surprise Disney trip for the kids so my usual late night writing hours have been devoted to that chaos. Here's chapter 3!
Xoxo
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Strapped up with a backpack full of tools, first aid supplies and water, Walter stood at the edge of the massive hole in the Earth. It was so dark, sans the sparks he could see from power lines flailing about deep inside.
"I'm adding a second rope… in the event of a survivor." Happy noted, fearfully, and carefully in how she worded it. Walter nodded, appreciating her effort.
"Son, in the event you find someone, we're going to need visuals to make IDs."
"Understood."
"Okay. Be smart."
Walter, as nervous, and anxious at how long this was taking, could be, nodded once more. He'd never seen a sinkhole like this up close. Usually, he didn't let fear have an effect on him, but something about the earth itself opening up to swallow its inhabitants, had him absolutely terrified. A hole easily forty feet in diameter at the surface, and what he was estimating to be one hundred to one hundred fifty feet deep, hauntingly dark, eerie, a void of the unknown. With who knows how many more fissures that could open at any moment. But what scared him most is what he would find.
In how he would find her.
The regrets of the last few months swirled heavily in his mind as he carefully climbed down over the edge. The thoughts so consuming he barely heard the command personnel yelling and Cabe fighting them off, telling them it was happening, and they'd just better be prepared to help. He didn't register Happy mumbling her dreaded not good. Didn't process Sylvester calling out odds. The one thing he did hear, that rattled around his head like a pinball, was Toby.
"Are we at all prepared for the likely scenario that Walter finds her body, and not the Paige we all love? Because we won't just be dealing with her death if that happens."
Truth was, he knew what he would likely find. He was a genius after all. She plummeted into a sinkhole, free falling with debris, automobiles, trees, parts of the building, and with absolutely nothing to protect her. Had she been in her car, she may have stood half a chance. But the odds were overwhelming, without Sylvester saying it, without Toby warning him, that he would find her dead body. If he could find her at all.
Which is why all he could think about were all the regrets he carried. The time he'd lost with her. Had he simply told her the truth about that stupid lecture and Florence, she wouldn't have even been outside this building. They'd be together. They'd have all been together. He had thrown away every good and wonderful thing, and now he was climbing down into a hole the same size as the one in his chest, praying to a God he didn't believe in, that he could make it right.
Ray hadn't been wrong in his assessment of him that morning, or every morning for that matter. He had been closed off, angry, bitter. At least on the surface. It was easier to portray those emotions than his true ones. Truth was, he was lonely, desolate, longed for his friends voices to echo in the sparse spaces of the garage again. Longed for their teasing and ridiculousness. Longed for Kovelsky's dinners with them. Longed for his once girlfriend, and the way she'd stare so deeply into his eyes it actually unsettled him. He longed to hear her sing in the shower again. To taste her home cooked meals. Longed to watch her apply her makeup once more, even though he'd berate her with comments about how inefficient it was. Longed to sit on the sofa watching her beloved horror movies with her and Ralph, as cheesey and predictable as they were.
He wanted his old life back. He'd known that for weeks, months. He'd known it since the night they all walked out. Despite his feigned anger, it was just that, a facade. For weeks he had debated on reaching out, trying to make amends, repair damage, but with most things pertaining to her, he'd talked himself out of it each time.
Getting the news that she was in the hole made him realize one major thing:
It could really be too late.
If there was even a glimmer of possibility that she were alive, he wouldn't rest until he found her, saved her, and he would spend the rest of his life trying to make things right with her.
As he descended the hole, slowly, he felt the air temperature drop, and most air around him, along with the smell of gasoline and smoke. The screams of a woman were getting louder, but with the echoing, it was hard to pinpoint from where. He knew he needed to save everyone he could, that the greater good theory said she was no more important than anyone else in that hole, but, his heart said to ignore that woman's cross for help because that voice didn't belong to his Paige.
"How you doing, pal?" Toby's voice coming from his chest broke him from his reverie, as he peered around, about three quarters of the way down.
"Yeah, um, I'm fine. It's getting smokey down here. I can see several vehicles. No signs of…" He paused, swallowing hard, as he moved his head side to side with the headlamp to look around. "...no signs of life. I can hear a woman yelling, but I don't see anyone." His voice sounded grim and hopeless, even to his own ears. The creaking sound of the rope as he was lowered down was only added to the effect.
"We hear it, son. We've got the rescue teams ready, despite their insistence it's not safe. Just say the word." Cabe, trying to be reassuring, was anything but. He knew how unsafe this was. His IQ guaranteed it. It would be extremely dangerous for anyone to come down here for a rescue until the stability could be assessed.
"Got it…. Coming up to a car, slow the line." Walter instructed, careful not to jar anything as he maneuvered around the vehicle. The sedan was upside down, and being as delicate as possible, he stood on some debris to squat down and look into the windows for survivors. His stomach dropped deeper than the hole itself. He heard a sudden intake of breath from the video call at the sight he assumed they were also seeing.
A man, possibly early 40s, a woman close in age, and a little boy, a few years younger than Ralph. All very clearly dead. Blood was everywhere. The woman, missing part of her scalp, eyes open and seemingly staring right at him. The man and the young boy's bodies impaled with what appeared to be a stop sign going through the front window, through the man, his seat, and into the boy.
"Cabe… I uh…" Walter stammered, his Voice shaky and breathing rapid.
"Walter, I need you to breathe. Deep, slow breaths buddy." Toby urged, concern emanating from his tone.
"Walter, maybe you should come up. We can re-stratigize with the search and rescue teams." Sylvester pleaded, his anxiety evident.
"I'm… okay." He lied. They all knew it. He moved to the side of the car the woman sat, reaching through the window to the glove compartment, opening it and retrieving the documents stored inside. "Cabe. Car is registered to Roy Finlay in Silverlake."
"Got it. I know this isn't Easy, Walt. But can you try and get visuals on the faces? Toby will get a photo on our end."
"Uh, yeah. I'll try." He gulped. He didn't want to do this. They saved people from death, they didn't do this. They didn't deal with the dead. He was not equipped for this. Maybe if she were with him, he'd be able to handle it, but she wasn't. She was down here somewhere. Being as gentle as one could muster, he tightened his eyes closed, and turned the woman's bloodied head toward him, then propped himself higher to ensure the camera had a good visual.
"Oh god." He heard Happy remark, giving him confirmation he was properly positioned.
"Got it Walt. You're doing great, buddy." Toby encouraged, the strain of his own emotions becoming too much.
As Walter crouched back down, he locked eyes with the woman, only, in the darkness, he could swear it was Paige. The darkness and the darkness in his soul, were playing tricks on him.
"Moving to the boy." Was all he said, as he treaded dangerously around the other side, feeling the debris beneath his feet shifting. "The window is closed, I can't get to him to turn his face. The ground is already too unsteady for me to break it. The movement will cause things to shift too much. I can't risk that without finding Paige first."
"Just do what you can." Cabes voice echoed.
"Put the phone as close to the glass as possible, something is better than nothing." Toby instructed. Walter did as he said, getting as close with the phone taped to his chest as he could. They'd be able to see the boy, and then movie to the front, the man, but not see their faces clearly.
"Alright, Walt. You did great. You're going to be able to offer some peace to their family, as twisted as that is." He knew Toby was trying to be helpful, and one some level, he could understand knowing versus not knowing. Paige had taught him the importance of closure long ago. But, right now, all he wanted was to find her.
Moving a bit away to where he thought the woman's yelling voice was coming from, carefully navigating the rope he was hanging from, he found another car, a pickup truck, on its side.
Another dead.
He did as he had with the first, getting video of the elder man's face for the team.
He was losing hope, fast. She hadn't even had a car to protect her. And these people did, and they were all dead.
Moving ahead, solemnly, he heard the voice again, as he turned and the beams of light from his headlamp rotated, he heard her again.
"Stop!" As his headlamp fell to a white SUV on its nose, the vehicle smoking, and a tree wedging it upright.
"I'm coming!" He announced, making his way to the vehicle, ignoring his nerves as he heard lots of debris shifting. It took a few minutes to get to the vehicle, but when he did, his eyes settled on a bloodied, banged up, but alive woman, next to a man who did not have the same luxury.
"Please. Help!"
"Hi, I'm Walter. I worked with Homeland Security. I'm going to try to get you out of here, okay?. Are you hurt?" He surveyed the scene. She had several cuts and bruises, but otherwise looked relatively unscathed. The man in the driver's seat however, hung loosely over the steering wheel, a large shard of glass sticking out of his skull.
"I'm Katherine." The woman cried, panic in her voice. "The road just disappeared. How does a road just disappear?! My husband… John… he didn't even see it coming."
He didn't have time for this woman's obvious state of shock. He wanted to sympathize, he did. But later. Right now, he needed to get this woman out so he could find Paige.
"I know. Look, if you want to get to the surface, I need you to focus okay?" The woman nodded through her tears. "Okay. That's it. Just breathe. I'm sorry about your husband, but unless you want to join him, we need to get you out of here now." The woman swallowed a sob, taking a deep breath. "That's it. Okay, now, are you hurt?"
"Just my head, and my shoulder. I got knocked around when we fell. My seashell is stuck. I can't get out."
"Okay. Katherine, what's your last name?" He asked, trying to distract her as he searched his backpack for a knife.
"Foster."
"Toby, you got that?" He spoke quietly to the phone, while positioning it to capture both occupants of the vehicle in case things went south.
"Got it. Rescue is ready to retrieve on your command."
"No. Keep them back. It's too unstable. I'm going to get her harnessed with the rope, and you can pull her up. But no extra weight down here. Everything will shift and any chance of finding… other survivors… will be gone."
"Understood. We're ready to lift her on your call."
"Alright Katherine, I'm going to cut you loose. I need you to hold onto the dashboard and brace yourself. I want you to do everything you can not to fall forward? Okay? Your weight and sudden momentum will cause the very poorly stacked debris field under us to move and we will both likely die, okay?"
"Okay." She said fearfully, putting her arms out to the dash, yelping in pain from her shoulder.
"I'm going to do my best to hold you up, okay? I know it hurts. There's lots of medics up top ready to take care of you. You just need to live that long." The woman nodded, tears streaming down her face. "Okay, three… two…" in one swift motion, Walter cut the belt and simultaneously, helped hold her up. "You okay?"
"I think so."
"Alright, you're going to need to slide out of the window. I'll help you. You can do it."
"But what if everything shifts, like you said?"
"I just need you to trust me, okay?" Again, she nodded, locking eyes with him. "Alright slide out, very carefully. Not too fast. I'm going to tie this rope around you, and my friends up top are going to pull you up."
Working hastily, the woman moved her upper body out of the car, and Walter tied a makeshift harness around her torso, thankful that Paige had forced him to do rope tying with Ralph.
"Toby, go!" The rope began to tighten.
"I can't leave John!" She cried out, reaching for her husband. The rope stopped moving. Walter quickly pulled her arms away from the vehicle, holding her shoulders to force her to look at him.
"You have to! It's not him. Not anymore. Once the hole is stabilized, they'll get him. But right now, you need to go. Now." He was callous. He knew that. But she was risking everything because of sentiment. She needed to go. "Toby, go! Don't stop! Bring her up!"
The rope moved again, pulling tight, and Walter helped maneuver the woman to a clear space to be able to be pulled up. The woman's wails bounced around the hole as she cried all the way to the top.
It only took a few minutes before he heard Toby's voice again.
"We've got her, Walt. We've got her. She's going to make it. You saved her life." He shook off the praise. It would mean nothing but time lost if he couldn't also save her.
"I need to find Paige. This is taking too long!!!" He called out angrily into the void.
With every passing minute, he knew the already slim odds of finding her alive were decreasing. Pretty soon they wouldn't exist at all.
