Chapter Text
“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?” Maddie’s tone was calm. There was a shaken tone on the other end of the line, a possible male in his 40s at least. His breath was heavy and short; it sounded like he was moving around with how muffled things sounded. There were sounds of distant screaming in the back, people running from something, at least. Men and women barking orders.
“Hello? Is anyone there?” Maddie spoke, tilted her com a bit to try to listen. The man scrambled for words before shouting into the phone.
“We’re at South County Hospital-...and they’ve planted bombs!”
The 118 and other firefighters arrived, along with the LAPD. Gerard hopped out, shouting orders at the firefighters. "Alright, we have a few people who couldn't make it out, so it's our job to help those people. We've got a man with a heart attack, a female who got trapped while transporting an elderly person on the third floor, and possibly more. Let's move it, people, we have to get them out before this bomb gets them out for us."
Buck was already on it, along with Eddie, grabbing their gear and running inside the building to find the unknown female lying around on the third floor. They didn't know the exact location, but could search the third floor together. Not as if they'd be talking much anyway. As the two rushed in, Athena ran out.
"We need a medic! Found the man with the heart attack, second floor. He's alive but unresponsive. Tried to grab me before he fell unconscious." Hen grabbed her kit and nodded. "I got it!" Athena spoke on her radio as she watched Hen run it, but Athena realized her radio wasn't on her. "What the." She said with an annoyed sigh before rushing back in to get it, that dying man had to grab it, didn't he? Athena had been slacking on paying attention, but who could blame her?
Everyone wasn't in a good mood, but rather a bad one, trying to make good. Bobby had died a few months ago, and only a few weeks ago, Eddie and Buck had almost left the 118 for other places. But a heart-filled, angry talk from the Chimney changed their minds, and they stayed for the respect of Bobby and the 118 he had built. Moving on from someone who felt just like true family was hard, much harder than anyone could have thought. Buck was silent, angry, and not talking to anyone. Always worried rudely about others and stayed hidden, and also made it clear he didn't want to be bothered. Eddie was trying to get things back together, but no one wanted his help, and Buck didn't at all. Hen was trying to be supportive of Chimeny, who dealt with survivor's guilt, and it was hard not to feel guilty. Everything felt like it was desperately trying to glue up together, keep the pieces from breaking, but it never felt perfect, always sliding away and slithering. It made everyone wonder if anything would fix this at all, the mess that was left and had to be cleaned. Who knew, and honestly, who cared? No one cared much about anything right now. They were doing their job, and that's all it was. At least, that's how it felt now.
***
"Buck, slow down. We could’ve missed her." Eddie spoke; he was frustrated with how childish Buck had been.
He was ignoring and pushing away from people to the point where it started to feel childish at this point, and everyone was getting a bit tired of it. Especially Eddie. He understood him at first, but this was starting to feel out of hand. Buck completely ignored Eddie's gesture, just kept walking, even speeding up a little, and that little gesture was enough to start to make Eddie's blood boil. Eddie sped up his walk to grab Buck's shoulder harshly, flipped him over, where Buck was a bit startled but didn't make a happy face at all. For a good moment, it was a glare, just a silent glare that said everything they needed to know.
"Buck. I understand you're upset, we ALL are. But this? Yeah, this has got to stop. We are doing our job, and YOU are making it complicated just to prove what? WE KNOW you're upset, but stop trying to make us upset." Buck had nothing to say; if anything, he refused to say anything and brushed off Eddie's shoulder with his hand.
What attitude. And Eddie thought Christopher was worse. Buck stomped off to look for the woman who could have been trapped, no cries for help. They had made it on the second floor and were about to get to the third, but the power shut off randomly. Silence. Eddie and Buck stood frozen, wondering what that was. Yet not a single word was uttered from either of their mouths.
***
"What was that?" Hen asked nervously.
Athena put her hand on her gun and looked around. They were only halfway up the stairs. As the two causiously looked around, they saw doors slam. Was this an automated system of some sort? Did hospitals even have this because it just trapped them in this dark open area with not much light? Athena's eyes furrowed as she looked around.
"Is this some kind of au-" Athena was interrupted by the sound of a loud bang from a gun. She instantly pushed her and Hen’s head down as they ran to a room through open doors. There was a man, too dark to make out, but he had a thick jacket on and definitely a gun in his hand as he walked out of a room from the left side of the hospital core doors.
Hen ran with Athena before they made it into the ER, hiding behind tables of supplies. The shooter was nowhere to be seen, just his glass-walking footsteps. Athena hid with Hen, and normally, she'd shoot, but this she couldn't. She just couldn't, and for now, the shooter was down there, trapped, with the two in the main area, not far and visible from the ER.
Athena was silent as she kept watching. He was out in the main lobby still. The sound of the other police officers trying to apprehend him filled the air. From much yelling, shouting, to a loud bang, and then silence. It was gruesome to listen to. This shooter never once said a word, just killed. But Athena knew he was muttering through a radio. It was a matter of who it was he was talking to? Were there others with him? Was there actually a bomb to begin with? Athena needed to know these answers; she just didn't know how to get them. And Hen, she was worried because two of her friends were upstairs, trapped with who knows who. And they might be unaware.
“Damn it, mine isn’t working eathir,” Eddie said, trying to start his radio but only the sound of statistic was heard with a annoyingly loud beep.
“Same. What happened? I think we should go down there.” Buck groaned a bit.
“What? No! Are you insane? You heard that. It could have been a gun, a bomb, anything. So no. We’re not.”
“Hen and the others could be down there! I saw Athena! We-we can’t just stand here-” Eddie grabbed Buck’s shoulder again. Instead of yelling and raising his voice like Buck was, he said this quietly.
“We can’t go down there because we’d be risking our lives.”
It was a moment of silence. Buck softens his glare as Eddie intensifies. After the power went out, they heard that bang that made them jump slightly. They had a bad feeling about it, but Eddie was right. They couldn’t go towards the sound. I mean, they would never survive any horror movie that way. Eddie sighed and let go of Buck’s shoulder, before he rubbed his face, pacing and spinning a bit, Buck watching with furrowed eyebrows, hesitating to speak. But before he could utter a word, Eddie said. His tone was rough, as if he was scolding someone, and he almost looked scared in a way.
“I know you’re afraid of losing people. But I sometimes feel like you need to start realizing who is afraid of losing you, Evan.”
Those words hit like a train, better, like a bullet. Buck was stunned in words, but he swallowed a bit angrily. And then another bang, a few this time. Along with shouting? Something was happening, and with the way Eddie and Buck almost jumped a bit, they couldn’t agree more. Eddie crouched a bit, waiting for anything, but the loud bangs weren’t too close to be targeting them. Eddie’s eyes narrow.
“Okay, I’ll sneak down there and see what’s going on. Buck, find the girl and make sure she won’t be a victim.” Eddie said, looking at Buck. But instead of a face of agreement, Eddie saw a face of confusion and disbelief.
“Weren’t you just lecturing me on being careful? H-How about you take your own advice?”
“Buck, just go. I used to be in the military, trust me when I say, I was taught to stay quiet, to hide. I have better experience, and that girl needs help. And, I’m trusting you to help her.” Buck scoffed with a grin. He was in disbelief. Was he being serious?
“You don-” Eddie cut himself off. “Evan.” Buck scowled a little but then turned around and started running up to the third floor. He was pissed, but he at least knew this WASN’T the right time to be arguing. But Buck was seriously tired of his own first name being used against him in a way. It just made him nervous, but he also saw it as a sign to probably not act like a child. Most time, he didn’t take for granted. Except right now he was, and he didn’t know why.
***
Eddie's breath was shallow and almost silent as he carefully slid down the stairs, crouched and looking for anyone, any indication he wasn’t alone in that moment. Everything was dark, with only some light peeking through windows with small openings, which had not enough space for a person to crawl through. A bit of daylight into a dark room with no light. Like an early morning room where the light is from outside, from the sun. Like a ray flashing in and giving light.
The hospital was so empty and quiet, some dimly lit, a very greyish blue. The white walls and hard tiled floor. Every step made a very, almost unnoticeable, sound. Peacefulness in a hospital? Not this. It was a silent hell awaiting its next patient to join the others who didn’t make it the first time.
Eddie made it down the stairs, where he walked over to tilt his head over a corner around four feet from the stairs. He looked around and let out a small sigh of relief. No one seemed to be there. As he went to turn his head, his heart jumped out of his chest to see a man with a gun right to his head, maybe a few feet away, standing there.
“Don’t-...” The man made an almost silent gasp. He took one good look at Eddie’s face, whispering. “Edmundo.” Eddie was a bit startled. How did he know his first name? I mean, it wasn’t hard to find his name online or something, but it was still strange. The look on the man’s face was almost like he recognized him. Eddie realized who he was. Was he out of prison already, or did he escape? He had been there when Eddie had been in Afghanistan.
He had been one of the prime enemies who someone made it to America and got caught, luckily. But Eddie didn’t forget him for the hell he caused. Soleil. Eddie remembered facing him, but for some reason, he never killed Eddie. Eddie never knew why, but he always kept it to the side. Soleil was much, much older than Eddie; he was around fifty years old, almost half his age. Eddie swallowed nervously, his eyes glaring a bit as he stood still facing Soleil.
“Soleil.” It was silent after that. And yet, the two didn’t know that Hen and Athena were watching from a faraway corner. “...Eddie,” Hen whispered. She was worried; she had already expected him to be the next target, no mercy like the bodies hidden behind light. But both were a bit surprised to see Soleil just standing there, he seemed to be holding back, struggling to just press the trigger. And Eddie didn’t dare move.
***
“Hello! Is anyone there? Look- If you need help, say something- anything!” Buck shouted, walking around and swinging his arms impatiently. Was someone here or not? Buck walked around, letting out a tuff, annoyed sigh as he went to turn around, but he heard something. A small weep. It was small, but it was there, and that’s all Buck needed.
He swung over, still, listening for that weep again. “Hello?” He shouted again.
Silence. Dead Silence.
“He-...Hello?”
That was a woman. Her voice sounded trembly. She was distant, though, not close. Buck turned his head toward the sound; he heard the woman but couldn’t see her at all.
“Hey! Where are you? I-I’m going to find you, just stay still! I’m coming okay!” Buck shouted, frantically looking around. He looked across the large, white, empty walkway that was maybe 20 feet long to see a woman trying to climb out of a room. She had blonde hair, or more of a yellowish blonde. She had straight hair that slid across the floor and dropped from over her shoulders. She was pushing the door with her weak hand and crawling through. She was bleeding, her hand was smothered in blood, her lips were dry, and her leg was limp. Was she shot? Did she get stabbed? How badly was she hurt? What had happened to her?
Buck wasn’t a paramedic, but he was an EMT and could provide the basics until they could get out of here, and that worked for him. Maybe once he found Hen, because Hen was in here. I mean, he thought she was here. Or Chimeny. He was sure to get him out of here. Or Eddie, he would work as well. He’d come back from Buck after he found out Athena and the others were okay; he had to.
“Just stay still, I’m coming!” Buck shouted. He started to run across the large empty hallway, but he stopped. A twisting gut feeling in his lower stomach made him stop. His eyes narrowed. Something wasn’t right, and he could feel it. Before he could process it, boom.
...
It was loud, and then a gust of air and fire swished from the middle of the hallway, flying and gushing up as the pressure felt like a wall throwing Buck back onto the floor. He felt his lower back fill with pain, a shudder of pressure, and sore pain shooting up his spine. His ears rang painfully as he groaned, sitting up with his leg up.
It hurt. It took him a moment to process what happened, but he saw the smoke and his eyes widened as he pushed himself back with his hands. The bomb? Wait, there had been a real bomb in here? Another or maybe one? Buck hadn’t known much about the situation before they went here. But a bomb had gone off, and it destroyed the first three layers of the hospital, right in the middle of it.
Buck panted heavily, looking at the smoke as it gushed, trying to find exits from shattered windows and open rooms.
Why didn’t the fire alarm go off? Why were there no sprinklers? Was there a fire? He only saw smoke and debris floating around in the air. Even if there wasn’t a fire, the smoke alarms should have gone off. He knew that.
Hen, Athena, Eddie. Were they okay?
Thoughts rushed through Buck’s head, making him feel a wave of dizziness take over his vision. He stood up.
Right now, the women. He had to save the women in front of him. That was his job as a firefighter. He crouched, pushing his arms in front of his face to cover the dust that was trying to invade his eyes at the moment. His eyes squinted as he saw the woman, she was bleeding in her abdomen and maybe unconscious, but the way she gripped her stomach from where the source of the bleeding was proved she wanted to live. And she seemed desperate about it. Her blue shirt was stained with blood and brown. She had already lost so much Blood, and even though Buck wasn’t a paramedic, he knew this was bad.
“H-Hey! Hold on! I’m coming to you- just hand tight!”
Buck shouted, holding his breath for a moment. The huge hole in the middle of the hallway made it more impossible to get through. He could climb the side, but falling in the middle, where a fire could have started, wouldn’t be a good idea for a starter. He saw a thick red wire that had been possibly torn from the blast hanging. It looked sturdy and was connected to the wall, which was made of hardwood and rock. He smirked with a chuckle as he leaned over to try to reach it. He reached his hand out, missing a few times as he almost leaned forward a bit too much. His heart dropped as he pushed himself back from almost falling. He let out a sigh and controlled his heart before he gave another desperate attempt to reach the wire. He grabbed it and chuckled before he swung as hard as he could. He flew right past the hole and jumped, crashing onto the other side. He was maybe 12 feet away from the girl.
“Okay- I’m coming- Ju-”
“Watch out!”
She shouted, her voice gurgling a bit. She looked terrified as she looked at the person next to Buck. Buck was confused. She was conscious, but could she also speak? But most importantly, why was she shouting Watch out? Buck’s thought went cold the second he grew a gut feeling, his head swung back to see a man. He had blonde and brown hair, thin on the head, and a nasty, shaved beard. His eyes were a piercing hazel brown that Buck would never forget. He had a long metal pole in his hand and was swinging it at Buck.
Buck hadn’t felt adrenaline like this since he got into his last fight. He barely dodged, ducking down before he grabbed hold of the man's waist, taking him down with a hard shove. The man let out a grunted yell. He wore a dark green vest with pockets and weapons of all sorts. But they were empty. He had bullets but no gun, fire powder but no lighter. He was a mess and had a thick belt that scratched at Buck’s skin.
The man grabbed Buck’s curlses, trying to bend his neck back and snap it. Buck refused it as his hair was tugged; he then dug his knuckles into his stomach, causing him to shout. Buck quickly grabbed his head and slammed it as hard as he could on the floor. His body went limp as Buck’s hair was now free. He panted, sitting up. He couldn’t help but feel impressed with himself; he already knew he’d be bragging all about it.
Buck got up again, not hearing the groan of the man as he went to rush to the women. He ran up and crouched next to her, placing pressure on her wound. She looked pale and sick, cold and tired. Buck swallowed with a worried expression, trying to smile.
“There- Y-You’re doing good! Sorry if it hurts. But I’m going to stop the bleeding. T–Then we’re going to find you a good paramedic to take care of you. Okay? I know some amazing paramedics! A—Alright. They’re going to help you so—”
It was cruel to be honest. Bombs, fate, life. Another explosion from the middle of the hospital exploded. This time, Buck had been facing away, and he felt a hot wall of fire hit his back, causing a white, stinging pain. He didn’t even know he flew almost 30 feet away from the girl, onto the right side of her, and at the corner of the whole closer to the stairs.
His ears rang heavily, his head pounding as a sharp pain lingered. Everything felt muffled, but he heard someone walk behind him. He couldn’t process, not before a very excruciating pain went through the right side of his back. It was so much pressure and pain, it was almost unbearable, but it soon went away the second he started to feel like he was drowning. He heard the sound of boots as Buck sat up on his knees, leaned forward with that horrid pain. He heard a crackle of a laugh behind him. Felt hot breath near his head. When he looked down at his chest, he saw the same metal pool the guy had tried to hit him with stabbed through his chest. He choked.
“You think I wasn’t ready for something like this to happen?”
Buck looked up to see the woman; she was dead. Her organs were splattered on the floor with a splash of blood. It was too blurry to make out details; there was just too much pain in that moment. He felt a large sense of dread make his heart drop into the deepest pit of his stomach.
She was dead.
“Oh, it killed her. Such a sad thing for more women to die every day cause they're too weak to pick themselves up. Pathetic.”
Buck’s blood boiled, but in the moment, he couldn’t move, only gasp as his lungs started to gurgle every time he took in a breath. He tasted metal in the back of his throat as his eyes halfway closed. So much pressure throbbed in his head that it made him lightheaded.
“I wonder how much it would hurt if I pulled this out?”
Buck’s eyes widened.
***
Before the first bomb went off, Eddie was face to face with Soleil. Eddie's eyes were hard and focused, his gaze tense, staring into the dark, almost black eyes. The gun was pointed at him, but it never fired a bullet; instead, it trembled with Soleil's hand as he grunted a bit, struggling to pull the trigger.
“Why won’t you shoot me? And why didn’t you before?”
Eddie had to ask, but it was the only thing he could say. He was afraid to say anything wrong; he wanted to know why he didn’t want to kill him, so maybe he could use it to his advantage. He hesitated to speak anymore. Soleil ground his teeth, almost pressing the trigger, but never did.
“My son was in the military to fight against you people. He died trying to protect what he loved.”
Eddie's eye narrowed further. He had a son? But despite that, Soleil never answered his question. Soleil seemed to be holding back tears; the way he talked proved he was trying not to break.
“I know you're fighting for what you love. And you’re just like my son, just like him. You look like him, and I saw the way you saved your people the same way he did. I couldn’t save my son, and he died. And for some reason, when I see you, I get angry. So angry but I can never pull the damn trigger on you!”
Soilie yelled like an angry father, grunting his teeth and growling. He wanted to pull the trigger so damn bad but he couldn’t. Eddie wanted to take advantage of it.
“You don’t have to kill me, you can be like your son and save people. It does-”
The first bomb went off, and they all flew back, a gush of heavy smoke and fire threw them around. A tornado of smoke blew around each corner and crevice, painting objects and walls with his black smoke. It danced before it settled, finding its rest as the dust seemed to float onto the floor. Hen and Athena had already been hovering and hiding, already against a wall, so the blast didn’t affect them as much. A white ringing played in their ears, causing slight groans and pain in their head right above their ears. Eddie had flown back and landed against the hospital doors with a harsh, unforgiving thud. The armed guy had lost his gun, it flew out of his hand and crashed onto the floor, snapping the trigger as it seemed to stop breathing and was now on the floor. He groaned, on his left side, using his arms to try to push himself up. The blast had bruised his thigh badly, and a soreness-type of pain shot up his spine and through his body. Athena saw this as a chance, grabbing her gun as she ran up to Soleil. Eddie was shocked, his mouth dropped a little as his eyes furied and widened to see her. He looked up with blurry vision, waves of blur covering his view and sight, but once his eyes awakened, he saw Athena. He coughed up our words.
“Athena?”
“Put your hands up. I’m not an officer you want to try to fight.”
Athena pointed her gun at Soleil, her eyes tense, her eyebrows furrowed and flared as she didn’t dare to blink at him. Soleil narrowed his eyes as he stood shakily, gripping his thigh until his knuckles turned a pale white. He was intimidated by the gun and knew he didn’t have his own. He glanced at the gun on the floor in the far distance, then at Athena. He knew he couldn’t make it to the gun even if he tried, so he surrendered. Athena was cautious, slowly walking up before roughly cuffing him tightly.
“Yeah, now that you don’t have a gun, you're helpless. Hen, make sure Eddie’s okay.” Athena spoke with a rather annoyed tone.
“I’m fine.” Eddie coughed as he stood up, tumbling over a bit. Hen caught him before he fell and helped him stand properly.
“Are you sure you're alright? Athena and I had some shelter from the blast, you didn’t”. Hen’s eyes were filled with concern as she leaned down to try to catch Eddie’s gaze.
“I’m fine, Hen, trust me. Just keep him detained.”
Eddie stood, his wrist to his mouth as he stared at the guy with a glare, his eyes narrowed and silent. He seemed to be in thought, and Hen saw the look of thought and anger in Eddie’s eyes, a sparkle and an expression. But he seemed also sad in a way, a solemn expression resting in his eyes. Hen sighed softly, looking at him, her hand placed on his shoulder.
“Must be hard seeing someone from the military. I’m sure you don’t like those memories.” Hen looked while Athena tied him up against the railing of the hospital stairs.
“I–It’s not that,” Eddie muttered quietly as he looked at Soile being tied while Athena barked at him to stay still. Hen raised an eyebrow, a bit concerned as she glanced at Eddie, who was intensely staring at the man.
“Then what is it?”
“He lost his son,” Eddie spoke more bluntly this time, his eyes softening. “I don’t want to know what it would be like to lose Christopher right in front of me. He lost his son Hen, that’s a feeling that changes you, and I know it is.”
Hen gave a solemn expression as she thought about it. She looked at the man while he was being tied and locked. “Yeah, but it doesn’t excuse what he did. He still killed innocent people.”
“I know that. I just understand him, I don’t forgive him.” Eddie stood straight, looking at Hen before he started to walk over to Athena. It was much darker in here, but everyone could still see. Athea turned on her flashlight so it would be much easier as she walked up to the two.
“Okay, he’s detained. I tried asking him about the bombs, but he said he wasn’t given that information.”
“You believe him?” Eddie asked with furrowed eyebrows.
“No, but he won’t talk whether he knows or not.” Athena sighed, annoyed.
Athena went to tie off the last tie, but again, the second bomb went off. It wasn’t as intense this second go around; it seemed the bomb had been directed towards the other side of the hospital, or in the middle. A gush of black smoke flew fast toward them all, which they instinctively ducked and braced for a hot impact. They were shocked to only feel a slight wall of pressure, not as loud or intense as the first. They all started to cough up the smoke that had invaded them. They all gazed up towards the center of the hospital, not that they could see it, but they tried to see something.
“Another bomb?” Athena almost shouted. She turned her head toward Soliel with furrowed eyebrows and a grit in her teeth. She was really upset now.
“Alright, you need to tell me how many bombs there are and why they are located and pointed.”
Athena gae a gare tward Soleil, who just stared up with a hard expression, his head down and eyes up.
“I told you, I don’t know!” Soleil yelled. Atena and he started to argue again while Eddie rubbed the bridge of his nose, stressed. This was giving him a headache that seemed to pulse hard through his body, every pulse point on his body shaking with each pound, each second.
“Hey, wait. Wasn't Buck with you?” Hen asked, turned toward Eddie as Athena went to focus her attention on the two, as Soleil growled and glared at them all.
Eddie’s hand went halfway down as his eyes opened more slightly. Buck. Eddie had completely forgotten he had been going to the third floor.
“Yeah, he went to find the girls while I went to find you guys since we heard the gunshots.” Eddie looked up at Hen. He was anxious now. Was Buck near the bomb? Was he okay? Hens' eyes furrowed as Athena's eyes widened a bit. She had heard Soleil talking to someone on his radio, indicating he wasn’t alone. Now he was saying he wasn’t the one in control? If the person was in control and was in here and could be with Buck alone, then that wouldn’t be good.
“Soleil, you better speak up. Who else is in this building that works with you, and where are they?”
Soleil smiled an evil grin. Now he was starting to feel proud, and everyone wasn’t liking it.
“He was on the third floor.”
Soleil knew what he was doing, and Athena could tell too. She glared and pointed a finger at him, her eyes were filled with rage, and she wasn’t having it.
Hen swallowed. “That means Buck with the other shooter.”
Eddie and Hen looked at eachother for a silent moment. Then the smell of smoke filled. They turned their direction to the further middle of the hospital. Fire, they knew that smell of gas and flames. Anxiety and adrenaline coursed heavily through their veins. It was where more bombs could be and a fire could spread.
Everything was falling apart. First, the bombs and an unknown count. Buck was missing at this point, and with a killer. And they were trapped in here with a potential spreading fire. Things weren’t looking good, and they weren’t sure how long they would last in here.
“Eddie and I will go to the third floor to find Buck! Make sure everything stays easy down here!”
Hen shouted loudly as she and Eddie ran up the stairs gripping the railing tightly. Athena had borrowed Eddie’s firefighter jacket for the heat as she’d try to contain thef rie from spreading into this area, Luckily it wasn’t bit and should be easy as long as she kept doors closed and any open airways covered. Soleil was tied to the railing just watching everything unfold into casous, what he was hoping for.
Athena put a thumbs up. Hen sighed as she continued to run up the stairs, trying to catch up to Eddie.
Eddie would have stayed down there, but Eddie had the skill of a paramedic, and if Buck as alive with that girl he was trying to save, they could both need medical attention. And if things were fine with Buck, then they’d take the girl downstairs and help contain the fire and wait for help. Eddiw swallowed nervously as he ran with Hen. He was a bit worried even after that little fight he had with Buck. Hen was, too, but she was more worried about running into the shoulder. She didn’t expect to see anything horrible.
They stopped on the second floor, looking around frantically for anything.
“You think Buck could be here?” Eddie asked with furrowed eyebrows as he turned to glance over a hospital door.
“He could be— If I kn-”
Before Hen could even finish her sentence, the two forced their head perking up at the stairs that led up to the third floor. It was Buck, his yell, his grunt of pain. They knew it all too well. They glanced at eachother, swallowing nervously, hardened eyes, an expression of a drop in their heart. They quickly ran up the stairs, as they made it over, they saw the huge open field area with the large hole pouring smoke to higher grounds, the black dusted painted walls and debris, and the girl was the first in their view. They knew she was dead as Hen gritted her teeth a little.
Eddie glanced around the field, was Buck here? His eyes widen and darkened as he saw Buck, he was alive, conscious and seemed to be on his knees gripping his chest. He shouted, running tword him as Hen followed.
“Buck!”
Hen's eyebrows furrowed.
“Buck?! What happened?”
They didn’t know the severity of his injury yet, not at least. They only saw a lot of blood under his knees and him gripping his chest; his face was too low to see. He was gasping a bit, and they heard it, but with all the noise of smoke and pressure accumulating in the building, it wasn’t exactly silent.
Eddie grabbed Buck’s chin, he was crouched in front of him as Hen had her hands on her knees, trying to get a look at him.
“Buck, look at m-...”
Eddie tilted his head. His face was so pale, he had blood pooling in his mouth, and it spilled over his lips, thick and red as it dripped onto the floor, sliding away. Hen moved in, and she had her bag, luckily.
“Lay him on his side.” Hen muttered as Eddie did so, lying down on his side as Buck coughed and choked on his own blood.
“Buck, what happened? Where are you injured?”
Hen asked, now crouched in front of him as she held Buck’s face up. He gasped a bit, his gaze focusing on Hen. He removed his hand slowly and shakily to show the hold right in his right lung; it bled again the second he let go of it, so once Hen and Eddie got a glance, he pushed on it again with a slight cry. Hen swallowed; she knew it was bad. She was already thinking of every medical term of issue that she could think of. Eddie knew it was bad as well; he knew he could die from blood loss, or hemorrhage, or stop breathing, and the damage would be too much.
Eddie hesitated in words.
“O-Okay, here, we’ll take you down to Athena and we’ll treat you. You’ll be just fine.”
Hen went to grab her paramedic bag, but the third bomb went off. There were three? This felt unfair, stupid, old. This was unfair. It was a loud bang, then they were blinded by a fast gush of black air, and the pressure seemed to feel like they were being crushed. But it all faded too quickly to comprehend. Life wasn’t fair or forgiving. Not every story has a happy ending, and not everyone lives to see tomorrow. Sometimes, death isn’t a plot twist, but a normal reality.
It rang loudly in his ears. Everywhere was just black ash. He was alive? Eddie groaned as he turned onto his back, a sharp pain sprang up in his head, which throbbed heavily, making everything muffled. Everything was apart; it was dark, very dark. Smoke very lightly flushed and fluttered around i the air, only a bit of white sun-rayed light flowing in. There were broken and painted black medical supplies everywhere. It had collapsed; the building had to be. But he knew this room. It was the emergency room. How did he get to the first floor? He had been on the third floor. He looked at the ceiling, his eyes stuck from the dust lightly teasing his eyeball. He closed his eyes and turned, picking himself up with his elbows and hands. His spine hurt; it felt like the middle of his bag had been electrified, like a surge of heat and throbbing, sharp pain throbbed in his bag heavily. Waves and surges of sharp tignling pain was apper for what seemed to be in the bones of his arms and legs. His fingertips were numb. He gasped as he looked down at his body, his expression one of someone who had just woken up. He forced himself up onto his bottom, looking at his body for blood or injuries. No, just his back hurt.
His mind was foggy, and he felt like he was in a dream; it was a strange feeling he’d probably never be able to describe. In his head, he thought. “Hen, Buck?” He swore he said it out loud. He looked up as it seemed to get more narrow, the debris piling and meeting now the collapsed ceiling with colors of black and dark blue. The white ray of light barely reached that corner, but as it shifted, he saw Buck lying on the debris. His arms were spread out as blood seemed to be splattered all over his mouth, and his chest was no exception. Eddie gasped a little as he forced himself forward; it was hard to speak. His throat was dry and painful, like the feeling you get when you suppress your cries.
“Buck-!...I’m coming your way…are you awake?”
Buck opened his eyes slightly. He felt like he couldn’t hear, like he was almost completely deaf, but he knew someone was calling his name. He could barely hear anything anymore; he could tell his ears were busted from the slight trickling feeling in his ears. His vision was blurred and unfocused. The pain was gone, the burning, sharp, almost unbearable pain was gone. Replaced by a burning pressure. He couldn’t breathe well, the feeling of wanting to yawn got in his way, but he didn’t have the urge to breathe in. It felt like his body was okay with it.
“Buck…Hold on, don’t move…I-ll…”
Eddie grabbed Buck’s arm, helping him lie back as Buck chuckled a bit. He smiled with blood on his mouth, his eyes heavy, and his tone was battered.
“I’m going to die, Eddie…give it up,” Buck smirked as he spoke like he was drunk. Eddie's eyebrows furrowed as he looked at him with concern and anger.
“What? You’re not going to die. Just save your energy.”
Eddie was confused, he was acting strange and Eddie didn’t like it. Buck chuckled again, relaxing his face.
“You think Bobby would be sad? If I died…?”
“What kind of question is that? Yeah, he'd be angry at you, devastated. Is this what this is about? Buck.”|
Buck laughed again at the scolding.
“Then maybe I’ll see him…I’m tired, Eddie. I’m done with this. You know this.”
Eddie was growing pissed.
“YOU’RE done with this? So what, you just want to leave Chris? Want to leave me, or Tommy? Hen, Chimney, Ravi? You want to leave all of us to fend for ourselves because you didn’t want to try? DO you even hear yourself right now?”
Buck smiled again, more brightly as he glared at Eddie.
“Maybe I do…Maybe I…”
Buck’s smile faded as his eyes softened, and he looked at the ceiling.
“No…I don’t want to…Not yet…”
He muttered almost silently as his eyes seemed to shut softly. He saw something, someone, and it made him tired. Eddie grew frantic as he shook Buck’s arm.
“Hey- HEY! Buck? Buck!?”
They both broke in that moment. But only one’s heart stopped beating.