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Chapter 7: Sons and Fathers
YOU'RE LISTENING TO LAKEWOOD LEGENDS- THE HIP-HOP YOU LOVE FOR THE TOWN YOU LOVE TO HATE
Day wearing on, Lakewood, and I know the grind's getting to you already. Life has a way of beating you down, making you feel it's not worth it to keep going on. Maybe it isn't. But are you gonna give them the satisfaction? Fight on, Lakewood. You got no other choice.
***
"Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars?"
Phyllis perched herself on the edge of one of the common hall tables, bobbing her ankle up and down with a restlessness that, she reflected, would not have been out of place on her son.
"I could really use a wish right now/Wish right now/Wish right now..."
She looked at the scant space around her, trying not to get worried and finding the exercise thoroughly impossible.
Finally, she picked her coat up and crossed to the only confidante she had left, God help her.
"They aren't back yet," she told Nicodemus, "Not Teague, not Kellerman, not even Fitz Smith with that poem!" she shook her head, "I can't keep sitting around waiting for them to come back."
"Yeah, yeah I could use a dream, or a genie or a wish..."
***
"To go back to a place much simpler than this..."
"My heart was minted for the stage, yanno, Evans!" Fitz slurred, the nearly drained bottle of scotch hanging loosely in his hand, "Oh, yes, I might've been a star!"
"Cause after all the partying and smashing and crashing/And all the glitz and glam and the fashion..."
"But my father put a stop to all that, yes he did," he muttered bitterly, "The stage is no place for a Smith! As if we hadn't made our fortune slinging peppermints at ball games."
"And all the pandemonium and all the madness/There comes a time when you fade to the blackness..."
"Well, I showed him, didn't I?" Fitz declared, "Surely as the day is day is green and the grass is long! For, Evans, my father is dead. And I..."
"And when you're staring at the phone in your lap/And you hoping but them people never call you back..."
He added, more somberly, ""I am not."
***
"But that's just how the story unfolds."
Brooke looked across the table at the strawberry blond, "Waiting for a call?"
She looked from Tracy to Tracy's phone, "And here I was, thinking the lines were all tied."
She sank into a seat, mostly against her better judgment.
"You get another hand soon after you fold..."
"Emma's crazy, Audrey's God knows where, Stavo's a liar, Noah's a worse one, and Zach and Aleks may as well have been raptured," she forced a smile, "And so I'm stuck having to talk to you."
She leaned back, "How the mighty have fallen, am I right?"
"And when your plans unravel in the sand..."
"Yanno, Tracy, this is a momentous day," Brooke smiled, "For the first time in recorded memory, I think you can safely say that you're doing better than me."
"What would you wish for, if you had one chance?"
***
"So airplane, airplane, sorry I'm late/I'm on my way, so don't close that gate..."
"Ma."
"Pookeyface?" Tina blinked, one cigarette hanging limply from the corner of her mouth, "I was thinking about you."
"How comforting."
"You're all cleaned up?"
Eli grimaced, "I was just wondering that myself."
"If I don't make that then I'll switch my flight/and I'll be right back at it by the end of the night..."
Tina cocked her head to the side, "You sure you're okay?"
And her son sighed, "Like I said, Ma. Million-dollar question."
***
"Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars?"
Theodora didn't get up from her knees, looking down into the yawning gulf that, until a few moments ago, the bridge had spanned. The river had been swollen by the rain, harsh white rapids tossing and frothing.
"I don't understand," she said at last, "They were right..." she stammered, "Right there," she met her colleague's eyes, "I'd almost reached them!"
"I could really use a wish right now, wish right now, wish right now..."
***
"Yeah, yeah somebody take me back to the days/Before this was a job, before I got paid..."
The music blasted through the cavernous tin can that the bus had become.
"Before it ever mattered what I had in my bank..."
The phone it was coming from was lying, cracked and dinted, on the top of the bus, which had roundly become the bottom.
"Yeah, back when I was trying to get a tip at Subway/And back then I was rapping for the helluva it..."
A soft groan echoed through the bus, the sound of someone shifting against the cracked faux-leather seats.
"But nowadays we rapping to stay relevant..."
In due course, a seatbelt is undone. The slight figure of Ryan Keller dropped from the driver's seat to the 'ceiling'. He reached for his brow to feel the ruddy red spot that was forming there. Wincing, he looked around, "Zach?"
"I'm guessing if I can make some wishes out of airplanes/Then maybe oh maybe I'll go back to the days..."
More desperately, he called out, "Zach!"
"Before the politics that we call the rap game/And back when ain't nobody listened to my mixtape..."
He moved along the narrow aisle, his sneakers eddying in shallow water that had leaked in through cracked windows.
"And back before when I tried to cover up my slang/But this is for Decatur, what's up Bobby Ray/So can I get a wish to end the politics/And get back to the music that started this shit..."
Ryan picked up the phone, Zach's phone...looking around the bus as he cried, loudly enough that it hurt, "ZACH!"
"So here I stand and then again I say/I'm hoping we can make some wishes out of airplanes..."
There was one person dangling from a seat, suspended only by her seatbelt. Grimacing, Ryan approached her.
"Platinum!" he called to her.
"Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars?"
"Platinum!"
"I could really use a wish right now, wish right now, wish right now..."
He undid her seatbelt, letting her drop from the seat and into his waiting arms, "Aleks!"
"Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars?/I could really use a wish right now, wish right now, wish right now..."
You're losing your memory now
You're losing your memory now You'r
e losing your memory now
You're losing your memory, now
Tracy looked up when Brooke approached her, a tilt of her head at the comments. "Your entourage is missing and gone crazy?"
How quaint that Brooke Maddox would have to resort to talking to her.
Call all your friends
And tell them you're never coming back
Cause this is the end
Pretend that you want it
Don't react
The damage is done
The police are coming too slow now
I would have died
I would have loved you all my life
She shifted and closed her phone, setting it face down on the table.
"So tell me, what can I do for you? And yes the lines are dead...but I still check to see if they start working." Not the whole truth, but why did Maddox need to know her truth about things.
You're losing your memory now
You're losing your memory now
You're losing your memory now
You're losing your memory, now
Tracy shifted and focused her full attention on Brooke now, "I am sorry that your two friends have seemingly been raptured...that is a strange thing indeed. Have you seen Ryan around? I wanted to talk to him and yet I can't find him..."
Another thought came to mind, one that she hadn't even known she was thinking of.
"The Wilcox siblings...has anyone seen either of them?" If those two siblings were missing, well perhaps they were either safer or worse off at this point in the matter of things.
Where have you gone,
The beach is so cold in winter here
And where have I gone,
I wake in Montauk with you near
Remember the day
Cause this is what dreams should always be
I just want to stay
I just want to keep this dream in me
The last thing Aleks had remembered was clutching tightly to Zach, the way he too had held onto her and kept her close while they hurled towards what she had thought would be their doom and death.
But the slightest inkling of a voice was sounding through the bus along with music, and she felt herself being dropped like a lead weight into someone's arms.
Aleks stirred ever so slowly, groaning as she brought a hand up to her forehead. "R-Ryan? Are we...alive?" She breathed out, opening her eyes and looking up at him.
You're losing your memory now
You're losing your memory now
You're losing your memory now
You're losing your memory
It hit her, where was Zach? Were they going to get out of the bus and the water they were in?
"Oh my god...where's Zach?! Ryan are we dead?!"
A small panic attack settled as she found the gun tucked into the pocket of her jacket still, had Zach put it away for her before they fell? Perhaps...but she was more confused than ever as she tried to stand out of Ryan's arms.
Wake up, it's time, little girl, wake up
All the best of what we've done is yet to come
Wake up, it's time, little girl, wake up
Just remember who I am in the morning
"We have to find Zach...we need to get out of here..." She said in a panic, looking around a moment.
Her eyes darted all around the bus, searching until she thought she saw something. "Is that...?" She pointed towards the far end of the bus, and what she thought looked like an arm sticking out of something.
Oh god, please let him be alive...please don't let him be dead.
You're losing your memory now
You're losing your memory now
You're losing your memory now
You're losing your memory
"Zach! Zach!" Aleks found herself calling out, struggling against Ryan's grasp as she tried to make her way towards the figure on the bus.
She wanted to have Zach in her arms, to make sure he was living, breathing, that he hadn't left her.
Fear gripped her, the three of them were trapped in the river, in a big metal bus and everyone most likely thought them dead. But that meant...if the three of them were dead, perhaps there was still a chance they could escape and get help?
You're losing your memory now
-Tracy, Aleks
"Theodora, this isn't your fault," Teague said, with as steady a voice as he could manage. That was as much for him as it was her.
Teague walked to the edge, and shielding his eyes from the rain, observed which way the river water was flowing. If they could determine that, maybe…just maybe, they could follow the river and try save those kids.
"The river's moving that way," he motioned in the direction.
Getting down would be tricky. But it could be done, if he had some support.
"If we hurry, maybe we can save them."
---
As Pedro followed Emma, he shook his head.
She was bound and determined to make this killer suffer. And on some level, Pedro understood that. But she needed to understand that that line of thinking would only get them killed.
"After we capture Wilcox, have you thought of where we're going to set this trap?"
Just how much HAD she thought out? Or was she just winging this on the fly?
---
"What made you the way you are?" asked Carl, looking to Leslie.
They weren't friends, and Carl wasn't sure why he even asked her. Why the Hell should he care why his bully was the way she was?
Maybe it was just curiosity. A desire to TRY and understand just why she had become the bully he knew so well.
---
As they reached the cabin, Ted was relieved to find that it was still unlocked. Thank God. They wouldn't have to worry about having to break the door down.
"Alright, let's grab your phone, and let's get out of here," said Audrey, turning around to keep watch at the door.
"Yep."
He found his phone no problem. And a sense of dread came over him. He had known he WOULD have to explain his plan to Audrey eventually…
But that didn't mean it was going to be easy.
He pulled his duffel bag out from under the bunk, and unzipped it…revealing the well loved and well used Oak Baseball Bat. It had been his father's, from when he had played ball at school.
"Audrey…" he began, taking it out, "I have a confession to make."
"My Dad wasn't Catholic, and neither am I. Can't really help you…," she began, turning around…to have her jaw drop at the sight of the bat.
---
"Uh, Teddy Williams, I thought you were just getting your phone."
It took her every bit of self restraint not to bolt. No. Ted couldn't be the killer. Not him…
"Audrey…what I want to do…is pretty dangerous. And I can't do it alone."
She calmed down at that, and asked, "And what's that?"
The giant took a deep breath and said, "I…I can't just accept that Emma has gone off the deep end."
Realization came over Audrey. No, no, no…She couldn't let him do this.
"Ted…I know you really like her, and I get it. But right now, Emma needs some…"
"I don't just like her, Audrey."
She was silent as she processed that.
"You love her, don't you?"
Ted nodded without hesitation. Ok. She needed to handle this carefully. Maybe she could talk him out of this. This was not a good idea.
"Ted…right now, what Emma needs above all else, is some space. Probably a lot therapy too," Audrey began, taking a step closer to the baseball player, "Because she has gone off the deep end. The Emma I knew wouldn't just threaten Brooke, or Sawyer, or…"
---
"And I think there's still good in her, deep down."
He had to do this. There wasn't any other way.
"Ted…"
"Audrey, if she tries to kill this guy…what if the worst happens? She can't do it alone…"
He swallowed. Backing out wasn't an option. Every gut feeling he had told him that this was what he HAD to do. Even if Emma rejected him…he couldn't just sit back and do nothing…
"And I can't do this alone either. Please…"
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to try and steady himself.
"Please…Audrey, please help me. Help me bring her home."
Brooke blinked at Tracy, "Yeah," she said at last, "I guess it is weird, isn't it?"
She looked the girl over, "What's it to you? Don't tell me you've started climbing Ryan now. Honey, he's got at least two venereal diseases."
Then again, hadn't Tracy been engaging in some weird rehash with Terrance's random new brother?
Brooke supposed it would be hypocritical of her to judge, but that had never stopped her before.
***
Ryan heaved a monsterous sigh, "I dunno girl. Since you've got enough breath in you to waste asking, I guess we are."
He set her on the ground, slackening his grip only slightly, "Is this the part when I slap you to keep your shit together, or are we gonna behave like grown-ups? Seriously, we've got so much air as it..."
And she was off, after that weird projectile thing stoppering up one of the shattered windows. Water trickled out from it around the sides. Ryan grimaced.
"I don't think..."
But he followed her all the same.
***
"But how?" Theodora asked, "We'd need...we'd need some sort of, er, gear, won't we? A...a rope, at least, or some kind of cord? The sides are...they're sheer, Edward."
-Brooke, Ryan and Theodora
Teague started tapping his fingers against his side, considering what to do next...before he undid the two paracord bracelets on his wrists.
"How deep do you think that ravine is? 10, 15 feet?"
Tracy looked over at her, nodding her head.
"Oh please, I'm not climbing Ryan at all."
She actually found the idea quite disgusting, but at least it wasn't that bad.
"Suppose we'll get out of here anytime soon? Or are we all dying here in this hellish place?"
***
Aleks wasn't listening, she made her way to the shattered window and looked through it.
It was like she though, the arm of a person that she knew all too well.
"Zach!"
She reached out and took hold of his hand, turning to look at Ryan. "We have to get him down...and check that he's alive...than find a way out." She mumbled, gripping onto Zach's hand and squeezing it.
"Don't you dare be dead...wake up and talk to us....talk to me..."
She could only hope that he would be alert enough to hear her, that he wasn't dead. She hadn't even realized the tears were trickling down her cheeks at this point.
-Tracy, Aleks
"Patience, Phyllis," Nicodemus advised the cool chick, entering his meditation position. "For if we are to go, who will watch the chillin'? Relax. Unclog your chakras. Join me in my reflections."
***
Dave patted Fitz as the two of them approached the hall, drenched in the rain. "That's the spirit, friend! We're not dead! We're warriors, Fitz! Fighting the good fight!"
***
Leslie contorted her face into immense confusion. "What made me the way I am? I dunno. I rolled in a vat of toxic waste to get my superpowers. The hell kind of question is that?"]
***
Kieran slowly made his way to where Deanna and Smoke were. He stood over the two of them, both dead and bled out on the ground. Smoke was irrelevant, as he only gave his attention to his dead sister, her delicate body strewn out, crimson blood on pale skin.
He knelt down by her body, in anguish at what he had just done. Gently, he played with her hair, lamenting on what was and wasn't done, what could have and should have been.
Kieran had murdered his sister. Once more, he was a killer.
A rustling from the bushes broke him out of his trance. He had to get away. He had to run. Kieran got to his feet and ran, never looking back.
***
Emma rolled her eyes. "Please. The idiot's scared of me. Y'know, I bit his ear off. He'll listen." She paused. "That sounds like a paradox but trust me. I have him in the palm of my hand."
They stepped out of the bushes, only to find two dead bodies strewn on the ground. "Well, what do you know?" Emma quickened her pace to get a better look at the deceased. "Deanna and Smoke, dead. Corpses still warm. And look. Tracks going that way. Maybe we can still catch Ghostface. C'mon!" She began to pursue the tracks, running ahead of Pedro, eager to confront the bastard.
-Nicodemus, Dave, Leslie, Kieran and Emma
"Well, something gave you the beliefs you have," Carl shrugged.
"I'm just curious."
***
Pedro nocked an arrow in his Hoyt Bow and started making his way behind Emma. As he followed her, he asked, "And what if he isn't in the palm of your hand? Broadhead to the ass?"
Phyllis blinked, "You're not serious? Nicodemus, we..." she folded her arms, "Why don't you watch the 'chillin', or whichever of them haven't yet sneaked off to God knows where, and I'll see if I can find some answers?"
She cocked her head to the aside, "You're a prison therapist, surely you're familiar with the concept of cabin fever? I can't be cooped up here. Not if I can be of use elsewhere."
***
"Hello, hello, hello!" Fitz bellowed as he and Evans passed through the doors.
"Dave!" the Hendricks woman hurried over, looking from him to Fitz, "You found him!"
"And he found me!" Fitz leered, "In point of fact, dear lady, we found each other."
Phyllis blinked, "Have you been drinking?"
"We have been celebrating!"
"...celebrating what?"
"Ooh, you need to be let in on a little secret," Fitz made this little simpering face, whispering to Evans, "Should we tell her? She's got a dead one too."
***
"Closer to twenty than ten," said Theodora, "The map said the camp is built on an estuary. The ground isn't level. The river must empty into the Gulf. If they haven't been bogged down, they'll be swept out to sea."
It was Biology she had once taught, not physics, though Theodora suspected the collective weight of the bus would make the first option more likely than the second, though being stuck was by no means a charitable outcome in and of itself.
***
"Uh..." Ryan began, "Aleks, I don't..."
It was dark and murky inside the bus, almost impossible to see anything. In due course, though, it became apparent to the both of them just what it was wedged in the glass...
Not an arm. Nor a leg. A twisted tree limb, a bit of driftwood that had no doubt fallen into the river during the storm.
And the limb, once budged even slightly, gave way. The rest of the window began to crack.
"Hey," Ryan grabbed her by the shoulder, "Aleks, I don't..."
But too late. The pressure was enough. The window shattered inward, letting in a torrent of water from the river bed, enough to knock Ryan onto his back, forcing him down the aisle.
They had sunk to the bottom of the river, maybe gotten mired down in mud and muck. And now that one window had given, the others began to as well, water flooding in forceful, merciless torrents.
-Phyllis, Fitz, Theodora and Ryan
Aleks let out a shriek as she too was blown back by the force, gasping for breathe as the water came rushing in and at them.
"Ryan!" She let out, forcing her legs to pump and kick as she tried to stay afloat.
It was inevitable, they were sinking and they were most likely going to die in the bus at the bottom of the river.
Fear was biting at her chest, making it nigh impossible for her to catch her breath.
"Zach where are you..." She called out, looking towards the window and trying to see if there was a way out of the sinking and now flooding bus. She was afraid, she wasn't ready to die and she didn't want to lose the life she had.
Its only minutes now, at least you got your kiss.
Foolish girl she was, all she had wanted was freedom from all of this. Now she and the two males with her, they were doomed to die a slow and very painful death. Lest Zach was already dead, than at least she would see him soon.
Somebody save me...
-Aleks
"Is it really so hellish?" Brooke prompted, "I know I'm having a wonderful time. The shower didn't just clean out my pores. I think I have a new layer of skin!"
'Touch me when you're dancing/You know I've got the magic touch...'
Brooke eyed Tracy's phone, which had abruptly started to ring, the tone playing decidedly un-Tracyish music.
"Don't tell me someone's actually calling?" Brooke sat up with new attention, leaning over to peek the phone's display...
***
"Oh for fuck's sake!"
Having gotten that out of his system, Ryan took a deep breath and submerged himself.
The water by now had filled the bus halfway. The blocked window must've been the most destroyed one to start with...the one Jensen had died in. The bus was listing slowly rightward, which also supported that theory. The water was murky, clouded with silt, filth and Ryan didn't like to think what kind of pollutants.
Through the water, though, he could make out the barest suggestions of a shape, embedded in what had been the top of the bus.
Ah, he thought because he could not speak, shit.
He forced himself back to the surface, finding as he did that his head was brushing the floor.
"Aleks!" he called out, "Aleks!"
He bit his lip, "If you got your ass drowned and I stick around looking for you, you are dead!"
-Brooke and Ryan
Tracy looked up as her phone started to ring, and she quickly answered it and put it to her ear.
"Hello?"
She said gently into the phone, ignoring Brooke for the time being. Was this the call she was waiting for? Or were the phones really working again? Well this would be the deciding factor, if it was who she thought, she could play it off well enough with Brooke right there.
***
Aleks appeared just above the waters edge.
"Ryan!" She called out, coughing and sputtering as she swam over to him. They needed to get out of there, needed to find a way to the surface, even if they would be carried off with the current, it was better than dying by drowning.
She bobbed in the water next to him, reaching out to grab onto his shoulder as she coughed a bit more.
"Is there a way out? Did you find Zach?" She asked, frowning as she tried to keep the fear out of her voice.
-Tracy, Aleks
"Just following up," the familiar, snide voice spoke up, "Quick, come up with a sexy excuse."
Brooke cocked an eyebrow, "Tracy? Honey, it's not..." she trailed off, her implication clear.
***
"No," Ryan admitted to the first question, "Yes," to the second, "Can you swim?"
-Brooke and Ryan
"Damn phone games...I swear, if Drew messed with my phone just to piss me off..."
Tracy trailed on, looking at Brooke and rolling her eyes.
"Drew is messing with me, its an alarm on the phone to randomly call...nobody on the line. I do hope that little weasel dies soon."
Her own implication clear as she nodded towards Drew than looked at Brooke.
***
Aleks nodded, "I can swim..." but was Zach alright?
"Lead the way, I'll follow the best I can." She said gently, taking a few deep breaths.
-Tracy and Aleks
"That's beautiful. Do you want an Emmy?"
Brooke blinked, getting slowly to her feet, "Uh-huh."
"You said a name. Do you mean it?"
***
Ryan nodded, plunging below again.
The hatch was located square in the center of the ceiling. An emergency exit, probably meant to be used if the bus tipped onto its side. It should've been pressed flat against the ground, but if the bus truly had tilted when the water started filling it...
Ryan grabbed the latch, forcing it one way, fighting against the water pressure for it to open.
He turned to Aleks, the silt burning his eyes as he nodded at her to help him pry the thing loose.
-Brooke and Ryan
"I mean it, that Drew is such an ass. He needs to just go die already..."
Tracy said, rolling her eyes as she leaned against the wall a moment, keeping the phone to her ear.
***
Aleks plunged below after him, holding her breathe the best she could.
As she saw what he was doing, she nodded her head and moved to assist with the latch, prying it loose.
This would be their way out, and hopefully they could get Zach safely as well.
-Tracy and Aleks
"And here I thought you were having a grand old time with him. ...what about your other orders?"
***
The hatch swung outward, the entire chassis of the bus seeming to lift, of only slightly, from the mud. There was a gap, however narrow, through which they could make it out...
Before the bus settled again.
Ryan nodded to Aleks, gesturing for her to go first. He figured Zach wouldn't let him hear the end of it if she died because he'd made her wait on him.
"I just want to survive this...everyone else can go to hell."
Tracy replied lightly into her phone, looking around as she did so.
"I want a way out, and I want to live. Everyone else is free game."
Alright, she was callous and cold, and she rightfully didn't care if anyone else died, so long as she lived.
***
Aleks swam out of the gap, kicking her legs as hard as she could.
She turned to the side, looking for any sign of Ryan or Zach coming after her.
Please be alive you two...
- Tracy and Aleks
"Ah, discourse," the Voice sighed, "I take it that you're rescinding the other offer? Is there nobody, anywhere that you want to save?"
***
Ryan made to follow, hearing the groaning as the bus began to descend, settling back down on the riverbed.
Awfuckfuckfuck...
He moved faster, cutting his way through the water...
There was a sound like suction, a heavy roar, muffled the way sounds were underwater. He felt his leg catch beneath the edge of the bus, pinning him in place. He clawed desperately through the mud, trying to force his way free, to no avail.
Eyes wide, he disobeyed his better instincts, crying out, "Aleks!"
Tracy thought about it a moment, tilting her head. Who would she save given the choice, she didn't much care for any of them really.
"I have nobody else I care about here. So no, just myself."
***
Aleks turned at the sound, gasping as she swam back towards the noises.
She found him, pulling on his arm as hard as she could.
A few times her mouth opened and she found herself choking out, water filling her lungs slightly.
Shit, Zach...where are you...
Finally she felt a release, pulling Ryan free and pulling him towards the surface. Where was Zach, were they all okay?
"One is the loneliest number," the Voice said almost wistfully, "I'll need time."
***
Ryan was quite sure his leg would hurt from a bitch when they'd reached ordinary dry earth pressure levels, but for now he was content to very sloppily swim his way back to the surface.
"Ah!" he took in great, heaving gulps of air, his eyes squinting shut in the moderate light of the overcast day, "Fuck..." he turned to Aleks, propping himself on his side on the pebbly shore, "Fuckin' close one, huh?"
He sluiced water out of his hair, feeling the drops of rain weirdly refreshing after so much of the river water, "...thanks," he said it reluctantly, but he forced himself to meet her eyes, "Gonna be honest. If I was you, I'd have ditched my ass and called it a day."
He looked her over, "Maybe you are as nice as he thinks."
"I've got all the time in the world, I'm on your schedule."
Tracy said lightheartedly, smirking some.
***
Aleks collapsed on the shore next to him, running a hand through her hair as she coughed and sputtered.
"He didn't make it....did he?" She asked lowly, not looking up at Ryan.
She could feel her skin was clean, and her hair...well cleaned of the blood and viscera that was for certain. But she had this aching feeling that she wouldn't see Zach again, and that was starting to kill her on the inside.
Part of her wanted to dive back in and look for him, if he wasn't already swept away.
-Tracy and Aleks
"As if you had a choice."
The line went dead.
"So," Brooke chimed in, "Some game, huh?"
***
Ryan took a breath, the action jabbing his side. He looked down the length of the river, "We don't know that," he said quietly, "Wasn't in the bus. Might've got...pushed out when we went in... No bus to action movie his way out of, he's...he's probably better off than we are."
He nodded, "And he can swim. I think. I mean...he's strong enough for it, he..." he felt his throat catch, "He'll be okay." he nodded, "We'll find him."
"Alright," Teague began to undo the bracelets, and said, "We've got about 28 foot of military grade paracord here. And I snagged some more from Sanchez's hideout."
He took a deep breath and said, "We've got one of two options when we find the bus. Either one of us goes down to get them, or we can tie handholds in this rope for them to climb up."
"You've done a lot of mountain climbing in your time?" Theodora prompted, only half-joking.
It wasn't the descent in itself that had her worried, though, but the sheer matter of finding the thing in the first place.
"Edward..." she began, "If the bus sank...well, I don't need to remind you how much time we'd have. And the matter of determining where it washed up, especially if it sank, which all things considered is more likely than not."
She eyed the cord, "If we do this, we can't waste a minute."
She sighed, "But we must."
"Not since the Marines," Teague admitted, sighing.
"You're right. Let's get moving."
He started moving downriver, tying the nessacary knots as he went. He'd tie harnass when they found the bus.
"It fell down, what, not 3 minutes ago?"
"If that," muttered Theodora, thinking quickly, "The thing isn't light, which buys us time. But the river's moving fast, and the odds of the bus turning..." she trailed off, "And mind, we don't even know how many were on that bus! Just Ryan Keller at the wheel, which I suppose isn't surprising, all things considered."
"And another thing," Teague continued, "I was under the impression it was out of gas."
How could they have possibly found gas out here?
"It seems that dodges the biggest query," pointed out Theodora, "Or are we to assume the same bridge we rode over to get here suddenly can't bear a load less the weight?"
"Well, I didn't hear anything but cracking and snapping, so that rules out explosives."
Teague slung the cord over his shoulder as he started securing the two pieces together.
"If he had some proper climbing gear, and a drill, he could have done some damage underneath."