"Soul's Bonds", Chapter 9
I finally finished SB in its entirety. :) The last 4 or 5 chapters have a lot of polishing to do, but it's all written. This will top out at 26 chapters plus the epilogue, and yes, a sequel is already planned. It'll be great. >) I've already told KK some of what I plan to do... This also means new chapters will probably be posted faster.
So. Chapter 9. Enjoy. This is one of my favorites out of the whole fic.
Chapter 9 (Sky)
An hour passed, broken only by Bridge's hysterical mother arriving on the scene and being admitted to be near her son's side as he fought for his life. The Commander, Boom, and Kat finally were forced to go, needing to return to base to keep everything running smoothly. I went with them in order to change my clothes and shower (as I was still covered with blood) before coming back, joining Z, Syd, and Tessie to hold our vigil, to wait... and hope. Syd had calmed down a little since I'd left and was now sitting quietly, staring at the clock, occasionally wiping her eyes. Z was pacing, much like Commander Cruger had been. Tessie began meditating, telling us it was the only thing she could do to keep her head on right now. I sat next to Syd and prayed silently for a few minutes to calm myself and try in vain to lift my spirits before getting up, drifting aimlessly about the small waiting room, occasionally stopping and staring at the wall.
I knew that what had happened was my fault, of course. There was no getting around the fact that we wouldn't be here, would instead be back at the base celebrating, if I had reacted faster... done what I was told to do and grabbed Bridge, shielded him and let Tessie, Syd and Z do their work. Instead, like an idiot, I'd dashed ahead and handed over the disk before he was securely with us. Now he was dying, and I was to blame... But I kept those thoughts to myself, because I knew if I voiced them, it would start a blame game amongst my friends, and I didn't want to do that to them. Not right now.
"If only there were some word," Syd mumbled. "Something either way, if he's OK, or..."
"I think no news is good news," said Z, stopping in front of her. "If he'd..." She rubbed her glistening eyes. "We'd know if he were gone. Just keep telling yourself that. If we don't hear anything, it means he's still fighting." I nodded.
"She's right," I said, sitting down on the floor with my back against the wall. "Like Tessie said, all we can do right now is pray. Keep hoping that he'll pull through." Silence. More minutes slowly ticked by, turning into a half-hour, then an hour, then more than one hour. Aside from occasional small talk, we were all quiet, numb, lost in our own thoughts. I guessed that the others, like me, were feeling sick with worry, dreading what could happen, fearful of facing yet another unknown and remaining helpless to do anything about it, questioning what we could have done to prevent it. Tessie only got up to stretch and get a round of sodas for everybody, otherwise she remained in meditation. Z and Syd eventually fell asleep, leaning against each other. I got up after a while and covered the two with my jacket before walking down the hallway to call the Delta Base on my morpher, not wanting to disturb the girls. "Commander? Kat? Boom? Anybody home? It's Sky."
"I'm here," came Kat's voice. "What is it, Sky? Have you heard anything more about Bridge?"
"No," I replied. "I just wanted to give you an update... of sorts... so you knew we weren't ignoring you all. I guess we have to assume no news means nothing really bad has happened, but I'm still worried. I'm expecting them to come through those doors at any minute and tell us he's dead."
"Understandable," Kat replied. "We're all pulling for him back here. I'd put Commander Cruger on to speak with you, but thankfully the old dog's getting some rest. Isinia and I convinced him to lie down for a nap after we returned and he hasn't stirred since. How are the others holding up?"
"As well as we can be, I guess," I told her. "Z and Syd went to sleep about an hour ago, and Tessie's been meditating almost the whole time. I'm glad we're all keeping it together."
"Me, too. Thanks for the update or lack thereof, Sky. Let us know if anything changes."
"Sure." I hung up and went back over to my friends. When I sat down, a wave of exhaustion hit and I quickly began to nod off, still tired in spite of the rest I'd had the night before. However, I was afraid of falling asleep again and tried to force myself to stay awake, because I knew the nightmares would return and my mind would keep replaying the botched rescue in vivid detail, over and over. At least awake, I could consciously think of nothing.
Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.
I finally dozed, unable to stave it off any longer. Aside from the occasional person shifting around, there was stillness and silence, making it that much harder to stay alert- nothing to distract me. I wondered as I sat there, half-asleep and half-awake, if Bridge was ever going to be the same. Assuming, of course, he did survive... Would he even remember us? I knew he had been through a lot of trauma, so would he be the same funny, annoying, rambly, loveable person he was, or would his personality change drastically? Would he ever even wake up, or was he going to be a vegetable or comatose for the rest of his life...? No matter what happened, I resolved that never again would I take my friends for granted, would never again treat them unfairly... not when, in the blink of an eye, they could be dead. Please make it, Bridge, I pleaded. Please... I never wanted to lose you. I don't know what I'd do without you, buddy.
"Tess, what time is it?" I heard Z ask sleepily.
"'round 2 AM. Go back to sleep," said Tessie. "I'll wake you all if something happens."
"'kay," yawned Z, and a few minutes later she gave a little snore. Tessie soon after fell asleep in her meditation position; I could hear her saw logs on occasion. I went completely out at some point as well, because when we were all startled by Bridge's mom opening the doors, I glanced at the clock to see that it was now 5:30 AM.
"He's going to be OK," Mrs. Carson said, beaming at us. "He's resting now. There were a few tense moments, and he's still very weak, but he'll live." There was a pause as it sunk in, then all of us laughed out loud with relief. I was feeling like a great weight had been lifted from me, that my heart was full again. He's going to be OK... The girls were hugging each other, crying tears of happiness now.
"When can we see him?" I asked eagerly.
"I don't know yet," said Mrs. Carson. "I'm sure the doctors will let you know as soon as you can, but it probably won't be for a couple of hours, at least, because he's been through a lot since he was brought in. There was one point where everybody was sure he was dead. Of course, he lost a lot of blood, his heart had to be restarted once or twice... He almost didn't make it long enough for the wound on his neck to be closed up, he was very dehydrated besides, and that wound on his arm was badly infected, too. He had to be drugged to sleep when the anasthesia wore off after surgery, because he was still delirious and kept rambling- you know how he is. But with his throat injury the less he tries to talk, the better. Thank you- all of you- for staying here and waiting for him. I know he'll be happy to see you once he wakes up; while he was delirious he kept asking for all of you, especially you, Schuyler."
"That's- that's great. I can't tell you how glad I am... we are... that he's gonna live," I said, my voice quavering. "E-excuse me, Mrs. Carson, I promised Commander Cruger and Dr. Manx back at the base that I'd call them as soon as something came up." I used this reason to walk out of their sight, because I didn't want any of them to see me cry. He's going to be OK. I didn't let him die. He's not going to die because of me... I let myself go for a few minutes, then composed myself slightly and called the Delta Base. This time, Commander Cruger answered. "Commander..."
"What is it, Cadet Tate?" he asked, alarmed, probably detecting a faint hint of a sob in my voice.
"Bridge is OK," I said, sniffling a little. "He's going to be just fine."
* * *
We eventually found out that the rest of us weren't going to be allowed to see Bridge for at least a day, as he still needed peaceful rest, so my fellow Rangers and I went back to the Delta Base for some well-earned and much-needed rest of our own. I escorted the girls to their dorms first before going back to Bridge's and my room, for the first time in more than a week being comfortable in it. Not bothering to change out of my uniform, I emptied my pockets, kicked off my shoes and collapsed into bed, halfway asleep before hitting the pillow. My sleep was mercifully free of any dreams, horrible or not, and I was completely dead to the world until some hours later, when there was some light tapping on my door.
"Skyyy," I heard Syd calling in a singsong voice. "Or should I say Sleeping Beauty?"
"G'way," I moaned, pulling my pillow over my head, as my room was filled with blinding afternoon sunlight. "I'm not ready yet, come back in a couple of hours. That's an order, Sydney."
"Too bad, because Commander Cruger ordered me to get you out of bed, and he trumps you every time," she replied. "Now, come on, sunshine. Time to wake up and smell the decaf!"
"What time is it, anyway?" I yawned, finally getting up and letting her in.
"3:30 in the afternoon," she said. I was about to say it wasn't that bad when she added, "-on Wednesday." I blinked at her, confused. The botched rescue attempt had been on Monday, meaning we'd stayed awake into the early hours of Tuesday morning before returning to the base. How could it be Wednesday? "I know, you're puzzled. You've been asleep for over 24 hours," Syd explained. "That's why the Commander wanted me to come wake you up. Don't worry about it, though, 'cause you're in good company; I only woke up a few hours ago myself, Tessie's been up and about since 11 this morning, and I tried waking Z but she muttered a few things I won't repeat and threatened to give Peanuts to R.I.C. for a chew toy if I didn't leave her alone."
"Awww, man," I grumbled. "Don't EVER let me do that again. I'm surprised the Commander let us go for this long."
"Here, this is yours," she said, handing me the jacket I'd covered her and Z with the night before. "Anyway, I told him the same thing, but he said we've much more than earned a nice, long rest. And you know, we've been through hell and back this past week, so sleeping a lot should be the least of our worries."
"True," I said, yawning again. "Well, thanks for waking me up; I'll see you in the rec room for breakfast... oh, wait, it's close to dinnertime, eh?"
"Yes, lazy," Syd laughed, winking at me as she turned to go. "Clean yourself up a bit before you come, though, you look like you've been sleeping for a day and a half."
Extract from the journal of Sky Tate
It's over. I have never been more glad to put something behind me in my life as I have this past week. It was physically and mentally draining, but ultimately, it made us even closer as a team and made us all stronger people, both inside and out. We came close to losing it all- and more importantly, losing one of our teammates and friends- but came out on top. Bridge still has a ways to go before he can get out of the hospital and return to active duty... but he's alive. We all are. And I couldn't have asked for anything more.
Author's note: Come on, guys, I would've warned for character death if I was gonna kill Bridge. :) I beat him up a lot in this fic, but I could never bring myself to kill him.
So. Chapter 9. Enjoy. This is one of my favorites out of the whole fic.
Chapter 9 (Sky)
An hour passed, broken only by Bridge's hysterical mother arriving on the scene and being admitted to be near her son's side as he fought for his life. The Commander, Boom, and Kat finally were forced to go, needing to return to base to keep everything running smoothly. I went with them in order to change my clothes and shower (as I was still covered with blood) before coming back, joining Z, Syd, and Tessie to hold our vigil, to wait... and hope. Syd had calmed down a little since I'd left and was now sitting quietly, staring at the clock, occasionally wiping her eyes. Z was pacing, much like Commander Cruger had been. Tessie began meditating, telling us it was the only thing she could do to keep her head on right now. I sat next to Syd and prayed silently for a few minutes to calm myself and try in vain to lift my spirits before getting up, drifting aimlessly about the small waiting room, occasionally stopping and staring at the wall.
I knew that what had happened was my fault, of course. There was no getting around the fact that we wouldn't be here, would instead be back at the base celebrating, if I had reacted faster... done what I was told to do and grabbed Bridge, shielded him and let Tessie, Syd and Z do their work. Instead, like an idiot, I'd dashed ahead and handed over the disk before he was securely with us. Now he was dying, and I was to blame... But I kept those thoughts to myself, because I knew if I voiced them, it would start a blame game amongst my friends, and I didn't want to do that to them. Not right now.
"If only there were some word," Syd mumbled. "Something either way, if he's OK, or..."
"I think no news is good news," said Z, stopping in front of her. "If he'd..." She rubbed her glistening eyes. "We'd know if he were gone. Just keep telling yourself that. If we don't hear anything, it means he's still fighting." I nodded.
"She's right," I said, sitting down on the floor with my back against the wall. "Like Tessie said, all we can do right now is pray. Keep hoping that he'll pull through." Silence. More minutes slowly ticked by, turning into a half-hour, then an hour, then more than one hour. Aside from occasional small talk, we were all quiet, numb, lost in our own thoughts. I guessed that the others, like me, were feeling sick with worry, dreading what could happen, fearful of facing yet another unknown and remaining helpless to do anything about it, questioning what we could have done to prevent it. Tessie only got up to stretch and get a round of sodas for everybody, otherwise she remained in meditation. Z and Syd eventually fell asleep, leaning against each other. I got up after a while and covered the two with my jacket before walking down the hallway to call the Delta Base on my morpher, not wanting to disturb the girls. "Commander? Kat? Boom? Anybody home? It's Sky."
"I'm here," came Kat's voice. "What is it, Sky? Have you heard anything more about Bridge?"
"No," I replied. "I just wanted to give you an update... of sorts... so you knew we weren't ignoring you all. I guess we have to assume no news means nothing really bad has happened, but I'm still worried. I'm expecting them to come through those doors at any minute and tell us he's dead."
"Understandable," Kat replied. "We're all pulling for him back here. I'd put Commander Cruger on to speak with you, but thankfully the old dog's getting some rest. Isinia and I convinced him to lie down for a nap after we returned and he hasn't stirred since. How are the others holding up?"
"As well as we can be, I guess," I told her. "Z and Syd went to sleep about an hour ago, and Tessie's been meditating almost the whole time. I'm glad we're all keeping it together."
"Me, too. Thanks for the update or lack thereof, Sky. Let us know if anything changes."
"Sure." I hung up and went back over to my friends. When I sat down, a wave of exhaustion hit and I quickly began to nod off, still tired in spite of the rest I'd had the night before. However, I was afraid of falling asleep again and tried to force myself to stay awake, because I knew the nightmares would return and my mind would keep replaying the botched rescue in vivid detail, over and over. At least awake, I could consciously think of nothing.
Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.
I finally dozed, unable to stave it off any longer. Aside from the occasional person shifting around, there was stillness and silence, making it that much harder to stay alert- nothing to distract me. I wondered as I sat there, half-asleep and half-awake, if Bridge was ever going to be the same. Assuming, of course, he did survive... Would he even remember us? I knew he had been through a lot of trauma, so would he be the same funny, annoying, rambly, loveable person he was, or would his personality change drastically? Would he ever even wake up, or was he going to be a vegetable or comatose for the rest of his life...? No matter what happened, I resolved that never again would I take my friends for granted, would never again treat them unfairly... not when, in the blink of an eye, they could be dead. Please make it, Bridge, I pleaded. Please... I never wanted to lose you. I don't know what I'd do without you, buddy.
"Tess, what time is it?" I heard Z ask sleepily.
"'round 2 AM. Go back to sleep," said Tessie. "I'll wake you all if something happens."
"'kay," yawned Z, and a few minutes later she gave a little snore. Tessie soon after fell asleep in her meditation position; I could hear her saw logs on occasion. I went completely out at some point as well, because when we were all startled by Bridge's mom opening the doors, I glanced at the clock to see that it was now 5:30 AM.
"He's going to be OK," Mrs. Carson said, beaming at us. "He's resting now. There were a few tense moments, and he's still very weak, but he'll live." There was a pause as it sunk in, then all of us laughed out loud with relief. I was feeling like a great weight had been lifted from me, that my heart was full again. He's going to be OK... The girls were hugging each other, crying tears of happiness now.
"When can we see him?" I asked eagerly.
"I don't know yet," said Mrs. Carson. "I'm sure the doctors will let you know as soon as you can, but it probably won't be for a couple of hours, at least, because he's been through a lot since he was brought in. There was one point where everybody was sure he was dead. Of course, he lost a lot of blood, his heart had to be restarted once or twice... He almost didn't make it long enough for the wound on his neck to be closed up, he was very dehydrated besides, and that wound on his arm was badly infected, too. He had to be drugged to sleep when the anasthesia wore off after surgery, because he was still delirious and kept rambling- you know how he is. But with his throat injury the less he tries to talk, the better. Thank you- all of you- for staying here and waiting for him. I know he'll be happy to see you once he wakes up; while he was delirious he kept asking for all of you, especially you, Schuyler."
"That's- that's great. I can't tell you how glad I am... we are... that he's gonna live," I said, my voice quavering. "E-excuse me, Mrs. Carson, I promised Commander Cruger and Dr. Manx back at the base that I'd call them as soon as something came up." I used this reason to walk out of their sight, because I didn't want any of them to see me cry. He's going to be OK. I didn't let him die. He's not going to die because of me... I let myself go for a few minutes, then composed myself slightly and called the Delta Base. This time, Commander Cruger answered. "Commander..."
"What is it, Cadet Tate?" he asked, alarmed, probably detecting a faint hint of a sob in my voice.
"Bridge is OK," I said, sniffling a little. "He's going to be just fine."
* * *
We eventually found out that the rest of us weren't going to be allowed to see Bridge for at least a day, as he still needed peaceful rest, so my fellow Rangers and I went back to the Delta Base for some well-earned and much-needed rest of our own. I escorted the girls to their dorms first before going back to Bridge's and my room, for the first time in more than a week being comfortable in it. Not bothering to change out of my uniform, I emptied my pockets, kicked off my shoes and collapsed into bed, halfway asleep before hitting the pillow. My sleep was mercifully free of any dreams, horrible or not, and I was completely dead to the world until some hours later, when there was some light tapping on my door.
"Skyyy," I heard Syd calling in a singsong voice. "Or should I say Sleeping Beauty?"
"G'way," I moaned, pulling my pillow over my head, as my room was filled with blinding afternoon sunlight. "I'm not ready yet, come back in a couple of hours. That's an order, Sydney."
"Too bad, because Commander Cruger ordered me to get you out of bed, and he trumps you every time," she replied. "Now, come on, sunshine. Time to wake up and smell the decaf!"
"What time is it, anyway?" I yawned, finally getting up and letting her in.
"3:30 in the afternoon," she said. I was about to say it wasn't that bad when she added, "-on Wednesday." I blinked at her, confused. The botched rescue attempt had been on Monday, meaning we'd stayed awake into the early hours of Tuesday morning before returning to the base. How could it be Wednesday? "I know, you're puzzled. You've been asleep for over 24 hours," Syd explained. "That's why the Commander wanted me to come wake you up. Don't worry about it, though, 'cause you're in good company; I only woke up a few hours ago myself, Tessie's been up and about since 11 this morning, and I tried waking Z but she muttered a few things I won't repeat and threatened to give Peanuts to R.I.C. for a chew toy if I didn't leave her alone."
"Awww, man," I grumbled. "Don't EVER let me do that again. I'm surprised the Commander let us go for this long."
"Here, this is yours," she said, handing me the jacket I'd covered her and Z with the night before. "Anyway, I told him the same thing, but he said we've much more than earned a nice, long rest. And you know, we've been through hell and back this past week, so sleeping a lot should be the least of our worries."
"True," I said, yawning again. "Well, thanks for waking me up; I'll see you in the rec room for breakfast... oh, wait, it's close to dinnertime, eh?"
"Yes, lazy," Syd laughed, winking at me as she turned to go. "Clean yourself up a bit before you come, though, you look like you've been sleeping for a day and a half."
Extract from the journal of Sky Tate
It's over. I have never been more glad to put something behind me in my life as I have this past week. It was physically and mentally draining, but ultimately, it made us even closer as a team and made us all stronger people, both inside and out. We came close to losing it all- and more importantly, losing one of our teammates and friends- but came out on top. Bridge still has a ways to go before he can get out of the hospital and return to active duty... but he's alive. We all are. And I couldn't have asked for anything more.
Author's note: Come on, guys, I would've warned for character death if I was gonna kill Bridge. :) I beat him up a lot in this fic, but I could never bring myself to kill him.