New
Arrivals
Author-Lorelie
Titles
A Sunday Drive
by Lorelie
This is my submission to the Sentinel Gen Auction.
Disclaimer: The Sentinel and all related characters are the property of PetFly Productions.
Blair Sandburg sighed as he leaned his head against the window of the truck. Watching the tall pines go by, he reflected on how content he felt.
Turning to look at his best friend and roommate, he said, "What I'd tell you? Didn't I say that The Thornberry Inn had some of the best food in the Northwest?"
Jim Ellison, police detective for the Major Crimes division of the Cascade Police Department, and Sentinel smiled back. "Yeah, that you did, Chief. I have to admit that was some of the best southern food I've had in a long time."
"I'm glad you liked it Jim. And I really appreciate you treating and everything, you didn't have to do that."
"Come on, Chief, you deserved it. And it really is a great day for a ride, even 65 miles out side of Cascade."
Blair had recently won the coveted 'Teacher of the Year Award' at Rainier University, where he was a graduate student and teaching fellow. It was the first time anyone other than a full-fledged professor had ever one the award, making it an even greater honor.
After the awards ceremony, several of the anthropologist's friends, including those he worked with at the police department had, thrown him a party at a local eatery, but Jim had wanted to do something more for the young man whom he had become to depend on so much. Blair had given up a lot when he had agreed to help Jim work with and control the enhanced senses he had been born with, and Jim felt the need to do something more personal to show his gratitude.
He had told Blair that he wanted to treat him to dinner, somewhere that Blair had always wanted to try. After thinking about it for a few days, the younger man had come up with an idea. A group of students in one of his classes had raved about a place about an hours drive or so north of Cascade that specialized in genuine southern cooking. Blair had spent several years living in Virginia with his mother, and often times missed the traditional foods from that part of the country.
Because of the drive, Blair had originally been reluctant to suggest it to Jim, but when he finally broached the idea him, the older man had been quick to agree. Especially since the weather report for the following Sunday had promised to be sunny and unusually warm for late fall.
The pair had left relatively early, taking their time as they made their way to the small town of Waterville. While it was a quiet, unassuming place during most of year, the town sat just west of the North Cascade National Park, and would come alive during the coming months, as winter weather enthusiasts invaded the area.
After eating, the pair had taken a leisurely stroll through the town, and then headed back toward Cascade. Both men were quiet contemplating the scenery before them and the contentment of spending a day with a good friend.
As Jim maneuvered the access ramp onto the interstate, Blair spoke up again. "Hey, I knew I shouldn't have had that third beer. You think we could stop at the next rest area, man?"
Jim glanced at the clock on the dashboard. Trying to look exasperated, he said, "I don't know Sandburg, it's getting kind of late, we're only about 35 mile outside of Cascade. Can't you hold it?"
Thinking the older man was serious, Blair whined. "Come on Jim."
Well, I really wanted to get back before sunset. You know how hard it is for me to drive at night."
Now Blair knew the older man was kidding. Slapping his forehead he said, "Oh yeah, right, I forgot. Old 'blind as a bat' Ellison."
Jim smiled, "Don't worry about it, I'll manage. That sign we passed says there's a rest stop coming up in two miles, we'll stop there."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Reaching down and turning off the truck's radio, Jim impatiently glanced at his watch again. He had complied with Blair's request and stopped at the next rest area and the younger man had jumped out of the truck to answer nature's call. That had been close to fifteen minutes ago. Jim had passed the time listening to the radio, but after hearing the latest weather report, he was anxious to get back to Cascade. The warm, sunny weather they had enjoyed had come to an end. As night fell, dark, ugly clouds began to roll in, and with it the sure promise of rain. Rain that was sure to turn to snow in the northern areas of the state. Already, rain had begun to fall, and Jim could sense the temperature was also falling.
Getting out of the truck, Jim called, "Hey come on Chief, the weather's starting to turn nasty here. I'd like to get back to Cascade as soon as possible."
Moving closer toward the building, Jim began to sense his guide, alerted by a faster than normal heart rate.
"Yo Sandburg, everything okay in there?"
As the door of the building swung open, Jim suddenly caught the sound of two heartbeats. Blair stepped out, followed closely by another man.
Jim's vision caught the look of terror on his partner's face at the same time it caught sight of the sharp knife the stranger held to his throat.
"What the hell? You okay Blair?"
"Yeah, so far, Jim," the younger man answered in a shaky voice.
Turning his attention to the stranger, Jim surveyed the man. Dressed in a blue jumpsuit, he looked to be about Jim's age maybe a few years younger. Tall and muscular, he stood maybe an inch shorter than the Sentinel. "Who the hell are you and what do you want?"
"Name's Wilcox, and let's just say neither one of you is going to be getting back to Cascade any time soon."
"What's that suppose to mean?" Jim asked, raising both hands in front of him in a sign of surrender.
"As I was explaining to your friend in there," the man said, motioning toward the bathroom with his head, "I'm heading to Canada, and you two are gonna give me a ride."
"Look, why don't you just take the truck and go by yourself?"
"I thought about doing just that, but see, there are a lot of people looking for me, and I don't want any problem crossing the border. I figure, if I take you along, I'll have a couple if insurance policies if I need them." Shoving Blair, he said, "Now move, both of you."
As Jim slowly made his way back to the truck, he said. "So how long ago did you break of prison?" Noting the convict's surprise, he continued. "Well, let's face it, no one would voluntarily wear that outfit."
Wilcox gave a short laugh. "You got that right. To answer your question, I broke out earlier today, figured I'd try to stay as much in the back country as I could and head toward the border. Actually this whole thing was a lucky little accident for me. I only stopped here to take a whiz, but in walks pretty boy here and suddenly this new plan pops into my head."
As Jim opened the truck door to get in, he motioned for him to stop, then had Blair open the passenger side door. Sliding into the middle, he dragged Blair in after him. He then nodded for Jim to get in the driver's side.
Jim started up the truck and moved out onto the highway, heading north. "Yep, lucky little accident for me, not so lucky for you two."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Blair sat hunched against the passenger door of the truck, trying to keep as much distance as possible between the Wilcox and himself. 'I can't believe this is happening,' he thought. "All Jim and I wanted to do was enjoy a quiet Sunday getting away from Cascade and the loonies there and what happens, the loonies find us.' He was still shaken from his first encounter with Wilcox. He had just come out of the bathroom when the man had approached him, asking for the time. Thinking the man a fellow traveler, Blair had fished his watch out of his pocket. Before he knew it, the man was behind him, holding a knife to is throat. He'd tried his best to talk the man out of his plan, trying to stall him and in the process alert Jim that something was wrong because of length time Blair had been gone. Wilcox had not fell for the plan for long however, and now here he and Jim were, driving their captor to Canada. Stealing a look over to his partner, he could see the look of concentration on the man's face. He knew Jim well enough to know the man was trying to formulate a plan while they drove. Just giving up was not an option to Jim Ellison. Years of training in the Army and police department had seen to that.
Jim felt rather than saw Blair's gaze on him. Turning his head slightly, gave him a small nod, trying to calm him. He could hear the younger man's heart beating and knew that he was scared. Jim really couldn't blame him. They really were in quite a predicament. While the escaped convict no longer had the knife to Blair's throat, he did sit holding it at his side. The Sentinel did not doubt for one moment that if either he or Blair tried to overpower Wilcox, he would do something drastic.
To make matters worse, the further north they drove, the worse the weather got. The rain had turned to a heavy snow, which had begun stick to the roads.
'God, how did this day go so wrong so fast?' Jim knew that they had to do something. 'Come on Ellison, think. There has to be something.'
A movement in his rearview mirror caught his eye. For the last ten miles or so, they had been the only ones on the road. Now, Jim realized that another car was behind them, several hundred yards back. Focusing his sight, he recognized a bank of lights on the top of the car. Easing up on the accelerator slightly, he furtively kept an eye on the car as it came closer.
'Hang in there, Chief,' he thought. 'If this is what I think it is, we might actually have a chance.'
As the car closed the distance, Jim smiled to himself. Yes! It was a Washington State Trooper's car. On it's normal patrol of the road. Now all Jim had to do was to get the cop's attention.
Suddenly, he slammed on the brakes and swerved to the left, moving into the other lane. Just quickly, he swerved back to his lane and began driving at a slow crawl.
Blair let out a startled yelp as he was thrown about because of the movement, and Wilcox grabbed the dash to get his balance.
"What the hell was that about?" the convict yelled.
"Sorry about that." Jim responded, "Blair, you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine Jim. What's going on?"
Jim gave them both a surprised look. "Didn't either of you see that deer standing there?"
"No, but with the way it's snowing out there, I'd probably miss a Mack truck."
Looking in the rearview mirror, Jim watched the patrol car move closer. He hoped that his little maneuver had caught their attention. 'Come on, just a little closer.' he pleaded.
"Yeah, well I didn't see anything either, and I've got pretty good eyesight." Wilcox said, turning around to look out the back window of the truck. The police cruiser was within view of normal sight now, and he immediately spotted it. "Son of a... that's a cop." Looking at Jim he said. "What the hell you trying to pull?" Holding the knife to Blair's throat, he growled, "Turn off here, or I kill him right now."
Jim complied, turning off the interstate to a narrow, windy, two lane road. After he had negotiated the first sharp turn, Wilcox said. "Okay, stop the truck."
Bringing the Ford to a halt he looked at Wilcox. "Look, I swear, I didn't know there was a cop back there." He lied. "I only saw him the same time you did. Now what the hell are we doing on this road?"
"Come on, I was not born yesterday. I don't know how you did it, but you knew damn well that there was a cop behind us." A sinister smile played on his lips. "I warned you about trying any little tricks. But maybe I didn't get my message across to well." Moving the knife away from Blair's throat, he plunged it into the young man's shoulder.
Blair let our a cry of pain, and Jim moved toward the convict. "You son of a bitch!" He yelled. "You didn't have to do that."
Wilcox held the knife toward Jim, and Jim could see the dark red of his Guide's blood drip off it. "Yeah, I did have to do it, after that stunt you pulled. Look, I am not opposed to killing you both and just taking this vehicle. But I'd really rather take you with me, just in case the border patrol guard decides to be a prick and give me a hard time. This way, all the paper work will be in order, and the registration will match your driver's license. If either of you turn out to be too much trouble however, be assured that I will kill you and take my chances."
He continued. "Just in case we did get that cop's attention, we're going to continue this little road trip on a more scenic route. I had plenty of time to memorize the local geography while I was in prison. This road will take us to the border too, only take a little longer that's all." Holding the knife to Blair's throat again, he said, "So what's say we get going, huh?"
"Before I do, I want to check on him," Jim said, nodding to Blair.
"Oh, he's just fine, for now, aren't you, kid?" Wilcox sneered.
Blair sat with his head leaning back on the seat, trying to get as far away from the knife as possible. Swallowing, he met Jim's gaze, "Yeah, I'm fine Jim, let's just get going, okay?"
Jim grimly threw the truck in gear and began making his way down the two-lane road.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
'Thank God we took the truck today instead of Blair's car.' Jim thought, as he plowed the Ford through another drift of snow. It had been two hours since they had turned off the interstate and they hadn't made much headway. The narrow road they were on would be fine during pleasant weather. But now, with the heavy snow and strong winds, it was close to impassable. There were many times when he wondered if he were indeed still on the road and had not actually driven off it altogether.
A soft, whining noise caught his attention. Listening intently, he realized what it was. 'Chief, maybe we'll get one more chance here.' he thought. He was going to have to pull over, a move necessitated by the fact that the snow had built up so thickly on the windshield that the wiper blades could no longer do their job. Maybe he'd get an opportunity to get the jump on Wilcox.
When Jim told both his passengers what was going on, the criminal originally thought it was only another trick and had immediately protested, threatening Blair's life if Jim got out of the truck.
Glaring at the man, Jim said, "Look, it's not going to do us any good if the motor burns out and we have no windshield wipers at all, now is it?"
Wilcox consented, reaching past Blair to open the passenger door. Pushing Blair out, he got out behind him and stood, knife in hand. "Just don't try anything funny. That's all."
Jim saw Blair grimaced in pain at the movement and put his hands up. "I promise, no tricks, just take it easy on him, okay?"
Jim cleaned off his side first, then moved to work on the passenger side, keeping an eye open for something, anything that would give him a chance to get the knife away from Wilcox.
Unfortunately, the chance never came. Wilcox, tired of standing in the freezing cold climbed back into the truck cab, dragging Blair with him. Reaching over to close the door, he called to Jim, "Okay, that's good enough, let's get going."
Once on the road again, Jim noticed a sign up ahead announcing that the next town was ten miles away. He knew from previous trips to the northwoods that the town was the last one before the Canadian border. A sinking feeling hit him. Both he and Blair were running out of time. He had no doubt that once they made it across the border what Wilcox was planning. It certainly would do the convict no good if they were alive to alert the authorities as soon as they had the chance. No it was definitely in the man's best interest if they were dead. 'At least he only has a knife, not a gun.' Jim thought. 'He'll have hard time getting both of us with a knife.'
The problem was, Jim was caught in a catch 22. As long as Wilcox had the knife on Blair, Jim could not try anything, for fear he would make good on his threat to kill the younger man. And if the man did come after Jim , there was no way that Blair, with his injured shoulder, could defend himself. No, the only way that Jim could see either one of them getting out of this alive was if Wilcox killed Blair. Then the convict would have no shield to hide behind and Jim would have a chance to take him out. That particular option left an empty pit the Sentinel's stomach.
He was brought out of his reverie by Blair's panicked voice, and . "Jim! Hey Jim, watch out, man!"
Up ahead was an extremely sharp turn, one that would be hard to negotiate during good weather. At the end of the turn, the road narrowed even more to cross a small creek. Jim felt the rear end of the truck start to slide as he tried to slow down to make the curve.
"Hang on!" Jim yelled.
The momentum of the slide caused all three to be thrown toward the passenger side, and to Jim's horror the door on that side of the truck swung open. Blair, who because of the third passenger in the front seat has been unable to buckle his seat belt, went flying out of the cab.
"Sandburg!" Jim screamed as he tried to grab the young man.
His hand captured nothing but air, and the Ford continued it's slide. Jim fought against it, trying to regain control of the vehicle, but the snow covered roads were too slick and he was unable to do so. Coming to the end of the curve, the truck slide off the road and into a deep ditch.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Ford came to an abrupt halt and Jim sat there for a minute, trying to catch his breath. Looking over at Wilcox, his senses told him that the man was alive, but out cold. His head having made a solid impact with the windshield. Jim's seat belt had saved him from the same fate.
'Sandburg!' Jim suddenly thought.
Jumping out of the truck, he clambered back up to the road, the vision of his guide as he flew out of the cab of the truck replaying over and over in his mind.
Once on the road surface he ran back toward the place where the truck has started it's vicious slide. Several times, he lost his footing in the ice and snow and fell, but each time regained his footing and continued, the need to find his friend outweighing the strengths of the elements.
"Sandburg!" he yelled as he slid to a stop near where Blair had originally fallen. 'Come on kid, answer me!' he silently prayed.
"Blair, can your hear me?" he called again.
Focusing, he extended his hearing, hoping to pick up any sign of the younger man. At first he heard nothing above the wailing of the strong wind. Concentrating harder, he listened again, this time picking up a faint heart beat, and what he thought was a moan. Moving in the direction of the sound, it became increasingly louder.
As he reached the shoulder of the road near a small creek, he peered into the darkness and made out the figure of Blair, lying partially in the water.
"Oh, God, hang on, I'm coming."
Jim made his way down to Blair, and knelt next to him.
Placing a hand on the younger man's shoulder, he said, "Sandburg? Can you hear me?"
Blair groaned and attempted to sit up, favoring his injured arm..."Yeah, I'm okay, I think."
"Easy, Chief, easy. Let me take a look at your arm." Jim helped his friend to move out of the water. Satisfied that the bleeding had stopped he said, "Doesn't look too bad. How are you feeling?"
Blair flexed his arm. "Not too bad, considering. No broken bones or anything. Wow, that was some wild ride."
"You can say that again. I put the truck in a ditch a few feet up the road."
"You okay?"
"Fine, just a little shaken up."
Glancing around nervously, Blair asked, "What about Wilcox?"
"He was out cold when I left him to come back to find you."
"Well, if it's all the same to you, I'd like to leave him like that."
"Sounds like a plan to me." Now that his fears regarding the safety of his guide had been allayed, Jim began to take notice of their situation. They may no longer have the threat of an escaped convict to worry about, but they were still several miles from civilization, in the middle of a raging blizzard.
Standing, he reached down to help Blair up. "If you think you're up to it, we'd better get going. This storm's not going to be letting up anytime soon. I think we'd best try to make it to the next town."
Making his way to his feet, Blair agreed. "I guess you're right." Peering into the wind whipped snow, he continued. "Boy, it's a good thing you got this Sentinel sight thing happening here, big guy, cause I can't see a thing.
Jim gave him a smile, "Well that's why I'm gonna lead this little hike then."
Together, they made their way up to the road. As they neared the truck, Jim listened carefully, picking up Wilcox's heartbeat, still coming from the cab of the truck. Satisfied that the man was still unconscious, they continued past it and toward help.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The pair trudged through the blizzard for what seemed like an eternity, making very little headway. True to his word, Jim had taken the lead, slogging his way through the snow that was still falling fast. The snowfall, accompanied by the high winds had begun leaving drifts there were above his knees in some spots.
"Probably just as well we left the truck back there." He yelled back to Blair, hoping to be heard above the wind. "Wouldn't be able to get through some of these drifts even if we wanted to."
"Tell me about it!" Blair responded, breathing heavily, "Hell, there are some I'm not sure I can make it through.
Jim stopped and turned to look at his partner. "You doing okay?" he asked. As the younger man caught up to him, he realized just how bad the young man looked. Blair was pale and shivering, struggling to catch his breath.
Blair stopped next to Jim, and rested his hands on his knees. Panting, he said, "Well, I'd be lying if I said I was fine. I sure could use a breather."
Peering in to the storm, Jim sighed. The tempest still showed no signs of letting up. Even with the Sentinel's enhanced sight, the visibility was almost nothing. He truly wasn't even sure if they were still on the road or heading in the right direction any longer. But looking at Blair, it was obvious that the events of the day were beginning to get to him.
Spying an area that was relatively sheltered by pine trees a few feet away, he said, "Sure Chief, not a problem, why don't we rest over there for a few minutes."
As Blair slowly lowered himself under the trees, he gave Jim a grateful smile. "Thanks, man, I appreciate it. Give me a few, and I'll be back with you."
Jim gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder. Blair's condition was not lost on the Sentinel. The fact that the younger man was having trouble keeping up with him had nothing to do with the fact that Jim was probably in better condition that Blair. His labored breathing, shivering, as well as the slower than normal heat rate were signs of hypothermia setting in. That, accompanied by blood loss, no matter how slight, from the wound inflicted by Wilcox, made getting him to a hospital a top priority.
He also knew that that was not going to be an easy feat. Jim raised his forefingers to his forehead, trying to massage away the tension that had built there. He knew Blair was counting on him, but the truth was, he was as lost as the kid was. 'Fat lot of good these senses are.' he thought with disgust.
"Hey, Jim, you with me here? Blair's voice penetrated his thoughts.
"Sorry Chief, what did you say?"
"Well, I first I asked you if you were okay. You seemed to be zoned or something."
Sighing, Jim responded, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just trying to figure out our next move here." Squatting down next to Blair he said, "I'm not going to lie to you. We're in a pretty big jam."
Blair gave him a confused look. "But I thought things were looking up, since we don't have to worry about Wilcox any more."
"Truth is, Wilcox was the least of our worries. This storm is the worst thing I've seen in years. It's gotta be close to zero out, and to be honest with you, I have absolutely no idea where we are."
"What about your senses, haven't you been using them?" Blair asked.
Giving him a wry smile, Jim responded, "I've tried, but these whiteout conditions make my vision almost useless, and when I try to use my hearing, the only thing that comes back to me is the howl of the winds."
Blair reached over to place his hand on Jim's arm, "Okay, the sight thing is probably a no go, but we might be able to work with your hearing. You need to try to filter out the wind. It' probably won't do any good unless we're near the town, but it's worth a shot."
"Okay, I'll give it a try."
"Good, now remember what I've told you before, try to filter out the noise from the wind. Try to separate the sounds..."
Jim extended his hearing, at first hearing nothing but the wail of the wind and the soothing sound of his guide's voice. Following Blair's advice, he tried to hear beyond the wind.
Holding his hand up, he motioned for Blair to stop talking. "I think I hear something."
"Great, can you tell what it is?"
"No, it might be an animal, it sounds like footsteps. Wait, it's too heavy to be walking on all fours. It's got to be a human being. It's coming from behind us."
"You think someone's found the truck and looking for us.?" Blair asked hopefully.
Jim gave him a grim look. "More likely, it's Wilcox. He's probably trying to follow the same road to town."
"Oh, great, just when I thought things couldn't get any worse." Blair moaned.
Jim stood up. "Look, you stay here, you're pretty well hidden. I don't think that Wilcox will see you. I'm going to double back and try to catch up to him."
Blair grabbed Jim's arm. "Come on Jim, why bother? Didn't you say before that we had bigger worries than catching him?"
"Chief, he's moving a lot quicker than we are. If I don't do something, he's going to catch up to us. And that is the last thing we need right now."
"Okay, but be careful, please."
Giving Blair a reassuring pat on the arm, Jim said, "Always kid, always. You stay here, out of sight."
Watching the older man head off, Blair shivered and tried to burrow further into the grove of trees. He knew Jim was right. The last thing they needed right now was for Wilcox to catch up to them and try something. And if Jim didn't do something to stop the convict, that was exactly what was going to happen. It was obvious that Wilcox could move faster than he and Jim could. Well, at least faster than he could. Blair was pretty sure that if Jim was on his own, he'd not only be moving a lot faster, he'd be further ahead right now. The pair had only stopped because Blair had had to stop. Shivering again, he rubbed his hands together trying to warm them. He'd been cold before, but never this bone-chilling frozen. God, he was so tired, and his every bone in his body ached.
'Great, I'm gonna end up with one heck of a case of the flu once this is over.' He thought, closing his eyes as the fatigue overcame him. Deep down, he knew that if the only thing he ended up with was the flu, he'd be a very lucky man.
Almost as if on cue, his prediction came true. Suddenly two hands reached in and grabbed Blair, pulling him to his feet.
"Hey there, kid, nice to see ya again," Wilcox sneered.
'Oh shit. Where the hell is Jim?' Blair thought, as he tried to fight through the fog that seemed to have settled over his brain.
The convict echoed the question. "Where's your friend? What he'd do, just take off and leave you?"
While Blair tried to get his brain and mouth to work together to formulate an answer, the convict continued. "Well no matter, I'll take care of him if I catch up to him. You, on the other hand, I'm gonna take care of now. Course, I gotta say, you don't look too good. I could probably just leave you here to freeze to death." Wilcox pulled the knife out of his pocket. "But I believe in covering my butt. So I think I'll just make sure you ain't breathing when I walk away from here."
Closing his eyes, Blair waited for the surge of pain that would come when the knife hit it's mark. He'd already felt it once and Wilcox hadn't been intent on killing him that time. His one consolation was that Jim was still okay, wherever he was.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jim stopped again and extended his hearing, trying to zero in again on the movements of the person he was tracking. He was sure that it was Wilcox, no other sane person would be out on a night like this. He had figured something like this might happen, but hoped that he and Blair would have been long gone before the man regained consciousness. Unfortunately, his partner's condition had impeded their speed. A sting of fear hit him. He hoped that Blair was just suffering from the misfortunes of the day, but some voice inside him kept telling that there was more to it than that.
"Damn it," he growled in frustration. The wind was playing tricks on him again. For a while, he'd been able to follow the sound of the other person's movements, but the wind had picked up in intensity, and he'd lost it again.
Extending his hearing further would mean risking a zone out, and without Blair with him there would be no one to pull him out of it.
'Forget it,' he thought to himself. 'Sandburg's right, it's not worth it.' Turning, he began to head back toward his partner.
Several yards away, his ears picked up the sound of a familiar voice.
"Hey there, kid, nice to see you again."
"Oh God, Wilcox!" Jim whispered. Somehow, he had misjudged the convict's position. He'd let the man slip right past him, and now the man had Blair! He started running, stumbling through the deep snow. The pair came into his view, with Wilcox raising the knife menacingly toward Blair.
"... so I think I'll just make sure you ain't breathing when I walk away from here."
"No!" Jim yelled launching himself at the convict. The momentum knocked the knife out of Wilcox's hand, and both men fell to the ground, rolling in the snow and exchanging blows, each one trying to get the upper hand.
Wilcox was momentarily stunned by the attack, but recovered quickly. Landing a strong blow to Jim's ribcage, he was able to knock the wind out of the Sentinel. Scrambling, he grabbed the knife that had fallen from his grasp, and turned to finish Jim off.
Blair, too weak to get up, could only watch in horror, yelling a warning.
But Jim had seen Wilcox's movements and had regained his composure enough to be ready for the next assault. Standing, he grabbed the man's arm as the knife came down, holding it away from him.
Wilcox had not given up however, and continued push the knife toward Jim. The two remained that way for what seemed to Blair to be forever, until suddenly, Wilcox lost his footing in the ice and fell...
A scream reverberated above the wail of the wind as Wilcox fell on the knife. Moving over to him, Jim rolled the body over. The weapon protruded from the convict's chest.
"Oh Lord," Blair whispered, staring at the man. "Is... is he dead?"
Jim stood up. "Yeah, knife went straight into the heart."
Moving over to Blair, he noticed that the young man's shivering had increased, and his breathing had become shallow. That sting of fear he had felt in his stomach while trying to track Wilcox hit him full force. He realized that his guide's condition was not due the fact that Wilcox had again threatened his life. Jim had trained as a medic in the Army, and knew the telltale signs of hypothermia as it set in. He needed to get Blair out of this storm and medical attention as soon as possible.
Kneeling down next to his partner, he said,. "Hey Chief, what do you say we get out of here?"
Wearily, Blair responded, "I don't think I can, Jim."
Reaching over, Jim wrapped his arm around Blair and helped him stand. "Yes you can, kid. I'll help you. Come on, we have to get you someplace dry and warm."
Blair snorted. "Yeah, well I hear Las Vegas is nice this time of year."
Jim looked at him. "Tell you what, you hang in there, and we'll head down there the next vacation we get. Stay at a big fancy casino and see a couple of those shows with the half-naked showgirls."
Blair grunted as the two started on their way again, Jim's arm still wrapped around chest as he supported the younger man. "You know what man, at this point, I'd take a Motel Six.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Whoa there Chief, take it easy. If we're moving too fast let me know." Jim admonished Blair as the younger man stumbled.
"Sorry man. No, it's okay, I'm fine." Blair rasped. He was far from fine, and from the quick look Jim had given him, he was sure Jim knew it too.
In the hour or so that they had been moving again, they had made little progress. Blair had had to rely more and more on Jim's support as the time went on. He, too, realized what was happening. He had seen it happen several times before, on expeditions he had been on in cold-weather areas. Hypothermia was not a pleasant thing to witness, and now he could say first hand that it was not a pleasant thing to experience either. Just breathing had become a chore. His stomach was rebelling, and as cold as he was, he had started sweating.
He knew he could not go on much longer. Just moving his legs had become a struggle. He knew that Jim was trying his best to save them both, but the situation seemed hopeless.
The problem was going to be convincing Jim of this. The older man's Blessed Protector mode had set in, and the man was moving as if programmed. His only objective was to get Blair to safety.
Blair stumbled again, this time falling out of the Sentinel's grasp and to the ground. Jim immediately knelt down to help him up. Come on buddy, let's keep going."
Shaking his head, Blair said simply, "No."
'What do you mean no? We have to keep going."
"I can't do it Jim."
Come on kid, you can't give up now." Jim stated.
"Jim, you have to go on without me. I'm just slowing you up anyway."
Now it was Jim's turn to shake his head. "No!" he said adamantly, "I'm not leaving you here."
"You have no choice. If you stay here, we'll both freeze to death. This way, if you go on, maybe you can find help and bring them back for me."
"Sandburg, I am not leaving without you. Out of the question." His voice took on a pleading tone. "Look the storm's letting up, and it'll be daylight in a few hours. They'll start clearing the roads and find the truck. If we keep heading in the direction of the nearest town, it'll be easier to find us."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Blair reached out to grab Jim's arm, stopping his speech. "Forget it Jim, it's not going to matter."
"What do you mean, it's not going to matter? Of course it will. The closer we get, the less time it'll take to get to the hospital once they find us."
"Jim, I'm not going to make it till morning. You and I both know that."
Anger flared in Jim's eyes, followed quickly by fear. "What the hell does that mean? Of course you're going to make it."
Struggling to breathe, Blair said, "No I'm not, big guy. I've seen cases of hypothermia before, and I know when the final stages are setting in" Quietly, Blair continued, "I'm going to die Jim. And I don't want you to die too. You have to go on without me."
Jim wanted to argue with Blair, tell him he was wrong, that he wasn't going to die. But he knew deep down that the kid was right. He'd been monitoring his partner's condition since they had started moving again. Blair's breathing had become even more shallow, and his heart had begun to beat erratically. That, along with the sweating, and nausea that the young man had complained of meant he was in the final stages. If the young man didn't get help within a very short period of time, he would die.
As that gut wrenching fact hit him, so did another. There was no way that he could get help back to Blair in time. Blair was going to die. But he would not let him die alone. As hard as it would be to sit by and watch is best friend die, he knew that going on without him was not an option.
Moving to sit next to the young man, he wrapped his arms around him, trying to give him as much warmth as he could.
"Jim?" Blair questioned.
"Shh, just rest."
Blair struggled to turn to look at the older man. "I thought we'd agree you were going on?"
"No, Chief, that was your idea. I already told you, I'm not leaving you."
"But..."
"No buts." Jim fought to hold back the tears that were threatening. "I am not going to leave you alone." Choking back a sob, he thought, 'Even if you're going to leave me alone.'
As if reading the his thoughts, Blair said sadly, "I'm sorry Jim, I don't want to go, you know."
"I know kid, I know." The tears had started to flow freely now.
A thought suddenly occurred to Blair, "Jim, promise me one thing."
"What?"
"That once I'm... gone... that you'll try to make you're way to get help."
"Chief, it won't matter then."
"Maybe not for me, but it will for you."
'You don't know how wrong you are, Blair.' Jim thought somberly.
The pair sat there as the blizzard dissipated around them. Jim sat cradling Blair in his arms listening to his partner's heart beat slower and slower, as he succumbed to the hypothermia.
Each time, Jim felt sure that the last beat heard had been it, but then he'd hear another, as if Blair was trying to survive as long as possible. "That's it, kid, keep fighting." he whispered. The young man had lost consciousness several minutes ago, but somehow, Jim felt he could still hear him.
So intent was he on listening for that final heartbeat, that he didn't hear the snowmobiles until they were almost upon him.
His head shot up, his mind not believing what his ears had heard. His heart leapt with joy as the two black sleds crested a snow bank.
Gently lying Blair in the snow, Jim jumped to his feet and began to wave his arms wildly, trying to get the riders' attention.
The two moved over to Jim and stopped. Flipping up the visor of his helmet, one of riders, a young man spoke. "You the guy who owns the blue Ford pickup in the ditch a few miles back?"
Jim nodded, "Yeah that's mine. Listen, I need your help." Motioning to Blair he said, "My friend and I have been out here all night, and he's suffering from hypothermia. If he doesn't get help soon, he's going to die."
The other rider had spoke. "Sure we'll be glad to help. My name's Jeff Grant, and this is my brother Jamie. You're in luck actually, the town's only a few minutes away by sled."
Looking at the unconscious man, Jamie spoke up. "My sled's bigger, the two of you will have to ride with me. You're going to have to hold on to him though."
Jeff jumped off his snowmobile and walked over to help Jim lift Blair and place on the seat behind his brother. Jim sat down behind Blair and wrapped his arms around him, grabbing hold of Jamie's jacket.
Looking back at them, Jamie flipped his visor down. "Hang on, this is going to be a fast ride."
Jim felt a wave of relief wash over him when he heard Blair's slow heat beat. Wrapping his arm's tighter around his friend, he whispered, "Don't give up yet, buddy, just don't give up yet."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The soft murmur of voices brought Jim back to consciousness.
"I think he's coming around." an unfamiliar voice said, "I'll leave the two of you alone."
"Thank you," said another, very familiar one.
Struggling to open his eyes, Jim saw the face of his friend and Captain looking down at him.
"Simon?" he asked.
"Yeah, Jim. How are you feeling? You look like hell."
Trying to shake the cobwebs from his brain, Jim responded. "Like hell, but thanks for asking."
That elicited a chuckle from the black man.
As his brain cleared, he remembered where he was and how he had gotten there. Jamie and Jeff Grant had gotten them to the hospital in Bellingham in record time. Once there, the medical staff had immediately attended to Blair, whose heart was still beating by some miracle.
The county sheriff's office had been called, and soon a deputy arrived to take Jim's statement, as well as the Grant brothers'. The two remained with Jim until a nurse arrived to bring Jim into the examining room and have him checked over.
Initially Jim had refused, telling her that he wanted the doctors there to do everything they could for his partner. The nurse assured him that Blair was in the best of care. The hospital was small, but because of it's location near the mountains, the staff was well equipped to deal with a patient with hypothermia. Everything that could be done for the young man was already being done.
Jim finally agreed, too tired to argue any longer. Fatigue, as well as the minor injuries he had suffered between the crash and fighting Wilcox had begun to take their toll.
As these memories returned to Jim, his first thought was of his partner. 'God please let Blair be okay.' he prayed.
Grabbing Simon's arm, he asked, "Sir, Blair, is he okay?" He held his breath, not sure if he wanted to know the answer.
Simon patted Jim's shoulder. "Blair's going to be fine Jim. It was touch and go for a while. They had a hard time stabilizing him. He's in intensive care right now. Their treating him for the hypothermia, and a touch of pneumonia."
"How long have you been here?"
"About twenty-four hours. The sheriff's department called me after the hospital admitted you. I came up as soon as they called."
Shaking his head, he continued. "Boy the two of you can't even take a leisurely Sunday drive without running into trouble."
"Tell me about it," Jim responded, raising the bed and swinging his feet over the side.
"Whoa there, where do you think you're going?"
"I want to see Blair." was the response.
Simon pushed Jim back down on the bed. "Not yet. I told you, he's still in ICU. Why don't you rest for a while, and we'll go see him later."
"Simon, I need to know he's okay." The memories of the slowing of his partner's heart rate was still foremost in the Sentinel's mind.
The police captain gazed at Jim earnestly. "Jim, I wouldn't lie to you, you know that right?"
When Jim nodded, he continued. "Good, then trust me here. Blair's going to be fine. But you have to remember, you both went through an ordeal out there. And you need to heal too. Tell you what, if you don't want to sleep right now, you can tell me how the hell you went from going out to dinner to being taken hostage by an escaped convict.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jim finished the sports section of the newspaper and picked up the front page, thinking it ironic that it's name was The Daily Sentinel. Today's front page was occupied, as it had been for the last four days, of stories of his and Blair's near death experience, the prison escape that Wilcox had managed, and the retrieval of the convict's body from the woods.
Sighing, Jim looked over at the young man sleeping in the hospital bed next to his. It could just as easily have been his and Blair's bodies that had been recovered as well. The Sentinel was all to aware of how close he had been to losing Blair. The last few minutes the pair had spent alone in the wilderness would forever be etched in Jim's mind. Thank God Jamie and Jeff Grant had decided to take advantage of the freshly fallen snow and take their snowmobiles out before heading to work that morning. If they hadn't come along when they did, he knew in his heart Blair would be dead.
A stirring from the other bed brought him out of his dark thoughts. Jim smiled when he saw Blair's sleepy eyes open and look around the room.
"Hey Chief, welcome back. Have a nice nap?" Blair had spent the first three days after the snowmobilers had brought both he and Jim to the hospital in ICU, being treated for severe hypothermia, and possible pneumonia. His condition had been upgraded yesterday, and his doctor had agreed to move him into Jim's semi-private room.
"Jim? What's going on? Oh, no, not a hospital again." Noticing Jim, too was dressed in pajama's and a robe, he gave a small smile. "Well, we both ended up here at the same time, at least."
Jim smiled back at him, standing and making his way over to the younger man's bed, limping. Sitting in the chair next to Blair's bed, he said, "That we did, that we did."
Looking out of the window of the hospital room at the snow-capped mountains, Blair said, "Well, that definitely is not the view I usually see from Cascade General, so I take it we're not in Kansas anymore." Running a hand through his hair, he continued. "Let's see, the last thing I remember is having a real great time on Sunday, at least until some jerk ruined it. I take it that was several days ago?"
"Yeah, four. You've been pretty doped up since then. A couple of snowmobilers came along right after you lost consciousness that night." Jim swallowed and continued, softly. "You were in pretty bad shape when we were brought in. You were severely hypothermic, and suffering from the beginnings of pneumonia. They had you in ICU until yesterday."
Nodding to Jim's choice of dress, Blair asked. "What about you?"
I was suffering from a little hypothermia myself, plus a couple of cracked ribs from when the truck slid into that ditch." Motioning toward his ankle, he said, "And I wrenched my ankle at some point. I don't know if it was when I was fighting with Wilcox or when I ran back for you just after the accident. Funny thing is, I didn't even know that I hurt it, must have been the adrenaline rush or something."
"Well, you did have quite a bit on your mind at the time."
'Yeah, that I did.' Jim conceded, his mind returning to those last dark moments before the Grant brothers had shown up.
Shaking himself, he changed the subject. "You probably don't remember this, but Simon was here. The local sheriff called him after I gave him my statement. He arranged to have my truck pulled out after they cleared the roads, and the local mechanic says there was no major damage done, just a couple of busted headlights."
"I thought I remembered hearing Simon's voice, but I thought I may have been dreaming."
"He headed back last night, after they moved you out of intensive care."
"How long until we can go home?"
Jim gave his guide a wicked smile, "Well, they're springing me tomorrow, but you're going to have to stay a little while longer."
"Hey, come on, man, that's not fair. Why can't I get out of here tomorrow too?"
"Because the doctor wants to make sure that you let the antibiotic they're giving you run it's coarse. And besides, you're still to weak to go anywhere. Face it kid, this is the most lucid you've been in four days."
"Exactly my point. I'm obviously much better. And I can finish up the antibiotic in pill form at home." Blair argued.
"Sandburg, no, you're staying here until the doctor says you're ready to go home, it'll probably only be till the end of the week."
"That's still too long. Fine, I'll talk to the doctor then, since you're obviously aren't going to support me on this."
Jim smiled at him. "It's not going to work I already tried to get him to release me two days ago, and he wouldn't."
They sat in companionable silence for sometime, then Blair spoke up again. "Hey man, by the way, thanks.
Giving him a startled look, Jim asked. "What?"
"Thanks, for what you did for me out there during the storm."
Placing his hand on Blair's Jim gave it a squeeze. "I'd do it all over again if I had to kid, you know that right?"
"Yeah, I do, and that scares me."
"Scares you?"
"Scares me." Taking a deep breath, Blair continued. "As much as I appreciate the fact that you stayed with me, you shouldn't have. You had no idea that help was going to show up when it did. Jim, you could have died out there with me if they hadn't come along."
"Blair, I wouldn't leave you alone like that, even if I knew..." Jim's voice trailed off, then he continued, almost in a whisper. "Well, that you weren't going to make it, I could never leave you to die alone."
"What if I had died, would you have left me then?"
I... I don't know." came Jim's quiet answer. He continued, his voice stronger. "But you tell me this Sandburg, if the situation was reversed, if I were the one dying or if I had died, Would you leave me?"
"Jim that wasn't the circumstances."
"Doesn't matter. What if they were the circumstances. What would you do?"
Blair had suddenly seemed interested in the view outside his window. Sighing he turned to look at Jim, blue eyes meeting blue. "I'd have done the exact same thing. And no, I can't say that I would have been able to leave you even if you had died."
"That's what I figured."
Blair shook his head, smiling. "You know for two guys who three years ago were following the 'no strings attached' rules pretty faithfully, we both became pretty dependent on each other."
Patting the younger man's shoulder, Jim responded. "That we did Chief, that we did, and you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way."
Smiling back at him, Blair moved his hand to rest it on Jim's. "Me neither, man."
Finis