The Final Countdown; (Tag: You know who you are!)

[Jack Lexington]

"He's right... If he hadn't protected me, Brody nor I, would be alive..." Kyanite confirms my identity and actions but then she curls up and cringes in a way that tells me something has to be wrong with her.
"What's wrong?" Why didn't she give me an answer when I ask her whether she's hurt?
I pull forward against the grip the guys have on me but they hold me back. So I can only watch the medics lifting Kyanite up.

One of the peace keepers talk to her which makes me even more concerned until I see who it is.
It's no other than her brother Jeran making sure she will be taken care off. That's when I catch Vy's name and how quickly Jeran reacts. Was Vy here as well? Has Jins harmed her? I feel my pulse quicken because I can only imagine what happened to her if she had to face this maniac alone.

Again I tryto tell the ones holding me. "Didn't you hear her? Let me go."

That's when Jeran runs away and lets me have another look at Ky. Briefly our eyes connect and I can sense there'ssome issue with the baby. That's why she looks so desperate and why she's curling around her middle in a protective manner. Oh no. That can't be true. Jins can't have hurt our baby. As I look at her my expression becomes desperate so I plead with the guys behind me to just let me close to her but nothing happens until Jeran comes back down and the head of this operation steps into the small home flanked by more peace keepers.

As soon as I lay eyes on him a jolt virtually shake me before I quickly turn my face from him. It's the bastard who interrogated me. It's the one who decided I deserved no dignity but a punsihment reserved for criminals. He hates me.i hate him. If he sees pregnant Kyanite on the ground and figures out she's my girl friend I'm so screwed. He will shoot me on the spot.

My pulse must have shot to 200 while I keep my face lowered and as far away from him as I can.

But what he says is anything but a death sentence. He asks his men to release me. My eyes widen as if this was a bad joke but he's serious and a second later starts coordinating the search fro Vy with his damn dog.

Before Jeran follows him he stops in front of me giving me a concerned look. I can plainly see the worry over our friend in his eyes. "Will you go with her to the hospital. I have a job to do here. The first 24 hours are critical and I dont' know how badly Vy is hurt or if she's even..."
"She's not..." I conclude his sentence while my hands are getting uncuffed and can finally pull them forward again to rub my wrists.
"I want to help search for her but you have a whole team...find her. Make sure she comes back alive, Jeran. I got your sister."
I know Ky needs me now especially if there's some issue with her belly.
So I clap him on the shoulder and follow Kyanite who#s being carried out the door by two medics.

One peace keeper blocks my way with a firm hand. "Wait we need your statement."
I shake my head at him and notice how much it hurts after getting slapped around.
"I was just told by peace keeper Ruze to go with his sister. I'll give you my statement later or there, okay?"

Then I catch up to Kyanite with fast steps and take her hand while she's being carried down the stairs. Her clothes are covered in blood, which worries me although I assume it's not hers but Brody's.
I try to climb into the ambulance with her but get blocked again.
"Wait, who are you?" Only now do I notice that this is not your usual ambulance on wheels. It's actually a small modified hovercraft that can carry injured people. The benefits of being a peace keeper I guess.

A sound overhead makes me look up to spot a second one further away up in the sky. It's probably carrying my former mentor. Hopefully fast enough.

"Her brother told me to go with her, peace keeper Ruze." I can harldy say I'm her boyfriend.
"Well get in then."
I breathe a sigh of relief when I lift my leg to get in but notice a stinging sensation in my hip when I lift it. With Ky on a stretcher I don't take the time to look. Compared to everybody else I'm in top shape.

A second later I take Ky's hand again concern over our unborn child filling me and making me insecure.
"What is it. Please tell me, Ky."

[Cameo {RIP Charlie}]

There's nothing worse then nothing. Only being able to do nothing. Knowing that there's nothing you can do to help. It's utter torture. On top of that there's a sting in the heart, Vy was certainly she didn't possess, informing her of exactly that. Just as a small little reminder that the mental agony will be far worse then the physical in the long run, even if her leg is telling her otherwise. That discomfort in her chest still protrudes, while all the other minor wounds get put as nothing compared the damage a bullet caused. Horrible bolts of pain consuming her from that small area, though her mind is still able to concentration on the fact she messed up. How she did something wrong, and now there's nothing left to do.

That's about as far as her train of thought can go before another throb consumes her. And before she has a chance to go back to step one of that thought process again, distant gunfires causes the strongest urge to yank out her hair. Of course she doesn't; her crippled fingers probably couldn't, and quite frankly chunks of hair missing would make for a bad open casket. Can only hope those bullets were for Jins. Perhaps they were, or that creep could of accomplished his word. In which case Vy would have no problem dying out here.

Until Jeran's damn voice reminds her that she's not allowed to get hurt. That she has responsibilities, and she realizes giving up now is like giving up on Brooklyn. If those shots were for her friends, that leaves no one to care for the rugrat. Thing is, that's not an option. Vy has to get up, there's no question about it. She can still save everyone like she's good for.

The closest tree gets Vy's weak grip, that still manages to pull her to her feet. Well foot as she attempts to hold up her injured leg, and only lean on the other one and the tree. Nearly instantly her face loses color and it feels like she's as light as a leaf. Not completely unfamiliar as she pretends like she's only drunk. Even when her cheek suddenly lands back on the dirt, it's truly no different. For the exception of the gruesome wound that is. Guess walking is still out of the picture, along with consciousness apparently to.

[*]

My shoe. For some reason, the thought about my shoeless foot comes up in my mind. I'm not sure why, out of all the stressful things going on right now, that something so miniscule is the only thing that comes to mind. I wiggle my toes and flex my ankle just to get a stinging pain somewhere near the calf and feel it move down to my ankle. It's like acid eating away at the skin. "My foot. It burns." I say to the medic as they talk amongst themselves. Some strange words come about but nothing I can recognize.

"Did you fall at all? Get hit in the stomach? Any trauma to the belly?" I give a gentle nod to the first question but shake my head to the other two. I do remember falling backwards on the stairs, jolting myself when Jins was facing me. When he was pushing me backward and threatening to charge at me. Did that hurt my baby though? Did something like that give me a bad outcome? It seems like it wouldn't, but am I thinking differently now?

"I just kinda fell backwards, on the stairs. I didn't get hit no. He didn't touch my stomach." I tell the medics and again, they throw out a word or two that I don't understand. The whole time, I keep thinking about that damn shoe.

"There are some lacerations to the left leg and ankle." They whisper to each other, then one looks directly at me to ask me another question, "Can you tell me how that happened on your ankle?"

"He.. pulled on my leg. His nails dug into my leg as he fell backwards down the stairs..." I feel one of them tending to my leg as a new mission set out. They begin to lift me up and as they do, my eyes search for Matthew cause I want him with me. I want to be able to have him around because I'm simply terrified I've done something to hurt our Sprout. To the door is as far as we get before I feel a hand slip into my own. He's finally made it. He's gotten off the charges they were falsely accusing him of. I squeeze hard as he walks with us to the medic vehicle.

Just as they load me in, I'm being given an IV and they start messing with a few buttons and placing something on my belly. Before I know it, Matthew is there again, and sits beside me, his hand in my own. I keep squeezing out of fear. All these emotions running through me. The main one now is if our tiny little baby, whose never seen the light of day, and wondering if he or she will be okay.

"Seventeen year old female. Complaints of abdominal pain. Twenty weeks into pregnancy. No visible signs of trauma to abdomen." They speak to someone other than each other and I turn my attention back to Matthew.

"What is it. Please tell me, Ky."

"My stomach just keeps throbbing. I'm not sure why... he didn't touch me. He didn't harm me. I just... don't feel right." I tell Matthew as a man seperates our hands to be able to place the cuff on my arm.

"Give us a moment to get her readings." They tell Matthew. A few moments later, they start talking to one another. "Bp's up to 158 over 120."

I shake my head. I don't want to go through this. What does that even mean? Is that causing all this trouble? I reach out and take Matthew's hand again, close my eyes and bite on my lower lip.

"Did they place you in charge of her care? We'll have to run some tests when we get to the hospital. We just need to check on the fetus. Make sure there wasn't no internal damage to harm the fetus. We can't diagnose anything at the moment." He tells him.

.....

Jeran wasn't one to fly off the handle at any given time. He's always been the most calm and collected one out of the bunch. He would never taken anything for granted, yet walking into the scene where his sister was hovering over Brody's deathly looking body, terrified to leave his side for fear that without her he would die and the blood that covered her attire, today would be the first. As much as he remained calm, it was purely evident in his arched eyebrows how much he cared for the people in this house that they just found. It was his sister after all, and Vy Pryce was a live in roommate since her accomadtions had been deemed unfit by himself. The moment he released the information to his higher, he flanked him up the stairs, even taking the exact steps as the man did; two at a time.

His gaze fell upon the wall as he strode upward to the room he had left in. The room where Vy and her daughter had been sleeping. Like a ton of bricks hitting him, something new now arose. Where was Brooklyn?

The dog gave his own perspective to the room, sniffing near the blood then nosing around on the uniform that was left on the ground. Jeran stood deathly still at the door, watching and waiting until the man had what he wanted and the dog did what it was there for.

Without another moment's notice, he shouldered past the unhelmeted peacekeeper. He wasn't about to be left behind and once again trailing not more than a foot behind the one in charge on the descent down the stairs.

At the bottom, he stood, ready to take action if he had to. He wasn't about to be stuck on cleanup duty nor staying behind to collect statements. No, he needed to be on this search and rescue mission. This was hitting too close to home. If Jins had found her first, there was no telling what shape she would be in. Looking at Brody was enough to tell him that she may already be dead, but his heart kept trying to convince him to not give up so soon. That's the terrible thing is when the mind is fighting with the heart.

"Yes, Sir." With that, Jeran and the other peacekeepers that were told to fan out, did just that. Grabbing his helmet from the ground where he held his sister, he took one hefty breath and dashed outside. Immediately, he and the others took their leave. The white, pristine helmet went over his head and snapped back into place as he kept his hand on his weapon and followed the troops out in the area outside the house.

His mission was set.

His destination was unknown.

"Vy... hang on. Please. For me. Hang on a little longer." His whispered voice came out for only him to hear. The trek into the woods was the beggining and he took a quick glance at the men on either side of him doing the same. There were about twenty feet apart and the sound of the dog barking caught his attention. It was picking up the scent like that. That meant, they were at least going in the right direction. Slowly, but surely, the dog, Kaiser, made his way nearer to him, keeping his head down to the ground most of the way, but once in a while, he would stop and turn a full circle and look to his master. Was something not adding up? Was the trail left behind being duped?

"Keep going Kaiser. Where is she boy?" Jeran coaxed from the animal and sure enough, he slowly took off again with a definate sign that the trail had been picked up again. "Sir, we're going to reach the water soon. Another ten more minutes west and we'll hit the water. Can Kaiser still pick up the scent if they crossed?" Jeran's tone grew considerably grim.

[*]

Apparently, the crossing to the water was never touched. The extra ten minutes that Jeran had spent going to the water was quickly wasted as he watched with great interest when Kaiser seemed to get another trail. Something else was driving the dog in another direction. Mentally, Jeran wasn't ready to find her body dumped off somewhere among the trees. If he happened upon her body first, it was going to be hard enough to go near her and not be filled with rage. A hand, balled up into a fist, touches his chest, nearer to his heart when the trail that was led by Kaiser grew into a more lush part of the woods.

"Fan out more. There's more to the woods. Check every stump, tree and ditch. She will be found." His gaze looked to the man furthest on his right had yelled and beneath his helmet, his breath hitched for a moment when he caught sight of something odd. It was like a path. A small path, mainly the way the leaves were pulled from their landing spots, seemed to point like an arrow. Almost as if something heavy was pulled behind something and dragged. He touched a part on his helmet that led to the communicator.

"Something looks off a bit over here, Sir. Going to check it out." He released the button and bent down. With a curious gaze, he noticed the discoloration on the leaves and on the green stuff not touched by the changing season. With his gloved hand, he touched it and turned his hand over to see the redness. "Sir. There's blood over here. She's close."

A whine made his head turn upward in an instant to see the dog going a little crazy around one spot. His body turning circles, while his head would casually dip down and then, finally, he sat down.

As quick as he could, he closed the distance to the next tree over. Some old rotting sycamore that has seen better days. The moment he got close, it was a portion of the leg he saw first. The shoe that covered the foot to the unmoving person that was concealed behind it. It took him only two quick strides to round the tree to find her body laying there. Her prone body dirty, and covered with smears of blood. Both arms nearer to her face as if they tried to cushion her fall but failed miserablely.

"HELP! OVER HERE. SHE'S OVER HERE." His voice was demanding and surprisingly deep. He released his hands of his gloves, and of his helmet in a matter of moments as he crouched over her body.

"Vy.... can you hear me? Vy! It's Jeran. Talk to me, Pryce." His two fingers go to her neck trying to detect a pulse while his other hand goes to her back to feel for any movement of air that might be going through her body. His hand on her back felt the movement first and with a simple movement of his fingers to another spot on her neck gave him the relief he desperately needed.

"SHE'S ALIVE... Hurry!" Slowly, he moved her arms further upward and gently rolled her toward him to get her off her stomach so he could assess her better. Shouts of men far away came to his senses. He would be the first responder. He would get to see about reporting her condition to the newcomers. He was gentle as he moved her, making sure not to move her neck or anything unless absolutely necessary. Again, his fingers moved to her neck to check the pulse.

"Vy, don't do this to me. Wake up... Vy, can you talk to me? Can you tell me where you're hurt?" He asks, making his voice plain and loud. With tap on her shoulder closest to him, he began what he needed to do. "Vy. It's Cadet Ruze. I'm here to help you. If you can hear me, squeeze my hand."

Waiting, he placed his hand in hers and waited...

[Cameo {RIP Charlie}]

It feels as though her body's a bouncy ball that's gotten a hole, and the air is slowly seeping out. Every pathetic attempt to get up was like a useless try to throw the now popped toy; only causing more air to escape instead of fixing the problem. Not that either are really an option anymore. There's no control over the fact she's practically sinking further inside of her head, as if her body was slowly disappearing from around herself.

Well there's no doubt Vy isn't dead yet. There's no bright white light. Just blackness from extremely heavy eyes, and that horrible throb from some lower-half. Certainly she'd at least be numb if she was already dead. But after who knows how long something pulls her back into the physical reality.

Getting her eyes open doesn't happen, still she can tell it's an animal. A mammal certainly from the snout, and not a large one at that. By the way it hasn't attacked either, it's probably a dog. Luckily at that because Vy doesn't even the urge to swat it away, let alone defend herself. No longer then a couple seconds later she can hear footsteps growing louder with urge. The canine's owner? Of course that's when she starts falling further back into her mind again, though this time she makes a point to fight against it; especially when a familiar voice rings through that very head.

Hardly any of the words are caught, but that doesn't matter. Simply knowing that Jeran's beside her has her refusing to slip away. Perhaps this is all just a dream, there's no way of knowing unless she sticks around though. And for some reason his warm touch against her neck reassures that this is real. The tiniest shiver that's desperate to find a pulse, pulls Vy back into her body. A hand rests so gently on her back and wakes up her spine. All of this in search for a heartbeat, without even realizing it's doing so much more.

The words register more clearly, even if the extremely loud ones shatter her ears. Everything's suddenly becoming real, and with that the pain does as well. Her face scrunches up in discomfort while a few light groans seep out as she's turned over. The dirt that was bandaging her wound before now crumbles off, and with that another small stream of blood. Not to mention the Blonde's bad job at wrapping the injury with a part of her ripped away shirt; now all crinkled up and unsuccessful.

Again a voice distracts her away from the pain, that'll ultimately drift her back to who knows where. If only she could get him to keep talking. But how can she when she can't even communicate herself? Sure his voice is finally clear as day, that doesn't mean any part of her body is though. Even groaning from pain can't happen on command. Clever Jeran of course comes up with an idea though.

This entire time Vy's been able to hear him, even if it only sounded like muffles at first. Now there's a way to tell him that though. She could feel his hand laying on top of her's, waiting patiently for any sign of her consciousness. There's nothing more that she wants then to do just that to. But her bruised fingers already have no life in them. She can sense her hand tightening, yet no sensation of it being around Jeran's large palm. Damn it! Wrong side.

A light sigh escapes from her lips, and like reflex the right hand finally encloses around Jeran's weakly. Now he knows he doesn't have to leave her for dead.

[*]

As much as he hated to move her, he needed to assess her physical condition. If Jins had gotten a hold of her, there was no telling what was damaged. What sickness that ran through his brain to bring her out in the middle of the woods. Why would he? Was there any other reasons other than to kill her? A fuel source ignited inside of him at the thought that he might have laid a hand on her in any way that wasn't deem appropriate and he seemed to let that come out on his facial expression but not in his voice while he made her comfortable on her back. Though the painful moans, he seemed to cringe because he knew he was causing each audible moan escape. She didn't want to be moved, but it had to be done. It just had to. He needed to make sure she wasn't going to die on him and if anything serious came from this, then he was going to make sure that the man responsible was goign to feel the pain even in the afterlife.

Though his voice may shout to the other peacekeepers around, his eyes stayed glued on his injured friend. His 'friend' with whom he's shared multiple kisses and near misses with. The one that lives upstairs in his old room while he took the study his father used to have. It's the strangest thing to have this odd feeling for her, then to have this happen. His heart seems to be ripping at the sight of her mangled body. The blood just didn't suit her at all.

Still, no matter what he did, he couldn't get her eyes to open, nor her mouth to whisper out with that sweet voice of hers. Only pain filled moans and groans of displeasure for her situation. It was, without a doubt, a lost cause to him. The thought that she might not wake up for even him was starting to make itself known until he kicked into his mode. He needed to be put back into priorities. This was a victim and he was the first responder and he did as such. His tone suddenly taking a ninety degree turn and going completely neutral.

That was... until his hand went into her hand, and he awaited the moment that she may tell him whether or not she'd make it.

A light sigh escaped her lips. His ears picked up on it fast and very quickly right before her hand light started to move against his own. A smile appeared on Jeran's lips almost as quickly as that light grip came and went.

"That's great, Vy. Good job. You're going to be okay. Can you tell me where your hurt? I'm going to say a body part, and you squeeze my hand when I get to it. Stomach?" He stopped and waited for a moment. He kept very still with her hand in his. Even the slightest movement he was determinded to feel it. "Right arm? Left arm? Right leg? Left Leg?"

A sudden movement on her grip made him examine her leg and even though the blood was noticable, he had no clue to the extent of the injury. It had to be the weak leg that she's always complained about and had hurt, but upon further inspection, it was clear what was troubling her.

"Vy, was you shot? Did that bastard shoot you?" Again, that gentle tug on her fingers in his hand told him what he needed to know. He half whispered a curse and began to clear off the spot on her leg of the debris and start to see that the wound was still oozing with blood. How long had she been out here? How long had she been wasting away without anyone knowing it? "Vy... I'm going to take care of you."

Just like that, a group of men arrived, one with a kit and laying it beside their wounded comrade. "Gunshot to the left upper leg. She's lost a lot of blood." He tells them as one begins to mess with her head and checking on her nose that has finally crusted over with blood.

"Her nose might be broken. Concussion is a possibilty. We need to get her out of these woods, quickly." Jeran nodded to the man as he took something out of his kit and laid some fresh bandages on the wound and pressed against the blood still wanting to leave her body. With Jeran's help, he took some gauze and wrapped it around her leg, securing it.

"Make sure it's not too tight. Don't cut the circulation off Cadet Ruze. Great. Now, let's get her out of here before it's too late. Not enough time to wait for the hovercraft to find us out here."

"I'll carry her." He demanded and without even worrying about who would start the arguement, the man in front of him helped secure her in his arms, taking care to keep her leg elevated. "Ready to move out. Cadet Pryce. I've got you now. You're safe."

[Cameo {RIP Charlie}]

Not even Vy can resist help in a situation like this. Though she probably would if she was capable of pulling herself around to it, but that's beyond the point. Hearing Jeran's comforting voice, knowing that he's near, changes that. Enough so that she forces the smallest grip from her hand. To give him the hope that she lost back when Jins was walking away. Guess she wouldn't deny him even if she could. If Jeran's convinced that she's going to be okay, it must be true. Now to just stay concentrated on his words and not slip away. He has to be right.

Of course the time she's fighting her hardest to stay near, Jeran's voice seems to be getting further and further away. He wants to know about her pain, that much she gathers. At this point it feels like pain's consuming her from every end though, until she catches the specific word leg. Yeah, that's it! Her leg was shot by that bastard Jins. Automatically her hand flinches in a pathetic grasp at the memory and correct answer.

Seems like every attempt and small success to control simply her hand, has her mind staying closer. Another question, or more assumption, arrives and seconds later her fingers are gently pressing down against Jeran's palm. With that knowledge he goes to inspect, brushing away the filth that the sticky blood has collected. Instantly her entire body tenses up with shooting pain, and louder noises of discomfort escape from her lips. If it wasn't for his soothing words the gruesomeness may of never faded. But he reassures that she's being cared for now, and by none other then him. And for some reason that makes it all bearable.

How she'd love to curl up in the safety that she now has. What can she say, desperate times cause for desperate measures. For the first time ever someone wants to take care of her, and she wants to grab onto that with every now weak bone in her body. If only she could; and before she has a chance to think any further, the guys that Jeran called for a minute ago arrive.

Hands that don't belong to the one she wants, starts to examine the critical injuries. The head for one, and where ever a load of blood is spilling out of. To no surprise this is the sort of assistance Vy would swat away if she could. Lucky for them she can't be that resistant ass hole today. Even when a fresh bandage is pressed against her wound and she wants to scream out every curse word in the book; all that comes forth is louder unpleased moans though.

Finally only that dull ache is back, and Vy couldn't be more grateful for it. All she captures next is Jeran's assertion over being the one to carry her. No stretcher? Damn, looks like today's gonna have a load of firsts; losing, getting shot, needing help, being carried. Anything else? Honestly her heart jumps, and every muscle wants to push away.. 'course they can't though. Then she reminds herself it's Jeran, and she needs him. Just as she has many times before.

The only part she manages to move, her head, curls up against the white armor. Knowing very well who's inside of the rough exterior. Never would of thought he'd be the one to save her, though she's truly not shocked in the least. Just figured no one would arrive in time. Then again this is Jeran being talked about. His words come out clear as day. And as odd as it is, in this predicament and all, she's never felt safer.