Help Me Resurface

Chapter One: On with the Search

"Christopher! Chris!" Buck shouted out in an attempt to find the missing boy. He had been searching for what seemed like days but it was only a few hours. It was physically straining on his limbs as he went on, trudging through the ankle deep water. He was pretty sure it was his adrenalin pushing him past what his body could take. He needed to find Chris. Even if it was the last thing he did, he would get Chris back to Eddie.
Buck walked for another thirty minutes before he made it to the VA hospital as he continued his search. He looked down at his bandaged arm and saw the blood starting to dry up. He tried to find his phone, but he realized it was probably destroyed even if he did still have it. He borrowed a stranger's phone and called one of the only numbers he truly memorized, Maddie. It took a few rings and he thought that Maddie wouldn't answer him since this was a random phone, she was probably flooded with calls and there was poor service. She surprisingly answered on the 4th ring.
"Hello?" She asked softly on the other end of the phone.
"Hey..It's me." Buck responded, his voice hoarse from yelling for hours. Maddie was shocked and a little concerned.
"Buck? Where are you? I don't know this number." She said, excusing herself to the break room as people were panicking behind her.
"I borrowed someone else's phone. Maddie, I need your help." He said bluntly and straight to the point.
"Um, okay?" She paused for a minute. "Tell me what's wrong, are you hurt?" She asked, her voice coaxed with worry and concern.
"E-Eddie dropped Chris off with me. He thought doing some activities with him would get me out of my apartment...Out of my head." He corrected himself.
"Maddie, I brought him to the pier.."
"Oh my god, you were there?" She asks, taken aback a little.
"And I had him. Okay Mads? I had him, I kept him safe...we were um, we were on top of the ladder truck..then the water recited." He said softly, freaking out a little, close to crying.
"You're not answering the question. Are you injured? Bleeding?" She asked, knowing about the blood thinners, perhaps Buck forgot.
"It doesn't matter! Don't you hear what I am saying...? Christopher..is gone.." he said, a feared look in his eyes as he finally told Maddie.
"I looked everywhere for him.."
"Okay, did you check the VA hospital?" She asks, trying to help.
"I-I'm here now." He said turning around a little just to reassure himself he was still there. He started to speak again when he spotted someone.
"Oh, god god god...no.." he whispered in a panic as he hid.
"What is it?" Maddie asks, worried now.
"E-Eddie's here..." Buck whispered, holding onto the pole of the tent he was hiding behind.
"Does he know what happened?" When Buck didn't answer, Maddie took it as a no. "You have to tell him."
"How? How can I tell him I lost his son? I need to keep looking before Eddie finds out.." He said, making up his mind.
"No, he is Chris' father. He will know what to do...you are in no condition to look for him by yourself. I'm coming down there. She said firmly.
"No Maddie, wait-" he tried to protest but she had hung up already. He was starting to panic even more as Eddie was getting closer and closer to his hiding area. Buck gave the stranger their phone back and started to walk around again, keeping himself going. He checked everywhere else in the VA hospital, avoiding Eddie and left to go to the cupcake bakery a few blocks down just to recheck that area. Maybe Chris was there now. He looked down at his neck, seeing Chris' glasses, unscratched. He held onto them as he kept going as if they were the things helping him go on. He kept walking and limping as he finally made it to the cupcake bakery again when he looked down at his hand. It was bleeding through the small bit of t-shirt wrapped around it. Some people were over in the area still and he recognized one of the teen boys from the fire truck earlier that day.
"Hey, your Buck right?" The boy asked, walking over to him. Buck only nodded, his eyes not focusing right as he stumbled a little.
"Looking for Chris...small boy, eight, has CP..." he mumbled. The boy seemed to remember Chris and them playing eyespy on the fire truck.
"Oh, I remember that little boy from the fire truck. I'm sure he is okay. Let's get your arm bandaged up." He said, ripping the other part of a shirt he had in his hand, pouring some water from a bottle and cleaning Buck's arm before bandaging it. Buck only winced a little before he got back up.
"I have to go find Chris...thank you for the help." He grunted, pushing on. He ignored the boy's protest and went on to find Chris. He needed to find the poor boy. He was probably so scared right now, but Buck needed to believe Chris was okay and alive. The boy gently grabbed Buck's shoulder and stopped him from moving forward.
"You have to rest. Maybe water and a granola bar will help. Please, sit." He pleaded. Buck was going to move on anyways, but his vision was fuzzy and his muscles were aching. His knees buckled a little and he finally sat down. He tried everything in his willpower to keep his eyes open, but they were too heavy. They closed and he fell unconscious.