FRIENDLY FIRE: A 9-1-1 fanfiction

Part Thirty: Up In The Air

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EMMA

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"Oh my God!" I yelled unintentionally, my nails digging into Buck's hand as I realised I was dangling a couple hundred feet in the air.

"Hold on, okay?" Buck heaved, trying to pull me up from the awkward angle we were in.

"What else am I supposed to do?!" I wasn't sure why I was yelling, but my hands were clamming with sweat as my panic grew, and the apartment behind me was no longer more than a pile of rubble. There was a lot to process.

"Just— I've got you, I promise! Hang on!" Buck strained, using his other hand to reach for his radio, "Bob— Bobby!"

"What's going on up there? Are you okay?" Bobby responded quickly, his voice laced with fear.

"Bring the ladder down!" Buck groaned, "I can't pull her up! We need to go down!"

"Bring the ladder down!" Bobby's voice echoed throughout the radio, followed by more insistent yells from Athena and Chimney. "We're bringing you down, guys. Hold on!"

I let out a groan in response, raising my other arm to try grab onto the box.

"Just a minute, Em, alright?" Buck assured me, "You've got this, just hang on."

I managed to catch a wire underneath the box, wrapping my fingers around it, "Got it."

The ladder jerked, starting to move, and Buck gasped, his grip nearly faltering before he tightened his hold on my hand.

I didn't want to tell him that black stars and squiggly lines were starting to cross my vision, and I chose to avoid mentioning the hot blood running down my stomach, the cloth removed after my jump.

"Nearly there, just a few seconds to go," Buck reassured, and I heard him grab his radio again, "Bobby, it needs to go faster! She's slipping!"

The rest of the words that went in or went out of the radio didn't register in my ears. All I heard was a loud buzz in my ears, and then, my eyes started to close.

That was until Buck let go of my hand.

My eyes shot open as I felt myself slip, the air rushing out of my lungs as I fell backwards. I could see Buck looking over the edge of the box, his face blurring in my vision.

Then, I hit cold rubber.

A gasp slipped out of my throat as pain shot through my body, the airbag I'd fallen on, moving around and jerking my body back up a few times. My arms spread out, trying to balance myself out before it settled, and I was left looking up at the sky.

It was very smoky, dark clouds rolling through pale blue. If it had been any darker, I would have thought I'd gone back in time, looking at a burning sky as dead bodies were pulled out around me.

That feeling was not allowed to linger for long.

"Em―Shit―" The airbag jerked, and I felt my body start to slip down before a hand grabbed my arm, dragging me the rest of the way. "Somebody get a gurney!"

"She's down safe, Buck," Athena's voice floated towards me, "you did good."

"Hey," I was forced off the airbag, my feet hitting the ground, "Emma?" That was Eddie's voice and Eddie's arm around my waist, keeping me standing.

"She's in shock," Chimney.

I tried to look around, but everything looked like a strange haze. My ear rang for a moment before going completely silent, and I wasn't sure if I was breathing or not.