Our Fatal Flaws

Chapter 14: Barely Alive, But Alive Nonetheless

Lucy POV:

That voice. That voice I knew all too well. The voice that filled my every thought, my every waking hour. That voice pouring into me like sweet poison, my brain all too accustomed to surrendering to it every time I hear it. Lockwood was finally here.

Sitting up, I tried to speak or call out to him, but the smoke in my lungs was stifling and all I could muster up was a pathetic squeak. Instinctively, I clawed for my rucksack to find something to throw to get his attention, but to my surprise, it wasn't there. Shoot. I must have lost it during the earlier explosion. I could try throwing my flares but I didn't want to barbecue him either.

"Lucy where the hell are you?!"

His voice rang out again, sounding slightly more desperate. I hated the fact that a part of me was enjoying seeing his concern for me.

Raising my fist, I slammed down onto the metal pole as hard as I could, which turned out to not be very hard at all. This wasn't working.

Rolling onto my hands and knees, I sat up. Against my body's will that is. My boots hit the metal pole and suddenly I had an idea.

My left foot was bare in a matter of minutes, it would have been a shorter time if there hadn't been so many bloody laces. The boot was a bit small but looked heavy enough to make a noticeable noise, so I just went for it. My throw felt a bit more like a nudge but it did the trick, and soon an extremely audible thud was heard.

"Lucy oh my god, how did you get up there?!"

His eyes met mine and I nearly melted with relief. I gave a half-hearted wave.

To my utter surprise, he went barreling through the fire, his coat wrapped around his hair. Not his face, just his hair. There was the sound of him scrambling up the pipe and in a matter of seconds, he was next to me, pulling me into a tight embrace. One hand on my lower back and the other on my head, pressing me against him so tight I could barely breathe. My mind went blank and I couldn't muster the mental strength to hug him back.

I felt his warm breath on my face, heavy and laboured from the adrenaline.

"You....." A few more heavy exhales.

"You are such an idiot Luce"

When he pulled back, I was still reeling with shock and I blinked stupidly a few times. It was only now that I noticed how worried he looked. His soft eyes were full of concern, and beads of sweat were beginning to form on his face.

"So... how'd your case go?" The joking clearly wasn't helping him relax, especially with how weak my voice must have sounded. His eyes were plastered to my arms and legs, adorned with burns, the flesh raw underneath.

"I heard gunshots," He said firmly, almost as if he were trying to get me to confess something.

I realised what he meant.

"Oh no, the old lady didn't shoot me. I'd be in a lot less pain if she did."

His eyebrows furrowed. "You'd be dead"

"That's the point, Lockwood"

He looked at me with a disappointed look. I smiled.

"Right," He regained his composure and shuffled away from me a little, almost as if he were embarrassed. But I knew better than that. Lockwood never got embarrassed. "How do you plan on getting out of here?"

I shrugged.

"Figured I'd just wait to be toasted"

He looked over the edge and groaned.

"The whole floor is a no go"

I peeked over to see what he meant and was surprised to see not a single patch of the floor was visible. Not to mention the smoke was getting thicker. And smoke rises.

Lockwood began to shift his bag off his shoulders. The duffel bag of our visitor hunting equipment. He pulled out about 60 feet of rope.

"Woah where did you get that? That's not our usual Ghostbusters stuff."

He did his usual charming grin.

"I just figured we might need it"

I raised an eyebrow, but I was far too tired to argue. I just watched as he looped the rope around the beam we were sitting on a few times and tied a couple knots, before testing his weight on it and standing up. His head hit the ceiling and he looked rather peculiar. He really is too tall. My brain only registered what his plan was when he pulled me to my feet and towards him, securely tying the rope around his waist and then mine.

"Woah, wait hold on!"

I said, understanding flooding through my face.

"Come on Luce, don't be a baby"

"I'm not being a baby Lockwood, I'm being logical. This is a bad plan"

"Have you got a better one?" He asked politely and I wanted to smack his perfect face for being right.

"Stay here and enjoy our final moments together?"

He shook his head, clearly not interested in my suggestion.

"Not happening, this is not how I plan for you or me to die."

He gripped my shoulders and turned me to face him.

"Just close your eyes and hang on."

"Are we forgetting there's a window in the way?" I said pulling back slightly.

"Nope"

"I'm not being a human wrecking ball, Lockwood"

He grinned and pulled out a flare.

"And there is a drop on the other side!" I said slightly more frantically.

"I'm aware Luce" He was very punchable at that moment.

Before I could protest again, he yanked me in by my waist, grabbed onto the rope with one hand, and gripped tighter onto me with the other. I froze, terrified. Too terrified to stop him as he gently pushed me further towards the edge.

"No, no no no."

"It's fine Luce"

And with that, he shoved me and jumped off himself.

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