Hidden Beneath the Snow (Book 2)

Ch. 24 Where Will You Go?

At the hospital, doctors were rushing Gen into the intensive care unit, hooking her up to the necessary equipment. They got an oxygen mask, IV fluids, heart monitor and more going within minutes.

As they began to clean her up, they were stunned to find that she had very minor burns to her body. Only her left forearm, thighs and left calf were affected. There would only be minimal scarring once fully healed.

The two doctors and three nurses all looked at eachother in bewilderment. While they finished cleaning her up, they theorized that maybe she had gotten out of the house before the flames were so bad. But for now, they weren't too sure.

Gen had just so happened to be transported to the hospital she and Luke worked at, and news of her unfortunate arrival as a patient quickly swept through the halls.

"Did you hear that Gen's house just burned down?" One of the receptionists asked another. Luke was passing by when he heard it, stopping dead in his tracks. "Yeah, I did! She's here isn't she? I heard she's unconcious but she's okay." The other receptionist responded. Luke's mind was sent reeling.

"Where is she?" He asked, his voice a bit louder than he intended. The first receptionist jumped slightly. Everyone knew how close he and Gen were, so she gave him a sad look. "Last I heard, she was in ICU. They said she should make a full-" Luke bolted towards the ICU ward before she could finish.

It had been almost an hour since Gen arrived when Luke found out. Once he reached his destination, a coworker greeted him, knowing full well why he was there. "Hey, calm down." The male nurse smiled kindly at his friend.

"They moved her to a resident room, she's gonna be okay. I'll take you to her, though." Luke nodded anxiously and followed his coworker. As they waited in an elevator, Luke's thoughts were racing with questions.

Where was Jack? Was he hurt as well? The children too, were they hurt? How did the fire start? How bad was the fire? Before he knew it, they were at Gen's room.

He walked in, his heart breaking at the sight of her. Although she had been cleaned up, she still had spots of soot on parts of her face and arms. Her hair was an ashy brown from the smoke and soot, and there were bandages around her arm.

An oxygen tank hissed quietly beside the bed as it helped her to breathe. "They said she inhaled a crap ton of smoke so she may have to be on oxygen for a little while, but she's gonna make a full recovery." The nurse patted Luke's shoulder sympathetically. The latter nodded in response, thankful that she was going to be okay.

Back at the house, the fire was almost completely out. Damon stayed glued to Jack's side, keeping his hands and feet burried in the snow. Luckily it had started to work and the color in Jack's eyes was slowly returning.

"Can you hear me?" Damon asked hesitantly. Jack looked up at him and nodded slowly. Everything had been severely muffled until now, had Damon been there the whole time?

Jack lifted his head slightly, trying to observe his surroundings. Gen. He shot up in a panic which startled Damon momentarily. "Woah- easy!" Jack looked like a madman, his head whipping around left and right.

He looked at Damon, finally, "Where is she?!" he was beginning to panic now. Had he saved her? Did he fail again? If Gen was gone- "She's safe! They took her to the hospital about 15 minutes ago." He gripped Jack's arms reassuringly, "She's okay."

Damon wasn't one hundred percent sure if she was truly okay, but it calmed Jack down a bit. The winter spirit tried to take a deep breath, but broke into coughs from the residual smoke.

His body shook as the fit continued, he felt so weak, but at least he succeeded. As the coughs subsided, Damon still holding him steady, Jack peered at the destroyed home. It was ashes except for the bottom framework that looked like pitiful spikes in the wreckage.

His home. A home he'd come to love for half the year. Gen's home. Where will she go? Where will they both go? Everything was gone. "Jack!" A familiar voice shouted from behind.

It sounded distant in Jack's ears. The large being sat beside him and a paw gripped his shoulder. "Jack, mate? What happened?!" The Australian accent, although right next to him, sounded so far away.

Jack's head slowly turned toward the pooka, his gaze was distant and his eyes a glossy blueish grey. Bunny felt the young man's forehead, frowning at Damon when he felt an odd warmth.

"I want to go." Jack's small voice came. He needed to see Gen, he had to make sure she was alive. "Go where?" Bunny asked, looking at Damon with concern. "Gen's at the hospital. I'll explain on the way." Bunny nodded and stood.

Jack tried to stand, but his legs quickly gave out. He was spent. The exposure to the heat was taking it's toll. Jack tried again, getting angry now. Damon stepped in and gave him a steadying arm.

"You're okay, deep breath-" Damon mentally smacked himself when Jack coughed violently once more. Bunny made eye contact with the kids at that point, just as North and Sandy showed up.

He gave North a nod, a silent agreement that he and Sandy take care of the kids while Bunny and Damon settled things with Jack. They had arrived because when the communicator was being destroyed by the flames, it was programmed to send out a distress signal before disconnecting.

The children's view of the winter spirit had been blocked by Damon this entire time, and then by Bunny when they got the spirit to his feet. Bunny decided to keep it that way, and walked with Damon  into the woods, Jack's legs barely keeping pace.

"Mate, you're too warm, we need to cool you down-" Bunny tried, Jack shook his head defiantly. "No! I need to go!" He argued, anger lacing his trembling voice. Damon looked up, expecting a narly blizzard to be forming, but none came.

That was odd. Bunny noticed too, "We will, but-" Bunny began, but was interrupted by Jack once more. "No! I need to make sure mom is okay! Please!" He begged, tears falling unwillingly.

He didn't care what they had to say. If he had to crawl or drag himself there, he would. He'd wasted enough time. He should have been in that ambulance with Gen. Bunny and Damon shared a look of sorrow before Bunny, without saying a word, scooped the messy spirit up and opened a tunnel.

Damon followed, shedding a few tears of his own. He wouldn't tell Jack about what, more like who, caused the fire, not yet at least. Once he recovered, Damon would tell him. He knew there would be a storm that day, and a big one at that.