Frozen In Time

04

Almost six hours later, Stiles is trying to tidy up his lab while he checks up on the ice man every so often. The ice is still melting away, becoming a lot faster now, and Stiles is very glad that he and Danny had decided to move him into a lying down position. Stiles hums quietly to himself as he sorts out his papers, organizing them into piles and throwing any rubbish of his into the bin. It always feels satisfied after he has cleaned up, even though his desk will inevitably get messy again, probably within a month or two. Still, it's good while it lasts.

Once Stiles is finished with cleaning his desk, he goes to check on ice man again. As he enters the room, he gulps nervously. All the ice is gone now, leaving just the man lying on the ground, soaking wet. Stiles looks over the man's body for a few moments, taking note of how it hasn't deteriorated at all. As far as Stiles can see, the man is only pale, his lips blue, but nothing too serious. It doesn't even look like he has frostbite. His perfectly preserved body makes it look like the man is still alive. Stiles frowns at the thought, knowing that can't be possible. Even if the man hadn't frozen to death, he would have drowned... Right? Unless he didn't drown. If the man knew how to swim well, there's a good chance he didn't drown, but it's clear that the ice got to him and defeated him anyway.

Stiles' heart starts beating faster for some reason and Stiles' mouth goes insanely dry. For the first time in a very long time, Stiles finds it hard to just continue breathing, each breath a struggle and it feels like he's trying to remind his body on how to actually breathe and let in oxygen and let out carbon dioxide. Stiles stares down at the body for a few moments before deciding he really needs to take a closer look at this. Stiles tries not to hesitate as he walks towards the ice man and kneels down beside him. Stiles reaches out a shaky hand and places two fingers against the man's wet, terribly cold neck, trying to find the normal spot where you would search for someone's pulse.

A few moments of searching go by as he slowly presses his fingers against different part of the man's neck, but can't feel any pulse. Stiles is about to breathe a sigh of relief, thinking that he just let his stupid paranoia get the best of him when he suddenly feels it. It's a slight thump against his fingers, and it's faint, but it's all Stiles need. The scientist helps and shrieks in surprise and horror, stumbling back in fright, unable to believe it. His heart is beating so fast, Stiles is surprised his heart hasn't leapt out of his chest and run away yet. Stiles can't believe it. This man... The man that has been frozen in ice for 70 years... Has a pulse!

"Holy shit!" Stiles whisper yells to himself, his eyes wide and his body goes stiff and tense for a few moments.

"How the fuck is this possible?! It shouldn't be possible!" Stiles tells himself as he tries to keep his steadily rising panic attack at bay. He definitely does not need that right now. He hasn't had a panic attack in a very long time. Of all times though, do they really have to start coming back now? Stiles tries to take deep breaths to calm down.

In, out, in, out, in and out.

Once Stiles is feeling a bit better about his breathing rhythm, Stiles focuses back on the man lying in front of him. It doesn't matter how impossible it seems for this guy to be lying here, alive, it doesn't change the fact that he is indeed alive and that he will die very soon if Stiles doesn't do something.

"Okay, Stiles. Think. You need to think. Act quickly." Stiles mutters to himself before crawling over to the man and double checking his pulse. It's faint, but it's still there. Stiles then leans in close to the man's mouth and checks to see if he is breathing... Unfortunately, he isn't. Stiles knows that he needs to perform CPR fast, so that's exactly what he does. He gets into the best position and starts pumping the man's chest, hoping to help kickstart his breathing. Stiles is glad that his dad made him take that first aid training back in middle school, even though he thought it was lame at the time. He thought he would never have to use CPR, but boy was he wrong. It's also a lucky thing that CPR is the only thing that Stiles remembers from first aid training.