Bring me to life ~ evanescence
She walked out. Out of the house and out of the fight. All the way to the waters edge. It was winter, but then again it nearly always was, and the frosty crystals of ice decorated the trees in a shimmering coat. They'd had a fight again. She couldn't even remember what about, but it had been bad. Really bad. She could still hear his voice yelling at her and then hers retaliating with equal vigour. It had gotten so bad that she stormed out, snatching her coat from the peg and stepping into the cold. He hadn't tried to stop her, instead opting to let her blow off some steam. So here she was. At the waters edge.
It was a small lake, more of a large pond really, and it was covered in ice. Over the last few weeks with the help of dropping temperatures thin layers of crystals had woven together to create a solid, almost perfect ice rink. She didn't wonder about the dangers having skated here all her life. When she was younger she and James would sneak out with Steve and hide their boots beneath the roots of the old willow. Now she was back, a recent graduate from University, and she and James owned the house up the lane.
She pulled her boots from beneath the tree, an old habit that she shared with James, and fastened them on. Her coat was thick and heavy so she pulled it off and shivered as the wind nipped at her exposed flesh before she tucked her t shirt in and pulled her jumper down. She left it at the base of the willow and stepped smoothly onto the rough surface. She wobbled a bit to start off with before muscle memory took over and she eased back into the graceful slides.
A few laps had her brave enough to try and remember a few jumps. She started off easy with an axel before pulling off a few more complicated ones. By this time the icy wind had blown the argument to the back of her mind and put a bit of colour back into her cheeks. She felt freer as she glided across the ice. Freer but not complete. She needed James for that. She pushed thoughts of him away before moving to a smoother section of ice.
Unfortunately she felt the shift in the air too late as the solid surface beneath her blades gave way, plunging her into the dark waters below. All she got out was a half gargled scream as sound caught up to action and the sharp snap of a whip cracked through the air, signifying the breaking ice.
Back in the house Bucky was warming up the kettle ready for her return. He rubbed his head and scolded himself for ruining their relationship. He pulled two mugs from out of the cupboard and placed them on the counter. Outside a light snow was starting to fall and he peered out the window to check for any signs of her returning home. His phone buzzed on the counter and he absentmindedly answered it whilst still looking out the window, his concern growing as the weather became progressively worse.
"Hey Steve."
"Hey Buck, someone's gone into the ice."
"What?"
"Yeah Sam and I heard it. We're on our way now but you'd probably be there sooner. We heard the ice cracking and someone scream. Get Nat to call an ambulance just in case." Nat. NAT! She always went skating to clear her head. Shit!
"Steve it's Nat! We had a fight and she walked out!" He heard Steve swear on the other end as he ran out the door, not even stopping to shut it.
Natasha was sinking. The cold pierced her lungs like daggers and her arms flailed in desperation. Panic clouded her mind as she thrashed, trying to shed her wet jumper and kick off her boots. She needed air! She couldn't die like this. Not without making it up to James. She struggled uselessly as her woollen clothing weighed like a sack of rocks. She kicked her feet but her skates just slid cleanly through the thick water. It was pressing in on her at all sides and squeezing the life out of her. She couldn't tell whether she was clasped in the vice like grip of a frost giant or a fire demon. It burned so much. Help.
James ran as fast as he could. The snow blinding him. He couldn't live without her. Their fight came to him and he pushed on, his muscles screaming in the biting cold. His feet were bare and he'd left his jacket behind in his haste but the worry and concern for Natalia overrode his health issues. C'mon Talia, hold on.
Her limbs felt like wet bags of sand as she was pulled further down into the inky darkness. The weak sunlight barely penetrated the surface from were she'd fallen through and she reached her hands towards it. The covering of ice tinting the water at the surface an unforgiving blue. Further down though, she was sinking into the darkness. Her eyelids became heavy and she fought to try and move up but the cold and heavy waterlogged clothes were winning, her exhaustion from the fight and then the skating was finally catching up with her and her last remaining energy was being sapped out of her. Her lungs were about to explode from lack of oxygen and she desperately tried to keep her eyes open. All she could hope was that James would come. Please don't leave me to die here. She was fighting a losing battle.
He skidded towards the surface and saw the frothy water lapping the sides. Without hesitation he ripped off his shirt and dived in. He ignored the cold as he saw the swirling mess of hair as it fluttered near the bottom. Her pale skin was dancing with blue from the surface which cast shadows along her limp form. She'd closed her eyes and sank, reaching the bed and just lying there. James swam desperately, a strong breaststroke propelling him to the bottom. He pulled her heavy body into his arms and yanked off her boots and jumper. It would be a blessing if she yelled at him later for it.
Looking to the surface, he kicked off and pushed himself as far up as he could go. He then used one arm to claw through the water, almost climbing up. He kicked his legs and kept a secure grip on Natalia, wanting more than anything for her to survive. He finally broke through the surface and tossed her onto the ice where she lay like a broken doll. By doing so he used up his last strength and felt himself slipping. His hand grappled feebly at the hole but the rest of his body sagged. The slight current pushed him down and swept him under the ice. He went with the flow and hoped Natalia would be ok, his fingers trailing along the hard cover above him.
Fortunately before he drifted off a set of strong arms fastened around his ankles and hauled him out by his legs and, flopping him onto the ice. He rolled over and hacked, water spewing out of his mouth as he breathed in deep lungfuls of oxygen that burnt his throat and hurt his aching lungs. "You're alright Buck, you're alright." He dimly recognised Steve patting his shoulder as an ambulance screeched to the side. Sam was doing CPR on Nat until the paramedics intervened. "It's all gonna be alright Buck." He nodded before losing consciousness.
A/N This song always reminds me of ice and buckynat so I combined the two. Any one else an evanescence fan? :)
