Portal to Hell

Nine

Practically as soon as that final amen died away, Bobby's entire body went limp as if he were a rag doll, his head lolled over the back of the chair. Everybody in the room felt a sudden shift in the Energy, as if every last ounce of Darkness'd been sucked out and replaced with pure Light, much like when Aisling'd lit that black and white Candle back in her living room. They could tell the exorcism'd worked in terms of Banishing the demon that'd been trying to possess the bassist, but the young Witch now had another Fear.

He didn't appear to be taking even shallow breaths, and while she knew that might just be her Imagination from not watching as closely as she shoulda, she still wanted to be sure. Darting over to the chair he was still chained to, she cupped his jaw in her left palm, this such a practiced skill that no one else even realized she was using her middle and ring fingers to check his pulse as she turned his head slightly.

"Shit! Somebody get me keys to these locks, bolt cutters–anything!" Aisling snapped.

"What?" the drummer gasped, everyone's eyes widening.

"Do ya want him to stay dead, damn it?" She glared as she looked up.

Dave was the one to dart into the utility room, and she wasn't surprised he actually Returned with a pair of bolt cutters in his hands. Careful not to hurt the already-injured man, he quickly snipped at the links till Jack could catch him when he toppled forward so he wouldn't get hurt any worse. He might be clinically dead at the moment, but if he could essentially be Resurrected, there was no sense in giving him a head injury that still might End up killing him. As it stood, there was no guarantee that any amount of CPR was gonna work, but this stubborn young woman wasn't gonna just let him die. He'd too much he still needed to live for, and as far as she knew, he hadn't signed a DNR since the last Time they really got to talk.

With his limp body laid out on the floor, Aisling ripped his shirt as if she possessed the Strength of a demon, herself. Now that she could actually see what she was doing, she laced her fingers together so her right hand was on top, settled the heels of her hands in the Center of his chest, and gave a forceful downward shove. That action was repeated another twenty-nine Times before she bothered stopping, and that was only so she could pinch his nose shut at the same Time she pulled his chin down slightly and tipped his head back before lowering her own.

Even as she continued her efforts at CPR to the point that they eventually heard a sudden crack, Dave was already on the phone with EMS while his son knelt next to her. The teenager knew CPR just as well, not to mention that it was exhausting, and he knew she might eventually need to be tagged out. All the rest of Poison, Howie, the Bishop, and the Major Archbishop could do was stand back so they'd Space to work and watch helplessly as Bobby's Life hung in the Balance.

After about ten minutes, Jack finally tapped the young Witch's arm after she'd given another two breaths, which made her look up. He gently shooed her back, quickly taking over so she could take a few moments to catch her breath, considering her vigorous efforts. Nobody could blame her, though–after all, they didn't want all this hard work put into finding and helping him to be for nothing.

"Don't give up, Jack," Aisling panted. "I can still feel him floating around in here–he's still with us."

Bobby watched from above his prone body as Dragonfly took charge the second he'd gone limp in that chair, clinically dead before his head had even lolled back. He hadn't been kidding when he'd told that damned demon it'd have to kill him to keep Control over him, but even during this outta-body experience, he wasn't gonna give up without a fight.

He clung to his physical body as tightly as he could for not being able to actually grab it or anything, a determined expression on what he'd presume to be his Astral face. He was as determined not to go before his Time as they were to bring him back, judging by the vigorous CPR to the point he actually heard at least one rib snap before the teenager tagged his friend out. That brought a slight smile to his face, though–if there was anyone on the Planet who was more stubborn than even him and Bret, it was this young Witch who'd always done nothing but try to help him in one way or another.

What seemed like forever, but was actually only about twenty minutes later, everyone heard sirens blaring outside the house. It seemed that EMS and possibly the cops'd finally arrived on-scene, and even if it was just the former, they'd better tools that'd help bring him back. That gave the bassist even more Hope, not to mention made him more determined to hang in there since it wasn't like he was seeing that supposed White Light most claimed to see when they hung in limbo like this.

As the EMTs ran through the front door with a loaded-down stretcher between them, Jack finally paused his efforts to catch his own breath. He gladly scooted back as much as the young Witch did to let them take over, praying to every Deity in existence that none of this was in vain. Even as these two got the prone man hooked up to a monitor, another pair followed behind to give him and Aisling a thorough check. Since they were the ones to give CPR, they wanted to be sure they were just a bit winded from their efforts and not in more serious trouble, themselves.

Watching the first pair use the monitor's built-in defibrillator to send an electric current through Bobby's torso was prolly one of the hardest things any of those who knew him'd ever had to watch. Seeing his back arch much like it had in that Vision back at the Witch's cabin before his torso simply flopped Lifelessly again was something they were all pretty sure would be nightmare-inducing for a long Time to come.

It was the sudden beep that was quickly followed by another that caught everyone's attention and made them look at the screen of the monitor. With each beep it made, they watched the line on that screen make a jump that resembled a Mountain in its shape, and there was only one thing that could mean. Knowing it was part of their job and just wanting to be absolutely sure, one of the EMTs pressed two fingers to his throat just under his jaw, grinning as he looked up at his partner.

"We got him back!" he said. "Time to get him packaged up and roll out!"

"Thank the Gods!" Aisling sighed in relief as his bandmates slumped against one another. "I knew he's a fighter!"

"Any of ya guys his next-of-kin or Power of Attorney?" the second EMT asked, she and her partner working on getting Bobby ready to be taken to the closest hospital.

"I'll take a gamble and say I am," the young Witch answered. "Last Time we really talked, Bobby'd left me as his Power of Attorney, in the event that his now-ex-wife couldn't be reached and something happened to him."

"Somehow, I doubt that's Changed," Rikki piped up. "I'll still go with, too, since I know how to get in touch with his mom, though."

"Works for us," the EMTs said in unison, hauling up the stretcher he was now strapped down to as they rose to their feet.

Not wanting to waste Time, the drummer picked Aisling up bridal-style since she was obviously exhausted from giving his friend CPR. He waited till the stretcher was locked into place in the back of the ambulance, then set her feet on the flooring so she could ride in the back. Once she was able to move to the spare seat, he closed one of the doors while the male EMT closed the other, then both headed up to climb into the front seats so they could take off.

Dave agreed to make sure the bassist's vacation house was locked up and keep an eye on things to be sure no one broke in during any of their absences, just like he always did. He insisted on being kept up to date on his condition, which was something none of the young men were willing to spite him on. That being said, the other half of Poison, their manager, and the pair of Catholics all loaded back into their rental truck, Richie behind the wheel this Time since he was the Calmest. The entire Time they followed behind the ambulance transporting their friend, they were all praying to any and all Deities they could think of that even if it took him a week, he'd eventually open his eyes and smile at them again.