Episode 1: link


Episode 2: Senses Fall    

    Shots of fire squeezed through the morning air, now not only think from the snow; but polluted with ash. Crackles of burning rubble resounded into the skyline like a campfire smoldering into an autumn evening. The piles of snow that once were covered in dirt now lay dissolved, in puddles of water. Across the bay, masses of wreckage rested against the ground, each of which flamed with pure red and orange shades opposing the blackness of the pavement.
    Scenes flashed and blurred in and out of consciousness, and as hard as it was to keep his eyes open in the original Chicago bitterness, it was downright grueling to do it against the heat. Cutting in and out through the chaos, muffled screams and voices rang, and had this been another place, sirens would have surely reverberated across the vicinity. But this wasn’t another place, and this wasn’t another time, this was here and now. This was life here and now.
    Hoards of people rushed around what was left of the two ambulances, some of which were trudging through the pieces of smoking metal trying to free its’ victims, others simply stood in awe. Near the edge, Carter was found, narrowly coherent; yet he managed to get a few phrases out. As he spoke, his voice was flat, and barely audible.
    “Wha…happenen…ed?” His eyes shifted from side to side, closing and opening in intervals of only microseconds. At first, he could make out the voice of only a single person. Cuddy’s’ voice fluctuated as she tried to sound calm. “There was an explosion, an ambulance crashed into another.” She placed an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose and continued. “It’s okay, you’re gonna be okay….” Her eyes were filling with tears, yet she stayed right with him.
     Two men that Cater didn’t recognize carefully lifted him onto a gurney, and as he was turned to have a neck brace placed on him, he got his first full view of the destruction. First he whispered, “…Where’s House…?” Then as his eyes dilated more to the scene he screamed, “…Where’s House…? HOUSE!!?... HOOOOUSE!!???” Cuddy stopped in her tracks at Caters’ words. Her arms flopped to her side as her face lost color. And there she stood, alone, like a statue against the acidic wind.
    Cater had been taken away, along with many other unfortunate souls. Time was moving around in anarchic slow motion, circling the bay. Cuddy still stood stiffly, having no real recollection of the prior minute. As a cold breath entered her body, it was a catalyst not only to her, but to time. Now, at twice the speed, people again ran about, collecting what they could from the mess, scrounging about for arms reaching up for them through burning rubble; screaming for help. Water burst from several fire engines, showering the scene in not only snowflakes now. Cuddy stumbled through the uneven ground, her high heels catching in every nook. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the black, rubber ended tip of a cane, and moved, now more quickly, toward it.
    “Mamm, you have to move away from the scene.” A man in a blue uniform clutched Cuddy on both her upper arms as he yelled to be heard. “Mamm, you have to move.”
    Cuddy was frantic, trying to escape the mans grip on her. “No you don’t understand, I saw his cane, he’s under there!!!” She had managed to pick through and throw to the side three small smoldering pieces of metal before the man lifted her whole body.
    “Mamm, we need to clear the scene, for safety reasons. We have professionals rescuing survivors; please let them do their job.”
    Cuddy’s mind ran rigid, this man seemed too calm for the intensity of the situation, he didn’t understand, he didn’t know what she was risking. The man let her down on the opposite side of a now, taped off scene. Guards were posted, and already held back several, also frantic people from entering. Realizing she had no chance of getting back in, she ran around to another entrance to the hospital.
The stairs were packed, wheelchairs bounced from stair to stair, along with thousands of feet. She was shoved several times by an elder woman, trying to overtake her, who screamed in a language Cuddy couldn’t recognize. This was her hospital, and she would have never let this happen, but right now, she didn’t care. One thing was on her mind….was he dead?
    Her high heels had taken the most of the beating. One shoe lacked the tall stump that held it up, while the other had been smashed, revealing blood on the foremost of Cuddy’s foot, but like her slightly burned fingertips, she didn’t notice in the slightest. She ran down the halls that, on a normal day, she would call crazy, all the while pushing carts and biohazard bins away from her path. Doors blurred past, Trauma Room 1, Curtain area 3, Trauma Room 4, Trauma Room 5. She slowed at the sight of many staff members that she knew circled around a gurney, the door read: Trauma Room 6.
    “What was Carter even doing out there…” “What happened…” “Is he gonna be okay…” Most of the voices were too quiet to decipher, but cuddy picked up on some. She followed them into the room and closer to the gurney.
    Carter was unconscious. A chest tube ran from his mid-sternal clavicle area down to an almost filled container. Three IV’s strained out from his right arm, one of which was bright red in color, while the other two were clear. His chest lay open, ribs held apart with a metal tool. Internal paddles lay on the bed beside him while a tall, red haired doctor massaged Carters’ heart with his hands.
    “Where are we?” Cuddy’s voice was higher than usual. A nurse approached her and held out a yellow, paper-like gown. Cuddy pulled her arms through it and grabbed a pair of off-white gloves.
    “5 liters out already, 6 rounds of Epi, shocked times four…” The doctors’ words faded out.
    “No…Archie…no…” Cuddy had seen the tear fall from the doctors’ face at her words. She too, had tears beginning to stream down her face.
    Dr. Morris stepped back from Carter. “I’m sorry buddy…I’m so sorry.” His eyes now flowed too. There was a startling silence in the room, no one moved, no one talked, no one took a single breath.
    “beep……” Ten pairs of eyes flashed to the monitor. “beep.........beep…beep…beep.” Gradually, the beeping became regular.
    “Carter…” Archie’s voice was shaken. “Carter can you hear me?” “Open your eyes, Carter, if you can hear me, open your eyes.”
    Slowly, Caters eyelids twitched, then opened to the crowded room. Cuddy, who stood feet away, moved closer and took Carter’s hand. Archie took the other hand. The room again filled with silence, but this silence was different, this silence was a happy one.
    Carter, who couldn’t talk due to being intubated, shifted his eyes from side to side, from Cuddy to Archie and back again. His eyes were filled with wonder and pain. Understanding what he was doing, and her own eyes filling with tears again, Cuddy spoke, “We don’t know…They haven’t…” She took in a steady breath. “…They haven’t found him yet…They haven’t found him…"