FANFIC - Endangered Life (End)

Hunter pulled himself to the door, pressing one ear against it, trying to hear anything that let him know McCall was alive or where she was being taken. The sheer terror he felt for his partner nearly overwhelmed him. He considered lying on his back and attempting to kick at the door but knew it would be just as useless as trying to break free from his handcuffs. The frustration kept building and he tried shouting DeeDee’s name, hoping against hope she could answer.

No response.

Time became meaningless as he waited.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


McCall struggled helplessly as Thompson all but dragged her from the cell. Her left shoulder was throbbing unmercilessly. The maze he took her through meant she would have an extremely difficult time finding her way back to Hunter if she could possibly manage an escape. An unlikely scenario at this point, she was forced to admit.

Finally, he opened a thick metal door. For a moment, she thought she had been taken to the desert, until she realized that she really was indoors. Boulders and rock formations were everywhere, as were a few large cacti and bare scraggy bushes.

He brought her to a metal rod that had been securely cemented in place. Forcing her to the ground, he looped the chain of her handcuffs through a metal clasp.

She looked up at him, puzzled. “What is this? What are you doing?”

Thompson stepped back with a maniacal grin. “Staking you out, of course. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go get your partner set up in my little swamp. I’ve got some alligators that I know are way overdue to be fed.”

McCall stared up at him in horror. “No! You can’t! You can’t do this!”

“Oh, but I can, my dear Sgt. And don’t you worry about your partner. I suspect you’ll have plenty to occupy your thoughts in just a minute or two. For starters, look around you and see if you can think what kind of beings like the desert setting.” He stepped outside and reached for the door. “I’ve got my cameras rolling to catch all the action, later. I want to watch Sgt Hunter first though. Good-bye, Sgt McCall.”

For several moments, McCall lay in the oppressive heat; the sand covering the floor was even hot. The air was stifling and there was no breeze at all. She shifted as much as possible, trying to find a comfortable position and thought about what Thompson had said.

What kind of animals lived in the desert?

And then she heard it. A sound that could never be mistaken for anything but what it truly was.

Rattlesnakes.

The sound struck mortal fear in her heart. She looked frantically about, trying to see where the sound was coming from and spotted two large snakes, at least four feet in length, slithering slowly towards her.

She choked back the cry of alarm that almost escaped her lips, realizing she didn’t want to do or say anything to attract their attention. Sitting nearly frozen with terror, she watched helplessly as the snakes continued their slow, relentless journey closer and closer.

Three feet away they stopped. First one and then the other coiled their long bodies in a loose coil. They raised their heads and she watched in dread fascination as their tongues began darting in and out, sniffing the air.

Transfixed, McCall couldn’t take her eyes off of them, poised and ready to strike; each one’s head undulating side to side in a nearly hypnotic rhythm. The rattles shook again, sending chills down her spine although the rest of her was bathed in sweat.

All she could think was that she was going to die. She’d seen pictures of snakebite victims and the gruesome damage caused by the poisonous venom. Her breaths came in harsh gasps she was unable to muffle and she finally closed her eyes. She had no weapon and no where to run or even to hide.

She began to pray.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hunter had already checked on O'Hearn. She had mumbled briefly and unintelligibly, then went back to sleep, when he heard the deadbolt turn. Without pausing to think, he moved to the side of the door and waited.

Thompson realized he had made a mistake as soon as he opened the door. In his eagerness to put Hunter out with the alligators, he had underestimated the strength and determination of his prisoner. He should have paused to check on Hunter’s location in the room before stepping inside.

Hunter rolled forward, taking Thompson’s feet out from under him and sending him to the ground. Before Thompson could get his bearings, Hunter managed to loop his arms around him and pin him. The two men turned over and over on the floor, each trying to gain the advantage and using their legs to kick at the other. When they hit a wall, Hunter was able to deliver a vicious head butt that left both of them seeing stars.

Suddenly, Detectives Nate Anderson and Sarah Danvers burst in, guns drawn, followed by three park rangers. They pulled up short at the sight of Hunter and Thompson wrestling on the floor. Without hesitation, they stepped in and pulled the two men apart. More officers arrived to secure Thompson when Hunter explained that he was the man that he and McCall had been searching for. Sarah saw Kitty in the corner and hurried to her while Nate got the handcuffs off of Hunter. One of the rangers radioed in for an ambulance.

“Did you find McCall?” Hunter asked frantically. Everyone shook their heads.

Hunter turned on Thompson, now the one in cuffs. He grabbed the man by his shirt and threw him up against the wall.

“Where is she, Thompson? Where’s McCall?”

“I’m – not - telling - you,” Thompson said, each word clipped and deliberate.

Hunter went ballistic and the other officers were hard pressed to pull him off. Thompson wouldn’t budge. Nate searched Thompson’s pockets and pulled out a large key ring.

Nate took Hunter’s arm. “Come on, man. Let’s just go looking for her. He’s not going to tell us and even if he did, he might be lying and cost us more time.”

Hunter grabbed Thompson by the throat. “You better hope we find her and she’s okay or you’ll –“

Nate pulled him away before Hunter could finish his threat. They tore through the complex, checking every door and room they could find.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They found what was left of Phil and Kay. Hunter identified them by the scraps of clothing he remembered seeing earlier.
He didn’t want to think what McCall was going through but he knew she must be in with some kind of wild animal. They found the piranhas, wild boars, rats, scorpions, but no McCall. Hunter was losing hope.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hunter pushed the door open. A blast of hot air hit him, making him blink. Then he looked cautiously around.
For as long as he lived, he knew he would never, ever forget the sight before him.
Time stopped. He and Nate stood frozen. His partner was lying on the ground, her wrists bound and secured to a metal shaft. Six inches from her face was a snake that he instantly recognized as a rattlesnake. Another lay across her legs. The snakes were both watching her.
Nate sized up the situation in a heartbeat. Slowly and deliberately, never taking his eyes off the snakes, he backed up and when he was out of sight of the snakes, he turned and ran for help.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

McCall was nearly catatonic. She was completely drenched with sweat, her mouth parchment dry and her hair hanging limply, dripping sweat that stung her eyes. She made no move to try and push back the hair in her face.

The only thing she knew was that she could not make a sound. She could not move.

Not when the snakes slithered closer.

Not when one of them crawled over her legs and she felt the cool slick scales on her feverish skin.

Not even when she heard the door open and she heard her partner’s gasp.

His arrival did not register. She had completely disassociated herself from everything but the snakes’ presence.

Mustn’t move. Mustn’t make a sound. Mustn’t move. Mustn’t make a sound.

Over and over, she chanted silently. That was all that mattered.

Mustn’t move. Mustn’t make a sound. Mustn’t move. Mustn’t make a sound.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two of the rangers had arrived, each with a device used to capture snakes – a flexible loop attached to a long pole. It was eerily quiet as they moved slowly forward.

Hunter was forced to stand back, powerless. It was killing him not to be able to go to her or even talk to her.

They were almost there. Communicating with eyes only, each positioned himself behind a snake. With utmost care, they extended the pole and positioned the loop near the snake’s head.

Barely able to breathe, Hunter watched in helpless fascination and dread, waiting for the second that he could free her and take her in his arms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They almost had them trapped.

Each ranger was lowering his loop and they were just at the level of the head, when suddenly, all hell broke loose.

In the blink of an eye, the snake across her legs jabbed his head out and imbedded his fangs in her left ankle, even as the other snake was ensnared.

There were shouts and cries as the other ranger gave up trying to get the loop over the snake’s head and simply flung him away. He knew he ran the risk of getting bit himself, or having the snake bite Sgt. McCall again, but the damage had already been done and he just wanted the get the snake away from her. The park rangers converged on the snakes and scouted for any others.

Hunter was at McCall’s side in an instant, even as paramedics that had been hovering outside made their way to her. They quickly set out their equipment and positioned the stretcher alongside her.

“McCall – McCall – can you hear me?” Hunter fumbled with the key to the handcuffs and finally managed to free her. He had heard how painful snakebites were and was amazed she had made no sound. In fact, he realized that she hadn’t moved at all. Not even when the snake had bitten her.

McCall was glassy eyed and eerily silent.

They quickly scooped her onto the stretcher and removed her from the heated room.

One of the paramedics, Alex, took off her shoe and examined the wound. It wasn’t too swollen. Yet. Then he too, realized that Sgt McCall hadn’t complained of pain. Granted, it looked like she was in shock, but. . .

He glanced over at the rangers who were disposing of the snakes. “Hey, guys!”

They turned.

“Are those Western Diamondbacks?”

The rangers looked carefully at the snakes. The older, Kenny, finally shook his head. “Nope. These are Mojave rattlers.” (Good catch), he thought, (not everyone knew there were different poisons among the rattlesnakes.)

“What’s the difference?” Hunter asked, watching the paramedics start two IV’s and put McCall on the cardiac monitor and oxygen.

“The difference,” Alex said, as he worked, “is that the venom of the Mojave is more neurotoxic. Let’s get her up in the chopper. We’ve got to get her to the hospital so they can administer antivenom as soon as possible.”

Hunter looked down at McCall. She didn’t seem to hear them at all, even though her eyes were still open. She was unfocused, her breathing was becoming labored and she was starting to shiver. He wished that she’d say something – anything. If only she would acknowledge his presence somehow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.

"Can I come with her on the chopper?" he asked, as they wheeled McCall out of the building.

"Sorry, there's not enough room for one extra, but she'll be going to the same hospital so you can ride with them," the paramedic pointed towards the ambulance where Kitty was loaded into.

McCall was loaded into the chopper, the door closed and they took off.

"Hang in there, DeeDee," Hunter said softly, as he watched them fly away.

Charlie walked up to him and put his hand on his shoulder, "She's a fighter, she's not gonna give up that easy."

"I know but still...."

"I'll be at the hospital as soon as I'm done here. Go; the ambulance is waiting for you."

"Thanks, Charlie," Hunter said and rushed to the ambulance to get on.



During the flight, McCall was fighting but the battle for her life was a tough one. Breathing was getting harder and harder, so they gave her some extra oxygen by mask. Her heart rate and blood pressure were changing from time to time. All this was caused by the spreading venom.

When they arrived at the hospital a team of doctors was waiting for her, so they could start her treatment immediately.

By the time Hunter arrived in the ambulance with Kitty, McCall had been put on an IV with anti venom and taken up to the ICU.

When he asked about her the nurse noticed the wounds on his wrists, "I think it's a good idea that a doctor takes a look at you first."

He looked at his injured wrists, "Maybe later, I'd like to see my partner first."

The nurse made him promise to have himself checked out later before telling him where he could find McCall.

Looking trough the glass screen, watching her, all kind of thoughts ran through his head. Was she going to be alright? What made a human being do such a thing to another human being? Why did he need to go after this guy so badly, so this wouldn't have happened? Why her....?

The sound of squeaking shoes snapped him out of his thoughts. A doctor approached him.

"Hi, I'm Doctor Miller. Are you her husband?" he asked.

"No. I'm her partner. We're police officers. How is she?"

"Well she was in pretty bad shape when they brought her in. I haven't seen anyone react so strongly to this kind of snake bite before but the anti venom seems to be doing its work. She's stable right now, getting some oxygen by mask to help her breathe. We should know more in 24 hours."

"Can I sit with her?"

"Sure, there's a chair in the corner of the room."


The promise Hunter made to the nurse earlier shot through his mind as he grabbed the chair. Lifting it hurt so much, he nearly dropped it.

Knowing McCall was okay for now, he decided to go get checked out first.

His injuries weren't bad: bruises and scratches all over his body from fighting with Thompson. The wrists didn't need stitches but were badly bruised and bandaged for extra support. When he returned, Doc Miller was standing next to McCall's bed, reading the chart, and a nurse was working on her IV.

"Something wrong?" Hunter asked, as he walked in.

"Her heartbeat got a bit irregular again, so the heart monitor gave an alarm signal. It's one of the symptoms of this snakebite." he explained. "The nurse is checking the IV line to see if it's not blocked anywhere, standard procedure. I see you had someone take a look at you," Doc Miller changed the subject.

"Yeah, they said I'll live," Hunter replied, as he sat down.

Just as the Doc wanted to leave, Charlie walked in and introduced himself.

"How is she doing?"

"She's lucky; her reaction to the venom was strong but she's stable now. The next 24 hours are crucial."

Doc Miller left to do the rest of his rounds and Charlie turned to Hunter.

"I've just seen Kitty, she's gonna be fine."

"That's good news,"

"Thompson is behind bars. I'm gonna interview him myself, as soon as I get back. How are you?"

"A bit black and blue and these are badly bruised," he answered showing his wrists. "But I'll live. Did you find anything useful at Thompson’s hideout?"

“Enough to put him away for a long time. He was in the process of destroying his files but a lot of it was still there. We found records of clients, what animals were used and who the victims were. This guy was training and offering regular killing machines."

"What about the animals there?"

"Well some of them are so aggressive, I don't know if they can be re-homed. But a lot of them can. I have people calling Zoo's and wildlife parks all over the country."

Hunter was trying to keep his mind on what Charlie was telling him, but he was feeling tired.

Charlie noticed, "Would you like me to give you a ride home, you look beat."

"No, thanks. I want to stick around in case she wakes up."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Okay, I'll leave you to it. I've got an animal to interview."

"Turn him inside out will you, for McCall."

"No problem."


After Charlie had left Hunter laid his head on the bed and closed his eyes, too tired to stay awake.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been 12 hours since the Mojave Rattlesnake had imbedded its fangs in DeeDee McCall’s right ankle. A battle was currently being waged in her body between the neurotoxic venom and medical drugs, including numerous vials of antivenom. Vial after vial was infused to combat the irregular heart beat, muscle spasms, chills, fever and vomiting. There were times when it was difficult to tell which side was winning. They rehydrated her, cooled her down and monitored her closely. Through it all, DeeDee remained unresponsive and eerily quiet.

Charlie and Brad took turns at meal times, watching Hunter closely to make sure he at least ate something. Hunter choked down the tasteless food placed before him, wanting nothing more than to get back to his partner. He dozed fitfully either at her bedside, or in the waiting room when the nurses shooed him out to care for McCall.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next evening, Hunter was sitting in the chair he’d placed close to McCall’s bed. He kept his hand atop her right arm, mindful of the IV infusing into her wrist.

He stared over at the sling that was immobilizing her left arm. Nothing broken; but the shoulder was severely bruised with strained tendons and ligaments from Thompson’s manhandling. When the doctor had discovered the swelling and discoloration, he’d gone straight to Hunter to get a detailed mechanism of injury. Rubbing his aching head, Hunter had recounted the event. Later, he’d breathed a quiet sigh of relief to learn no serious damage had been done.

Now, here he sat, watching the IV fluids infusing into Dee Dee’s veins, carefully controlled by pumps. Listening to the various machines and monitors soon lulled him to sleep, still with his hand on his partner.

A light tap on his shoulder woke him instantly. With a quiet groan, he painfully pulled himself upright, his muscles still tight and sore.

“Rick.”

He looked over to see Uncle Tom and Jackie Valentine.

“How is she?” his uncle asked, softly as they both stepped closer to the bed.

Grateful for their presence, Hunter glanced over at Dee Dee’s face. “She’s holding her own. They’ve given her, I think, 18 vials of antivenom. They’re hoping they don’t have to give her anymore. She – she just won’t wake up.”

Tom shook his head. “I’m sorry.”

“Me, too.” Jackie said. “I wish I could have gotten you more help, so you two wouldn’t have had to be at his place.”

“It’s not your fault, Jackie,” Hunter reassured him, “We were set up.” He went on to explain about the phone call and concluded with finding McCall chained to the floor in a heated room with two venomous snakes.

“Do they have enough evidence to lock him up?” Jackie asked.

Hunter nodded. “Plenty. The guy is going down.”

“Maybe permanently,” Tom said, in a neutral voice.

Hunter chose to ignore the implications. Whatever happened to Cameron Thompson would never repay all the death and terror the man had orchestrated. He could only thank God that he and McCall had escaped the death, but they would probably never forget the terror.

He did a double-take.

Hunter peered closely at his partner’s face, noticing that even asleep, her brow was slightly furrowed, her lips seemed thinned a bit. Was she in pain? Or was it something else?

He thought back to when they had found her. Had her mind taken her someplace safe, away from the horrific situation she had been placed? Did she think she was still there? Was she trying to escape?

Jackie and Tom exchanged glances.

“Maybe we should leave,” Tom said. “Take care of her, Ricky.”

Hunter nodded briefly, and then stood over his partner. Staring down at her intently, he ran his hand over her cheek and smoothed back her hair.

“DeeDee, can you hear me? It’s me, Rick.” He bent closer. “DeeDee, it’s all over now. I need you to open your eyes. You’re safe now, DeeDee. Please, please come back to me. Please open your eyes. Nothing is going to hurt you, so please, please DeeDee, please open your eyes.”

He had no idea how long he talked to her, trying to convince her but it vaguely registered that the antivenom infusions had stopped and that effects of the poison had been nullified. Her heartbeat remained regular, she hadn’t had any further vomiting or muscle spasms and the puncture wound had not shown any signs of infection. The medical personnel were extremely pleased.

Now if she would only wake up. They too, were convinced that it was probably a defense mechanism that kept her unresponsive and they encouraged Hunter to continue to talk to her, hoping that on some level she was able to hear him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When the nurse came in to change out the IV tubing, Hunter excused himself to go to the bathroom. She was just finishing up as he stepped back into the room. He watched as she secured the connection, reapplied fresh tape and then slipped silently out.

With a sigh, he went to the window, staring absently out at the dark thunder clouds on the horizon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Snakes

Snakes, everywhere.

Oh my God! No! No more snakes!

There was no escape. They pinned her, held her down and enveloped her body.

She could feel one.

There - on her arm.

Get off – get it off – get it off!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Hunter heard the blood-curdling scream emanating from his partner, he thought for certain his heart would stop. He turned away from the window to see she had pulled herself up in bed and gotten her left arm out of the sling. Completely hysterical, she was pulling at the IV tubing on her arm, the monitor leads on her chest and the NG tube that had been in her nose.

He was at her side in an instant, attempting to hold her down, but he was no match for the pure panic that gave her nearly superhuman strength.

Her piercing screams brought the nurses on the run, as well as Dr. Miller, who had been about to check in on her. There were shouts and orders and Hunter tried desperately to get through to her but to no avail; having to settle for trying not to let her hurt herself.

He heard the doctor call for medication and he hoped like hell it was a sedative. It took two nurses to get the drug injected into the IV as DeeDee flailed her arm.

It was like flipping a switch. Within seconds, her body went completely limp; her cries mercifully silenced. It took several minutes for everyone to detangle themselves and get DeeDee settled back in the bed.

Dr. Miller pulled out the chart and began writing. “In light of what’s happened; I’m going to order the NG tube removed and I think we can go ahead and get her off the telemetry monitoring.”

The nurses nodded as they carefully put Dee Dee’s left arm back in the sling. “What about the IV?” one of them asked, as she reapplied the tape.

Dr. Miller thought for a moment. “I’d like to leave it in for now, but you can take it out when she wakes up again, provided she’s not in the same agitated state.”

Hunter was still trying to catch his breath. “What the hell just happened here?”

“I think she had a nightmare or some kind of hallucination, and perceived the various tubes to be snakes. Hopefully, though, it means she’s coming around and starting to deal with the event. Keep talking to her, and reassuring her. The medication I gave her will wear off in a little while and hopefully she’ll be less distressed.”

(God), Hunter thought, (I hope so). He didn’t think he could handle seeing her that traumatized again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Several hours later, to Hunter’s immense relief, McCall opened her eyes. Moving slowly and careful not to make any sudden movements, he sat down next to her on the bed. He was inordinately pleased to see her beautiful brown eyes focus on him.

“Hunter,” she whispered, hoarsely.

“Yeah,” he said, unable to keep the smile off his face, as he took her hand in his. “Glad to see you awake. I’ve really missed you.”

Clutching his hand like a lifeline, McCall let her gaze move about the room, taking in her surroundings. “It’s over?”

“You’re safe. Thompson’s locked up.”

She took a slow deep breath. “Kitty?”

“She went home this morning. She’s okay, just banged up like me. She said she’d be back to check on you in the morning.”

McCall looked out the window and saw that it was dark outside. “How long have I been here?”

“A couple of days.” Hunter kept his tone light. “But you’re all right now. We’ve just been waiting for you to wake up.”

McCall stared at Hunter, her eyes wide and bright with unshed tears. “I was so frightened,” she whispered. “I thought I was going to die.”

“I know,” Hunter whispered back. “But you’re safe now.” Very carefully, he pulled her to a sitting position and held her close.

McCall wrapped her good arm around him and hugged him fiercely. She thought she could stay like this, enveloped in his embrace forever. She closed her eyes and felt the tears slip out.

Hunter felt the wetness through the thin material of his t-shirt. His heart broke as he continued to hold her to him. He would do anything to make this whole terrifying episode vanish like smoke.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DeeDee sat on the back porch swing, staring out across her backyard. Home at last. It felt so good to be outside; the afternoon sun warm on her face. She was startled by a rustling in a bush next to her and when she looked down, she saw a small black kitten.

Smiling broadly, she stood and was about to reach out to the tiny animal when the kitten meowed loudly and arched it’s back, looking into the bush it had just exited from. McCall froze. The kitten’s fur was standing completely on end all over its body, its tail as thick as a bottle brush. It meowed again and then McCall saw what had gotten it so stressed.

A snake.

McCall whimpered and immediately drew back, her breath coming in short, sharp gasps.

It wasn’t a large snake; small, brown, bigger than the kitten, although not by much, but she felt completely paralyzed with fear.

The kitten however, was not intimidated. It hissed, spit and one tiny paw shot out to swipe at the offending creature before him. The snake dodged easily.

McCall tried to get her breathing under control, transfixed by the scene before her. The fearless little kitten kept up his attack, swiping again at the snake with a loud meow. The snake had enough and quickly slithered off. McCall watched it until she was sure the snake was gone through the fence. Bonelessly she sank back down onto the swing.

It was several minutes before her heart rate returned to normal. The kitten watched her, then came closer and jumped onto her lap. McCall smiled. “Well, hello, precious.” She stroked the soft fur. The kitten purred contentedly and curled up in a ball.

McCall continued to rhythmic stroking. “Aren’t you the brave one?” She gave a self-deprecating laugh. “Big detective, saved by tiny kitten.” The kitten looked up at her with its yellow-green eyes and meowed softly. “Would you like to stick around and keep me company?”

The kitten was asleep. McCall smiled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hunter pulled into McCall’s driveway with a carload full of groceries. He hadn’t wanted to leave her alone after bringing her home from the hospital, but she’d insisted, saying she wanted to get cleaned up.

He found her in the living room, asleep on the couch with a tiny black kitten curled up on her chest, nestled in her sling. His eyes grew wide. Now, where had that come from?

McCall heard him and slowly opened her eyes. “Hi.”

“Hi. Who’s your friend?”

McCall petted the kitten, which proceeded to purr again. She told Hunter how the little kitten had chased away the snake. “I think I could learn something from it.”

Hunter went to her and kissed her forehead. “I think you already have.”