Falling Inside the Black
Coulson stirred to a pounding head and a sore everything. He could feel something pinning his left leg, and he was afraid to move anything else. It was dark and the floor was damp; he could feel the moisture seeping into his shoulders where the Kevlar ended. He took a mental note of his body and thankfully the only thing he couldn't quite move was the pinned ankle. It was a wonder he hadn't been impaled or crushed by fallen rock. He sincerely hoped it wasn't broken, it would make the trip out of here a hell of a lot more difficult. With a grunt and heave, he lifted himself to a sitting position and tried his best to get a bearing on his surroundings despite the limited vision. Reaching forward, he let his hand skim over his leg until he found the large rock pinning it down.
Once he assessed that there was little pain, he put his other foot on the end of the rock and proceeded to shove it off of him. The process was slow and painful but he eventually got it off his foot and immediately felt the delayed agony. It wasn't broken, he'd had enough of those to know what it felt like but it was definitely sprained or badly bruised.
He gingerly got to his feet and searched the almost pitch black around him until he spotted the glow stick a few feet away from him. With an obvious limp, he shuffled over to it and picked it up. Just when his hand touched it, fingers snagged his wrist. He automatically went for the gun at his side but stopped when he saw who they belonged to.
Mack was leaning against one of the walls, banged up and slightly out of it but seemingly okay. He was staring at Coulson with black, dimmed frightened eyes and Coulson's fingers loosened from around the gun. Without saying anything, the older agent offered his hand and after a second of hesitation Mack took it. He hoisted the big guy to his feet, letting his eyes skim over him.
"Are you alright?" Coulson asked and Mack rubbed the back of his head, wincing.
"Yeah, knocked my head pretty good against the wall but I'll live. Was that an earthquake?" The engineer wondered, looking at the rock above their heads.
Coulson followed his gaze, his eyes squinting in the dark. "Sure felt like it." He turned, seemingly jolted by a thought and shook the light stick when it began to fade. "Whatever it was collapsed the walls around Skye and Raina. We need to get them out. Who knows how much longer the tunnels will remain stable."
Mack hesitated but followed his team leader. "Sir, shouldn't we try to contact the rest of the team and let them know what happened?" He looked at the ton of rocks blocking their path. "And possibly get a couple more hands helping move the rubble?"
The team leader did not look away from the mountain of rock, his eye brows drawing together. He clenched his jaw, trying not to think about the fact that Skye was most likely crushed underneath all that. He did his best to hold it together, knowing he'd have another major freak out later.
"Good idea, go find May. She'll want to know our status." Mack turned to leave but paused only a second later. "Uh Coulson, which way do I go?" The older agent's lips twitched. "It's two rights, three lefts and then one more right. The rope should still be down."
Not wasting anytime, Mack left and Coulson began pulling away the rocks that he could lift without any help. In a couple minutes his forehead was glistening with sweat and every part of his body was burning hot with pain and exhaustion. His ankle was distracting but he knew that there was no time to stop or slow down. He had to find Skye and now.
"Skye! Skye can you hear me!" he shouted but quietly swore when silence answered him.
He only stopped when he was breathing heavily and the agony was almost overwhelming. Just when he was about to sink to his knees, hands grasped his arms, squeezing tightly. They held him up but prevented him from reaching for another rock.
"Coulson, you're hurt." Came May's concerned voice from behind him but his mind was consumed with only one thing.
"No, I can't stop. I have to keep going. I have to find Skye." He tried pulling away from her but May was unyielding. His fingers fumbled with another rock before she laid a hand over his, staying his movements.
"I know you want to find her, Phil. We all do but she was buried beneath a ton of rubble. The odds of her surviving that…" She trailed off unable to finish and surprisingly overcome with emotion, the devastated look on his face not helping her steady herself mentally.
He shook his head. "I know the odds, but Skye's strong, she's made it through worse. Her father wouldn't say she was special for nothing. He wasn't sending her to her death. She has to be here. Now help me find her."
May frowned deeply but slowly loosened her hold on his arms, turning to look at Mack. "You heard him, let's get this rock moving." The mechanic looked skeptical but bent over and began helping move the obstacles out of the way.
They paused as the sound of hurried footsteps came rushing down the corridor toward the trio. May pulled her weapon and Coulson stopped sifting through the rubble, turning to see who it was while Mack picked up a nice sized rock for defense. They only dropped their guard when Fitz and Simmons came rushing into view under the glow sticks.
Simmons looked terrified, her eyes flicking frantically over all of them before they landed on the fallen rock. Her hand went to her mouth and her eyes watered as a sob caught in her throat. Fitz put a hand on his chest and bent over slightly to catch his breath after the sprint.
"Where's Trip?" she asked, aiming the question at Coulson who looked confused.
"I thought he was with you."
Simmons gripped Fitz' arm, her expression worried. "When he heard you and Skye went down after Raina, he went to shut off the bombs and never came back. We waited, but after the earthquake hit, we wanted to make sure everyone was okay. Have you seen Trip?" There was so much hope in her bright eyes as she stared at Coulson.
He shared a look with May before locking eyes with Simmons. "We haven't seen anyone since before the earthquake, but we're trying to find Skye and capture Raina. Take Mack with you and search the other tunnels for Trip. He may just be unconscious or trapped by debris."
The young scientist seemed relieved to be given a productive job, nodding and heading for one of the tunnels, Fitz and Mack following after her. May put her gun back in her holster and glanced over at her friend. "Do you think it was a good idea to split up the team after what just happened?" she asked.
He sighed, still looking off after where the three disappeared. "Probably not but we don't need to waste any more time. Skye and Trip need to be found and Raina needs to be subdued. The quicker we do that, the quicker we can get out of this forsaken place and to safety. I'm not sure how stable the structures are, especially with the earthquakes."
May did not answer verbally, going back to work instead and Coulson joined her. After almost thirty minutes of digging out a path to find the room, they finally saw the podium in the center and guessed that was where it had all went down. Coulson rushed inside, his eyes scanning the other walls that were still intact and pausing on the broken shards of what used to be the Obelisk.
There was nothing to be found, most importantly no Skye or Raina. He tried to tell himself that no body meant she must be still alive and that was at least a little bit comforting. He ran a hand through his hair, wondering once again how the hell it had all come to this.
"Phil, you need to see this," May said, crouching over something against the far wall that he couldn't quite see from his position. He went to her side, bending over her shoulder to look at whatever had her captivated.
He took one look and knew why her face was so grim. "Trip," he whispered, not believing what he was seeing in front of him. The crumbled remains of his agent was at their feet and he had no idea what to do or feel.
"The obelisk must have disintegrated him after he tried to destroy it. You don't think that happened to Skye, do you?" he asked and even though his expression was virtually blank, the slight breaking of his voice on her name, told May exactly how he was really feeling.
May didn't know how to give him a truthful answer that she too would believe so instead she settled for a gentle hand on his forearm. She waited in silence, letting the news settle in the pit of her stomach, not wanting to completely digest that information quite yet, not when they still had to find Skye.
Coulson was still staring at his agent's remains, a look of horror frozen on his face. "We should tell Simmons that we found Trip," he said dully, the words sticking slightly in his throat.
At his quiet statement, it occurred to May that Phil was reaching the end of his rope. They'd just lost an agent and friend and she could clearly see that it was tearing him up inside. She didn't want to know what would happen if they lost Skye too. The last thing she wanted was for this to be Phil's Bahrain. She didn't even want to contemplate what this would do to her if something horrible happened to Skye. May had seen enough blood and death to last a lifetime.
He stood up from his crouched position and turned, heading for the exit path that they'd come in through. May had no other choice but to follow him out, her eyes narrowed as she watched him stare out at the tunnels with an unreadable look on his face. "I'll tell them the news," she offered, but the words barely left her mouth before he cut her off.
"No, they need to hear it from me. I gave the order for this mission. If it weren't for me none of them would have even been near this place." He said it so nonchalantly, like he totally wasn't having his own guilt fest over the fact that it was his decision to go on this mission.
May cocked her head, frowning. "This isn't your fault, Phil. You may have given the order that brought them here but it was their choice on whether or not to follow that order. Every one of them knew exactly what they were getting into when they signed on for this job. You didn't order Trip to come back down and disconnect the bombs. He did that all on his own, probably knowing full well he wouldn't make it back. Yeah, it was brave and completely stupid to try and destroy the Obelisk but if any of us had been in his shoes we would have done the exact same thing to save someone else."
His head whipped around, his blue eyes locking on her own and blazing with a fire that she had not seen in a long time. "If I'd protected Skye like I was supposed to than Trip wouldn't have had to do my job for me and die because of it. If anyone should have died trying to save Skye than it should have been me. I was supposed to protect her from this, protect her from her father and the crazy plans he had for her and I didn't. I failed her and now Trip is dead and Skye might be too."
Her nerves were starting to fray. "Skye's a grown woman and a trained agent who can take care of herself. I understand the need to watch out for her but you were the one who assured me that she could handle whatever was thrown at her. You can't blame yourself for not protecting her from every little thing. Don't waste your time playing the 'what if' game. Nothing good will come of it, Phil. Believe me, I would know."
He looked as if he wanted to finish that conversation but multiple footsteps coming toward them had him turning and raising the glow stick toward the sound. Mack appeared closely followed by Simmons and Fitz. They were all sweaty, tired, and about ready to collapse.
Mack was the first to speak, since Jemma looked on the verge of tears. "Coulson, we searched every tunnel and found no sign of Trip."
"But…we did find this…" Fitz spoke up, holding out the old clock timer that would have been used to set off the bombs. Simmons' eyes were boring into Coulson who seemed hesitant on meeting her gaze straight on.
"It's an uh…" Fitz eyebrows drew together, as he twisted the device in his hand.
Mack glanced at him. "A handheld vintage bomb detonator?"
The engineer snapped his fingers and nodded, his blue eyes flickering over to the big guy beside him before looking at Coulson. "That's what I was about to say," he mumbled lamely.
Coulson finally made himself make eye contact with Simmons, whose face crumpled immediately at the stormy glint in his eyes. "Jemma," he began softly, trying to keep his voice as calm and gentle as possible but she cut across him.
"You don't have to say it. He didn't…make it did he, Agent Coulson?" she asked, her words ringing soundly against the walls surrounding them as she clung onto Fitz for dear life.
The lead agent gave a small shake of his head. "No, he didn't. We believe that he…gave his life trying to save Skye." He didn't know what made him add that last part but he felt like she needed to know that his sacrifice wasn't in vein.
Jemma dissolved into sobs, while Fitz' face paled as he stared at Coulson with wide terrified blue eyes. "Where is Skye?" he asked, for once knowing exactly what he wanted to say.
May was quicker than Coulson. "We didn't find Skye or Raina among the collapsed rock."
"What-what does that mean exactly?" Fitz wondered, his eyes flicking between the other two agents standing across from him. Jemma's crying started to subside as she listened partially to the continued conversation.
"It means we should get out of here before another earthquake hits and kills us all," Mack answered, glancing toward the exit. Phil frowned, May's lips thinned at his suggestion and Simmons turned to look at Mack with wide watery eyes.
"If you're suggesting we cut our losses…" May trailed off, dark eyes glaring at the big guy.
"We already lost Trip. We can't leave Skye for dead!" Simmons protested and Fitz glanced at the mechanic that had slowly become his friend in the recent months, not believing what he was hearing.
"He's right," Coulson said and everyone turned to stare at him in shock.
May narrowed her eyes. "Coulson…"
He silenced her with a look. "Safety should be our first priority. We've lost enough agents. Mack, you and FitzSimmons head back up top where it's safe. May and I will do one more sweep of the tunnels and then join you."
"Sir, we should stay with you and help you look," Simmons insisted while Mack was already turning to leave and motioning for Fitz to follow.
Phil shook his head. "No, you'll be safer up there. Don't make me order you to go." It was the closest she'd ever heard him come to desperation and doubled with the pained glint in his eye, Jemma knew she couldn't deny him.
She bit her lip to hold the tears back. "Please find her, Agent Coulson." She turned to go, letting Fitz fall into step beside her, even though his eyes were still on their team leaders. Mack put a hand on the engineer's shoulder and he finally turned away too.
Coulson watched them leave before heading for the tunnel opposite of the one the trio just exited; not glancing back to see if May was following. He flashed his glow stick into every corner and crevice as he passed, his only words were shouts of Skye's name every few minutes.
May didn't know how to make it better but she knew she had to try. "I can't help you, Phil, if you don't tell me what you are thinking. Are you seriously expecting to find Skye hiding in one of the corners?" She wasn't trying to provoke him but she could tell when he was starting to grasp at straws. She more than knew he'd run out of fresh ideas a while ago and was now running on pure fumes.
He met her gaze sharply, his jaw clenched. "I don't know what the hell I'm doing, I just know that I have to find Skye. And I don't have the first clue as to where she could possibly be or why she wouldn't still be in that temple. But if Raina, Ward or God forbid her father has her in their clutches than I'm going to get her back." There was desperation in his tone where any other time she would have expected anger.
"I know we'll get her back, Phil. I don't doubt that. I just don't think that rescue is going to happen in the dark." The second the words left her mouth, his piercing stare was on her. "We're all exhausted. None of us are going to do Skye any good in this condition. We should rest, regroup and continue our search at morning light. Besides…I think it's pretty clear that she's not down here." She elaborated quickly before he exploded at her.
He narrowed his eyes. "You don't think she left against her will," he guessed, suddenly thinking really hard about the turn of events and May's advice.
May shook her head. "No, I don't. If she really went through a transformation like her father said than she's afraid. She's afraid she might hurt someone. And what do people do when they're afraid?"
Understanding dawned over his face. "They run."
She perched her hands on her hips. "My best guess is she's somewhere outside of the city, far away from people. She doesn't have a way out of Puerto Rico and won't find one in the next day. If I were her, I would be looking for a place to stay for the night, so I could rest and plan my next step."
"Do we have a way to track her down? Otherwise we're going to have a lot of ground to cover." They started walking down the tunnel again, searching as they brainstormed ideas.
"If we still have Fitz' golden retrievers, they might be able to narrow down the search area and if one of the team takes the quinjet up they'll be able to cover ground faster."
Coulson nodded. "Good thinking, we'll start first thing tomorrow." He turned, heading for the exit that they'd sent the others through.
May had something else on her mind. "Phil?" she said and he glanced at her. "If worse comes to worse and Skye refuses to come willingly, what are you prepared to do?"
His back stiffened, but his facial expression did not change other than a slight twitch in his jaw. "I'll do what needs to be done, but I'm confident we can convince her she's better off with us."
She recognized a dodged question when she saw one but didn't call him on it, even though he knew she was on to him. Instead, she pursed her lips and simply nodded. May didn't want to think about the possibility that Skye could be dangerous or that she would ever hurt anyone, but only God knows what that Obelisk did to her. She might not even be the Skye they remember. She prayed it wouldn't come to drastic measures; May wasn't sure Phil could handle that.