Knocking on Heaven's Door

Prologue) It's Getting too Dark to See

A/N: I promised this fic to be out sooner, I know, but life specifically school got in the way. It's a short chapter, but I promise they will get longer. The song that inspired me to write this is Blackwall's cover of Knocking on Heaven's Door. I heard it in the trailer for Hell or High Water, Chris Pine's new movie I'm dying to see.
I've always loved the song, but this cover is ruining me emotionally so why not pour my heart out through fic?

Anyhow, enjoy the read and a review would be nice.

"What do you mean you lost them?!" Leonard McCoy's voice roared through the transporter room. "How can you let them out of your damned sight?!"

Everyone though bloody and beaten waited for their chief medical to calm down. "Doctor McCoy, I know that you care about the captain but by yelling at us for something that was completely out of our hands does not help his and Jaylah's situation." The landing party had flinched at the booming voice of McCoy but not Spock. He'd remained his solid self-replying with a stoic voice. "Now please take care of the severe injured ensigns in this room so I can take control of the ship and find our missing members. Unless you want to do it yourself of course." McCoy opened his mouth to comment but refrained himself. "Nurse Chapel, get them to Medbay." He left with a huff pushing past the acting captain.

The Bridge crew that had stayed behind eyed the commander weary. The whole ship had heard what happened, had heard the screams of their leader and the new red-shirt. What was he going to say?

"Spock!" Uhura was the first one to notice the Vulcan's presence. She removed the con from her ear, abandoning her station to take a step closer to him.

Spock ignored her, moving to the captain's chair. "Acting captain Spock's log: Stardate 2616.8. After a failed mission to explore a new found M-class planet we lost captain Kirk and ensign Jaylah. When the natives attacked dividing us into two groups," Spock took a deep breath to even his voice. "Jim got hit by a spear-like weapon during a rescue attempt to protect ensign Jaylah. They fell into a chasm which has water running below. They did not returned to the surface, but we will continue looking as long as Starfleet allows us to stay in orbit around the planet."

The Bridge had never been this quiet before. They'd heard the shouts through the open communications, but none had witnessed the moment. It haunted Spock to see his friend go limp as the weapon pierced his chest.

"Com-keptin, you okay?" The small voice pulled Spock back to the present. "Yes, mister Chekov. Everything is fine." They all looked at him, eyes filled with doubt. He was emotionally compromised by this event. He knew it, they knew it. Did they care one bit? Not at all.

"What do you want us to do?" Sulu demanded, hand gripping the edge of the table.

"Lieutenant, try to make contact with the nearest Starbase and report. Mister Sulu, mister Chekov try to keep us hidden for any possible detectors. They might fight with spears and knives, but it is possible they have more knowledge than we are aware of. Also prepare a ship wide message. We are sending down a landing party with volunteers. We will have some time to find Jaylah and the captain, before we are needed elsewhere."

Or at least he hoped so.

It had happened so fast. So fast she wasn't even aware of it the first few seconds. She was fighting of the natives that had gone after her when all of a sudden her captain was standing in front of her, blood dripping from his mouth as he croaked out her name. She had had just enough time to hold her arms out to catch him, but his dead weight was too heavy. They fell backwards into the river. A river racing down the small chasm at a dazzling speed.

"James T.!" Jaylah yelled out as she looked around searching for him. She was having difficulties with staying afloat herself, but deep down she knew he wasn't going to survive this without her help. Jaylah simply couldn't let him die!

Deciding to do something incredibly stupid-but necessary-she took in a heap of air before diving down. Her eyes burned as she opened them. The muddy stream preventing her from seeing clearly.
As the current pulled her forward through the mess she'd have to get up even more frequently. "JAMES T.!" She screamed out, her lungs burning.

Fear began to settle in the pit of her stomach. It didn't paralyze her though as she took in another huge amount of air.

It was like searching in a black abyss without one single form of light, but she rather died than give up.

Jaylah narrowed her eyes as something a few feet away looked slightly different than the rocks passing her. She propelled herself forward, pushing off on one of the rocks.

As she closed in on the form, the bright yellow of the shirt became visible.

Reaching out to grab the piece of fabric the burning sensation came back. Pulling the seemingly lifeless body close to her chest she tried to swim back to the surface. The extra weight of the captain slowing her down but still manageable.

As they resurfaced she hastily blinked the dirty water from her eyes before glancing down at the captain. "James T.?" She asked noticing the morbid pale color he had, blood once again leaking from his cracked lips, eyes shut.
One or the other the weapon had left his body, leaving a huge red mark that had no intent on stopping it's continuing leaking of the dark substance.

"No…" She whispered fear sticking its ugly head up once again. She had to get them to safety, to vast grounds.

Several in keepings could provide them safety from the water, but getting there was a totally different story.

Gripping the collar of Jim's shirt with her left hand she reached out with her other arm as far as she could. It was by a mile not the smartest idea, but the situation gave her no other choice.

Jaylah braced herself for the pain as another in keeping doomed up in front of them. Her forearm collided with the stone wall, making her scream out in pain. Her fingers clung desperately at the edge of the cave-in.

Gritting her teeth together she tried to pull them into the hole, but the clashing water didn't make it particularly easy. The yellow shirt slipping from her grasp.

"I am not losing you again, James T.!" She yelled, adrenaline coursing through her body as Jaylah pulled the lifeless body into the cave away from the current.

She quickly pulled herself in as well, dropping on her knees next to the captain. "James T.?" She asked, holding her throbbing arm close to her chest.

She did a quick once over on the man lying in front of her, noticing a very alarming fact. He isn't breathing.

"Spock, the sensors are scanning sector four by ten right now. Still no sign of them." The acting captain nodded at his lieutenant. Uhura shot him a sympathetic glance. To anyone else on the ship Spock didn't seem that much more stressed or anything even close to worry, but she knew better.

Jim not being near him was eating him alive. After the whole Khan-affair, Spock hadn't left the captain out of his sight for over a year. Kirk basically announcing he couldn't live without him during the Krall-drama didn't exactly make the feeling go away. There is no one else Spock cares more about, not even her. Uhura knows this, hell everyone knows this. But with Jaylah being on the Enterprise and Jim's obvious adoration for the white alien girl Nyota began to question if it sparked up any feelings inside Spock he rather doesn't show.

"Thank you, lieutenant. Proceed to scan sector eleven by twenty. If mister Chekov's calculations are correct those are the last sectors of the planet where the river passes before mouthing into the underground. They'd be…" Spock shook his head ever so slightly before continuing. "We would be forced to leave them behind."

The silence on the Bridge spoke more than any words ever could. "Get to work!" Spock said feeling uncomfortable under everyone's eyes. "I'm in my quarters if you need me." With that he left, hurrying into the elevator.

"Deck Five." He stated as the doors closed. He was grateful for the fact Nyota left him alone. He was not in the mood for company, nor questions. Asking him if he's okay would only be illogical, noting the fact it is pretty obvious he is everything but fine.

As the doors shove open he marched towards his quarters, ignoring the stares of the passing crewmembers. Spock halted in front of his neighbor's room. The bright letters next to the door making his heart clench with fear. Something he'd rarely felt in his entire life. He could always go into the room via their adjoining bathroom, but he felt the need to use the front door. Showing the already gaping crew that he, in fact, cares.

Pushing the button, the door slipped open.
For being the most important person on the Enterprise, Jim didn't really give a crap about privacy.

Spock on the other hand does very much. He locked the door the moment he set foot in it.

As he looked around the mess, he couldn't help but swallow down the sob that was forming in his throat. He hadn't cried since the radiation and that was more anger than sadness, but unless last time he had no one to punch, no one to yell at. No one had done something wrong, had listened to the wrong person. It was a simple mission gone wrong. Jim being the sacrificial person he is, doing the thing he's best at. This time there was no turning back, everything depended on Jaylah.

Spock knew the girl had finished her lessons at the Academy. She knew the basics of the medical department thanks to Doctor McCoy, but he couldn't help but dread she herself was too injured to do much about Jim's condition. He sat down on the unmade bed, taking up a green shirt from the ground. God he hated that shirt. Spock cringed, rolling it up into a ball before keeping it between his palms and pressing it against his nose.

Right there, he cried… A sob escaping his throat.

To be continued…