One Fallen Snowflake

Part 2

“God damn it! Slow down!” Nick grabbed the handle of the door and clung on for dear life as Matt made a sharp turn at the light. The tires screeched and sent a wave of burnt rubber into the city streets.

“Stupid!” Matt cursed under his breath before banging his fist against the wheel as he pushed harder on the accelerator. His teeth grit together hard enough to squeak as fear pulsed through his chest. “Why is he such an i***t?”

Nick’s eyes doubled in size. His eyebrows darted high into his forehead as he swore colorfully while they made another sharp turn, his face paler than the fallen snow outside as they barely missed crashing head on into another vehicle.

“Argh!” Nick winced as his head hit the glass of the window with a bang as Matt continued to accelerate with the mindset of a madman on a rampage. “Slow down! You’re going to get us killed!”

“We’re almost there!” Matt shot back, eyes glued to the road as he once again viciously turned the wheel of the car and sent the two of the hurtling down a side road.

A slew of curses flew from Nick’s lips as the seatbelt cut into his chest from the force of the turn. His eyes remained affixed to the front in efforts to make out any possible hazards through the windshield.

Thankfully though, he didn’t need to strain his eyes for too long.

Upon reaching the scene, Matt jumped out of the car before Nick could even catch his breath, not even bothering to turn the engine off in his haste. Two other police cruisers had already parked on the curb but the seasoned police officer paid them no mind. His shoes crunched the newly fallen snow beneath his heels as he ran alongside the road. His eyes darted in every direction to locate the one familiar face that could put his heart at ease.

However when he heard a familiar high pitched shout, his feet froze to the ground as his head jerked to the side. A few meters ahead, in the curve of an alleyway, he could make out John standing in his uniform, hands waving frantically.

Before his brain could comprehend the scene before his eyes, he was running towards the shorter man, almost pushing the younger officer out of the way with a vicious force. He fell to his knees and grabbed the kneeling Sam who was examining the fallen form of their friend. Matt almost flung him from the alleyway in his frenzied desperation to get to his best friend.

“Eric!” Matt's hands trembled as they darted to lift the police officer’s head off the ground, the pants of his uniform turning wet from the moist snow. “H-Hey! Eric!” He patted a pale cheek with his palm while in the background, Sam’s voice rung in the air, issuing orders for an ambulance on the phone.

Slowly Eric’s eyelashes fluttered and at a gradual pace opened to reveal two glassy ebony irises. The dull shimmer was crippling enough to cause Matt's throat to close and made him audibly draw in breath.

“M-Ma—att...”

 “You did good, Eric.” Matt hoarsely spoke as he patted the pale officer’s dark hair reassuringly, knowing he needed to keep cool. Now was not the time to let his emotions get in the way. He needed to appear calm and collected for Eric’s sake. “It’s all good. Just hold it together. Sam has already called for an ambulance.”

Eric let out a shaky breath. The energy to move his head from side to side almost too much for him now. However, the tears that pricked his eyes previously, now took the chance to slide down his cheeks and gently wet the pads of Matt's fingertips as they cradled his cheek.

“I—n-need—to—”

“Shh,” Matt hushed, afraid that even the small action of speaking would cause Eric’s life to bleed away at a faster rate. The large crimson stain on the snow was chilling enough to look at. He didn’t dare try and calculate how long Eric had been lying there, slowly bleeding out. No. He couldn’t think about it. Everything was going to be alright. He was here. An ambulance was on the way. Everything was going to be fine. “Don’t talk. Save your strength. There will be plenty of time for talking later.”

Swallowing with greater difficulty then before, Eric put a good amount of his remaining energy into shaking his head. Deep down in his gut he knew there was probably not going to be a ‘later’ for him. He needed to get out what he needed to say now or the opportunity would forever be lost to him. With his last few ounces of strength, he clenched his teeth and lifted his arm to grab Matt's shoulder. His fingers numb with cold and already beginning to turn rigid and stiff.

“Ma—att,” He rasped and pleaded for the other to give in to his whim and lower his head. He needed to let him know…

“Er—”

“P-Please,” He whispered, eyes begged for Matt to allow him this one small grace. “P-please…”

Feeling his stomach tighten like a spring, the tall police officer felt his limbs tremble as he acquiesced and lowered his head to better hear his injured friend. He looked directly into Eric’s face. Matt nodded his head and gave the go ahead for the other to say his piece, even as the others were busy securing the area and shouting orders behind them.

“I—I wa-want …to…t-tell…y-you…” Eric swallowed thickly as he tried to grab breath, finding it incredibly hard to talk. Nevertheless he didn’t allow the call off sleep to claim him just yet. He needed to say this. “…I…wa-wanted…to…f-for…a…v-very…l-long……t-time…n-now…”

“Okay, Eric.” Matt nodded attentively, his own eyes becoming moist with tears as the snow continued to fall around them. Some flakes landed on the smaller man’s cheeks and eerily, didn’t melt.

“…I…k-know…I—I’m n-not…wh-what…y-you….want….b-but…I—I…s-still…c-can’t……s-stop…” Eric rasped, his cold fingers kept their purchase on Matt's shoulder as he continued to push out the words, determined to give them life. He didn’t want to be a coward anymore. Not when this was his last chance. He knew time was of the essence, even when he heard the telltale sirens of an ambulance approaching. The feeling in his legs had long since been lost. “…I…l-love…y-you…M-Ma—att…”

Matt's eyes went wide. His heart all but stopped short at hearing those few words spoken aloud. He blinked and felt Eric’s frozen fingers move from his shoulder to shakily caress his cheek.

“…I…k-know…I’m…n-not….w-what…y-you…..wa—want…..” Eric mumbled quietly and fought hard to keep his consciousness about him. “…S—So at…t-the…v-very…..l-lea—st…I….I…w-wanted…t-to……g-get…A-Amanda…..b-back…f-for…y-you…”

Tears broke free and tumbled down Matt's cheeks as his lip trembled. His eyes watched as the life slowly bled away from the one person he couldn’t live without. A small whisper of a cry flew from his lips as he frantically pulled Eric into his embrace and held him, feeling his cold cheek against his.

“N-NO!” He cried, desperately clinging to the dying man. “Y-YOU C-CAN’T DO THIS TO M-ME!”  

Eric closed his eyes, feeling his heart breaking.

“….I—I’m…..s-sorry….”

“NO!” Matt coughed, pulling away from Eric and making sure the other was looking into his face before he continued. “No…Eric…no…don’t you dare.” Eyes red, Matt gently cupped Eric’s chin and before another snowflake could fall between them, he pressed his lips to his.

Sam, who was watching the whole scene, quickly stepped in front of the pair and obscured them from the sight of the other officers who had appeared on scene. Following his lead, Nick and John did the same. They made a human wall and allotted the two men as much privacy as they could. They knew this may very well be the last chance their two friends could be together.

John tried to keep a straight face as tears streamed down his face. His eyes landed on the screeching ambulance that just came to a halt by the curb. Nick on the other hand was a complete mess. Audible sobs emitted from him like radio waves. His face tear streaked and red from the moisture and wind. Only Sam was able to keep his emotions completely in check. The only evidence of how affected he was by all that transpired was the tightening of his fists by his sides. The nails dug so hard into the skin of his palm that they bled.

“You…are…not…” Matt whispered against Eric’s lips, “…going…anywhere. You hear me?”

Rubbing the back of Eric’s neck, Matt burrowed his face into the shoulder of the smaller man’s uniform. Unable to keep himself from crying, Matt's shoulders bunched when his fingers touched Eric’s icy skin.

“…I—I’ll…t-try…” Eric hoarsely whispered, doing his best to keep his eyes open—however it was becoming increasingly harder and harder to do so with each passing second. His lids felt as heavy as lead and his arms felt more like dumbbells than anything else. His whole body felt heavy and stiff.

“Move! Move!”

Voices yelled into Matt's ear and he felt himself being thrust out of the way as the medical team rushed to stabilize Eric.

As he sat on the snow-covered ground, Matt watched as the paramedics quickly worked around the bleeding officer. He felt out of place and uneasy when a mask was secured over Eric’s mouth and nose and felt something inside him break as the man he’d secretly loved and cared for was lifted onto a stretcher and rushed from the scene.

There were no words to be said as Sam helped him up and John urged him to walk faster to the ambulance. Nick was already standing by the doors, eyes wide and red as the men worked to secure the stretcher inside the vehicle.

Before Matt could even take a step inside, a cacophony of beeps and sirens went off.

“GET THE PADDLES!”

“GRAB THE EPI!”

“Go, Matt!” Sam pushed his frozen superior and friend towards the vehicle, adrenaline pumping through his veins as he saw a paramedic grab two paddles and another begin to adjust the voltage on the defibrillator.

Before Matt knew it, he was sitting inside the ambulance as the sirens blared loud and the wheels screeched against the black city streets. His mind was a blur as he witnessed one of the paramedics stick a needle into Eric’s arm and push in only god knew what. 

All he could do was hold the unconscious Eric’s hand in his grasp and pray while staring at the small screen indicating the way his heart was beating.

When the spikes would cease, he would be pushed out of the way as the medical unit made ready to shock Eric’s heart back into action.

And once they arrived at the hospital, the doors of the ambulance had been flung open and a bunch of medical personnel in scrubs and white coats dashed to them with a bed.

A blur.

Blood everywhere.

Words he couldn’t understand were screamed left and right as the men and women ran down the halls, their hands held onto the metal railing of the medical bed as they pushed it towards an operating room.

Matt was stopped before he could follow them inside.

The doors were closed right in his face.

And all he could do, alone in that hospital corridor, was stare up at the glowing neon sign that indicated that surgery was in session and pray.

Pray that god would grant him this small chance…

Pray that he could gift him with some more time…

Pray that Eric would make it out alive...

~

4:37 a.m.

The glowing neon sign went off.