Text for rocky:

[that_cost]

Did you see the news? YouTube star survives horrific bus crash into river? Yes, that's me. Yes, that fire did start the way you're afraid it did. And yes, I do in fact need your ass and the rest of you on the next plane to philly. I know you're recording right now as you said you'd be but get here.

Charlie was in Philly to tour the food scene, her first entry into her new YouTube Red channel, McEats Eats The World! But, as fate would have it, recording didn't even start. They'd been on a bus to Lancaster, the roads were muddy and the bridge they had to cross at one point was slippery. The driver in the car in front of them was drunk and swerving and at one point, they'd veered in front of Charlie's bus. Swerving to avoid a collision caused the bus driver to swerve out of control and go over the edge of the bridge. Landing upside down, the bus sank quickly and Charlie got pinned under the seat, drowning five minutes later. And two minutes after that, reviving in a violent flash of quickly extinguished fire. It was enough for her to work her way out of the seat and out of the bus and moments later, into an ambulance.

There were X-rays and tests and when she was finally left alone, she texted her boyfriend.

She gives it at least eight hours before he shows up and since no one can figure out how she survived without injury, they were keeping her overnight for observation. Lame.

Comments

[rockysmash]

saw the news. be there soon.

It was the most he could manage before he got his eyes back on the road, driving with one hand and rubbing his chest where the ghost of water still burned in his lungs, his throat filling, his body screaming...

With a snarl, he gripped the steering wheel tighter, hearing the metal rend as he held too tight.

He'd been streaming the latest installment of Outlast 2 when it happened.

By the grace of the god of Death, the impact came at the same instant as a scare in the game. Clumsily, he'd killed the stream as Charlie died, as the hole where she was opened...then as she filled it again, he managed a clumsy tweet about an internet outage. He'd explain it in a later video.

He was there in five hours.

With a little fast talking after he located a local wolf in the hospital, he threw around all his weight to get into her room.

One minute he wasn't there--and then he was. With all of his preternatural speed, he bolted in, had her in his arms, and was still shaking. It hadn't stopped since she'd stopped breathing.

He didn't say a word, just hid his face against her shoulder and held on.

For the first time in his life, Rock Devereaux was mute.

[that_cost]

She wasn't asleep when he got there, despite people telling her to get rest. They got a raised eyebrow and an annoyed silence from her and eventually, doctors and nurses stopped staying anything to her at all about it. When Rocky got there, she felt it and felt whole again. Her kind don't do well when their other half is far away, so the second he was close enough, Charlie wrapped her arms around him, letting the hand with the IV drop to the mattress.

It was so tempting to take it out, but then she'd have to explain how that healed up fast and no thank you.

So she left it and held Rocky close, closing her eyes and willing her muscles to relax.

There's a moment when someone comes in, one of the many doctors checking on her, but Charlie sends them a glare and they back out, understanding this was a bad time.

"I want to go home." That's all Charlie has to say about this.