Chapter 7
"Fitz, are you having any luck with that door?" Skye called as she looked up from running the makeshift cloth, dripping with water over Agent Hand's neck and upper chest. How long had they been trapped in here now? And did it seem like it was getting hotter?
"I think it is hotter." Jemma said as she looked at Skye and then back down at Agent Hand with worry. No matter what they tried to bring her temperature down, it wasn't going to do much good if the room they were trapped in was turning into even more of an oven. "Fitz?"
"I'm trying. I'm trying to fix it. Agent Hand, ma'am, when you're feeling better, you're probably going to want to find out who did this and demote them to level nothing janitor." Fitz shook his head from where he was poking in the electronics of the door, what he had hoped would be the most vulnerable part that would let him unlock it. And it probably would have, if some idiot hadn't taken parts from there too, and it looked like they had caused some sort of short because wires were fused in ways he was sure they shouldn't be. And seeing as the only tool he had at the moment was a screwdriver that he had found among the discarded items, and it had a large chip out of the tip, he wasn't going to be able to work at his usual speed "I'm working as fast as I can. You know, this is the perfect situation for a monkey. If I just had a monkey…."
"Fitz, I swear if you can get that door open, I will see about buying your monkey." Jemma picked up the thermometer. "It's been at least thirty minutes. Let's see if the acetaminophen might be starting to take effect. Ma'am, I need to check your temperature again, alright?"
"Sick." Victoria was half afraid that she would start to throw up, just opening her mouth, and whatever they were poking between her lips nearly made her gag. Some foggy part of her mind wondered if the pills they had made her swallow might have been poison. But the voices talking above her did sound familiar, and every touch had been gentle, and careful not to cause her additional pain, so maybe it was alright. And it wasn't as if she could do anything even if it wasn't alright. She couldn't even manage opening her eyes.
"I know. I promise when we get out of here, I have some medicine that will help with that." Jemma kicked herself for about the millionth time for not bringing more supplies with her, but how could she have even imagined that they would end up trapped like this? The beeping of the thermometer pulled her mind away from those thoughts, only to be hit by even more frightening thoughts as she saw the reading. 106.2. Her temperature was going up instead of coming down. She bit her lip to keep from hyperventilating. They were doing everything they could given the circumstances, and it just wasn't working.
106.2. Skye didn't even have to ask. She could tell how bad that was from the expression on Jemma's face. "So what do we do now?"
"Cooler water is the only thing I can think of, and getting that door open." Jemma said with a shake of her head as she tried to force the sound of fear out of her voice.
"Okay. Cooler water." Skye found the sink and filled the fish bowl or whatever Fitz had found to use as a basin with what she hoped was appropriately cool water before hurrying back. They had ripped the rest of Agent Hand's jacket up for compresses and cloths, and she dipped the one that had been on her forehead into the fresh water to cool it before applying it again. "Does that feel any better?"
"Lights? Seeing lights?" Her eyes weren't open, Victoria knew, so why were lights suddenly dancing down the sides of her eyes, the flashes pounding in her head.
No, the water wasn't too cold, which was Jemma's first thought. "Ma'am, have you ever had a migraine before? I think it might be something similar to a migraine. Just try not to look at the lights, alright? Fitz, is there something else you can try besides accessing the electronics for the door? There's glass, isn't there? Wouldn't it break? We need to be upstairs now!"
"Glass is bulletproof and surprisingly well secured. The wiring's our best bet. What's wrong?" Fitz said as he turned and saw that Jemma was dead white.
"We need out of here now, that's what's wrong." Jemma said as she pulled herself to her feet and drug Skye over to join Fitz at the door. She pitched her voice as low as possible and hoped Agent Hand didn't have the best hearing at the moment. "What she's seeing, the lights, that sounds like a aura. The sometimes proceed migraines, but they can also proceed seizures, and with her temperature as high as it is… If she has a seizure here, without proper equipment or medication, the odds are she would suffer brain damage or die. We need to get out of here now."
"There's nothing you could do for her?" Skye whispered.
"Not without medication. We need to get her out of here and upstairs now."
"Okay. Okay. Fitz… Wait, Fitz come and take a look at this." Skye grabbed the engineer by the arm and drug him to the workstation she had noticed when she was getting the water. "Is that some sort of vent at the top of that hood thing?"
"It's a vent." Fitz said after a minute's examination. "Not sure what it's supposed to vent, though. It looks too big for chemical fumes or smoke."
"More important, it looks like it might go up to at least the next level, and it looks like a person, a small person, might fit."
"Skye…" Jemma started to say, but a look at Agent Hand stopped that thought. This might be her only chance, and how dangerous could the vent system be? "Here, we'll help you up."
"Okay, just take care of her. I'll be back as soon as I can." Skye reached into the vent as the two scientists lifted her up, and somehow got her fingers wrapped around a small projection, pulling as they lifted until she was inside. She wiggled, bracing herself on the wall, before reaching up again, and starting to pull herself higher in the tight space, moving as fast as she could. Get up at least one level and start banging on the walls, or maybe get reception on her phone. This had to work!