Twenty Minutes - Chet's POV by Charmi 12/11/01 'Damn, Gage is in trouble again. Twenty Minutes. Roy said he was down to twenty minutes of air left about - well, damn, about twenty minutes ago. Don't panic, Chester B. Keep it cool - never let 'em see you sweat…especially where Gage is concerned. Damnit, Gage, you age me by years twenty minutes at a time.' 'Look at Roy. That's the same look as last time I heard someone say twenty minutes in relation to Gage. That was a bad one, too. Man, I did all I could to help out Gage on the ride to the hospital. Damn rattlesnake. We got him there though. Got him there as fast as we could. How long did it take? 'Bout twenty minutes if I remember right. Then Doc Brackett told us we'd have to wait twenty minutes to check for a reaction to the anti-venom.' 'It didn't take twenty minutes for Roy's reaction though. The realization that Gage's fate would be determined in a twenty minute period stunned him into a look that I hoped I would never see again. Now, here it is again. And that look revolves around another twenty minute limit. Damn!' 'Can twenty minutes last a lifetime? The pain of a lifetime is showing in Roy's eyes right now. I hope no one looks in my eyes. Never let 'em see you sweat, hell! Never let 'em see you cry!! Especially where Gage is concerned.' 'C'mon, Gage, where the hell are you?' "Johnny if you can hear us, where almost there buddy." 'Thank God! Someone - was it Marco? - said they see him. We're here, Gage. We got to you. Was it fast enough? We've waited around for you so many times, Gage. Just wait around for us a bit longer and we'll have you out. C'mon, Gage, don't make this twenty minutes be the twenty minutes that last a lifetime for Roy…or for me.' |