Criminal Case (Complete)

Chapter 2

The entire Bureau was swiftly heading to my location, hoping to reach me in time before it was too late. A few minutes later, they arrived at the waterfall and saw my body nearly submerged underwater. They hurriedly exited the jeep, grabbing a blanket and medical equipment. The team rushed to the lake's edge and noticed the water turning red. "Fortunately, we arrived just in time, but we must act fast!" Jonah exclaimed, discarding his gear and plunging into the icy waters.

Swimming towards me, he pleaded silently, "Please don't die, Shelbie... please..." Upon arrival, his eyes widened at the sight of my body, covered in cuts and bruises, with a giant gash on my back and chest, and a large cut on my right cheek.

Without wasting any more time, Jonah quickly pulled me onto his back and swam back to the jeeps. Once there, everyone was in total shock and fear as Jonah gently set me down on the ground.

Lars rushed over, placing an oxygen mask over my face, while Grace covered my freezing body with a blanket. "Let's get her back to the Bureau," someone said. Everyone nodded as Jonah and Jack hurriedly loaded me into one of the jeeps. As we drove off towards the Bureau, I lay unconscious in the back, feeling something warm and wet dripping onto my face. It felt like rain, but it wasn't raining; it was too warm to be rain. They were tears...

Minutes after our arrival at the Bureau, Jonah and Lars hastened me into the infirmary. "Shelbie's resilient," Grace observed, preparing gauze and warm water. She gasped, ripping open my shirt, shocked by the severity of my wounds. (Oh, Shelbie, what have you endured?) She moistened a cloth in the water, carefully cleaning my torso, avoiding the cuts. After drying the wounds, she wrapped my shoulder and chest in gauze, trimming the excess. "Now for your face." She swiftly finished her work, mopped her forehead, and started organizing the medical tools. Returning to me, she attached some wires and inserted an IV into my arm. "You're not alone, Shelbie," she murmured, caressing my hair before she left and shut the door. Faced with worried expressions, Grace reported, "She'll recover, though she's lost much blood." A collective sigh of relief followed. "You may visit her now," she offered. Sanjay, gripping his stuffed elephant, entered and came to my bedside. His eyes brimmed with tears as he tenderly placed the elephant in my hand, then laid it down, weeping quietly. "Shelbie, please wake up..." His tears dropped onto my hand.

As I wandered through the darkness, seeking an exit, what felt like days of walking culminated in me collapsing to my knees, my heart constricting, the voices growing louder until they ceased. Glancing up, I realized I was in a tunnel. Standing quickly, I surveyed my surroundings and saw echoes of my past: the friends I'd made, the criminals I'd apprehended. Although some memories pained me, they didn't deter me from becoming who I was meant to be. It dawned on me that the nightmares were mere dreams, not reality. I possessed the strength, courage, and love of those around me. "I am a fighter, and I will continue to fight until my last breath!" Suddenly, I heard crying; it was Sanjay Korrapati, Carmen's son, weeping for me. Rising swiftly, I moved towards the tunnel's end, emerging into the light.

Gradually, I opened my eyes to a blur that cleared after several blinks. Turning my head, I found myself in the Bureau's infirmary. Something soft lay under my hand; it was Sanjay's stuffed elephant. A fleeting smile crossed my lips, but it vanished when I heard sobbing. Sanjay sat in the corner, crying, and my heart ached at the sight. Taking a deep breath, I sat up, swung my legs over the bed's edge, and stood, removing the IV with a trembling hand. Despite my shaking body, I crawled to Sanjay. Lifting my arm, I touched his head, and he looked up to see me kneeling before him, smiling. "Hey, Sanjay..." His eyes widened, and he enveloped me in a hug, his arms clinging tightly.

I couldn't help but smile as I wrapped my arms around him, holding him close. "Don't worry, Sanjay, I'm still here, and I'm not going anywhere as long as I'm alive." Before he could reply, a loud explosion erupted from the meeting room. Exchanging a glance, Sanjay quickly helped me to my feet, and we hurried toward the source of the noise, unaware of the shock awaiting us.

Upon reaching the meeting room, we found it shrouded in smoke. "What the hell is happening? Why is there smoke?!" I barely had time to think when something seized my wrist. Reacting swiftly, I pulled away, grabbed Sanjay's hand, and dashed toward the locker room. "Shelbie, what's happening? I'm scared. Where's my mom?" Sanjay's voice trembled. Before I could answer, another explosion sounded. Seizing the nearest weapon—a samurai sword—I drew it and braced myself, ready to confront the threat. Sanjay clung to me from behind, his grip tight with fear. The shadowy figure advanced, coming within inches of us. "Who are you?!" I demanded.

Before I could react, something warm and wet pressed against my lips. My eyes widened as I struggled to pull away, but their arms were firmly wrapped around my waist. It felt like my lungs were ablaze. Once released, I seized Sanjay and we dashed down the hallway towards Jonah's office, slamming the door shut behind us. "What's happening, Shelbie? Why are they attacking us?" I shook my head, bewildered. "I wish I knew, Sanjay..." But before we could discuss further, a loud bang and screams resounded. Glancing back, I saw the door had been battered off its hinges. As I retreated, I couldn't grasp what was amiss until our eyes met – these were impostors. "You're not my friends! Who are you?" They merely stared. "Ah, you've deduced it, Senior Trooper Shelbie?" An impostor neared Sanjay, but as I intervened, I received a hefty punch to the gut. "Gah!" I spat out blood and crumpled to my knees, clutching my abdomen.

"You're not as formidable as you appear, Senior Trooper Shelbie..." The doppelganger of Marina Romanova closed in on me. Struggling for breath, I was too slow to dodge. "Any last words before your demise?" A smirk crossed my lips as I lifted my head, blood trickling down my forehead. "Yeah, see you later!" I hit the deactivation switch, and the impostors began to malfunction, then collapsed. Sanjay rushed over, helping me to stand. "You did it, Shelbie!" I smiled, shaking my head. "No, we did it, Sanjay... Now, let's go find our real allies..." He nodded, and we moved towards the Bureau's entrance. "Did you really think you could defeat my Impostors."

As we whirled around, the imposters began to rise slowly. "Sanjay, listen to me, climb onto my back. It may sound crazy, but trust me, I promise nothing will happen to you," I urged. With a slow nod, Sanjay cautiously mounted. Taking a deep breath, I hastened down the hall, feeling Sanjay's grip tighten and his tears soaking into the gauzes. It pained me to see how much... Seeing others cry and risk their lives to save me, there was no way I would let El Rey get away with this, no matter what as we made it out the door, there was another loud explosion. "It appears they possess superhuman strength and are utterly unstoppable... unless," I said, a huge grin spreading across my face. "Sanjay, I have an idea. Don't worry, just follow my lead, okay?" He nodded in agreement as the two of us ventured deeper.