Title: The Fun house
Author: Katyrye
Rated: T
Spoilers: Well, I am not really going to give anything away. But if you don't know that GSR is a ship by now… you have been spoiled.
Disclaimer: Whatever….
Summary: We've all heard this story I'm sure… but lets put a CSI twist to it. A few of our favorite characters.. Locked in a funhouse.
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The last time Sara worked a murder at carnival she didn't have to do anything as creepy as process a scene from the inside of a fun house. Unfortunately for her, swing shift had broken the chain of custody for a murder case and someone from grave was needed to collected any evidence that may have been left over. As fate would have it, Grissom paired himself with her for this.
"I hate clowns." Sara Sidle said as a pair of clowns walked by on stilts.
"Sara, did you know that the word 'Clown' means 'To fool'. It's natural to be a afraid of things that fool or confuse you." Grissom said.
"I never said I was afraid of clowns. When you see a clown you don't think of birthday parties anymore, you think of Gacy." she said, stopping at the bottom steps of the fun house.
"Once the University of Sheffeild polled 230 children together and showed them pictures of things, clowns being one of them. All of the children reported a fear of the clown photo." Grissom said.
Sara held up her hand. "Okay, lets stop talking about clowns. A fun house isn't exactly a normal crime scene." she said, staring up at the carnival attraction.
"No crime scene is normal. This one is just…over the top." Grissom said.
"And not to mention that every minute that this attraction is closed I am loosing customers by the handful." The Carnival Barker said as he approached. "The Fun house is our best attraction. A murder in the hall of mirrors is not what I need right now."
"Well, I'm not sure it was what our victim needed either." Grissom said.
"Your people have already been here. Why on earth must you keep me closed me down?" the Barker asked.
"That was another team from our lab. Somebody on a different shift broke the chain of custody and we are just here to collect the evidence. Anybody else inside the fun house will destroy whatever evidence is still there." Sara explained, zipping her jacket up further to protect her neck from the chilly breeze.
"Yes. I suppose I better let you in." the Barker said, pulling a set of keys out of his pocket.
Sara had no desire to step inside the dark attraction, but as Grissom walked forward she had no choice but to follow him. The Barker held the door open for them as they stepped inside. Sara was immediately hit with a blast of cool air that seemed to be shooting up from the floor.
"Um… sir. Can you turn these air jets off please?" she said loudly.
The Carnival Barker nodded. "Yes, of course." he said, stepping back out through the door.
It shut with a heavy bang and Sara suddenly felt small and alone. She shined her flashlight on the far wall and saw a gigantic clown with razor sharp teeth, painted on the wall. Blood dripped from it's pointy teeth and for a moment Sara wondered if it was going to reach out and grab her.
"Are you OK?" Grissom asked.
Sara nodded. "Lets just collect this evidence and go home." she said.
The air jets stopped suddenly and silence rang in Sara's ears. She swore that if she heard a demon growl from somewhere in the darkness, then Grissom would be on his own.
"The hall of mirrors is just down this corridor." Grissom said, pointing his flashlight and walking ahead.
Sara tried to swallow the lump that had grown in her throat and followed Grissom's lead. The narrow corridor felt like a throat to her, a slimy throat that was swallowing them into the stomach of the fun house. She pointed her flashlight to the left and saw various bisque dolls, hanging from strings. They're mouths were all open and their painted eyes seemed to be starring at her.
"Gil," Sara said with a shaky voice. "Can you hurry, please?"
"We're almost there." he said with a reassuring tone.
Sara looked away from the dolls that were hanging and shined her flashlight to the right. The right wall was painted a dark green, with pictures of demons devouring people.
"What kind of attraction is this?" she asked aloud.
"Most people like the adrenaline rush that they get from the fun house." Grissom said.
"Well, I don't." Sara replied, speeding up until she was walking so close to Grissom she could smell the soap on the back of his neck.
"Okay," Grissom said, putting his hand on a door knob. "I guess this is it."
Grissom through open the door and Sara saw multiple images of herself and Grissom. She always thought that she would be able to tell the difference between someone and their reflection, but when Grissom stepped away from her she began to get confused.
"Gil, please don't walk away from me." she said.
Grissom looked back at her for a beat. "I can take this room. Go back around to the hallway and see if there is anything you can collect." he said.
Sara opened her mouth to object, but closed it quickly. Lately Grissom had been bringing up the subject of their relationship getting in the way of their jobs, and she didn't want to give him anything else to complain about.
"Yeah," she replied with a nod. "but I'm keeping the door open."
Grissom gave a nod. "That's fine." he said, setting down his kit and snapping on a pair of gloves.
Sara carried her kit back out into the narrow hallway and set it down. She wanted to get this done as soon as humanly possible. She snapped on a pair of gloves and began to dust the door knob for fingerprints. She turned to her side so that she could better brush the knob without closing the door, but accidentally bumped into something. A high pitched cackle filled the room and Sara felt her heart leap into her throat.
"Jesus Christ!" she cried, dropping her printing dust.
"What happened!?' Grissom asked, rushing over to her side.
"I don't know!" Sara said, holding her hands over her eyes.
Grissom reached behind the door and grabbed a life sized clown out from behind the door. It's wide smile sent a shiver down his spine.
"It was just a prop." he said.
Sara peeked between her fingers and gulped. "Put it back. I don't want to look at it." she said.
She felt somewhat embarrassed that she was acting like a child, but this place was as scary as hell itself. Grissom put the dummy clown away and sighed when he saw the spilled print powder.
"Sara, do you want me to call Nick in to give me a hand?" he asked softly. Showing genuine concern.
Sara gulped and shook her head. "No, if we hurry up I'll be fine." she said.
Grissom pursed his lips. "You don't have to prove that you can do this. I can give you something else." he said, placing a gentle hand on her elbow.
Sara decided to swallow her pride and take him up on his offer. She knew she wouldn't much help if she spent the whole time jumping at every noise.
"Okay," she said with a nod. "I admit it. This place scares the hell out of me and makes me wish I had brought a clean pair of pants."
"Okay." Grissom replied, giving her a peck on the nose.
Grissom pulled his cell phone out of his jacket pocket and swore when he saw the 'No network' sign on his screen. Sara attempted to offer him her phone, but she too had no network.
"Let's just go outside and I'll call him." he said, taking her by the hand and leading her down the hallway that she was sure would haunt her nightmares for years to come.
Sara closed her eyes and tried not to feel the eyes of the bisque dolls on her as they walked down the hall. When they finally stepped into the main room again she let out a pent up sigh. Grissom let her hand go gently and tried to open the main door, but for some reason it held fast.
"Pull it." Sara said, thinking that the door swung in instead of out.
Grissom nodded and tried to pull the door open, but it wouldn't budge. Sara gasped and rushed over to bang on the metal door.
"Hey, let us out!" she called.
"Stay right here. I'm going to find another door." he said, taking his flashlight and disappearing down a corridor.
Sara wanted to call after him and tell him to stay and guard her, but he had already rounded the corner and Sara could see his flashlight disappear. She turned back to the door and began to beat on it, trying make as much noise as possible.
"Help us! Let us out of here!" she screamed.