A/N: Written for the NFA Hope in the Darkness Challenge. It's a oneshot that decided it needed to be a bit different. It's rather stark in terms of the amount of description. I hope you like it.
Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS and I'm not making any money of this story.
One Light in the Darkness
by Enthusiastic Fish
The walls came down. There were screams, shouts of alarm, of warning. People ran for help.
Dust choked the air. Debris was everywhere. Piles of rubble.
Chaos reigned for a few minutes and then there was organization...counting up those present.
Realizing who was missing.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x
He woke up, but he wasn't happy about doing so. He took a breath and immediately started coughing. Dust.
...and pain.
...and he couldn't move. He blinked and realized that he couldn't see anything.
It was all dark around him. Completely dark. No sign of any light at all.
He tried to shift position, but he couldn't move.
What happened?
He tried to remember, but there was nothing to tell him why he was trapped, why it was so dusty, why it was dark. ...and why he hurt so much.
There was pressure on his legs and on one arm. There was dusty air around his head, but some space. His free arm was pinned beneath his body but he thought he might be able to move it...maybe. He took another breath and choked on the dust.
What's going on?
The questions were coming thick and fast in his head as he slowly woke up. The problem was that he wasn't getting any answers to the questions he was thinking.
Where am I? How did I get here?
It was so dark.
Why is it dark? Am I blind?
He had no idea if he was blind or if it was just really dark. His watch had a light on it...but he couldn't move that arm at the moment. Slowly, he tried to get his arm out from under him. Moving it was agonizing. He couldn't get his other arm free and he couldn't move his legs...although he had tried to flex his muscles once and felt enough pain that he had no intention of trying again. He tried to lift his torso enough that he could wriggle his one limb out. Gradually, he was able to get that one arm out. It ached, but it didn't feel broken.
Am I blind?
He wondered about that again...but now, his watch was free. If he could turn on the light of his watch, he'd know.
What if I am?
There was nothing to be gained by lying around wondering. Painfully, he brought his wrist to his face and pressed the button with his chin.
...and was subsequently nearly blinded by the light. He jerked his head back and banged it against something metallic. In the few moments that the light stayed on, he got a few of debris, dust...
I'm under a desk? Am I at NCIS?
But no, that didn't seem right.
The light went out, plunging him back into total darkness.
He again turned on the light.
He saw an old desk...and his left arm pinned in the rubble.
The light went out.
Light on.
He saw the rocks pinning his legs to the floor.
Lights out.
Where am I?
He coughed in the dusty air...and fear began to take root in his chest.
Light on.
No sign of any way to get out.
Lights out.
Even if he couldn't quite remember what had happened, it was becoming clear that he was trapped in here until someone found him.
Light on.
He had a space of about three feet in which he could move around...but all he could move was an arm and his head...both of which ached.
Light off.
Panic threatened to take over his brain. He pulled experimentally at his legs.
He groaned aloud...the first sound he remembered making since he'd awakened here.
The sound only accentuated the close quarters he was in.
A whimper of terror escaped from his lips.
Light on.
There was nothing to see. He didn't know why he kept turning on the light.
Light off.
He hated being in the dark.
Something creaked and the rocks shifted over his legs, ringing a strangled scream from him.
Light on.
He never even thought of looking at the time. All he wanted was the comfort of the dim light.
Light off.
At some point, he drifted off to sleep, occasionally coming awake due to breathing in the dust.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x
Digging through the rubble. Searching for survivors.
Finding the dead.
Hoping for one to be alive.
Working through the night, having only artificial light to guide them in their search.
Light shining through the darkness.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x
He came awake, gasping painfully for breath.
Light on.
Nothing had changed.
Light off.
Then, faintly, he thought he heard something.
He didn't know what it was. It was distant, unfamiliar. Metallic?
Where am I?
Light on.
He shifted a rock away from his trapped arm. It did nothing so far as he could tell.
Light off.
He felt for another rock and moved it. And another. And another.
It did nothing.
Time passed. He knew nothing more than the fear and pain of his prison. It was getting hard to breathe in the dusty air. His legs were going numb...and while the relief from the pain was nice, he realized that it was a bad thing not to feel them.
Light on.
No difference.
Light off.
He let his head fall to the floor. He still couldn't remember how he'd got to this point, but he was sure, now, that he was going to die here. Slowly. Every so slowly...with only this little light to pierce the darkness at odd intervals.
He was alone. He had no hope of rescue.
His eyes closed...not that it made any difference in the darkness.
He slept...
x.x.x.x.x.x.x
They continued to dig, not letting their hope fade. They held desperately to the thought that this could still be a rescue, not a recovery. Others had been found alive, even after hours buried in the rubble.
...but as body after body was discovered, deep inside, they began to fear the worst.
Then, the rain came in. Not a light rain, not a brief shower, but a heavy downpour. Others wanted to stop the efforts, but no. No, they couldn't stop. Even when the power went out.
They dragged in portable generators to continue their search. There was hope. There was always hope.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x
The sound woke him.
The movement pained him.
He turned on the light.
No difference in his prison.
The light went out.
He heard sounds. Metallic again. Metallic and...stone? He roused a bit.
Light on.
Everything looked the same.
Light off.
Maybe something was happening?
He wondered.
He tried to breathe and felt almost like he couldn't.
Then, there was something.
A sensation more than anything. He couldn't figure out what it was at first.
"I see something!"
What was he feeling?
"Where?"
"Over here! Over here, dang it!"
Water? Was it water he was feeling?
It was.
Water. Not dust. He wished more than a finger could feel that.
"What do you see?"
"A hand. McGee? McGee, are you in there?"
Light on.
But did he need the light on?
Light off.
He almost thought he could see something without his watch light. He moved his hand, but it really hurt; so he stopped.
"The hand moved! McGee, can you hear me?"
He suddenly noticed that there was a sound. Noise that wasn't coming from him.
"McGee? Tim?"
He felt something on his hand. Not water.
A touch, maybe. Someone was out there?
He took as deep a breath as he could.
"Hello?" he called.
"McGee? Was that you?"
"Get him out of there!"
"Careful! He's been in there a long time. Move those blocks slowly!"
Light on.
Light off.
...but then, suddenly...
There was a light. A light that wasn't coming from his watch.
He blinked.
"Light?"
"McGee!"
The light grew brighter.
Rocks fell down and hit him in the face.
"I see him!"
His eyes closed, blocking out the light.
"Tim, open your eyes!"
He opened his eyes and looked up.
"Tim, can you hear me?"
He blinked up toward the sound.
"Get some oxygen in here. Man, that air is vile."
He saw a hand. A hand that wasn't his own. Something went over his face.
...and he could breathe.
"How's that, Tim?"
He took a few deep breaths, and his brain started to clear.
"Tim?"
He took another breath.
"Light," he whispered.
"Artificial, but yeah. We're going to get you out of there."
"Light."
"Tim."
He kept breathing.
"Careful, Anthony. Timothy may be suffering from compartment syndrome."
"Waist up, he's under the desk. Legs are pinned, too."
"We'll start on that side. Timothy, are you feeling pain in your legs?"
He heard the words, but all he could do was enjoy the light.
"He's not answering, Duck."
"All right. Let's get him out as quickly as possible so that he can receive the treatment he needs. It's been nearly a day. The damage could be permanent already."
Then, he felt a stab of pain and he whimpered.
"Timothy, where is the pain? Your arm or your legs?"
He could breathe but he couldn't speak.
"Timothy, I need you to answer me. Is it in your legs?"
He managed to nod.
"Very well. We will make the pain as brief as possible. Just stay as still as you can."
He reached out his one arm, his right arm.
He felt a hand take his.
"You're not alone in here, McGee. We're getting you out."
"Help..."
"Just a little bit longer."
Then, he was being moved...out of his dark prison and into blinding light. He closed his eyes against the brightness, but he didn't want it to go away. Some of it seeped under his eyelids and he was happy for it.
"We've got you, Tim. You're going to be all right. Just hang on a little longer. We've got you."
Through the pain, he smiled and opened his eyes for just a moment.
"I see the light," he whispered.
...and then, he slipped into the darkness again.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x
Tim opened his eyes. He looked around the dimly-lit room and began lifting his arm so that he could turn on the watch light.
...but then, he stopped. For one thing, he could see already. For another, his watch was no longer on his wrist.
"Hello?" he whispered.
That small word, a simple quest for companionship was instantly answered. Before he even saw anyone, he felt a hand take his.
"Timothy, you're awake."
Tim looked around and saw Ducky...and Gibbs...and beyond them, he saw the others, asleep in various uncomfortable positions.
"Where am I?" Tim asked.
"The hospital. We got you out of the building."
"What building?" Tim asked.
"We were investigating, Tim," Gibbs said. "Do you remember? At the construction site. You'd gone inside...and the whole building came down. Ten people died."
Tim swallowed. He had vague images in his head which seemed to correlate, but he didn't remember really.
"I'm alive?"
"Yes. Very much so," Ducky said with a smile. "You've had some serious injuries, but the doctors think you were treated in time."
"I had...a light...on my watch."
"I'm amazed it survived."
"My only light. It was really dark."
"We were trying to get to you," Gibbs said. "We never stopped working."
"I didn't know where I was," Tim whispered. "I figured I would die there. ...but I saw the light...from outside."
"We found you."
"I'll be okay?"
"I think so," Ducky said. "With time."
"Do you have my watch?"
"Not here, I'm afraid, but I can get it if you'd like."
Tim smiled. "It was my light."
Ducky smiled in return. "I'll bring it back here for you."
He started to get up, but Tim squeezed his hand weakly.
"You guys were the light...that pulled me out."
He felt Gibbs' hand on his shoulder.
"We wouldn't leave you alone. We never gave up hope of finding you."
"I didn't have hope...until I saw the light from somewhere else."
"Just rest, Timothy. You're safe now."
Tim let his eyes drift closed. He didn't see any light now...
...but he didn't need the light. He had the hope.
FINIS!