As Rare Things Will
Written for the NFA "How could I be lost?" Challenge
Genre: Horror/Supernatural.
Rating: FR15
Warnings: Not a happy ending. Apparently my muse was having a Dexter moment again.
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters are the property of their respective copyright holders. No infringement intended.
"How could I be lost?" Tony muttered in disbelief as he scanned the unfamiliar scenery visible through the sedan's windows. He glanced over at his partner and saw that the younger man was slumped over in his seat, fast asleep. After a moment's hesitation, he reached over and head-slapped McGee, causing him to bolt upright with a startled yelp.
"Wakey, wakey, McGPS. It's your turn to navigate."
McGee sent him a glare that would have done Gibbs proud.
"Navigate? You mean you're lost?" McGee's annoyed expression transformed into an amused smirk. "What about the famous DiNozzo sense of direction?"
"It hit a detour about fifteen miles back."
"Detour?"
"Yeah, McSnooze. A bridge was out. I followed the signs, but I think one of them got displaced."
"Or you missed the right turn-off."
"Don't argue. Fire up that fancy phone of yours and find us a way back to civilization."
McGee rolled his eyes and gave a theatrical sigh as he reached in his coat pocket to retrieve his cell phone. He tapped the screen and frowned. "Huh."
"What?"
"No signal. That's weird. We can't be that far from the city."
"Must be in a dead spot. Looks like we'll just have to keep driving for awhile."
Suddenly a loud clunk sounded from the under the hood and the sedan sputtered and lurched before the engine went completely silent. Tony steered the vehicle towards the side of the road as it coasted to a stop.
"What in the hell?" He tried to start the car again but all he got was a clicking sound and he shot McGee a scornful look. "How did you manage to pick the only clunker in the Navy Yard?"
"I didn't pick it, Tony, you did."
"No, I didn't."
"Yes, you did."
"Did not."
"Did…this is pointless. All the cars are on a maintenance schedule. This shouldn't have happened."
"Hate to break it to you, McGee, but it did."
McGee shook his head. "You're incorrigible. What now?"
Tony pulled out his own cell phone, only to find that he didn't have a signal, either.
"I guess we can't call triple-A. I'd better take a look." He popped the hood and climbed out of the sedan, scanning the area as he did so. The light was fading fast, but he could see that the area was isolated, with no dwellings in sight. Tony walked to the front of the car and lifted the hood. There was nothing immediately obvious to indicate why the engine had failed. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed that McGee had joined him.
"Look underneath and see if anything is hanging loose."
McGee grumbled under his breath but crouched down to examine the undercarriage. "I can't see anything."
"What don't you take a closer look?"
"Why don't you…get me a flashlight."
Tony jogged to the back of the car and retrieved a Mag-Lite from the trunk, which he brought to McGee. The younger man grabbed it and crawled under the car, muttering a few colorful phrases as he squeezed into the tight space. Tony could see brief flashes of light as McGee searched for the problem.
"I don't see anything loose or broken," McGee stated as he pushed himself back out. "It must be an internal problem."
Tony hauled McGee to his feet and waited as he dusted himself off. "Any ideas on what it could be?"
McGee shook his head. "Sorry."
"Great. Guess we'll have to hike until we can get a signal. Let's get going."
"Which direction?"
"Well there's nothing back the way we came—"
"—but if we're lost there's no guarantee there's anything in the direction we're headed."
"Fine. Wanna flip a coin?"
McGee huffed and started to dig into his pockets, causing Tony to roll his eyes.
"Forget it, McCheat. As senior agent, I'm making the call. We go this way," he said, pointing in the direction they had been heading. McGee just shook his head and started walking. Tony quickly went back to the car to retrieve another flashlight as a backup and to make sure the doors were locked before he hurried to catch up with his partner.
The two men walked side by side along the edge of the blacktop and the gravel shoulder. The area around them was eerily quiet, with only the crunch of gravel under Tony's feet and the rustle of McGee's jacket as he periodically checked his cell phone breaking the oppressive silence. An occasional breath of wind would send loose leaves tumbling across the road with a soft scuttling sound that sent chill down Tony's spine.
The sun had completely set, and the darkness that pressed around them, broken only by the beam of the flashlight, was oppressive. He turned to watch his partner and saw the shadow of anxiety in McGee's eyes each time they were lit by the soft glow of his cell phone. Tony considered teasing McGee, just to lighten the mood, but something in the atmosphere around them drained any hint of levity from his mind. He prayed for a car to come along for them to wave down and get a ride to civilization. The sooner they could get out of here, the better.
They had been walking for perhaps fifteen minutes when Tony noticed a glow on the eastern horizon. He watched as the moon, full and tinted dark orange, rose above the tree line. McGee followed his gaze.
"Harvest moon."
"Why is it orange like that?" Tony asked, glad for a break in the silence.
"Particles in the Earth's atmosphere scatter the light, and more of the red and orange wavelengths get through so it appears red. The higher the moon gets in the sky, the less it will be affected."
"Good to know. Still, it's kind of creepy."
McGee snorted softly. "Yeah, I guess it is."
"At least we have more light now. Still no signal?"
McGee checked his phone again. "Nope. Maybe the local towers are down." Tony head the uncertainty in McGee's voice and was tempted to call him on it, but the words stuck in his throat.
"Maybe."
They continued to walk until they rounded a curve in the road. When they saw what lay ahead they both came to a quick halt. The road was flanked by thick rows of trees, the branches of which created an arch, completely blocking out the night sky.
"I am not going through there," McGee exclaimed, his voice cracking slightly.
"I don't think we have much choice."
"We could go back to the car and wait for morning. Someone will come looking for us."
"Do you really want to explain why we didn't try to find a phone?"
"Well, no, but…"
"We're armed federal agents, McGee. We'll be fine." Suddenly Tony saw a flicker of light in the distance. "Ah ha! Evidence of civilization. Come on." He started walking again.
"Where did you…? Never mind." McGee hurried to catch up and the two men quickly headed down the dark path. The continued walking for several more minutes, but Tony didn't see the light again. He clamped down on his own fear and kept moving.
The wind picked up, causing the branches of the trees to rub against one another with a strange creaking sound. Tony quickened his pace even more as he headed for his goal. McGee almost had to jog to keep up with him.
"I have a very bad feeling about this…"
Tony snorted. "Star Wars, McGee? Really?"
"No, I really have a bad feeling about this."
"Like you did on the Chimera."
"And I was right."
Before Tony could respond, McGee's flashlight flickered and died, pitching them into blackness. Tony stopped and waited as McGee shock the light and smacked it against his hand with a muttered curse.
"Good thing I brought the spare," Tony grinned and pulled the light from his pocket. He found the switch and flipped it but the light remained off. He checked the connection between the lens and the battery but it was in place and tight. He swore.
"OK, who forgot to change the batteries?"
"I put fresh ones in both of them yesterday, Tony." He could now clearly hear the fear in McGee's voice.
"Then the bulbs must be burned out. Use your cell phone. It should give us enough light." He heard a rustle of clothing as McGee reached into his pocket, followed by a soft tap, and then several more. "Don't tell me…"
"The phone is dead, Tony."
Tony pulled out his own phone and flipped it open. It remained dark. "Just great. Now what?"
"I really don't think we want to stay here."
"You got that right, McObvious. Come on. Watch your step."
"How, exactly?"
"Just…be careful."
They started moving again, cautiously making their way along in pitch blackness, the only sounds accompanying them were their own footsteps, breathing, and the occasional squeak of branches and rustle of leaves in the wind. To a city boy like Tony, the lack of traffic sounds was almost as disturbing as the darkness. After a few minutes, McGee's voice penetrated the silence.
"I really think we should go back, Tony."
Just as he was about to snap at his partner, Tony saw the flicking light again, much closer than before.
"See that? We're headed in the right direction."
"See what, Tony? I can't even see my hand in front of my face."
"There's a light up ahead. We're getting closer to civilization."
"I haven't seen anything."
"Better get your eyes checked when we get back, McGee."
McGee said nothing and Tony continued on. After a few more minutes Tony noticed that the light of the moon was finally visible again through the tree tops and the road itself was discernable as it reflected the moonlight. He turned to check on McGee and froze, almost in mid-step. His partner was no longer beside him.
Tony quickly turned and looked behind him, only to find that he was alone.
"McGee?" No answer. "Come on, Probie, joke's over. This isn't funny." He expected to see McGee appear, a triumphant smirk on his face for scaring his partner, but the road remained empty.
"Damn it, McGee! Get out here right now!"
Suddenly the night was shattered by a pain-filled cry of terror.
"McGee!"
Tony ran towards the sound, only to stop as the scant illumination vanished and he found himself in absolute darkness. He turned around and looked back, but the light that had guided him was gone.
"McGee?"
Silence. He waited, listening for some clue, some idea of his partner's location. Cautiously he made his way towards the apparent source of that sound, hoping he wouldn't trip over something…something that wasn't McGee.
Tony's breath came in short gasps as he inched along, searching for the younger man. He had almost given up hope of finding anything when his foot hit something. He bent down to explore the object with his hands and his heart leapt into his throat when he realized what he had found.
"McGee? Please be OK. Please…" He moved his hands along the man's body and a soft cry escaped his throat when he encountered a warm, sticky substance. He jerked his hand away and brought it up near his face. The smell was unmistakable.
"Oh, God…no…" He frantically searched for signs of life, but the body was completely still under his hands. "I'm sorry, Tim," he whispered, his voice cracking with anguish. "I'm sorry…"
He searched the blackness, straining his eyes in an attempt to see what had done this to his friend. He saw nothing. He heard nothing. Shakily he rose to his feet and scanned the area. Nothing. He couldn't shake the feeling, however, that he wasn't alone. He drew his weapon and held his breath, listening for the slightest clue of what was stalking him.
A crunch of leaves behind him was his only warning and he spun towards the sound.
For the second time that night, the silence was broken by a blood-curdling scream.
XXX
Local police found the abandoned vehicle the next morning, and when they traced the tag they immediately notified NCIS. Nearly every available agent was soon on the scene to help with the search which, with the help of local, county, and state police, eventually covered an area of over one thousand square miles. No trace of either agent was found: not a drop of blood, not a footprint, not a hair or fiber or fingerprint; and their phones and weapons were never recovered.
A national search was set up, based on the belief that the disappearance of the two men may have been related to terrorist activity, and the online chatter was carefully screened for any possible mention of a plot to abduct the agents, which resulted in a lot of man-hours and absolutely no productive leads.
Gibbs and Ziva spent weeks combing through old cases, looking for motive, means, and opportunity. Abby spent months checking and re-checking the small amount of evidence collected from the abandoned sedan, which was in perfect working condition when it was found. All of them spent many hours re-checking the search area, desperate for some scrap of physical evidence that would lead them to their lost friends.
Nothing.
Soon speculation began to circulate that the men had decided to disappear, a rumor which brought forth vehement denial and anger from anyone who had known them. Nothing ever surfaced to support that theory, either.
Eventually the case was regulated to the cold case files, although the remainder of the MCRT always kept a copy close at hand, hoping one day to close it, one way or another. Unfortunately, that day never came. NCIS Special Agents Anthony DiNozzo and Timothy McGee were never seen nor heard from again.
Officially.
As years passed, a local legend grew around the remote back-road where the abandoned sedan had been found. Many people reported strange lights along the road at night, and some even claimed to have seen two pale human-shaped figures making their way through the darkness, one swinging what looks like a flashlight. These two figures vanish, of course, before their presence can be confirmed.
Many have also claimed that on certain nights, when the harvest moon is fullest in the sky, if you are passing through those dark woods and you listen carefully, you will be able to hear men's screams.
The End
Suddenly, as rare things will, it vanished.
~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning