Disclaimer: I don't own the characters and probably half of this story line since the main idea is taken right out of 3-18. So pretty much all credit goes to the creators of CSI:NY, and the writers and whoever else. This story is not being used to make money, it's written purely for entertainment purposes. However, the small portion of this story (such as the plotline of the aftermath of the multiple-homicide-in-a-diner thing) which did come from my head, is mine, and should not be used without my permission.
Anyway, now that's over...so this is the prologue. It might be short, but I promise you the chapters will be longer. It's from a third person perspective, which is new for me (I'm used to first person) so I don't know how well it'll work out...
That's enough rambling from me for now, because soon I'll have written an author's note that's longer than the prologue.
EDIT (4th Sept): I have received a review from a guest which pointed out some inconsistencies with this fanfiction. I have attempted to erase these, but I would like to know if I missed any. Thanks.
PROLOGUE
The diner was nearly empty; the only customers left were four girls who'd been sitting there for at least an hour, and an old man sitting near the door. What little hair this man had left was a snowy white, and his face was more wrinkled than the trunk of a knarled old tree. He sipped his cup of tea for a time, but then decided to push himself up from the chair and hobble out into the street, drink unfinished. The waitress, a young girl called Sarah who'd seen the girls around school – she was a junior – but had never seen the man, wandered over and collected the half-finished drink, and mopped up the few tiny drops of tea that had somehow found their way to the table.
The four girls hardly noticed this, mostly because it was happening at the other end of the diner. The girls were teenagers, just fifteen years old, and they'd just finished their freshman year two weeks before. Two of the girls had known each other before they even began school, and they'd made friends with the other two before the first ever semester was over. None of them could imagine life without their friends.
Jackie Bellamy was the youngest of the four; she'd only turned fifteen a week or so before the summer started. Jackie's hair was long and blonde, with some darker streaks, and her eyes were a pale, misty grey. She was also the tallest, although Kelly wasn't far off. Kelly Thompson had dark hair and muddy brown eyes, and she sometimes took on a mothering role with her friends, since she was the oldest. The other two girls were Eleanor Grant, who had hair so dark it was almost black, and smallish, beetle-black eyes; and Lindsay Monroe, who had paler brown hair than Kelly, and wide chocolate eyes.
Sarah smiled as she watched the four girls. She could remember being fifteen – she had thought she was old then, that she wasn't a kid any more, but looking at these four girls she was startled to realise how young they seemed to her. Sarah remembered clearly the excitement she'd felt at starting high school, and she almost laughed. High school was just like any other school – it brought her the good days, the best friends, and the boy she'd once have taken a bullet for, but it also brought her the worst days, the fake, back-stabbing friends, and the boy who decided he'd gotten fed up of her and wanted something more exciting.
"Seriously, Linds," Sarah heard the blonde girl say, "give Kelly a break. Just because Sam Bergmann asked her out and she turned him down -"
"I wouldn't have turned him down," Lindsay responded, cutting Jackie off and flicking her hair back over her shoulders. "Sam's not a jerk like most other guys, plus he's quite good-looking. Just because he's a little weird..."
"A little?" Eleanor said with a laugh, shaking her head slightly. "He spends his lunchtimes in the library, reading or doing his homework. Plus, I've only ever heard him talk twice."
Jackie raised her eyebrows and tucked a few strands of corn-coloured hair behind her ear whilst Kelly whispered something into Lindsay's ear, knocking over a small pot of jam as she did so. "You just don't like him because he's the only person who can beat you at chess, Els," the blonde girl reminded her.
"I've never even played him!" Eleanor protested, truthfully.
"Only because you know he can beat you," Kelly told her. "You saw him playing the computer in the library on the most difficult setting, remember? You said you were scared because he's so good."
Eleanor glared at her friend – not because she didn't like Kelly, but because she knew that Kelly knew she was acting it. Lindsay cut in. "Well, Kelly, if you think he's so good at chess, then why didn't -"
"I said he could beat Els at chess," Kelly interrupted. "I didn't say I wanted to go out with him!"
"Nobody would want to go out with Sam Bergmann," Jackie muttered, as Lindsay accidentally brushed her left palm in a blob strawberry jam that Kelly had spilt earlier. "Except Linds, of course. Most other people have some kind of taste in guys."
Lindsay was stood up – not out of anger, but because of the jam. "You guys are so picky," she said as she headed off to the restroom to wash it off. None of her friends really knew Sam Bergmann – he was always the chess club boy to them, the science nerd, the guy who came top of the class in every test. To Lindsay, though, he was a friend – his brother Kyle, and Lindsay's own brother, Chris, were best friends, and Sam was a regular visitor at the Monroe household. Once, he'd even fended off some bullies when Lindsay ended up in the EP science class at middle school, without any of her friends, and a couple of boys had decided to pick on her.
The sound of the other girls' laughter and chatter found its way to Lindsay, and the girl smiled. She knew some kids weren't as lucky to have such good friends as she did; they all had each others' backs, and none of them would ever break the trust between them. They were like sisters, almost quadruplets in a way. They would be lost without each other.
Lindsay turned the tap on and washed the jam off her left palm. The sound of the faucet running would have relaxed her if she were angry or upset, as it always did, but right then she didn't need calming. She registered the sound of the door chime, but didn't think much of it, and she was about to turn and walk out of the restroom when -
BANG
It made Lindsay jump, but that was nothing compared to what was happening in the next room. Screams and shouts and yells, all the voices distorted with fear – distorted beyond recognition. The sounds twisted the inside of Lindsay's head. Kelly and Jackie and Eleanor were in there, screaming, yelling, crying out in fear... Lindsay knew she should do something, but she was frozen on the spot, a statue made of ice.
BANG
BANG
BANG