A/N: I'm glad everyone is enjoying this story so far! Just in case I haven't mentioned it, my classes begin again this week. I'll try to update as much as I can, but you will probably only get one chapter a week. Sorry! But again, thank you for reading and/or reviewing, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!
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Disclaimer: I do not own any part of CSI or its characters. That honor goes to the good folks over at CBS.
Title: Fear
Summary: A raging storm, four trapped children, and an exploding vehicle. Will Grissom be able to save the day?
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Mountain Pass Road, Nevada
In the backseat of the rain soaked and mud spattered Saturn, Katie continued to wail, as the car flew over the very edge of the road, flipping over, and landing on its side at the bottom of a fifty foot gully. "I can't find Mr. Peanut! Where's Mr. Peanut?" she screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice showing the true extent of her panic and fear. "Bobby, where's Mr. Peanut? Mr. Peanut? Where are you?" she continued to scream, blindly clawing at her seatbelt in the hopes of getting out. "Bobby, I want to go home," Katie swallowed. "I want to go home right now; you take me there, or Mommy is going to be very, very mad at you!" Trying to look out of her window to gauge their current location, Katie raised a confused eyebrow, as she saw absolutely nothing. Did the boogeyman already get us? Are we gonna die? I don't wanna die!
"Katie, are you okay?" Jake loudly called out from the front passenger seat, trying to twist around to look at his little sister. "Are you hurt?" Staring out of his window, he frowned at the unrelenting rain, cringing, as another thunder clap crashed just above their battered vehicle.
"Nuh-uh," Katie immediately replied, still trying to unbuckle her seat belt. "Because I can't find Mr. Peanut, and I don't want him to die, Jake!" Swallowing, the little girl shrieked in terror, as the rain continued to pelt their car.
"Shut up about the damn bear!" the thirteen year old screamed at her. "We're stuck in this damn car, at the bottom of a gully! Who cares about your bear?" He yelled, so lost in his own fear and anger, that he forgot to find out how his other siblings were doing.
Katie sniffled, before the tears once again began to slide down her cheeks. "I want Mr. Peanut," she whispered, trying to pull herself free of her seatbelt. "The boogeyman is going to come and get us, and Mr. Peanut can save me! Mommy told me so!"
Jake glanced at his sister in confusion. "Boogeyman? Don't be an idiot! There's no such thing!"
"But you said—" she trailed off. "And I can't see out my window," she pointed out.
"Because your window is pressed against the dirt, moron," he told her.
"Don't call her a moron," Lucy weakly mumbled from beside Katie, her body half dangling in the air.
"Lucy? Are you okay?" Jake asked his fifteen-year old sister, as if finally remembering that he and Katie were not the only two people in the car.
Lucy did not respond, as she closed her eyes, muttering something else under her breath.
"Lucy?" Jake called out again. "Lucy?" When his sister did not reply for a second time, Jake immediately looked at Bobby, his eyes widening in fear. "Bobby? Are you okay? Bobby, wake up!" he screamed, reaching a hand over the center console, and lightly shaking his seventeen-year old brother's shoulder. "WAKE UP!"
"Why aren't they talking to us?" Katie sniffled, trying to look up at her brother for reassurance. "Are they mad at us?" she asked, hiccupping. "Did we do something wrong, Jake?"
"I, uh," Jake swallowed, bringing his own hand back to his body in terror. "No, Katie, they're not mad at us," he nervously replied, trying to get a closer look at Bobby. Closing his eyes, and taking a deep breath, he once again reached a hand out toward his brother, pressing two fingers against his neck. Thank God for basic CPR training, he anxiously thought to himself, as he tried to find Bobby's pulse. Pressing his fingers down even harder, he concentrated, willing himself to find evidence that his brother was actually still alive. Come on, come on, he frowned, until moments later, when he felt the weakest of pulses. It's weak, but at least you're still alive.
"Why isn't Bobby talking back to you?" Katie persisted, before sticking an anxious thumb in her mouth. "He has to be mad… or sleeping," she sniffled, trying to stop her tears.
"He's, uh, just sleeping, Katie," Jake immediately informed her, as he tried to take note of any other injuries that his brother had. A gash on your forehead, bruises on your arm, your left leg appears to be crushed, and you have blood dripping down your left cheek, which means that you have another injury that I can't see. "But can you help me with something?" he asked.
"I dunno," Katie admitted. "With what?"
"I need you to look at Lucy for me, and tell me what you see. It'll be like a game, okay?" he asked.
"'Kay," Katie agreed, as she twisted her head so that she could stare up at her sister's body. "I see long brown hair, a blue shirt, white shorts—"
"No," Jake growled at her in frustration.
Katie immediately started crying, sticking her thumb back into her mouth. Jake is mad at me, I can't do anything right, and I want Mr. Peanut!
Jake bit his lip, closing his eyes. Jesus Christ, will you just calm down? She's only four years old, and she's just as scared as you are. You need to take a deep breath, and you need to have some more patience with her. "I'm—I'm sorry, Katie," he finally said, clearing his throat. "I'm just scared, okay?"
"You are?" Katie asked, sniffling, as she tried to slow her tears down.
"Uh-huh. But I need you to be a big girl, and I need you to tell me if Lucy looks hurt."
"'Kay," Katie once again agreed, as she looked at her sister. "She has blood on her face, and," she narrowed her eyes, trying to study her sister's body. "And I see something sticking out of her arm… I don't have anything sticking out of my own arm, though," she stared at herself in puzzlement. "So what is that, Jake?"
Jake's eyes rose in horror. It's either a bone, or it's something from the outside.
"Is her window still there?" he asked his little sister.
"Nuh-uh," Katie whispered. "And I'm getting wet. I don't wanna get wet, Jake."
"Help!" Jake suddenly started to yell.
Katie's eyes widened in fear, as she covered her ears in order to get away from not only the thunder and the rain, but from her brother's screaming, as well.
"Help!" he screamed again. "Please! Somebody help us!"
Up on the road, Grissom anxiously rubbed his beard, his eyes darting over the wreckage just fifty feet below him. Immediately pulling out his cell phone, and dialing 9-1-1, he attempted to get through to someone, frowning in frustration when the phone just died.
Cupping his hands around his mouth in order to amplify his voice, Grissom took one more step toward the edge of the embankment, leaning over. "Hello down there! Is anyone hurt?"
Jake opened his eyes wide, trying to twist his head so that he could peer out of his half-shattered window. "Yes, we're hurt! Please, Mister, you have to help us!"
Grissom glanced down the steep hill, trying to formulate a plan. "How many of you are there?" he asked, trying to keep his voice calm.
"There's four of us, Mister," Jake replied. "But my older brother is unconscious, and I don't know about my older sister. My younger sister is okay, I think," he added.
Grissom nodded, hunkering down beside the top of the road. "What's your name, Son?" he asked.
"Jake, and my little sister's name is Katie. My older brother's name is Bobby, and my older sister's name is Lucy. Please, can you help us? Can you call 9-1-1?"
"I've already tried that," Grissom shook his head no. "The storm is interfering with my cell phone's reception."
"Jake, tell him about the Boogeyman!" Katie begged. "Tell him that he has to hurry, or the Boogeyman will come and get us!"
Grissom raised an eyebrow, still studying the car. Boogeyman? If she still believes in the Boogeyman, then she must be young. "The Boogeyman doesn't exist," he calmly called down to the car. "That is the least of your worries."
Sniffling, Katie tried to look up past her sister's limp body, attempting to stare at Grissom. "And Mr. Peanut is gone! I dunno where he is, and I want him!" she added, as fresh tears started to fall down her cheeks.
"Shut up about the bear!" Jake again yelled at her.
"We'll find… Mr. Peanut," Grissom tried to assure her, starting to stand up. "But first, I want to get you out of that car. I'll be right back."
"No!" Katie suddenly started to shriek. "Don't leave us, please!" she wailed, once again trying to claw her way out of the seatbelt.
Grissom froze, not sure what to do. I'm really not equipped to deal with children right now, he told himself. I'm not good with them, and this is not a good idea. Taking a deep breath, he tried to come up with a response to make Katie feel better. "I'm not leaving you," he finally told her. "I just have to go to my car, okay? I'm a scientist of sorts, and I have tools in the back of my vehicle. I'm going to try to help you, but I need to go get some equipment. Okay…?" he asked, waiting for Katie's answer.
"'Kay,'" she softly told Grissom, before sticking her thumb back in her mouth.
"But please, hurry," Jake spoke up. "The rain won't let up, and I'm pretty sure that this car will fill up in no time."
"Are you stuck in your seatbelts? Or can you move?" Grissom asked.
"I don't know," Jake replied. "We haven't tried, but the car is on its side. We'll have to crawl out, and I think that my leg is broken," he admitted.
"And Mr. Peanut doesn't know how to crawl out," Katie added. "He's gonna need some help, once you find him."
"I'll do my best," Grissom calmly told the children. "Just hold on, and I'll be right back."
"Jake, I don't want him to leave," Katie sniffled, trying to twist her head so that she could stare at her brother. "I'm scared!"
"Me, too, Katie," he replied. "Me, too."
Back up on the main road, Grissom quickly walked to his Denali, climbing in. Once again pulling out his cell phone, he tried to call 9-1-1, growling in frustration when his phone still wouldn't pick up a signal. This isn't going to be good, he thought to himself, as he got out of the car, and briskly walked around to the back. Quickly wiping the rain off of his face, he unlocked the trunk, rummaging around for some equipment. "Where'd you put the rope, Nicky?" he softly mumbled aloud. "Come on, I know it's got to be in here," he muttered to himself, frowning, as another thunder clap rumbled above his head. "This isn't going to be good," he repeated to himself, as he grabbed the rope in one hand, and a couple of flares in the other. "I need to get those kids out of that car, before the whole thing explodes… or before they drown."
Trudging back over to the edge of the embankment, Grissom knelt down, very carefully peering over the edge. "Are you kids okay?" he yelled out.
"Uh-huh," Katie sniffled, as more tears slid down her cheeks. "But I can't find Mr. Peanut, and the water is getting higher."
"Okay, hang on," Grissom told her. "I've got a rope, and I'm going to climb down to get you!"
"Hurry, Mister!" Jake shouted up at him. "The water is still filling up the car, and we can't move!"
"Hang on, Jake; I'm coming," Grissom repeated, trying to keep his voice calm and steady. "Just hang in there," he repeated, his eyes going wide as another tree fell directly across the already battered Saturn. "Are you kids okay?" he screamed, once the tree had finally settled. Standing up, and trying to find a tree to attach the rope to, he waited for a response. "Jake? Katie?" he frowned, as more silence met his query. "Kids? Hold on, I'm coming!"
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TO BE CONTINUED
