Sherlock's phone made a slight beeping sound as he got a message. He slipped his hands down the deep pockets on his woolen coat and pulled up his phone. He squinted at the blurry screen, reading exactly what he didn't want to read: "Time is slipping away, my not-so-dear Mr. Holmes." It seemed clear to him now. Moriarty was trying new techniques to find the best way to psych him out. He knew Sherlock's weak spot and he was enjoying the situation to crush him slow and painfully by killing the ones he loved.

"It's him, isn't it?" John asked with a slightly lifeless voice. "When you're frowning like that"… He took a deep breath, as if he were trying to say something he had been holding in for a long time. "I can see that you're scared. I can see that you are worried and frightened." Sherlock tried to interrupt to deny the statements, but John ignored him because he knew how Sherlock would deny anything as soon as it involved how he was struggling with emotions.

"I'm perfectly fine, John. I am most certainly not possessed by these weaknesses." His voice was again cold as ice and if it weren't for the little trembling, John would probably have tried to believe it. It was like he was fighting a long-lasting battle with himself as well as with Moriarty, and it was most likely Moriarty's intention.

Sherlock knew better than anyone how this was Moriarty experimenting with his emotions for amusement, but even though he knew so well, he also knew that what he had been told could be true. He was evil enough to torture and kill about anyone regardless of age and Sherlock wouldn't even imagine what he might have done to Hamish.

The sun was about gone and the darkness made it harder to see, as there were no streetlights of any kinds, mostly because they walked through alleys and many of those places seemed to have been abandoned for years and would probably stay that way for years to come.

Sherlock could hear john's breath, and how he was shivering due to the cold weather and a slightly cold wind didn't really make up for it. He glanced at him, trying not to look at his eyes. He couldn't stand watching John like this. Actually for the first time, he just wanted the "case" to be over as fast as possible.

"Is there any chance that we might find him alive", John asked. His voice was trembling and the silence that followed was painful to both of them and when Sherlock finally replied, John already knew the answer. They both knew the answer that they had been avoiding for such a long time. They didn't want to hear it nor believe it, but nevertheless it was the most likely truth.