Ohwow! Thanks to everyone who is reading and reviewing. I'm tickled to death that this is being taken so well...
The constructive comments are great too -- I will probably go back and address the issues after the rest of the story quits pounding the inside of my skull to get out!
Five sets of wide eyes converged on the box, verifying Hodgins' words. Angela gasped in surprise and Cam's eyebrows climbed upwards as they stared at a large, ruddy brown discoloration on the slatted wood in front of them.
"That…is not…possible…" Brennan eyed the evidence to the contrary, a frown creasing her brow and puzzlement beginning to creep into her voice.
"Well, Dr. B…." Hodgins, flashed her a cocky smile as he reached towards one of the computer desks. He grabbed a latex glove from a box sitting next to the flat-screen monitor and tipped his head meaningfully at her. "You know how quickly things can get whacko around here…"
Brennan let her eyes turn to him for a brief moment before she went back to studying the crate. "Whacko?"
"Yeah you know…" Hodgins' chipper voice belied the wary caution in his eyes as he approached the crate again and reached out to touch the stain. He continued in the same off-handed vein, "Weird, strange, bizarre…right?" His voice belied the seriousness of his gaze.
"Some of it's fresh," He lapsed suddenly from joking to earnest gravity as he displayed his crimson-stained fingers. A moment of silence fell between the five of them as they eyed the evidence, then Jack's quicksilver sense of humor struck again, "Hey! D'you think there's a body in there? You know…" He shuddered theatrically, "All gooey and icky…?"
His quip earned him a triple shot of repressively censorious glowers from the women and a snort from Wendell. He lifted a shoulder in a shrug and turned to the intern as the younger man reached for the discarded crowbar.
"There's only one way to find out." Wendell's pragmatic statement echoed his movements as he applied the crowbar.
Wedging the flat edge into the crack between the side and the front of the crate, Wendell pried, the muscles in his arms again standing out. The slow steady pressure drew a squeal of protest from the nails holding the face of the crate in place. They gave slightly before their heads stuck, resisting the pull.
Wendell sighed and shoved a little more of the crowbar into the gap he'd created. Setting his feet, he braced himself and gave a sharp shove. The crate jolted sideways slightly and the piercing 'crack' of splitting wood filled the air as the front of the crate broke away from the left side panel.
"Ohhh, wow… Hodgins mockingly gave a patently faked, nasal moan of awe, pretending to be impressed by the intern's show of strength, "My hero…" Wendell shot him a cocky grin as they both reached out to pull the wooden barrier aside.
Light chasing the darkness away. Thin lines of light, creeping through the slats. A sharp noise causing pain as his world rocked again.
Then, a familiar, joking voice. A squint voice, simultaneously both welcomed and annoying. A threaten-to-shoot-worthy voice. The thought brought a faint smile.
Home.
And…if he was there, then she would be too.
Fighting exhaustion. Swallowing hard, trying desperately to squeeze a word from a desert-dry throat.
Reaching out, desperate for them to hear him before the blackness closed around him once more.