Chapter 10
'God, what is that smell? Ughh, my head is throbbing. Open your eyes, Temperance…' Brennan made a slight groaning noise as she started to gain consciousness. She immediately noted the horrid smell, God that smell was worse than rotting flesh. She could feel blood, slowly trickling down the side of her head. Finally she forced her eyes open, the light in the room making the throbbing in her head worse. Trying to move, she realized her hands and feet we're bound together. She didn't remember anything except standing there, trying to catch up with Booth and then she was here. At least she hadn't been gagged. Brennan now forced herself to look around, and what she saw, made her wish she was still unconscious. She was speechless, as she swallowed down the lunch she had had earlier that tried to come up. She was inside what looked like to be a shack. Her body lay against stained dirt, and she so wished she could get up from her side. There was a table in the corner near the door, it was horribly stained with God knows what, jars of fingers and toes resting on the right, and in the middle there was a large knife that stuck up from out of the wood. Near the back of the shack, more to the left was a small cot. It had two or three blankets on it, though they we're stained and filled with holes. She could see bits of human organs that littered the ground. Some very fresh, and the others merely a dried stain in the dirt. 'I think I'm gonna be sick…I've seen numerous dead bodies, but this place…the blood…This is just sick.' She tried to move, wincing at how tight the ropes we're knotted around her wrists and ankles. "Damnit…" She mumbled, squirming and trying to get from on her side. Suddenly she froze as the stench grew stronger. Her heart began to pound and she didn't want to look up. 'That smell is so overwhelming…Breathe through your mouth, Temperance…' she was trying to calm herself and get enough courage to look up. Someone was in the room with her and she knew, whomever it was, hadn't moved, she could feel their eyes burning into her skin. Taking in a breath, Brennan slowly looked up. Her body cringed at the sight of this…this thing that really did not resemble that of a human being. 'He's so deformed…God he's what smells.' standing in the doorway was what appeared to be a 6'8, slightly burly human. But this human was horribly deformed, the skin on his face drooped ever so slightly, one eye bulging from the socket. He had no hair on the top of his head, and there didn't seem to be any evidence that a left ear had formed when in the womb. He was missing two fingers, but it was evident, that he was born like that. Brennan could see that he walked with a limp and noticed that one leg was much longer than the other. 'How's he get around so quickly with those legs?' He was so disheveled, covered in blood. He had it around his mouth, which wasn't much of a mouth with barely an upper lip. Of the little bit of teeth he had, they we're extremely crooked, overlapping each other. Brennan imagined that his bones would be something of an anomaly. Finally he stepped forward and without hesitation, Brennan tried to squirm back. He lifted her up by the her bound hands with ease, she was like a rag doll to him. Brennan squirmed more, desperate attempts to get away, but all it did was cause her pain. The closer he got to her, the more the stronger the smell. She cringed and turned her head away, closing her eyes. He seemed very fascinated with her, staring at her as she dangled there like a floundering fish. Suddenly she felt herself being flung through the air, to slam onto the rotting cot. She was beginning to wonder what his intentions we're with her, and she now somehow managed to roll over into a sitting position, bringing her knees up to her chest. Brennan could now see the rest of the room, and it seemed to be filled with body parts. Just as he began to come closer there was a loud yell, and both of them jerked their heads toward the door. 'Booth!' she thought. "Booth! Help! Booth!" She yelled as loud as she could, only to have her mouth covered by a large 3 stubbed finger hand. She felt sick to her stomach, as he touched her. Her skin was crawling and she felt disgusting. Not only that, but the smell. If she had to deal with it any longer, there was a chance she wouldn't be able to hold down her food any more.
Booth's chest was burning from the cold as he ran as fast as he could, dodging trees and fallen limbs. He called again, stopping to look around. "Bones!" His voice echoed the forest, and then for a split second he thought he heard Brennan's voice. "Don't worry, I'm coming Bones." He began to walk slowly now, feeling as though he wasn't alone any longer. He was holding his weapon tightly, his finger caressing the trigger. Booth's breath caught in his throat as he spotted little drops of blood up ahead. 'Please be okay, Bones.' He thought to himself as he slowly, and stealthily moved forward, looking for any sign of where Brennan could be. His eyes suddenly spotted a little trail that sort of curved around a hill. Down below was a beat up shack. "Bones…" He took off like lightning, his senses on full alert. He was now leaning against the outside wall of the shack, gun raised. "Bones…?" He whispered, his body tense. There was a muffled voice, and Booth didn't wait any longer to charge inside, gun raised, but no one was there except Brennan. Once he was sure it was clear, he ran toward her, trying to keep himself calm as he pulled the gag out. "Bones, are you alright!" Once the gag was removed, she started to cough, dry heaving but nothing came up. She had been gagged with some sort of stained cloth that tasted horrible. She fell forward into Booth's hold and he quickly pulled her hair back with his free hand, just in case. Once the coughing and gagging stopped, Booth gently sat her back up, now trying to work on the knot that bound her hands. "You okay, Bones?" His voice was laced with worry and concern as he stared at her pale, blood stained face. "J-Just get me out of here." She wheezed. Booth nodded and Brennan lay her head on his shoulder as he continued to try and untie the knot. She was so tightly bound, he was having a hard time. Brennan suddenly gasped, eyes widening. "Booth!" She screamed out, causing him to look behind him and see the large board just in time to dodge it. Once his eyes landed on the deformed figure, his eyes widened. "Dear God. What the hell is that!" He yelled out the question, dodging yet another blow. "It's a deformed human, probably born from a line of inbred genes." Brennan answered, wincing every time the board came down. "Thank you, Bones! It was rhetorical!" Booth dove to the ground and grabbed his gun. Once he aimed it, he pulled the trigger. The man only stumbled backwards, but began coming at Booth again. "SHOOT HIM IN THE HEAD, BOOTH!" Brennan yelled, wishing she wasn't so useless right now. Booth finally took a hit to the ribs, and another to his forearm as he tried to block the blow. He fell back to the ground, groaning in pain, but reaching for his gun that was inches away. The gunshot echoed the forest, and both Booth and Brennan watched the horribly disfigured man, fall to the ground.