Ahem... Yes, I am very late in updating. But I've had a lot on my plate, and I was suffering from some writers block. Anyways, here's the next chapter!
"You were going to leave Haven and contact Gibbs without me? What, you don't trust me?" Tony said furiously to Ziva. She had explained everything to him as they walked through the murky woods. Afterwards, he had remained quiet for hours, thinking. Finally, he had spoken up.
"I thought that someone was needed to protect Abby." She said, avoiding his gaze. "What if this had happened to Abby, and nobody was there to protect her?"
"Well, it seems like she's in that situation, anyway. Let's just hope nobody in Haven catches on to who she really is." Tony stopped talking for a moment and then turned his head towards hers. "Are you sure this isn't because we.. you know, fought after...?"
"No." Ziva forced herself to look straight ahead.
"Then why didn't you tell me about your plan?" Tony asked, stumbling on a tree root. She caught him by the sleeve and pulled him up before he could fall again.
"I didn't have the time!" She said. "Astrid and I made those plans while you were still getting interrogated by the Elders."
"You could have come by later." Tony said. "I've stopped by your cabin every night since we've been in Haven, you know you could have come by my cabin."
"I - I was tired." Ziva said. Tony scoffed.
"Ninjas don't get tired." He said. Ziva could tell he was trying to be as lighthearted as possible, but she saw the hurt on his face.
"Listen Tony I -" But then she broke off as she heard something, secretly glad for the distraction. She wasn't exactly sure what she had been about to say.
"What's wrong?" He asked, but she put her hand over his mouth. A few seconds later, the voices she had heard before came back, but much louder this time.
"I thought I heard someone over here." Astrid. Ziva was half tempted to stay and release some of her frustration and anger on her betrayer, but thought better of it as she heard other voices, just as close as Astrid's was. Silently, she grabbed Tony's hand in her own and pulled him forward. The two began to try and run as silently as they could - not an easy feat with leaves crunching beneath their every step. But no matter how far they ran, it seemed like Astrid was right behind them. Suddenly, Tony lost his footing and stumbled onto the rough forest floor. Ziva reached down and swung an arm around his broad shoulders. She helped pull him back up, and they struggled to their feet. Ziva glanced behind her and saw a streak of what looked like silk moonlight darting towards them. She felt her blood run cold and pushed Tony forward.
"Run." She said simply. They abandoned all pretense and crashed through the forest, which seemed to be rebelling against them. Tree branches rippled through Ziva's hair and clothes and tree roots snagged at her feet, making her trip, constantly on the verge of falling down completely. Ziva and Tony ran through the forest, staying on no path, trying their hardest to loose Astrid. Only when Ziva wondered how they were staying together did she realize that they had clasped hands. Finally, Ziva turned around and saw no one behind them, no streak of moonlight or flash of bright green eyes.
"It's - it's okay. I think we lost them." Ziva said, bending over and clutching her side. She had never felt so tired in her life. She was sure it had already been at least five hours that they had been trekking through the woods, and then they had been running from Astrid for at least half an hour. That, combined with the fact that she had gotten no sleep due to the fact that she had been attacked in her cabin made her want to lay down on the soft ground and pass out.
"Are you sure?" From the sound of his voice, Ziva could tell that Tony thought the same way. She turned to look at him and felt her mouth drop open. Tony's face was a clammy and an unearthly pale color, and he was leaning against a huge boulder, struggling to keep himself up.
"Tony, are you okay?" Ziva asked, trying to keep her voice clam and steady. He nodded, incapable of expressing words at the moment, but he slid down the boulder until he was sitting on the ground.
"I'm sorry. Just give me a minute to rest." He whispered, his eyes already closed. Ziva touched a hand to his forehead, he didn't stir. His head moist and clammy to the touch, leaving Ziva wondering what was wrong with him. There hadn't been much that they hadn't both been through that week, and Ziva looked to be much better off than Tony. They had both nearly drowned, had nearly been attacked by a deadly snake, and had fallen out of a window several feet below, just hours ago. What was it that was making Tony so - And then Ziva felt her entire body, not just her blood, run cold. The plague. That damn plague that had nearly killed Tony before she had even had a chance to meet him. Tony had been in the water for so long, it had taken him more time to recover from its effects - and it wold be just like Tony not to mention that he was ill to her. Whatever anyone could say about Tony, he was not a weakling, and he hated to be thought of such. He didn't express pain when could afford not to.
Ziva knew that she couldn't move Tony again. As she gazed upon her motionless partner, she sent up a prayer to whoever might be listening, whether it was a higher power, or Gibbs with his gut, to help them get out of this situation.
Gibbs was steadfastly carving away at his boat when his cell phone rang. He looked at the caller I.D. and saw Ducky's name. He frowned, hoping nothing else was wrong this week.
"What's up, Duck?" He asked, flipping open the phone.
"Ah, Jethro. You need to come in quick. Please call in Timothy, too."
"What's so bad that it needs to be taken care of at three in the morning?"
"Our dear Abigail has called. She needs help."
Tony awoke to something warm on his face. For a moment, he though he was back in his bed, his warm sheets pressed tight to him, and flames crackling in the fireplace. He felt a flow of contentment, which vanished when he heard Ziva swear. He opened his eyes and tried to sit up, looking around.
He was still leaning against the boulder, which he noticed was damp and cold. The woods seemed to have grown even darker, or maybe that was because the trees blocked the moon and stars. A small fire was burning next to him, with Ziva feeding it twigs and branches.
"How are you?" She asked him, concern written all over her face.
"Fine." He murmured. "Bu - yo shouldn't have a fire...going" His voice trailed off and he closed his eyes, exhausted with even the smallest movement. "It'll attract attention. Astrid will see it."
"I know. Ziva muttered anxiously. "But you were so cold - and I couldn't think of anything else to keep you warm."
"Anything?" Tony mumbled, trying to waggle his eyebrows. But he felt a stab of guilt shoot through him. Ziva shouldn't be risking capture just because of him.
"You need a sleeping bag for that, Tony." Ziva rolled her eyes and shoved another twig into the fire.
"Well maybe if it rains sleeping bags you'll get lucky." Tony laughed, but began to cough harshly. Ziva grabbed him and helped him set up against the rock.
"Another movie?" She asked, her voice barely covering up her worry. Tony felt another twinge of guilt.
"Nope. TV series." He answered, "X-Files. You've never seen it? Well, Mulder and Skully get lost in this forest and -" He began to cough again, and felt his eyes droop shut. "I'll tell you later."
He heard Ziva utter a low oath as he drifted off into sleep.
Ziva looked with worry on the sleeping Tony. He obviously couldn't travel anymore, and she wouldn't leave without him. That part wasn't even debatable. She would just have to find a way out of this situation with some other resolution besides running away.
She carefully laid out everything she and Tony had: their guns, her knife (she had only had one on her before sprinting to Tony's cabin), a bottle full of warm water, Tony's flashlight, and his old cell phone that she had found in his jacket pocket, put there out of routine, not purpose. At first her heart leaped upon seeing it, but she quickly realized that "water proof" didn't apply to being tossed around in the river. She had turned it on, and for a quick moment it had blinked and she had felt such a strong relief that it almost knocked off her feet. Then it abruptly died with a little whining sound, and the panic that followed was even greater than the relief. Tony was rapidly declining and Ziva wasn't sure how long he could hold on without seeing a doctor. She could try to make him more comfortable, though.
She grabbed the bottom of her jacket and ripped off a piece, gently wetting it with the warm water. She wiped the dirt and sweat off Tony's face with it, grateful that Tony wasn't awake to see this and rub it in. If he ever found out about this, he would never let her live it down.
Finished, she leaned back, her body balanced on the balls of her feet. She took a quick glance at the fire, and saw that it seemed well enough for the moment. With nothing else to do, Ziva leaned back and settled herself against Tony's chest, deciding to keep watch. But soon her eyes began to flutter shut against her will and her head lolled down onto Tony's chest...
Ziva was running, running through the forest. Behind the large trees, where there should have been night sky, was nothing but a clear white light. The light made the trees out to be thick dark shapes, showing dark against light, morbid and surreal. Suddenly a dark shadow moved against the light, hiding from one tree to the next.
Her breath came in short gasps, her eyes straining to find something, anything, that could be used to get her away from here... She ran, her muscles bursting and her lungs aching, but she saw nothing but trees. She finally stopped, and she looked around frantically, feeling like something was missing. Then it hit her.
"Tony!" She yelled out, gazing around. The dark figure moved to another tree, but there was no sign of Tony. She walked forward and stumbled over a root. She struggled to her feet, but when she looked down, she saw the root had wrapped around her ankle. She reached down to pull it off, but another root shot up and twisted itself around her back, pulling her down. More roots rose up and wound themselves around her ankles, wrists, neck, pulling her until she was bowed down, unable to move.
Looking down at the forest floor, she saw leaves moving and heard footsteps approaching. She looked up to see a huge beast in front of her, saliva dripping from its mouth, landing just inches from her face. The beast raised a huge paw and Ziva thought it was going to kill her before it eat her, but instead it simply pointed up to the trees. Ziva looked up and screamed.
Tony's dead body was hanging from the trees.
"NO!" Ziva woke up and looked around her. Tony was lying against the boulder, just as before she had went to sleep. Hesitantly, she felt for a pulse and breathed out when she saw felt him beating steadily, even if slightly less strongly than what she would be comfortable with. She shivered, partly from the idea of Tony's heartbeat getting any weaker, and partly from the cold wind that blew through her jacket. She glanced towards the fire, and saw that it was down to a few smoldering flames and ashes. She frowned and looked towards Tony. She bent down and patted his cheek.
"I need to leave to get more firewood. Will you be alright? I'm leaving your gun and water with you." All she got was a incoherent mumble, but she had a feeling it was the best she was going to get.
She started out towards the trees, her gun in one hand and flashlight in the other. She had only got a few feet when she saw a bright light shining behind a tree. Bright, white, shining...
Astrid!
Ziva reached for her gun, but a strong hand grabbed hers, twisting it behind her back. She wound a leg around her attacker and thrust her head back, breaking their nose and tripping them all in the same turn. But just as their body fell to the ground, arms wound their way around her body, crushing her to someone's chest. She squirmed out of their grip, and attacked them too. They fell, and someone else came forward to take their spot. Faces were all blurred together by the firelight and adrenaline. She tried to keep moving, to keep not let them box her in, but eventually they formed a circle around her. Large arms grabbed her, lifted her above their head and threw her to the ground. She tried to get up, but she was forced back down the hands and by her body's own limitations. But through her bruised eye and blood, she could see Astrid's grinning face a she walked forward to meet her.