Chapter 14
Ducky and Abby walked down the hall to the door of Palmer's apartment. They rang the bell, but heard no answer. They knocked.
" Jimmy? " Yelled Abby at the door.
" Mr Palmer? "
" His car is outside. " Said Abby, concerned. " I'm trying his phone. "
She called and they could faintly hear the sound of a ringtone coming from the inside.
They looked at each other.
" Do you think Jimmy will mind me picking the lock on his door? " Asked Abby.
" Under the circumstances I say go ahead. "
She took her cellphone and started going through it.
" What are you doing Abigail? " Asked Ducky.
" Learning how to pick a lock on the internet. " She said simply.
" That won't be necessary my dear. " Said Ducky. " Do you have any bobbypins? "
She went through her purse and took out a few, giving them to him.
" I didn't know you could pick locks Ducky. "
" There's a lot of stories I haven't told you yet. " Said Ducky.
He took less than a minute to open the door.
The lights in the apartment were out.
" Jimmy? "
Ducky, using the light from the hallway, scanned the walls to find the light switch. He turned on the lights and they took the first look into Palmer's apartment.
The apartment was small, but it looked bigger for the lack of decoration. The door to the kitchen was to the right, with an opening that gave a view of the living room.
It had a round wooden table with four chairs. A moss-green couch with two seats. A tv on the other side of the living room. By the window, a table with a chair and a small bookcase. They walked towards the door on other side of the room, that led to the bedroom.
The bedroom didn't have the lights on, but the bathroom was lit and the light illuminated the figure leaning against the wall.
He was in sweat pants and shirtless, his legs were drowned to his chest, his hands pressing against his ears. He was muttering and sobbing.
" I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. " It was he said between sobs.
" Oh, Jimmy! "
Ducky and Abby ran towards him, kneeling down. Palmer jumped, a scared scream leaving his throat, trying to drag himself away from the figures that appeared all of a sudden.
" Mr Palmer, calm down, is us. " Said Ducky, in a calm voice, concealing his concern. Abby stood up and went to turn on the light.
She and Ducky concealed a surprised gasp when they saw the wounds covering their friend.
" Mr Palmer, what happened to you? " Asked Ducky, helping the young man to his feet, the scared man seeing who he was, allowing him to do it.
" Dr. Mallard? " He asked in a small voice. The tears still running down his face. " Wha... What are you doing here? And Abby? "
" We were worried about you Jimmy. " She said, walking towards him, who now was sitting on edge of the bed. She looked at the sheets and noticed that they were messy and had a big pool of blood in them. She gasped and covered her mouth.
Ducky followed her gaze and saw the blood too.
" Mr. Palmer, I'm going to look at your injuries, alright? I'll just go to my car and get my medical bag. " He said in a low voice, not wanting to scare the man further.
" There's no need Dr. Mallard. I got it. You don't have to bother with me. I can take care of them, it's nothing. " Palmer replied, in a small shaky voice, his arms hugging himself, as if he was trying to hide his injuries.
" Nonsense. I'm here to look after you. " He walked towards the door, looking at Abby for a moment.
The woman understood what he meant and went to sit next to the man.
" Don't you worry Jimmy, we're going to take care of you. Everything will be okay. " She said, in a uncharacteristic low and calm voice. Her eyes had unshed tears, but Jimmy needed her to be strong, he needed a calm presence.
She placed her hand on his shoulder, he flinched moving away, before noticing whose hands it was and staying still. She kept her hand on his shoulder, a silent reassurance.
When Ducky came back, she moved away to the living room, not wanting to make Palmer feel crowded.
Just as she entered the living room, her phone rang. It was Gibbs.
" Gibbs! " She answered, trying to keep her voice down. " Did it work? Is it dead? "
" Is dead Abbs. We doing the necessary to make it look like he disappeared. Did you guys hear from Palmer? "
" We're at his place Gibbs. And is not good. " She said, her voice cracking a bit. " He has injuries all over, and was crying and talking to himself. And he's scared. We need to help him, none of the other victims got this bad this fast. "
" The thing said it gave him an extra strong shot. "
" What do we do? " She asked panicking.
" We'll finish up things here and go straight there. Just hang on. " He said, hanging up.
She bit her lip and let the tears fall, hugging herself for a few minutes, before taking a deep breath cleaning the tears and mascara of her face and walking back to the bedroom door.
That's when Palmer started screaming.
" Stay away! " He screamed, looking at an empty corner of the room. He jumping up and running to a corner, pressing himself against it. One arm raised in front of himself. His expression terrified. " S...Stay away fr...from me! "
Palmer was so fast that the old doctor didn't have time to stop him. Ducky looked at his assistant.
" Mr Palmer, there's no one there. You are here with me and Abigail. You are safe. Who ever you're seeing, is not real. You're safe. "
" No! " Palmer screamed at the empty corner in the room. " Get away from them! " He looked at Ducky. " You have to run, he'll hurt you too. You get hurt for being here. Everyone gets hurt. "
" Jimmy, we're safe, you're safe! " Abby said, not being able to hold back the tears anymore. Taking a few steps forward.
" You have to go! They all get hurt, and I don't want you to get hurt too! " The tears were falling on his face and to the floor. " I can't lose anyone else. Please go! " He looked at Abby with pleading eyes. " You look so much like her, I can't lose her again. I can't fail again Abby. Please go. You'll be safe if you're away from me. "
" Mr Palmer " Said Ducky, in a soft tone. " Nothing is going to happen to us. I know you're confused right now, but let me assure you. We're safe, nothing is going to happen to us. "
Palmer was looking at him, shaking visibly. But then his attention was in the corner of the room again. He started sliding down the wall, sobbing.
" I didn't mean to, I'm sorry. "
He then looked at another corner of the room, to a point above Ducky's shoulder, and if it was possible, his expression got even more terrified. He froze in place, he was barely breathing.
" Y...you. " Was the only thing he managed to speak. And in a second he jumped out of the corner, over the bed, out of the room and the apartment.
It was so fast, the two other occupants of the room barely had time to react, he was already at the door when they started running after him. Abby picking her phone and calling McGee.