Chapter 21:

All Horatio could see was the silhouette of someone in the door. When he called out to see who it was he was worried when the person didn't answer right away. Luckily he didn't have to wait long as he finally heard a response.

"Horatio, it's me. I think I knocked him out, he's not moving". Ryan couldn't believe he was able to take the guy down, but he had the element of surprise on his side. He was actually feeling pretty good considering how he had been feeling only a few hours ago.

Horatio sighed heavily once he heard Ryan's voice. "Thank god it's you. Where is the killer now?" It made him nervous to not be able to see anything.

"He is right here in front of me, but I can't see too much. All I have is the light from the hallway to see". Ryan waited for Horatio to respond.

"Ok, I need you to see if he has any keys that might unlock this chain". Horatio didn't want to risk Ryan's freedom by having him get close to the killer again, but if there was a chance for both of them to escape he had to take it.

Ryan bent down and started patting the killer's clothes to see if he could feel any keys. He was extremely disappointed when he was finished, "Sorry H, there is nothing here. I can't find any keys. I can still bring the mop handle over to see if we can wind up the chain and loosen it from the wall".

Horatio wanted nothing more than to get out of here, but he needed Ryan to get away "No, there is no time. I need you to get yourself out of here and find help. Do you think you are well enough to do this?"

Ryan didn't want to leave Horatio, but he knew that he was probably speaking the truth. "H, I can't leave you, I think our plan will work".

"No, I can take care of myself. You need to get going and find help". Horatio hoped he sounded convincing.

"I'm not even sure where we are, it could take awhile to get help. Maybe I should try and tie him up with something before I go". Ryan had thought of this but he was not able to think of anything that would help when the lights were on earlier. He could try to find something outside of the room, but he had no idea what was on the other side of the door. For all he knew he could get lost and not even be able to find his way back. He needed to think quickly since he was their only hope at the moment. "Do you remember seeing anything in the room that would work?"

"No, I don't remember anything in the room that would work". Right after Horatio said this he came up with one idea that might work. "Ryan, do you think you could drag him over to where I am. Maybe I could buy us some time if I can somehow confine him in my own chains". He knew the chain was long, but he just didn't know if it was long enough for this to work.

"Do you think that could work?" Ryan thought it was better than nothing and decided to grab the man's legs to start dragging him over, the only trouble was that he had to take a more direct route and he didn't know exactly what direction Horatio was in. "I'm gonna need you to keep talking so I know what direction you are in".

"What about the light switch, can you see where it is?"

Ryan let go of the killer's legs and looked around using the light from outside the room but he couldn't see anything. He used his hands to feel around the door frame but there was nothing to be found, "I can't find it Horatio, do you want me to keep on trying".

"No Ryan, were going to have to go with your first plan I'm afraid".

Ryan grabbed the killer's legs again and waited for Horatio's direction. "Ok Horatio, where should I go?"

"From where I can see you standing, I think if you come straight back from the door you should get close to me. Also if you move straight back I can use your silhouette to make sure you are going straight". Horatio took his time talking so that he could keep the conversation going.

Using Horatio's voice Ryan continued to drag the man, but the farther away he got from the door the more his strength started to drain away. He didn't know if he was going to make it "H, am I close, I don't know if I can do this much longer".

"You're almost here, just a few more steps".

Finally Ryan was standing right in front of him. "Ok, we need to sit him up so that I can walk around him a few times and wrap him up with the chain. This should keep him right where I want him while you go for help". Horatio helped Ryan sit him up and was able to walk around the guy at least 2 times to where the chains wrapped his upper body. He took the remaining chain and wrapped it around the guy's neck. The only thing Horatio didn't like about this set up was that he had to be up close and personal with the guy when he woke up. "Ok Ryan, I think this is good, I will do my best to hold him off while you go for help".

Ryan hated the idea of leaving Horatio alone with the killer but he knew there was no other choice. He just hoped he would be able to find his way out. Fighting the guy and eventually moving his unconscious body was finally starting to take its toll on him and he didn't know how much longer he would last. The only thing that got him moving was the idea of Horatio sitting here alone with the killer. "Ok Horatio, I'll go and get help and be back before you know it".

For the last hour, Eric, Calleigh and Natalia had exhausted every possibility they had of finding some room in the building that was not on the blue prints. It was getting dark and they decided it was time to get back to the lab and start analyzing the newest evidence that had been collected. They were disappointed that they had not been able to figure out why there was no sign of Ryan and Horatio leaving this building. They had also been disappointed that the owner of the building never called them back.

Eric finished loading up his hummer and went back into the building to see if Calleigh and Natalia were ready to leave. "Hey, are we ready to get out of here?"

Calleigh looked up at Eric's question "Yes, I think we are, but I really thought we had something here. Are we sure we looked everywhere?" She just didn't feel right about leaving. There was something nagging her about this place, but couldn't place her finger on it. But her gut feeling was not a good enough reason to stay any longer.

Eric knew how she felt, he didn't want to leave either "We can come back in the morning and take another look, but I think we need to get back. I'm sure we will find them".

"Your right, we do need to get back". She reluctantly picked up her stuff and started walking out the door with Eric and Natalia following behind.

Once Ryan was on the other side of the door he looked in both directions and decided to go right. He just hoped it was the right way since there was not much time to find help and save Horatio. He also wished he felt better.

As he rounded a corner he found a set of stairs that led up. He didn't really know if going up was the right way, but he had to try it. As he finally reached the last step at the top of the stairs he found another hallway which gave him the option of going left or right. He decided to go right again. As he walked for a little ways; using the wall as something to help hold him up; he came to a door. He opened it up and found himself in another smaller room. As soon as he entered the room the door behind him shut. It startled him momentarily but he quickly recovered and tried to open the door again. As soon as he realized it was locked he started to lose all hope of finding help. He sunk to his knees and sat there for a few minutes trying to get his composure back.

What was he doing? He should have stayed with Horatio to see if they could have figured out a way to get him free from the wall. But he let Horatio talk him into leaving and now he was here sitting on the floor barely able to keep going. He felt like such a failure at this moment.

Ryan had to make a decision. Was he going to sit here and talk himself into doing nothing or was he going to push himself to get moving. Horatio was counting on him to succeed and he could not let him down. Even though he felt like he couldn't move another inch he was able to find new strength and get himself up. He looked around the room and saw another door. He didn't know how he could have missed it before but he didn't have time to wonder. He walked over to it and opened it.

To his relief the door led to the outside, but what he saw took away any hope he had left. He saw a hummer that looked like the ones they used in the department driving away. All he could think to do was start shouting "No, don't leave. You have to come back". Ryan sank to the ground feeling defeated.

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