TITLE : Compromising Situation
AUTHOR : Karen Gomes (pyrie@hotmail.com)
CATEGORY : SBR
RATING : PG
SPOILERS : Probably
DISCLAIMER : All of the known characters/premises/plots belong to their respective owners. So there.
SUMMARY : Bailey's actions leads to Sam's capture by Jack, and revelations ensue.
NOTES : Well, since I don't have a social life, I've decided to finish this up. Me thinks there is still one or two more chapters, but I'll probably post them all in one go.
Cheers!
Gomes.
------------------------------- Compromising Situation (pt.9) -------------------------------
December 29th -- Horne Lake Caves, British Columbia
"That's a special cave, here at Riverbend." Greg said, catching up with Bailey. He looked at the agent, and observed him. "I never asked . . . what exactly are we looking for?"
"Who, not what!" Bailey snapped. His tone calmed a little. "A woman whom I swore to protect was taken from me . . . because of me - because I let my guard down. I was caught in a compromising situation, and instead of dealing with it, I ran. And I will never forgive myself for what happened to her." Bailey paused and took a sip of water from his gourd. "I need to get her back, for her to be safe. Her daughter needs her, her friends need her, and . . . I need her." He said, and dropped his eyes to the ground.
Greg nodded. "About the cave. There's one big room in the middle, and it splits into three separate rooms." Greg advanced to the entrance, and the rest of the team caught up. "Someone should stand at this entrance, in case the suspect tries to escape."
"And you're sure that Jack his holding Sam here?" John asked, surveying the caves.
"If he's here, this is the last place he could be hiding." Greg said, casting a glance at Bailey. Up to date, he hadn't even been sure if the FBI agent's hunch was correct, and as much as he didn't want to admit, he figured there would be a slim chance that a serial killer would be stupid enough to come here. In all honesty, Greg was even going to skip the cave, but he saw the glimmer in Bailey's eye. Perhaps not to humour the man, but more so to support him, Greg has reluctantly agreed to scope out the caves.
Bailey ordered the one officer to stand guard, with weapon drawn. "He's a deranged and dangerous man. He will attack if he feels threatened." Bailey said. He told George and Grace to wait for him at the entrance as well. Bailey knelt down on one knee and lifted up his pant leg. Extracting a small pistol from an ankle holster, he handed it to George. "Be vigilant, Georgie." He first looked on either side of the mountain where the cave was neatly set in. On one side, it sloped sharply towards an endless sea of trees and greenery. On the other side, it took a deep plunge into ice cold rapids that were forever tormented by jagged rock formations. Bailey swallowed hard and proceeded into the cave. He was strongly aware of his heightened breathing and thick pulse rate. «Wouldn't be surprised if I had a heart attack.» He thought bitterly to himself. «Maybe I'm getting too old for this job.» He pushed those thoughts out of his head as the team reached a rather large, subterranean passage. The ceiling was high and smooth with very little stalactite formations. They glanced at each opening. Bailey paused and pointed at the first officer, Carlos Uman. He silently told him to check out the first cave. Bailey then ushered John into the second and he would take the third. They each walked in their own directions.
***
December 29th -- Riverbend Cave, British Columbia
Jack looked at his watch. It had been 25 minutes since Sam had taken a sip of water. «Eve eating the apple that the snake gave to her.» He mused as he unlocked her cell. She was curled up, facing away from him. He approached her, and stopped a few feet away, admiring the object of his lust. He hesitated, afraid that she was pretending and would jump him the moment he got near. Leaning slightly, he grabbed her shoulder and turned her on to her back. «Didn't even put up a fight.» He thought smugly.
Sam's eyes fluttered open, but it seemed as if weights were holding them down, forcing her into an unwilling darkness that ate at her mind, and swallowed her whole. She saw Jack looming over her. «Why am I so tired . . . so helpless?» She asked herself. Her head fell slightly to the side: she had lost complete control of her body, and even her thoughts were drifting towards a hazy end. «The water!» It finally dawned on her. She lifted her arm to push Jack away, but he easily grabbed hold of it. It was like everything was moving in slow motion. "Jack, no!" She tried to say, but it was a slur to her own word; fear mixed with anger escaped her lips, but her body did not respond. She felt the dark tentacles pull her further into the abysmal gloom and she could do nothing to stop it. They pulled at her body and mind - reality slowly inching further and further away, leaving her behind in the tortured fantasy of a lunatic.
"So beautiful." Jack whispered, as he cut open her shirt, exposing her bare belly and breasts. He touched her chest through the lace fabric that composed her bra. Suddenly, a crack echoed through the caves. Jack put the scissors down and cautiously headed towards the entrance of the cave. He leaned up against the wall, and peaked out from the corner. He came face to face with a gun. "Malone." He said.
Bailey held the gun in place, hatred burning in his eyes. He noticed the slight falter in Jack's voice. «I control the game now, Jack.» He thought to himself. He wanted to blow him away right now. But he couldn't. To kill in cold blood was morally wrong, and against procedures. Bailey had the upper hand, and he would arrest Jack. "Where is she, Jack?" Bailey said, pushing Jack back with the barrel of his gun.
Jack took a few steps back and grinned. "Good that you could visit me, Malone." Jack said with a laugh. "I didn't think you would be perceptive enough to listen to my clues." Jack looked Bailey in the eyes. Though fire coursed through his eyes, Jack could see the fear that shyly clung to the contours of his irises. "You doubted yourself at first . . . had almost given up hope."
"Where is she?" Bailey repeated. He didn't want Jack to start talking - distracting him. He wanted to arrest him, get Sam and get the hell out of here.
"Your shoulder has healed?" Jack asked, motioning to Bailey's sling-adorned arm.
"Shut up." Bailey said. Jack looked towards the room, towards Sam. Bailey saw Jack's eyes wander and followed his gaze: there lay Sam, motionless on the cot. His eyes slammed back at Jack. "She's not dead!" It was more of a dare than a question. He forced his gun closer to Jack's face.
Jack knew that Bailey would blow his face off is Sam was dead. But he also knew that Bailey was aware that Jack would never kill Sam. "She's resting." He merely whispered.
"Turn around." Bailey said, but Jack stood his ground. "Turn around!" Bailey yelled, and cocked his gun. Jack rolled his eyes, and turned around. "John, Carlos!" Bailey called out, still never taking his eyes of Jack. "I'm going to love to see your ass fried on the chair."
"I prefer lethal injection." Jack muttered sarcastically.
"Oh, be sure that I'll be the one to jab it into the vein." Bailey said, taking out his handcuffs.
"So, you liked touching her, huh?" Jack said, grinning.
"What?" Bailey took a step back, but held his gun aimed at Jack.
"Did she ask you to . . . touch her like that?" Jack asked, and looked over his shoulder.
"N-no. But . . . " Bailey stuttered.
"You feel guilty don't you." Jack turned around, not afraid of Bailey's gun now. He slowly felt the scale of power tipping towards him. "Violating her like that."
"Shut up." Bailey said softly. «Where the hell is John and Carlos?!» He asked himself, as he felt his hands start to tremble.
"Look what it does to you." Jack said, noticing Bailey's hands shake. "You might as well have raped her!" He blurted out. "And you did that for love?!" Jack took a step towards Bailey. "You watch her, follow her home sometimes. You claim it's out of protection but you hunger to see her. Anything to touch her, to smell her . . . just to be near her." Jack now had a hand on Bailey's gun and lowered it to the ground. "What makes you different than me?"
Bailey felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him. His defenses were down and he felt as though he couldn't live with himself anymore. «I'm no better than Jack.» Tears threatened to spill.
"I can end it now, Malone." Jack took the gun from Bailey's hand. He held the gun and aimed it towards Bailey.
Bailey was drowning in self-pity and was not aware of the transfer of power. «I would never hurt her, physically or emotionally, but that's what Jack claims too!» He yelled at himself. His eyes were blazing with pure anger, and just as Jack pulled the trigger he slapped it out of his hand. The gun fell to the floor, but still released a screaming bullet towards Bailey. The bullet grazed Bailey's calf, leaving a crimson line in its wake. Bailey bent down and grasped his leg.
Jack started to make a run for it, not before bidding an unconscious Sam farewell. "Until next time, love." He whispered, and headed towards the exit.
Bailey lunged for Jack, and tackled him down. Jack kicked Bailey in the stomach and then kicked him in his injured shoulder. Bailey cried out in pain and Jack broke free. He ran down the boulder corridor. «John and Carlos will stop them.» He thought as he painfully got up. He limped over to Sam. "Sam, sweetheart." He called out to her gently. He reached down, and stroked her milky neck, searching for a pulse. A faint pulse caused his heart to leap. «She's alive.» He breathed reassuringly. He took his sling off and removed his jacket. Placing it around her, he noticed her cut sweater. He looked down her body and saw that everything was untouched. "If he hurt you, darling . . ." Bailey lifted Sam, despite the pain in his shoulder. His love for her caused a surge of adrenaline and he limped towards the entrance.
"Bailey!" Grace ran towards him when she saw him. "Where's Jack?!"
"John and Carlos didn't get him?" Bailey couldn't believe it.
"I haven't seen them." Grace began to get worried. They walked towards the second cave and found it sealed off with a huge boulder. "John!" Grace called. John's voice could be faintly heard from the other side. "There must have been a switch that triggered the boulder to trap me in . . . " John shouted from the other side.
George ran over, and Bailey gently placed Sam on the ground. Together, with the help of Grace, they moved the boulder enough for John to get out. "I assume the same thing happened to Carlos?" Bailey said, rubbing his sore shoulder. He bent down and lifted Sam up again, with a small grunt.
"Let me take her chief." John said, extending his arms. Bailey held on to Sam protectively and shook his head. "But your shoulder . . . " He started, but was calmed by Grace placing a firm hand on his arm.
"Let him be." She said. They headed towards the first cave and freed Carlos as well. Suddenly, a gun shot echoed through the caves. They all rushed towards the entrance, where they found the guard staring off the cliff. Greg was white as a ghost.
"What happened?" John asked.
Officer Jake Len put his gun back into his holster. "He charged at me, so I fired." The officer was still a little stunned. "I didn't think the impact was that strong, and it pushed him off the cliff." He looked down. The rest of the team did too. There, lay fragments of a man, as water rushed about the blood-stained rocks. Torn pieces of clothes and skin drifted mercilessly across the aquatic deemed cemetery.
The team looked at one another. Neither smiled, but they all breathed a sigh of relief. Sam was finally free, they were all free of the wrath of Jack.
***
December 29th -- Riverbend Cave, British Columbia
Greg had already called an ambulance, and it was already on its way up to Riverbend. Bailey placed Sam on the stretcher and kissed her lightly on the forehead. "It's going to be okay, sweetie." He said, and gently caressed her cheek. He bent down, and gently attached the necklace he had given her, around her neck. He had spent a sleepless night or two, fixing it.
"Do you want to go with them?" Grace asked. "They can also check out your wounds." She said, noticing his limp and the dried blood that had formed some sort of cascade down his left leg.
Bailey simply shook his head and opened his bottle of water. Taking a swig he started walking away. "I'm fine." He muttered distantly.
George came out of the Riverbend Cave with latex gloves on. "We found her bottle of water, and these tablets." He said, handing a clear plastic bag to Grace.
Grace looked at the tablets and immediately understood Sam's state. "She's going to be fine." She said, also starting to walk. George followed along with John, Greg and the two officers. "Sam was administered some Rohypnol."
"The date-rape drug?" John inquired.
"Yeah, nothing serious. I doubt Jack gave her enough to create a dependency, and I don't think there will be any physical side-effects."
"So Jack wanted to rape her?" George asked, disgusted.
"I guess so. I mean, Sam would never be willing, so might as well take advantage of her." Grace continued. "It's odorless and tasteless, and I'm guessing Jack mixed it in with the water." Grace said, eyeing the bottle. "Normally, 2mg lasts about eight hours, but since she didn't drink the whole thing, she'll be fine in about three or four hours."
"Good." George smiled. They were all relieved.
"But, she won't have recollection of the incident. I mean, from the time she started to feel drowsy to when she wakes up." Grace added, as they reached the Lower Cave entrance.
They looked around, and found Bailey's car missing. John walked up to his car. "Need a ride, Gracie?" He teased. "Since your ride has left and everything . . .I'll only charge you half the fare I've charged to George's tab."
Grace rolled her eyes and got into the back seat. George took the passenger seat, not before taking a piece of paper from the windshield. "It's a letter from Bailey."
"What's it say?" John asked, getting into the car.
"He's heading home to Atlanta tonight - called and changed his ticket and everything." George looked up. "Apparently he's not feeling well, and just wants to rid himself of this place, the memories and everything. He sends his love to everyone, and will see us after the holidays."
The team remained silent. It wasn't like Bailey to just up and leave. Something has happened, and they feared that Jack had clouded his mind with some poisonous words. «What could make Bailey leave Sam like that, without even making sure that she was fine?» Grace wondered, as she watched the trees whiz by. She shuddered silently, and willed the haunted woods to be cleansed from her mind. "Can you drop me off at the hospital, John?"
John paused, keeping his eyes on the road. "I was just heading there myself." They rode in silence the rest of the way, each lost in their own thoughts: their release from Jack, Sam in hospital and Bailey on his way home . . . alone.
--TBC--
AUTHOR : Karen Gomes (pyrie@hotmail.com)
CATEGORY : SBR
RATING : PG
SPOILERS : Probably
DISCLAIMER : All of the known characters/premises/plots belong to their respective owners. So there.
SUMMARY : Bailey's actions leads to Sam's capture by Jack, and revelations ensue.
NOTES : Well, since I don't have a social life, I've decided to finish this up. Me thinks there is still one or two more chapters, but I'll probably post them all in one go.
Cheers!
Gomes.
------------------------------- Compromising Situation (pt.9) -------------------------------
December 29th -- Horne Lake Caves, British Columbia
"That's a special cave, here at Riverbend." Greg said, catching up with Bailey. He looked at the agent, and observed him. "I never asked . . . what exactly are we looking for?"
"Who, not what!" Bailey snapped. His tone calmed a little. "A woman whom I swore to protect was taken from me . . . because of me - because I let my guard down. I was caught in a compromising situation, and instead of dealing with it, I ran. And I will never forgive myself for what happened to her." Bailey paused and took a sip of water from his gourd. "I need to get her back, for her to be safe. Her daughter needs her, her friends need her, and . . . I need her." He said, and dropped his eyes to the ground.
Greg nodded. "About the cave. There's one big room in the middle, and it splits into three separate rooms." Greg advanced to the entrance, and the rest of the team caught up. "Someone should stand at this entrance, in case the suspect tries to escape."
"And you're sure that Jack his holding Sam here?" John asked, surveying the caves.
"If he's here, this is the last place he could be hiding." Greg said, casting a glance at Bailey. Up to date, he hadn't even been sure if the FBI agent's hunch was correct, and as much as he didn't want to admit, he figured there would be a slim chance that a serial killer would be stupid enough to come here. In all honesty, Greg was even going to skip the cave, but he saw the glimmer in Bailey's eye. Perhaps not to humour the man, but more so to support him, Greg has reluctantly agreed to scope out the caves.
Bailey ordered the one officer to stand guard, with weapon drawn. "He's a deranged and dangerous man. He will attack if he feels threatened." Bailey said. He told George and Grace to wait for him at the entrance as well. Bailey knelt down on one knee and lifted up his pant leg. Extracting a small pistol from an ankle holster, he handed it to George. "Be vigilant, Georgie." He first looked on either side of the mountain where the cave was neatly set in. On one side, it sloped sharply towards an endless sea of trees and greenery. On the other side, it took a deep plunge into ice cold rapids that were forever tormented by jagged rock formations. Bailey swallowed hard and proceeded into the cave. He was strongly aware of his heightened breathing and thick pulse rate. «Wouldn't be surprised if I had a heart attack.» He thought bitterly to himself. «Maybe I'm getting too old for this job.» He pushed those thoughts out of his head as the team reached a rather large, subterranean passage. The ceiling was high and smooth with very little stalactite formations. They glanced at each opening. Bailey paused and pointed at the first officer, Carlos Uman. He silently told him to check out the first cave. Bailey then ushered John into the second and he would take the third. They each walked in their own directions.
***
December 29th -- Riverbend Cave, British Columbia
Jack looked at his watch. It had been 25 minutes since Sam had taken a sip of water. «Eve eating the apple that the snake gave to her.» He mused as he unlocked her cell. She was curled up, facing away from him. He approached her, and stopped a few feet away, admiring the object of his lust. He hesitated, afraid that she was pretending and would jump him the moment he got near. Leaning slightly, he grabbed her shoulder and turned her on to her back. «Didn't even put up a fight.» He thought smugly.
Sam's eyes fluttered open, but it seemed as if weights were holding them down, forcing her into an unwilling darkness that ate at her mind, and swallowed her whole. She saw Jack looming over her. «Why am I so tired . . . so helpless?» She asked herself. Her head fell slightly to the side: she had lost complete control of her body, and even her thoughts were drifting towards a hazy end. «The water!» It finally dawned on her. She lifted her arm to push Jack away, but he easily grabbed hold of it. It was like everything was moving in slow motion. "Jack, no!" She tried to say, but it was a slur to her own word; fear mixed with anger escaped her lips, but her body did not respond. She felt the dark tentacles pull her further into the abysmal gloom and she could do nothing to stop it. They pulled at her body and mind - reality slowly inching further and further away, leaving her behind in the tortured fantasy of a lunatic.
"So beautiful." Jack whispered, as he cut open her shirt, exposing her bare belly and breasts. He touched her chest through the lace fabric that composed her bra. Suddenly, a crack echoed through the caves. Jack put the scissors down and cautiously headed towards the entrance of the cave. He leaned up against the wall, and peaked out from the corner. He came face to face with a gun. "Malone." He said.
Bailey held the gun in place, hatred burning in his eyes. He noticed the slight falter in Jack's voice. «I control the game now, Jack.» He thought to himself. He wanted to blow him away right now. But he couldn't. To kill in cold blood was morally wrong, and against procedures. Bailey had the upper hand, and he would arrest Jack. "Where is she, Jack?" Bailey said, pushing Jack back with the barrel of his gun.
Jack took a few steps back and grinned. "Good that you could visit me, Malone." Jack said with a laugh. "I didn't think you would be perceptive enough to listen to my clues." Jack looked Bailey in the eyes. Though fire coursed through his eyes, Jack could see the fear that shyly clung to the contours of his irises. "You doubted yourself at first . . . had almost given up hope."
"Where is she?" Bailey repeated. He didn't want Jack to start talking - distracting him. He wanted to arrest him, get Sam and get the hell out of here.
"Your shoulder has healed?" Jack asked, motioning to Bailey's sling-adorned arm.
"Shut up." Bailey said. Jack looked towards the room, towards Sam. Bailey saw Jack's eyes wander and followed his gaze: there lay Sam, motionless on the cot. His eyes slammed back at Jack. "She's not dead!" It was more of a dare than a question. He forced his gun closer to Jack's face.
Jack knew that Bailey would blow his face off is Sam was dead. But he also knew that Bailey was aware that Jack would never kill Sam. "She's resting." He merely whispered.
"Turn around." Bailey said, but Jack stood his ground. "Turn around!" Bailey yelled, and cocked his gun. Jack rolled his eyes, and turned around. "John, Carlos!" Bailey called out, still never taking his eyes of Jack. "I'm going to love to see your ass fried on the chair."
"I prefer lethal injection." Jack muttered sarcastically.
"Oh, be sure that I'll be the one to jab it into the vein." Bailey said, taking out his handcuffs.
"So, you liked touching her, huh?" Jack said, grinning.
"What?" Bailey took a step back, but held his gun aimed at Jack.
"Did she ask you to . . . touch her like that?" Jack asked, and looked over his shoulder.
"N-no. But . . . " Bailey stuttered.
"You feel guilty don't you." Jack turned around, not afraid of Bailey's gun now. He slowly felt the scale of power tipping towards him. "Violating her like that."
"Shut up." Bailey said softly. «Where the hell is John and Carlos?!» He asked himself, as he felt his hands start to tremble.
"Look what it does to you." Jack said, noticing Bailey's hands shake. "You might as well have raped her!" He blurted out. "And you did that for love?!" Jack took a step towards Bailey. "You watch her, follow her home sometimes. You claim it's out of protection but you hunger to see her. Anything to touch her, to smell her . . . just to be near her." Jack now had a hand on Bailey's gun and lowered it to the ground. "What makes you different than me?"
Bailey felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him. His defenses were down and he felt as though he couldn't live with himself anymore. «I'm no better than Jack.» Tears threatened to spill.
"I can end it now, Malone." Jack took the gun from Bailey's hand. He held the gun and aimed it towards Bailey.
Bailey was drowning in self-pity and was not aware of the transfer of power. «I would never hurt her, physically or emotionally, but that's what Jack claims too!» He yelled at himself. His eyes were blazing with pure anger, and just as Jack pulled the trigger he slapped it out of his hand. The gun fell to the floor, but still released a screaming bullet towards Bailey. The bullet grazed Bailey's calf, leaving a crimson line in its wake. Bailey bent down and grasped his leg.
Jack started to make a run for it, not before bidding an unconscious Sam farewell. "Until next time, love." He whispered, and headed towards the exit.
Bailey lunged for Jack, and tackled him down. Jack kicked Bailey in the stomach and then kicked him in his injured shoulder. Bailey cried out in pain and Jack broke free. He ran down the boulder corridor. «John and Carlos will stop them.» He thought as he painfully got up. He limped over to Sam. "Sam, sweetheart." He called out to her gently. He reached down, and stroked her milky neck, searching for a pulse. A faint pulse caused his heart to leap. «She's alive.» He breathed reassuringly. He took his sling off and removed his jacket. Placing it around her, he noticed her cut sweater. He looked down her body and saw that everything was untouched. "If he hurt you, darling . . ." Bailey lifted Sam, despite the pain in his shoulder. His love for her caused a surge of adrenaline and he limped towards the entrance.
"Bailey!" Grace ran towards him when she saw him. "Where's Jack?!"
"John and Carlos didn't get him?" Bailey couldn't believe it.
"I haven't seen them." Grace began to get worried. They walked towards the second cave and found it sealed off with a huge boulder. "John!" Grace called. John's voice could be faintly heard from the other side. "There must have been a switch that triggered the boulder to trap me in . . . " John shouted from the other side.
George ran over, and Bailey gently placed Sam on the ground. Together, with the help of Grace, they moved the boulder enough for John to get out. "I assume the same thing happened to Carlos?" Bailey said, rubbing his sore shoulder. He bent down and lifted Sam up again, with a small grunt.
"Let me take her chief." John said, extending his arms. Bailey held on to Sam protectively and shook his head. "But your shoulder . . . " He started, but was calmed by Grace placing a firm hand on his arm.
"Let him be." She said. They headed towards the first cave and freed Carlos as well. Suddenly, a gun shot echoed through the caves. They all rushed towards the entrance, where they found the guard staring off the cliff. Greg was white as a ghost.
"What happened?" John asked.
Officer Jake Len put his gun back into his holster. "He charged at me, so I fired." The officer was still a little stunned. "I didn't think the impact was that strong, and it pushed him off the cliff." He looked down. The rest of the team did too. There, lay fragments of a man, as water rushed about the blood-stained rocks. Torn pieces of clothes and skin drifted mercilessly across the aquatic deemed cemetery.
The team looked at one another. Neither smiled, but they all breathed a sigh of relief. Sam was finally free, they were all free of the wrath of Jack.
***
December 29th -- Riverbend Cave, British Columbia
Greg had already called an ambulance, and it was already on its way up to Riverbend. Bailey placed Sam on the stretcher and kissed her lightly on the forehead. "It's going to be okay, sweetie." He said, and gently caressed her cheek. He bent down, and gently attached the necklace he had given her, around her neck. He had spent a sleepless night or two, fixing it.
"Do you want to go with them?" Grace asked. "They can also check out your wounds." She said, noticing his limp and the dried blood that had formed some sort of cascade down his left leg.
Bailey simply shook his head and opened his bottle of water. Taking a swig he started walking away. "I'm fine." He muttered distantly.
George came out of the Riverbend Cave with latex gloves on. "We found her bottle of water, and these tablets." He said, handing a clear plastic bag to Grace.
Grace looked at the tablets and immediately understood Sam's state. "She's going to be fine." She said, also starting to walk. George followed along with John, Greg and the two officers. "Sam was administered some Rohypnol."
"The date-rape drug?" John inquired.
"Yeah, nothing serious. I doubt Jack gave her enough to create a dependency, and I don't think there will be any physical side-effects."
"So Jack wanted to rape her?" George asked, disgusted.
"I guess so. I mean, Sam would never be willing, so might as well take advantage of her." Grace continued. "It's odorless and tasteless, and I'm guessing Jack mixed it in with the water." Grace said, eyeing the bottle. "Normally, 2mg lasts about eight hours, but since she didn't drink the whole thing, she'll be fine in about three or four hours."
"Good." George smiled. They were all relieved.
"But, she won't have recollection of the incident. I mean, from the time she started to feel drowsy to when she wakes up." Grace added, as they reached the Lower Cave entrance.
They looked around, and found Bailey's car missing. John walked up to his car. "Need a ride, Gracie?" He teased. "Since your ride has left and everything . . .I'll only charge you half the fare I've charged to George's tab."
Grace rolled her eyes and got into the back seat. George took the passenger seat, not before taking a piece of paper from the windshield. "It's a letter from Bailey."
"What's it say?" John asked, getting into the car.
"He's heading home to Atlanta tonight - called and changed his ticket and everything." George looked up. "Apparently he's not feeling well, and just wants to rid himself of this place, the memories and everything. He sends his love to everyone, and will see us after the holidays."
The team remained silent. It wasn't like Bailey to just up and leave. Something has happened, and they feared that Jack had clouded his mind with some poisonous words. «What could make Bailey leave Sam like that, without even making sure that she was fine?» Grace wondered, as she watched the trees whiz by. She shuddered silently, and willed the haunted woods to be cleansed from her mind. "Can you drop me off at the hospital, John?"
John paused, keeping his eyes on the road. "I was just heading there myself." They rode in silence the rest of the way, each lost in their own thoughts: their release from Jack, Sam in hospital and Bailey on his way home . . . alone.
--TBC--