Cauchemar Part 13: Possession By koaladeb Disclaimer info in part 1

Horatio didn't wait for anyone else to arrive at Valera's apartment. He kicked the door in and immediately began searching for clues as to where they might have taken Calleigh. He was in the back bedroom sorting though pictures when Eric arrived and began asking for him. "Back here!" he called out.

Eric approached the back room, half-afraid that he would find Horatio tearing through Valera's belongings like some kind of crazed animal. Stepping into the room, he chastised himself for doubting Horatio. Even under tremendous stress, the man was methodical. Everything looked undisturbed and as Eric watched, Horatio replaced yet another picture on the dresser, lining up the frame to match the dust pattern underneath. "Looks like obsessive cleanliness didn't translate over into real life, does it H?" he commented, hoping to get some kind of positive response. He got nothing. Shaking his head, he continued. "I pulled Valera's file and tried to get some more information on her, but couldn't track her before she started college. I found out more, though, when I processed the pill bottle you found. There was Butalbital residue on the inside that would knock someone unconscious given the correct dosage. On the outside, I found a print. It belongs to an Erica Wilson. I called up to Louisiana- she's Trevor Wilson's sister. They're looking for a picture to fax down to us."

"Good work," Horatio responded, not interrupting his search of the bedroom. "Go ahead and start looking around. I saw a stack of papers in the living room, you can start there. See if you can find anything that might give us a clue to where they took Calleigh." Eric nodded. Horatio was going to be unstoppable until Calleigh was out of harm's way. He started sorting through the papers, looking for ink marks, separating out anything that looked like classifieds.

Horatio continued his search of Valera's bedroom, fighting the revulsion he felt that someone in CSI would betray them. She had blended right in; a young girl straight out of college, learning practical applications of her study. Calleigh had even gone so far as to take the little traitor under her tutelage, helping Valera to expand her knowledge. Or that's what they had thought. She had been lying to them the whole time, manipulating her way into their trust so that she could use them to keep track of the investigation. Calleigh had trusted her enough that she went willingly with her abductor to lunch! Valera was a spy and an accomplice, and Horatio was going to receive a great deal of pleasure when he put her in a prison cell. He opened the bedside table drawer and saw another picture frame turned upside-down inside. Removing it, he turned it over and looked at the faces, surprised when he recognized more than one. It was a family photo, he realized. He could pick out a much younger version of Valera standing with an older man and woman. She had her arm around the waist of a young man, blond hair, blue eyes, classic features. His face was the one Horatio remembered from the file he had been looking at since that morning. Trevor Wilson. Eric's information was correct. He was her brother. Behind them was a beautiful house set on the side of a lake. Their smiles mocked Horatio as he continued his search, looking for anything that would lead him to Calleigh.

After hours of searching for clues, Eric convinced Horatio to go home and get some sleep. The man had been going full out even before he had first discovered Calleigh's disappearance. He had to stop before he ran himself into the ground. Horatio finally left, calling Speed and asking him to do some internet searching for property that was near the Everglades. He kept thinking that the Wilsons would want to create some kind of familiar scene, and the closest thing Miami had to Louisiana swampland was the Everglades. Horatio drove to Calleigh's apartment without thinking about it, realizing where he had gone only once he was standing in her living room. They had been here together only last night, arguing. Now she was missing and Horatio was helpless to find her. They were methodical, her abductors, and every step had been planned out so that they would be able to grab Calleigh and move to their new location as soon as the team started to close in on the truth. Valera, Erica, whatever her name was, had positioned herself perfectly to keep an eye and ear on the investigation and to have unrestricted access to Calleigh. He knew that with that degree of planning, they would be ready to kill Calleigh with a very limited amount of preparation time. He had to find her soon.

Horatio wandered through the apartment, touching photographs and searching the very atmosphere for traces of Calleigh's perfume. He needed to feel close to her right now. His conversation with Alexx replayed in his mind. She was right: Calleigh was more than just a friend to him, why hadn't he ever seen that before? Until she had pulled away from him, Horatio had never realized how much of himself he had entrusted to her keeping. She had become a part of his very being, and the thought of someone taking her away from him was tearing him up inside. He felt hot tears sting his eyes and this time, he couldn't fight them back. He sat down on her couch and dropped his head into his hands, momentarily letting his fear have full reign. His very heart cried out. Where are you, Calleigh?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Calleigh woke up and the first thing she noticed was the early morning sun shining in through the boarded-up windows of a small cabin. She looked around and noticed that Trevor and Valera were still sleeping. They had brought her in last night, tying her to a chair and going to bed. They hadn't spoken to her since their arrival the night before, all but ignoring her as they bound her in place. Now would be a good time to try an escape. The thought left her mind as soon as she looked down at her restraints, now visible in the morning light. She was tied to the chair with climbing rope, strong enough to resist her attempts to get free and flexible enough not to allow any give in the knots that had been tied. Her efforts to free herself woke he captors, who greeted the day with sickening cheerfulness. Once again, they didn't speak to Calleigh. Instead, they went about cooking breakfast and eating as though it were a formal brunch. It was like watching the mad tea party from Alice In Wonderland, Calleigh decided. There was no way anyone here was playing with a full deck of cards. After the table had been cleared, Valera and Trevor seemed to notice Calleigh for the first time. "Good Morning to you!" Valera gushed. "Isn't this exciting? All our planning, all the time we spent perfecting our plan and here you are!

"Why are you doing this?" Calleigh asked. "I trusted you! I thought you were my friend!"

"That was the plan," Valera answered, a satisfied smirk appearing again on her face. "I was too young for you to notice back in Darnell, we never went to school together. In fact, you probably had no idea that I even existed, so there was no way that you would have been able to recognize me. Allow me to introduce myself. Erica Wilson, Trevor's sister." She laughed at the look of shock on Calleigh's face. "Just sit tight, Calleigh. It shouldn't take long to put the finishing touches on everything here."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Horatio woke up on the couch, surprised that he had fallen asleep. He wondered what woke him, then he heard his cell phone ringing. Pulling it out of his pocket, he raised a silent prayer that it was good news. "Horatio."

"Where are you, H?" it was Speed.

"Calleigh's apartment. What have you got?"

"I got a hit on a cabin out by the Everglades. Abandoned for years, just leased out six months ago to a Wilson Trevors. Obvious alias. You'd think he would be more careful!"

Horatio came fully awake, adrenaline prompting him through Calleigh's door and into his hummer. "Right now, I'll be glad if he wasn't. Are you sure it's them? We don't have enough time to go on a wild goose chase."

"I'm sure," Speed answered. "We called over to the local Sheriff's office. Seems they got a call yesterday evening about a black Ford Explorer that was speeding in the area. We've got `em."

"Good work," Horatio replied. "I'll be there in five minutes. Call Miami PD and the locals and get them to meet us there-far enough away that they won't hear us coming. Make sure they have paramedics on hand in case Calleigh's hurt. Then get Eric and meet me out front. Alexx too if she wants to be there for this.

"You got it boss," Speed said, hanging up. Things were finally looking up. Now all they had to do was get there in time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Calleigh glanced over into the far corner where Trevor appeared to be working on something. A stab of fear pierced Calleigh's heart as she realized what she was looking at: a table set up with restraints and a bridle, just large enough for a woman her size to lie on. A large metal plate stood next to the table and weights were spread all along the floor. This, or something like it was what they had used to kill the other women. She looked over at Erica, desperate to distract the woman and buy more time for someone to find her. She began asking questions. "Why are you doing all of this? What did I do to you?"

Erica looked over at Calleigh with contempt. "It's because of you that Trevor had problems for so many years. If you had been a good little girl you would have treated him the respect that he deserved and accepted his advances instead of acting like some backwater slut and going out with some."

"Stop right there." Calleigh interrupted. "I had nothing to do with your brother's "problems." He attacked me, remember?"

"Only after you provoked him! Because of you I had to live without my big brother for years! There was no one to take care of me! Mom and Dad were so wrapped up in caring for Trevor that they never even looked at me! He's the only one who loved me. He sent me letters every week. He was my hero, and you took him away from me! Even when he got out, what you did haunted us. He couldn't get a job with his record-a mental institution? Conviction of a hate crime? He was an outcast and it was all your fault!" Erica calmed herself, her voice taking on the light tone she had just after breakfast. "Well, it doesn't matter now. Your Cauchemar are here to teach you a lesson, Calleigh Duquesne. Those other women were warnings, omens of what was to come, if you will. But it's your turn now."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Horatio and the team sped up the road, trying to get to the cabin in record time. No one even dared to talk to Horatio, who was driving with a focus that forbade any interruption. Eric checked his watch. The local police and a paramedics unit were meeting them at a picnic area five miles from the cabin; they were waiting only for Horatio and the SWAT team directly behind them he had managed to get together. Horatio sat silent behind the wheel, his eyes never leaving the road. Don't let it be too late he chanted to himself. He checked his watch again. 30 minutes to go.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Calleigh fought to keep her composure as Trevor and Erica dragged her over to the machine he had finished. Calleigh struggled, but they managed to strap her down securely to the table. "I don't understand!" she cried out. "Before, you chloroformed your victims. They were unconscious. Why are you doing this?"

Trevor laughed at her distress. "We didn't care about them. We were just biding our time until we could get you here. Your death will be different because that's the way we planned it. We want to watch you fight to breathe. We want to see the pain in your eyes and witness the moment when you realize that you are going to die. It wouldn't be any fun if you were unconscious."

Calleigh still struggled as Trevor reached for the plate and settled it over her chest. She searched her brain, trying to come up with something that would buy her more time. "But the Cauchemar always come at night when you're asleep," she said, an idea blossoming. "Shouldn't you wait until night?"

Trevor slid the plate in place and began adding weights. "Put the bit in, Erica," he ordered. "I've heard enough of her voice. As for your question, my little wildflower," he said, leaning over Calleigh. "I've waited long enough. You can just think of this as your waking nightmare."

Erica shoved the bit into Calleigh's mouth and secured to bridle to make sure she couldn't move her head. Calleigh tried to control her breathing as Trevor added weights, fighting the pressure that was building and taking controlled breaths. Valera laughed at her attempts to fight the weights. "Don't worry, Calleigh," she said. "It usually only took between twenty to thirty minutes for the others to die. You shouldn't try so hard. The harder you fight, the longer you prolong the inevitable."

Calleigh struggled anyway, refusing to give in to her would-be killers without a fight. She called to mind everything she had worth fighting for. She had a life-a good one, with friends, family, and a career she enjoyed. She continued breathing, fighting against the weight that kept growing, pressing against her lungs and making it harder and harder to inhale oxygen. Those reasons weren't good enough. Calleigh thought of Horatio, and felt her heart constrict with the thought that she had left him with angry words between them. She thought again to what she had told Alexx. She thought that she had driven out all her feelings about Horatio, but she had only been lying to herself. He was too deeply entrenched in her heart and soul to just cut him out at will. She needed him as much as she ever had. Calleigh redoubled her efforts to breathe. Horatio was worth living for, worth fighting for. And he was coming for her, she knew it. She just needed to keep fighting until he got here. Ignoring the blackness that was beginning to cloud her vision, Calleigh remained focused on one thing- Horatio.

~~~~~~~~~~

At that moment, Horatio was coming up the driveway of the cabin with the SWAT team. He was determined to be with the first officers through the door and once the leader had looked into Horatio's eyes, there had been no argument. They crept silently towards the cabin, making sure they made no sound that would alert the people inside to their presence.

~~~~~~~~~~

Calleigh was struggling to hold on to consciousness. She felt tears escape as she realized that she wouldn't be able to hold on much longer. Erica and Trevor sensed her desperation and leaned in to watch her final moments, glad to see their plan nearly complete. The last thing Calleigh heard before she blacked out was the sound of their laughter.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The front door burst open and immediately there were three people in the cabin with them. Before Erica and Trevor even realized what had happened, they were on the floor being handcuffed. Horatio raced to Calleigh's side, shoving the metal plate off of her and searching for any sign that she was still breathing. His heart silently screamed denials as he felt for a pulse. Her lips were tinged with blue, but he could feel a faint pulse and saw her take a shallow breath. He worked on the restraints that held her to the table, calling for the paramedics. "Open your eyes," he begged her. "Come on, you're safe now. I need you to come back to me. Please, just open your eyes and come back to me." He got no response. Pulling the bit out of her mouth, Horatio picked up her limp body and carried her outside, seeing the ambulance pull up along with the hummer. He raced to the back of the ambulance, not letting the paramedics get out as he passed Calleigh's still body up to them. "She had a faint pulse and was breathing when I found her." He didn't even notice the others run over to stand next to him.

The paramedics nodded at him and began examining Calleigh. Suddenly, one of the men called out, "I've lost a pulse. Start CPR!"

Horatio stood on the ground, feeling his own heart stop at the announcement. He was helpless to do anything but watch as they worked to bring her back. The driver ran around to close the back doors as Horatio saw another man begin compressions on Calleigh's chest, weight now being applied in an attempt to bring life into her body instead of pressing it out.