Disclaimer: As much as I would like to, I own none of these characters.
AN: This is my first CSI fic, its set post stalker. Don't know where it came from, but there we go! Reviews are greatly appreciated!
Wish Cast Into The Sky
"I am one, and who am I? I am one, and who am I? I am one, and who am I? I am one, and who am I?"
Nigel Cranes mantra echoed in Nick's head, it took over his thoughts. He barely noticed when the others left the room. All he could look at and concentrate on was Crane. As Crane walked towards the two-way mirror, hands outstretched, Nick froze. He couldn't move, his universe consisted of Crane walking towards him, still muttering "I am one, and who am I?" Even when the officers restrained Crane and moved him back to the table, Nick still felt frozen.
He was still in a state of shock. Even though he had been threatened with a gun before, it still didn't make it the most pleasant of experiences. Just before Brass had come with backup, Nigel Crane's words were "I want you to be able to remember my name." Involuntarily he shivered; Nigel had got his wish. Nick knew now that he would never be able to forget it. Still staring at Crane, Nick jumped and whirled round, heart pounding as someone tapped him on the shoulder.
"Jeez man!!" cried Nick. He took a deep breath to try and steady himself as he greeted the newcomer in a more appropriate manner. "Hey Greg….sorry man, you really startled me" Greg held up his hands and looked at the floor "Hey Nick, I'm sorry for startling you, I know that when you've been through something like this, the last thing you need is people creeping around on you. I also know that you won't wanna go home for a while….and I've got a guest room if you're looking for somewhere…?" Greg let the question hang in the air, and when Nick didn't respond he said hurriedly "Just know that the offers there" and turned to walk out.
Nick shook his head in an attempt to wake himself from his reverie, his thoughts were now exploding in his brain, Greg's statement causing his imagination to run wild, was Greg implying that he had been through something similar? Nick quickly called out to Greg "Yeah, please that would be good, I've been dreading going home" he confessed. Greg stopped in the doorway and nodded in understanding "Yeah it's hard…So you ready to roll?" Nick nodded, tore his eyes away from Nigel and walked out the room.
The ride back to Greg's was mostly silent, both men lost in their own thoughts. When they arrived and walked in the door, the first thing Nick did was to check the ceiling. Greg noticed this and gave a sad smile "The paranoia's the worst, don't worry though, it will get better….eventually" Nick nodded, before what Greg was saying finally sunk in. "Wait a minute…you're talking like you've had something similar happen to you" Greg shrugged and sighed. "Yeah, there was something, a while ago now though. I know that you think I'm Greg, the wacky and wild lab tech but none of you really know me at all." Nick opened his mouth to object, but before he could say anything, Greg continued speaking "Its true, but its ok, really it is. Lets get you settled in, order in some food and then I'll tell you about "my experience"" This last said with Greg making the speech mark signs with his fingers and a small smile on his face. Nick shrugged and nodded, but kept quiet, lost in his own thoughts.
A short time later, both men were sitting on the couch eating pizza. Through a mouthful of pizza Nick asked Greg what he had been talking about earlier. The lab tech finished his slice of pizza and ran his hands through his already wild hair. His voice was quiet as he began.
"It was a long time ago, I was still at university, in my second year. University was great, it was the first time I'd been away from home, and now I was living in a house by myself with no parents around to tell me what to do, what to eat, when to go to bed, you know – parenty things. Well it was late autumn and I started getting weird calls, I just ignored them, I figured it was one of my friends screwing about or whatever. Then they got a little weirder, a guy saying that he was gonna get me, gonna hurt me, gonna cut me into little pieces. So I reported them to the police, who told me to change my number and not to personalise my answering machine message. That seemed to work, the calls stopped and I got on with my life."
"Then one day there was a knock at my door. I was still kinda wary about it, as it was late at night but I thought nothing of it. I opened the door, and there was a guy I sorta recognised from seeing him around on campus or whatever. He said hey, sorry for bothering me, but his car had broken down and his cell had run out of battery, so would I mind if he used my phone to call the breakdown truck? I told him that would be fine and turned around to let him in and show him where the phone was." Greg paused for a moment, and winced, as if the memories were too painful to be remembered.
"He hit me round the head with something heavy, I don't know what. I hit the floor like a stone. When I woke up again, I was half-naked and tied to a chair in my basement. I could hear footsteps behind me but I couldn't see where he was or what he was doing. When he did come into view, he just laughed at me. Then he told me all the things he wanted to do to me, well he described it as 'things he wanted to share' with me. It was basically like the phone calls but more graphic and a hell of a lot more scarier. He was insane, and perfectly capable of carrying out his threats. I thought I was going to die. He told me he was going to make me feel more pain than I thought I could ever know and make me beg for death. Well that threat he did carry out."
Greg's voice dropped to a whisper and he unconsciously clutched his upper thigh as he carried on speaking. "He had raided my kitchen and got hold of different knives and some of those cookie dough cutters, you know, the ones shaped like stars and things. The first thing he did was to stab me, in the upper thigh. I tell you, I had never been in so much pain. I thought I was gonna pass out. But that was only the beginning. He found a blowtorch, and heated up the metal dough cutters. Then he branded me with them. I've still got the scars on my back and stomach." Greg lifted his T-shirt to reveal white scars on an otherwise tanned and toned stomach. "I did pass out then, the pain was horrific, and it hurt so much that I couldn't get any sound out, all I could do was cry." Greg's eyes were so emotion filled at this point that Nick forgot all his own troubles and concentrated completely on Greg and what he was saying.
"When I next woke up, I wasn't tied to the chair anymore. I was lying on the floor, naked, on my front with my legs tied down so I couldn't go anywhere. When I groaned and started to move, he reopened the stab wound on my inner thigh with another knife. Then just to make sure I couldn't move, he kept hitting my legs with a plank of wood, until both my legs were broken. Before I passed out I realised that at point I didn't care anymore, I just wanted to die. Up to that point I had hope, then I lost it. I didn't think it could get any worse. I was wrong. " Greg paused again, this time to wipe his eyes.
In a steady voice he continued speaking "I was naked, in unbelievable pain and unable to move. When I came to, I realised I was wrong about it being the worst thing that could happen to me…I woke up and he was….he was straddling me, raping me. It hurt so much…so so much. I screamed, and was rewarded with a smack round the head. I was in so much pain that my nerve endings shut down, I couldn't feel anything. I then held what was a surprisingly normal conversation with him. I asked him why me, he told me it was because no-one respected him, he'd seen me laughing at some point and assumed I was out to get him. He told me that he'd vowed to make me sorry, and that he wanted me to remember him. He made me say his name over and over again. 'Jamie Tramton, Jamie Tramton….'" Greg trailed off abruptly and rushed to the toilet. Sounds of retching could be heard, and a short while later he came back pale and shaking. Nick looked alarmed "Greg, if its affecting you like this, maybe you shouldn't talk about it…"
Greg sighed "It's been seven years and it still haunts my nightmares, and I wake up screaming his name. Its ok, sometimes it just gets too much. Anyway, at that point I wanted to die, and quickly. Fortunately, not that it seemed so at the time, someone had become worried about me. The police came round and found blood stains on my carpet. They raided my house, but the basement was the last place they looked. He heard them coming and immediately grabbed the knife. Me surviving and him being caught was not part of his plan. He plunged the knife into my chest before slitting his wrists and stabbing himself in the chest. Eventually the police came into the basement and found me and him. He was dead and they thought they had two corpses on their hands until I moaned."
"I was rushed to hospital and had a six hour long operation to try and repair my lungs from when he stabbed me in the chest, my thigh and also my legs. Apparently it's a miracle that I survived, no one expected me to, and it took months of recuperation before I could leave the hospital though. I was a nervous wreck and wanted to go home, not back to the house with the basement, home home, and lock myself away from everyone and everything."
"It was something someone said to me that made me carry on with my studies, they told me that if I became a recluse, it was letting him win. Which I guess was true, also a song helped me, well just a line from a song. I couldn't sleep at night, because I had terrible nightmares so I used to listen to music and stare out at the stars, sometimes wishing on them but generally just looking. The line was 'wish cast into the sky, I'm moving on'. So that's what I did. I made a wish and moved on. I completed my studies, then got a job at the crime lab. I know that my job makes a difference, it helps put people like Jamie Tramton away forever. I'm so glad your ok Nick. I was seriously so worried about you when I heard, I wouldn't wish what I went through on anyone, not even my worst enemy. I know that going through something like that makes you realise that life actually is too short…."
Greg's voice tailed off and he looked over at Nick who shook his head. "Greg, man, I had no idea…I'm so sorry…I..." Nick put his head in his hands as he broke down. How near he came to death that day had finally sunk in, also the fact that the world had some evil and twisted people in it made him sick. Greg who seemed so innocent and was nice to everyone, he always seemed to be happy and the fact that there were sick twisted people out there who could do something like that to someone was beyond belief. Nick followed in Greg's footsteps as he quickly ran to the toilet and was physically sick. Greg followed him and offered words of reassurance.
After Nick was feeling better, Greg helped Nick walk to the guestroom. "Its ok Nicky, I know it's hard. It will get better, you can stay here as long as you need to, I could use the company…" Nick managed a weak smiled "Thanks man, it means a lot" he muttered. Summoning his strength, he walked over to the window, closely followed by Greg. "What are you doing?" asked Greg curiously. Nick gave a real smile this time as he quoted "Wish cast into the sky, I'm moving on…"