Chapter 8: You Run, I'll Follow

Monday 30th June

08:36

"I can't believe this?"

"What?"

Alexx held up a photo of a car bumper. It had a dent in it, about two centimetres in.

"That's where he hit her? Christ that must have been a serious hit. I'm surprised it didn't break her leg!" Delko said, looking at the photo closely.

"That's what the driver said." Alexx replied. "He tried to go after her, but she moved off too quickly. Now, she's been out there for a whole night, still getting away."

"Do you think she'll come to us?"

"No, that's the exact opposite of what she is trying to do. She won't tell them what they want to know, but she knows that if she comes to us, we will try to get her to tell us what we want. Also, she doesn't want us to get hurt. She cares, that's why she ran off and didn't stay with Horatio outside the hospital." Alexx said. Delko nodded.

"Wolf is out looking for her, isn't he?"

"Yes. But Horatio will be a bit more persistent that he is."

"Why?" Delko asked.

"Because I think that he knows what it's like to loose your parents at that sort of age and wants to help her." Alexx replied, sighing slightly. She turned to the bodies that lay on the table. So brutally killed and she saw it all. Chloe would have to live with that for the rest of her life.

Calleigh was looking at the photo that Alexx had sent to her. The dent in the bumper was bad, but apparently, Chloe had been able to run away. She hadn't broken her leg, but she'd be limping badly. A white van had been seen speeding after her, but police weren't able to track it. Where ever Chloe was now, she was in danger. It made Calleigh uneasy. Then she looked up to the bed. Horatio was still sleeping. There was that sudden image of him sleeping in the chair when Chloe was like this, except he didn't look like he had been hit by several cars at once. Wolfe had stayed up all night in his Hummer, searching. But he had found nothing. Apparently, there had been sightings of a girl in alleyways, but when he got there she had gone.

Calleigh felt tired and stressed. She was meant to be investigating these things, they weren't meant to happen to her. But, no one is different. Working in this line of business led to these sort of things and she'd have to live with it. She wished dearly that Horatio would wake up. She felt lost without him talking to her. There was a knock at the door. A female doctor came in. Her hair was a fair brown and her eyes were a vivid green.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Range. I'm looking after Lieutenant Caine. Are you from the CSI?" She asked. Her voice was smooth, but Calleigh could hear the tiredness she knew so well.

"Yes. I err, found him." She mumbled back.

"Was they're any sign of syringes around him?" Dr. Range asked suddenly.

"No, why?" Calleigh replied, looking stern.

"He's been drugged. Thankfully it will wear off." The doctor said, keeping her voice low.

"How long will it be until he's awake?" Calleigh asked, looking at Horatio's face with curiosity.

"Another few hours."

"Ok, thanks." The doctor smiled again, glanced at the monitor and strolled out, shutting the door behind her. Calleigh leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. Sleep itched at the back of her eyelids and finally she dropped off into a fitful sleep.

Chloe stared down the street; her eyes falling on any person that made her feel unsafe. Her right leg was balanced forward and raised slightly. Under the jeans lay a huge bruise, reaching up to her knee. She looked out onto the road. No white van, no kidnappers anywhere. It had been a hard 24 hours and the pain in her leg had kept her awake all night. Her lips were pale and her skin was lighter. She tucked her hands into her pockets, keeping the hood of her jacket over her face, hiding the brutal slash. She could never feel safe, not ever again. Her family had been destroyed and now she was being hunted down, all of it for a single piece of information. But it wasn't just Mark and Joe looking for her. She had glanced a CSI hummer twice already and had melted away into the alleyways she knew so well.

She had seen a newspaper in a bin. It wouldn't have meant anything to her if the title on the front page hadn't caught her eye.

CSI KIDNAPPED, ALONG WITH 13 YEAR OLD GIRL.

She had read the whole article, reading about Horatio still being in hospital and that the public had her eyes on her. Searching for her would make her escape hard. If anyone was to find her and take her in, Mark and Joe would be on her like hunting wolves. Chloe had ripped off the front page and darted through the crowd and down Garnet Avenue. Sitting behind a bin, she folded it up and put it in her pocket.

Now she grasped the paper firmly, scared of loosing it. It was her link to the world, but it meant that she could know that Horatio was ok. True, she would have had preferred to stay with him and the CSI team, but until Mark and Joe had been caught, she had to stay away from him as far as possible. But it was hard. Danger lay on all sides, the public spotting her and reporting her. It meant agonizing walking away from the site. But she knew, all to well, that she would be captured once more.

Now she stood out in the street, rain pouring down on her. Her hood was up and she was leaning against a wall, her bad leg pressed against it. People were to busy to notice her as they ran through the rain. Chloe crossed her arms around her chest, the cold deep beneath her skin. She was once again thinking about the murder. Watching her Dad bleed to death kept on flashing in her mind. That would scar her forever. She was somewhat grateful that she didn't see the death of her mother. Now she felt alone, standing there watching the people rush by. Suddenly someone crashed into her. She fell down, cursing as her leg bit with more pain. Then she realised with horror that her hood had come down. The person that had run into her was looking down at her with wide eyes.

"You're that girl, aren't you?" He said. A passing woman stopped, staring at the slash on her cheek. Chloe scrambled to her feet, wincing as yet more pain rushed through her.

"It's ok; no one is going to hurt you." She woman said, reaching out with her hand. Chloe walked backwards, gazing at the three other people that had joined. They all wanted to take her to the police, probably to collect an award. Then she felt a sudden chill of yet more fear as she saw a silver hummer come down, its driver looking directly at her. It was Wolf.

Wolf turned the Hummer tightly over, seeing the wide eyes of Chloe staring right at him. He thrust the door open and went into a run as Chloe sprinted away. But he was quicker. Grabbing the sleeve of her arm, he managed to get his other arm round her front. All this got him was a kick in the sin and a hit to the face. He took his arm away from her front, but got a tight grip on her shoulder.

"Chloe, calm down. It's me, from CSI!" He said.

"That's the problem!" Chloe retorted, taking mind to stamp on Wolf's foot.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked, holding her still as she struggled more.

"I've already told you! They find me, they kill you! That's why!" She murmured.

"Look, they won't harm you or us. We'll get protection, stop it from happening!" Wolf replied.

"Yes they will, they can do what they did to my parents to you!" Chloe growled. "I can't let that happen again! NOW LET GO OF ME!"

Wouldn't want to be Wolf at that moment in time. Right, now I am asking for your help. Next chapter is the one where Horatio wakes up, but I don't know how to write it. If you can make any suggestions with your reviews, it will help greatly. I shall put the name of the person's written scene into my story. Thanks:)

From TheNextTitan