A/N: Okay, sorry if this chapter gets to you twice. This is the beta read version. Nothing important changed, just repaired some grammar mistakes, so you don´t need to read it again.
Trapped
by Nicol Leoraine
Chapter 13
"Kevin, it´s okay," one of the shadows spoke and he could feel the sarcasm behind the words. The shadows were closing in on him - big, and oh so scary. Suddenly Kevin felt like a six year old again, crouching in the corner of his room, hiding from the monsters. At that time, it was his older brother in his halloween mask scaring him to death, but Jimmy wasn´t there anymore and Kevin knew his older brother wouldn´t be capable of making the walls move.
One of the shadows moved closer to him, the hand changing into a claw that was just too big to be real. But nothing seemed real anymore and Kevin did the only thing he could - he started shooting.
He could feel the coppery taste of bloodin his mouth and smell the laughter filling the air. His bullets missed their target, the clawed shadow vanishing.
Only the laughter stayed - hard and unmerciful. He heard it inside his skull - that ridiculous sound, and he screamed out in frustration.
Everyone was making fun of him - even the shadows, the walls... the whole building. Feeling the rage building inside him, Kevin spun around, grabbing at his head.
"Shut up! Shut up!" he screamed with all his pent up rage. "Stop laughing at me! Just stop-" he shouted, almost pleading.
"Kevin!" Nick shouted out warningly. He watched as the confused man grabbed at his head, holding the gun dangerously close to his head. It would´ve taken no more than a twitch of his index finger, and Kevin would´ve effectively stopped the hallucinations - forever.
Gritting his teeth, Nick made a move toward the rookie, but was stopped by Grissom.
"What?" Nick hissed but Grissom didn´t release his hold on him, just shook his head.
"He´s too unstable right now. You go any closer and he won´t need to be aiming to hit you."
Nick blinked, then let out a frustrated sigh.
"We can´t just wait until the drug clears his bloodstream, Gris.If we wait until then, he might end up either killing himself or someone else."
"Only two bullets left, Nicky," Brass muttered and Nick startled. He totally forgot the other man was there too, and hadn't seen him move.
"It´s still more than enough," Nick replied, knowing full well what a bullet was capable of. He worked on a case where only one was enough to kill two people.
"Can´t we get to him from behind?" he asked, nervously watching as Kevin moaned, his left hand grasping a handful of hair so tightly that Nick feared he would pull them out.
"There is another corridor some ten yards back, but I am not sure where it leads. It could take us back to the staircase for all I know," Brass spoke, cringing at the noises coming from Kevin. The boy was falling apart and fast.
"No time for that," Grissom dismissed the idea, biting at his lower lip. He really don´t liked to be in this kind of situation. Solving mysteries was one thing - trying to find out the best way to unarm a drugged man was another.
To their apprehension, Kevin didn´t give them the time needed to figure it out. He started backing away, swaying and almost tripping, but still holding the gun.
"What the hell?" Brass frowned, peeking out from the corner Grissom retreated to after the last set of shots. Kevin took several more steps, bumped into the wall and hastily grabbed for something behind him. A second later, Nick could see how the man vanished behind a door.
Without a word, the trio followed closely after, shortly stopping before the door. It was slightly ajar, but dark inside - a fact that didn´t go unnoticed by any one of them. Kevin could´ve been standing right behind the door, or hiding under the table for all they knew. Brass took a breath and looked at Nick and Grissom.
"I'm going in, you two stay here. I mean it," he glared pointedly at Nick. "I don´t want to scare him off, but if he tries to get away through the door, you stop him. Okay?"
"Be careful," Grissom told Brass and the detective slowly slid through the opening, leaving Nick and Grissom in silent expectation.
xxxx
The darkness was a relief, although short. The bright light was hurting his eyes, but the darkness was good. It hid him from the shadows, stopping the cruel laughter. Slowly, Kevin walked further into the room, turning his back on the door. He startled when his hip connected with a table and jumped away, training the gun at the unseen barrier, only to whimper pitifuly when his vision was clouded with pictures of walls splattered in blood, the body of the dead guard suddenly standing just inches from his face.
Kevin shrieked when the guard opened his mouth. No sound came out, because something was blocking the guard´s airway. Kevin didn´t see what it was, the only thing he could see was the red blood flowing freely from the dead man´s mouth. He almost stopped breathing himself when the guard reached up, his hand void of any skin, just bones. For a second Kevin wondered what was keeping the tiny wrist bones together if there was no skins or tendons, but the curiosity gave way to sickness, when the guard pulled something out of his mouth. But this time it wasn´t a hat badge, oh no. This time it was an ID card. The dead man looked at the card with his unseeing eyes and - smiled.
"She´s dead," he slowly articulated, as if speaking was too hard. "And I will kill you, too."
It was all Kevin´s brain could handle He screamed out in rage and emptied his gun, both bullets hitting their mark. He was pushing the trigger again and again, but the cylinder was empty.
"You think you can stop me?" The guard showed him another smile, not minding the two new holes in his body. "You forgot - I am already dead."
"No," Kevin shook his head and threw the gun at the guard, then spun and made a mad dash for the door. He knocked into something, heard the pained grunt, but didn´t stop. The light coming from the door was his only goal and he almost jerked the door off its hinges when he pulled it open. The bright light blinded him, but he didn´t stop.
xxxx
They heard the shooting but none of them knew what to do. Grissom was practically ready to burst in and Nick was right behind. It was the low call coming from inside that stopped them.
"I´m okay, stay outside," Brass said, sounding winded. He had some trouble controlling his breathing, while he idly wondered how was it possible none of the bullets hit him. True, Kevin wasn´t in control and the boy obviously didn´t even aim at Brass, but still... it was too close to the detective's liking.
He heard the ragged breathing coming from across the room, heard the whimper and felt the fear hanging in the air. He briefly contemplated turning on the light. Kevin already emptied the gun and by the sound of the metal hitting the floor, Brass assumed the kid threw the gun away. His hand was already searching for the light switch, when Kevin collided with him. Surprised and thrown off balance, Brass groped for any support, only to find himself flat on his back.
The door was wide open and Kevin was gone.
xxxx
Grissom didn´t have time to react when the door burst open and he was shoved out of the way. He fell, jarring his shoulder on the wall and for a moment, he didn´t know what was going on. His head was fuzzy, shoulder was throbbing and he could see two people running away.
Grissom blinked, then frowned, thinking he must´ve hit his head to see double. But then one of the men jumped and tackled the other with a grunt and Grissom was instantly on his feet.
"This was so stupid," Nick had the fleeting thought, when he landed on top of Kevin, effectively immobilising the rookie, as well as his own breathing. He had the breath knocked out of him, but that wasn´t so much a problem, because the pain that laced through his hand made him stop breathing anyway. For a moment everything went black and Nick hoped for relief, but it didn´t come. The pain didn´t let him "check out" and neither did the man under him. Kevin started squirming and trying to get away. He was succesful in throwing Nick off his back and was about to get to his knees, the haunted look clearly evident in his eyes.
"Kevin," Nick hissed out, finally getting back the function of his lungs. He wanted to calm down the rookie, to stop him from running off, but the cop didn´t hear him. Nick was afraid he would get away again, but then Grissom was there and Kevin was none too gently pushed back to the ground, his hands brought behind his back and skilfully handcuffed, before he could start struggling.
Nick let out a relieved sigh, then winced, cradling his achy hand against his chest, the other one wiping off the beads of sweat running down his neck. As he watched Kevin´s struggle against the handcuffs, he felt his own strength abate, and he had to fight to stay upward and awake. Suddenly nothing seemed more inviting than a soft bed.
Grissom took a moment to examine Kevin as best as he could under the circumstances. He saw the distant look in his eyes, as well as the dilated pupils.
"How is he?" Nick asked, his voice slurred.
"Under the circumstances, he´s lucky. He could´ve killed himself with that gun. Or one of us."
"W-what about the drug? How the hell did he get drugged? I doubt he eat or drank something."
Grissom gave Kevin a last check, then turned to Nick with a frown. Nick was sitting slumped against the wall, his burned hand now resting against the raised knee. Grissom could see the bandage was wet, soaked through. That meant the blisters broke, probably when Nick tackled Kevin.
"How do you feel?"
"´Kay, I guess. Hand hurts like hell."
Grissom nodded and sighed. There wasn´t anything he could do for Nick, only allow him some rest and get him - all of them - out of there. He looked at Kevin who had stopped struggling, now looking almost catatonic. With resolution, Grissom got up. Nick watched him with glassy eyes, feeling too drained to try and move.
"Stay here, I´m going to look forBrass."
Nick frowned, realising the detective should´ve been here.
"Is he okay?"
Grissom shrugged.
"Didn´t see him." With that, he returned to the room Kevin was so in haste to leave. "Jim?" he asked but there was no reply and Grissom felt a shiver run through him. Losing no time, he stepped into the room and located the light switch. But even when the light brightened the room, there was no one here.
"Damn the man," Grissom cursed and quickly returned to Nick, who was practically dozing. Hearing the footsteps, he jerked awake and looked at Grissom with a slightly confused look.
"Brass is gone."
"Was he shot?"
"No, I don´t think so. No traces of blood in the room. My guess is he took off after whoever was doing this."
"That´s not good," Nick commented, then shot a look at Kevin. "You should find him."
"I can´t leave you two alone."
"I can take care of him, Grissom, though we should at least get out of the corridor. The lab should be safe enough."
"I still-"
"Look, I have my gun. And it´s not like we can sit here and wait. Brass may need your help. And we don´t know where is Sara or Jenkins."
Grissom nodded, knowing well enough Nick was right. Without asking, he picked Kevin up. It wasn´t easy and with the handcuffs still on Kevin´s hands, he had no choice but to carry him. With a grunt, Grissom propelled Kevin against his shoulder and carried him to the lab. Despite his doubts, Nick managed to get to his feet and headed after them. He made several steps when he stopped.
Grissom found him like that, staring at something on the floor, one hand leaning against the wall for support.
"Nick?"
"That´s Sara´s ID," he uttered, his voice so soft that Grissom barely heard it. But he saw the card lying on the floor. "It fell out of Kevin´s pocket when you carried him."
Grissom nodded and knelt next to the card, frowning. He could still still the remains of some substance on the surface. It almost looked like wax, but it didn´t had the right structure.
"I think I know how Kevin was drugged." This time Grissom put on his own gloves and inspected the card, before putting it into an evidence bag. "Maybe we could identify the drug in the lab. Once we get out of here."
"Does this mean that Kevin found Sara?"
Grissom looked up from the ID, and saw the fear in Nick´s eyes.
"I rather think that the ID was just another trap."
"But that means that whoever set the trap has Sara."
Grissom gave a silent nod.
"Go, I´ll take care of Kevin," Nick said and Grissom headed off, when Nick added: "Gris - be careful."
"You too."
TO BE CONTINUED