Author's note: enjoy.
Special Thanks to El Gringo Loco for helping to make this story believable.
Spoilers: I will generally tell what spoilers the chapters contain. In this Chapter: not a lot
Summary: When Ecklie chooses Grissom's team to head to a conference in London, the Las Vegas CSI nightshift couldn't be more excited. Then their plane crashes in the sea. Now Grissom, Catherine, Nick, Warrick, Sara, and Greg are stranded on a deserted island and their only way home is to survive.
Disclaimer: I don't own CSI.
Surviving the Storm
Chapter 20: Escape to the Raft
Lindsey had been wide-awake for hours, waiting for Boss and his cronies to leave to search the trees. She had been lucky. All of Boss's men seemed to ignore her, or at least kept their distance because they were afraid of what Boss might do. Lindsey had succeeded in keeping her virginity, but what about her life? As soon as all the people that had been on the beach were killed, it would be her turn to meet a copper bullet. She shuddered. Boss was right when he said that his captives wouldn't be able to go anywhere, but Lindsey had to try to escape with her life. Her mother would've. The thought of Catherine alone gave her a newfound strength and gave her hope. If she was going to die, Lindsey was going to make it as difficult as possible for Boss and his gang.
At first light, her captors were awake, loading their guns with more ammo and eating what little food they had. And then finally, Lindsey's moment came. The six thugs had disappeared into the trees ten minutes ago; Lindsey had watched them go through the seaplane window. She wriggled around the cab, her hands taped behind her back, while Tito and Fox regarded her strangely from their positions, tied up on the floor. She didn't care. Finally, she made it to the wall, and with tremendous difficulty, she heaved herself into a standing position. She hopped over to the back of the plane and found a crowbar resting on some crates. She turned backwards, grasping the crowbar in her hands, she leaned it on a 45-degree angle between the floor and the crate. Careful not to apply too much pressure, she eased into the pointed end, and felt the metal tear through the tape around her wrists and felt the cool metal dig lightly into her back. She grinned and pulled her hands apart. She removed the duct tape stuck on her wrists and preceded to get the gag out of her mouth and undo the tape around her feet. Then she ran to the front, bypassing Tito and Fox without a word. She was about to open the door when a shiny piece of metal caught her eye. It was a gun. After a moment, she grabbed it, putting the safety on the same way she saw her mother do it. The weapon felt heavy in her hands. Tearing her gaze away from the metal handgun, she wrenched open the door and jumped down into the shallow water, taking in the view. The sun shone down on her, casting a shiny glow along the beach. The fire in the trees was barely visible, but smoke filled the air.
She was free! Her mother would've been so proud! Regaining her senses, Lindsey took off down the beach, avoiding the trees. Boss and his men were in there and, witness or not, they wouldn't hesitate to finish her off. She ran until the sand gave way to rock. She stopped to catch her breath.
"Bastards must have knew we were coming!" she froze as she heard one of Boss's men, Karl, exclaim from up the beach. She couldn't see him, but she knew he was coming. She didn't dare take aim with the gun. Panicking, she ran into the trees, struggling to run in the dense undergrowth, finally tripping and falling.
Instead of landing in the dense vegetation or on the hard ground, she landed on the laps of three very stunned people. She tried to get up, to run, put she was being held back.
"Lindsey?" one of the people asked. She recognized his voice. She turned her head and came face to face with a shocked Greg Sanders. He looked scruffy and the spiky hair Lindsey had always adored was long and drooping into his boyish face.
"Greg!" she exclaimed, jumping on him, hugging him. She couldn't believe it! He had been on the plane with her mother. Did this mean she survived too? Lindsey looked over at the other two. It was Nick and Sara!
"Oh My God! Lindsey!" Sara exclaimed, turning to look at the girl properly.
"What- How-" Nick was lost for words.
"I was kidnapped by these guys and-"
"Over here!" she head Rizzo yell. He must have heard them.
"Shit!" Greg cursed.
"Let's get outta here!" Nick shouted. All four got up and started running, Greg pulling Lindsey along.
BANG! There was a gunshot. Lindsey yelped in surprise.
"C'mon, Linds!" Greg called, pulling her along. There were more shouts and gunshots ahead, but Greg pulled her to the side.
"Jump!" he said, and she obeyed. He pulled her behind a large tree and they heard people rush passed. When they were gone, Greg and Lindsey slumped down, catching their breaths. Somehow they had lost Nick and Sara in the chase.
"Alright, how did you get here?" he whispered. She told him everything, from when Fox had asked her directions to when she escaped the seaplane.
"I grabbed this," she said, handing him the small handgun. He looked at it, and after ensuring that the safety was on, he tucked it in his pants.
"We might need this. Now I want you to keep up with me, okay?" he asked. She nodded and followed him through the forest.
"Nick!" Sara gasped looking down the ravine.
"Go, Sara!" he almost yelled, "I'll hold them off!" They could hear the two mobsters coming through the trees, delayed when they sprung a trap where coconuts fell on them.
"But Nick-" she pleaded.
"No! Go!" he said again, a hint of anxiety showing in his voice. He nudged her towards the edge. She looked him in the eyes and could see the worry and fear in his eyes.
"Please, Sara," he begged. She nodded and slid down, watching him as she went.
"There he is!" one of them shouted. Nick took off along the edge of the top of the ravine. From the sounds, she deduced that both guys were chasing him.
"Please, God, Nick," she prayed and she ran along the bottom in the same direction he was going. Suddenly there was a shout of pain and she watched, horrified as Nick fell off the edge, through the trees and overgrown shrubs, landing hard at the bottom. Sara wanted to cry out, but couldn't. She ran over to his motionless form, wading through the vegetation until she found him.
"Nick!" she sobbed, collapsing next to him, "Please, Nick! Please don't be-" she couldn't say it. She was shaking badly as more sobs racked her body. He couldn't be dead! He couldn't leave her! If he died it would be her fault. She would never be able to live with that. She sobbed some more over his chest and it only just registered in her mind that he was still breathing.
"Nick! Nick, please, wake up!" she cried, coming to her senses, and supporting his head, "Come on, Nicky!"
"You're talkin' really loud, Sara," he moaned, wincing with pain. She laughed in relief.
"Nick Stokes, you fool!" she laughed in relief. He mustered a weak smile.
"I know," he said softly.
"What hurts?" she asked, stroking his forehead.
"Everything," he moaned, "We've gotta go, Sar." He tried to get up, but fell over. She caught him.
"C'mon, there's a safe spot up ahead," she said, supporting him. He yelped as she touched his shoulder. She moved to his other side and helped him limp through the trees. Finally, they made it.
"I'm okay, Sara. We've got to go," he insisted. She sat him down.
"No. We're going to rest a bit, Nick," she said firmly, taking a quick look at his leg. It didn't look too bad, but it was already staring to bruise, "What hurts, Nick?" she asked again. He breathed out.
"Shoulder, ribs, leg," he panted. She cupped his face.
"Why on earth would you do something like that?" she asked. He almost laughed.
"Better me than you," he replied. She shook her head.
"Nick, if anything had of happened to you, I don't know what I'd do," she admitted; "If you had of-" again she faltered.
"That's why I had to lead them away, Sara. I couldn't let them hurt you," he said sincerely, "I care too much about you."
"I care about you, too, Nicky," she finally said, staring into his warm hazel eyes. She leaned over and pecked him on the cheek. They looked at each other, and finally Nick gave way to sleep, with Sara watching over him.
"Why the Hell is it always me?" Warrick muttered to himself as he hurdled over some low branches. Once again, two mobsters were stalking him and once again he was leading them through his traps. He knew exactly which way he wanted to take them. It was coming up and he jumped over the trip wire and soundlessly landed in the water. He scurried across the waist-deep water and up the next bank, looking back just in time to see a black guy and an Asian trip over the wire and land face first in the water.
Warrick would have laughed had he not been in a hurry. He ran as hard as he could, weaving into the trees, knowing that he could hole up under the roots of a large tree. He came to it and swung down crawling under the uprooted parts and back into the earth, but found it already inhabited by Greg…and a very unexpected person: Lindsey Willows.
"Lindsey?" he whispered incredulously.
"Warrick!" she squealed quietly, hugging him.
"How-"
"Long story short," Greg whispered, "She was kidnapped by Tito and Fox, who hoped to get a ransom from Sam. Boss got wind of this and whisked all three of them here to ice…"
"And then they saw us and decided to wait to do the job," Warrick finished, "Small world."
"I escaped," Lindsey said proudly. He softly chuckled.
"You sure did, Kid," he agreed.
"Here, War," Greg said, nudging him with the gun. Warrick stared at it.
"Where did you get that?" he asked.
"I stole it from the plane," Lindsey told him. He stared at her, even more surprised.
"She gave it to me, but I know you're the better shot, Warrick," Greg insisted.
"Are you coming with us, Warrick?" Lindsey asked. He smiled at her.
"Of course. We should get going. The coast is clear," he announced. He led them through the trees; every so often stopping to be sure it was safe. Finally they came to a stop at the edge of the trees.
"Why are we stopping?" Lindsey whispered.
"Listen, Linds, we have a raft hidden under that peak," Warrick explained, "We're going to use it to leave the island once everybody is there-"
"My mom, too?" she asked, finally plucking up the courage to ask about her mother.
"Yeah. When she gets there, if she's not there now," Warrick answered patiently, "Now here's the plan. We'll go one at a time. Greg will go first, then Lindsey, and then me. Greg, wait for Lindsey at the edge of the hill," he explained. After they agreed on it, Greg ran as fast as he could across the opening, ducking behind the hill. Warrick covered him, taking the gun off the safety.
"My turn," Lindsey said determined. He smiled and nodded and covered the girl as she ran towards Greg. Greg slid down the hill with her and carefully dropped her in the water, helping her swim over to the raft.
Warrick was about to make the run when he saw the black thug run towards the cliff. The guy had seen Lindsey and Greg and was shooting at the water. Without hesitating, Warrick darted forwards and fired two rounds into the man's back, and watched as he fell forwards off the cliff. Warrick hurried over and peered over the edge of the peak and saw the man had half landed on one of the rocks.
BANG! A shot awoke Warrick from his transfixed horror and he looked back and saw the Asian man behind him. Warrick dived off the edge, hoping he missed the rocks.
Greg and Lindsey were just climbing onto the raft when they saw the dead mobster fall into the water. She stared at the body, horrified, until Greg blocked her view. The next thing he knew, Warrick had plunged into the water, shots following him. Both Greg and Lindsey jumped.
"I got him!" they heard a triumphant voice shout from the cliff. Before Lindsey could scream, Greg clamped a hand over her mouth and fought within himself not to cry out. He scanned the water for his friend's body, but found nothing.
"No," Lindsey mumbled against Greg's hand. Then the raft began to move and they looked back to see Warrick struggling to climb up the side. Greg pulled him up.
"What, did you think that moron actually got me?" Warrick panted. Lindsey and Greg grinned, both piling on Warrick and hugging him. He chuckled.
TBC