Chapter 6

Johnny let out strangled laugh that contained absolutely no humor, and shook his hand. Feeling Roy's concerned gaze, he wiped the hand down the side of his turnouts. "Just a static shock, that's all. Wasn't expecting it…"

He made a motion for DeSoto to precede him up the steps, than just as abruptly changed his mind. He pulled the door open and plowed upwards, his pace this time fast and almost careless. This staircase was narrow and steep, and the sound of Gage's shoulder brushing the enclosed side and the thump of his boots smacking against the time warped treads shook Roy out of his frozen reverie. He tentatively reached a hand forward and touched the ornate knob.

Nothing. The glass felt cool and smooth beneath his questing fingers, but there were no sparks or heat or anything out of the ordinary emanating from it. Roy flashed his light down at his feet and then swung it at the highly polished, albeit dusty, expanse of hardwood floor that traversed the length of the hallway. The dark wood continued on into the bedrooms with nary a rug or synthetic fiber in sight. Static shock indeed, Roy thought, bringing the light back up to focus on the staircase just in time to see legs and the bottoms of boots disappearing.

He instantly berated himself. After all the missteps his partner had experienced this shift, he had really planned on keeping close behind him on those straight up stairs. He shook his head and smiled grimly as he heard the thud of footsteps overhead, glad that Gage had regained his surefootedness. He shone his light back on the door and his smile slid into a puzzled frown.

He'd still had his light trained on Johnny's face when the younger man had leapt backwards, and while surprise had appeared on his face there had been several other expressions that had flickered and then vanished. Roy wasn't sure what those brief flashes of emotion had signified, because in the span of time they had been partners he couldn't recall having ever seen them before. There was also the fact that John had kept his eyes averted, leading Roy to also believe that whatever thoughts had been swirling through his head he didn't want his colleague to pick up on.

As he clumped up the stairs, he could Johnny calling Philip's name. He shone his light across the attic space when his head cleared the opening and was pleasantly surprised at the openness. While the room had the typical slanting ceiling of an attic, there were no walls dividing the space. The room had apparently been used as a nursery or schoolroom, or perhaps both, evidenced by the toys, teaching supplies, and even a crib and rocking horse left in place. It reminded Roy of several movies he had seen set in the English countryside, where the governess held reign at the top of the house.

Gage's soft calls had yielded results; Roy clearly heard the panicked reply of a young male whose voice started out deep and then traveled rapidly up the musical scale to the high pitched sound of a young boy. His lips twitched in sympathy at the puberty traveling kid; there were enough embarrassments at that age without adding in this stupid stunt.

Circling around several stacked trunks he saw his friend stretched out prone on the floor, turnout coat discarded beside him. Johnny's head was bent over a square cut out in the floor with his arms dangling out of sight. As Roy approached, he stretched his neck back up and turned his head to look back at him. His arms reappeared, followed by his hands, one which was wielding his flashlight.

"Kid is stuck down there, about four feet down. He's ok, just cramped up a bit. What is this thing, anyways?" His hand waved at the hole, the cover that looked like it was locked into an opened position, and some kind of mechanism on the wall six inches in front him.

"Looks like a dumb waiter, although I've never seen one in person before," Roy guessed, squatting down and running his hand over the series of pulleys and ropes that ran down through holes. "All the pictures I've seen they've been in the walls, not the floor."

"Ah, food elevator….." Johnny amended, clearly amused at the concept of a "food elevator" in the attic. "I can't reach him, but I think I can fit through here. Looks like one of the ropes broke on the pulley mechanism; I can try and fix that and we can raise him up that way, or I'll just get the rope down to him, have him tie off, and we'll pull him up."

"Right, let me contact Cap to let him know we found Philip and get some ropes to tie him off," Roy said, and backed up a few steps. He fumbled the HT out of his pocket and informed Stanley of the situation while observing Gage sticking his head back down the hole. He was apparently talking to the boy and telling him the plan of action.

Roy's eyes widened in disbelief when Johnny's hands, which had been resting palms flat on either side of his bent head, suddenly shot forward and dropped into the dumb waiter, followed rapidly by the length of his arms. The flashlight that had been sitting next to his right hand got caught up in the slide and vanished; a yelp from the teenager indicated where it had landed. Next John's shoulders disappeared, and then the rest of his body started sliding into the opened space. His shout of surprise galvanized DeSoto into action.

"Gage!" He shouted, dropping both the HT and the light as he leapt forward and made a wild grab for his friend. His fingers closed around a handful of t-shirt and the webbing of suspenders. By now, almost all of Johnny's upper body had disappeared into the hole; another foot or so and the laws of gravity were going to win out and he was going to follow the rapid path of his light.

Roy dropped hard onto the floor as he inexplicably found himself being pulled forward. He uncharacteristically swore, loudly, as both men slid and his fingers lost their hold on the stretching material; the soft cotton of the t-shirt left under his scratching fingers stretched and ripped. There was nothing to brace his feet against to stop the slide. Reacting instinctively, he flipped sideways and sat hard on John's legs. His seeking fingers finally found a firm hold and he clutched them talon like in the waistband of the thick turnout pants.

The desperate action seemed to have stopped the forward slithering of his colleague's body; Roy couldn't help the heavy sigh of relief that escaped him. He flexed his fingers, releasing his muscle cramping grip and leaned forward, still sitting on Gage's legs. While the fall wouldn't have been far, going headfirst and landing on top of Phillip would definitely have caused some damage to Johnny, the kid, and the structural integrity of the ancient dumb waiter.

Feeling Gage shift under him and mutter something that he couldn't make out, he carefully eased himself off and crawled back a few steps, his left hand groping around the dusty floor and finally locating his light and the wayward HT. He slid the HT back into the cavernous pocket of his coat before crawling forward. He couldn't see much through the hole as his partner's slim body filled the space. He bent forward, hand resting on the lip; the gap between the edge and John's body was so slim that his fingers brushed against Gage's t-shirt.

"Can you pull me backwards? I got a good grip on Philip…."

He heard Johnny's voice this time, stronger now but definitely tense, almost like he was asking politely with his jaw clenched tight. Roy could feel, through his fingers, the younger man's body quivering under the strain and he couldn't help the vague thought that the kid must weigh quite a bit.

"I'll try," Roy responded, quickly crawling back to John's legs and debating how to pull. He encircled his arms around Johnny's calves and bent his legs at the knees so that his feet were horizontal. Pausing, he cocked his head and listened intently for several seconds; no sounds of footsteps ascending the attic stairs yet.

DeSoto began a slow pull, trying to stay on his feet. As Johnny's dark hair came within view, Stoker appeared with Captain Stanley at his heels. With a quick glance they immediately took in the situation and flanked the opening. Both men knelt down and reached into the dark depths to assist; within seconds John's arms appeared and then the teen, his wrists still firmly gripped within the paramedic's clenched hands.

Once Johnny was flat on the floor once again and Philip was being hauled the rest of the way up, Gage's fierce grip finally pried loose, Roy heaved a huge sigh of relief and gently helped his panting friend to roll over onto his back. Johnny, flexing his fingers, blinked up at Roy as he hovered over him.

"Wow," he whispered, head turning as he watched the teenager being set on his feet. Assured that the boy was okay when he made an unexpected lunge for the stairs, he rolled his head back and gazed at Roy, who had dropped down beside him and was trying to slow his own rapid breathing. "That was….."

"A rather quick and not planned rescue," Roy finished, sweeping his gaze down the length of Johnny's body and then back up, seeking his own assurances as to his partner's physical well-being. As to his mental health, well, that was open to consideration. Questioning words were on the tip of his tongue, but he didn't want to voice them. What had precipitated that forward slide into the "food elevator?" What thoughts were tumbling through John's brain and possibly influencing his actions? Was he beginning to believe that he was possessed, as Marco and Chet were so heavily hinting at?

"Yeah…" Johnny agreed breathlessly. "Not planned, that's for sure."

He paused, forcing himself to slow his rapid respirations. The two members of their crew had already disappeared down the stairs, after ascertaining that the medics were ok. Both men could hear the sounds of rapid descent down the second floor stairs, along with muffled shouts. Philip was apparently trying to bolt from the house; he was going to be unpleasantly surprised when he ran into the ever diligent Vince Howard on the main floor.

John's mouth quirked upwards as he considered that encounter and then just as abruptly skewed downwards as he replayed the previous five minutes in his head. He slowly sat up, feeling his friend's gaze on him. He purposely kept his head turned as he clumsily got to his feet and sorted through his tumbling thoughts; he bent down and picked up his coat, glad for an excuse to now turn his back on him, at least for the moment.

"You ok?" Roy asked, catching up to him as he began threading his way through the forlorn nursery toys. John didn't waver in his forward flight, simply glanced over his shoulder and wondered how long it was going to take before DeSoto asked the question that he wasn't going to be able to answer….

"Just fine, couldn't be better," he replied, halting at the top of the stairs and patting his pockets for his flashlight. What little moonlight that was leaking through the square window at the back of the attic wasn't even coming close to lacing its silvery light over the stairs; the moon wasn't high enough yet to send any kind of illumination through the round window at the front and there was no way he was going to tackle those vertigo inducing treads without the aid of a light.

"Good to know," his partner said seriously, thrusting his own light forward as he realized that Gage didn't know that his light was at the bottom of the dumb waiter. Johnny accepted it with a nod and thumped downwards, one hand shining the beam in front of him and the other sliding along the wall. He was grateful when he felt Roy's hand drop firmly onto his shoulder. Whether the hand was there for Roy's own safety or to keep him from plunging headfirst down the stairs he wasn't sure, but right now he was just happy for the reassuring grip.

"Thanks," he breathed out, once they had made the landing and the door was shut firmly behind them. Roy turned and looked at him.

"For what?"

"You know, having my back there, putting your hand on my shoulder so I didn't do a repeat performance of cartwheeling down those…" his voice faltered and stuttered to a halt, as he caught the look of puzzlement on DeSoto's face. "You didn't have your hand on my shoulder?"

His partner's expression, which was caught for a brief moment as John flashed the light up again and then down, clearly indicated that Roy wanted to answer in the affirmative. "No, no I didn't. Johnny, what is going on?"

"Trust me, if I knew the answer to that one I would tell you!" Johnny retorted, throwing up his hands in a frustrated gesture. He turned and plunged down the stairs, his agitation accompanying him. He stopped himself at the bottom, just missing ploughing into his captain who was not so patiently standing there. DeSoto forced himself to a hasty stop also, backing up a tread so that he wasn't breathing down Gage's neck.

"Gage, DeSoto?" Captain Stanly queried, glancing curiously at the paramedics.

"Captain?" John whipped back, shifting feet and tossing the coat draped over his left arm to his right.

"Everything all right with you two?"

Johnny threw a harried glance at Roy, who had dropped down two stairs and was standing shoulder to shoulder with his partner, before replying. "Yes Sirrrr…."

Stanley narrowed his eyes, his only outward sign that he wasn't completely convinced as to Gage's assurance. "Then let's get out of here, and catch some sleep, shall we?"

Another noisy shift of feet and both medics nodded simultaneously. They followed him out of the house, closed the already locked door behind them, and walked to the squad, where the other three men from the station were waiting. Although their stances were casual, Johnny knew they were listening with interest to the conversation that was happening on the far side of Vince's car.

Vince was standing by the opened back door, one hand resting on his hip and the other tapping impatiently on the metal frame. The teenager was sitting, his body out of sight of the firemen but his voice carrying quite clearly as he spun a tale as to his innocence in the night's events. The three lounging men were showing their disbelief and amusement with muted snorts and grins shielded by their hands.

The captain paused by their hastily straightening forms and lifted his eyebrows; his pointing finger was not noticed as the linemen and the engineer were already shuffling sheepishly toward their waiting engine. Vince swiveled his head to take in the abrupt departure and apparently decided he had heard enough of Philip's tale. He bent down and said something, then slammed the door closed and came around the back of the car, shaking his head.

"Night boys, hope we don't see each other again this shift," he said, easing behind the wheel and waving a lazy hand. Roy and John raised their hands in acknowledgement and watched him drive forward, circle around the squad, and head down the driveway.

Roy stretched out a hand and grabbed Gage by the arm as he slammed the compartment door closed and turned to climb into the truck. Johnny glared at him and shook off the detaining hand, but stayed where he was.

"Explain to me what happened back there with the doorknob, and then the bowling alley slide across the floor," Roy queried, his voice deceptively soft but his body language clearly denoting that he wasn't going to accept any brush offs. John stared at him for a moment, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth and then lifting a hand to run it through his hair.

"I can't…" he trailed off as his friend shot him a glare. "I can't explain it, not logically anyways. Roy, I touched that doorknob and got, I swear, a 120 volt shock, at least that's what it felt like. And as for me being the bowling ball about to achieve a strike…."

Roy nodded in understanding. He knew that unforeseen toboggan run hadn't been Johnny's doing; he had been barely able to stop it even with all of his weight smashing his colleague's legs to the ground. But what had caused it? Surely this wasn't their spirit, or ghost, or whatever was lurking in the air between them right now. There was no such thing.

John's eyes, flashing black in the moonlit night, soberly regarded Roy. A thin smile touched his lips and he opened the passenger side door. His comment was muttered, but Roy heard it as Johnny dropped into the seat. "All I gotta say is, I'm glad I have an elevator in my apartment, 'cause there's no way I'm going up or down three flights of stairs!"

~TBC~