Chapter 10- If I Could Fall...
disclaimers, warnings etc- see chapter 1.
Okay before you read, this chapter is my baby... It may have taken longer to write, but I tried! please, please, tell me what you think of it, I have the next chapter written, but if this one sux, I will change the next chapter (maybe!) Thanks to my awesome readers and reviewers, the encouragement keeps me writing. So thanx! lots of hugs, n smooches, sugar couture
If I could fall
Into the sky
Do you think time
Would pass me by
'Cause you know I'd walk
A thousand miles
If I could
Just see you
Tonight
It's always times like these
When I think of you
And I wonder
If you ever
Think of me
'Cause everything's so wrong
And I don't belong
Living in your
Precious memories
'Cause I need you
And I miss you
And now I wonder...
"A Thousand Miles" Vanessa Carlton.
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Sara could taste her freedom ebb away as he dragged her back to the 'hole'
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Gill was called out to yet another DB. A very, very interesting DB. A man dressed in a grass skirt, and a coconut shell bikini-bra top. Found in a supermarket. In the ice-lolly refrigerator. God, what a kick Sara would get out of being here...
Every time Gil was called out to a Crime scene, he thought of her. What her thoughts on the events leading up to the death were, what type of murder it was, how they could get the maximum amount of evidence...
Grissom was running on auto-pilot...He was doing his job, doing the base functions, but he wasn't thinking...He couldn't, he was too numb...
It wasn't just him, Grissom had vaguely noticed. Nick had stopped messing around, and laughing. Warrick spent as little time at the lab as he could, opting to go home exactly on time to be with Tina. It was the same with Catherine, only, she was spending as much time with Lindsay as possible...once she had even brought her into the lab, as she didn't want to leave her daughter with a sitter anymore. Lindsay seemed to have picked up on the tense atmosphere, and didn't ask where Sara was, even though it was obvious she wanted to. Greg, well, Greg was acting similarly to Grissom, except Greg was throwing in hours of overtime, spending many extra hours a night looking at Sara's case files when he had a moment free, and Grissom had seen him taking the notes home with him. However, he didn't stop Greg, didn't wan't to tell him his efforts were pointless. Greg's hope was so naive but he was the only member of the team who had any...
Brass stalked up to him. "Gil. We already have a confession...manager said she backed over him on her way out the parking lot. BS is what I'm thinking. There's no blood in the parking lot."
Gil answered, but he didn't hear what his own voice was saying...
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She had been gone for so long now. Why hadn't they found her? There wasn't enough evidence. She had been in the hole for at least two days. That meant she had been missing for six weeks. Six weeks. The CSI's wouldn't be on the case anymore. It would be a missing persons case. She would be down there forever.
She heard his footseps bang around on the floor above her. He came down evry two or three hours, to torment her, to...to...
At first, Sara had screamed and screamed. Then he came down, did it, then just put her back in the cupboard. She had been hit with that leather snap, burnt along the bottom of her feet with matches, and numerous other things. He was till furious. Sara had stopped crying several hours ago. She was curled into the corner, praying for him not to come back...
God wasn't on her side. She heard the basement door bang open, and him taking a step into the dark damp outside her cupboards door. Sara froze. She could hear other noises.
"Don't." the sound of a hand smashing a cheekbone brought whimpering, and Sara fel queasy. She knew what was happening out there.
"get down the goddamn stairs." she heard thumping. He must have pushed whoever it was down the stairs.
The whimpering continued, and Sara heard his footsteps come towards her.
"Princess, can you guess who I have here?"
Sara shook her head, even though she knew he couldn't see her.
"why, it's Susie Q! Say hello!"
"please...I have kids...don't..."
Sara heard the next noise. A click. When you worked in CSI, you were familiar with the sounds that guns made.
"NO! PLEASE...My kids, my husband...don't, please. I won't tell anyone if you let me go..."
"Susie, didn't you used to be a shrink? Didn't you learn how minds work? You should have known that I wasn't ever going to let you go...well, maybe I would have..."
He spoke directly into the piece of wall Sara was currently enclosed by. "If the BITCH in there hadn't ruined everything, Susie, I would have let you go back to your babies. What, two sons and a daughter? I'll have Sara write them a 'sorry for your loss' card. After all it is her fault you're going to die."
"please..."
"See princess? See what you've done? You've ruined another family. You're real one, you're foster one, and now poor Susie's kids aren't going to have a mommy."
The gun fired.
Sara's heart broke. This was her fault. She shouldn't have tried to escape.
"Awwww, princess, are you blubbing for Susie? Don't worry" his voice was a sick parody of condolence. "She's gone to a better place now."
Sara was silent.
"Not talking? Good. Well, I'm going to get Siobhan, then I'll come and see you...Don't be jealous, you're still my priority. I just need to sort out a pressing matter."
Twenty minutes later, Sara heard the gun go off again, but Siobhan had made no noise as he brought her down to the basement. She was obviously unconcious. Sara heard him unlock the door to the hole. Then he stepped inside...
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Six weeks and four days. She had been gone six weeks and four days. Her replacement, Sinnita, was nice enouh, but when she had tried to badger Ecklie into clearing Sara's locker for her, Grissom had wanted to kill her. That was Sara's. All Sara's things were to be left alone...
Sandra Van Der Woodesn, or to be correct, Sandra Thomms, had been humungously helpful to sara's case. She had witnessed 'Princess's' sufferings as a child, and wanted to do all she could now to try and make things easier. She sorted out Sara's apartment, went over there once a week to check on it, and make sure that the bills were paid from Sara's account. She had spoken to Grissom a couple of times, tried to harrass Missing Persons into taking more action, and had met up with Greg countless times to talk to him, after meeting him at the lab. She had a degree in counselling and phsychology, so she basically helped Greg keep his head on his shoulders. She had also spoken with catherine and warrick a couple of times, but they were mainly coping by avoidance, so she couldn't help much...
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It had been seven weeks now, he had informed her an hour ago, as he bolted chains to the wall in the hole, and blindfolded her. Seven weeks. He had killed Alyssa, earlier, most likely by stabbing, Sara figured, as she had heard no gunshot, and Alyssa's pained breathing had gone on for sveral minutes before she died. It was curious, sara thought, how she was managing to detach herself from the situation. It was like she was somewhere else, bodiless, and weightless, and she was looking down on her beaten and broken self, chained to a wall in some god-forsaken neighbourhood, in a fucking cupboard. Somewhere else...
She heard him coming back. She tried to huddle into herself, get away from him.
The door swung open.
"hey princess. Well, I'm going away for a while. Guess Why?"
Sara whimpered.
"yeah, I'm going to get pops. He'll be ever so happy to see you, miss sidle. He talks about you all the time. He's out of prison now. He's not going to be happy with you, since you turned him in to the cops. I expect he's got some sort of punishment lined up..."
"No please...not Him...please...I'm sorry, I didn't tell, I swear I never told...don't...no, don't..."
He grabbed her ankles, and pulled her towards him. "C'mon princess. Just something to sustain me while I'm away..."
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Seven weeks, two days. Nothing.
Sara was gone. He had lost her.
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Seven weeks, three days. She had spent the last three days tormenting herself about thoughts of Him, coming back. Every creak made her cry out. She couldn't cry anymore. She was so dehydrated. And hungry. She was trying to make the relatively large bowl of water, and the pieces of bread he had left her, last as long as possible. Six swallows of water a day. Five small bites. She'd rather die than let Him near her again...
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For chrissakes, of all the times his mother could have been in hospital, this was it. Princess was back at the house, and he would have to be without her for at least a week. He knew she could survive on the food he had given her...it was just enough and no more...as long as she paced herself...He sat back in his plane seats, munching on a packet of peanuts and a bar of chocolate...
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Seven weeks, four days. Sandra had suggested getting in contact with her mother...
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Seven weeks, five days...the water was running out. Sara knew he was coming for her...The small dark space didn't bother her as much any more, she would prefer that to Him...
Sara could smell the familiar stench of rotting bodies, of decomposing flesh. She knew it was the women who had died because of her. She could smell their death...
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Seven weeks, six days. It was Grissom's day off. He collapsed exhausted on his couch, and immeadiately fell asleep, strange dreams of butterflies and dragons rolling around in his head.
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Eight weeks. She could hear a banging noise upstairs, followed by the smash of glass. Ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod. It was Him. He was there for her. Shaking with fear, Sara whimpered quietly, then huddled even further into herself...
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Mrs Ediey was used to weird noises coming from the house across the street. Shouting, screaming, god knows what. She reckoned either a bad marriage, or some idiot who kept the tv on too loud. She knew better than to poke her nose in though. However, when she saw a teenage delinquent throw a brick through the window, then climb in, she knew she had to do something to protect her neighbours...She phoned Las Vegas Police.
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Aidan Stuart, and Nathan Kairnlie were used to B&E's. So when they were called to one of Las Vegas's worst neighbourhoods, they weren't surprised.
Getting to the scene, they found an idiot fifteen year old going through the kitchen cupboards, making a hell of a lot of noise. Aidan cuffed him and took him out to the car, while Nathan looked around the kitchen and the rest of the house, viewing the damage that had been done. Then he froze. He had just heard chains clinking together he was sure of it. Then he heard an inhuman sort of wimper.
"Oi, Stuart." his colleague came back into the house. "I reckon there's an abandoned dog in the basement."
They clattered down the worn steps into the basement. The stench of rotten flesh invaded their nostrils. Aidan switched on his flashlight, and gagged, running for the top of the stairs. Nathan, the older cop, surveyed the scene sadly. He had been to too many crime scene's like this. It still hurt him to think the atrocities humans could carry out on each other.
He stepped out to find Aidan calling for back-up, and CSI's.
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no! she could hear them. Nonononononononononononononono. Sara hyperventilated. NO! NO...oh god. She could smell the women outside her hole, she could hear Alyssa and susanna's screams in her head, she could feel Him getting closer...and closer...and closer...
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"gil?" Catherines voice echoed through his ear. " break and entry." she rattled off the address before he had spoken one word.
"wha-huh?"
"Gil, please, just get here as soon as you can."
He couldn't believe Catherine had spoken to him like that. Ever since sara's disappearance, she had been prickly, but this was a bit much...he was her supervisor after all...
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Closer...Closer...Closer. He was going to get her.
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It was half two in the morning, and the rain was pelting down on Catherine Willows' umbrella. Waiting at the Crime Scene for Grissom to arrive, she sighed irritably, tapping her foot. Where the hell was he?
"Cath?"
She whirled around as she saw the so-named 'bug-man' push his way past two of the police officers br
"Why the hell have we both been called to a B&E?"
Catherine suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. Ever since CSI Sara Sidle had gone missing, Grissom had been in a foul mood.
"The cops were called by a neighbour, who heard someone breaking in...they found...him..." she pointed to a teenage boy standing by the doorstep, currently getting soaked by the rain, he was seeing if there were any valuables he could sell for drug money...good luck with that in this neighbourhood is all I can say."She looked around in disgust at the squalid houses.
"Why do we have to be here? You should have sent Greg." Grissom snapped. he had one frayed nerve left, and Catherine was wearing through it very quickly.
"well, they heard a noise in the, um, basement, and went down...they thought that they should call us...three bodies...they're in dcomp, and from what they could tell, all three are female."
"How could they hear a noise if the bodies are dead?" Grissom was nit-picking, and not focusing on the topic at hand, the topic of three murdered bodies.
"Shall we do our jobs? Or shall we ask inane questions all day?" Catherine beckoned to Nick and Greg, who were currently standing off to one side, not wanting to get involved.
"Fine, go ahead, I'm not stopping you" Grissom followed the cop who was leading the way through the house, down to the basement.
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"I hate decomps"
Greg pulled a face at the stench in the air. The three bodies that were on the ground, smelt rancid, and the cop who led them to the basement was now outside, retching for all he was worth.
"Stop making such a fuss Greggy boy" Nick smirked at him.
Grissom agreed with Nick silently. How could Greg expect to move up another CSI level if all he did was make a fuss? Sure, he knew that Greg missed Sara, which was why he was acting up so badly, but he should be bottling his emotions, not expressing them in other forms! If Grissom and Nick weren't on the floor crying, then Greg shouldn't be complaining! He and Nick had known Sara longest!
"Griss...no bugs..." Catherine looked at him. "It must be fairly secure down here, no cracks or holes anywhere."
"Any larvae or flies of any sort found on the bodies, bag them" Grissom ignored her
"Uhm...Grissom?"
Grissom ignored Greg, he wasn't in the mood for dealing with him.
"Grissom...I hear breathing.."
Grissom snapped "Funnily enough Greg, that is what we living humans must do to stay in our current state"
"No...Grissom...in the wall..."
"Boy watches to many horror movies," Grissom heard Catherine mutter
"Grissom, I'm not kidding, there's breathing...mabye its a hollow wall"
SHIT SHIT SHIT! the words fired off in Grissoms head. "has this scene been secured?" he asked Catherine, "have the cops checked to see if the perp is still here?"
Catherine bit her lip, then drew her gun from her holster. Nick and Grissom did likewise. Greg looked like he was about to wet himself.
"Is there some sort of opening, or crack in that wall? Grissom asked Nick, who had started running his hands down the side of the old-fashioned wallpaper
"Got one...its a latch"
Nick slid the latch off, however, the door stayed firmly shut.
"Count of three, nick, open it" Grissom quietly grwoled, "Damn rookie cops"
"One, Two, THREE" The CSIs pointed their guns at the previously concealed door, which now swung open with an ominous creak.
Nothing.
"It's just a cupboard." Nick said in relief, glad to not have to deal with someone who had recently murdered three people and left them to rot.
"N-n-n-ick..." Greg pointed to the far corner of the cupboard, which was now illuminated by his flash light.
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Grissom and Catherine simultaneously swore at the sight of the girl huddled in the corner, trying to somehow get away from the glare of Gregs' flash light.
Greg handed his flash light to Nick, then bounded up the stairs to phone the ambulance on his cell. Grissom started to step forward, but was stopped by Catherines' arm in font of him. "Let me?"
Grissom nodded, realising how that this girl wouldn't want a man near her in her current state. Her hair a mass of dirty tangles, white bra and underwear smeared with splotches of blood, dirt, and god knew what else. Catherine took a step into the cupboard, closer to the girl.
"I'm here to help you" she began in a calming sort of voice, trying to keep the girl calm
At the sound of a voice so close to her, the unidentified girl huddled closer into her self, and started rocking
"no, no, no, I didn't, please, I won't...don't...please...nonononononononoNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Catherine turned to look at Grissom, scared, and completely unsure of what to do. They had never had an alive victim before. But she didn't see what she was expecting to see. Grissom was staring at the girl on the floor, mouth open, eyes wide. Catherine wheeled around.
There on the floor, chained to a wall, and blind-folded, was not the skinny teenage girl she thought it had been.
It was Sara.
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She heard the muttered voices. Then scrabbling. Then the door swung open. It was him. A light shone at her. She tried to huddle away from it even more. There were no shadows to hide in. He said something to her. She didn't, please don't, ohgodohgod, please no more, she wouldn't do it no leave me alone no, oh god, nonononono... the light was permeating the piece of cloth over her eyes. No, get away. Don't touch me. I never told. I swear. Please...
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It was Sara. Sara. Grissoms head couldn't process the fact. It was Sara. In front of him. Beaten, hurt, terrified. But it was Sara.
Nick vomited outside the tiny hole that she was currently chained up in. At the sound of this, Sara began whimpering and pleading.
"please. I never told. I promise. Don't...I can't...I'm sorry...pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease." she rocked back and forward, continuing her desperate pleas. "I won't tell...I won't tell...please...let me go...I won't say anything...please..."
Grissom and Catherine didn't know what to do. They heard Greg's voice say "in there, the basement...be careful...bodies...don't know who she is...no." then Nicks voice say something, and Greg's cry of "what the fuck?"
The EMT's came down the stairs quickly, each wrinkling their nose at the scent of death. They made their way over to Grissom and Catherine, who were currently frozen in shock.
"Sir, Sir." a handsome young man was tlaking to him, Grissom realized. "What exactly has happened?"
"You...she...Sara's been hurt." Grissom pointed at her. She was still bound in the corner, crying, terrified. It made him sick to think of someone doing ths to his Sara.
"okay. Sir, have either you, or the lady," he gestured to Catherine "been near her?"
"please...help her." Grissom couldn't say anything else.
The EMT approached Sara. "Sara? Sweetheart, you're safe now."
She didn't say anything just continued to rock.
The EMT reachyed behind her head to undo the blindfold. Sara screamed, and began to kick out, and try to wriggle away, even though the chains around her arms prevented her from moving much.
"Jesus Christ." he rubbed his leg where she'd kicked him. "I need a sedative over here. Hurry up!"
Someone handed him a syringe. Grissom looked away, and catherine ran away, up the stairs. He heard Sara's cries subsuide, and the EMT remove the blindfold. "What the hell happened here?"
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"Sweetheart, you're safe now." Oh god. It was Him. It really was. She heard him. She couldn't do anything.
He touched her. She could feel Him touch the back of her head. Ohgodohgod. No. She'd rather die. Rather die than do it again. Rather, rather die. She tried to protect herself. She kicked out at him, trying to get Him to leave her alone, not touch her. NO! She was whimpering, and her teeth were chattering. She felt him grab her upper thigh, and stick something in it. A knife? No, a needle. She screamed, and started crying. Everything was getting slurry. Blurry. Slurry. She felt him undo the blindfold, and someone say "what the hell happened?" then she heard nothing.
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Grissoms eyes were dry as he watched them wrap her up, and carry her out the basement. Why the fuck couldn't he cry? What the fuck?
"Sir? Sir, I think we need to get you to the hospital." a female EMT was pulling on his arm leading him up the stairs. "You may be suffering from shock. She was your daughter?"
"what? NO, no, Sara works with me"
"I'm sorry? How old is she exactly?" the EMT would have put her in late teens, due to the emaciated appearance.
"uh- 27, 28."
"okay. If you could just move into the-"
"No. I'm going with her, in the ambulance."
"sir, I'm sorry, but we-"
"NO. I. AM. GOING. WITH. HER."
Catherine tugged on his arm. "Gil, we'll drive up. C'mon. Nicky, and Greg are going in the hummer. I think it would be best. Warrick'll meet us up there, after he's done at his scene."
Grissom gave in, and went with Cath. The ride up to Desert Palms was silent.