Authors note.: I hope you all are enjoying the story. Thanks to all of you who have reviewed
Back at the lab the team started unpacking the 10 sets of remains that Brennan had shipped. Wendell and Cam laid out the remains. Hodgins took samples and began tests on the many samples that arrived. Angela studied the skulls to see if there was anything she could do for analysis.
"This is really strange." Wesley exclaimed.
"I see what you mean." Angela agreed
Cam looked at them questioningly and asked, "what do you mean?"
"Well first off these remains are of different ethnic origins. It was assumed that this could possibly be a native burial site. Secondly the range of ages and ethnicities don't make it look like a dump site to a serial killer either. Killer tend to have a type of victim whether it be looks, age, sex or some other physical characteristic." He stated. "Also it looks that the ages of the bones themselves vary in the amount of time they've been exposed. Some of them look really old.
"Well it looks like we have our work cut out for us then guys. Let's see if we can find causes of death. It could be possible that this is just a burial site for a town that may just not be on record in the area. Maybe the cave was a mine or something. Or it could be some very depraved killer." Cam mused.
Hours had passed and the silence between Booth and Brennan was unnerving. They had never not talked like this. Brennan was consumed in her work, but this wasn't Booths thing so he became quite bored and a bit anxious as well. The sun was close to setting so Booth decided to go ahead and start fixing some dinner for the 2 of them.
"I am going to get us something to eat. Call me if you need anything." Booth declared.
"Oh is it that late already. Thank you. Would it be alright if I bounced some ideas off of you while we ate?" she said back.
"Sure, you know you can always talk to me." Booth answered back.
Brennan couldn't help but think to herself: I used to but not today.
About an hour later he had everything ready. Brennan asked if they could eat inside, so booth carried in the chairs and then the food. As they ate Brennan began their conversation.
"Are we ok?" She asked. She was almost afraid of the answer.
"What? Yeah. Why would you ask that?" Booth answered.
"Well it just seems to me, that our communication has significantly decreased recently. I know last night and today was a bit awkward for you, but it isn't just that." Brennan exclaimed
"No. Sorry. It isn't you. It's me. Just got stuff on my mind is all." It wasn't a complete lie. His feelings weren't his fault.
"Are you positive? You can talk to me. I am completely trustworthy." She almost begged
"Not now Bones, maybe someday." He said almost despondently.
"Oh… Ok… well about the case then. We have 2 sets of remains left from yesterday and so far today I have discovered 3 more. Their ethnic variation and age vary. From what I can tell without any equipment they all died of varying causes at drastically different times. It is very perplexing."
"So you're telling me this isn't some historical find but rather a murder dump site." The statement was phrased more like a question.
"I'm not sure. There seem to be many years separating the times of death. I don't see any signs of injury that would lean towards murder. There are no real tell tale signs to be definite. I need more time. I need more evidence." She said.
Booth's gut went to work. Something didn't feel right, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Whatever it was it wasn't good.
"I'll clean up, be back to help you in a minute. A couple more hours and we should get some sleep. Get a fresh start in the morning. " Booth said.
"Sounds like a good idea." Brennan called back.
Outside as he straightened up he couldn't help but feel like he was being watched. He shined his flashlight around but he found nothing. He wasn't usually a paranoid person, but that and his gut had him worried. Maybe they should just go back to the hotel for the night. Somewhere behind a locked door, where he could think. Somewhere where bones was safe. He finished cleaning up and decided to go ahead and propose to Brennan that the Hotel was a better idea.
He walked in the cave and she was busy studying the bones. Maybe giving her a few minutes would be better. He hated to bother her when she was so deep in thought. He wandered down the cave a bit farther then he went earlier in the day and heard the sound of water not far ahead. He walked down the shaft until he saw what looked like a waterfall coming from above. Dull light from the moon shown down. He couldn't help but think how romantic a scene it could be. If it weren't for the rain the light would probably be much brighter, but then of course the waterfall wouldn't exist. Just shows you can't have it all. He looked down and saw what on a dry night would probably be some sort of crater. The surface of the water was only an inch or so away from flooding over the bank of the small body of water. If the rain keeps like this, the cave is going to flood. He needed to go back and let Bones know. As he turned he thought he saw a shadow move. He looked around but again saw nothing. He started back toward Brennan his gut twisting more in knots. Just as she came into view he heard it.
He heard what sounded like a small explosion from outside the cave. He ran to where Brennan was looking over the bones. He grabbed her arm and launched her away from the now falling rocks as hard as he could.
Then he felt the pain, more pain then he could ever remember feeling. He had been beaten, shot, stabbed, tortured, but nothing had ever felt this bad before. Darkness engulfed him. Then he saw her. Visions of her filled his mind's eye. He had always heard that people's lives would flash before them in situations like this, but it wasn't his life, not his whole life, just his life with her.
He saw the day that they met. He saw their first kiss. He saw her laughing, he saw her crying. He could even here some of their conversations. He knew she meant a lot to him, but now he was seeing just how much. He didn't see his Mother, his brother, grandfather or his son. All who meant the world to him. He only saw her. She was his soul mate, his other half. A day late and a dollar short.
The visions began to fade, her voice more distant. The pain lessened until it was gone. He saw a light traveling towards him. As it got closer it got brighter and larger until it surrounded him. Mixed emotions were evident. Sadness as he felt too young, disappointment that he felt he had unfinished business, but also relief that he was seeing the light and not the fires of hell.
The light was calling him towards it but he couldn't help but turn and look back. Looking back at the life he was leaving behind…
She hadn't noticed a thing, and then all of a sudden Booth showed up out of nowhere. He grabbed her arm and throwing her across the cave. She landed hard a few feet away and rolled into a boulder towards the interior. Dazed, she looked up to see Booth crumble under a landslide towards the mouth of the cave.
No not again. He can't have done it again. She lived through his death once. The night he stepped in front of a bullet to save her. How many times had he put his life in jeopardy to protect her? The particulates from the landslide filled the cave. Breathing was difficult and her sight cut off. Her adrenaline pumping, she had yet to feel her own pain. Only fear and dread filled her.
The rumbling stopped and the air grew still. The particulates hadn't settled yet so she still couldn't see where she saw Booth fall. She tried to stand but her left arm and ankle gave way. She did a quick assessment of her injuries. Looks like a sprain to the ankle but her shoulder was dislocated. The rest of her injuries were just minor contusions.
She could fix this; well not fix but repair good enough to function. She lifted her left arm with her right and placed it palm flat on the boulder, slight twist and she pushed with all her force. A pop resonated and sharp pain. Ok that is in place. She pulled her knife from her pocket and proceeded to cut the legs from her pants. She wrapped her ankle as tightly as she could. She slowly got to her feet and limped towards Booth's location. She fought back the tears as the mound of rubble came into view. Booth was nowhere to be seen.
Back at the lab with several tests and research done, the team was having a meeting to discuss their findings.
"Ok so I have found numerous particulates that show that each of these bodies have originally located form somewhere other than the place they were found. Also I can say that at least 6 of the 10 bodies have at one point been embalmed." Hodgins stated.
"I did sketches of each of the people and the closest matches on the database were from people declared as already dead." Angela added.
"Ok so we aren't dealing with an archeological find, nor a murder dumpsite. Grave robbing? Is there any evidence of anything that could give a reason these people were removed from their graves?" Cam surmised.
The group all looked at each other and then headed back to their areas to study further. Each thinking this is the strangest case they ever handled. Cam dialed Both Booth and Brennan and got voicemails. She left a message for both with their findings so far.
He watched as the side of the mountain crumbled. Just the right size charge to not cause alarm to anyone who might be nearby. The Lady was just collateral damage, but along with Booth had been a pain in his ass. He told Booth he had no problem making his son an orphan. He could have just picked him off from a few hundred yards, at least this way he has a fighting chance. He owed a brother in arms that much. His plan was good, even better since they kicked all the other law enforcement off the case. Live or die it doesn't matter. He would have time to take care of some business without Booth on his ass. He hated taking down a good guy, but he couldn't continue his mission with him in the way.
As she got closer the particulates finally started to settle some, she searched the area where booth had been. Her eyes caught sight of his finger tips protruding from the rubble.
"Booth!" She screamed.
She dove for pile and started moving and shifting all that she could. In what seemed like forever she uncovered the rest of his arm and was beginning to see the hair from the top of his head. Blood, so much blood. She began to panic. She tried to rationalize that head wounds bled the most. She continued to move the rocks.
She could feel her own pain but buried it as she frantically worked to uncover Booth's body. Not body.. she couldn't think of him as a body. He was her friend, her partner, not a body.
Finally she managed to uncover most of his upper torso. He was on his back, that was good. She checked his pulse, weak and erratic. His breathing was shallow and erratic. His skin cool and clammy to the touch. He is probably in shock.
She wished Cam was here. She is a doctor, doctor. Bones were Brennan's knowledge base, just bones. She should check for further injuries. That she could do. She used his flashlight to check his pupils, fully dilated not responding to the light. Concussion, she felt stupid for the first time in her life. Of course he did a cave came crashing down on his head.
She needed to calm herself down; a hysterical woman was not going to do anyone any good. She continued the examination of what she could see of his body. Several fractures seemed evident. Tears stung her eyes. She needed to try and uncover the rest of him, but worried about the integrity of the mound of earth and rock. One wrong move and she could bring another land slide down on top of him.
"I'm trying Booth, please hang in there. I am working as fast as I can. Don't leave me. Please Booth Don't leave me" She was choking back her sobs. This should have been her, not him. Her! If he didn't run to her to pull her out of the way, he would be safe. He would have the strength and knowhow to get her free. He is the hero, not her.
Now she was being irrational. She is speaking to an unconscious man. She wished she knew how much time had passed. She continued working frantically. Only his knees and below were covered now. Progress, she was making progress.
"We are almost there Booth. Not much longer." She said more for her sanity than anything else. She looked at him and saw how pale he had become. The shallow rise and fall of his chest no longer evident. "NO!" she screamed. Her shaky hands reached for a pulse. Nothing…
He had broken ribs, chest compressions could be fatal. Be rational she thought, no hearbeat was even more fatal. She had to try CPR.
"1… 2… 3… 4… 5…." Breathe
She continued this process for who knows how long. The tears flowed. Her sobs wracked her body.
"Please Booth, don't leave me. You promised you would never abandon me. You can't leave me here like this. It's my fault."
1…2….3…4…5… breath.
She reached down and finally felt a weak pulse. The slightest raise of the chest was there. She did it. She kept a close watch over him as she continued unearthing his legs. She wished he would open his eyes; show some signs of life other than his weak vitals. She needed to move him. There was no telling if the debris would collapse. The rain was probably still falling. That could cause a lack of stability. But moving Booth could further his injuries. Logically speaking moving him would be safer. She searched the area for anything that could assist. She spotted the broken camping chairs they had used earlier. She did her best to fit them together tying together the posts together with the remnants of her self made bandages. This should help.
Move the body in one continuous motion as to not further injury. She managed her best with her own injuries. She just hoped she didn't increase his.