A/N: Basically if you're reading I'd really appreciate a review because lately it feels like no one's reading this and if that's the case I'll just upload more slowly or stop. To those who are reviewing THANK YOU.))
20CHAPTER TWENTY
"Krys." Came a soft whisper in the back of the data analyst's mind. At first she thought it was a dream, after all her eyes were closed and she was lying down but then it came again. "Krys." This voice was soft, young, trembling. She shut her eyes tight with a groan, shifting a bit from where she laid willing it to go away like it was a dream, but no such luck. "Krys." This time a nudge on her shoulder came with it and this caused her eyes to finally flutter open though it wasn't much of an improvement.
The room was dark. From where she was laying on her side she could see a sparse brick wall, no color or decoration on it. High above was a window but there was wood nailed over it. Barely any light could get through though a few little beams did and that's how she knew it was day time. But where was she? She remembered all of the events leading up until the bash on the head but not the filler in between that moment and this one.
Under her face she could feel cold hard dirt and rocks. The floorboards had been torn up and so really she was in a three sided brick box with no floor. There was a door but she could only assume it was locked. Either way she wasn't going to get up and race to check it, her body didn't seem to want to will itself up. However, an outside force wanted to pick up where her body had checked out.
"Krys. Get up." It said and she felt sweaty fingers wrap around her arm and give her another shake. "Get up." It urged again, now pulling at her.
Krys let out another groan, cringing as she lulled her head over toward the source of the voice and there was little Parker Booth. Kneeling in torn jeans, a grey t-shirt, and unzipped hoodie (the clothes he was abducted in). As he had been inside at the time he only wore socks as the kidnapper hadn't been caring enough to grab a pair of shoes. Then again, what killer was? It was silly of her to expect such a thing, she blamed the bash on her head.
"Are you okay?" The young boy questioned with a tilt of his head. Krys could make out the streaks of dirt on his face and on his hands. He apparently had been trying to dig out with no avail. Smart kid as feeble as the attempt had been. "The bad man brought you here too." He informed her of the obvious as he moved to grasp her arm, helping to tug her into a sitting position. "He hasn't come back yet, but he said he'll be back." The little boy swallowed tears forming in his already reddened eyes. "I'm scared."
"I know Parker. I know." Krys nodded, speaking for the first time in a very soft voice. Closing her eyes she ran a hand through her brown hair, trying to collect her thoughts, also a feeble effort. "I know who it is and so does everyone at the Jeffersonian. They'll find him and then they'll find us." It seemed simple enough to say even though it was quite a different more complicated matter to carry out. Even so that seemed to keep Parker from sobbing though he was still on the verge of tears.
"And my dad will find us." Parker spoke up with a nod, seeming hopeful. A child's hope but it did a better job of assuring Krys than her own words had.
"Yeah. Definitely. He will." Lies. You're lying. Feeling a splitting pain in her forehead she lifted her hand to clasp it. There was a wet substance there. Bringing her fingertips back in front of her she cringed to see, massaging her fingertips together the consistency was familiar: blood. "Great." She whispered under her breath before roughly smacking her forehead with her hand causing her to cringe again and Parker laughed.
"Why do you do stuff like that? It's funny." The little boy smiled, a few lockes of his dirty blonde hair falling to the sides of his face.
"Well, I'm glad someone thinks I'm funny." Krys smiled weakly before moving to stand. At first straightening of the knees she almost fumbled backwards, as though drunk, but after a few more shifts of the body she managed to get upright, without Parker's assistance this time.
Seeley's son remained seated, looking right up at the young woman. "My dad says your funny all of the time." Parker smiled clenching his fingers around handfuls of dirt from the ground before pulling out little rocks and tossing them across the dim room. The cage. Watching Krys with interest as he did so.
"I'm glad someone thinks so." Krys stretched, trying to crack a few bones in her spine with no success, and all she got was another headache. Shutting her eyes as she walked blindly for a moment she moved to the boarded up window.
"Sweets thinks so too..." Parker hinted with a little smile as he moved to his socked feet though didn't approach the woman.
"Doctor Sweets thinks everyone is funny. He's a psychologist, it's kind of his job." Krys tilted her head up at the window, studying it for a moment. It was about a foot over her head so she reached up with both arms but could only reach the bottom edge of the lowest board that covered it. "He's also very nosey." She gave it a few rough, desperate tugs, giving a wall a kick in the process.
"He makes you smile." Parker said thoughtfully, before standing alongside Krys, looking up at her. The idea that his dad would be the hero and bombard in saving them actually had calmed him and made him a bit less scared than the woman beside him. "And you make him smile. Like my dad and Doctor Bones."
"Don't even get me started on your dad and Bones." Krys grunted giving another tug loosening the lowest board a little bit but not pulling it off. She felt her fingers heat up and they were no doubt turning red. She'd be feeling this pain and burning in a matter of seconds. "And it's totally different. Your dad and Bones are being difficult.." Another yank. "And don't you ever tell your dad I said that." She added as she turned around her hands resting on her thighs as she panted, a bit winded.
"Because we're getting out of here." The young boy smiled up at Krys who caught her breath with one slow inhale.
She blinked before responding, the boy's words settling in with her. "Yeah." A nod. "We are."
Parker smiled a bit more brightly, gathering his own pride before he ran to grab the only piece of furniture in the room, a wooden chair. Not even thinking about what it was for he wrapped his fingers around the old wooden backrest and planned on dragging it over to the window so he could help pull the boards off like Krys, but then a click of the door unlocking caused him to jump back. Startled he looked to the door with wide eyes as it slowly opened and a man stepped inside.
There was Harold Reynolds. To the untrained eye he didn't look all that threatening. Not overly muscular, glasses, angular features. But Krys knew who he was, she had figured it out. And worse yet, he knew she had figured it out (with his little recording device). Now her and Parker were just the pawns in his little game with the gang at the Jeffersonian.
The killer's arm jutted out and he grabbed Krys by the wrist firmly and roughly threw her like a ball across the dim room. She landed on her side, her back hitting the cold brick wall enough to knock the wind out of her, right beside a panicked looking Parker. Her shoulders lifted by her ears tensely, trembling for no apparent reason as if a nerve had been hit in the commotion. Harold began to laugh, a bellow type, evil laugh, shaking his head as he took in the joy that was the scared Parker. Krys didn't even have time to move for the man hurried right in front of her, bending forward with an evil, hungry glint in his eye as he hovered over her. She was pinned, and Parker was shaking with fear.
"Lets not get excited huh?" Harold said in a eerily calm voice, like a parent hushing his child (though he was speaking to Krys and not Parker). Reaching out he moved to touch Parker's shoulder who immediately recoiled causing him to chuckle before looking back to Krys. "Just sit there nice and still and calm... down..." There was a forcefulness to the last two words he spoke that caused everyone else to remain still out of fear of what would happen. "That's what I told the others but for some reason they just couldn't.." Krys tried to sit upright but Harold's hand firmly pressed her back against the brick wall rather hard, pinning her. "Do it..." A smirk pulled at the corner of his lips as the data analyst stared back.
"You're an intelligent kid." Harold took her in, inhaling and then another softer, sick smile spread across his lips. "How'd you do it? Figure it out? I hid it rather well. I mixed the numbers up. I made it more difficult than any ordinary puzzle.. Was it something I did?" So he was bugged by the fact that he wasn't as smart as he thought, and that thought was driving him crazy. "Answer me!" He gave her a rough push causing Parker to cry out and burst into tears to which Harold reached back and pushed him to the ground before looking back to Krys.
"My computer." Krys said softly, if only to keep him from harming Parker. Anything to keep him occupied. "They're in a sequence. Took it a few days but after plugging them in.."
"A machine!" Harold cried out now rising to his feet and releasing her, obviously bothered by this fact. "I should have known. Everything is machines. No one has to think for themselves. No one can." Turning back around he glared at the two. "A lot of good it did the two of you. You could have just left it alone. You should have left it alone." A chuckle filled the now quiet room. "Now you deal with the consequences." He turned, walking toward the door, his back toward the two. "Good luck." And with that he opened the door, stepping out.
As soon as the door closed Krys could make out Parker's sobs. Loud crying, frightened crying, and for a moment she wished that she could do the same but couldn't bring herself to do it. Not with a scared child, not with Booth's child. Booth... He would find them come hell or highwater... Wouldn't he?
By now Parker had practically thrown himself on her, wrapping his arms around her tightly in a hug not daring to let go. His wet face buried in her chest as he shook. Her arms wrapped around him trying to give him what little reassurance that she could.
"It's okay Parker. I'm okay." Krys reassured hoarsely, though she wasn't looking at him. Instead she was focused on the dimness of the room and the two hostages heard the door click and lock.