Into Madness

Author's Notes: I reference Shining Zephyr's Broken here with her permission, of course, so if something's familiar, that's why.

Warnings: Language

Chapter Two

Chaos. That's what it felt like to him as he stepped out of the Hummer into the soft breeze of the early morning. He was already irritated, thanks in part to an early morning visit from Stetler, but something about walking on to this scene didn't sit well with him. Maybe it was the fact that it was at a high school, or maybe it could be the sheer number of police officers that were on the scene. Whatever it was, it wore on his shoulders like a weighted coat , and he wasn't used to feeling burdens such as this walking onto a fresh scene. It unnerved him greatly and as he walked under the billowing crime scene tape, it only got worse.

He continued to walk up to the stairs of the highschool, aware of the children that were milling behind the tape. A quick glimpse of the crowd gave him the sense that this was something of a horrible nature, the fear and sorrow etched upon everyone of their faces palpable. It wasn't that all murders weren't horrible, but there was something about the feel of this atmosphere that seeped into him, scratching at the containment of the darkness that dwelled within him.

Grateful to meet up with Detective Tripp, Horatio turned away from the grieving crowd and focused on the entrance to the school, the emptied building having an eerie feeling. Crinkling his brow, he left the glasses on and placed his hands on his hips, peering into the hollowed halls. His body reacted to the sense of foreboding that coursed through him, shuddering slightly as he peeled his eyes away from the entrance. That had never happened to him before and it added to offset his demeanor even more.

"Murder in a high school, how...novel," Horatio stated grimly as Frank slipped out his pad. Giving the crowd a quick perusal, he then retained his focus on the lumbering Texan, "None of the parents have been notified yet, Frank?"

"The principal's on that right now, but being that the school has been sealed , he's had a hard way about it. It's going to take time, Horatio." He flipped back a page on and exhaled heavily , scratching at his head as he continued, " A young man, Riley Jenkins discovered the bodies at about seven this morning. From what I could gather from him, he was late to a quiz bowl team meeting. Now why kids are at school an hour before time is beyond me, but he said that they always met that way."

"Familiarity is a criminal's best asset, Frank," Horatio responded, taking a step forward. It was now time to get down to the business at hand. He would survey the scene for himself and then call out his team. "You said bodies, Frank."

"Yeah, thirty at last count. It's gruesome as hell in there, Horatio. I couldn't stand to be in there for no longer than to see for myself. I don't know how you are gonna do it."

"We've all seen horrible scenes, it's the nature of the job, Detective."

"There's nothing natural about this, Horatio," Frank responded as he led him in the building. Horatio followed, seeing yet more officers, no doubt canvassing the school, hopefully leading to clues as to what happened. Frank pointed him in the way he should go, telling him , "I've got to start canvassing the teachers. Apparently, John Sanderson, the quiz bowl coach and teacher wasn't among the dead. It was only the bodies of the children."

The words hit him hard and he shifted his gaze to the ground sighing heavily. Any crime perpetrated against innocents was abhorred by him, and he held no sympathy for the criminal who found themselves within his custody, but a senseless act such as this, the slaughter of thirty innocent children, the thought alone drove a spike of disgust to his very core, chipping at the darkness. With each step towards the primary scene, he felt as if the crevice was getting wider, that he was being forced to look into the darkness he tried to remain far away from.

"Alright, Frank. I'll be on my cell," Horatio said as he continued forth. At the door way of the room in question, he saw her lingering, her eyes portraying the disbelief of this act along with the deep sadness at the loss of life. Allowing himself that one second to feel, his gaze softened and his heart hurt for what her eyes saw, the eyes of a mother looking into what would be hell for the souls that had been lost. He caught her as she turned away from the door, running her hands through her long hair, her eyes closing as if to wash the images away. Her head shook minutely as she put distance between the doors and herself, crossing her arms and looking heavenward as if searching for the answers.

"Detective," he said softly , garnering her attention. Instantly, the glasses were off and he looked to her to see the brunt of her emotions, each one stabbing at him. A silence ran between them and he continued to stare at her as she shook her head and wiped at her eyes , catching the tears before they'd gain potential. It was essential for them as protectors of this city to remain steadfast, allowing no room for feeling, but he could see that it wasn't as easy as others would have led to believe.

"It makes no sense, Horatio," she started, her accented voice harboring the confusion and pain. "What makes a person do something like this?"

Horatio glanced at the door seeing the splatters of blood, along with a blood pool and exhaled heavily, "There is no reasoning with murder, Yelina. It is a senseless act."

"He played in their blood, Horatio. Reveled in their pain," she remarked disgustedly. "You can't imagine...you won't be able to stand it..."

"I'm here to do a job, Yelina. Find the clues, catch the killer," he generalized.

"You make it so cut and dry, Horatio. I fear that you don't understand the magnitude of what's happened here. I didn't think it's a good idea for you to come. I told them as much when the call was made." She'd known the extent of his sorrows, his guilt, and she feared that it would submerge him even further into the deep abyss that he was treading over. "It's beyond the reach of understanding why this happened."

"That's what I'm here for, " he said as he set his sights to the door and moving towards it. He kept his eyes down , lifting them briefly to acknowledge the uniform at the door, then to the contents of the room. For a split second, he felt as if he'd stepped into hell. There was a profusion of blood and disarray, the desks strewn about as if they'd ran from their tormentor. A quick sweep of the room told him that there was no way out for them, the only entrance and exit was where he stood.

As his eyes took in the destruction, his stomach began to turn, the violence set against these poor souls beginning to weigh heavily upon him. His shoulders sagged as he closed his eyes against the mangled and bloodied bodies, searing their images on his brain forever. Taking a hesitant step back, he felt the sorrow well up inside of him, giving berth for the darkness to begin it's journey to the surface. As much as he was disgusted, so was he angered. Innocents had been made a mockery here, evidence of play in their blood in the smears left on the walls. Yelina was right, he reveled in their pain.

He couldn't stand it any longer. He had to move, but his body wasn't cooperating with his mind. Each second he stood in the presence of the carnage was a second lost to the darkness. Forcing himself to turn, he walked out, taking deep gulps of air, smelling the copper tinged scent of the blood as if it had attached to him. Now out of the room, he could still see their bodies, mangled beyond belief, and now sounds accompanied them. He could imagine the terrified screams and shrieks of the children when they began to realize that their fate was sealed in one fateful moment. Putting a hand to his forehead, he could feel the sweat as it started and he launched his body forward. When he opened his eyes, his sight was blurred with the onset of the powerful wave of emotion. he saw her, shaking her head and coming to him, her brow knit. Taking him to a private area out of sight from everyone else, she held him close.

"It's terrible, isn't it?" she whispered.

He sniffled. "T-the bodies… so many of them…"

"I couldn't even go in there for as long as you." Her hand stroked his hair, shaking her head and swallowing. "Who kills thirty children and acts as if nothing has happened?"

Horatio couldn't answer, his sobs beginning to take over him. For as long as he had done this and as many horrific scenes he'd processed, this one was the worst. With his eyes closed, he saw the bodies again and again, hearing their terrified screams fading in and out, and even imagined the blood being painted on the walls. Whoever had done this savagery was relentless, with no respect for life or person. The feeling of her warm body wasn't enough to stave the darkness as it began to pour over him, the sorrow and pain beginning to turn over into hatred and disgust readily. It filled the void left by the sight of the children, grasping hold of him. Even as he continued to sob, he was changing, and he could feel it. Once the sorrow had receded, the fury would take it's place, and God help anyone who had anything to do with it, because now, Horatio had finally fallen into the dark precipice that had taunted him for so long.

/Into Madness/

Word had spread fast through the lab about the massacre at the high school and it was all Calleigh needed to jump into gear, making it to the scene in record time. She hadn't seen Eric nor Ryan in the process, but already knew that Horatio was the first CSI on scene, having gotten his call out personally. On her way out, she bumped into Alexx, seeing the sadness etched in the Medical Examiner's eyes. The expression confounded Calleigh- for someone who saw death, and sometimes grisly ones, on a daily basis, Alexx was approaching this as if one of their own had been one of the fallen. As quickly as she had bumped into Alexx, the woman was gone, leaving in her wake the connotation of the seriousness of the matter, a feeling that Calleigh couldn't easily shake, even as she arrived at the scene, telling herself that like everything, this was a job and she was going to do it to the best of her ability.

Glancing to her right, she saw the plethora of coroner's vans sitting in a perfect line along with several ambulances despite the fact that they wouldn't be here to aid , but merely for transportation for the dead. Shaking her head ruefully, she recalled Alexx's expression in the corridor, musing that she had been enroute to the scene, and was probably already in there assessing the damage.

Looking around more, Calleigh saw that the block was lined with radio cars and uniforms that milled about the crowd. For the most part, it had dispersed, leaving only a few mourners whose parents hadn't come to get them . Usually these faces would be lit at the mention of a school closing, but not at this price. Not at the price of thirty lost lives.

Once through the tape, Calleigh proceeded through down the corridor, following the line of uniforms posted through out the halls acting as beacons to lead the way. Coming to a solitary hall, she could instantly feel the change in the atmosphere, the heaviness now more prevalent here. Taking a deep breath to steel her nerves, she put one foot in front of the other and proceeded on. Slowly walking, the blood was the first thing that caught her eye; the splatter on the door was already beginning to dry and the still wet blood pool on the floor painted a macabre picture against the stark floors, causing her to stop dead in her tracks. She could hear the cameras clicking in rapid succession followed by the sporadic flashes. To set the eerie tone even more, the lack of sound unnerved her and the stench of blood met her nostrils, taking her very breath away. Gathering herself, she exhaled heavily and turned to enter the unknown.

"It's not like I haven't seen blood before," she said aloud, her voice seemingly ominous in the silence. Annoyed with herself, she shook her head and started again, only to run into Eric as he exited the room, his expression drawn. The usual light in the Russian Cuban's eyes was markedly absent, his warm and approachable demeanor gone. Instantly, she could see that this was unlike any other scene and she reached out to touch him, watching as he withdrew from her. "Is it that bad, Eric?"

Eric turned to her, his gaze laden with sorrow almost unable to meet her eyes. Emotion welled and he breathed out heavily, shaking his head in a gesture that was reticent of deep despair as if he were physcially connected to someone who was in there. This had clearly hit him hard.

"It's worse," was all he responded with, his voice grave and thick with what Calleigh would characterize as tears, his eyes crinkling in disbelief. "All those kids..."

"I heard there were thirty and the coach was still missing. Is there any idea where he could be?"

Glancing at the door, he shook his head, "Tripp is canvassing the faculty, but so far, nothing's turned up. I've been trying to print the room, but the blood..."

Calleigh nodded, her eyes drifting to the blood pool then back to him, "Have the ME's begun to move the bodies out?"

"Alexx is in there with just about everyone. When she finishes one body, she moves on to the next. Most of the bodies are bagged to be processed at the morgue, Horatio's called in the second shift already. Doesn't look like it's going to be an early night tonight."

She shifted her weight, the effect of his tone of voice making her uneasy with anticipation. She was eager to get to work, yet dreading taking that first glimpse. Maintaining her focus, she asked, "Have you seen Horatio? I didn't see his Hummer."

"He was here when I got here, then he...left." Eric's voice was so detached, it pained Calleigh to listen, her brow crinkling as she looked away from him. The more she stayed in his presence, the more her confidence dwindled. Eric stood stock still and continued, "Can't blame him though, this is one scene I could do without. He didn't seem right though."

Calleigh crinkled her eyes and shook her head in confusion, " What do you mean, he didn't seem right?"

"He was the first CSI on scene, he stood in that room for over five minutes. I'm sure that this has affected him." Eric narrowed his brow as he glanced down at the ground, "I'm trying to forget what I saw, even as I know I have to use it. Calleigh...it was so ..."

"Horrific," he said from behind them. His voice lacked any hints of warmth, or even normalcy as they turned to face him. The sunglasses, even though he was indoors, were firmly in place, his gaze drifting towards the door. The anger threatened to surface as he kept his sights on the door, the images flashing in his mind in rapid succession. Shaking inwardly, he reminded himself that there was a job to do, and he had to remain focused. That was a fact of contention however, because every time he looked to the door, the anger coaxed the darkness closer to the surface, and he could feel himself delving deeper. Suddenly, it became more than just finding this monster. Now it was about retribution. Despite the dangerous emotions swirling through him, he maintained composure, " The teacher still hasn't been found, I want to know why these kids were here alone. Eric, have you come up with any prints to run yet?"

"Not yet, H. I had to take a breather from it all," Eric responded quietly. He could feel it simmering in the air, the discourse that surrounded his boss and colleague. "I'll start back in a minute."

"We don't have a minute. Each minute you take a breather, that goddamned monster's walking the streets," Horatio answered back sharply. Clenching his fists, he turned his sights on Calleigh, "Have you found anything in the manner of a weapon?"

"I just got to the scene, Horatio," Calleigh countered quickly. Narrowing her brow, she furthered, "Are you okay, Horatio?"

"Take a look at the bodies in there and tell me if I'm okay, Calleigh." He could feel himself slipping even more, the anger becoming more viable, fueling him. " While we're shooting the breeze, a man....an animal," he grated seethingly, " an animal is out prowling for more prey. I would hope that we would want to work diligently to find this bastard and put him away."

"I had to take a break, Horatio," Eric expressed, his features hardening. His own fists clenched and then relaxed, seeing , for the first time, the cool exterior melting away. Even on their worst scenes, he'd never seen Horatio react like this. Something had clicked within the red head, and Eric could see that it was only the beginning. This wasn't going to go away easily. "Just give me a second to breathe."

"Take your second, Delko. And whenever you're ready , Calleigh. There's a room full of dead teenagers ready to be processed, at your leisure, of course." The acidity of his words hit Calleigh and she stared at him , incensed, but Horatio didn't care. The only thing that mattered was catching the son of a bitch and making him pay. By any means necessary.