Title: Fall to Earth

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I do not own CSI or its characters. I'm just a fan

Author's note: A special Thank-you goes out to all those who reviewed and those who are following this story.

To: csiaddict2002 (Thank you for your review, you'll find out what the team will do in the later chapters. Sorry to keep you waiting. Hope you'll enjoy this one, I wrote it a little longer just for you.) Kr3ativ23 (Updated! We'll see if Nick and Sara will find each other after what they have been through), Guest (I wish I knew who you were so I can thank you for your review. I'm glad you like the mix between the past and the present. I was worried that it'll confuse some readers) sydcasy (Hope you'll like this chapter. The next chapter is going to have some action in it. I'll post that one soon)

The more reviews, the sooner the posting of the next chapter.

Chapter 3

Don't look back now...

The dark forest loomed before him, horrendous and intimidating. The sun was setting, and the beautiful forest had plunged into the heart of darkness like a two-face hypocrite. The trees that looked majestic in the day had morphed into thick mutated hands by night, reaching for the sky. Creatures emanated from their hiding places, comforted by the shadows. The ground that was so green and alive now appeared dead and desolated.

He's home… Home Sweet Home.

A strange, musty scent of the forest caught his senses. It was a disgusting feeling, setting down the pit of his heart like a slimy carnivorous infection slithering over the forest floor. Normal people would hate that feeling, but he loved it. That was the feeling he lived for. It was his drug, his fix. It was that feeling that made him feel alive. In his forest, he felt no fear. Nothing dangerous lurked nearby. Nothing will sneak up on him. Nothing will kill him. That was no surprise, considering that the only evil crawling in this forest was himself.

In his forest, he was in control. He was that something that lurked nearby. He was that something that will sneak up on you. He was that something that will kill you…

He stood behind a dark tree, squeezing the forest view into the eye that dared to expose itself from his hiding place. His face was so close to the tree that he could smell the damp rotting wood. His clammy knuckles rested against the rough bark as his filthy fingers wrapped around a smooth knife. He had done this many times before, but this time, it felt different. He hadn't felt this excited in a long time.

Maybe… just maybe it's because he had her, someone of authority. The thrill of hunting someone he didn't dare go after. She was one of them, the kind that was the opposite of himself. He was on the bad side. She was on the good. The side of justice that he could prove was on the losing end… Or maybe it was fate. It was destiny that they crashed in an area that he knows best. It was meant to be that he kills one more person before he gets lock away for a very long time…

He smirked to himself. Whatever the reason it may be, at least he gets to take a life tonight.

A few hours ago, it was raining heavily. He had removed her radio, gotten her out of the helicopter and carried her away from the crash. It was easy as the crash had somehow broken the link between his handcuffs, setting his hands free. They had been unconscious for a while but he wasn't worried. In this weather and with the nearest clearing being about two days away, backup isn't coming anytime soon. As he walked, the sound of fresh water falling on leaves felt like applauses. The presence of thunder and lightings made him feel like a celebrity having his picture taken. It wasn't all that glamorous though ...The mud that squished beneath his boots had made his socks soggy. His pants and his shirt stuck to his skin heavily like a clammy wet suit and the air around them was numbing. But he has gotten used to it. These conditions were not new to him anyways; in fact, it was because of weathers like these that he could get away with murder. The nature will always reclaim evidence back into the ground. He continued walking, certain they would beat the worst part of the storm. Besides, he wasn't hurt too badly, just some minor cuts and abrasions.

Maybe it was fate after all…

He laid her on the ground and shook her awake. He had this urge, a strong urge to do what he does best. But it wasn't time yet, not yet. The voice in his head told him that he wasn't ready. His hunts were based on this theory; the longer he let urge go, the stronger it got, to a point where he would go out and react on primal instinct and excitement. The kill would be all worthwhile, just like the last time. Just thinking of it made his adrenaline levels peaked to its highest.

He shook her again, harder. Her eyelids twitched and a frown creased her brow, but she did not wake. He did not blame her. He blamed that damned pilot. He sucked at flying; he couldn't even control a damned helicopter. She was sitting behind the pilot during the journey. That was the side of the helicopter suffered the worst during the crash.

But so what?

He wasn't planning on letting it ruin his fun. Feeling annoyed, he pressed onto her leg wound, forcing her fully into conscious. She screamed in pain, her cries echoing into the forest. Hearing her voice drowning in the rain filled his heart and mind with demented ecstasy.

That's better, he thought, leaning in close to whisper the rules to her.

He turned around and walked to the crash site to retrieve a gun and a knife, knowing that when he got back, she would be gone.

She would be gone and the game would begin.

Hours had passed since then and by now, the sun had set completely. However, the rain still fell from the sky and even with the fish-belly white moonlight illuminating the black forest, the area appeared even darker than before. The thick tangle of twisted trees seemed to whisper sinister words into his ears. He knew that it was time. The urge has overflowed.

Patience was a virtue he took pride in.

From behind the tree, he watched as she swayed slightly before leaning heavily against the tree closest to her, obviously exhausted after all that running and falling. He had found her. He was so close that he could burst into a frenzy of anticipation. His eyes glittered delightfully, as if he was inspecting his meal before dining. He was halfway out of his place of hiding, when he accidentally stepped on a twig at the base of the tree.

Damn that twig… He cursed under his breath at his mistake.

Oh well, looks like the hunts over. Let the fun begin.

With the knife in his hand, he dashed from behind the tree…

A few hours ago…

"Okay, for the record, I'm really not happy about you going on a ride with a serial killer." Brass said to Sara as the two helicopters flew across the thick forest. Sara, Nick, John Allen sat in one, while Brass, a wilderness ranger and an officer sat in another.

"I know…" Sara answered reassuringly.

"How's the radio?"

"The radio sounds good. I can hear you loud and clear."

"The radio I just gave you is unique to you, Nick and the crime lab. Your pilot and your 'serial killer' would not be able to hear us. I want you keep updating me of your status, so out of the two of you, I want to hear your voice more. If I hear Nick's voice over the radio, I'm going to assume that you're in trouble… and I'm going to give him the permission to throw that 'serial killer' out of the helicopter."

Sara smiled at the thought. That's what she loved about Brass. She may not have had the best father figure in the earlier periods of her life, but with the affection of a parent in Brass, she couldn't ask for more. Her only wish was that he didn't use the word 'serial killer' so much. She didn't need to be reminded of that.

"Keep your earpiece on at all times. The radio is connected to it by Bluetooth. The mic is on the radio, but you still have to push the PTT button to talk…" Sara listened as Brass talked about the new communication devices like a teen bragging about his new car. The state had provided the Las Vegas crime lab and the police force affiliated with them brand new radios, the same ones issued to the SWAT teams and FBI – or so Ecklie proudly proclaims. "For security reasons…" Sara remembered him saying. Somehow, she couldn't help but think that Warrick's death had something to do with this…

"That's technical… Are the intermitting beeps normal? Or are they a special function of your new toy?" Sara joked. The moment she got onto the helicopter, Sara had notice a soft but audible beep that sounded every 2 seconds. The beeps were not at all annoying. They reminded her of the sonar sounds of a submarine, a distinctive ping without any reflections of its echo. She listened to the pulse of sound. There was something soothing about it.

"Hey… first of all, don't make fun of the radio. I've been working for a long time and I've learnt that when the state gives us something, it'll be something good." Brass replied with mock authority. "Secondly, the radios that were given to us were designed for long range communication. The beeping will only occur when there's another device in close proximity to you. That radio has to be synced to the same channel... "

"So what you're saying is," She looked towards Nick, who had been listening to their conversation all this while, "the radio I have on is picking up Nick's radio frequency, creating impulses that result in the beeps?"

"Looks who's being technical now?" Brass laughed. "Does it bother you?"

"Not really. We have heard worse on our old radios. Remember the statics and feedbacks?"

Brass laughed again. "Who can forget them? Oh… before I forget, the earpiece has its own independent reception, so even without the radio, you can still receive our transmissions; but audio only. The downside to this is that the range of the independent receiver in the earpiece is not as efficient as the receiver in the radio. A mile at most... if you're lucky..." The older man paused for a moment, as if he was talking to himself. "Basically, to sum up: lose the radio, you'll only lose the long range communications... but if you lose the earpiece, you'll lose all communications. So keep your earpiece on at all times. Have I mentioned that already?"

"At the beginning… yes"

"Oh okay... Don't make me repeat myself again then." At that last comment, Nick turned to look at Sara, smirking as he mimicked Brass's words with his hands, his fingers and thumbs pushed together and separating at each syllable. Sara released the PTT button, as if she was going to hide a giggle, but she just smiled. Their previous argument, although forgiven, still hung silently around them.

"Doesn't sound like much of an improvement from our own radios Brass..." Nick said.

"What did I say about making fun of the radio?!"

After a load of friendly banter between the two men, Brass continued, suddenly serious, "Hopefully we'll be able to find the victim. The weather's not looking too good. If it gets worse, we might have to abandon the search. Is that clear?"

"Got it." Sara replied, praying silently that it would not resolve to that.

Cuffed securely to his seat, John Allen stared at Sara as she thumbed the button on the radio. Nick eyed him suspiciously. He did not like the way he was looking at her, like she was good enough to eat. It was already bad enough that John was sitting directly behind him. It was worse that a serial killer was sitting next to Sara. If it were up to him, Nick would have already tortured him for answers before letting him near her. The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to gorge John's eyes out. So, he tried not to think about it. Instead, he decided to focus all his attention on finding the victim.

"Hey John… What's going on? We've been flying over the woods for almost an hour now. You better not be jerking us around." Nick demanded.

"Relax… we're getting close. Just over that creek there."

Even if they found the victim, it would be almost impossible for them to save her. There's no place to land, or even drop a line down into the forest. Sara thought as she looked at the thick green labyrinth below.

They flew over the creek and after searching for several minutes, they found nothing. The trees had made it impossible to see what was on the ground. Their dense canopies swayed frantically as the helicopter got closer.

"What the hell..." Nick said through clenched teeth. "I thought you knew this place like the back of your hand, John..."

John smirked. He looked towards Sara's direction as thought she was the one who made the comment. "People forget..."

Sara looked towards John with tired eyes as she realised what he was doing. "You're stalling."

John smiled at her with an obnoxious grin. His teeth were like the ones the Cheshire cat had, only his were slightly yellowish. "I like the view… besides, the weather is getting pretty serious. Don't you think?"

He was right. The weather had changed drastically. The icy rain pelted the windows with a force could cause damage at any moment. The wipers struggled in vain to clear the thick layer of water that kept visibility at a minimal.

A bad time for flight, but John was enjoying this hell ride.

The pilot was getting a little agitated. He had been silent ever since the helicopter took off, but he wasn't going to tolerate this crap any longer. "Just tell us where she is, damn it!"

"Shut up and pilot this contraption. Do as you're told." John retaliated harshly but calm. He knew that he was in control. They needed him to direct them to the victim.

The pilot twisted his head slightly to look at John. Sara begged in her head for him to look forward. "I hope you know that you're going to burn in hell for this. I'll see to that!" He shouted.

"Yeah, I'll say hi to your wife when I get there."

"What did you say?"

"Stop it. Both of you! Calm down." Nick barked at the two men, his voice booming with authority. Sara was glad that he was around. Somehow, she felt safe with Nick.

"It's okay, CSI man. I know this guy. I know his wife too. She'll make a great target…I'm sure she'll run fast with those legs of hers…"

That was the straw that broke the camel's back. The pilot turned in his seat. "How about I set this down, and you say that to my face!"

"Stop engaging the suspect." Sara said immediately. This was the last thing she needed. The lack of sleep, the movement within the helicopter, the arguments made her head throbbed; a big messy hangover in her mind.

"Back off, lady. This is between me and this son of a…"

"HEY.' Nick shouted. "Don't you dare speak to her that way!"

"I'll say it to your face right here." John taunted.

Sara thumbed the button on the radio. Maybe coming out here was a bad idea after all. "Brass… We may have a situation here…"

Nick tried desperately to break up the shouting match, as Sara tried her best to shout to Brass over the commotion. She looked out the window for assurance. But outside, the rain was hammering the landscape, obliterating the helicopter that was supposed to be following them. She sat uneasily in her seat, as the radio crackled and fuzzed uselessly. Words were getting cut off due to the heavy rain with only static dominating its speakers.

"Get these cuffs off and I'll say it to your face!" John continued sneering. The pilot struck back with more insults, completely unaware of a yellow light flashing on the instrument panel.

But Nick noticed. He yelled out to the pilot, who did not hear him until he grabbed a fistful of his jacket. He urgently pointed to the light.

"The tail rotor! The tail rotor chip light!"

The pilot's face drained of its colour. His thoughts immediately went away when he realised what was happening. He tightened his grip on the cyclic control. His foot hit a pedal. He quickly broadcasted his situation over to the other pilot in Brass's helicopter.

"Chopper one. Mechanical failure. Tail rotor malfunction…"

From within his compartment, Brass watched as the other helicopter drew descending circles in the sky. He pushed the button on the radio and yelled out to Sara. He had never felt so helpless in his life. The helicopter became smaller and smaller as it spiralled out of control, falling down to earth.

"Sara! Nick!" He shouted into the radio as he turned towards the windows. "Get us down there now!"

"There's no clearing. There's no way I'll be able to land."

Panic travelled from his heart to his voice. "Then find one! Find one now!"

Brass's helicopter pulled further and further away, searching for a place to settle down. He stared back at the forest, paralysed as thick black smoke rose from the heavily wooded area...

TBC

I hope you had enjoyed this chapter.

If you like it, do leave a review. Your encouragements are greatly needed in the continuation of this story.