Chapter 10: Pieces, part two

(Nick)

"How could we not have found an exit by now?" Mandy asked.

" 'Cause this place is a labyrinth." he replied, trying not to worry about Catherine dying after every dead end and locked door they came across. Warrick was growing increasingly frustrated as he led everyone along, and time seemed to be dragging on.

"Okay, we're not lost. We are not lost." Warrick said, and Nick wasn't sure if he was trying to reassure the others, or himself.

If there was one thing he needed right now, it was a shower. Catherine's dried blood was all over his clothes, hands, and neck, and he felt like bugs were crawling on him ever since Warrick rescued him.

"Guys, I…I need to rest." Catherine spoke up, looking pale.

"No, come on now, we're almost out of here." he said, lying through his teeth.

"Nicky, please. Just for a minute." she weakly protested. He shared a worried look with Warrick before gently setting her on the floor, like she was made of glass.

"I'm not sure how much…longer I can take this, guys." she said, trying to smile through a wince of pain. "If I don't make it, tell…tell Lindsey…" she started, tears in her eyes.

"Stop. No one else is gonna die in here. You hear me, Catherine? No one. Not you, not me." he said, shaking his head in anger and fear.

They heard footsteps down the hall perpendicular to theirs. The steps were heavy and labored, but quick.

"Get down." Warrick commanded, brandishing the rebar. Nick and Mandy obeyed, the former shielding the latter and Catherine.

"It's probably one of us, but just to be safe…" Warrick whispered, his back against the wall as he neared the edge of the corner. As he turned the edge of the corner, he stopped his attack mid swing. "Jesus! I almost killed you!"

Nick and Mandy exchanged a glance before Warrick's voice rounded the corner: "Guys, it's okay. It's just Brass."

Mandy stood up quickly and Nick put Catherine's arm around his neck as he pulled her up. Warrick and Brass came around the corner, looking uneasy.

"Are you guys alright?" Jim asked worriedly.

"No. Not really." Mandy replied.

"Good to see you, Jim." he said with a small nod.

"Likewise. I'm sorry, I'm just a little preoccu…woah, Catherine, are you-" Brass started.

"She's fine." he interrupted.

"What happened to your back?" Warrick asked Brass.

"Nothing a little aloe vera can't fix up." Brass replied.

"Have you seen anyone else?" Mandy asked. Brass shook his head, looking down.

"Hey guys!" an excited voice called. The group turned to see Doc and Henry. The two groups merged and the damage to their friends became more apparent.

"Doc says I have second-degree frostbite." Henry said.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Nick asked.

"Oh, yeah, yeah. It's just a flesh wound." Henry said.

"Doc, you okay?" Warrick asked.

"I'm fine, nary a scratch on me. Besides, it's Catherine I'm more concerned about." Doc Robbins said.

"I must not be doing that great if you're worried about me." Catherine remarked softly.

"The bleeding's stopped, but you look like you lost a couple pints. How are you feeling? Tired?" the older man gently asked.

"A little." she said.

"She's nearly passed out three times already." Nick said.

"What about nausea, fever, rapid pulse or breathing? Any of those? I need to know." Doc urged.

"She's been burning up, and her heart rate's pretty fast." he admitted.

"Dammit!" Doc hissed.

"What's wrong?" Brass asked.

"I won't sugarcoat this. Catherine, you've got sepsis. If we don't get help soon, you'll go into septic shock." the older man diagnosed.

The diagnosis shocked everyone, to say the least.

"The rest of you still run the risk of infection. Even you, Warrick." Doc added.

"Well this blows." Warrick mumbled after a mournful look at Catherine.

"Jim, can I get a better look at your burns?" Doc asked.

"Sure." Brass complied, though he sounded uncomfortable.

As his back was examined, Nick couldn't help but stare. His mind flash-backed to the time Greg was in that lab explosion. Brass's back wasn't nearly as badly burned, and wouldn't scar as much as Greg's back, but the similarities were present. With one glance at Catherine, he could tell she was having the same thoughts and memories.

"It's a good thing you didn't try to remove your shirt. Could have ripped some skin off if you did." Doc informed.

"At least there's some good news." Catherine spoke.

"How long do we have until she could go into septic shock?" Nick asked, putting the attention on Catherine again.

"It' impossible to tell, but judging by your injuries, Catherine, I can only say there isn't much time." Doc admitted.

"That's perfect." Warrick muttered angrily.

"Well then let's haul ass and get out of here." Nick urged.

"I second that notion." Mandy said, raising her hand.

"Come on." Warrick said, again leading the way.

"Hey, do any of you know a guy named Ronald Worgnec?" Brass asked after they passed another locked door.

"Huh-uh. Why?" Nick asked.

"I found a note earlier. Said this Ronald guy was a piece of the puzzle." Brass said.

"Never heard of him." Mandy said.

"Me neither." Henry chimed in.

"His middle name wouldn't begin with an 'e' or have an 'e' in it, would it?" Doc asked.

"It was initialed with 'E.'. Why?" Brass asked.

"I went to school with Adam Heffner many, many years ago. He's a medical examiner as well. Anyways, he performed the autopsies on all of the Jigsaw Killer's victims and was friends with one of them, a doctor, who went missing for a year." Doc explained.

"Yeah, yeah, I remember that. He was Jigsaw's doctor. Lawrence Gordon." Nick remembered.

"So what does he have to do with this Ronald guy?" Brass asked.

"Everything. Ronald E. Worgnec is an anagram for Lawrence Gordon." Doc clarified.

"So you're saying he's the one who did this?" Warrick asked.

"I never knew him that well, but Adam seemed to trust him. He never seemed like a killer." the doc said.

"Maybe it's Stockholm Syndrome." Nick suggested.

"Or the guy was also recruited as an accomplice. We know Jigsaw's had a couple." Brass threw in.

"Either way, there's more than one person doing this. My tape kept saying 'we' instead of 'I'." Warrick said.

"Mine too." Brass added.

"So we still don't know who else is doing this." Catherine said, trying to remain clear-headed.

"Or maybe there is only one guy, and he's saying 'we' and 'our' to make us think there are multiple people. For all we know, Lawrence Gordon is innocent, or dead, and that note was set up to lead us in the wrong direction." Doc said.

"Nick, put me down." Catherine suddenly requested, sounding urgent.

"You okay?" Nick asked.

"Just put me down. I…" Catherine turned her head away and vomited, meekly apologizing after she wiped her mouth.

"We've got to go." Doc said, looking worried.

The group quickened their pace as they continued on, praying they would find a way out. As they moved down another corridor, they ran into David. The smile that formed on Nick's face vanished immediately when he saw Super Dave's tear-streaked face, and what appeared to be nails embedded in left shoulder area.

"David, what happened? Are you okay?" Doc asked.

"I did everything I was supposed to, but it didn't work." David said.

"You're not making any sense." Nick said.

"I'm…I'm s-sorry." David choked out.

"David, what happened?" Catherine asked as Doc approached David.

"I did everything right, but she died anyways. I'm…I'm sorry…"David said, putting a hand over his eyes.

"David?" Warrick asked, starting to look scared. What was David so rattled about? WHO DIED?

"Sara's dead…I'm sorry!" David said, crying again.

Everyone froze, dumbfounded. Sara…dead? No, that…that couldn't be! She had to be okay! She had to be!

A/N: Yes, I know…I'm one evil bitch. Sorry, Sara fans…I needed one of the CSI's dead, and the reason for her death will be explained in the next chapter. Please don't hate me!