Buried Alive

Chapter 5

Nick slowly walked down the hall, head hurting from crying so much and chest tight, because he was dreading telling Greg this news. This would put a damper on the kid's hope…this would possibly cause him to stop trying. God, why did this have to be happening? Why did that bastard have to kill himself? Sighing heavily, he turned into the computer room, ready to break the news. Thankfully, it seemed that Greg managed to make his parents leave so now it was just him and the kid. When he entered, he saw Greg's head turned sideways and eyes closed…and it scared the shit out of him. Had Greg given up? Was he dead?

"Greg?" He ran up to the screen. "Greg!"

There was a heartbeat's second and then Nick sighed in relief when Greg twitched.

"Hmmm?"

"Thank god. G, you can't scare me like that buddy."

Greg's eyes opened to slits and the smile on Nick's face vanished. The usually bright brown eyes were now glazed over and swimming with fear. Oh man, Greggo. What was even worse was that he was wheezing really badly…which meant Greg was losing oxygen.

"G, you okay man?"

Coughing violently, Greg nodded. "Y-Yeah…m'good. D-Did you g-get 'em?"

Nick looked to the floor, not wanting to see the disappointment on Greg's face when he told the kid of his failure. "No…no we didn'tm bud; he killed himself." And he was waiting for a reaction, but it was silent. Looking up, he saw Greg's gears were grinding in his brain…probably with doubts and fears. It remained that way for at least twenty more seconds before Greg spoke softly.

"I'm gonna die, aren't I Nick." It wasn't posed as a question; Greg had a feeling that this was it for him.

"Greg-"

"S'alright, Nick," Greg said, trying to hold in the tears…or maybe he had none left since he was so dehydrated. He was dead; he was never gonna see the light of day again. He was never gonna see his parents or his friends again. "I guess this is…" he started to trail off when he heard this weird noise. Like scratching. He frowned, on high alert now.

"Greg? What's wrong?"

"Shhh. I hear something."

"What?" Nick was starting to get worried. Was it what he thought it was? "Greg what is it?"

"I don't…" And then Greg's eyes widened. "O-Oh god."

"Greg! Greg what is it?" He got closer to the screen like he thought it would help him see inside the coffin.

"No…no, no, no!"

"Greg!"

In the coffin, Greg had thought- and hoped- that someone was digging him out. But then, in the dim light that he had, he saw small dark shapes scurrying around him. Turning the flashlight to its highest setting, he saw what he had secretly feared. Ants. But they didn't seem like any ant that he ever saw…then again, he wouldn't be surprised if Grissom had them in his office. There were dozens of the huge brownish-black things, crawling on his clothes…and then they started going underneath. The hair rose on his neck as more scampered on his arms and neck; his body shook as he tried getting them off, and then, without warning, they began to bite him.

"Ahhhhhhhh!"

Nick had run to get everyone and when he returned, all they could hear were Greg's tortured screaming.

"Nicky," Grissom said, out of breath. "What's going on?"

"I don't know; he said he heard something and now he's freaking out like-"

"There's something on him," Sara pointed out.

Grissom went over to the computer and zoomed in. Almost immediately, his face drained of all color. The bugs he was looking at reminded him of Nick and the fire ants…but these weren't fire ants. Bolting to his office, he grabbed a book and ran back to the group, flipping through pages.

"What is it Gil?" Catherine said, biting her bottom lip.

"Paraponera."

"What?" Warrick said. "What are those?"

"They're commonly known as 'Bullet Ants.'"

"Are they dangerous?" Sara asked worriedly.

"All I can say is that given by the amount of ants he's being attacked by, if we don't find him within the next thirty minutes, asphyxiation won't be his cause of death." The pain will be.

"Son of a bitch," Warrick muttered, wiping his mouth before looking at Nick. The Texan was pale and looked like he was gonna be sick.

"Nicky?"

"What's this bullet ant do?" Catherine asked, clearly annoyed. She couldn't believe that ants were being added to Greg's list of miseries. Like he really needed that right now.

"Well, it's famous for its name, because its sting feels like you're being shot, ranked the most painful sting according to the Schmidt Sting Pain Index. It's also used as initiation rites of the Satere-Mawe people of Brazil to become warriors. Pretty soon, Greg is gonna be in a world of pain."

Nick groaned inwardly. Great, just great; that's just what Greg wanted. More pain and more things to traumatize him. "We need to find him fast."

"But we don't have a clue as to where he is," Sara pointed out angrily. This was not their day…or Greg's.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Grissom whispered. "Bullet Ants are extremely rare in the US, so rare that not even most zoos have them. However, there are certain parts- and only certain parts- of the nation that hold them. For example, Nevada."

"So we can find out where they are and that's where Greg is?" Sara questioned hopefully.

"There is a chance..." Grissom bit his lip. "I'll be right back. Sara, I need you to call Brass and have people ready to go, Catherine same thing with the ambulance. Warrick and Nick…" The superior looked at his two boys and sighed. "Keep Greg alive." With that, everyone went to their places, hoping it wouldn't be too late.

"We're gonna get him home, Nicky," Warrick said comfortingly.

Nick was about to nod, but he suddenly bolted to the nearest trashcan; seeing Greg in this much pain made him sick to his stomach. This was way worse, waaayy worse than his fire ants. Greg was basically getting shot a million times. He tried blocking out the screams coming from Greg's throat, he honestly tried, but it was his little brother and it hurt him so much. Warrick sighed and went over to shut the sound off. Greg's voice was cut off and Nick could finally- but only just- breathe again.

"Oh god…man, this really…this really sucks," Nick breathed.

"You got that right."

Nick turned around and looked at Greg who was convulsing from the ants crawling all over him. Please hold on, Greggo; please don't give up.

~+CSI+~

Nick was trying to hold it together, speaking softly to Greg who had now nearly succumbed to the pain. The kid was barely conscious and Nick was trying his hardest to keep him awake. But the only sound that assured him that his friend was alive was the tortured wheezing and the occasional whimpers.

"Just hang on, G. We're gonna find you." Come on Gris, hurry up. They had fifteen minutes to find Greg…any time after that…well, Nick didn't want to think about it. He was alone in the room with Greg, offering comforting words and keeping the kid alive.

"Hey Greg."

The younger man grunted weakly before letting out another coughing fit and trembling violently. "Y-Yeah?"

"Remember when you were checking out your girlfriend's epithelial? Wanted to see if you'd make good looking babies?"

Greg- for once since this whole ordeal- smiled genuinely and laughed a bit. He had to stop, though, when he started to cough again. He knew the end was getting closer for him; his chest was tight and he couldn't breathe. Even more, the ant bites were excruciating. He felt his body numbing slowly and he knew that in seconds, he'd be dead. "Y-Yeah, I d-do."

"Whatever happened to her?"

"Eh, n-nothing."

"Come on, G."

"No."

"Greg, come on you can tell me anything."

Greg hesitated for a bit. "She…she cheated on m-me."

The smile fell from Nick's face. "Oh geez, I'm sorry man."

"Don't worry about it; that was ages ago."

Nick pursed his lips sadly as they remained silent for a few moments.

"You doin' alright, bud?" Greg was wheezing really bad right now and it was scaring Nick. When he didn't receive an answer, he spoke louder. "Greg!" The kid's eyes were drooping close and his breathing was becoming slower with each second. "Greg, come on man don't give up. Not now."

"S-So t'red, Nick."

"I know, but you gotta stay awake for a little longer."

"C-Can't…m'weak."

"You are not weak, G. Come on, listen to my voice." His worst fears were coming true. Greg was struggling to breathe; Greg was dying. "Greg! I mean it, keep your eyes open."

"I'm s-sorry Ni…" Greg's head lolled to the side and his breathing was near the point of stopping altogether.

"Oh god…no. No, no, no, no, Greg! Open your eyes dammit! Greg!"

Nick's voice was echoing in his ears as it got farther and farther away. The darkness was beckoning him to leave the pain and he was considering on doing so. And as soon as he closed his eyes, he knew he'd never be waking up again. I'm sorry, mom; I'm sorry Nick. Darkness swept over him and he knew no more.

"Greg! Please Gre-"

"Nicky," Catherine came in, her face pale. She had heard Nick shouting and it could only mean one thing. "What's going…oh no."

"Cath he's…he's-"

"No…we'll get him in time; we found out where he is."

Nick perked up. "Y-You did?" And immediately, he glanced at Greg's unconscious form before running out of the room, Catherine not far behind. Just hang on G, we're coming.

~+CSI+~

Nick was pressing the gas pedal to the floor, following Grissom along with the long line of police cars and the ambulances. Sara was glancing at him worriedly, but didn't say a word; she knew how tense this situation was and that Nick wasn't in the mood for talking. They narrowly cut corners and swerved around other cars that were pulling over to the side. He was shouting a mantra in his head: stay alive, stay alive, stay alive. If Greg died, he'd never forgive himself; after all this was his fault. Grissom finally turned onto a dirt road and Nick jerked the steering wheel, causing the tires to come up a little when turned sharply. And it seemed like the road went on forever, but Grissom finally turned into a large area that was all dirt. Nick jumped out of the car, and ran in front of the cars, breathless. How the hell were they supposed to find Greg in this? Well, that was Craig's plan; they weren't supposed to find him.

"Grissom," Nick breathed frantically. Greg had seven minutes left.

The older man squinted his eyes and scanned the area; he was trying to keep calm but time was running out. There was absolutely nothing; what if this was the wrong place? What if Greg was on the other side of town? God, he'd never forgive himself. He loved Greg like a son and if they-

"Over there!" Surprisingly, he noticed a little ways down the dirt land that the surface had been disturbed. And he and Nick wasted no time, bolting over to the spot. This was it. This had to be it.

"Greggo, hold on! We got you!" Nick fell to his knees and frantically started digging with his hands.

"Nick! Nicky, just hold on!" Catherine shouted before handing him a shovel.

Without stopping to think, the Texan grabbed the shovel and resumed his digging. His muscles were aching and he was sweating profusely, but he didn't give a shit. Greg's life was on the line. Warrick and Sara joined in, but Nick was doing it the most; he was determined to save his little brother. After a minute or two of digging, Nick's shovel hit something solid. Heart leaping to his throat, he ditched the shovel and went back to raking with his hands.

"Greg! Greg, it's Nick; you're gonna be alright bud! Just hang on!"

Once the dirt was moved, Nick was kneeling besides a wooden coffin…it had holes that the ants had made to get inside. Swallowing thickly, he wedged his fingers underneath the cover and pulled it open. What he saw made him sick…what he saw made his heart stop.

"Oh no…"

TBC

OOOOh, sorry for the cliffhanger! Stay Tuned. Okay, now I have to get back to '31 days.' Oh and the information about the bullet ants could be wrong, I researched forever!

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