Steve needed only a split second to react to the noise behind him. His instincts and his training kicked in instantly and in one swift move he drew his weapon and whirled around, aiming his gun at whatever poor soul had tried to sneak up on a highly-decorated Navy SEAL.
"What the hell…" he muttered in surprise, frowning angrily when he found the corridor completely deserted, but then his eyes narrowed dangerously when he noticed a shadowy movement at the end of the corridor, retreating hastily into the small bathroom.
"Got you," Steve murmured smugly, throwing a quick look over his shoulder to ensure that his back was covered before he quietly approached the bathroom.
Noticing that the door to the bedroom was still closed he didn't waste another thought on that room but completely concentrated his attention on the tiny bathroom. Taking a deep breath he readied his weapon and kicked the door open, aiming his gun directly at the shower in the corner, knowing that this was the only place in the small room which was big enough to hide a man.
"Five-0," Steve shouted, but his voice trailed off when he saw that the room was completely empty. Never lowering his weapon he frowned in confusion, briefly looking behind the door to make sure that there was indeed no one in the room.
Turning around he felt his heartbeat quickening when his gaze fell on the bedroom door which had been closed moments ago but was now suddenly wide open. McGarrett tightened his grip around the butt of his gun and quickly peered left and right into the corridor before he stepped closer to the bedroom and moved into a good strategic position.
"Five-0," he repeated loudly and firmly, the tone of his voice clearly showing that the time for games was up. "Whoever you are, show yourself. Step out into the corridor with your hands raised above your head."
Angrily gritting his teeth when he got no answer, Steve once more looked left and right before he cautiously entered the bedroom, quickly and effectively checking every corner of the room until he was sure that nobody was there. Shaking his head in confusion he hesitantly lowered his weapon only to yank it up again when he saw a movement to his left.
"Damn rat," McGarrett exclaimed hoarsely, pointing his gun at the innocent gray-brown rodent that defiantly stared back at him and squeaked offended before it hastily disappeared through the open slit in the wall. "Next time I'm gonna shoot you," Steve called after the animal, swearing to himself to carry out his threat, no matter what.
Trying to release some of the built-up tension, Steve took a deep breath and briefly rubbed his left hand over his face. He slowly lowered his right hand with the weapon, nervously tapping it against his thigh over and over again. He was sure that he had heard footsteps and had seen a movement at the end of the corridor; and even if those two things had only been figments of his imagination, the closed door to the cellar that had his partner locked up downstairs was definitely real.
A strong sense of foreboding flooded his mind when he thought about all the strange things that had happened since he and Danny had entered the house and without further hesitation he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket to call for backup. Scrolling through his contacts, Steve had soon found what he was looking for and was just about to dial Chin's number when the door in front of him suddenly started to move as if by magic.
The next few things occurred so fast that Steve later wasn't able to tell what exactly had happened. He raised his right hand with the weapon at the same time as he rushed forward and stretched out his left hand that was still holding his cell phone, trying to prevent the door from closing. His fingers just grazed the edge of the door when said door suddenly bounced back without warning.
The cell phone was knocked from his hand and landed with a dull thud somewhere behind him but Steve hadn't much time to think about it because the door didn't stop its movement and due to his exceptionally unlucky position it hit him square in the face.
Stumbling backwards, Steve's left hand flew to his nose as he tried to deal with the sudden, unexpected pain; he groaned hoarsely when tears flooded his eyes and he blinked rapidly to keep the open door in sight. The pain almost brought him to his knees and he needed all his willpower to breathe through the worst of it until he was finally able to hesitantly touch his nose which luckily didn't seem to be broken. Running his tongue across his lips he tasted a little bit of blood but otherwise he had apparently escaped unscathed.
Standing there rooted to the spot for quite a while, panting heavily and aiming his gun at the open door, Steve finally relaxed a little bit when nothing else happened. Keeping his concentration on the door and on any movement from the corridor, he quickly looked around for his cell phone, intending to carry out his original plan and call for backup.
Steve needed almost a full minute until he spotted the small black device under the bed directly next to a large piece of moldy bread. He screwed up his face in disgust, just bending down to pick it up when he heard again the sound of footsteps.
Tensing his muscles, he felt a surge of anger rushing through his body and knew it was time to try out a different approach. Forgetting about the cell phone he once more ran his tongue across his lips and spat out a little bit of blood before he readied himself and stepped out into the corridor.
Silently closing the door behind him he checked every corner of the corridor and the tiny bathroom with cold efficiency, slowly moving toward the kitchen. Whoever was trying to play games with him was now either there or in the adjacent living room and Steve would make sure to catch that somebody before he could do more harm.
"Five-0," McGarrett repeated his former demand once more as he stopped at the door between the corridor and the kitchen, his voice cold and sharp with barely contained anger. "For the last time, whoever you are, show yourself. You have five seconds to step out with your hands raised above your head."
"Steve?" Danny's voice came muffled through the closed cellar door and Steve could hear his partner hectically stamping up the staircase. "Steve? What's wrong? Open the damn door and get me the hell out of here!"
"Danny, you alright?" Steve yelled back when he noticed the breathlessness and the hint of panic in his partner's words.
"I'm fine, but get me the hell out of here," Danny replied, emphasizing his request by banging his fist against the heavy old door.
"I'm right there, just a…" McGarrett answered but his voice trailed off mid-sentence when he heard a noise in the corridor behind him.
He took only a split second's time to wonder how on earth he could have missed something before his fingers tightened around the butt of his gun and he turned around – only to face once more a completely empty corridor.
The noise he had heard moments ago was gone but now the sound of shuffling footsteps echoed through the kitchen and Steve felt something cold brush his hair and the back of his neck. He shivered involuntarily as he prepared himself for the upcoming fight. Tensing his muscles he whirled around in one swift movement, but whatever plan he had in mind was once and for all settled when something heavy connected with his face.
Steve heard a loud crunch and felt white-hot pain spreading through his entire skull; warm blood was flowing freely from his smashed nose and he knew instantly that this time the bone was broken. He heard Danny yelling his name through the closed cellar door but at the moment he needed all his strength to just stay upright and defend himself. The edges of his vision darkened dangerously and he wasn't able to prevent that he dropped to his knees. Slightly shaking his head to clear his vision, Steve supported himself on the blood-spattered kitchen wall, sluggishly struggling back to his feet.
Blinking rapidly against the gray mist in front of his eyes, he hectically looked around to make out his attacker. Swaying on his feet Steve noticed a shadowy movement to his right and he instinctively trained his gun in that direction but the weapon was pushed from his numb, trembling fingers and clattered to the floor in front of his feet.
Already sensing the next attack Steve knew he hadn't the strength to fight back so he simply ducked away and raised his arms to protect his head; but he wasn't fast enough and the next blow hit his right temple with a vengeance.
His last coherent thought before he collapsed on the floor and darkness claimed him was that the next time he would gladly switch places with Danny and voluntarily search the cellar himself.
Danny's heart hammered painfully against his ribcage and his whole body trembled from the sudden adrenalin rush; he stared wide-eyed into the darkness, holding his own breath as he strained his ears. He knew that there was nothing else but a wall on his left side, so he had certainly just imagined that sound of raspy breathing, right?
He didn't know how much time had passed but when he heard nothing else than his own shallow breathing, he gathered all his courage and slowly stretched out his left hand. Puffing out a hysterical giggle when his fingers came in contact with the cold wall, Danny chided himself for his vivid imagination and most of all for his clumsiness. His cell phone was the only way out of that damn, pitch-dark cellar and without it he had no option but to wait for Steve to end his prank and put him out of his misery.
Breathing out an exasperated sigh, Danny rested his elbows on his knees and tried to find a more comfortable position on the well-trodden wooden stairs. Tiredly rubbing his hands over his face he braced himself for a long wait, already going through the epic rant that he had planned for his crazy partner.
"Come on, Steven, that's enough," Danny exclaimed impatiently after a few more minutes in the darkness, slightly leaning back to bang his fist against the heavy cellar door. "You've had your fun, now open the door."
Waiting for an answer, he cocked his head a little bit to the right but instead of Steve's voice he heard once more the raspy breathing from before. Jumping to his feet, Danny shrank back in horror, instinctively waving his arms through the air to fight off his invisible enemy. Hastily stepping back as far as possible, he missed one stair in the thick darkness and without being able to see a thing he lost his balance and landed heavily on his backside.
Danny's feet slipped off the stairs and he reflexively reached out for the banister to keep himself from falling, but his fingers grabbed nothing but thin air and before he knew what happened he skid down the whole staircase, bumping painfully from one stair to the other.
After what seemed like an eternity he had finally reached the bottom of the staircase and came to a halt with a hoarse groan. Cursing under his breath he carefully stretched his legs and rolled his shoulders; but except for his backside that hurt like he had just got a good hiding he luckily seemed to be unharmed.
Remembering the reason for this unexpected ride down the stairs, Danny hastily struggled to his feet and turned around so that his back was leaning against the wall, ignoring the broken light switch that was uncomfortably pressing against his spine.
Despite the total darkness he closed his eyes and tried to stand completely still as he took in his surroundings, listening closely to everything that happened around him. Just like the first time, the strange sound he had heard upstairs didn't recur but this time Danny was absolutely sure that it had been real. His eyes snapped open as a cold shiver ran down his spine, but there was not the slightest hint of light in the complete and utter blackness and his breathing involuntarily quickened.
Danny had never been afraid of the dark; even when he was a young boy he had obeyed willingly when his mother had sent him to get potatoes or some canned fruits out of the cellar, always making fun of his younger siblings who had remained at the top of the staircase or had only gone downstairs in pairs, singing and humming to chase the darkness away.
But now he was feeling far from secure and for the first time in his life he was able to understand why his brothers and sisters might have been scared. Gritting his teeth Danny cursed the darkness when all the stupid horror movies he had watched in his youth came to his mind, unbidden and with a vengeance that took away his breath.
Scenes of 'Poltergeist' and 'The Exorcist' and 'Carrie' flashed before his eyes and Danny involuntarily started to whistle to dispel those scary thoughts. His right hand dropped to his weapon and he felt a tiny bit better once his fingers touched the cold metal.
Shaking his head in embarrassment when he realized his actions, Danny hesitantly removed his grip around the butt of his gun, clenching and unclenching his fists a few times until he was finally able to stop whistling. He took a deep breath, scolding himself for his childish behavior and reminding himself that he was a full grown man and a skilled police officer; he would certainly not freak out after being locked up in a dark cellar for about five short minutes.
"Get a grip, Williams!" Danny murmured encouragingly as he thought about his next actions, snorting in annoyance when he remembered his cell phone. With a little bit of luck he might be able to find the little device despite the complete darkness that surrounded him.
Without further hesitation he knelt down and put his plan into action. Meticulously brushing his fingers across the cold, dusty floor he started his search directly at the bottom of the staircase, working his way forward in a meandering pattern. He tried to keep his mind focused on his task but every now and then his concentration slipped and he shivered involuntarily when he thought about all the monsters, ghosts and other things that might watch for him in the darkness.
Danny couldn't believe his luck when the fingers of his left hand finally touched a familiar shape and he heaved a deep sigh of gratitude. Laboriously climbing to his feet, he immediately tried to switch on the cell phone but the display stubbornly remained dark, no matter what he did or how much he cursed.
"Okay, that was obviously a gigantic waste of time," Danny huffed out angrily, tightening his grip around the useless cell phone as he slowly turned around. Furrowing his brow he cocked his head a little bit to the right and helplessly stared into the dark; after the search on his knees he had absolutely no idea where the staircase was or where exactly in the cellar he was right now.
Stretching out his arms, Danny just took a tentative step in the direction where he expected the staircase when he felt a breath of cold air brushing the back of his neck. Whirling around, he barely contained a shriek of fear as he stumbled backwards and painfully crashed against the hard banister. Dropping the cell phone, Danny gripped the smoothly polished wood with trembling fingers and stared wide-eyed into the blackness, his ragged breathing echoed loudly in his own ears.
"Five-0," Steve's voice suddenly cut through the darkness and despite the heavy door and the distance between the two men, Danny could clearly hear the anger that radiated from his partner. "For the last time, whoever you are, show yourself. You have five seconds to step out with your hands raised above your head."
On the one hand Danny was beyond happy to hear Steve's voice but on the other hand his partner's words told him that something was definitely wrong. For the first time he actually considered the possibility that Steve hadn't been the one who had him locked up in that damn cellar and he almost felt a bit of remorse. But whatever was going on upstairs, Danny was sure it could wait another few moments; he was just eager to get away from his prison.
"Steve?" he shouted while he rushed up the stairs as fast as possible, stumbling more than once in the total darkness before he had finally reached the door to the kitchen. "Steve? What's wrong? Open the damn door and get me the hell out of here!" Danny didn't care at all that his voice was colored with fear and panic, he would deal with his partner's gloating later; at the moment he just wanted to leave the cellar and never again think of all the scary things that were waiting in the dark.
"Danny, you alright?" McGarrett asked back, the anger from before replaced by some genuine concern for his friend.
"I'm fine, but get me the hell out of here," Danny repeated, banging his fist against the old cellar door to emphasize his request. Waiting impatiently for his partner to open the door, he nervously turned his head every now and then, listening carefully into the darkness that surrounded him. He knew that his imagination was probably running riot but he had the strange feeling that he was not alone in that cellar.
"I'm right there, just a…" Danny held his breath when he heard Steve's voice trailing off mid-sentence; a sense of foreboding slowly filled his mind and he desperately tried to catch his partner's attention.
"Steve? What's wrong?" Danny shouted as he rattled the door handle but the door still stubbornly refused to open. "Steve? Come on, answer me! Let me out of here!"
Pressing his ear against the heavy cellar door, Danny listened closely, trying to figure out what was going on. He tensed his muscles when he recognized noises that indicated that a fight was in progress; a thud, a loud groan, a faint metallic sound, more groaning, the tell-tale sound of a body dropping to the floor – and then nothing.
Standing stock-still, Danny tightly gripped the door handle as he waited for more sounds or for anything else that told him what was happening outside his prison. Seconds ticked away, stretching almost to eternity in the thick darkness, causing Danny to grit his teeth in frustration before he finally heard the faint sound of footsteps through the heavy door.
"Steve? Hey man, you alright? What happened?" Danny shouted, breathing out a sigh of relief when he thought of his imminent release but the feeling of hope quickly died down when the footsteps suddenly stopped. Frowning into the silence, Danny called out for his partner time and again but he never got an answer.
"Dammit!" he cursed loudly, banging his fist against the door in anger and worry. He had no idea what had happened outside but he hoped sincerely that Steve was alright – and not only because he finally needed to get out of that frigging cellar.
Slowly turning around Danny was just about to sit down onto the steps to think about his next actions when he once more felt a cold breath of air brushing his face and neck. A cold shiver ran down his spine and he suddenly had the strong feeling that someone was standing directly next to him in the darkness.
Before he knew what happened, Danny felt a strong push to his left shoulder that made him stagger sideways. He inhaled with a sharp hiss as he tried with all his might to keep his balance on the narrow steps, his arms waving through the air, his fingers briefly brushing the cold wall but he had absolutely no chance of preventing his fall.
Stumbling backwards, Danny yanked up his arms in the vain attempt to at least protect his head. He felt himself falling for what seemed to be an eternity before he finally hit the staircase with a loud thud. Sharp pain flashed through the left side of his chest and he wasn't able to suppress the hoarse cry that built up in his throat. Tumbling further down the stairs he couldn't tell anymore which part of his body hurt the most and then he suddenly felt no more pain when the back of his head connected with the wooden banister.
Danny was out cold long before he had reached the end of the staircase, his body landing in a crumpled heap on the dusty floor of the cellar.
(tbc)
Did you honestly think there would be no whump? ;-)
Final chapter tomorrow...
