From: [email protected]
Hidden
by Mickey ([email protected]) and Liza ([email protected])
Summary: Halloween, read it and find out. Not sad, no one dies!
Thanks from both of us go to Anna for beta-reading and Karin for her special
brand of... encouragement (yelling, whatever :-))
FEEDBACK, SEND US FEEDBACK RIGHT NOW NOW NOW!!! AND WE MEAN NOOOOOOOOOW!!!
Liza's Comments: Uhmmmm this is a NORMAL story, I didn't kill anyone, SWEAR!
Okay, so it isn't normal, but anyway :-) This is for my co-author, who's
practically my best friend, and is always there in good times and bad, no
matter what the consequences or ... whatever. So, there :-)
Mickey's Comments: My thanks go to Liza for keeping me sane. And for putting
up with my midnight rantings
One more thing from Liza: Anytime.
-------------------------------------------
Part 1
Mac's Apartment
2100 Thursday Night
Lifting the pizza to his mouth, Harm nodded his head, "Okay, want to repeat
that?"
"Harm, pay attention!" Mac scolded, opening the manilla file and laying the
picture in front of him.
"This is Ensign Jacob Addams, he disappeared a week ago. Last seen at...
let's see," she continued, flipping to another page of the preliminary
investigative report. "Last seen at a "keg" party, thrown by a bunch of new
OCS graduates, seems he disappeared mid-way the party."
"And where was this... keg party?" Harm asked, his eyebrows raised
skeptically.
"401 King Drive, outside of DC. Near an older condemned house."
"Nice neighborhood," Harm murmured.
Glancing up to shoot him a quick glare, she continued, "Seems that they
heard screams coming from inside the house, presumably Ensign Addams, so they
broke up the party to go look inside. They looked the hosue over, and all
they found..." Letting her sentence trail off, Mac pointed at the sealed bag
lying on the couch beside him.
"A pocket watch?" Harm asked, leaning over to hand her the bag.
Scooting over, he patted the seat next to him, "I don't bite, you know."
Harm grinned.
"I know, but *someone* was taking up the entire couch to eat pizza." Mac
shot back, laying the file and bag on the end table as she sat beside him.
"The pocket watch is Ensign Addams'." Mac said, flipping it over in her
hands. "We're to go investigate his 'disappearance' and find out if it was
willing, or not. And it seems... well I honestly don't know what to make of
all of this. Harm, are you listening?" She asked, turning to look at him.
Harm looked at her seriously.
"It is probably ghosts. Maybe we should call Mulder and Scully. What do
you think Mac?" He asked, grinning.
She rolled her eyes and glared at him; quickly picking up a file to cover
the smile spreading across her face.
"Now, Harm! Don't mock the X-Files! You may meet an angry ghost who'll make
you regret that!"
LATER
401 King Drive
An old gothic mansion loomed ahead of them, the greys and browns seeming all
the more eerie with the angry clouds threatening above.
The lone gargoyle seated on the right corner of the roof, with angry eyes
and clenched jaw completely threw the two standing at the wrought iron gate.
The feeling of foreboding growing ominous, threatening, they pushed the gate
open and plunged into the weed covered yard.
"Not exactly the Cleaver residence is it?" Harm said sarcastically.
"Or the Twilight Zone. Don't even think of trying to scared me. It won't
work." She answered back, shrugging off the odd feeling that had seemingly
settled in her bones.
They walked up the front steps, avoiding the many holes. On the porch, Mac
hesitated for just a second before slowly turning the door knob.
Harm looked at her with a twinkle in his eye and said "This looks dangerous,
Major. Maybe I should go in first."
She clenched her teeth, glared at Harm, and forcefully pushed open the front
door. Mac quickly walked through the front door, grumbling obscenities at him
under her breath.
Mac's heels clicked in the otherwise silent room, breathing not even
noticeable. "Harm?" She murmured.
"Yeah." He answered, looking around, mesmerized by the dark surroundings.
Bare walls stared back at him, the unblinking eyes of a portrait following
his every movement.
"They said that they found the watch in a room, near the back of the house."
Mac said, inching further into the center of the room.
The boards beneath them creaking at every movement, Harm walked slowly
towards her, still assessing the surroundings.
"Harm, watch...!" Mac screeched, as his foot fell on a weak board.
"Mac!" Harm called, reaching for her hand as the board fell through.
"Shit," She murmured, grabbing at his hand. Finally pulling him into her
grip, he lunged forward as the place he'd been standing on previously, seemed
to disinigrate before their very eyes.
"And I wondered why this place was condemned," Harm grumbled, pushing
himself up.
"Harm?" Mac muttered, lying on the floor, staring up at the seemingly
crumbling ceiling.
"Huh?"
"Get off of me!" She growled, shoving him to the side as hard as she could.
"You're going to smother me you know."
"Sorry," He mumbled, trying to fight the awkward feeling settling in the pit
of his stomach.
<<At least it's nervousness, and not fear.>> Harm thought, trying to console
himself.
Standing, he took her hand in his own, ignoring the stir of emotions that
seemed to swim about him.
"Well, let's get going. And I'll watch where I step this time." Harm
grinned, his words spoken reassuringly.
"Yeah, you better. Because next time, I'm not playing the pillow."
-------------------------------------------
Part 2
Mac led the way down the dingy grey halls, stopping at the first door she saw.
The paint, which at one time was white but now had turned a dull non-color, was cracked and peeling; leaving the distinct feeling of loneliness to settle around them.
"You realize we are probably breathing in lead paint." Harm whispered to her.
Mac shivered slightly as his breath warmed her skin. She longed to turn and cling to him. The gothic-type house and the night they would soon encounter had frightened her more than she would ever admit.
"We should get hazard pay for this assignment." he said trying to lighten the mood.
Mac gave him an incredulous look, all previous thoughts vanishing with his remark.
"Yeah sure Harm, you tell Admiral Chegwidden that, I will wait in my office for his answer." In her mind, she could picture the Admiral's face, while
Harm stumbled through his reasons why they should receive hazard pay. The thought made her smile for a minute and then the reality of the situation hit
her once again. They were in a house that appeared dangerously close to collapsing, searching for a missing soul.
Harm reached around Mac and grabbed the door knob "Here goes nothing." His arm around her felt wonderful. She trembled slightly and realized in
emberassment that she was blushing like a school girl. <<Hold it together Marine. This is an investigation, not a school dance.>> she thought to herself.
He turned the knob slowly and....nothing happened.
Then, wiggled it- still nothing.
Harm grabbed the knob and pulled back. Once again, the door did not budge. He was suddenly beginning to feel rather frustrated.
<<Why is this happening to me? She's gonna think I'm a weakling!>>
Feeling his annoyance, Mac tried to hide her smile, but even the dark couldn't hide her giggles.
Hearing her soft laughter, Harm realized, that even though he was unsuccessful with the door, he loved having Mac so close.
His arm reaching around her, his face so close to her hair. <<God, she smells good.>>
"Move over squid, I'll take care of this." She grabbed the door knob and pulled.
With a loud creak, the door swung open. They looked at one another in amusement, each enjoying the closeness of their bodies, but neither wanting the other to know, for fear the feeling wasn't shared.
Inside was a plain, square room. The gray paint peeling and cracking in the brick walled rooms, Mac stepped closer to the wall, running her hand over it as they glanced quickly around.
They searched it quickly, and moved on to the next door. Harm and Mac examined three other rooms, each with the same result.
Walking into the last room, the beam of Harm's pen light caught on the red of colored glass, splintered and covered the walls of the room.
"Wha..."
"A wine cellar?" Mac suggested, stepping forward, to touch one of the many bottles.
"Mac..." Harm said, not wanting her to worry about them.
"...they're all dust covered." Mac said, turning around and sneezing violently.
"You alright?"
"Yeah," She replied, turning to walk away from the dust.
"This is an awfully odd wine..."
"Harm!" Mac interrupted.
"What?"
"Look at these places, they're almost like foot places, the dust is thinner here, but not really..."
"Detailed? Not ..."
"You can't tell if they're footsteps, but, they are." Mac said, touching the floor and swiping her fingers across it.
"What's..."
"This?" Mac finished, picking up a small object she was positioned in front of. "Harm? Shine that light over here..."
"It's a button?"
"A button." Mac confirmed, handing it to her partner.
"From a Navy uniform." He said forlornly, depositing it in his pocket. "What the hell...?" He said, moving closer to Mac as he made his way to the wall.
Knocking her off balance, he threw out his arm to stop her from falling back. "Thanks." She mumbled, kneeling closer to the stone he'd pointed his light at.
"It's the... cornerstone? What does that writing say?"
Mac ran her fingers over the letters engraved in the founding stone of the house, reading them out as she felt them.
"Wherein the darkness lies, only the dead safely reside. Any who enter their realm, may never return to the world of before."
"What?" Harm asked, mulling the words over in his mind.
"It means below." Mac said, turning to Harm's inquisitive stare.
"What?"
"The basement. I think it means, in the basement." She said, pointing to a small trapdoor.
"Wherein the darkness lies..." Harm repeated, writing it on a slip of paper as he quoted it.
"Down there." Mac said, grabbing the clasp of the door.
"Only the dead safely reside..."
"I don't like that part." She mumbled, pulling the door up, though it seemed to want to stick.
"What does that mean? What are we heading for? A mausoleum?"
"Or Ensign Addams." She mumbled as he took the rest down and slipped the note into his file.
Cobwebs covered the opening the door revealed, and Harm swatted at them futilely. "Go on down," He said, "I'm right behind you."
"Scared, sailor?" She taunted, climbing down the frail ladder to the basement, her skin beginning to crawl.
"Not at all, marine." He grinned, starting down the ladder after her.
"Shit!" Mac announced, as the step he was standing on broke, and he lost his grip on the open trap door.
"I'm okay." Harm assured her, jumping down.
"Yeah, but can we get out?" She mumbled, going back towards the wall where the stairs were aligned.
"What are you doing?" Harm asked, walking up behind her.
"Checking to see if the door will open." Mac replied, climbing up the wooden planks that were used as stairs. "You'll fall, you weigh too much."
"Gee, thanks."
"Anytime."
Silence vibrated throughout the area, as Mac pushed and pulled on the door through which they had come.
"Harm?" She whispered, "It's stuck."
"What?" He asked, as she came back down the ladder. "Let me."
"It's not giving, is it?" Mac asked in response to his grunting.
"No, it isn't. I suppose we have to find another way out."
Frustration and fear were slowly permeating the atmosphere, neither of the two wanting to be where they were, but neither knowing any way out.
"We're trapped."
-------------------------------------------
part 3
The first thing they became aware of, in the darkness -which was quickly seeping into their bones-, was the smell. The stench of mold and death permeated the tunnels, causing them to want to gag.
The stone and dirt covered walls had thick layers of moss growing out of the crevices, giving the sense of "ancient" a boost. This seemed to bring back memories of long ago, memories of things they didn't remember. Memories... that belonged to someone else.
Haunting eyes, seemed to follow them from the walls, red eyes, eyes in pain. Seen through the soul of the possessed, and the darkness where only the memories of the dead reside.
Harm frantically began searching for another way out. He pounded on the trap door, but only succeeded in making his hands sore.
"DAMMIT"
"Calm down Harm. It's not that big of a deal. We will get out of here." Mac said quietly, but with an assurance and a determination he once hadn't believed possible.
"We are stuck in a decaying tunnel, under a half collapsed house, in the dark, with creepy crawly little things everywhere, and you think IT'S NO BIG
DEAL!?!?!?"
She reached over and gently stroked his cheek "It will be okay, Harm. I promise." He covered her hand with his own and held on tightly as Mac continued. "Now I can't fix most of our problems, but I do have my trusty flashlight. You asked for light and light you shall receive."
"I'm sorry Mac, I didn't mean to lose it... I'm just..."
"I know." She replied, "Besides, what are you? Afraid of those little "creepy-crawly" things? What scares you, hmm? Spiders, maybe?" Mac teased childishly.
"Spiders? Yeah, right!"
She shone the flashlight around the dark tunnnels, and began looking around.
Rough walls stretched the expanse of tunnel, the dirt lining them flaking off at the softest touch.
The sound of dripping water met their ears, sending slight shivers up and down Mac's spine.
"Come on sailor, let's find a way out of here." She murmured, more in comfort to herself than the man standing next to her.
Noticing her shaking, Harm removed his hand from hers and placed it on her back, moving it up and down, sending all the more shivers up her spine. This time, the shudders were of an erotic sense, not a foreboding one.
Mac reached out her left hand, touching the wall and dragging her fingernails across it.
Small bits of soil and various mosses fell from the wall to the ground below, and upon pulling her knuckles away, she saw the green stains across her fingers.
"What're you trying to do, Mac? Imitate the Jolly Green Giant's wife?" Harm laughed in spite of himself.
"I thought you were the Jolly Green Giant, being the vegetarian and... how tall are you again?" Mac grinned back.
He shook his head, fingering the edge of the file in his right hand.
<<Not that I'd mind...>>
Surrounded by the echoes of their footsteps and the fury of the dripping water, they forged on, walking deeper into the tunnels.
"Harm?"
"Yes..." He confirmed, "That would be me!"
Rolling her eyes, Mac continued, "Do you know where we are? I mean, these tunnels?"
"Not a clue, Mac. They remind me of..."
"Don't say it!" She tried to interrupt him, sensing his thoughts.
Stumbling over a protruding object, she lost her balance and tumbled sideways into Harm, which in turn ended with both of them on the ground.
"What the..." Harm said, wrapping his arms around her waist to keep them from tumbling farther back down the sloping path.
"There was something there, at the side of the wall, I kicked it, I think." She mumbled, as he stood up quickly beside her and grabbed her hand.
"Okay, where'd your flashlight go?" Harm murmured back, assuringly, understandingly.
"Between your feet." She whispered.
"Okay." Harm responded, bending down and grabbing her flashlight.
"I'm sorry about that..." Mac started, turning towards her partner as he shone the beam towards the offending object.
"Oh. My. God." Harm mumbled, shining the light farther up.
"Shit..." Mac said under her breath, watching slowly as the light slid up the leather soled shoes to slowly reach a pair of khaki pants. Soon, the light met with a pair of eyes.
Empty eyes.
The dead eyes of an tormented soul.
"Shit, is right..." Harm breathed.
Slowly, the sound of choking behind him reached his ears. Turning to his right, he saw his partner hunched over, staring at his eyes, trying to hold the tears back as she covered her mouth with her hand.
"Mac?" He murmured, kneeling beside her.
"Look at his eyes, Harm. Look at his eyes." She mumbled, leaning into him, clinging to his shirt as she had years before in the mountains he longed to see again.
"Catacombs. This place reminds me... of the catacombs." Harm said into the moist air, the stench of decay seemingly growing stronger with every breath.
Amidst her tears and his worried sighs, he heard his words echo throughout their entrapment, "Catacombs."
-------------------------------
part 4
Mac's breath came in shallow gasps. The tears were flowing down her cheeks and she was desperately trying to keep her lunch in her stomach where it belonged.
"My God," She choked, pointing towards the man lying inches from her, "Look."
"What?"
"Buttons, Harm, look at his buttons."
Harm nodded his head, looking back at her before making any moves in the opposite direction.
He looked at her, concern washing over him. Mac was pale and trembling. "I don't know Mac. Why don't you sit down? Come over here, and sit down, alright?"
"Yeah."
"Mac? You okay?"
"Yeah."
Slowly moving forward, he reached his hand towards the lapel pocket, patting it cautiously, as if at any moment he would be bitten, he found nothing there.
Tapping his shoulder lightly as she gained control, Mac pointed with her flashlight to a space a bit farther down the sloping tunnel, to where a wallet lay.
Nodding his head, he laid a hand on her cheek, looking her in the eye as he guided her eyes from that of the dead man's, to his own and farther into the darkness.
"Seems all too comforting right now. Those tunnels." Harm murmured.
"Yeah, anywhere but with..."
"Right." Harm murmured, sensing her thoughts.
Reaching the wallet, he pulled the contents out cautiously checking ever little crack in the leather billfold.
Turning to glance at Mac, he made a point of not letting himself be drawn in by her fragile form's shaking- which seemed to make her seem even smaller, paler.
"It's alright, Mac."
She looked at him, shooting a quick glance at the body behind them, decay settling into his bones.
"Let's go farther down here, okay? Away from..."
"Okay." Mac agreed, letting herself be guided farther down, struggling against the yawn she was trying to fight.
They relaxed farther down the tunnel, sitting at the base of a small hill.
"Jacob Addams." Harm muttered, handing the more relaxed woman the ID he held between his fingers.
"He's dead? But how...?"
"Well, Mac, you never exactly reviewed the "Superstitions... Clause" I think it was called, on the case file, did you?"
"It was a bunch of BS, Harm." Mac hissed, running over the facts in her mind, trying to remember the area she had scanned.
"The witnesses said... well, it makes no sense really..."
"Go on." Mac urged.
"The witnesses, or, the ... whatever you call the people that heard the screams, said it wasn't just Addams screaming."
"Who else?"
"Not really... who else, possibly what else." He said, taking a deep breath as he flipped open the file, scanning it as he detailed the events. "Witnesses said that there were screams, most likely of a woman, saying that it, "sounded like a banshee." Another witness reported that, "it sounded like a soul burning in hell,". These sayings brought to the minds of several townspeople an old... legend, I suppose you'd call it."
"Legend?" Mac mumbled, sitting down opposite her partner, who'd taken a seat with his back to the grungy wall of the tunnel.
"Yeah, they claim that a woman died in this house years before, her husband supposedly beat her to death so he could marry his lover."
"Lover, huh?"
Sending her a quick glare, he continued. "Yes, lover. His wife's name was Mary, Mary something-or-other."
"Harm, if you're telling a legend, atleast tell it right." She sighed, taking the file in hand and explaining it correctly.
"Her name was Mary Augusta, she was 34 years old, her husband didn't beat her to death, Harm, he shoved her off of a widow's walk, the one at the top of this house. And it wasn't really *proven* it was her husband, could have been the mistress, you know." Mac mumbled, straying from the story.
"Whatever," Harm grumbled, placing his hands behind his head as she continued.
"Supposedly, her 3 year old daughter, Clara, found her. Clara developed a mental disorder, and was often seen wandering the grounds after midnight. One night she caught her "parents", Alice- the mistress, and her father discussing her mother's murder. She told her older brother, and in the end, both (Alice and her new husband) were carted off to jail. Murder was never proven, it remained as "suicide for unknown reasons". It is said, that Clara, who died one year ago, has returned to haunt the house, along with her mother, until the blood stains covering the patio below, can disappear without the remorse of the family always showing. And until the murder is proven, and the murderer identified... they'll be there, causing trouble and hating the people that killed Mary Augusta, and... and killed Clara's soul. And according to this, Jacob Addams... is Alice's illegitimate daughter's son. And the people in Rose Hill seem to think, that they, meaning Mary Augusta and Clara... were getting revenge."
***
The deeper they walked through their underground prison, the louder the dripping, the method of torture they'd come to understand, became.
"Don't think about it?" He suggested, hoping...
"About what?" She muttered, her mind working introspectively, "About being trapped god knows where, under who knows what with no way out? Or about the case? Say, finding the Ensign's body? Decaying and... That *smell*..."
"Guess avoidance isn't an option?" Harm sighed, unnerved himself, and worried just the same.
She shook her head, the anger within herself-against herself-growing all the more strong. "Why'd I freak like that?" Mac scolded herself, unwittingly saying it outloud.
"It was a rather upsetting... image." Harm said. Trying to stear her to a different topic, he commented, "You know, Mac, we should go grab some dinner at that new Italian place when we get out of here."
"IF we get out of here, you mean."
"Since when have you been a pessimist?"
"Who said I was being a pessimist? I'm being a realist, Harm. We may not get out of here." She murmured beneath her breath.
"Mac, relax. We're gonna get out of here."
"Yeah, but what I'm wondering... is how we're going to get out."
"We'll find some way," he responded nonchalantly.
"No, Harm. I meant... dead or alive."
---------------------------------------
"Mac!!!! Don't even think that. We will be fine. I promise you." Harm said, terrified that his partner would revert to panicking.
His worries turned out to be unfounded when Mac began giggling. The giggles quickly escalated into full scale laughter. Pretty soon she had tears streaming down her cheeks and her entire body shook with amusement.
Harm stared at her in utter amazement. "Uhhh, Mac? Are you ok. You want to sit down again." He said gently, and reached out to lead her to the wall.
Mac pushed his hand away, trying to get her laughter under control, and wiping at her eyes.
"I was right earlier..." she said between chuckles "We do need Mulder and Scully." as soon as the words were out, she was laughing again.
"This isn't funny Major! I am not seeing the humor in this situation. MAC!!!"
She swallowed the chuckles that were ready to explode from her lips, and took on a mock stern expression. "Yes, Mulder. What is it? Have we found the alien culprits?" And once again she erupted into giggles.
Harm sighed loudly, and shook his head. "I hope this isn't some form of shock that is effecting her now. This can't possibley get any worse." He said under his breath, to himself.
She began walking quickly down the tunnel."Hey Mac, I'm sorry. I just don't know what to say to you. One minute you are crying and the next you are laughing. I'm trying to keep up with your emotions but its hard. MAC, STAND STILL FOR A SECOND!"
She stopped dead in her tracks. Mac looked down at the dirty floor, trying to stop the newest wave of tears. <<He is right, of course>> She thought. <<I
am not handling this well at all. What is wrong with me. I'm a Marine, for God's sake, I've seen much worse than this. And yet, this has me completely on edge.>> As the thoughts ran through her mind, she sadly shook her head.
When she turned around, he was standing there beside her. The look of concern and worry on his face nearly broke her heart.
<<Why does he care so much, for me?>> Her mind cried, anguish rising in her chest.
"I'm sorry Harm. You're right. I'm just scared and nervous, this is how I react to fear sometimes. I know it's not very Marine-like. I'm sorry."
Her eyes were glossy with un-shed tears, and her face held a look of complete embarrassment.
Harm gently lifted her chin with his hand, and looked down at her tenderly.
"It's ok. I was just worried about my favorite jarhead." He reached out and gently wiped her face. "Your face. There are smudges on it."
Harm knew it was a feeble attempt to cover up his need to touch her right then. He needed to hold her, to comfort her, to take away all her fears and his own as well.
Mac leaned into his hand. It felt so good to have him touch her. The tears began to flow once again. She reached out and wrapped her arms around him. As soon as she was enveloped in his embrace she felt better, safer, like everything would somehow be ok again. They stayed that way for several minutes, each savoring the feel of the other.
When they moved away from each other, they each had a soft smile on their face. Both sets of cheeks had changed to a soft crimson color, and both sets of eyes shone with a new hope.
"Come on let's find a way out of here. Then, I will take you out for a nice *healthy* dinner. How 'bout it, Sarah."
"As long as it isn't meatless, I would love to. Thanks for everything." She said softly.
"Any time Major, let's go." Harm mumbled, leading her forward. "Oh no, I left the file back by the... Don't go too far, I'll be right back." He turned and jogged back down the corridor. Upon finding the folder, he turned to go back- when a low rumbling sound began. Ahead of him the rafters over Mac's head started dropping pieces of debris. Soon the sound had grown in intensity.
"MAC, LOOK OUT!!!" Harm called, running forward, these being the last images, the last words she heard before she sank into the impending blackness.
Into the doom that lay before her.
His entire being froze in that one brief moment. <<Oh God! Not Mac, please not Mac.>> He begged desperately. Suddenly his body snapped into motion, he dropped the file, and ran to the cluttered area where his best friend had just been.
Rapidly panting, Harm threw the bits of debris over his shoulder, soon reaching her dusty and still form. She looked so small and fragile. Gently, he lifted Mac into his arms, and slid back against the wall.
With trembling hands, he checked for a pulse. <<Yes! Thank you, its nice and strong.>>
Harm pulled her slender body closer to his chest, and gently kissed her forehead, waiting for her to wake.
"Hey, hey Mac, come on, wake up. Show me those brown eyes, alright? Come on, say something, anything? Yell at me for being an idiot? Hmm? Think you can do that?" Harm murmured softly into her ear as he cradled her in his arms, her face leaning into his chest.
Softly wiping a wisp of hair out of her face, the odd feelings he'd always felt coursed through his body stronger. His heart screamed truths and his mind lies.
He loved her.
"Oh come on Sarah, you know you want to say something, don't you? You've got to want to yell at me for mixing up that story." He grinned in spite of himself, as he saw her begin to stir.
"I was the one that messed up the legend or whatever you want to call it."
He plunged on, watching her eyelashes bat open and listening to the soft moaning she emitted. "So what if I'm not much for ghost stories?"
"You're just not very..." Mac mumbled, raking her fingers through her hair.
"Glad you rejoined the land of the awake."
"What happened?" She asked, forcing herself to sit up, but failing rather miserably.
Falling back into his strong embrace, Mac sighed restlessly.
"Seems the ceiling caved in. Right on top of your hard Marine head."
<<Or I should say, beautiful...>>
"Ceiling or floor?" Mac mumbled, stumbling to her feet.
Crossing his arms around her, he pulled them both up, struggling to hold her as she fought lightly against his grip. Secretly she enjoyed the feeling of his arms around her. Her body tingled with delight at his every touch.
Mac looked up, searching for his eyes. "Shit." She hissed, reaching her hand up to cover her eyes.
"What? What's wrong Mac? Are you ok?" he asked worriedly.
"Damn light is too bright!" Mac complained. Her head hurt and the sunlight was making her increasingly dizzy.
"Light?" He whispered, looking above them. "Oh. My. God."
The collapsed area had left a large hole, one which the sun seemingly shone straight into.
The beams shot around the tunnels, filling Harm's whole being with hope.
Hope for Mac's safety, for their release from this dungeon, for- dare he think it- future with her.
Mac, we may just get out of here sooner than we thought..."
"Here's what we're gonna do..."
"What is this? Strategic planning?" Mac asked, rubbing her eyes, still not used to the "glowing" light.
Shooting her a quick glare, he continued, "I'll boost you up, I'm pretty sure that my height and yours.. well considering the fact that all I have to do is stand on my toes..."
"Yeah, okay, I got it. Let's give it a try." Mac murmured, ready to do anything that would get them on the outside of the prison they'd been in since the day before.
Moving towards the edge of the center, Harm looked at her, determination shining in his eyes.
"Harm, wait." She said, laying a hand on his chest as if to halt him.
Looking from the hand lying on his chest between his unbuttoned lapels, to the gaze he knew so well- the one that meant she was thinking, deciding- he couldn't help but ask, "What?"
"What about... Addams?"
"Mac, what can we do? Go back into... that... abyss? Find his body and bring him out? Mac, we can't even get near him for the ... odor."
"Yeah, you're right. It's just, I don't know. He was... this was why we were here. I mean, for all we knew we could've died in here, and now... we're getting out. And he's not."
"I know. It isn't fair, but it's the only way. You know that."
"He was someone's brother, someone's son. Someone's friend. It just isn't fair that this should happen, and even more so, it isn't fair that... that they shouldn't at least have a body, a... well, closure, maybe?"
"Closure." Harm mumbled, "This will have to be their closure, Mac. There's no other way. We can't..."
"Yeah," She interrupted, removing her hand as a far-away look took over her features. "Let's get out of here."
Staring into her eyes, Harm sensed that the latest events had shaken her even more than she'd let him see, and upon this he noticed she was quickly averting her eyes.
"Give me your foot, alright?" He said, cupping his hands together, as he said the words.
"Yeah." She whispered, looking back one final time into the darkness she'd come to know, maybe even understand. <<I'm sorry. We couldn't save you.>> Her heart whispered to that of the dead man behind them.
Slipping her hands over the side of the hole, Mac dug her fingers into the moist ground outside, her hands clasping onto the dying blades of grass.
Quickly, she was sitting above her partner, holding on to his hand as he braced himself against the wall.
"Move over, I'm coming up!" Harm grinned, pulling himself up and swinging over the side.
Soon they lay adjacent to each other, staring at the clouds, both breathing heavily, taking in as much of the dry wintry air as they could.
The leaves of the old maple sitting in front fell in the softly whispering breeze, the occasional one landing in the grass beside them, or on them.
"It's so different out here," Mac murmured, the cool air waking her up, her outlook brightening.
"Yeah, it is." Harm agreed, taking the folder with the case file in it and flopping it onto her stomach.
Taking it, Mac opened the file and fought against the wind as it threatened to rip the papers and evidence into it's grasp.
"Harm? Where'd this address come from?"
"What address?" He questioned, sitting up- mimicking her actions. Quickly glancing over his partner's shoulder, he suggested, "Says here... that it's his mother's address..."
"Want to..."
"Come on Mac, let's go." Harm nodded, grabbing her arm and pulling her towards the car.
"Jacob? Is this a joke?" The older woman standing at the door said, pushing her greying hair behind her ears.
"No ma'am. We were given this file, on... on your son, and... and here's his picture, this is him isn't it?" Mac mumbled, taking the picture clipped on the inside of the file out and handing it to the rather irritated woman.
Taking the picture in her hand, she raised it to her face gingerly, a small smile forming on her lips. "Yes, yes that's him. That's my baby boy. He died you know, 20 years ago? Today actually, 30 years ago today. Halloween."
"I'm sorry, ma'am." Mac murmured, trying to hide her confusion. "But, this file, it says he disappeared a week ago. The date on the front says...1999, doesn't it?" She finished, flipping the file over to check the label.
"Wha..." She murmured, "1969? But, I don't... it said 1999 a moment ago, didn't it?"
"Mrs. Addams, if it wouldn't be too much... what did he die of, do you know?" Harm probed, trying not to hurt her. But at the same time, he needed answers.
"Hazing." She answered simply, her eyes searching the picture, prodding. Looking for the familiar spirit, the jovial attitude she knew was there.
"Hazing?" Mac questioned, shifting her weight to the other foot.
Harm saw her movements, and knowing she was uncomfortable he added, "Ma'am? Could you explain?"
"I suppose, they never actually knew what killed him. He was at a party, the boys had all just graduated from the Academy, Jacob had gone along with a friend of his, even though he'd graduated long before. He thought it would be fun. And with his career... well, he didn't enjoy it most of the time. He was always such a free spirit, but the Navy wanted him to reign it in. Jacob thought of this as a metaphorical "last fling". He disappeared that night, later on they found him at the entrance to the tunnels. Did you know that place was part of the Underground Railroad?" She said, her mind wandering, but her eyes never straying from the picture she held.
"Tunnnels?"
"Yes, the tunnels. Beneath the house on King's Street? They were filled after that, no one could get in there if they wanted, the tunnels no longer exist. They condemned the house, it was torn down years ago. The only thing still standing is the Chimney."
"Do you remember the address of the house on King Street?" Mac asked, an overwhelming feeling of oddity invading her body.
It was all Harm could do, to not whisper to her, <<I feel it too, Mac. This is just ... weird.>>
"401, I'll never forget the address. 401 King Street. The house with the one gargoyle. The one that stared at you, everywhere you went. I hated that thing, I hated it." She whispered.
"Is he... Ma'am? Where is your son buried?"
"Rosewood, up the road there, you can't miss it. The little cemetery, the black rickety gate? And the sign, everytime the wind blows, it either creaks, or falls off. And I always have to put it back up it seems. I'm the only one left, that still goes there. The only one." She answered without hesitation, staring into the eyes of her young son.
"Thank you ma'am." Harm said, taking Mac's hand in his own, and shooting her a quick glance.
"May I...?" The woman asked, pointing at the picture.
Mac nodded, turning to follow Harm.
Turning quickly to ask the woman the name of the cemetery again, Mac gasped.
"Harm? What...?"
"Let's get out of here!" Harm said, running towards their car, Mac following close behind.
Driving towards the cemetery, they left what once was a house behind them. The only thing that stood in the middle of the clearing was a lone gargoyle, sitting in a circle of ash, with the torn pieces of a picture lying at it's base.
***
"This is so damn creepy." Mac hissed, as they walked through the brown and broken grass of the cemetery.
"I know it is, Mac! But we have to figure out what's going on before we get the hell out of here!" He whispered hurriedly.
"And when we go, we are *not* coming back... or telling anyone about this, they'll think we're insane! All I need is Jordan Parker in the picture again."
Harm laughed quietly to himself, before suddenly mumbling, "wait!"
"Jacob." Mac breathed, as they knelt together at the headstone.
"Jacob Addams, born February 10, 1945; died October 31, 1969. Grandmother's on Earth, Mama's in heaven." Harm read, tracing the words with his fingers.
"Harm," Mac hissed, nodding towards the back entrance of the cemetery.
Standing before them in the mist, stood the man they had searched for.
Leaning into Harm, Mac could think of nothing to say.
Harm wrapped his arms around her, lying her head against his chest.
Jacob stood looking at them, expectantly. Waiting.
Kissing the top of her head, Harm was shocked when she pulled away.
"Your mother loved you." She whispered.
Smiling slightly, Jacob nodded at the both of them, turned slowly and opened the gate.
"Let's go home," Harm whispered, kissing Mac's fingertips before pulling her up to stand beside him.
As they walked towards their car, a sudden creaking caught their attention, and they turned quickly.
Jacob closed the back gate, and faded slowly into the mist as the sign fell into the wind.
Jogging forward, Harm picked it up, quickly rehanging it, he whispered,
"You aren't alone anymore. You aren't the only one."
"You never really were."
And together, they turned and walked away- home.
the end.