azombiewrites (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
azombiewrites) wrote2010-05-31 12:16 pm
azombiewrites) wrote2010-05-31 12:16 pm
The Magnificent Seven Fic - 'An Alien investigation' - 3/4
Title: An Alien investigation
Rating: PG
Fandom: The Magnificent Seven
AU: Scientific Paranormal Investigations
Main Characters: All Seven.
Summary: When reports of alien sightings and abductions are made, SPIT7 head an investigation with the help of their new team member.
Disclaimers: The guys are owned by CBS, MGM, Trilogy Entertainment Group, and The Mirisch Corp.
Spoilers: None
Status: Complete
Total Word Count: 32,663
County Hospital, Salem- Friday, 12:19pm
White. Why were hospitals always white. The colour made it look more like a morgue than a facility that was supposed to heal people, but not everyone left with their health still in tack. Gawd, he hated hospitals and its staff with a passion.
Ezra sat on a gurney in the emergency room, he was impatiently waiting for someone to come and stitch his head wound back together. He'd already been here for nearly two hours. Four times, he had gotten up and started walking towards the exit only to have Larabee and Jackson grab him and pull him back. He had so far, managed to keep calm, but he wasn't going to be calm for much longer. His patience had already run out one hour and fifty-seven minutes ago.
"So, why don't you like hospitals Ezra?" Chris was trying to take the Southerner's mind off what was happening but the look on the man's face told him that it wasn't going to work.
"You mean apart from all the paper work, the outfits that you have to wear, nurses who wake you up in the middle of the night to see if your asleep, the five am wake up calls, nurses who don't really care, doctors who don't know what they’re doing. Should I go on." Ezra turned away as he began to remember the real reason why he didn't like hospitals, it wasn't the building itself, it was the people that worked in them.
The only person who had ever cared about him had died in a cold hospital ward. Her last hours were undignified, nurses and doctors continued to try and keep her alive while telling her seven-year-old nephew that she was going to be fine. 'Trust me', they said. He had trusted them, they were doctors after all, and they were supposed to know what they were doing. But they were doctors who also lied to the relatives of dying patients. Adults would say anything to a child to keep them happy and out of the way. He hadn't trusted a nurse or doctor since.
Ezra went back to looking for a way out when he heard a stranger's voice use his name. He turned with a grimace on his face. He wasn't going to enjoy this and neither was the doctor.
"Mr Standish?" the intern hoped that he wasn't required to stitch up the man who had unsuccessfully, tried to escape four times. He was sure he would be a difficult patient and he only had an hour to go on his shift. He didn't want to end his day on a bad note.
"Here." Chris answered and stepped out of the way.
Damn. Just typical. "I'm Doctor Jenz, I'll be doing your sutures for you."
Instead of replying, Ezra glared at the man who stood before him. He looked like he'd only just gotten out of nappies. A threat was written on his face and he knew that the young man if front of him understood it clearly. Jenz had blinked then looked at the two men with him for support. It seemed he wasn't going to get any.
"Could you lie down please, it would make it easier for both of us." Jenz placed the tray he was carrying down on a trolley and pulled it closer to the gurney. "Would you gentlemen like to stay or wait outside." Please stay!
"We'll stay if you don't mind." Chris smiled at him. Ezra had scared the guy with a simple look. And he thought his threatening expressions were bad. Standish easily gave him a run for his money.
Thank you. Jenz lifted his eyes skyward then returned to the job in hand, he wanted to get this over and done with. Sometimes he really hated his job. Not a day went by when one of the staff was assaulted in the emergency room. Some people just weren't happy about receiving medical treatment. He lifted the syringe off the tray and leant over the patient, he refused to look into the angry green eyes that he knew would be staring back at him. He felt the man tense up as he inserted the needle close to the wound. It was going to take a couple of minutes for it to go numb.
"How did you manage to do this?" Jenz spoke to Ezra but hoped one of the others was going to answer.
"A tree assaulted me." Ezra growled up at him.
"Did you have it arrested?" Jenz chuckled as he tried to break up the tension that surrounded him.
"I had to shoot it, resisting arrest." Ezra stared back at him. "Know what I mean."
"Um, that should be ready now." he began to stitch the wound while ignoring the patient.
Ten minutes later, he was finished. The wound was clean, closed and covered. Now it was time to tell him.
"We'd like to keep you in overnight for observation, just to be safe."
"Sorry, he's not staying." Chris told him.
"Sure, if that's what he wants but if he suffers from any nausea or dizziness then bring him back as soon as you can."
"Thanks doc." Chris waited for Ezra to thank the young physician. The expression that the man's face held told him that he wasn't going to say a word. Ezra was still glaring at the man before him, it looked as though he was ready to beat him to a pulp if he said or did the wrong thing. "Let's go Ezra."
Jenz watched as the three men left, one of them in a hurry, while the other two had to practically jog to keep up with him. "You're welcome." he told Ezra, but he made sure that his voice was low, so he wouldn't hear him. "Well, that wasn't so bad."
________________________________________
Protected Park Land, Salem- Friday, 3:32pm
Nathan Jackson had insisted that Ezra return to the hotel to get some rest. The impolite refusal angered him. Was this man going to be just like Vin and Chris. That was all he needed, three of the six men were as stubborn as hell. Just great. One of these days he was going to quit, that would teach them, who would look after them then. No one, they would have to go to a hospital where they would be lying on a bed being prodded and poked at by a doctor, wishing that they had never treated him the way they did. He smiled, that day will come.
Now they were back at the van. Ezra was sitting on the bottom bunk again, glaring at everyone around him. They kept asking him if he needed anything and Nathan would swear that he was about to become violent. Jackson turned back to the conversation he knew was about to start.
"So what did you guys find out?" Chris asked Josiah and Nathan as he sat down on one of the desks that were full of equipment. Lights were blinking on and off and small beeping noises echoed within the space of the van.
"Two victims," Nathan began, "Sarah Hinley, nineteen years of age. Wasn't popular around town.
Apparently, she was easy, as it was put by the young man we spoke to. There was a Josh Tomkins who helps out at the morgue, went to school with Sarah so he gave us some information on her. It seems that a lot of people were happy to see her go. Coroner said the cause of death was a fall from a great height. Body was found at the bottom of the cliff, two days after the accused abduction. There was no exact proof that she had been abducted though. Small wounds covered her upper body, which would not have resulted from the fall, too neat and precise. During the autopsy, a small chip was removed from the back of her right hand. They're still testing it to see what it is."
He looked across at Josiah to see if he wanted to continue but the large man - more in height than width - stayed silent. "John Heaslip, thirty years of age. The coroner knew him, saw him quite a bit at the local bar. Said he was a nice guy, everyone liked him. About three weeks ago, he started to act differently, he got mean, spent a couple of nights in the town jail. He picked fights with everyone he could find. No one could understand the change. They found out why at the autopsy. Cancer, he would have had only three months to live. Guess he didn't take it too well. As to the abduction, it's the same as Sarah, small wounds and the chip in the back of the right hand. Cause of death. He was hit by a train but he wasn't standing or jumped in front of it. Coroner said that he had to be lying down on the tracks."
"So, two people who claimed they saw aliens in this area, were abducted then died a few days later." Josiah finished off.
"Suicide?" Vin asked them.
"Could have been but you can easily be pushed off a cliff, or knocked out and laid down on a set of train tracks." Nathan told him.
"True." Vin agreed with Nathan's suspicions. There were no aliens until it was proven, until then this had been done by humans.
"And you?" Josiah wanted to know what Chris and Vin had found out.
"Forty eight year old Nancy Witt. Meanest bitch I've ever met." Chris grimaced. He hoped that she had never been a mother. "Said she always comes up here to swim in the lake. Last Tuesday afternoon at twelve past one, she claimed to have seen an alien. She said it looked the same as the one on the book cover. Short, grey with large black eyes. Witt says that it was just watching her then a few minutes later it walked away. Wednesday she was up here again, remembers swimming then nothing else. She woke up in the woods. A couple that was bush walking found her and took her to the hospital. Since then she remembers being in a room with aliens, pain and nothing else."
"You believe her?" Josiah watched Chris' face, the expression said no.
"I'll run the tape with the Tremolo, check the stress levels in her voice. That'll give us an idea if she's telling the truth or not." Chris answered.
"And in the meantime?"
"In the meantime we wait, Buck and JD can wait with Miss Witt, and they might come back for her. We'll keep watch here."
"Excuse me," Buck stood up and moved closer to Chris so he could be standing over him when he asked his question. "Why us?"
"Because you have a way with woman." Chris smiled up at him. "And I give the orders, got a problem with that."
"Only problem I got is that I'm going to have to deal with a cow. And poor JD here, how do you think he's going to handle it. I mean, hell, he thinks every woman is an angel, I don't think we should put him through that Chris."
"You can go on your own if you like."
"JD, you’re with me!" Buck returned to his seat without another word on the subject.
"Knew you would understand." Chris turned to check if Ezra had fallen asleep yet, the man was wide-awake, and his intense green eyes were staring back at him. Chris smiled but Ezra's face didn't flinch. "Anyone hungry?"
A chorus of yes, starving and about time was his answer.
"Buck and JD can get something to eat on their way to Witt's place. Any volunteers to get our dinner?" he looked around at the remaining agents. "Okay," he stood up, "I think it's about time that Nathan and I let someone else have a turn, it's only fair. Vin, Josiah, you know what we want. Ezra? You hungry?"
"What's on the menu?" Ezra continued to watch Chris.
"Italian."
"Sounds fine to me."
Josiah and Vin muttered and cursed as they left the van, why they kept getting the short end of the stick, they didn't know.
Ezra continued to watch Chris. He had allowed himself to trust him and Larabee had come through for him. No hesitation at all, as soon as an overnight stay was mentioned Chris spoke up and said no. He had kept his word. Ezra didn't think it would happen, he had put his trust in other people only to be thrown to the wolves, after the wolves were finished the person he trusted then stomped him into the ground. It had always taken him a while to get up again. By the time he was eight he no longer trusted anyone, and that included his mother.
"Ezra, you okay?" Chris could see that the Southerner was thinking, even though he had been staring at him.
Chris though, couldn't read his expression, he didn't know what was going on behind those staring eyes.
"Fine, just a bit of a headache, shoulder's sore too." he admitted.
"Nathan, Ezra's not feeling too well." Chris informed him.
Jackson moved to the bed and began to prod and poke. Ezra didn't like it. This guy was as bad as those he had left behind at the hospital. It was the last time he was going to tell them how he was feeling, it had been a mistake and the only time he was going to make it.
"There is no need for this, I would feel better if you stopped doing that." Ezra grabbed Nathan's left wrist and held it in a vice like grip. "No more."
"Sure, if that's what you want." Nathan pulled his hand from Ezra's grip then gave Chris one his looks. Chris tried to hide his smile, which only frustrated Nathan more.
"Why don't you get some rest Ezra, it'll be a while before Vin and Josiah get back."
Ezra watched Chris move away. He first took in the blond man's rugged features. He'd had a hard life. Ezra could read it in his eyes and his movements. He was a man that didn't take any shit from anyone. Nathan was next, that man was already looking down at him as though he were just piece of dirt. So far, he didn't like Nathan very much. He blinked and felt his eyelids becoming heavy. Maybe he should lie down, just for a little while. He shifted his body to the side so he could lie down on his right side. Ezra's head hit the soft pillow, his eyes closed and he was asleep within minutes.
________________________________________
Something caused him to wake suddenly, he didn't know what so he lay quietly to see if it happened again. It did. A sharp pain tore through his skull. It went as quickly as it came. There was something outside, something not right. He didn't know how he knew, he just knew it. He opened his eyes to a room full of filtered darkness and twisted his head so he could look over his shoulder. Sitting at the back of the van was a lamp, the low wattage bulb broke up the darkness enough to allow a person to find their way around. He could see a figure slumped in a chair, the clothing was dark. Chris Larabee. Did that man always wear black, he was yet to see him in anything else. A faint smell of pasta sauce floated within the van. His stomach growled in response. Later, he had to see what was outside first.
Ezra tip toed to the door, a glance over his shoulder told him that someone was sleeping on the top bunk, he thought it was Vin. Nathan and Josiah must have gone back to the motel. It would have been nice if they invited him along. A night in a comfortable bed was just what he wanted. Unfortunately, he wasn't going to get it tonight.
He unlocked the door carefully and opened it. The night's cool air bit his face and hands. A few minutes and he will go back inside. An image flashed in his mind, the stupid teenager in a horror movie who went to investigate a noise instead of running away from it. That was exactly what he was doing. He should be waking Chris and Vin so they could investigate with him. But there was nothing to be afraid of, no monsters, no ghosts and certainly no aliens.
The moon was full so he was able to see without a torch, not that he had brought one with him. Movement beyond the line of trees in front of him caught his attention. He slowly walked towards it, making sure that his eyes watched everything that they were able to see. Someone ran from one tree to another. It didn't look like an alien. It was tall and dressed in clothing and it certainly looked human. His own movements were quiet as he crept towards the hidden person. What he didn't realise was that there were two men waiting for him, not one.
He stopped as the headache began, he frowned in confusion as his mind began to tick over. His eyes searched the woods. There it was. The last time he had seen what looked like an alien his headache had worsened. It was too much of a coincidence. There was something that connected the two things; headaches and aliens. He had never read about that type of symptom when it came to alien sightings. Ezra watched it as it began to move towards him. He wasn't going to turn and run, he would wait, let it continue with its intentions. The sound of a snapping twig caused him to turn quickly, but not quick enough.
Jimmy Morris knew what he was doing, he had been doing the same thing long enough to catch each victim by surprise. Even this man. He plunged the needle into the exposed neck then stepped back to watch. The smile that spread across his face didn't show how deep his enjoyment of watching others suffer went.
Ezra felt the pain before he saw the man he recognised as being the man from the restaurant. What the hell was going on? The needle that hung loosely from his fingers told him. He had been drugged. Why? The world began to spin faster around him. He put his arms out to try and balance himself but only succeeded in falling down hard on his knees. His posterior was next. The alien stepped into his vision. Alien? It was changing into a human form. The second man at the restaurant. He was right, the aliens weren't real. Lord he wished he knew what was happening. Ezra fell onto his back with his legs twisted beneath him. He blinked, trying to bring his vision into focus. It didn't work. Blackness took over his world as he felt the two men begin to lift him to his feet.
________________________________________
An Unknown House, Salem - Saturday, 1:48am
Pain erupted on the side of his face. Then again on the other side. He forced his eyes open and looked up into the face of the man who had drugged him. Ezra ignored him and turned his head so he could explore his surroundings, he needed to find a way out. A strong hand gripped his jaw painfully and pulled his head back but he saw enough. It was a basement, he was sure. The wooden steps he had seen would lead to his escape.
Ezra tried to lift his arms but couldn't, something held them down. He attempted to lift his feet next, the same thing happened. It was then he realised he was naked from the waist up. He struggled to remove the hand from his face. He couldn't, the strength he required to do so seem to be lacking. A side effect from the drug, had to be. Well, his decision was now made, he no longer wanted the job, if this is what it entailed then he would go to jail. At least there, he had a better chance of fighting back.
"You going to put him under or what?" Orstien asked as he watched Morris stare into the eyes of the man below him. He still couldn't understand why he had chosen this one.
"No, I want him awake when we do this." Morris smiled. "I want him to feel everything."
"What if he remembers something afterwards?"
"No one will believe him, not after he tells them he was abducted by aliens. They'll call him a liar if he changes his story."
"Okay, as long as you know what you’re doing."
"Don't I always?"
"You haven't been wrong yet." Orstein moved closer and brought the tray of equipment with him. "Where do you want to start?"
"The chip."
Pain? They were going to cause him pain. Then he remembered, the bodies of the 'abductees’' had small wounds covering their bodies and a chip on the back of the right hand. He didn't want pain, he didn't like it very much, but then who did. Now he wished he had gotten more involved in the previous conversation. How deep were the wounds going to be? How large was the chip? His eyes opened a little wider when he saw the scalpel.
"This won't hurt much." Orstein told the man on the table. He didn't even know the victim's name. They had never done this to a stranger before. They had always known the victim, knew their weaknesses and their strengths. Morris had known what information to put in their minds to get the best results. They were going blind with this one.
Morris chuckled as he lowered the small weapon toward the right hand. The cut was usually small but he was going to go out of his way to make everything a bit longer, a bit deeper, and inflict them a bit slower. He loved his work.
Ezra gritted his teeth, this was only the first, there was going to be a lot more to come. He forced his mind to think of other things. Larabee. Would he think that he had run out? Of course, he would, what else he was going to think, that he was abducted by aliens. They wouldn't even come looking for him, why would they. If things went the same for him as the others then he would wake up somewhere in the woods, hopefully near the SPI van. But would he remember what really happened or would he tell them that he was abducted. His mind then told him the bad news. All but one of the victims had died a couple of days later. Aw, shit! This was not good. His jaw began to ache. He knew the guy was going out of his way to make it hurt more than it should.
The pain finally stopped a few minutes later but started again when a set of forceps began to pull back the flap of skin. The chip was inserted painfully, why would he assume anything else. A face then leered down at him. The scalpel was held in front of his face, his own blood dripping from the sharp edge of the small blade. His eyes followed the medical instrument as it made its way to his chest. He watched, fascinated as the blade began to cut into his flesh. Ezra didn't feel the pain at first, it came a few seconds later. Son of a bitch! He kept the thought to himself. They weren't going to hear or see him suffer.
Ezra didn't know how long it took to inflict the numerous wounds on his chest and arms but it finally stopped. The pain continued though. The small incisions hurt like hell. He blinked when the scalpel was placed against his throat.
"One move and your dead. Understand?" Morris warned him. "Dead now or dead in two days, it doesn't matter to us but it might matter to you."
Ezra nodded that he understood. He was right. If he was given a two-day reprieve, he might be able to get himself out of this shit hole he had placed himself in. His left arm was untied. A sharp twinge of pain reminded him that it had been dislocated the day before. He hoped that it stayed in place. His upper body was then forced onto its side. His left ankle twisted painfully as he was turned.
Morris knelt down in front of Ezra. He wanted to see the blood flow from his neck but the thought of the fun they were going to have watching him wake up in the middle of the woods kept him from doing it. Instead, he watched the handsome face as his partner inflicted more wounds on the man's back. The face before him was calm, even though sweat appeared on the skin. If it wasn't for the pain in his eyes, you wouldn't think that anything was wrong.
Next came the antiseptic, the cleaning of the wounds. He thought it hurt before, this was worse. It took even longer than it did to inflict the wounds. The pain only stopped when the bleeding did. The next thing he knew he was being drugged again. The needle was embedded in the same place as the first one. Ezra fought the drug’s effects. He didn't know what they were going to do to him while he was unconscious. The drug was stronger than he was. He felt the familiar nausea roll through his body then nothing.
________________________________________
SPI Van, Salem - Saturday, 6:22am
Chris stretched and his backbone cracked. Ouch! But he did feel better as a result of it. The van was quiet except for the sound of the equipment. Obviously, nothing had gone off in the night to alert them to intruders. His eyes stayed closed as he enjoyed the quiet, he knew it wouldn't last. He stretched again, this time allowing his muscles to work out the stiffness that had settled in during the night. Alarm bells began to ring telling him that he needed to answer nature's call. His bladder began to feel like it was about to burst. He rushed to the bathroom, trying not to wake the two occupants on the bunks. He shut the door and five minutes later returned with a frown on his face. The bottom bunk was empty.
"Vin!" He slammed his fist against the top bunk. "Get up!"
"What?" Vin muttered as he shot up into a sitting position. The top of his forehead slammed into the roof of the van. "SHIT!" he always forgot about that thing.
"Ezra's gone."
"You check the privy?" Vin asked him as he started to rub his forehead.
"Just been in there." Chris told him.
"Give me a minute so I can go, then we'll look for him." he jumped off the bed while still holding his head with his hand. "You should do something about that roof, a guy can get killed sleeping on that bunk."
"Thought you had a thick skull."
"Even my thick skull can only take so many hits." Vin yelled through the door.
"Maybe we should test that theory." Chris muttered.
"Heard that." Vin smiled at him as he opened the door.
"Heard what?" Chris raised an eyebrow in innocence. "Come on, let's go find the slippery bastard."
"You think he took off."
"I didn't think he would, still don't, we'll look around here first, and maybe he's just gone for a walk."
"He would have set off the motion detectors."
"I know, but I want to check anyway."
________________________________________
Protected Park Land, Salem - Saturday, 7:05am
Ezra's eyes opened. At first, they saw nothing. It wasn't until a few seconds later his vision began to register the trees above him, the blue sky and the few thin white clouds that drifted by. Another beautiful day. God his head hurt. It was then that he began to feel the pain in the rest of his upper body. It wasn't that bad but he couldn't understand why he hurt. He allowed his head to roll to the right. He blinked at the sight before him. An alien stood watching him. Had he been abducted? Ezra searched his memory. A silver room appeared in his mind. Then pain, weird experiments and something else but it wouldn't come to him, it stayed hidden in the back of his mind.
He watched the alien walk away then disappears altogether. His headache eased. Something wasn't right. Headaches and aliens, why was he remembering that. It wasn't right. There was something wrong with the entire situation. He brought his head back to its original position. Ezra was content lying on the dry grass and dead branches, some of which were digging into his back. Maybe he should just roll onto his side. Before he made the decision, his body moved. He now lay on his right side, it was more comfortable. Two men were walking towards him, the sight caused something else to began nagging at his thoughts. Two men, headaches and aliens. They were all connected, he knew that but nothing else.
His eyes closed, he was tired, and he wanted to sleep. And he could easily do that where he was. The thought of moving wasn't going down to well. The sun shone down on his face and body driving the chill from his flesh and bones. Ezra eyes snapped open when he heard someone yelling his name. The two men were practically on top of him. Was that Chris and Vin? Had they come looking for him? He would like to think yes but it must have been a coincidence.
"Ezra!" Chris yelled to him when he saw him lying on the ground with his eyes closed. What the hell had happened to him this time.
He began to run and Vin equalled his pace. Chris relaxed slightly when Ezra opened his eyes and looked at them. There was recognition in the green eyes. Chris knelt down in front of his fallen agent, there had to be something wrong, he wouldn't have left the van to come out here and sleep. He put a hand on the younger man's forehead. There was a slight fever. Was this a result of the head wound. It was the only thing he could think of. He knew about delayed concussion, it could be even worse than the normal concussion.
"Ezra? You okay?" Chris knew it was a stupid question but what else was he going to say.
"Not really." Why was he telling this man how he felt. "Think I was abducted."
"Abducted?!" Chris and Vin spoke together.
"Yeah, think, little green men, UFO's, that sort of thing." he rolled onto his back and looked up into the sky again. The clouds had disappeared leaving the sky clear and blue. What a sight, he could lie here all day.
"Hurts up here." he waved his hand over his chest.
Chris grabbed the right hand that was being used to indicate where the pain was. There was a small wound on the back of Ezra's right hand. "Shit. This time you’re going to the hospital, no arguments."
"No." Ezra pleaded with him.
"It's okay Ezra, I won't leave you alone." he turned to Vin. "Help me get him to the car, then I want you to stay here and let the others know what happened. Send Nathan and Josiah to relieve Buck and JD. I'll give you a call later and let you know what's happening."
"No problem."
Together they lifted Ezra to his feet. A grunt of pain caused them to be more cautious in their movements. They had to move slowly after Ezra complained that his left ankle also hurt. Chris was going to be surprised if Ezra still wanted to stay with the team after this. They had all been injured at one time or another, he himself had been seriously injured on one operation but they all took it as part of the job. They had a choice when they joined the unit and knew there would be risks, but Ezra didn't. He hadn't been given a choice and hadn't been warned before hand of the risks. He should have told him.
They finally reached the car and placed Ezra in the front passenger seat. Ezra immediately closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. Chris got into the car and frowned at the vehicle's other occupant. It was as though Ezra was under the influence of drugs. He would make sure they did blood tests at the hospital. Curiosity caused him to lean over towards the younger man, he carefully undid the top buttons of the blue shirt and pulled it open. Two wounds stared back at him. He wanted to look for more but Ezra needed medical attention. He would find out the extent of his wounds later. And whoever inflicted the wounds was going to pay dearly for hurting Ezra, whether it is alien or human.
________________________________________
Peter Jenz pushed his way through the emergency doors. He hated doing a morning shift after a later afternoon shift. It didn't give him enough time to wind down. The pen he used hung from his mouth, he often chewed it as a stress related reaction. He took it out and began to tap it against the tip of his small nose. It was what he did when he was thinking, he never did it in front of a patient or member of staff. He didn't want them to nag him about it like his mother did. Who invented mothers anyway, that's what he wanted to know. And like many other children, if he ever found out, he would knock them off their feet and tell them how mothers should act towards their children. He looked up and groaned. The man from last night was returning. His brown eyes quickly searched the corridor for another intern or doctor. He didn't need this, not first thing in the morning. Hell, his shift only just started. This wasn't the way to begin a day.
There was no one else. Just wait until they were in the same position. He was going to be no help at all. Typical, no one was willing to work anymore. He took a deep breath. Go and do it and before you know it, it'll be all over. He walked towards the two men and began to do his job.
"Is it the head wound?" Jenz asked as he took the left arm and helped to take Standish to one of the emergency cubicles.
"No, abducted by aliens." Chris grimaced at him.
"You're kidding. This is like the tree-shooting thing isn't it. You’re just being sarcastic."
"Sorry, it's like the other three abductions."
"There have been others. I haven't heard about them."
"You're not here to hear about them. Just fix him up will you." Chris demanded.
They helped Ezra up onto a gurney where he promptly fell asleep again. Jenz began his examination grateful that the patient wasn't conscious. He pulled on a pair of gloves and checked the pupils first. "He's been drugged. We'll do a blood work up, find out what kind of drug it is."
"Aliens don't drug their victims do they." Chris stated the fact. "He's also got some wounds on his chest.
Jenz cut open the shirt and pulled it away from the chest. "He's got more than a few."
The dozen or so wounds stood out darkly against the pale flesh. The few on the stomach were surrounded by pale bruises that would soon darken. Jenz began to remove the upper clothing with Chris' help. His experienced eyes saw the wounds to the arms and back.
"There's got to be at least two dozen. They won't need stitches. They're precise, not very deep, I'd say something as sharp as a scalpel did this. I'll clean them up and put some butterfly clips on them to keep the skin together."
"There should be a chip in his hand as well." Chris lifted Ezra's right hand.
Jenz looked closely at the hand. "Not a good job, which is surprising considering these other wounds." he turned away and got the instruments he was going to need.
The wound had closed but was yet to begin its healing process. With the help of a pair of tweezers and forceps, he was able to pull the skin away to reveal the chip. His patient moved against the pain then settled down again. He removed the chip then began to disinfect the small wound. A small bandage was enough to cover the wound. He then began to work on the others. They had been cleaned, at least that was something. Some people needed to be shot on sight. The things they did to other human beings, it wasn't right. Maybe they should shoot the person who invented humans without a conscious as well as hitting the person who invented mothers.
"We're going to have to admit him this time. At least until we know what drug was used and make sure there are no side effects."
"I understand that." Chris nodded as he looked down at Ezra's sleeping form. "Don't know if he will. Doesn't like hospitals."
"I noticed. There were a few times last night where I thought he was going to hit me." Jenz smiled at Larabee.
"I'll make sure that he doesn't."
"I would appreciate it."
Jenz continued his work in silence. Once each wound was checked, cleaned and bandaged, he moved onto the legs. He removed the trousers to find the legs free of any injuries. There was some slight bruising around the left ankle though. He tested it for broken bones.
"Just twisted I'd say, not even badly, but we'll take an x-ray just to be safe."
"I want to stay with him, just in case." Chris informed him.
"That's okay, under the circumstances I'll consider it as protection on our part." Jenz began to take a blood sample for testing. Once he was finished and satisfied with the work he had done he covered the patient with blanket. "Why don't we get the paper work started then we can send you down to x-ray then get him settled into a bed."
________________________________________
Chris sat in a chair that had been pulled closer to the bed. His feet sat comfortably on the edge of the bed, his left ankle crossed over the right. A magazine that held no interest for him was being held in his hands so he could glance over the printed text. Something about how torn blue jeans were no longer fashionable. He'd have to tell Vin, better still he'll show him the article, and otherwise he wouldn't believe him. He lowered the magazine a little to check on the occupant in the bed. Still sleeping. Chris was told the strong sedative that had been given to Ezra wouldn't begin to wear off for another couple of hours. He had contacted the others to let them know that Ezra was going to be okay. Vin and Buck told him that they were on their way. He went back to gazing at the magazine. He'd only read two words when the door burst open.
"Abducted by aliens huh," Buck smiled at Chris as he made his way to the bed, "and on his second day." he reached forward and touched one of the wounds on the Southerner's chest. "They did this to him."
"Don't think it was aliens." Chris told him. "He was given a sedative, that's why he's sleeping. Doc said there were other drugs in his system too, they're still trying to work out what they are."
"So we're looking for humans." Vin nodded as he watched Ezra's sleeping form.
"Looks like it. Ezra should be able to tell us more when he wakes up. It'll be another couple of hour’s yet." he handed the magazine to Vin. "Why don't you read this while you’re waiting, important fashion information about the jeans you wear."
"They're back in fashion then," Vin smiled as he quickly read the heading, "what do they know anyway, as long as the woman love them, I'll keep wearing them." he threw it back at Chris who caught and dropped it on the floor next to his chair.
"So how did things go with Miss Nancy Witt?" Chris asked Buck.
"You owe my big time for that one Chris. Bitch wouldn't even let us in the house, had to spend the night in the car. Froze our balls off we did. Then it was hard to check the yard and house with that killer dog . . . "
"It's a poodle Buck." Chris kept his face straight.
"It's a killer. Bit a hole in poor JD's jeans . . . and I'm not talking about his ankles "
"See, even a dog knows that torn jeans are the in thing." Vin grumbled.
"Then the cow came out just after eleven, screaming that there was an alien in her bedroom. There wasn't.
Then again at one forty two, two twenty six, four fifty one, six twenty two and six forty four." he had memorised the times so he could inform Chris of the nightmare he and JD had suffered.
"So you had fun then?" Chris asked innocently.
"If you want to put it that way." Buck clenched his fists as he faced his friend. He had been friends with
Larabee since they were kids. If anyone knew him, Buck did. "I'll quit before I go back there."
"That's fine by me."
"God dammit Chris, why do you have to be such a stubborn son of a bitch." Buck threw his hands in the air in frustration. "Like a mule with two heads, never known anyone like you, and why I ever put up with you I don't know. Total bastard if you ask me."
"Didn't ask you Buck." Chris was smiling now.
"Remind me again why I work for you?"
"You're a love sick fool . . . "
"You two in love?" Vin joined in. "Always knew it, the way you look at each, touch each other's arm, just so softly and you always lean close when your . . . "
Chris' cold glare stopped him before he could say it.
"If you make me go back there, I'll tell everyone back at the office about our secret relationship." Buck's smile spread from ear to ear.
"And ruin your reputation with the women."
"I can get my reputation back, I can't get my balls back if that dog eats them."
"Well when you put it like that . . , " Chris shrugged, "I'll think about it."
Buck's shoulders slumped in defeat. Why could you never beat this man. Buck knew he was stubborn but he was also fair. Chris would take his shift when it came to staying with Witt, except he would manage to get into the house, she would probably even make him dinner. It wasn't his leader's smile, rugged looks or even his bright blue eyes. It was his short temper and ability to say what he thinks. He would first tell the woman off, and not in a polite manner, then demand that she allow him to stay inside. And if she said no, he would force his way in, lock her in her bedroom then make himself coffee. That was the type of person he was. He didn't take shit from anyone.
"Think about it, not actually take tonight's shift for me instead."
"Sorry, got other matters to attend to." Chris nodded towards Ezra's inert form.
"Sure, look after the new guy and not the man you've known for more than twenty years. Why should the friendship we've shared mean anything to you." Buck went to a corner and sat down on a small set of drawers and continued to complain during the two hours that passed slowly. Chris didn't give in, instead he ignored him and spoke to Vin, a more agreeable companion, or so he thought.
Chris and Vin argued about serious things during the two hours they had to wait for Ezra to wake up. Was Seinfeld actually funny. They both agreed that it wasn't. And didn't that guy in The Jimmy episode look a lot like Ezra. How did CatDog go to the toilet? Why were Johnny Bravo's legs shorter than his hairstyle? Why did Daggett and Norbett of The Angry Beavers wear pyjamas to bed but wore nothing during the day? It may not be the things that people usually discussed but it was a way for the members of SPIT7 to deal with the stress that the job entailed. Sometimes the discussions lead to heated arguments.
It was during The Angry Beavers argument that Ezra began to wake. He listened to what was being said and smiled to himself. He actually liked the two beavers; Daggett being his favourite. The subject of the discussion always came up when he watched the program, and he was yet to come up with a sensible answer.
"If you can enlighten me to the answer to your question, I would be eternally grateful." Ezra interrupted the conversation with his question. He pushed himself up after opening his eyes to the late afternoon sun that shone through the hospital window. He was surprised to see three men watching him with expressions of surprise. "What?"
"You watch that show?" Vin asked him then looked towards Chris. He had been shocked when he found out that Chris sometimes watched the popular cartoon. And now Ezra, but then again he didn't even know anything about the man. Now he knew they had something in common and could discuss the question at a later time.
"I thought everyone watched it." Ezra threw the covers aside and began to escape from the fearful confinement of the hospital.
"Where do you think you’re going?" Chris stood up and blocked Ezra's path.
"Anywhere but here." Ezra stepped to the side then sighed in frustration when Chris matched his movement. "I don't want to stay here, I don't like hospitals."
"This isn't a simple bump on the head Ezra, something serious has happened. You have shallow cuts all over your upper body, a chip was inserted into the back of your right hand and you've been pumped full of drugs that the doctors haven't been able to identify yet."
An image of a small room with circular silver walls flashed through his mind, movement caused him to blink to try and stop the image from forming. He was unaware that his body began to tremble or of the hands that helped him back onto the bed. The pain that he had felt registered in his mind. They had experimented on him. Aliens? That's what his mind told him but there was something wrong. What? He didn't know.
"Ezra? You okay?" Chris asked him as he stepped back from the bed. "Ezra."
"Yes. Just a memory of what happened."
"What happened?"
"I was abducted by aliens." his eyes shifted to Chris' concerned features.
The man was concerned about him. He looked at the other two men. Their expressions were the same. How could they be concerned about someone they had only known for a few days. And a person who had refused to discuss anything with them about his personal or professional life. This wasn't normal, maybe for someone else but not him. He was beginning to feel very uncomfortable.
"Can I go back to the hotel now?"
"I'd rather you didn't." Chris replied forcefully.
"I don't like hospitals." Ezra repeated more sternly.
"Because they wake you up early?" Chris raised his eyebrows in disbelief.
Ezra quickly looked away but not before Chris saw the fear in his eyes. He made a decision that he hoped he wasn't going to regret. He also hoped that it would give Ezra a reason to stay with the team. He wanted Ezra to know that he could trust him and the others.
"Okay Ezra, but we're not taking you to the hotel, it will have to be the SPI van. I don't have enough men to spread around." Chris stared at the man before him. "You don't leave our sight. Understand?"
"Anything Mr Larabee, as long as I don't have to stay here." Ezra got out of the bed quickly. "Where are my clothes?"
Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four
Master Fan Fiction List
Rating: PG
Fandom: The Magnificent Seven
AU: Scientific Paranormal Investigations
Main Characters: All Seven.
Summary: When reports of alien sightings and abductions are made, SPIT7 head an investigation with the help of their new team member.
Disclaimers: The guys are owned by CBS, MGM, Trilogy Entertainment Group, and The Mirisch Corp.
Spoilers: None
Status: Complete
Total Word Count: 32,663
County Hospital, Salem- Friday, 12:19pm
White. Why were hospitals always white. The colour made it look more like a morgue than a facility that was supposed to heal people, but not everyone left with their health still in tack. Gawd, he hated hospitals and its staff with a passion.
Ezra sat on a gurney in the emergency room, he was impatiently waiting for someone to come and stitch his head wound back together. He'd already been here for nearly two hours. Four times, he had gotten up and started walking towards the exit only to have Larabee and Jackson grab him and pull him back. He had so far, managed to keep calm, but he wasn't going to be calm for much longer. His patience had already run out one hour and fifty-seven minutes ago.
"So, why don't you like hospitals Ezra?" Chris was trying to take the Southerner's mind off what was happening but the look on the man's face told him that it wasn't going to work.
"You mean apart from all the paper work, the outfits that you have to wear, nurses who wake you up in the middle of the night to see if your asleep, the five am wake up calls, nurses who don't really care, doctors who don't know what they’re doing. Should I go on." Ezra turned away as he began to remember the real reason why he didn't like hospitals, it wasn't the building itself, it was the people that worked in them.
The only person who had ever cared about him had died in a cold hospital ward. Her last hours were undignified, nurses and doctors continued to try and keep her alive while telling her seven-year-old nephew that she was going to be fine. 'Trust me', they said. He had trusted them, they were doctors after all, and they were supposed to know what they were doing. But they were doctors who also lied to the relatives of dying patients. Adults would say anything to a child to keep them happy and out of the way. He hadn't trusted a nurse or doctor since.
Ezra went back to looking for a way out when he heard a stranger's voice use his name. He turned with a grimace on his face. He wasn't going to enjoy this and neither was the doctor.
"Mr Standish?" the intern hoped that he wasn't required to stitch up the man who had unsuccessfully, tried to escape four times. He was sure he would be a difficult patient and he only had an hour to go on his shift. He didn't want to end his day on a bad note.
"Here." Chris answered and stepped out of the way.
Damn. Just typical. "I'm Doctor Jenz, I'll be doing your sutures for you."
Instead of replying, Ezra glared at the man who stood before him. He looked like he'd only just gotten out of nappies. A threat was written on his face and he knew that the young man if front of him understood it clearly. Jenz had blinked then looked at the two men with him for support. It seemed he wasn't going to get any.
"Could you lie down please, it would make it easier for both of us." Jenz placed the tray he was carrying down on a trolley and pulled it closer to the gurney. "Would you gentlemen like to stay or wait outside." Please stay!
"We'll stay if you don't mind." Chris smiled at him. Ezra had scared the guy with a simple look. And he thought his threatening expressions were bad. Standish easily gave him a run for his money.
Thank you. Jenz lifted his eyes skyward then returned to the job in hand, he wanted to get this over and done with. Sometimes he really hated his job. Not a day went by when one of the staff was assaulted in the emergency room. Some people just weren't happy about receiving medical treatment. He lifted the syringe off the tray and leant over the patient, he refused to look into the angry green eyes that he knew would be staring back at him. He felt the man tense up as he inserted the needle close to the wound. It was going to take a couple of minutes for it to go numb.
"How did you manage to do this?" Jenz spoke to Ezra but hoped one of the others was going to answer.
"A tree assaulted me." Ezra growled up at him.
"Did you have it arrested?" Jenz chuckled as he tried to break up the tension that surrounded him.
"I had to shoot it, resisting arrest." Ezra stared back at him. "Know what I mean."
"Um, that should be ready now." he began to stitch the wound while ignoring the patient.
Ten minutes later, he was finished. The wound was clean, closed and covered. Now it was time to tell him.
"We'd like to keep you in overnight for observation, just to be safe."
"Sorry, he's not staying." Chris told him.
"Sure, if that's what he wants but if he suffers from any nausea or dizziness then bring him back as soon as you can."
"Thanks doc." Chris waited for Ezra to thank the young physician. The expression that the man's face held told him that he wasn't going to say a word. Ezra was still glaring at the man before him, it looked as though he was ready to beat him to a pulp if he said or did the wrong thing. "Let's go Ezra."
Jenz watched as the three men left, one of them in a hurry, while the other two had to practically jog to keep up with him. "You're welcome." he told Ezra, but he made sure that his voice was low, so he wouldn't hear him. "Well, that wasn't so bad."
________________________________________
Protected Park Land, Salem- Friday, 3:32pm
Nathan Jackson had insisted that Ezra return to the hotel to get some rest. The impolite refusal angered him. Was this man going to be just like Vin and Chris. That was all he needed, three of the six men were as stubborn as hell. Just great. One of these days he was going to quit, that would teach them, who would look after them then. No one, they would have to go to a hospital where they would be lying on a bed being prodded and poked at by a doctor, wishing that they had never treated him the way they did. He smiled, that day will come.
Now they were back at the van. Ezra was sitting on the bottom bunk again, glaring at everyone around him. They kept asking him if he needed anything and Nathan would swear that he was about to become violent. Jackson turned back to the conversation he knew was about to start.
"So what did you guys find out?" Chris asked Josiah and Nathan as he sat down on one of the desks that were full of equipment. Lights were blinking on and off and small beeping noises echoed within the space of the van.
"Two victims," Nathan began, "Sarah Hinley, nineteen years of age. Wasn't popular around town.
Apparently, she was easy, as it was put by the young man we spoke to. There was a Josh Tomkins who helps out at the morgue, went to school with Sarah so he gave us some information on her. It seems that a lot of people were happy to see her go. Coroner said the cause of death was a fall from a great height. Body was found at the bottom of the cliff, two days after the accused abduction. There was no exact proof that she had been abducted though. Small wounds covered her upper body, which would not have resulted from the fall, too neat and precise. During the autopsy, a small chip was removed from the back of her right hand. They're still testing it to see what it is."
He looked across at Josiah to see if he wanted to continue but the large man - more in height than width - stayed silent. "John Heaslip, thirty years of age. The coroner knew him, saw him quite a bit at the local bar. Said he was a nice guy, everyone liked him. About three weeks ago, he started to act differently, he got mean, spent a couple of nights in the town jail. He picked fights with everyone he could find. No one could understand the change. They found out why at the autopsy. Cancer, he would have had only three months to live. Guess he didn't take it too well. As to the abduction, it's the same as Sarah, small wounds and the chip in the back of the right hand. Cause of death. He was hit by a train but he wasn't standing or jumped in front of it. Coroner said that he had to be lying down on the tracks."
"So, two people who claimed they saw aliens in this area, were abducted then died a few days later." Josiah finished off.
"Suicide?" Vin asked them.
"Could have been but you can easily be pushed off a cliff, or knocked out and laid down on a set of train tracks." Nathan told him.
"True." Vin agreed with Nathan's suspicions. There were no aliens until it was proven, until then this had been done by humans.
"And you?" Josiah wanted to know what Chris and Vin had found out.
"Forty eight year old Nancy Witt. Meanest bitch I've ever met." Chris grimaced. He hoped that she had never been a mother. "Said she always comes up here to swim in the lake. Last Tuesday afternoon at twelve past one, she claimed to have seen an alien. She said it looked the same as the one on the book cover. Short, grey with large black eyes. Witt says that it was just watching her then a few minutes later it walked away. Wednesday she was up here again, remembers swimming then nothing else. She woke up in the woods. A couple that was bush walking found her and took her to the hospital. Since then she remembers being in a room with aliens, pain and nothing else."
"You believe her?" Josiah watched Chris' face, the expression said no.
"I'll run the tape with the Tremolo, check the stress levels in her voice. That'll give us an idea if she's telling the truth or not." Chris answered.
"And in the meantime?"
"In the meantime we wait, Buck and JD can wait with Miss Witt, and they might come back for her. We'll keep watch here."
"Excuse me," Buck stood up and moved closer to Chris so he could be standing over him when he asked his question. "Why us?"
"Because you have a way with woman." Chris smiled up at him. "And I give the orders, got a problem with that."
"Only problem I got is that I'm going to have to deal with a cow. And poor JD here, how do you think he's going to handle it. I mean, hell, he thinks every woman is an angel, I don't think we should put him through that Chris."
"You can go on your own if you like."
"JD, you’re with me!" Buck returned to his seat without another word on the subject.
"Knew you would understand." Chris turned to check if Ezra had fallen asleep yet, the man was wide-awake, and his intense green eyes were staring back at him. Chris smiled but Ezra's face didn't flinch. "Anyone hungry?"
A chorus of yes, starving and about time was his answer.
"Buck and JD can get something to eat on their way to Witt's place. Any volunteers to get our dinner?" he looked around at the remaining agents. "Okay," he stood up, "I think it's about time that Nathan and I let someone else have a turn, it's only fair. Vin, Josiah, you know what we want. Ezra? You hungry?"
"What's on the menu?" Ezra continued to watch Chris.
"Italian."
"Sounds fine to me."
Josiah and Vin muttered and cursed as they left the van, why they kept getting the short end of the stick, they didn't know.
Ezra continued to watch Chris. He had allowed himself to trust him and Larabee had come through for him. No hesitation at all, as soon as an overnight stay was mentioned Chris spoke up and said no. He had kept his word. Ezra didn't think it would happen, he had put his trust in other people only to be thrown to the wolves, after the wolves were finished the person he trusted then stomped him into the ground. It had always taken him a while to get up again. By the time he was eight he no longer trusted anyone, and that included his mother.
"Ezra, you okay?" Chris could see that the Southerner was thinking, even though he had been staring at him.
Chris though, couldn't read his expression, he didn't know what was going on behind those staring eyes.
"Fine, just a bit of a headache, shoulder's sore too." he admitted.
"Nathan, Ezra's not feeling too well." Chris informed him.
Jackson moved to the bed and began to prod and poke. Ezra didn't like it. This guy was as bad as those he had left behind at the hospital. It was the last time he was going to tell them how he was feeling, it had been a mistake and the only time he was going to make it.
"There is no need for this, I would feel better if you stopped doing that." Ezra grabbed Nathan's left wrist and held it in a vice like grip. "No more."
"Sure, if that's what you want." Nathan pulled his hand from Ezra's grip then gave Chris one his looks. Chris tried to hide his smile, which only frustrated Nathan more.
"Why don't you get some rest Ezra, it'll be a while before Vin and Josiah get back."
Ezra watched Chris move away. He first took in the blond man's rugged features. He'd had a hard life. Ezra could read it in his eyes and his movements. He was a man that didn't take any shit from anyone. Nathan was next, that man was already looking down at him as though he were just piece of dirt. So far, he didn't like Nathan very much. He blinked and felt his eyelids becoming heavy. Maybe he should lie down, just for a little while. He shifted his body to the side so he could lie down on his right side. Ezra's head hit the soft pillow, his eyes closed and he was asleep within minutes.
________________________________________
Something caused him to wake suddenly, he didn't know what so he lay quietly to see if it happened again. It did. A sharp pain tore through his skull. It went as quickly as it came. There was something outside, something not right. He didn't know how he knew, he just knew it. He opened his eyes to a room full of filtered darkness and twisted his head so he could look over his shoulder. Sitting at the back of the van was a lamp, the low wattage bulb broke up the darkness enough to allow a person to find their way around. He could see a figure slumped in a chair, the clothing was dark. Chris Larabee. Did that man always wear black, he was yet to see him in anything else. A faint smell of pasta sauce floated within the van. His stomach growled in response. Later, he had to see what was outside first.
Ezra tip toed to the door, a glance over his shoulder told him that someone was sleeping on the top bunk, he thought it was Vin. Nathan and Josiah must have gone back to the motel. It would have been nice if they invited him along. A night in a comfortable bed was just what he wanted. Unfortunately, he wasn't going to get it tonight.
He unlocked the door carefully and opened it. The night's cool air bit his face and hands. A few minutes and he will go back inside. An image flashed in his mind, the stupid teenager in a horror movie who went to investigate a noise instead of running away from it. That was exactly what he was doing. He should be waking Chris and Vin so they could investigate with him. But there was nothing to be afraid of, no monsters, no ghosts and certainly no aliens.
The moon was full so he was able to see without a torch, not that he had brought one with him. Movement beyond the line of trees in front of him caught his attention. He slowly walked towards it, making sure that his eyes watched everything that they were able to see. Someone ran from one tree to another. It didn't look like an alien. It was tall and dressed in clothing and it certainly looked human. His own movements were quiet as he crept towards the hidden person. What he didn't realise was that there were two men waiting for him, not one.
He stopped as the headache began, he frowned in confusion as his mind began to tick over. His eyes searched the woods. There it was. The last time he had seen what looked like an alien his headache had worsened. It was too much of a coincidence. There was something that connected the two things; headaches and aliens. He had never read about that type of symptom when it came to alien sightings. Ezra watched it as it began to move towards him. He wasn't going to turn and run, he would wait, let it continue with its intentions. The sound of a snapping twig caused him to turn quickly, but not quick enough.
Jimmy Morris knew what he was doing, he had been doing the same thing long enough to catch each victim by surprise. Even this man. He plunged the needle into the exposed neck then stepped back to watch. The smile that spread across his face didn't show how deep his enjoyment of watching others suffer went.
Ezra felt the pain before he saw the man he recognised as being the man from the restaurant. What the hell was going on? The needle that hung loosely from his fingers told him. He had been drugged. Why? The world began to spin faster around him. He put his arms out to try and balance himself but only succeeded in falling down hard on his knees. His posterior was next. The alien stepped into his vision. Alien? It was changing into a human form. The second man at the restaurant. He was right, the aliens weren't real. Lord he wished he knew what was happening. Ezra fell onto his back with his legs twisted beneath him. He blinked, trying to bring his vision into focus. It didn't work. Blackness took over his world as he felt the two men begin to lift him to his feet.
________________________________________
An Unknown House, Salem - Saturday, 1:48am
Pain erupted on the side of his face. Then again on the other side. He forced his eyes open and looked up into the face of the man who had drugged him. Ezra ignored him and turned his head so he could explore his surroundings, he needed to find a way out. A strong hand gripped his jaw painfully and pulled his head back but he saw enough. It was a basement, he was sure. The wooden steps he had seen would lead to his escape.
Ezra tried to lift his arms but couldn't, something held them down. He attempted to lift his feet next, the same thing happened. It was then he realised he was naked from the waist up. He struggled to remove the hand from his face. He couldn't, the strength he required to do so seem to be lacking. A side effect from the drug, had to be. Well, his decision was now made, he no longer wanted the job, if this is what it entailed then he would go to jail. At least there, he had a better chance of fighting back.
"You going to put him under or what?" Orstien asked as he watched Morris stare into the eyes of the man below him. He still couldn't understand why he had chosen this one.
"No, I want him awake when we do this." Morris smiled. "I want him to feel everything."
"What if he remembers something afterwards?"
"No one will believe him, not after he tells them he was abducted by aliens. They'll call him a liar if he changes his story."
"Okay, as long as you know what you’re doing."
"Don't I always?"
"You haven't been wrong yet." Orstein moved closer and brought the tray of equipment with him. "Where do you want to start?"
"The chip."
Pain? They were going to cause him pain. Then he remembered, the bodies of the 'abductees’' had small wounds covering their bodies and a chip on the back of the right hand. He didn't want pain, he didn't like it very much, but then who did. Now he wished he had gotten more involved in the previous conversation. How deep were the wounds going to be? How large was the chip? His eyes opened a little wider when he saw the scalpel.
"This won't hurt much." Orstein told the man on the table. He didn't even know the victim's name. They had never done this to a stranger before. They had always known the victim, knew their weaknesses and their strengths. Morris had known what information to put in their minds to get the best results. They were going blind with this one.
Morris chuckled as he lowered the small weapon toward the right hand. The cut was usually small but he was going to go out of his way to make everything a bit longer, a bit deeper, and inflict them a bit slower. He loved his work.
Ezra gritted his teeth, this was only the first, there was going to be a lot more to come. He forced his mind to think of other things. Larabee. Would he think that he had run out? Of course, he would, what else he was going to think, that he was abducted by aliens. They wouldn't even come looking for him, why would they. If things went the same for him as the others then he would wake up somewhere in the woods, hopefully near the SPI van. But would he remember what really happened or would he tell them that he was abducted. His mind then told him the bad news. All but one of the victims had died a couple of days later. Aw, shit! This was not good. His jaw began to ache. He knew the guy was going out of his way to make it hurt more than it should.
The pain finally stopped a few minutes later but started again when a set of forceps began to pull back the flap of skin. The chip was inserted painfully, why would he assume anything else. A face then leered down at him. The scalpel was held in front of his face, his own blood dripping from the sharp edge of the small blade. His eyes followed the medical instrument as it made its way to his chest. He watched, fascinated as the blade began to cut into his flesh. Ezra didn't feel the pain at first, it came a few seconds later. Son of a bitch! He kept the thought to himself. They weren't going to hear or see him suffer.
Ezra didn't know how long it took to inflict the numerous wounds on his chest and arms but it finally stopped. The pain continued though. The small incisions hurt like hell. He blinked when the scalpel was placed against his throat.
"One move and your dead. Understand?" Morris warned him. "Dead now or dead in two days, it doesn't matter to us but it might matter to you."
Ezra nodded that he understood. He was right. If he was given a two-day reprieve, he might be able to get himself out of this shit hole he had placed himself in. His left arm was untied. A sharp twinge of pain reminded him that it had been dislocated the day before. He hoped that it stayed in place. His upper body was then forced onto its side. His left ankle twisted painfully as he was turned.
Morris knelt down in front of Ezra. He wanted to see the blood flow from his neck but the thought of the fun they were going to have watching him wake up in the middle of the woods kept him from doing it. Instead, he watched the handsome face as his partner inflicted more wounds on the man's back. The face before him was calm, even though sweat appeared on the skin. If it wasn't for the pain in his eyes, you wouldn't think that anything was wrong.
Next came the antiseptic, the cleaning of the wounds. He thought it hurt before, this was worse. It took even longer than it did to inflict the wounds. The pain only stopped when the bleeding did. The next thing he knew he was being drugged again. The needle was embedded in the same place as the first one. Ezra fought the drug’s effects. He didn't know what they were going to do to him while he was unconscious. The drug was stronger than he was. He felt the familiar nausea roll through his body then nothing.
________________________________________
SPI Van, Salem - Saturday, 6:22am
Chris stretched and his backbone cracked. Ouch! But he did feel better as a result of it. The van was quiet except for the sound of the equipment. Obviously, nothing had gone off in the night to alert them to intruders. His eyes stayed closed as he enjoyed the quiet, he knew it wouldn't last. He stretched again, this time allowing his muscles to work out the stiffness that had settled in during the night. Alarm bells began to ring telling him that he needed to answer nature's call. His bladder began to feel like it was about to burst. He rushed to the bathroom, trying not to wake the two occupants on the bunks. He shut the door and five minutes later returned with a frown on his face. The bottom bunk was empty.
"Vin!" He slammed his fist against the top bunk. "Get up!"
"What?" Vin muttered as he shot up into a sitting position. The top of his forehead slammed into the roof of the van. "SHIT!" he always forgot about that thing.
"Ezra's gone."
"You check the privy?" Vin asked him as he started to rub his forehead.
"Just been in there." Chris told him.
"Give me a minute so I can go, then we'll look for him." he jumped off the bed while still holding his head with his hand. "You should do something about that roof, a guy can get killed sleeping on that bunk."
"Thought you had a thick skull."
"Even my thick skull can only take so many hits." Vin yelled through the door.
"Maybe we should test that theory." Chris muttered.
"Heard that." Vin smiled at him as he opened the door.
"Heard what?" Chris raised an eyebrow in innocence. "Come on, let's go find the slippery bastard."
"You think he took off."
"I didn't think he would, still don't, we'll look around here first, and maybe he's just gone for a walk."
"He would have set off the motion detectors."
"I know, but I want to check anyway."
________________________________________
Protected Park Land, Salem - Saturday, 7:05am
Ezra's eyes opened. At first, they saw nothing. It wasn't until a few seconds later his vision began to register the trees above him, the blue sky and the few thin white clouds that drifted by. Another beautiful day. God his head hurt. It was then that he began to feel the pain in the rest of his upper body. It wasn't that bad but he couldn't understand why he hurt. He allowed his head to roll to the right. He blinked at the sight before him. An alien stood watching him. Had he been abducted? Ezra searched his memory. A silver room appeared in his mind. Then pain, weird experiments and something else but it wouldn't come to him, it stayed hidden in the back of his mind.
He watched the alien walk away then disappears altogether. His headache eased. Something wasn't right. Headaches and aliens, why was he remembering that. It wasn't right. There was something wrong with the entire situation. He brought his head back to its original position. Ezra was content lying on the dry grass and dead branches, some of which were digging into his back. Maybe he should just roll onto his side. Before he made the decision, his body moved. He now lay on his right side, it was more comfortable. Two men were walking towards him, the sight caused something else to began nagging at his thoughts. Two men, headaches and aliens. They were all connected, he knew that but nothing else.
His eyes closed, he was tired, and he wanted to sleep. And he could easily do that where he was. The thought of moving wasn't going down to well. The sun shone down on his face and body driving the chill from his flesh and bones. Ezra eyes snapped open when he heard someone yelling his name. The two men were practically on top of him. Was that Chris and Vin? Had they come looking for him? He would like to think yes but it must have been a coincidence.
"Ezra!" Chris yelled to him when he saw him lying on the ground with his eyes closed. What the hell had happened to him this time.
He began to run and Vin equalled his pace. Chris relaxed slightly when Ezra opened his eyes and looked at them. There was recognition in the green eyes. Chris knelt down in front of his fallen agent, there had to be something wrong, he wouldn't have left the van to come out here and sleep. He put a hand on the younger man's forehead. There was a slight fever. Was this a result of the head wound. It was the only thing he could think of. He knew about delayed concussion, it could be even worse than the normal concussion.
"Ezra? You okay?" Chris knew it was a stupid question but what else was he going to say.
"Not really." Why was he telling this man how he felt. "Think I was abducted."
"Abducted?!" Chris and Vin spoke together.
"Yeah, think, little green men, UFO's, that sort of thing." he rolled onto his back and looked up into the sky again. The clouds had disappeared leaving the sky clear and blue. What a sight, he could lie here all day.
"Hurts up here." he waved his hand over his chest.
Chris grabbed the right hand that was being used to indicate where the pain was. There was a small wound on the back of Ezra's right hand. "Shit. This time you’re going to the hospital, no arguments."
"No." Ezra pleaded with him.
"It's okay Ezra, I won't leave you alone." he turned to Vin. "Help me get him to the car, then I want you to stay here and let the others know what happened. Send Nathan and Josiah to relieve Buck and JD. I'll give you a call later and let you know what's happening."
"No problem."
Together they lifted Ezra to his feet. A grunt of pain caused them to be more cautious in their movements. They had to move slowly after Ezra complained that his left ankle also hurt. Chris was going to be surprised if Ezra still wanted to stay with the team after this. They had all been injured at one time or another, he himself had been seriously injured on one operation but they all took it as part of the job. They had a choice when they joined the unit and knew there would be risks, but Ezra didn't. He hadn't been given a choice and hadn't been warned before hand of the risks. He should have told him.
They finally reached the car and placed Ezra in the front passenger seat. Ezra immediately closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. Chris got into the car and frowned at the vehicle's other occupant. It was as though Ezra was under the influence of drugs. He would make sure they did blood tests at the hospital. Curiosity caused him to lean over towards the younger man, he carefully undid the top buttons of the blue shirt and pulled it open. Two wounds stared back at him. He wanted to look for more but Ezra needed medical attention. He would find out the extent of his wounds later. And whoever inflicted the wounds was going to pay dearly for hurting Ezra, whether it is alien or human.
________________________________________
Peter Jenz pushed his way through the emergency doors. He hated doing a morning shift after a later afternoon shift. It didn't give him enough time to wind down. The pen he used hung from his mouth, he often chewed it as a stress related reaction. He took it out and began to tap it against the tip of his small nose. It was what he did when he was thinking, he never did it in front of a patient or member of staff. He didn't want them to nag him about it like his mother did. Who invented mothers anyway, that's what he wanted to know. And like many other children, if he ever found out, he would knock them off their feet and tell them how mothers should act towards their children. He looked up and groaned. The man from last night was returning. His brown eyes quickly searched the corridor for another intern or doctor. He didn't need this, not first thing in the morning. Hell, his shift only just started. This wasn't the way to begin a day.
There was no one else. Just wait until they were in the same position. He was going to be no help at all. Typical, no one was willing to work anymore. He took a deep breath. Go and do it and before you know it, it'll be all over. He walked towards the two men and began to do his job.
"Is it the head wound?" Jenz asked as he took the left arm and helped to take Standish to one of the emergency cubicles.
"No, abducted by aliens." Chris grimaced at him.
"You're kidding. This is like the tree-shooting thing isn't it. You’re just being sarcastic."
"Sorry, it's like the other three abductions."
"There have been others. I haven't heard about them."
"You're not here to hear about them. Just fix him up will you." Chris demanded.
They helped Ezra up onto a gurney where he promptly fell asleep again. Jenz began his examination grateful that the patient wasn't conscious. He pulled on a pair of gloves and checked the pupils first. "He's been drugged. We'll do a blood work up, find out what kind of drug it is."
"Aliens don't drug their victims do they." Chris stated the fact. "He's also got some wounds on his chest.
Jenz cut open the shirt and pulled it away from the chest. "He's got more than a few."
The dozen or so wounds stood out darkly against the pale flesh. The few on the stomach were surrounded by pale bruises that would soon darken. Jenz began to remove the upper clothing with Chris' help. His experienced eyes saw the wounds to the arms and back.
"There's got to be at least two dozen. They won't need stitches. They're precise, not very deep, I'd say something as sharp as a scalpel did this. I'll clean them up and put some butterfly clips on them to keep the skin together."
"There should be a chip in his hand as well." Chris lifted Ezra's right hand.
Jenz looked closely at the hand. "Not a good job, which is surprising considering these other wounds." he turned away and got the instruments he was going to need.
The wound had closed but was yet to begin its healing process. With the help of a pair of tweezers and forceps, he was able to pull the skin away to reveal the chip. His patient moved against the pain then settled down again. He removed the chip then began to disinfect the small wound. A small bandage was enough to cover the wound. He then began to work on the others. They had been cleaned, at least that was something. Some people needed to be shot on sight. The things they did to other human beings, it wasn't right. Maybe they should shoot the person who invented humans without a conscious as well as hitting the person who invented mothers.
"We're going to have to admit him this time. At least until we know what drug was used and make sure there are no side effects."
"I understand that." Chris nodded as he looked down at Ezra's sleeping form. "Don't know if he will. Doesn't like hospitals."
"I noticed. There were a few times last night where I thought he was going to hit me." Jenz smiled at Larabee.
"I'll make sure that he doesn't."
"I would appreciate it."
Jenz continued his work in silence. Once each wound was checked, cleaned and bandaged, he moved onto the legs. He removed the trousers to find the legs free of any injuries. There was some slight bruising around the left ankle though. He tested it for broken bones.
"Just twisted I'd say, not even badly, but we'll take an x-ray just to be safe."
"I want to stay with him, just in case." Chris informed him.
"That's okay, under the circumstances I'll consider it as protection on our part." Jenz began to take a blood sample for testing. Once he was finished and satisfied with the work he had done he covered the patient with blanket. "Why don't we get the paper work started then we can send you down to x-ray then get him settled into a bed."
________________________________________
Chris sat in a chair that had been pulled closer to the bed. His feet sat comfortably on the edge of the bed, his left ankle crossed over the right. A magazine that held no interest for him was being held in his hands so he could glance over the printed text. Something about how torn blue jeans were no longer fashionable. He'd have to tell Vin, better still he'll show him the article, and otherwise he wouldn't believe him. He lowered the magazine a little to check on the occupant in the bed. Still sleeping. Chris was told the strong sedative that had been given to Ezra wouldn't begin to wear off for another couple of hours. He had contacted the others to let them know that Ezra was going to be okay. Vin and Buck told him that they were on their way. He went back to gazing at the magazine. He'd only read two words when the door burst open.
"Abducted by aliens huh," Buck smiled at Chris as he made his way to the bed, "and on his second day." he reached forward and touched one of the wounds on the Southerner's chest. "They did this to him."
"Don't think it was aliens." Chris told him. "He was given a sedative, that's why he's sleeping. Doc said there were other drugs in his system too, they're still trying to work out what they are."
"So we're looking for humans." Vin nodded as he watched Ezra's sleeping form.
"Looks like it. Ezra should be able to tell us more when he wakes up. It'll be another couple of hour’s yet." he handed the magazine to Vin. "Why don't you read this while you’re waiting, important fashion information about the jeans you wear."
"They're back in fashion then," Vin smiled as he quickly read the heading, "what do they know anyway, as long as the woman love them, I'll keep wearing them." he threw it back at Chris who caught and dropped it on the floor next to his chair.
"So how did things go with Miss Nancy Witt?" Chris asked Buck.
"You owe my big time for that one Chris. Bitch wouldn't even let us in the house, had to spend the night in the car. Froze our balls off we did. Then it was hard to check the yard and house with that killer dog . . . "
"It's a poodle Buck." Chris kept his face straight.
"It's a killer. Bit a hole in poor JD's jeans . . . and I'm not talking about his ankles "
"See, even a dog knows that torn jeans are the in thing." Vin grumbled.
"Then the cow came out just after eleven, screaming that there was an alien in her bedroom. There wasn't.
Then again at one forty two, two twenty six, four fifty one, six twenty two and six forty four." he had memorised the times so he could inform Chris of the nightmare he and JD had suffered.
"So you had fun then?" Chris asked innocently.
"If you want to put it that way." Buck clenched his fists as he faced his friend. He had been friends with
Larabee since they were kids. If anyone knew him, Buck did. "I'll quit before I go back there."
"That's fine by me."
"God dammit Chris, why do you have to be such a stubborn son of a bitch." Buck threw his hands in the air in frustration. "Like a mule with two heads, never known anyone like you, and why I ever put up with you I don't know. Total bastard if you ask me."
"Didn't ask you Buck." Chris was smiling now.
"Remind me again why I work for you?"
"You're a love sick fool . . . "
"You two in love?" Vin joined in. "Always knew it, the way you look at each, touch each other's arm, just so softly and you always lean close when your . . . "
Chris' cold glare stopped him before he could say it.
"If you make me go back there, I'll tell everyone back at the office about our secret relationship." Buck's smile spread from ear to ear.
"And ruin your reputation with the women."
"I can get my reputation back, I can't get my balls back if that dog eats them."
"Well when you put it like that . . , " Chris shrugged, "I'll think about it."
Buck's shoulders slumped in defeat. Why could you never beat this man. Buck knew he was stubborn but he was also fair. Chris would take his shift when it came to staying with Witt, except he would manage to get into the house, she would probably even make him dinner. It wasn't his leader's smile, rugged looks or even his bright blue eyes. It was his short temper and ability to say what he thinks. He would first tell the woman off, and not in a polite manner, then demand that she allow him to stay inside. And if she said no, he would force his way in, lock her in her bedroom then make himself coffee. That was the type of person he was. He didn't take shit from anyone.
"Think about it, not actually take tonight's shift for me instead."
"Sorry, got other matters to attend to." Chris nodded towards Ezra's inert form.
"Sure, look after the new guy and not the man you've known for more than twenty years. Why should the friendship we've shared mean anything to you." Buck went to a corner and sat down on a small set of drawers and continued to complain during the two hours that passed slowly. Chris didn't give in, instead he ignored him and spoke to Vin, a more agreeable companion, or so he thought.
Chris and Vin argued about serious things during the two hours they had to wait for Ezra to wake up. Was Seinfeld actually funny. They both agreed that it wasn't. And didn't that guy in The Jimmy episode look a lot like Ezra. How did CatDog go to the toilet? Why were Johnny Bravo's legs shorter than his hairstyle? Why did Daggett and Norbett of The Angry Beavers wear pyjamas to bed but wore nothing during the day? It may not be the things that people usually discussed but it was a way for the members of SPIT7 to deal with the stress that the job entailed. Sometimes the discussions lead to heated arguments.
It was during The Angry Beavers argument that Ezra began to wake. He listened to what was being said and smiled to himself. He actually liked the two beavers; Daggett being his favourite. The subject of the discussion always came up when he watched the program, and he was yet to come up with a sensible answer.
"If you can enlighten me to the answer to your question, I would be eternally grateful." Ezra interrupted the conversation with his question. He pushed himself up after opening his eyes to the late afternoon sun that shone through the hospital window. He was surprised to see three men watching him with expressions of surprise. "What?"
"You watch that show?" Vin asked him then looked towards Chris. He had been shocked when he found out that Chris sometimes watched the popular cartoon. And now Ezra, but then again he didn't even know anything about the man. Now he knew they had something in common and could discuss the question at a later time.
"I thought everyone watched it." Ezra threw the covers aside and began to escape from the fearful confinement of the hospital.
"Where do you think you’re going?" Chris stood up and blocked Ezra's path.
"Anywhere but here." Ezra stepped to the side then sighed in frustration when Chris matched his movement. "I don't want to stay here, I don't like hospitals."
"This isn't a simple bump on the head Ezra, something serious has happened. You have shallow cuts all over your upper body, a chip was inserted into the back of your right hand and you've been pumped full of drugs that the doctors haven't been able to identify yet."
An image of a small room with circular silver walls flashed through his mind, movement caused him to blink to try and stop the image from forming. He was unaware that his body began to tremble or of the hands that helped him back onto the bed. The pain that he had felt registered in his mind. They had experimented on him. Aliens? That's what his mind told him but there was something wrong. What? He didn't know.
"Ezra? You okay?" Chris asked him as he stepped back from the bed. "Ezra."
"Yes. Just a memory of what happened."
"What happened?"
"I was abducted by aliens." his eyes shifted to Chris' concerned features.
The man was concerned about him. He looked at the other two men. Their expressions were the same. How could they be concerned about someone they had only known for a few days. And a person who had refused to discuss anything with them about his personal or professional life. This wasn't normal, maybe for someone else but not him. He was beginning to feel very uncomfortable.
"Can I go back to the hotel now?"
"I'd rather you didn't." Chris replied forcefully.
"I don't like hospitals." Ezra repeated more sternly.
"Because they wake you up early?" Chris raised his eyebrows in disbelief.
Ezra quickly looked away but not before Chris saw the fear in his eyes. He made a decision that he hoped he wasn't going to regret. He also hoped that it would give Ezra a reason to stay with the team. He wanted Ezra to know that he could trust him and the others.
"Okay Ezra, but we're not taking you to the hotel, it will have to be the SPI van. I don't have enough men to spread around." Chris stared at the man before him. "You don't leave our sight. Understand?"
"Anything Mr Larabee, as long as I don't have to stay here." Ezra got out of the bed quickly. "Where are my clothes?"
Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four
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