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fandomweekly2017-02-09 03:47 pm
badly_knitted) wrote in fandomweekly2017-02-09 03:47 pm
Entry tags:
[#032] Slither (FAKE)
Theme Prompt: #032 - Phobia
Title: Slither
Fandom: FAKE
Rating/Warnings: PG / None
Bonus: Yes? Sort of maybe…
Word Count: 999
Summary: Searching for a missing witness, Dee finds himself in the last place he’d ever want to be.
This was Dee’s worst nightmare come true, and it was his own fault he was here. He’d been the one who’d said they should split up; they’d needed to find their missing witness fast, before Schoeder’s people could silence her. He’d also been the one to send Ryo, Drake, Ted, and JJ to different locations, each with uniformed officers as backup.
He’d taken this one himself; it was the least accessible, an old farmhouse at the end of a narrow track, and as the only one with a motorcycle he could get there faster and more easily than anyone else. Foolishly, he hadn’t brought any backup.
The house had been in the witness’s family since it had been built, back before the city had spread out this far, but no one had lived there since her grandparents died. According to her parents, she’d visited the house regularly as a child, and Dee had thought she might have gone there because she associated it with safety. That seemed like a bad joke now; safe was one thing this rundown old heap definitely wasn’t.
He’d parked his bike behind the house, entering through the broken backdoor. Beginning his search on the ground floor, he’d moving cautiously from room to room, finding nothing but dead leaves, old graffiti, and broken furniture. After checking a closet in one of the rooms, he’d been on his way back to the hall, intending to search upstairs, when there’d been an ominous cracking noise and the floor had collapsed, dumping him in the cellar.
It would have been okay if he’d been alone down there, but he wasn’t.
Hearing a dry, slithering sound, he’d pulled his flashlight, thankfully unbroken, from his jacket pocket and switched it on. All around him something was moving, sinuously writhing in the shadows among old sacks and stacks of wood; Dee broke out in a cold sweat, heart hammering inside his chest, his skin crawling. Snakes.
There wasn’t much that truly terrified Dee, but for as long as he could remember, he’d had a snake phobia. Now he was surrounded by them; he had to get out!
Rising carefully to his feet, he cast the beam of his torch around until he spotted steps leading to the cellar door. He inched his way slowly across the dirt floor; his nerves were screaming at him to run, but he had no idea whether these snakes were venomous, and some were so close that if they struck at him they wouldn’t miss. They were sluggish though; it was February, and he knew snakes were cold-blooded, hibernating throughout the winter.
He switched the torch to his other hand, drying his clammy palm on his pants. Funny how his hands could be wet when his mouth felt dry as the Sahara. Fighting back panic with every step, his breath coming in shallow gasps that made him feel light-headed, he kept going, wishing he could shut his eyes so he didn’t have to see the snakes, but needing to watch where he was going.
It felt like an eternity before he reached the steps, grateful to see they were concrete and devoid of snakes. With a sob of relief, he leapt up them, grabbed the handle of the cellar door, and pushed. Nothing happened; it must be locked from the other side. He was trapped with the snakes! Panic exploded; he beat and kicked at the door, shouting for help, until his legs gave way and he sank to the steps, shaking uncontrollably, cold dread filling him. He was going to die here!
No.
Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm himself. The others knew where he’d gone; when he didn’t return, they’d come looking for him. He just needed to wait. Standing up again, back to the door, he kept his torch aimed at the steps and concentrated on calming his breathing. He’d be okay.
OoOoO
In another part of the city, the witness was now under protection.
“Has anyone heard from Dee?” Ryo asked as he joined his colleagues in the squad room. The others shook their heads. Ryo dialled Dee’s number only to be told the phone he was calling was switched off or out of range. Heading back downstairs, he drove out to the farmhouse Dee was supposed to be checking, leaving his car by the side of the road and following the narrow track on foot. When he reached the house, he soon found Dee’s bike out back.
“Dee?” he called, squeezing through the rickety backdoor.
“Ryo? In here! Help!” A heavy door on the opposite wall rattled. Ryo crossed to it, drawing back the bolts and swinging the door open; Dee all but fell into his arms, clinging to him. “Oh thank God, I thought I’d never get out!”
“What happened? Did someone lock you in?”
“No.” Dee’s voice was muffled against Ryo’s shoulder. “I fell through the floor, and when I tried to get out, the door was locked. Ryo, the cellar… it’s full of snakes!”
Ryo’s arms tightened around his lover; he knew about Dee’s snake phobia and could easily imagine how he must have felt surrounded by his worst fear. “It’s okay, you’re safe now.” He swayed gently, rocking his partner in a kind of slow dance until Dee stopped shaking.
“Sorry I’m such a wimp.”
“You’re not. If I’d been trapped somewhere with spiders…” Ryo trailed off, shuddering. “I’d have been even worse.”
“You’re only sayin’ that to make me feel better. I’ve seen you deal with spiders.”
“One spider on its own I can just about handle. More than one and I freak out. Come on, let’s go. Will you be okay on your bike?”
“Yeah, I’ll just follow you back. Did you find Angela?”
Ryo nodded. “Drake did; she’s safe.”
“That’s good.” Dee straightened up, leading Ryo to the door. The sooner he got out of there the better. Next time they had to search somewhere like this, he’d let someone else do it!
The End
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This is the short version, the longer version will eventually get posted to my journal, it's more than 1600 words, and I still need to do another editing pass on it. Got a bit carried away...
Thank you!
Now I need to do something for beattheblackdog...
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So far, I'm kinda stumped as to what to do over here; got beattheblackdog figured out, though.
Very welcome! <3
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I like snakes, but that many would freak most people out O.O
Thank you!