Title: Halloween cliché
Author: gothikmaus
Fandom: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Pairing: Nick/Greg (or Nick & Greg, the slash is just implied)
Rating: PG-13? R? Just for the description of a corpse
Category: Humour, ficlet
Summary: A dismembered corpse dumped in a graveyard on Halloween. How much more cliché can you get?
A/N: Some time ago I found a list of spooky Halloween prompts on spookystokes's page on Tumblr and thought it would be fun to write something. I can't seem to find the original list anymore, but these are the prompts I used:
- graveyard
- empty/abandoned mansion
- basement
- "The pretty ones always die first."
- "Did you hear that?"
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and all related characters are property of CBS. I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.
"A dismembered corpse dumped in a graveyard on Halloween. How much more cliché can you get?" Greg asked to no one in particular as he walked onto the moist grass.
"You wouldn't believe the stuff people come up with on this god-awful holiday," Nick replied as he ducked down and stepped under the yellow police tape.
"Not a big fan of Halloween, huh?"
"When you deal with actual blood and bones and corpses on a daily basis, it kinda loses its appeal."
They had been called after some trick-or-treaters had noticed someone leaving the graveyard in a hurry well past its closing time. The guard who had found the body had thought of a Halloween prank at first, but the corpse had looked too real to be a simple prop, and decided to call the police.
"Hey Dave, what do we got?" Nick asked as they reached the spot where the body had been found.
"Male, mid-thirties. Head and limbs were severed from the torso, probably using some kind of saw," Dave answered from where he was crouched next to the victim.
"Now, that's very Halloween," Greg commented, snapping pictures of his surroundings. Nick looked askance at him. "There are footprints heading in that direction."
"Yeah, and blood drops too," Nick said, following the trail. "Let's see where they lead us."
The traces led to an old house just outside the graveyard. The windows were smashed in and the door hinges looked like they were going to snap any moment. The place looked very much abandoned.
Nick made his way toward it.
"I've seen enough horror movies to know this is a very bad idea," Greg said, hovering behind him.
"I thought you were a Halloween fan," Nick turned around and smirked at him. "Don't tell me you're so easily spooked."
"I'm not spooked," Greg retorted, and reluctantly followed him. "I just have a bad feeling about this. You know how these things usually end up."
"Enlighten me," Nick said, as he carefully opened the door and pointed his flashlight inside.
"The pretty ones always die first."
Nick snorted.
"And you're the pretty one, huh?"
"Of course I am."
Greg's tone was light, but Nick could see he was nervous. He wondered if Greg ever missed the safety of his lab, the feeling of being in total control of his surroundings, the reassuring routine of DNA sequencing. Then again, maybe after the explosion he didn't feel safe there either.
They slowly walked from room to room, every creaking floorboard making Greg jump. As Nick put a foot of the first step of the stairs, Greg placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't."
"Why?"
"Haven't you seen any horror movies? Never go upstairs: you'll have no way out when the killer comes after you."
Nick sighed.
"Greg, this isn't a horror movie: this is a crime scene investigation. There are no mysterious killers wearing funny masks jumping out of the shadows to slit your throat."
"How can you be sure of that?"
Just as Nick was about to reply, they heard a noise.
"Did you hear that?"
"Yeah," Nick whispered back and headed toward the stairs leading down to the basement.
"Are you kidding me? Going to the basement is even worse than going upstairs!" Greg hissed, trying to keep his voice as low as possible.
Nick drew his gun and slowly walked down the stairs, ignoring Greg's pleas to call for backup. The room was mostly empty, only some old, dusty shelves lining one the walls, a broken chair lying in a corner and cobwebs hanging from every surface.
"Clear," Nick said after he had pointed his flashlight in every direction.
"You sure?" Greg asked, gingerly walking down the steps.
Nick rolled his eyes and turned toward him. As he did, something zoomed past his foot and up the stairs, mewling loudly. Greg yelped and stumbled, slipping on the last step. Nick was in front of him in a second, wrapping his arms around him and stopping him from falling face first to the floor.
"Huh. Thanks," Greg mumbled, feeling very embarrassed for getting scared by a cat.
Nick was grinning at him.
"Yep, very easily spooked."
Greg frowned at him and swatted his arms away.
"Are we done here? We still have a murderer to catch," he asked, quickly making his way back upstairs.
Nick shook his head and followed him, not even trying to hide his amused smile.
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October 2021