-Venus POV-
Booth, Temp, and I are in the woods being escorted by a Ranger Edison as I was walking behind Temp as she says, "It's getting thicker and thicker in here." Edison nods, "That's why the forensic team got lost. I've sent somebody back to find them." Booth then asks, "Look, you sure you know, where you're going?" "I still have trouble and I've been here for three years. That's why we advise hikers to stay away." "You know I'm pining for concrete. You both just, uh, just stay close, all right Bones, Blueberry?"
I then see something from the corner of my eye as I nudge Temp and point at the object. We head over there to look as Booth kept on talking and walking not paying attention to us, "I don't want any of you to get caught out here when it gets dark. Okay?" He finally turns around not hearing or seeing us as he starts calling us out. "Bones? Blueberry? Bones?! Blueberry?! Where the hell are you both? Bone?! Blueberry?!" Temp then answers, "We're right here, Booth." "Don't do that, all right?" "What?" "Take off like that, okay? You both heard the guy."
I nod, "I know but we saw this." Temp continues, "Some sort of talisman. These are bones from a bird, and the coloring on the ornament looks like dried blood. There are more of them, too." Booth then says, "These... they look like eyes. Okay, this is weird." I then say, "It seems that this is a representation of some sort of idea that there is someone watching you all the time. May I ask Ranger Edison, are there a lot of these or something that has to do with witches?" "I don't see a lot of these, but I've heard some other folks have come across some pretty strange stuff in here. Word is, it's Maggie Cinders." Temp asks, "There's a woman who lives out here?" "Did. Died in 1780. Just as the Doc said, folks around here thought she was a witch and beheaded her. Legend is, she still haunts the woods, looking for her severed head." "And you believe this, Ranger Edison?" "I'm just telling you what I heard." Booth then adds, "Yeah, I'd prefer we keep moving, okay?"
We make it to our crime scene as Edison says, "This one of the only clearings around here. The pit was covered with sticks and leaves. One of the hikers fell in on the body, freaked and ran. Maggie Cinders did say she'd kill anybody who dared to look for her." Temp asks, "So you talked to, Ms. Cinders? That must have been difficult, since she doesn't have a head. Bag the eyes." I look down as I say, "Give me a hand, please." Temp then says, "I could go down." I shake my head, "No, it's okay, if anything I am lighter and I am more physically fit if I do need to get back up myself." She nods as Booth gives me his hand as he asks, "Do you want me to go down?" "No, that's okay, you need to stay up there and keep an eye on Temp." "Your right." Temp looks at us, "What?"
I get down as Booth asks Edison, "So, uh, how'd she kill them? You know, in the legend?" "Like she was killed. She cuts off their heads." I start examining as Temp asks, "What do you see?" "Iliac crest and pubis show it's male. Epiphyseal fusion puts him between 18 and 25 years old." I look and see something poking out. I take it out a camera, "He's on a... a video camera." Booth then says, "Okay, cause of death?" "Well... I can't find a skull; I would say that his head got chopped off. We should take all of this back and see what else we could find."
We are back in the lab as Temp and I are collecting anything that we see on the victim as Cam says, "Since we don't have a head, do we have enough for an identification?" Zack then says, "We'll look for older injuries that might be found in medical records." Temp then says, "More wood splinters." Cam adds, "It could have been the handle of whatever lopped off his head." Zack then says, "If a ghost isn't comprised of matter, but is merely ectoplasm, which is actually the clear outer layer of cytoplasm on amoeboid cells, how can the victim have suffered bruising and multiple fractures?" I chuckle as Temp reply's with, "Because there are no such thing as ghosts." Cam then asks, "I thought you never jumped to conclusions." "Well, it's safe to dismiss fantasy and deluded perceptions."
I then say, "I think it's an interesting topic to discuss about. Plus, I can't handle supernatural stuff or movies. They scare me to much." Cam then says, "That scares you? You were in the military for five years in one of the most top hardcore groups and your scared of supernatural things and movies?" "...Yes. Even I can be scared of things, I may not show it sometimes but I do get scared." Zack then adds, "Yes, she also dislikes bugs and snakes." I shiver, "They look so creepy... What about you Cam?" "My mother came to me the day after she died." We looked at her as she says, "I wasn't some kid, I was 23. She came to me... She came to me... and told me to look in her dresser, third drawer, behind her pink blouse. There was something there for me." She shows us her neckless.
Hodgins then comes over to us, "The European hornet queen I found on the remains puts time of death at November of last year." I then say, "We have more splinters of the wood from a Betula uber, a sub-species of round leaf birch tree that's been extinct since 1800." Hodgin nods adding, "The legend says that Maggie Cinders kills her victims with the same old axe used to decapitate her in 1783. Anyone else feeling tingly, or is it just me?" Booth then comes over to us, "I checked missing persons. A film student from UVA went missing in the woods last year. He was making a documentary on the Maggie Cinders legend. Graham Hastings, 21, five-ten, 176 pounds." Cam then says, "That explains the video camera." Angie then calls us out, "I, um- I got something from the videotape."
We all headed to her workspace as she explains, "I cleaned a section of the tape with an isopropyl alcohol solution and fed whatever digital information I could salvage into a restoration program. I didn't get much." We then hear a woman scream as Angie says, "Maybe I got too much." We watch and listen to the video, "Brian! Where's Brian?! Where... Brian!" A man then calls out to the girl, "Lori... Where are you going? Lori, stop! Stop, Lori! Brian! Brian..." I am really a sucker for scary supernatural things as my face doesn't show any fear... but my body reacts differently. I was originally next to Zack a bit in front as I am now behind him hugging him a bit peaking over his shoulder. He just stays still watching as we hear Lori scream and shouting from a distance, "It's Blood!"
We then see a Graham's face pop up, "Oh, God! The noises are getting closer. I've lost Lori... and Brian disappeared." We watch as he whimpers in fear as he says, "It's her. I can hear her. She's here! She's here! Oh, God... she's here!" I squeeze Zack a bit tighter as he holds both of my hands also a bit afraid as Graham keeps on freaking out, "Lori, where the hell are you?! Lori!... Oh, my God... Help! Help me, oh, God! Oh, God, somebody help me!" I jump seeing blood being splattered all over his face, "Somebody help me, please!" He screams as it ends. I was left pale as I look up to Zack, "Could we stay together for a while?" "I... I... think that would be a good idea."
We are up on the platform as Zack and I are sticking together as Zack says, "I just keep hearing the screams. I never heard screams like that, Dr. Brennan, Venus." Temp then says, "Neither have I." I then say, "I sadly have, but much worse. But that is not what frightens me the most. It is the idea that there is something that could touch you that you can't and there is nothing to do about it... There are no guidelines for that..." Temp then says, "Narrow focus trauma on the left humerus, posterior side." Zack then says, "Indicates an attempt by the victim to shield his head."
Hodgins then jumps in, "From the axe attack." We look at him, "What? It's always an axe, isn't it? Remember 'The Shining'?" Zack answers first, "My palms perspired profusely during that film." I then add, "I never seen that." Temp then says, "Until we complete a series of blade comparison tests, there's no way to know what type of weapon was used." Cam then comes up and hands something to Hodgins, "Forensic team found this near the pit." "Looks organic. Definitely decomposing." "Victim's preliminary tox screen came back negative. No drugs." Hodgin then says, "That's too bad." "Why?" "Because drugs would explain the writings I found inside Graham's backpack. I'm cleaning them and taking mud samples, but I think Booth should show them to a profiler. They're handwritten, scrawled; so far all I can make out is: 'Maggie came to me again... calling me.' And last but not least: 'They will scream for air, but their lungs will fill with blood."
Zack and I are now shoulder to shoulder from being a bit afraid as Cam says, "I'll redo the tox screen." Temp then says, "I may be alone in this, but I think one of us should remain a rational human being during this investigation." I sigh in relief, "That's great. Thanks for volunteering to be the rational one, but Zack and I will just stay sticked together." Zack nods as Temp shakes her head and looks back at the victim. "Got it. Comminuted fracture to the ulna, professionally set." I add, "From the degree of callous formation, that's a childhood injury. In which could give us the ID we want." Temp then says, "I'll call Booth." I nod as I say, "Okay, I am just going to stick here with Zack... We will place some garlic around the remains and chant the Hmong ritual for preservation of souls." Temp laughs leaving as Zack looks at me, "Really?" I look up at him, "No... That was a joke."
Booth had texted me earlier that Temp may be attracted to the victim's brother because he has also been almost in the same situation as us when we were younger. I texted him thumbs up as Zack starts explaining the X-rays to Cam. "The chatter marks mean the vertebrae weren't split in one blow." Cam nods, "Makes sense. Hacking off someone's head is more like cutting down a small tree than splitting a log." "I found your imagery both colorful and accurate." "Thank you. Let me know when you've narrowed down the weapon category... And are you both really going to stick together for the case." I look at her, "I may have to do something, so we might have to split for an hour or two, but yes, yes we are going to stick together." Zack nods as he asks, "Dr. Saroyan? When you say your mother visited you..." "She appeared. In my room. It was early evening?" "And you were frightened?" "No, I felt... loved." I looked at her, "That's nice... that's still sounds creepy to me..." Zack then says, "Dr. Brennan says that's impossible." "What do you think?" "I think it would be wonderful if it were possible."
I smiled and patted his head as Hodgin comes in, "I found rust flakes on the neck that were from hand-forged iron." I ask, "18th century." "You got it." I nod as I watch Zack tests the first weapon. It scared Cam and Hodgins as she says, "My God! A little warning, Zack." "I don't usually announce each phase of my experiments." "Yeah, maybe you should start." Hodgins then says, "Nice follow-through, dude." I nod as I look at the cut, "It doesn't look like it was a machete. Here let me try this one." Zack hands me the other weapons as I slam it down on the clay. "What about that one?" We then hear Hodgin say, "Dibs on the next weapon." I pull Zack away from Hodgins as Cam says, "Looks like you three have this under control. Hodgins grunts and hits the clay block as we continue taking turns and checking... while having a bit of fun.
I had to leave Zack for a bit as Booth and Temp came back and I needed to catch up on what they found. We were walking as Booth says, "She freaked, Blueberry. It was like she was out there in the woods with that witch." Temp then says, "Okay, don't let anyone else hear you talking like that, Booth." "I'm just saying I've seen a lot of weird things. It' was like, you know, Exorcist weird or Elm Street weird." I scan my badge by the steps as Temp asks, "What are you talking about now?" "They're movies, okay, Bones? Movies so scary that you end up peeing your pants." "Good to know."
We see Zack as I head over next to him as I say, "Zack had noticed some damage to the subdeltoid bursa." Zack nods, "Looks like the subscapularis was torn away." "They're fracture lines. This was a postmortem trauma." Booth asks, "Meaning what?" Temp says, "The victim's shoulder was dislocated just after his death." Zack adds, "The injury doesn't fit into our established scenario of the struggle." I look over the victim again, "These marks near the vertebrocostal junction, there's massive hinge fracturing."
I look at Zack, "Zack could you lie down on the ground." "Face up or down?" "Face up." I could hear Booth say, "This should be good." I then say, "Give me your right arm. Okay." I start dragging Zack, "If Graham was dragged to the pit by this arm in this direction, the trauma to the back of his ribs would result in hinging." I stop dragging him as he says, "And the exposed wound where the head was severed would have been collecting particulates along the way." Temp then says, "Tell Hodgins we might have enough for him to determine where the victim was beheaded." I help Zack up as Booth says, "I'm waiting to hear from the psych ward to see if we can talk to Lori again."
Temp then says, "Well, I'll ask Will what type of relationship Graham and Lori really had when I have coffee with him." I look at her, "Your having coffee with the victim's brother?" "Yes, he really understands what we went through, and I need someone to connect with." I nod, "All right. But be careful." She nods as Zack and I left to tell Hodgin the news.
We told Hodgins as he said that we all go to Angie's room and look through the video to find the wood. I was hesitant but still went as it was important to this case that we find the tree. Zack didn't want to go with us, but I still dragged him with us as I didn't want to be left alone with the couple. We walked into Angie's room that was blasted with Rock music as Hodgins comes up to her and grabs her shoulder making her yell. Zack also jumped a bit from the unexpected yell.
Hodgin then says, "We know where Graham Hastings was murdered." She turns off the music as she says, "Are you trying to kill me?" I then say, "No. That was some good music, but why so loud?" "It helps muffle the screams, so I don't pass out every few seconds." I nod, "That is a good idea." Zack then says, "Do I really need to be here." "Yes, you promised that we will stick together for this case." He sighs as Hodgins says to Angie, "We have to go through all the video again." I add, "Hasting was killed in a patch of eastern hemlocks like this."
I show her a picture of the trees as Hodgin says, "They grow in clusters throughout the forest. We have to spot the cluster Graham and the others were near." Angie then says, "Wait. We have to go through all the video again?" Hodgin then says, "Don't worry. I'm right here for you." Zack and I look at the two as Zack coughs, "We should get started on the video." Angie nods as she starts the video, and we all try to pay attention to the trees.
We could start hearing Graham speak, "There is no way that this is natural. I mean, it's like, she left this here for us, like a guide or something, you know?" "Make it stop." "Lori..." "Make it stop!" "Graham, there's something seriously wrong with Lori, okay? We should go back." "What? No, this..." We then hear Lori scream and Zack and I jumped as we hugged each other from fright. As we continue watching Lori freak out. "No! No!" "What is it?" "Make it go away!" "Hold her. Come on! Let's go!" "Graham, get back here! No, Graham!" "What are you doing? Let's get out of here!"
We see blood and Angie stops it there so we all could take a breath. Zack and I are still hugging each other tightly as I say, "Hey, Zack..." "Yes." "You remember when I said that I will invite you over to my home some time?" "Yes." "I am not sure if this is good timing but, would you like to have a sleep over this entire case? I have some things that I am working on right now for Parker and I could use the help..." "This is good timing; I will help you with your projects. I also never been at a sleepover before." "Me either. So, we will learn how to do this together." Hodgin looks at us amused as Zack says, "I think this is the perfect time to go over the bones again." I nod, "Yeah... We are heading out Angie, Hodgins. Try not to get distracted." We quickly left to the bone room.
We are examining the bones with Temp as Booth was there as well. Temp stats speaking, "Lori was not Graham's only girlfriend. He had lots of girlfriends, but he somehow managed to keep them secret from each other." I nod, "That is not right, but impressive at the same time." Booth then says, "So what would happen if a very jealous Lori found out?" "That's a good question Ranger." Temp adds, "That's more your territory." "What? What? What, am I cheating?" "I just meant that you use psychology. You're very touchy. Perhaps because of all your skulking around." "I am discreet. Okay? It's different. A gentleman is discreet, okay?"
I nod as Zack asks, "What are we talking about?" Booth looks at him, "Nothing that concerns you." "But I'm quite literally in the middle of the conversation, and it seems very interesting. However, your glaring indicates that I shouldn't press for further information." "Mm-hmm. Good genius, yeah." I chuckle, "It's okay Zack, this is why we are having a sleepover. It is to exchange information's that we know to each other." "Intriguing." "Yes indeed." Booth looks at us, "You two are going to have a sleep over? How old are you both?" I look at him, "I am 21 and he is 25, why?"
Booth looks at us seeing that we were genuinely curious on what he wants to say as we both look at him. He didn't have the guts to insult us as he says, "Just... make sure you have lots of blankets and pillows to make a pillow fort." My eyes gleam at that idea, "That's a great idea! Thanks Ranger, you always have amazing ideas. Zack, do you have any extra pillows or blankets at your place?" Booth just gives me a smile as Zack says, "Mm-mm... I don't have much... but I will ask Hodgins if he has any extra, we could borrow." "All right."
Booth then gets back to the case saying, "So, Lori loves Graham. Thinks he loves her, but finds out that he doesn't, so she goes all O.J. on him. That's a perfect cover, right? Headless witch did it, not me. The whole insanity thing might be an act." Zack then says, "But the victim sustained extensive defensive wounds. This was a very powerful attacker." "Oh, you know, when a woman finds out that a man has been cheating on her, she can get pretty mad." We look at him questioningly as he looks at us as well adding, "That's what I heard. Okay, look, we got motive and opportunity- it fits." Temp then says, "No, it doesn't fit. Graham Hastings was five-ten and 176 pounds. Lori is 120, tops. The injuries aren't consistent with a woman Lori Mueller's size."
Cam then comes in, "Of course, people on PCP have been known to exhibit extraordinary strength." Booth and I ask at the same time, "PCP? Who was on PCP?" "Hodgins' report on the organic matter from the baggie found at the scene showed that it contained psilocybin mushrooms injected within phencyclidine." Booth then says, "Whoa, what a trip." I nod as Zack says, "Well, if Lori ingested those it's possible, she could've caused Graham's injuries." Cam adds, "Not to mention, combining dissociative anesthetics with hallucinogenic compounds can have a devastating effect on people with fragile brain chemistry." I then say, "So her mental condition is probably genuine." Booth then says, "You know what, I'm going to go talk to my good old buddy Brian, see if he knows anything about the magical mystery tour that Lori might've been on that night." Temp and I nod as he leaves.
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DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN "BONES". IT IS OWNED BY JOSEPHSON ENTERTAINMENT, BY HART HANSON. I ONLY CLAIM MY CHARACTER VENUS BRENNAN. I ALSO DON'T OWN ANY OF THE IMAGES. THANK YOU.