New Kid On The Block

Ch 9: A Mistake

"Did you find your way to the bathroom?" T-bone asked me as I walked up to the group of them sitting around the fire.

"Someone decided to finally show up." Marcus snapped with an annoyed look on his face as I plopped down in the sand next to him.

"Yeah." I grimaced folding my legs underneath me. "I managed to get lost in the process but I found it eventually."

"Yeah, well you've never been good with directions now have you." T-bone chuckled in response.

"You two know each other?" Sitara asked with a confused look on her face as she glanced between the two of us.

"We've work together in the past." I shrugged. "Which is why I couldn't help you guys with the challenge." I said and Marcus finally stopped scowling at me. "That side project I was working on last week that was so 'secretive', was me helping Ray set stuff up. Besides I knew you guys could handle it."

Wrench's hand landed on my knee causing me to jump and turn towards him. He looked stoned as hell, swaying even though he was sitting. The emoticon on his mask were confused looking o's: O_o

He tried to say something but it came out to fast and jumbled to understand. "Fuck it. I'm going off line." he declared before falling backwards against the ground.

"What the fuck did you put in that shit?" I asked narrowing my eyes at T-bone.

"Oh, I forgot to say this-" he said shaking the mostly empty bag. "went through a little acid bath." I groaned shaking my head and rolling my eyes. Horatio stumbled to his feet, kicking up sand as he did.

"You okay man?" Marcus asked.

"The word okay has lost all meaning to me." he said back shortly, before walking away quickly still slightly swaying as he did. I turned back to the fire, across from me was Josh who sat staring intensely at his shaking hands. He didn't look up but responded as if he knew I was watching him.

"It's okay, they've been using hallucinogens for a new study on Aspies. Asp...asp...asp." Josh said repeating the word over and over again quietly to himself.

"Looks like Josh is feeling it." Sitara chuckled, but the look on her face said she was starting too as well. "Come on, let's go find you a wall to stare at." She stood up and helped pull him to his feet. I watched them leave, pulling my knees up to my chest to rest my chin on them.

"So how do you guys know each other?" Marcus asked. "And exactly why didn't you give me a heads up." He said shooting a glance, shrugging his shoulders.

"I told you already, it would have been cheating." I said ignoring his first question.

"I found Waldo!" Wrench mumbled rolling over, and coincidentally shoving his face into the sand. That was going to suck for him, especially if it got under his mask.

"You two talk, I'm going to go find somewhere to put him." I said hitching a thumb towards Wrench. "You're gonna have to get up because I can't carry you." He groaned but took my outstretched hand using me to pull himself up.

"Where...." he started to say before staring of blankly into the distance.

"The car, so you can put on more comfortable clothes. Then sleep."

We made slow but steady progress with him leaning almost his entire weight against me. But at least he seemed to becoming down from his high as we got closer to the car. He started walking straighter and putting less weight on me. And he managed to get out full sentences, not that the majority of them made sense.

"I'd say 11...but definitely more than two." he mumbled head leaned against mine. He pulled back for a second to look at me.

"Okay?" I responded looking back at him questioningly.