Abandoned (True Detective, m)

[blueberrymuffin]

Title: Abandoned

Fandom: True Detective

Disclaimer: Not mine, I make no money off of this.

Summary: Marty and Rust explore an abandoned building. Rust has a problem.

Authors Notes: Set in '95 era of the show, for anyone who cares.

“You think they’re hiding something useful down here, given how hard we had to work to get access?” Marty nudges some rotting two by fours out of the way with his foot and shoves at the door handle. The door rocks on its hinges and he puts his weight behind it, but the deadbolt holds. “Gotta be fucking kidding me,” he mutters, rubbing at his shoulder.

“I think the vast majority of ‘em are lazy and don’t give a shit,” Rust responds and kicks gently at the pile of lumber, bending down to pick up a thick piece that’s free of nails. “But it’s starting to feel an awful lot like we’re getting held in the dark on purpose. Hold up, Marty,” he adds.

Marty backs away from the door, giving Rust room. The building still technically belongs to Tuttle’s people, but it’s obvious that no one’s been taking care of it since one of the hurricanes damaged it beyond what they cared to repair. The structure itself looks firm enough, but the weeds have colonized what was once a schoolyard, and the windows along one side have all gone. It’s been raining all day and the grey, dismal clouds only add to the overall feeling of abandonment. No one has cared about this place in a long time.

Except Rust, who has apparently had a few leads all come back to this school. Well, this school back when it was still in operation ten years ago, but apparently better late than never. They’ve gotten the go ahead to enter the property, and Rust, from the looks of it, is interpreting that to mean breaking and entering the property. Not like they’ll be able to tell the one new broken window from the dozen that have smashed over the years, Marty supposes. Rust draws back and rams the window nearest the door with his two by four, and the glass smashes with a satisfying crash, the shards tinkling on the ground. Rust reaches through and turns the lock, and Marty pulls the door open.

The hallway is dark and narrow. The small window Rust just smashed is the only source of light, so they leave the door open behind them. They move as one towards the room across the hall, which appears to be the main office. This door is unlocked, and it swings open at Rust’s touch.

The room inside is dank and musty, probably hasn’t been opened in years. There’s mold visibly growing up two of the walls where water has seeped in over the years. Rust steps forward, squinting in the dim light, and then pauses just inside the threshold. He bends over, sneezing three times into his cupped hands. “Hhh chuh! Hhh chuh! Ihhshuh!”

Marty sympathizes. His own nose itches until his eyes water and he sniffs a few times, but the sneeze itself remains just out of reach. He rubs one knuckle under his nose until the feeling recedes slightly, and walks further into the room. “Place hasn’t been touched in a decade,” he remarks, making his way around some old chairs, haphazardly arranged.

“What we expected,” Rust replies, voice a little thick. He’s watching the the way the light plays over the broken furniture, but he picks his way across to the bookshelves, still with old binders stacked tall. He picks up the topmost one gingerly. The plastic cover is intact, but the pages are falling apart. He lifts the top page gently, but then his breathing hitches, and he replaces the binder on the shelf as his eyes sink closed. “Hehhh…” He raises a hand, rubbing one finger slowly under his nose, eyelids fluttering as he tries in vain to hold off the sneeze. “Heh-ihh! Hah! Eschuh! Eschuah! Heh-schuh! Choo! Hehschoo! Aschoo!”

“Bless you,” Marty says, taken a little aback. “You okay?”

Rust nods, but he’s still frozen in place, eyes clenched shut, breath coming in sharp gasps. “Hihh, hihh, hihhhh…” His face is arrested, mouth hanging open, fingers smashing the underside of his nose, and Marty isn’t sure if he’s trying desperately to hold the sneeze at bay or urge it forward, but it looks torturous either way. “Heh! Hahhh…” He makes little aborted movements with his free hand, like he’s not sure what to do with it. His nose positively twitches over the fingers he presses roughly against it.

“You look goddamn ridiculous,” Marty tells him, not unkindly. “Why don’t you--” go outside, he was going to finish, but he doesn’t get the chance.

Rust explodes in a new fit of sneezes, each one sounding more tickly and irritated than the last. “IschOoo! Choo! Hehschoo!” He turns away from the shelves, bending over slightly with each attack. “Hihh-ishoo! Hishuh! Hishh! Hishhchh! Hisshoo!”

Marty puts a hand on the flat of Rust’s back, pushing him roughly back towards the door. “Okay, why don’t you check out any other room in this damn building, leave this one to me?”

“Get thehh. Hih! Heh-aschoo! Fuck! Get any records you can fi-fihnd…” He trails off, blinking rapidly, nostrils flaring. “Ihh-hehh…”

“I been doing this longer than you, remember?” Marty drawls, and shoves him again. “Get the hell out of here. Go check out some of the classrooms. I’ll take care of this.”

Rust goes, scrubbing frantically at his nose. The sound of his sneezes echo back through the building for a while after he leaves.

Marty turns back to the shelf of paperwork, hoping any of it will be useful. He turns the pages on the binder Rust had started, but the first dozens of pages have been water damaged, and all the ink has long since run. It looks like there might be something useful towards the middle, insulated as it was from the elements, but then Marty hesitates. His eyes are watering again, and his breath hitches, eyes squinting shut against his will. He pinches his nose shut, stifling the sneeze but unable to stop it. “Hnnxt!” He opens his eyes, but immediately has to close them again, barely catching the next two. “Hup-chss! Hnnx!” With each sneeze, the itch in his nose just seems to grow.

He closes the binder in disgust and grabs it and two of its fellows, following Rust out of the room. Maybe they'll get somewhere outside.

[Nola]

Hot damn! I always wanted to watch this show, but haven't yet...but Matthew McConaughey is one of my very favorites, so thank you for sharing this!!

[VoOs]

Oh, Rust...

This is great. So deliciously descriptive. Thank you for sharing!

[cally]

Wow. Wow. Just wow.

[Bruyere]

I haven't seen this yet either, (it's going to be my post exam viewing) but I really enjoyed this. You built a great sense of atmosphere around the building.

Rust nods, but he’s still frozen in place, eyes clenched shut, breath coming in sharp gasps. “Hihh, hihh, hihhhh…” His face is arrested, mouth hanging open, fingers smashing the underside of his nose, and Marty isn’t sure if he’s trying desperately to hold the sneeze at bay or urge it forward, but it looks torturous either way. “Heh! Hahhh…” He makes little aborted movements with his free hand, like he’s not sure what to do with it. His nose positively twitches over the fingers he presses roughly against it.

<3 Gah, yes.

[blueberrymuffin]

Thanks for the lovely comments! And for those of you who haven't watched True Detective yet, do not let it go by! It really is as good as everyone is saying. Though sadly free of sneezing.