Hello to all. This is my first Criminal Minds fanfic so it's a lottle sloppy. I got the general idea before a saw a lot of the episodes so it has some similarities to other episodes that I never intended to be similar to... run-on sentance aside, I'd love to hear what you have to say and any comments about how I can make it better are welcome.

And yes, this has an original character as one of the main characters, if you don't like then leave.

Enjoy!

Echo stood inside of her parents' home looking around with a slight feeling of confusion. She slowly walked down the dark hallway that led to the kitchen in hopes her parents would be there. Seeing a dim yellow light coming from the kitchen, she quickened her walking pace and turned the corner into the kitchen.

To her horror, she discovered that the source of the dim yellow light was a fire engulfing the kitchen.

"Echo!" A woman screamed from the living room area. Echo ran to the source of the scream and found her parents trapped in the living room, surrounded by the raging fire. "Echo, you have to get out of here now!" Her mother screamed. Echo shook her head viciously, not wanting to leave her parents behind.

"Do as she says, Echo!" Her father yelled. The flames grew larger and started burning her parents as they screamed in pain.

The flames got closer to Echo and she ran for the door with tears in her eyes. She tried opening the door but the doorknob was extremely hot and Echo couldn't get a good grip on it without burning her hands more than she already had.

She pinned her back to the door and watched as the flames got closer and closer. She tried screaming for help but nothing came out. She slammed her fists against the door in a panic as the flames began burning her.

"Nhg!" Echo woke up panting. Cold sweat rolled down the side of her face as she felt her scars start to burn. She lay back down in her bed once she calmed down and sighed. Every nightmare was the same for her; the memory of her parents death.

...

"Alright, what've we got today?" David Rossi asked as he sat down with the rest of the BAU team.

"There have been five fires, all in the same area, within a couple weeks. The locals believe it's the work of a serial killer from 20 years ago." J.J explained.

"Why would they think it's a serial killer from 20 years ago?" Derek Morgan asked.

"This specific serial killer, known as The Phoenix, burned houses while everyone was asleep then wrote a message on the sidewalk for the police to find," J.J replied. "There have been similar messages found near the houses that have burned down these past couple weeks." J.J Showed the team pictures of the messages.

"'Echo will fall as the flames rise'," Spencer read out loud. "It's odd; he uses the word 'echo' in singular context in all of these messages."

Rossi shifted in his seat as he finally remembered the case from 20 years ago and what happened 10 years after it. "It's a name," He said getting everyone's attention. "Echo is a name."

Hotch immediately called Garcia. "Garcia, I need you to find any connection to a house fire from 20 years ago and the name Echo."

"Sorry, I got zilch." Garcia replied over the phone.

"Try 10 years ago," Rossi commented.

"Got it," Garcia chimed. "There was a fire 10 years ago in the same area the fires are appearing now. A young couple, Paul and Courtney Eleri, were killed but their 12 year old daughter Echo survived with burns to 30% of her body."

"He's trying to finish what he started," Emily Prentiss realised. "He killed her parents and intended to kill her too but she survived."

"Why is he just getting back to it ten years later?" Morgan asked.

"Maybe she did something publicly to make him realise that she's alive," Spencer Reid said in reply.

"Garcia, find anything you can on this girl." Hotch demanded.

"Way ahead of you, my liege," Garcia replied. "Echo Eleri seems to be quite the artist around here. She's painted many a famous painting and has even written a couple children's books…oh…"

"What is it?" Hotch asked.

"She has selective mutism, she hasn't been able to speak to anyone other than her grandparents since the fire," Garcia replied. "She also has a mild case of Avoidant Personality Disorder, where her mustism stems from."

"Getting her to respond to our questions just got harder," Morgan sighed. "I'm sure she won't want to be around us, either."

"Actually, most people with Avoidant Personality Disorder have a deep desire to have a close relationship with others but still avoid them because of their fear of being judged," Spencer explained. "For them to trust us will take time and understanding but it's not impossible."

"If you know so much about these disorders then you better come with me," Rossi said as he got up from his seat.

"Where?" Spencer questioned.

"We're going to get Echo."

...

"I don't understand why we're going to get her ourselves," Spencer thought out loud. "We don't often do this."

"This is a special case for me, Reid," Rossi knocked on the door. A young woman with choppy brown hair and blond bangs opened the door a crack, only revealing half of her face. "Echo Eleri? I'm special agent David Rossi and this is special agent Dr. Spencer Reid. We're from the FBI," He paused to look at Echo's blankly surprised reaction. "Can we come in?"

Echo stared at them for a while before closing the door, unlocking the chain, and opening the door fully to let them in. She led them to the living room where they sat in an awkward silence.

"Echo," Rossi began after a short time. "We believe you might be in danger." Echo's eyes widened but she said nothing.

"Someone seems to be leaving messages saying that you'll suffer the same fate as the ones that perished in the recent house fires," Spencer explained. Echo shifted in her seat at the mention of a house fire. Spencer noticed her clutching her left arm, which was covered with a fingerless glove up to her elbow. "If you come with us you'll be safe and we could ask you some questions about-"

"Reid," Rossi interrupted. "We don't want to get into that yet," He turned back to Echo. "We figure it would be safer if you come with us. Would you be alright with that?"

Echo nodded slowly in response. Rossi told her to pack a small bag so she walked to her room and grabbed a small duffle bag to put her things in. She noticed Spencer standing by the door watching her. She turned to look at him and he smiled.

"Do you only have a very mild case of Avoidant Personality Disorder?" Spencer asked her. "It doesn't seem life you feel the need to get away from us."

Echo ignored his question and continued packing her things while Spencer began looking around her room. She didn't stop him from looking but kept a close eye on him, making sure he didn't go through any personal things.

"What's this?" Spencer picked up a small shoe box that had been painted white. There was nothing special about it, just a white box. Spencer questioned why nothing was making the box more flashy or personal with artwork of any sort.

"Nh!" Echo ran to Spencer and snatched the box from his hands, glaring at him in the process. She opened her closet door and put the box under a pile of clothes so it wasn't easily seen.

"Sorry, I didn't know." Spencer apologized. Echo's glare softened to an annoyed look with a hint of understanding in her eyes and went back to packing. Once she finished packing her duffle bag, she set it aside close to the door and started packing her everyday bag with things to keep her busy; pens, paper, watercolour paints, her sketch book, etc. She put the strap over her shoulder and headed for the living room, grabbing her duffle bag in the process.

"Ready to go?" Rossi asked as he got up from his seat on the couch. Echo nodded. "Then let's be on our way."

The ride back to the BAU office was quiet. Echo kept to herself and looked out the window, watching the cars race by in the other direction. She could feel that someone was staring at her and stared to feel uncomfortable. She began tapping her fingers on the car door out of nervousness and her breathing pace quickened. She realised that she was starting to have a panic attack and kicked the passenger seat from behind to get their attention.

Spencer turned once his seat was kicked and saw the state Echo was in. "Rossi, stop the car," He demanded. "She's having a panic attack." Rossi stopped the car and got out quickly. They saw Echo get out of the car and stagger away from them but they followed, making sure she didn't hurt herself.

Echo sat behind a tree and took deep breathes. She put her hands over her head to shield herself from anything around her as she heard someone approaching. "Echo?" She heard Rossi say her name softly. "Are you okay? Do you need anything?" Echo tapped her wrist, giving them a sign.

"Time," Spencer said, getting what she meant. "She just needs some time to calm down."

Rossi turned back to Echo for a moment. "We'll be waiting in the car, unless you want us to stay?" Echo shook her head. "Then, like I said, we'll be in the car. It's just over there so we won't be too far away."

Rossi got up and walked in the direction of the car. Spencer followed. "Are we just going to wait here until she calms down?" He asked.

"Yes," Rossi replied. "We can't force her to get back in the car; she'll have another panic attack and might even pass out. We don't want her to feel uncomfortable with us." Spencer nodded to his reply and waited patiently in the passenger seat of the car.

Another 15 minutes passed and Echo finally came out from behind the tree and slowly walked back to the car. Rossi smiled when he saw her and walked around the car to get into the driver's seat.

They hit the road again; making sure Echo was alright before getting onto any major roads. A folded piece of paper slipped over Spencer's shoulder; he picked it up and unfolded it.

I'm sorry for that little episode I went through. Different thoughts were going through my mind and made me panic. I'm not used to being around people and the thought of being around so many people makes me nervous.

"It's alright, Echo," Spencer turned to face her. "No one will hurt you where we're going. They know that you won't speak to them so they'll understand why you're so quiet, as well." Echo nodded slowly then turned her attention to the window.

Once Rossi parked the car, Echo got out and grabbed her things. "Do you want me to carry that for you?" Spencer asked pointing to her duffle bag. Echo shook her head and held her duffle closer.

She followed the two men into an elevator and pressed herself into a corner farthest away from them and kept her eyes down. The elevator stopped and the doors opened a minute or so later and they walked out into the main room.

"Welcome to the BAU." Rossi smiled.

First chapter done! Uhg, the paragraphes looked so much bigger when I wrote this on WORD. I hate that.

Anywho, let me know what you think.