There was something absolutely captivating about Jo Merino's dreams. Dreams of helping children in Africa, India, even in the United States, dreams of making a name for herself, and dreams of becoming wildly successful as a public health official. There was something far less captivating about the road to those dreams. The familiar sensation of her foot ensnaring itself upon an invisible obstacle brought her back to reality; a reality which she was far from satisfied with. The reality was that Jo was a broke college student, going to Old Dominion University to get her master's in Public Health. The only way she was able to afford this was her full-ride cheerleading scholarship, and the only way she could keep that was by maintaining her impeccable health. To do this, she found herself jogging in the park. She wore a bright blue tank top with a pair of solid black running shorts, and to most she would appear to be the stereotypical cheerleader. Her long blonde hair swept her shoulder blades even as it was pulled up in a pony tail, and her big blue eyes seemed accentuated from her well-tanned skin. From a distance, she was "that girl". She accepted this. It got her through college, and while it caused her some problems initially she overcame them. Just like she always did.
After rounding a turn she could have wept with relief, her route was over. 5 miles later and she was beyond exhausted. She stopped for only a moment to turn off her ipod, and take a gulp of water before heading to her motorcycle. It was her gift to herself, mostly because she couldn't afford the gas it would take to drive a car, but also because it broke the stereotype she portrayed. When she was on the bright red sports bike, she wasn't a dumb blonde valley girl anymore. In those precious moments hiding under her helmet, no one could see her face. She was a bad ass. Smiling, she put her things into the small bag on her back and made her way to her bike when something stopped her. A shrill shriek. Not the kind of shriek a child lets out when they're hurt, or angry. This was a cry of pure terror. Her head whipped around towards the sound and saw a man what appeared to be a woman into the bushes.
"HELP! OH MY GOD HELP!" Jo screamed in a panic, before noticing there was no one else around. Pulling out her cell-phone and pepper spray, Jo dialed 911 as she ran after the man, "Hello? Yes I'm at Green Valley park, a man just abducted-MMPH!" Her voice was cut off as a hand covered her mouth. "Shh… It'll be ok Jo Anna, I'm not here to hurt you." Said a silky smooth voice behind her. She could hear the operator on the phone calling out to her, and looking around frantically she noticed the girl the man had been dragging. She seemed to be about 19, only a few years younger than herself, with a slender build and blonde hair with blue eyes. And she was bleeding from the head. "If I let go, you can't run or I'll kill the girl, do you understand?" Jo nodded frantically, eyes not leaving the young woman. The man released her and circled her, much like a predator analyzing its prey. "I've waited for so long Jo Anna, the others were practice you see? You deserve the best." Said the man, who seemed to be only a few years older than her. She had seen him before, his brown mousy hair and beetle-like blue eyes seemed uncannily familiar…she couldn't place it though.
"Th-thank you…" She murmered, keeping her head low, wondering how she would escape this situation. She heard the sounds of cars approaching from far off, before cries rang out, "Hello? Miss? We received a call-"
"YOU CALLED THE COPS?!" The man hissed in a whisper, his eyes narrowing, "Jo Anna, I can't carry her and she can't tell them what I look like…" His voice was no longer smooth, now menacing as he glanced at the girl on the ground and withdrew a knife from his pocket. Without thinking, Jo screamed, "NO! YOU LEAVE HER BE!" and she was on the man in an instant, fists flying, teeth gnashing, kicking, with animalistic battle cries. She felt the knife cut into her arm, and then her hand as she grabbed it, before the man grabbed her hair and she kicked him as hard as physically possible straight in the chin. Stumbling backwards, he snarled, "This isn't over." His voice chilled her to the bone, but he fled, leaving her and his previous victim alone in the woods.
There was rustling further back in the trees and Jo began to cry out, "Over here! Please! Help!" before turning her attention to the pale girl on the ground. She had lost a lot of blood. Ripping off her shirt, Jo put pressure on her head wound before feeling for a pulse. None. "No, no, no!" Jo hissed, before throwing herself next to the girl and beginning CPR. Jo remember exactly how to do the compressions with terrifying precision, and as the BAU team entered the clearing the site was far from pretty. Blood was everywhere, covering both victims, (who could have been sisters) as well as the ground around them. Dr. Spencer Reid was slightly taken aback as the girl yelled, "Someone call for an ambulance! Tell them we have an unresponsive female with a head wound and no pulse, then report back to me, do you understand?!"
Hotchner was the first with his phone out, giving direct orders. "Which way did he go, ma'am?" Asked Morgan, leaning down slightly. "To your right, although he may be long gone by now." The girl said, not ceasing her relentless attempt to revive the younger girl.
"Morgan, Prentiss, see if you can catch up to him. Reid-" Hotch started, but was interrupted.
"I need someone over here applying pressure to a head wound, please!" The girl barked from the ground. Rossi was the first on the ground, holding the tank-top to the girl's head. Reid heard EMTs coming through, and as they approached one held a stretcher, whilst the other two removed the conscious girl from the body. As she stood up, J.J. was the first to notice that she was injured as well.
"Miss, please sit down you need medical care." She said, approaching lightly, but as she did the girl nodded a dazed look on her face, before falling completely unconscious to the ground.