This is my Christmas story! YAY :) Hope you guys like it-I had a tough time getting this one out...

The UnSubs of Christmas Past-Chapter 1: Prologue

Lights so Bright

"You wanted to talk to me?"

SSA Dr. Spencer Reid sat parallel to Aaron Hotchner in his claustrophobically small office, somehow managing to keep a straight face all the while. He was panicking on the inside, but he was happy to see that he seemed to be faking it well enough. He nodded his head in response, and as his heart began racing, he dropped a file on his boss' desk. He let the paperwork speak for itself; there was no need to create unnecessary noise, anyways.

Hotch scanned over the papers, frowning. He knew that this day would come, but he had been dreading it nonetheless. He understood why his youngest agent would want to do this, but at the same time, he knew he was making a big mistake. "Nothing will be final for a while," he sighed, letting the papers slip from his hand. "Are you sure about this?"

There was a moment's hesitation, but Spencer eventually nodded his head. "This is what I want, Hotch."

"I don't think it is," his boss admitted. "I want you to think about this, okay? You're a vaid member of the team, and it's okay if you decide to stay." Hotch stood up, and Spencer followed suit. "You're a fine agent and an even better friend; none of us want to lose you, too." With a dismissing nod, they left the office.

Garcia and Morgan watched from the bullpen as the two men left Hotch's office. They both had a feeling they knew what was going on, but neither of them were ready to face that truth again.

"Not you too, boy-genius," Garcia mumbled.

"It's not too late to change his mind," Morgan frowned. Garcia turned to face her friend, a hopeful look on her face. The two agents locked eyes for a moment, both of them thinking about JJ. They had just lost her, and now Reid? No, they wouldn't allow it.- not again, anyways. "Come on, let's go home." The blond tech followed behind Morgan as her Christmas-red heels clipped against the BAU floors.

~* Merry Christmas *~

Spencer Reid tried to keep his mind blank as he stopped at a red light. He was leaving the BAU- his decision was final. He couldn't keep up with all the horrors and all the nightmares associated with the job; he was starting to go numb, and he hated it. As the light turned green, he slowly pressed on the gas petal, gasping in shock as the car slid. Unfortunately, he wasn't the only car sliding on the roads, and a man who had tried braking for the red light came sliding through the overpass, hitting Spencer's car head-on. Spencer's truck slid around on the roads until it finally crashed into a ditch on the side of the road. It toppled to its side, and Spencer's head slammed into his steering wheel. Before the airbags had a chance to expand, he had already suffered from the consequences of the crash. He was only slightly aware of the banging noise on his windshield, and as he heard his door being opened, he passed out.

~* MC *~

Spencer Reid was dizzy; that was the first thing he noticed as his eyes opened again. All around him, colors blurred together, creating a rich array of luminous lights that kept swirling around him. Soon enough, the colors started to form shapes, and those shapes started to form objects. He looked around with a frown as his vision refocused. He pushed himself up on his elbows and looked around. All around him was white snow and trees. He glanced below him to realize that he was laying on a frozen lake that had become covered with snow. He let out a shaky breath as he stood to his feet. He didn't bother speaking, though, because he knew it would be useless. There was no way that anyone else was with him.

"You'd be wrong to think that, Spencer."

Spencer jumped at the sudden noise, and he slid on the ice in surprise. He turned to face the noise as he fell to the ground, but as he managed to regain himself, his eyes went wide. Uselessly, he scrambled for words; his efforts were in vain, though, as it spoke to him first.

"I think we need to have a conversation, Spencer."

~* MC *~

I know it's a little short and lack-lustering details, but this part isn't very important, although I thought it was nice to know what's going on before we meet the ghosts. You should know that instead of the tradition 3 ghosts, there's going to be the 3 main ones- present, future, past- but there will be about 7 others in-between. Thnx for reading! How about some feedback?