Here we go. I loves the whump.

Ashes of Our Lives – Prologue

Every noise made her jump. She could hear him walking above them; the sound of his boots clanking against the tile upstairs was deafening in the otherwise silence of their enclosure. He hadn't come down in a while, and that thought was almost as worrying as when she heard him coming down the stairs.

JJ guessed at first that they were in a basement. Now, she wasn't so sure. It was a big place, like an underground dog kennel. There were rooms and cages and foul smells and unidentifiable stains on the concrete floor.

She brushed dirty blonde hair away from her face, coughing the rancid stench from her lungs and turning desperate blue eyes to the door at the top of the stairs, hoping beyond hope that any minute, Hotch or Morgan would rip that door down and come barreling down to save them.

She didn't think it would happen. No, this time, they were beyond help from their team. The man up in the house was brilliant, she knew. Her only source of comfort was that her partner was brilliant too.

She looked at Reid, feeling her stomach twist in concern. He hadn't spoken in hours, and JJ's worry was growing. She had given up trying to talk to him, he would only blink hazily and watch her with a horribly confused look in his darkened eyes. The young agent had been tossed there like a broken doll hours ago and he hadn't gathered the strength to sit up. But at least the bleeding had stopped.

JJ took a shallow breath, wishing her lungs could take in more but every time she felt ready to take a deep draught of air, there was a slash of pain across her chest that cut it short. She wasn't sure what exactly was wrong with her, but she knew she wasn't as okay as she'd been telling Reid. The shackle on her right ankle was cutting into her and she knew it was a matter of time before the deep cuts became infected. She hoped Reid hadn't gotten an infection from the bacteria on the cold floor he was resting carelessly against.

She closed her eyes and tried to sleep, willing her tired, aching body to take a few hours to recuperate. She wasn't sure how long she was out before she heard Reid coming to life beside her. He woke after what seemed like hours of trying, and he pushed himself upright with shaking arms. Once up, he immediately pressed one hand to the deep tear in his side. He was trembling.

"Spence," JJ whispered hoarsely. He looked at her, dirty chestnut hair in his eyes. She gestured to her side and he moved sluggishly to sit beside her, leaning back against the concrete wall. He sighed, coughing harshly and grimacing at the feel of the gritty air assaulting his battered lungs. She leaned her head on his slender shoulder, feeling her eyes moisten for the millionth time since they'd been thrown down in the cellar.

"They're coming for us," JJ whispered, trying to sound reassuring but she was trying to convince herself as much as she was trying to convince him. Reid's body trembled against her side.

"I'd like to believe that," he murmured hoarsely, "but in all likelihood, it'll be a long time before they figure out the unsub's name and put together the information that will lead them here."

His tired hazel eyes met her frightened blue ones.

"We're on our own this time JJ, and we're going to have to manage because if we don't stay strong he's going to slaughter us."

She didn't have time to respond before the door at the top of the stairs opened, filling the dim room with pale, sallow light. JJ started shaking beside Reid, her strength gone. Reid sat up straighter, attempting to look remotely threatening but cringing when the pain across his torso reminded him of the last time he'd tried to protect JJ.

The shadowed man climbed down the stairs in an unhurried fashion; his face blank and his arms limp at his sides. The agents noticed with alarm that both of his hands were holding something.

He looked purposely at JJ and Reid leaned forward, his youthful face for once twisted in hatred.

"Leave her alone," he hissed. He knew threatening the man wouldn't work; he'd disarmed both of them before they'd even gotten to the dark basement. He tried another approach.

"If you let her go," Reid reasoned, "I'll help you."

This brought about a reaction in their captor. His lips pulled back in a snarl.

"I don't need help," he spat. "It's enough to have two FBI agents down here, isn't it? You're profilers. Don't think I haven't done my research on you." He cut his eyes to JJ for a moment, and then flicked back to Reid. He lifted both hands, one holding a gun and the other a steak knife. "Actually, that was a lie." He paused and looked at JJ pointedly. "She isn't a profiler. But still, she's valuable."

Reid blinked. Using two different weapons at once was an odd choice but he didn't have time to ponder before the man stepped forward, pressing the gun to JJ's temple. There was a distinct change in JJ's breathing pattern that Reid picked up on immediately. She was so afraid, and Reid ached to help her.

"Please," he tried again, "don't hurt her."

The man lifted the knife and pressed the flat side of it against Reid's throat.

"You're a profiler," He repeated, "you get paid to study how I behave right? You think you know how I work." He dragged the tip of the blade almost playfully against Reid's pale skin. The young profiler could only watch him hatefully.

"You're the brains of your team, aren't you?" He asked before looking at JJ, "and you're the public. Take out the smarts and I've just bought myself a shit ton of time. Take out the liaison and nobody has a clue where I am next. Don't you see?" He looked back at Reid, dark eyes smoldering.

"I don't want your help with anything. I want to kill you. Taking down the FBI… it's the ultimate power trip. Isn't that how I am, profiler?" He pressed the point of the knife into Reid's skin, drawing tiny beads of blood. The young agent didn't make a sound.

"I get off on power. Taking down authority figures… the people who make other people feel safe. Isn't that what you say? Tell me agent, who have I killed so far?"

Reid's voice was hoarse and pained when he spoke, but his eyes flashed angrily.

"Eight people," he hissed. "Four cops, two teachers, and two FBI agents." His voice wavered at the end and the unsub jerked back, nodding once. His face was still expressionless.

"So you know what I'll do," He pulled the gun from JJ's head and the blonde nearly collapsed against her partner's shoulder.

"You know how I work," He snarled, "you know how I planned this all out. Your job is to predict my moves and prevent it. But you failed. Tell me then, agent. Am I going to do it?" He held up the blade so they could see.

Reid gave JJ a sidelong glance then looked back at the unsub standing over them so threateningly. He hesitated before he spoke.

"Yes."

The blade flashed as it lunged forward in the unsub's hand. Reid didn't make a sound, but JJ's shrieking made several people on the street above turn their heads.

Chapter one will be posted soon and it'll go back to the beginning of the case, and the way JJ and Reid ended up in this situation will be explained.

I'm going to stress that I've read a lot of kidnap fics on here, and I'm going to try very hard to make this one unlike some that I've read.

I will not make Reid a sniveling frightened coward who's going to cry in the corner until he's rescued. I'm going to portray him as the strong, intelligent individual that I know he is. JJ isn't going to break down either, she's level headed and collected and I'm going to write her as such. They're going to have to fight like hell to get out of this situation.

I'm going to keep this as in-character as I can, so it's going to be a JJ!Reid romantic pairing, but it'll be very mild, in character, and not until later chapters.

Happy Reading, please review if you feel so inclined. (: