Spencer gently tapped Derek's arm when he noticed that the taller agent was nodding off behind the wheel again. Derek's eyes shot open in surprise, then immediately concentrated on the road. The slight swerve of Spencer's van woke both agents up more than before. Spencer gave Derek a nervous smile to let him know it was okay. They were exhausted after a long camping trip with the team, and the twosome were the last to leave the site. They took turns driving but as time went on, it felt more difficult to reach the BAU, despite the fact that it was only 20 minutes away.

"Sorry about that, Pretty Boy. We were kinda dumb to stay up last night, huh?"

Spencer crossed his shoulders and closed his eyes, laying his head on the headrest. "You got that right. It was nice though. Still. Seven hours." he chuckled.

Their small conversation grew into a more elaborate discussion. Both agents realized that giving themselves something more active to concentrate on could help them stay awake. Soon, they became more interested in what each other had to say. Head shaking, hand gesturing, and even some laughs commenced. Derek and Spencer smiled. They were tired but content; reminding themselves of the similar chat that had caused them their lack of sleep the night before.

It seems like it was at the peak of their cheerfulness when it happened.

The blinding lights of a semi-truck. Morgan's arms caught between the action of slamming his hand on the horn and trying to swerve out of the way. The shocking realization that the truck was headed straight for them. The van was diagonal to the truck, still coming towards it as the van's wheels screamed with a screech on the asphalt below it. Derek caught a glance of a ditch right off the road, and took his chance. He began swerving the car in the ditch's direction, bargaining with the possibility that it wouldn't be that deep or dangerous. Or at least not as dangerous as crashing into a semi-truck.

But it was too late. All of the cacophonous sounds mixing together became white noise. Derek turned his head, which made the world blur. But through that blur, he could not see the face of the semi-truck's driver. He could not see the world whipping around the car frantically. He could only see Spencer's worried face as the younger agent crunched his body towards the safety handle he was grasping. Derek felt sorry for him.

As the shattered glass flew in every direction, and as Derek and Spencer flung around with little resistance. The world faded out.

"You alright?" a deep gravelly voice asked. Derek fought to keep his eyes opened but only managed to open them half-way. Through his blurry vision and the now shattered window, he saw a man with blonde hair fixed so that it stood two inches off his head. His overalls were torn and his shirt was stained. He reeked of cigarettes and must have been in his late 30s but looked 50. As the agent turned his head to get away from the stench, his peripheral caught a glimpse of an unconscious Spencer Reid. Blood caused his long bangs to be matted to his face. Now, Derek's eyes were shot open. He faced the mysterious man again. He would give his life to move at that moment, but his broken left arm and battered body betrayed him. He ignored the bits of shattered glass lodged near his mouth and spoke.

"Please…" Morgan croaked, lifting his unbroken arm to pointing to his little brother "Help him. D-don't worry about me, man."

"Is he dead?" the man asked superficially. Morgan didn't have the energy to be exasperated until Reid suddenly choked and coughed. After a moment, he heaved and a splurge of blood splattered from his mouth to his lap. Morgan kept his eyes locked on Reid, cursing himself for being unable to help him. The man spoke again. Morgan did not need look at him to know that he was grinning. His cruel tone said everything.

"Good. Then this damn headache of mine wasn't a waste."

"What are you talking about?" Morgan asked.

The mysterious man pulled out a Glock and aimed it at Derek. His attempt to thrash and move closer to Reid was the hardest thing he'd done in his life. He was in so much pain that he only managed to shift in his seat by an inch. He wanted to scream for help. But the utter fear and panic paralyzed him.

The mysterious man chuckled. "Nighty night, Derek Morgan. You'd better get a good look at little Spencer here. Because this is the last time you'll ever see him."

Derek didn't believe the bastard. He wasn't sure why. He knew he was fucked, for all intents and purposes. But even with the barrel of that gun staring him down, he didn't believe it. It just wasn't true. It couldn't be.

Derek. Spencer. Fuck, he knows who we are...! Is he some past unsub with a vendetta!?

Derek moved his intense eyes from the gun to the unsub, staring at him viciously. He didn't let up. Even if it meant pretending that looks could kill, and that he could somehow penetrate the skull of the unsub standing before him.

The sound of gunfire rang out, and everything went black.

Spencer was shrouded in darkness, aware that this wasn't a good thing, but feared looking to any past memory. All he knew is that there was a reason for his semi-consciousness right now. All he could see was black, and all he could hear was the sound of his own mouth groaning. He couldn't feel anything. A moment passed, and he heard a voice speaking on his left side, but he realized it was not directed at him.

"Yeah, yeah quit rushin' me! I'm getting our toy. His friend in the driver's seat was determined. Thought he could bargain himself. What a dumbass. What? Of course he's dead, I shot him." the man chuckled.

If Reid could open his eyes, they would look terrified. Oh no, oh no. He's not talking about Morgan, is he!? His effort to scream out as loud as he could only came out as a groan. We got hurt? What the hell happened? Spencer silently pleaded that Morgan would spit a fearless insult towards the man. But Spencer heard nothing from his friend. Only the rough, annoyed voice of the bastard who shot him.

"I'll be at the cabin in 20 minutes. Wh- Yes, I'm hangin' up! Damn, this kid is lanky but it's not like I can chit chat while carrying him. Alright, bye." A low-tone beep indicated the end of a phone call. The unsub opened the passenger's seat where Spencer was. Spencer felt a slight gust of air move in his direction as he was sprawled in the passenger's seat. The man tucked a hand under his bottom and wrapped another under his armpit, hoisting him in a lazy bridal carry. Spencer knew he couldn't move, and that nothing could be done. He felt useless.

"Here we go." The man announced directly into Spencer's ear. "Maybe if you're good for us, you won't end up like you're friend over here."

His body rocked as the unsub used his leg to slam the passenger's door closed. Reid was unmoving. A single tear of his slid up his upside down head and slightly soaked his hair.