Author's Note:

So, to those who have followed this series from the beginning: IT'S HERE! And yes, the end is near! Actually, we've got quite a few chapters to get through first.

To those of you who have just started reading this from this book: I seriously suggest you start from the beginning, which is, as stated in the summary, An Unyielding, Horrifying Love. The second's Pain of An Eighth Grade Genius. This story will mention a lot of what has happened before this, including flashbacks of the past.

So, I hope all readers - new and old - enjoy what I have to write, and please PM me with any questions you may have!

Now, as my hands beg me to type and my mind begs me to let loose, I shall finally begin the end of this story.

Friday, February 10th, 2012 5:30 PM
BAU Headquarters, Quantico, VA

Hotch sighed as he glanced at the clock. Already he'd felt he was missing something in regards to Amy's case, but he couldn't be sure. No videos had been posted or emailed to any of the team all day, meaning something was wrong. Why couldn't he place his nagging feeling that something bad was happening?

Prentiss walked in quietly, JJ in tow. Prentiss looked ready to leave, with her bag on her shoulder and her coat on her arm. JJ merely held a file in her hand.

"What is it?" Hotch asked, sitting as he gestured for the two agents to sit in front of him.

As Prentiss sat, she said, "Hotch, I feel...almost as if Amy was trying to tell us something with that last song."

"More than one something," JJ added. "It was almost as if...she were warning us of something."

Everyone remained silent as they contemplated what the girl could possibly have been leading to.

"A possible escape attempt?" Hotch said suddenly. He pulled up the last video.

As he hit play, Morgan walked in saying, "Possibly."

The lyrics that came out of Amy's mouth were coated in her emotion, but Hotch couldn't tell if she were acting or telling the truth. Her voice was sweet, but the words were tainted with regret. She smiled, but the lines were thrust from her mouth bitterly. She seemed happy, but Hotch caught faint tears forming in her eyes.

As Rossi walked in with Garcia, the song ended, and Hotch felt sure there were multiple meanings behind the lyrics and her body language.

Rossi pointed to the screen. "Did she actually break down into tears at the end?"

Hotch nodded grimly. "Yes."

"And are we sure this means she's only in pain? Because I just got an email of a YouTube video, and you will not believe what the song was."

JJ turned to him. "What was it?"

"'Straight To You' by Josh Groban."

Everyone's eyes widened.

"Amy sang that song once, didn't she?" Garcia asked.

Hotch nodded. "Yes, but it can only mean one thing this time, especially since it wasn't her singing it, now was it?"

Rossi nodded. "She's escaped, and Stan's found out."

Friday February 10th, 2012
Somewhere in the wooded foothills of the Appalacians, United States.

Amy leaned up against a tree for the fifteenth time, catching her breath. The sky was almost black, with only the moon and a few stars to act as lights for guidance. She hardly knew if she was following the tire treds anymore, let alone if she were wandering in circles. No, she couldn't be - the incline was to her back, meaning she was still traveling downhill.

Amy slid down the length of the tree, finally allowing herself to sit for once. The snow she had seen the day before Reid had arrived in Stan's clutches was melting in patches, exposing fallen leaves, twigs, mud, dirt, and the roots of the trees.

She slipped her backpack from her shoulders, pulling out her water bottle. Unscrewing the lid, she sipped some of the clear liquid, then put it back in her pack, making sure it was secure and in its proper place. Then, she removed her boot and rolled up the left leg of her pants to expose a large purplish-blackish-yellowish bruise just below her knee where a low-hanging branch had caught her off-guard in the wintry darkness. Turning her head away, she carefully rolled down the pant leg again and slipped on the boot. Standing, she proceeded to follow the tire tracks downhill, staying in the shelter of the trees. She never allowed herself to think of why she was running anymore, as it would cause her to stop and possibly turn back. All she did was keep an eye on the tire tracks and jog, slowing only when truly necessary.

She had been running for about an hour when a flickering light caught her attention. It flickered again, then steadied, turning into two lights. That's when she made out the shape of a white van - Stan's white van - and everything made sense. Instincts took over, and she sprinted away from the safety of the tire tracks, not daring to look back and see if she was being followed. All she heard was her footsteps over the dead leaves and snow and her ragged breathing as she sprinted.

A creek suddenly loomed ahead, and without even really giving it much thought, she ran right through it. That was what made her stop. The water was freezing, reaching just below her knees, clinging to her clothes and skin, not allowing warmth to seep in. She clenched her teeth as the frigidity of the water caused her bruise to suddenly burst in pain. It took all Amy's strength to remain standing and keep walking forward through the creek. Finally she was through, but the icy pain still remained, immobilizing her legs until finally she gave up and collapsed under a tree. Her left knee had locked up on her, and when she rolled up her pants, both legs were covered in red splotches from the knees down. The pain where her bruise was had been numbed, and all she could hope as she rolled down her soaking-and-slowly-freezing pant legs was that she wouldn't have frostbite. That's when she remembered the extra clothes she had packed, and dug around for the pair of comfy jeans she sought. Finally, she had them in her grasp and quickly changed from her sopping pants to the dry jeans. Each pair of socks were removed until finally the pink flesh of her feet was shown. Amy then took out the other pairs of socks she had and put on every single pair, then put her boots back on. She put the wet clothes in the place of the other clothes, far away from everything else in their own pocket.

Once she was satisfied everything was as okay as it could be considering her current position, she nimbly scaled the tree she had been sitting beneath, and climbed as high as she dared. Once she found a branch she felt could support her weight, she took the rope she had found and secured herself to the tree so she couldn't fall off before allowing herself to regain her much-needed rest.