Hi people! Here`s a short story that someone mentioned over on the Jello forever forums while talking about clichés...so I figured I`d write up a little something...I'm sure this thought has crossed some of your minds!

Disclaimer: No I don't own the mentalist or Red John. I don't make a profit from writing this or money for that matter!

The Darkening hour: A Red John Story.

-Red Johns P.O.V.-

Walking into the massive mansion I hear the sweet giggles of a young girl no older than six upstairs and her mother's calm voice. Putting a tighter grasp on the butcher's knife I held in my hand, I felt a gulp form in my throat at the thought at what I was going to do next. No. I can't think like that. Patrick Jane has to pay for making a mockery of me on live TV...but on the other hand his family hadn't done anything to me. Patrick Jane must pay!!!

I couldn't get the haunting memories from my head or the voice yelling at me to kill those women. They kept spiralling around my head like a Ferris wheel...around and around.

Damn my damn father who screwed my whole life up like this and for making these demons run wild in my mind and damn hotch and Ralph for never coming back to me!

Flashback- Summer 1979.

"Aaron! Wait up!" I yelled, seeing my older brother Aaron or as I like to call him `Hotch`, jump the fence and into our yard with Ralph speeding up before him. I was the youngest and the slowest runner out of the three of us, mostly the reason for my dad's horrific outbursts.

Just when I thought all was good I could feel myself being pulled from the fence and into the arms of my father instantly feeling dread. I could see his blue eyes narrow on mine and him shake me. Tears welled up in my big green eyes as he started yelling at me.

"What the hell were you at?!" He screeched, as he threw me into the corner of my room. He beat mom to death and I feared the same for me, I was getting used to it by now but wished it would stop. I wish he was dead. He beat me up for four hours straight until he threw me into the back of his pickup truck and dumped me on the side of the road, miles from the farm I grew up on. I was a lonely eight year old who was really neglected and found the only house close to me. I wandered up the drive and knocked on the door fearing these people would maybe bring me back to my dad and murder me like he had done with Uncle Jim and Mom. Two innocent people caught in the wrath of a mad man.

I heard the door creak open and saw a pretty dark haired girl with green eyes stare back at me and put her hands on her hips, she looked a year older than me.

"Whatcha do to your face? It looks real bad" she said, in a no- nonsense type of way as I heard someone scurry up behind her. I couldn't help but think she looked the spitting image of me with her hair and eye colour.

"Teresa honey, you know you shouldn't answer the door" the woman scolded and the pretty girl called Teresa shrugged her shoulders and gave her mom a hug.

"Sorry mom. Look at the boys face. I think he fell lots of times" Teresa nodded, pointing at me as I watched her mom turn her head and gape at me.

"Son, you alright?" she asked sweetly, as I looked in shock at her smiling face and the big smiley face in red on her tee-shirt.

"Daddy hit me...he beat me, he killed mommy and uncle Jim and I think he`s gonna kill hotch and Ralph too!" I said shivering at the thought.

"What's your name little guy?" she asked me and I looked down at my dirt- worn shoes.

"John ma`am. John Hotchner...Can you help me?"

The Darkening hour: A red John story.

Hey, so whatcha think? You like? It's actually really fun writing this so far and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I love writing it! Did any of you get the name of RJs brothers' name? Think along the lines of agent and Emily Prentiss...Uh huh...that who I'm talking about!

~JNS x =P