I hope you like this.
Hope is a Time-Traveling Pioneer Girl
Reid twisted and turned in his sheets. What he did was wrong. Horribly Wrong. He opened his eyes and stared at the tally marks. There was still too many too make. He didn't feel like himself anymore. Reid was drowning in the dark and he did not know how to escape.
There was a knocking on his cell door. He turned away. He didn't care who it was. If they had to drag him out, so be it.
"I know you're awake," the voice said impatiently.
The voice belonged to a young woman. Out of pure curiosity, he sat up and looked to see a what could only be a dream. It was a see a teenage girl in a long dress wearing a bonnet.
He leaned forward. "Who are you?"
"Melissa Warren," she said simply as if it explained why she was there.
She extender her hand through the bars. "It's nice to meet you Dr. Reid."
Reid had had many bizarre dreams over the years but this was among the weirdest. Suddenly, he felt very tired and angry. His inquisitiveness blunted by the reality of what he had done recently.
"Go away," he said angrily.
"You know you can't make a dream go away," she said impatiently. Her hand was still between the bars.
He turned away. "But I can try to ignore you," he said and closed his eyes.
He could hear her take a few steps back and sighed. "There I thought this assignment would be simple."
Reid plugged his ears.
She knocked loudly. "I know you can still hear me."
He refused to engage her.
"You think you've turned a corner in your life and there is no going back now," she said. "You think you've become one of them and even if you get out you'll never be that person you loved being. You won't be able to go back to the BAU if given the chance because you think right now you're rotten to the core. You think you'll never be able to reconnect with the team because you're not the person they think you are. You feel you're a monster and always have been, this environment has just given it a chance to come out of the darkness of your heart."
In a flash, he leaped out of his bed slammed himself against the bars.
"GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" he roared.
She didn't look perturbed. "Well that's a response."
"Why won't you go away!?" he yelled.
"You're not a monster, Dr. Reid. You're just a man who was forced into a very difficult position."
He paced his cell. "Who are you? Why are you dressed like a pioneer circa eighteen-forty? How do you know so much about me?"
She sighed. "So, this is going to end up being about me for a while. Okay here's my story: My family was crossing the Green River during the spring. It was raining hard but our stupid guide insisted. I watched my parents get swept away in the water. I was holding on to my twelve-year-old sister Lucy when she fell from my grip. Then this guy dressed in a what you call a tuxedo appeared out of nowhere on a floating platform in the air and offers me his hand. He says if I don't take it my sister will die. Feeling as though I had no choice I got on the platform and into the year twenty-ninety. I read in the history books my sister became a school teacher and married a doctor. She named her three kids after me, believing me dead, and our parents. I can't go back because of time traveling rules."
For a brief moment, he was caught up in the story. That moment flickered like a candle in the dark.
"Why are you here?" he asked angrily.
"My employer sends me back and forth through time to deliver messages from other realms. My message for you is to not give up on yourself. There is light at the end of the tunnel."
"So, you're here to deliver a platitude?" he said. "Next are you going to tell me my future is bright, without telling me how exactly it will be wonderful because of rules?"
He turned away from her and she sighed. He heard her pace around.
"You are a pain! You really have no clue how much you mean to people. Your flaws are what make you human, and not a walking Wikipedia site like some people think you are. You care so much it hurts. When people see you hurt, it makes them sad."
Something wasn't adding up.
"What 'people' are you talking about?"
"Did I mention I leap from different realms in this job? People cried after seeing the look of agony on your face in your cell after what you did."
"People, people," he muttered and turned around. "Am I television character in some realm?"
"You're finally catching on," she said sarcastically.
"You don't sound like a pioneer girl," he said.
"I was sixteen when I was abducted, I am eighteen now according to my health profile. I spend a lot of time in this era so I talk like I belong here. I like to dress this way still though."
He let the words sink in.
"You are not just a character though," she said. "You're inspirational in your own way. People love you and depend on you being that person who is smart, sweet, and is just doing what needs to be done to survive right now. The only person you need forgiveness from right now is yourself to move forward and become that FBI agent people love, but with more of an edge from your time here."
"I can barely see anything in my future," he said softly. "You obviously know everything but won't tell me everything. Why are you here?"
"You can't give up when a world of people depends on you Dr. Reid," she said. "You're never as alone as you think you are. Things will get darker and you won't remember much about me. I hope some of my message gets through to you."
He rested his head against the bars and sighed. Something about the world felt lighter. He put his hand through the bars.
"Thank you," he said.
She shook it. "You're welcome," she said. "Mission complete."
With a zapping sound, she was gone.
Reid fell back into bed. He didn't sleep so much as the racing of his thoughts slowed noticeably.
…
The next day, he woke feeling slightly more rested than he had in days. The panic and guilt were eating at him relentlessly though. He was afraid.
He turned to the wall and began to add a tally mark. He suddenly felt as though he was being watched. Not by a guard though, but something more benevolent. Like a guardian angel. He felt the slightest ray of hope.
THE END