((Thank you for the reviews and all the views and favs/alerts! Adds fuel to my fire :]. So without further ado, chapter two!))
"Hey, I was thinking of having a little get together tonight." Morgan announced loud enough for everyone in the office to hear. "Who's down?" He asked walking away from the coffee station, mug in hand, a smirk on his chocolate features.
Prentiss turned and gave him her attention, leaning back in her chair casually. "Well, that depends on where you're going." She said sounding interested.
J.J. peaked over the glass that separated her desk from Prentiss's, wanting to hear the details.
Morgan shrugged, leaning against his desk. "I was thinking of Silhouette?" He suggested, looking at the two female profilers.
"Silhouette is a club that draws in more women than men," Reid said approaching the trio, his head down looking at a newspaper article.
Morgan laughed. "Exactly why I would go there." He said in his low, gruff voice.
Reid quirked his eyebrows, "I guess I see your point." He mumbled taking a seat at his desk.
J.J. wrinkled her nose in distaste. "How about we go to The Lounge? It's pretty popular on weekends." She suggested.
Prentiss shook her head. "That place is littered with college students."
Morgan sighed. "Look, I'll decide where we go. Are you in or out?"
"We have a new case, everyone meet in five." Hotch said walking past the open office space, holding a stack of manila folders in his hand, Garcia on his tail. The expression on his face was serious, as usual but his expression seemed a little angry.
"Guess that means out." Prentiss said standing from her desk.
The team didn't hesitate to get up and follow him to the briefing room taking a seat around the oval table. Hotch passed around the stack of manila folders until everyone had a folder. They opened the folder and read up on the case that Garcia was currently pulling up on the large screen television.
"Alright." She began holding the remote in her hand, pointing towards the screen. "So what he have here today is a case that is in our own backyard." She said pulling at her bright yellow cardigan. "In the past four months eleven girls have been found on popular beaches in several states. Three in Maryland, three in South Carolina, three in Delaware, and now two in Virginia."
Morgan frowned and looked over to Hotch. "Why are we just hearing about it?"
Prentiss seemed just as confused. "They waited until eleven bodies piled up before thinking of calling us?" She seemed exasperated.
"They weren't sure it was the same unsub until they found out one little creepy detail." Garcia said wrinkling her nose and furrowing her brows. She switched slides and on the screen eleven images popped up. All of the back of the victims heads. "He shaves off a lock of each girl's hair, right at the nape of their necks."
"So he's keeping souvenirs from each kill?" J.J. spoke now looking up from the case file.
Garcia nodded. "And it also seems after being examined this slink is raping and torturing these poor girls for days. It seems the girls go missing for about a week until the wind up on a beach and three days later another girl that has a striking resemblance to the last goes missing."
"Well clearly he is disorganized." Morgan stated. "He tortures these girls for his own sexual release and once he's done he dumps the bodies, not bothering to even hide them."
"Maybe he wants them to be seen?" Reid offered not pulling his eyes away from the file. "Wants attention drawn to the work he has done."
"That's unusual for a sexual sadist. They usually conceal their crimes not flaunt them." Rossi said.
"Maybe whatever triggered him to start killing is why he is dumping the bodies in public places?" Morgan questioned.
Reid nodded. "And maybe why all the women look so much like each other."
"Our current victim is a Gabrielle Evans, twenty-four year old college student at Strayer University." Hotch said. "She has an apartment in Fredericksburg, Virginia and was last seen leaving a popular club, The Lounge and never showed up for work the following Monday which is out of character for her."
"Yeah, when her employer tried to contact her and couldn't get ahold of her they called the police and searched her apartment. They couldn't find any signs of a struggle or burglary." Garcia added.
Prentiss put her hands on the table top, frown still on her face. "So when she left the club is when something happened to her. But what?"
"Well she is an attractive girl, maybe she was going home with someone?" J.J. suggested.
"We have interviews setup with some of her friends that were at the club with her on Friday night." Hotch said standing up from the table. "The unsub is keeping his victims for 7 days and it's already Wednesday, we have forty-eight hours to find her."
Everyone stood from the table and left the room to prepare themselves for the case and upcoming interviews.
/\/\/\
How many days had passed? How much pain could she continue to endure? She wished for death several times but was not granted such a pleasantry, only more pain.
The sound of a familiar door opening sounded in the small room and she closed her eyes tight.
"Good evening," he greeted calmly. "Tomorrow is the day." He said approaching her, a smile on his face. He sat down on the bed and she opened her eyes and moved as far away from him as the chain around her ankle would allow.
"The day for what?" She questioned, her voice croaked as she spoke.
"I take what you hold precious." He put his hand on her leg and she quickly drew them towards her body, hugging them against her chest, a look of shock and disgust on her face.
"I won't let you!" She cried out. She couldn't stop the tears from coming, streaming down her cheeks and collecting at the end of her chin. "Please, please just let me go." She begged. "I didn't do anything to deserve this."
The smile on his face quickly faded to a look a disgust. "Exactly! What you didn't do is why you deserve this." He growled.
"I'd rather die." She spat.
"Oh, you will." He assured. Looking down at his wrist reading the silver watch that was latched on he stood quickly. "I've got to go." He said rushing out of the room pulling the door behind him with one hand.
Gabrielle stared at the door with wide eyes. She knew she had heard him right but she couldn't accept it. She couldn't have expected him to keep her around forever but a little part of her anticipated that. She moved quickly towards the chain attached to the wooden bed frame and immediately started to tug on it. She refused to die in this shithole, she had too much to live for. Her heart was pounding so hard it was becoming difficult for her to think. With her death sentence less than 24 hours away she didn't have time to wait any longer. Adrenaline pumped through her and she leaned back and kicked at the wooden frame repeatedly.
Thoughts of her family and friends plagued her mind and she kicked harder at the wood. "Come on. Come on!" She shouted and with one last kick the wood cracked and bent away from the frame. Tears of joy came as she was overwhelmed with emotions. But she didn't have time to relish in her small accomplishment.
She stood from the bed, nearly collapsing as she felt how weak her body actually was. She gathered all the strength she could muster and pulled the chunk of wood away from the bed until it completely gave and separated. She was about to drop the wood when she thought of how much noise it would make. She cursed and knew she was forced to carry it.
Cautiously she made her way to the door and her heart swelled seeing light shining through the smallest crack. She could feel her body throbbing all over and she prayed she could make it out because if she had to fight, she knew she wasn't going to make it.
Taking a deep breath as she tried to maintain what courage she had gained from her freedom, she opened the door and slowly stepped out into the hall. She looked around and tried to figure out where she was. The walls were cement as was the flooring. She saw going to the right led her to a dead end so she ventured left using the wall as her support. After a while she found a stairwell that led to a hatch. Looking around she climbed up the stairs and paused. Could she do it? Could she face him if he was up there waiting? Fear spread through her body like a wild fire and she laid on the stairs, resting her head on the top step. What would he do if he found her? She couldn't take any more pain. She couldn't gather her nerve.
She wasn't one to quit though. She reached up and placed her hand on the hatch. If she tried to escape, there was a possibility she would be killed but if she stayed there was no chance she would survive. She pushed up on the hatch and it slowly opened, there was something on top of it that made it hard to open and covered it like a cloak. Crawling out, she pushed it aside and was nearly blinded by the sunlight pouring in from the windows. She stumbled onto the hardwood floor of what looked like a living room and let the hatch close behind her. Looking down she noticed that a rug had been covering it and she quickly pulled it back over it.
She made her way through the surprisingly well lit house and found her way to the front door. She ran to it and reached out for the door knob when it jiggled. Her heart flew to her throat and she took an immediate step back. She could hear keys jingling on the other side and without hesitation she ran down the hall towards a stair case she had passed. The sound of a door creaking filled her ears and she was nearly crippled with fear.
"Hey!" His voice sounded behind her and she turned into the kitchen knowing she wouldn't make it to the stairs fast enough. She looked around quickly and saw a knife set by the sink and grabbed the meat cleaver from it, turning to the entrance and holding it out shakily.
When he came into view she gripped the knife tightly. "Stay back!" She warned. "I swear—I fucking swear if you come closer I will kill you!" She screamed taking a step to the side to get closer to the entrance.
He laughed. "No you won't, Gabrielle. You don't have it in you."
"Shut up!" She screamed. "Just stay away from me you fucking creep."
Rage filled his face and he lunged forward grabbing her by the throat and slamming her into the counter. She cried out as her back connected hard with thick counter behind her and she dropped the wood and chain grabbing his wrist and trying to pry it off.
"You stupid bitch!" He squeezed tighter. "You think you can just leave me!"
Gabrielle raised the cleaver and sliced down at his shoulder, the blade went in so smoothly it felt as if she hadn't hit him at all but when he cried out she knew she had. He released her instantly and fell to his knees, one hand pressed tightly on the bloody wound. Gabrielle turned and ran from him when she felt a tug around her ankle and she fell to the floor. She turned to see him holding on to the wooden block, wrath burning in his eyes.
She turned her body towards him and sliced the cleaver down towards him making contact with his wrist. The blade sliced through his skin like melting butter. He released her and she scurried off the floor and sprinted towards the front door which was wide open. She could hear him behind her which only made her move faster.
That was all the motivation she needed to run out of the house and down the steps into the street. She didn't stop running. Even though her body was screaming at her to stop and the pavement was scraping her feet, she didn't stop. She could hear him slowing behind her and she pushed harder. She could hear cars driving and she turned the corner and saw a busy road. She ran out towards it, waving her hands trying to get one of them to stop.
"Please…" she said aloud as she neared the street. "Please stop!" She cried out. Why weren't they stopping? Couldn't anyone see she needed help? She ran out into the street causing cars to slam on their breaks. "Help me!" She screamed slamming her hands down on the hood of the cars that were backing up to speed away from her in panic. "What's wrong with you people?"
She heard the sound of tires screeching and a siren ringing, she turned to see a cop car. She moved quickly towards it, running down the center lane ignoring the cars screeching to a stop to avoid hitting her. "Please officer, help me!"
/\/\/\
"When did you last see Gabrielle Evans?" Prentiss asked a young blonde girl, who was clearly upset.
"Friday night at The Lounge," Ashley said dabbing her eyes with a tissue. "We hung out all night but she left on her own. Becky and I stayed behind." She cried. "If we would have been there with her this wouldn't have happened."
Prentiss touched the girls hand in a comforting way. "Don't blame yourself. There is nothing you could have done and this is not your fault." She reassured. "Now, can you tell me if anyone talked to her at all while you were out? Anyone hanging around you girls?"
Ashley thought for a moment before shaking her head. "No, the only one who left with a guy was our friend Madison. Besides, Gabrielle wouldn't leave with a stranger."
Outside the room standing behind the one way glass were Reid and Morgan, listening in on the interview. "This abduction was high risk. This girl has a lot of friends, works, and stays in close contact with her family." Morgan stated taking a sip of his coffee.
"All of these abductions were high risk, all of his victims were college students." Reid said.
The door behind them opened suddenly and J.J. stepped in. "Guys, Hotch wants you to get to the hospital now." She said hurriedly. "They found the girl."
"Let Prentiss know so she can let that girl go." Morgan said rushing out of the room alongside Reid.
Upon their arrival at the hospital, they met up with Hotch who was speaking to a doctor, it seemed he had just gotten there as well.
"Hotch, did they really find her?" Morgan asked in a hushed tone.
"Thank you doctor," Hotch said before turning his attention to his two teammates. He looked stressed. "Yes. It's definitely her. A cop saw her waving down cars off of Jefferson in Fredericksburg." He sighed. "She has endured a lot and is refusing treatment. I don't know if she will talk to us but we need questions answered so let's go."
Walking into the room they saw her sitting on the edge of the hospital bed with her head in her hands. The shorts and tank top she was wearing were tattered and bloody and were a size to big, hanging loosely on her worn down body.
"Ms. Evans, I'm Agent Aaron Hotchner, this is Agent Derrick Morgan, and Dr. Spencer Reid. We are with the FBI and would like to speak to you if you are up to it." Hotch spoke softly and gently not wanting to trigger anything with the girl.
Gabrielle remained on the bed not moving from the position she was in.
What did they want from her? She couldn't stop the tears from flowing from her eyes and into her hands. "I don't want to be here." She sobbed out. No more poking, no more prodding, no more strangers touching her body. She clenched her fists and wrapped an arm around her middle, the other still covering her eyes. "I don't want to be around anyone. I didn't ask for this!" She turned to the three men revealing her face that was dirty with dried tears and blood.
"And you didn't deserve it." Morgan said. "But if you can help us, we can catch this son of a bitch and stop it from happening to anyone else."
"Anything you remember at all can be helpful, even if it doesn't seem important to you it can aid us tremendously." Reid said.
Her face contorted into anger. "Why didn't you stop it before he got to me?" She growled. "Why didn't anyone try to find me?" She sobbed. "Get out, I don't have anything to tell you." She said pulling her legs under the covers, the chain still around her ankle, and pulling the covers over her body.
"People were looking for you. You were the reason we got called to this case." Hotch said turning towards the door. "Sorry to have disturbed you." He added before leaving the room with Morgan and Reid close behind.
After getting a few steps away from her door Morgan spoke up. "What are we supposed to do when our only living victim doesn't cooperate?" He asked following behind Hotch.
"We took a chance by talking to her in the first place." Reid said. "She just escaped from a sadistic killer. Chances are she hasn't even processed what happened and she probably doesn't want to." He knew that feeling well.
"I understand that, but she is the key to stopping these murders." Hotch said. "Reid, I want you and J.J. to come back here in the morning and try to talk to her. See if she is willing to talk."
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