Author's Note:
To all of you who have not heard about the shooting in Newtown, CT at Sandy Hook Elementary School today around 9 AM, it was and still is a devastating event. All the schools in the surrounding areas (like mine) were in lockdown. Kids in my class as well as myself were searching for information on their phones as we waited for the all-clear. In total, 27 people were shot and killed, 18 being children under the age of 11. The man was 24-years-old. Among the adults killed were his mother, the school principal, the mother of one of my teachers, and himself. My heart and prayers go out to all the families involved, and today we all have been shown how easily it is to take advantage of friends and family.
This chapter, despite how late it is, is dedicated to all those lost and their families as well as those who wait for answers about their family and friends inside the school at the time.
Monday, February 13th, 2012
Somewhere in the wooded foothills of the Appalachians, United States
Amy slipped down the steep hill she was crossing. She could have sworn she heard a car go by, meaning a road had to be close. As soon as she could get to it, she could find someone to help her find the FBI and, eventually, the four that depended on her finding help.
Hotch had a gut feeling Amy was nearby, but couldn't be sure as to how near she was. He decided he'd go up and down the road he was on until dark, then return and look again the next day. He grasped the steering wheel and shook his head, hoping Amy was alright after whatever she had endured. After making so many mistakes regarding her safety, he just hoped he wouldn't be making another one.
JJ stepped out of the shower and grabbed her towel. She heard the hotel room TV on quietly, and tried to smile as she dried herself off and got dressed. She walked out of the bathroom with her dirty clothes and was about to say something when she realized Hotch wasn't in the room. Her eyes strayed to the small table and locked on the note he had written before leaving. She dropped everything she held, walked over to it, and read read it.
JJ-
By the time you read this, I'll be gone. I'm looking for Amy. I have a gut feeling she's here, in the moutains. For some reason, I feel she's coming out of them soon, so I'll be scanning the hills for any sign of her.
Don't try to follow me-I have the SUV. I should be back before it gets too dark or too late.
-Hotch
JJ crumpled the note as she grabbed it and her purse, gun, and badge, racing out of the hotel room and out onto the street. She signalled a cab, then hopped in, telling the driver to go in the directions she told him. When he said he needed an address or a building name, she flashed her badge and said that she didn't have one, but had a hunch as to where she needed to go. As soon as she put away her badge the cabbie hit the gas and drove in the directions she gave him.
Amy fell again, rolling and tumbling down yet anothe steep hill. That's one way to speed up your escape from the woods, she thought as she slammed into yet another tree, bruising her hip again.
Hotch turned around, driving back the direction he had just been. The sun was starting to set, and he was worried he'd missed Amy or had been wrong. He would hate it if he was wrong again. He'd already failed her too many times, he couldn't fail her again.
JJ felt sure this was the road Hotch would have taken, as they were right next to the edge of the woods covering the foothills of the Appalachians. She told the cabbie to slow down, considering she needed to keep a close eye on what came out of the woods. He gave her a confused look, but slowed down anyways.
Amy saw it: the road was close! She picked herself up and started running down the hill, only to trip and fall down half of her remaining distance. Almost there...
C'mon, Amy, where are you? Hotch thought as he drummed his steering wheel nervously. Suddenly, a young girl ran out in front of her just as a cab started to drive up closer. What the...oh no-that cabbie's going to kill her! I'M going to kill her! Hotch slammed on the brakes as Amy turned her head to look Hotch straight in the eyes then whipped her head around and screamed as the cab came barrelling closer, almost crushing her...
JJ saw her and the black SUV and instantly shouted, "THERE! GO THERE!"
The cabbie followed her orders, speeding up as he approached the edge of the woods.
Oh shit, he's going to kill her! JJ thought, then shouted, "No! Don't kill her! Stop!"
The cabbie slammed his foot on the brakes but the fright on Amy's face and in her scream was all too obvious that she knew she was probably going to die...
Amy prepared for the worst, and suddenly, she was flying. She landed on the other side of the road in - oddly enough - a patch of springy, soft moss. She turned her head to see Hotch racing over to her as well as JJ rushing from the cab, shouting at the driver to stay put. Her wrist hurt, but none of her other pains were from the accident.
"Amy!" Hotch exclaimed. "Amy, are you alright?"
Amy nodded.
"Hon, I'm going to get an ambulance on its way now, just hold tight and keep calm," JJ said, her cell phone pressed to her ear.
Amy nodded, her eyes widening suddenly. "But what about Dr. Reid and Cameron and everyone else?" Tears were forming in her eyes and voice.
Hotch took her painless hand. "We'll find them, don't you worry. Did you find an address or anything of that nature that could help us find them?"
Amy shook her head. "No, the driveway's hardly even a driveway. I looked, but Stan picked the perfect place. It's so deep in the woods and...gosh, mountains..." She trailed off, staring at where she had come from.
"What about the woods? Where exactly is it?" Hotch asked as JJ hung up.
"I couldn't tell you. I'd have to show you. That's the only way you'll ever find it. It blends in so perfectly with the woods around it...oh we have to go now!"
Hotch shook his head. "I'm sorry, Amy, but we have to get you looked at first. Reid would want it, and I'm sure you'll feel quite a bit better and more able to remember it if you got a little rest and something to eat and..." Hotch cut himself off as Amy's tears turned into sobs.
"Oh, I should never have left! They're probably dead by now! I'm so sorry, Dr. Reid! I'm so sorry Cameron! I'm so sorry..." Amy cried hysterically as Hotch tried to calm her down.
It was JJ who spoke, though. "Hush, darling. We're going to find them, they're going to be alright. Stan won't kill them, I know it. He knows they mean too much to you to kill them off. He knows they'll be what brings you back, so it would be pointless to make you come back for nothing. We're going to find them, I promise you that."
Sirens pierced the air suddenly as the ambulance approached. Hotch flagged it down, and soon Amy was being loaded onto a stretcher and into the ambulance.
JJ turned to Hotch. "I'm sorry I came out here against your orders. I just felt you might need me."
Hotch patted her shoulder. "It's okay. And thanks. You were right, as you always are."
JJ smiled. "I'd better pay the cab driver, then I'll stay with Amy."
"I'll take care of it. You go so they can get her there faster."
"You sure?" JJ asked.
Hotch smiled. "See you in the hospital."
JJ smiled. "See you there, Hotch. I'll be sure to call the team while I'm there." With that, JJ hopped up into the ambulance and it sped away, leaving Hotch alone with the cab driver, Amy's backpack, and a promise he made to himself and needed to keep.
