A/N: I'm baaaack! (grins) And this wicked little child of mine of feeling stronger than ever before. I'm definitely falling in love. (nods)

BUT, before letting you find out what my newfound love for this baby's brought to life (shudders)… THANK YOU, for the bottom of my heart, for your love and support for this story! (GLOMPS) The amount of reviews and listings… Well, just take a look! You've blown my mind – I'm speechless. So thank you!

Alrighty… (gulps) I'm a little nervous, so let's get to the business before I chicken out. I REALLY hope that you'll enjoy this one!

Stay Out

Spencer knew very well that the eyes he was looking through weren't his own. The person running… It was a woman. Her heart was thumping violently while she stumbled as fast as she could through a thick, pitch black forest. The fact that her feet were bare, battered and bloodied didn't slow her down the slightest bit. He probably cried out as well when she got tangled to a treacherous branch and fell down, cutting her knee to a sharp rock.

"Please…!"

When she finally managed to stumble up, crying and in so much pain that it nearly struck her down again, her clothes were covered in blood. It wouldn't have required a genius to figure out that her knee wasn't the only injured part in her slender, quivering body.

"Help me!"

She cried out, would've screamed if she'd had the voice, pushing herself forward with all her might. Tears and blood loss blurred her eyes. He felt like crying as well. Both she and Spencer knew that she wouldn't be able to carry on much longer without help.

"Somebody help me!"

Why was he tortured with this when he had no way to help her?

And then, surprising them both, there was a light, right outside the seemingly endless forest. The headlights of a car. She wasn't alone anymore.

Spencer's heart thumped in sync with hers while she kept stumbling forward with newfound strength, sheer desperation ushering her to move although her body should've given up a long time ago.

"Wait! Don't go! Don't…! Don't leave me here!"

She reached the side of a road faster than either one of them had known to expect – but not fast enough. This time she managed to summon a scream as she watched the lights of the car disappear, watched her very last hope fade away into the dark of the night. She fell down, now not managing to find the strength to pick herself up again. Tears were falling in a endless flood.

"NO!"

She was gasping, weeping, pounding the ground with her fists so hard that they became bloodied. Steps approached her from behind. Another woman's voice laughed while a hand caressed the runner's hair slowly, savouring the feel.

"Did you really think that I'd let you get away?"

She didn't even manage to scream.

When Spencer's eyes flew wide open the first thing he heard was his own scream. A dream… He'd been dreaming. But somehow that didn't feel like one of his usual nightmares. Not with the words still written to his wall.

He'd been warned. And it looked like he had a choice to make. Would he be able to help the woman in his dream? If he decided to help, would he die trying?

JJ knew that Spencer had gone to hell and back several times in his life. She couldn't even bear to think of all the times the team had come close to losing him. He was most definitely one of the strongest people she knew. But she still considered him a little brother she wanted to protect with all her might. And when he dragged himself into the conference room that morning she felt icy chills go through her whole body.

Spencer looked like he hadn't slept at all in days. His skin held this terrifying, ashen color and there were dark bags underneath his bloodshot eyes. What worried her the most, though, was the look in those eyes. They were terrified, anxious. Screamed that something was wrong.

Aaron seemed as worried as she felt. His eyebrows furrowed. "You're late."

Spencer cleared his throat, running a badly trembling hand through his hair. "I'm… sorry. I had some difficulties with getting here. I'm sorry, it won't happen again."

Aaron nodded slowly, the worry and doubt never disappearing from his eyes. JJ herself frowned, her hands squirming. What the hell was going on?

"So…" Penelope Garcia cleared her throat, obviously not liking the suddenly very tense air in the room. "For once we have a local case." She looked away when flashing pictures of five dead women to the screen. "Bree Bolen, Susan Mayfair, Lynette Perry, Gabrielle Young and Mary Alice Scavo, all from ages of eighteen to thirty-three. Their bodies were found from the side of a road, each new place miles away from any of the previous ones. They… They'd been stabbed multiple times. Some of them shot. And… Judging by their injuries they… they may have been alive for a week, before they were finally…" She just couldn't say the rest.

David Rossi frowned, leaning forward slightly. His eyes examined the pictures intently, trying to see a hidden piece. "Is there any clue of where they were picked from?"

Penelope nodded, clearing her throat and furiously attempting to get back to her professional mode. "They were all taken when they were leaving work or school. Bree was taken first from the parking lot of a restaurant called Bull's Eye. There's plenty of surveillance footage but none of it shows the man's face. Lynette was next. She owns a bakery and was just closing when the same man walked in and grabbed her." Penelope had to gather herself for a moment. "Susan, the third one, fought back the hardest. Probably broke his arm. She works… worked in a real estate firm. She was taken when she went to meet a potential client. The client's false ID led the police nowhere. And Mary Alice … She was a teacher. She was taken right in front of the eyes of her son. He's seven."

"What about Gabrielle?" Emily asked immediately, hope sharpening her tone.

"She's… been missing for two days. She was taken when she left her university campus." Penelope fidgeted slightly. "She may still be alive."

Aaron nodded sharply. "Which means that our time is running out." His eyes focused on Spencer, who seemed even paler than before. Was that… panic in the genius' eyes? "Reid, we really need a geographic profile, as fast as possible. Will you be able to deliver one?"

Spencer nodded, appearing even more tense than before. "Of course. I'll…"

He never got the chance to finish. Because just then the computer Penelope had been using unleashed a loud, chilling hiss. She barely had the time to get away from the item before it practically exploded and black smoke rose towards the ceiling.

Penelope's eyes were wide as she stared at the destruction. "What… What was that?!" she cried out in a shrill, scared tone.

Derek's eyes were immediately on the blonde. "Are you okay, baby girl?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I think so. I… I'll be fine as soon as my heart starts beating again", she managed.

Everyone else's attention was drawn elsewhere but JJ noticed immediately. As soon as it became clear that Penelope was alright Spencer pushed himself up with a very unsettling expression, then left the room.

Or perhaps she wasn't the only one who noticed. For Aaron glanced her way and the two of them shared a meaningful look. Something was badly wrong. And the sooner they'd get to the bottom of it the better.

While the others fussed around calling someone to check in on the computer and trying to figure out what, exactly, happened JJ left the room as quickly and subtly as possible. She hadn't been an actual profiler for a long time but she knew her teammates quite well. She had a pretty good idea of where Spencer would go.

And JJ wasn't proven wrong. She found Spencer from the break room, holding a glass of water. His hands shook even worse than during those dark times when he fought against Dilaudid.

She swallowed, entering and closing the door. "Spence… What's going on?" He opened his mouth but she was faster. "Since Alaska you've been… Well, you haven't been the person you used to be."

Spencer seemed slightly wounded, or perhaps nervous. "I died there, JJ."

The twinge inside her made it almost impossible to keep the wince from showing. "Do you think that I don't know that? I was there, Spencer, watching when they…!" She swallowed and gritted her teeth, decising that she wouldn't let Spencer distract her from what she'd actually come into the room for. The man before her needed help, whether he was ready to accept it or not. "I understand that it affects you, I do. But… I don't think that it's what brought that fear into your eyes. Something's badly wrong. I want to help you."

Spencer shook his head. Did the room's temperature drop or was it all in her head? "You can't help me, JJ."

Yes, the temperature was definitely dropping. So dramatically, in fact, that she could almost see her breath. And then there was such a sharp, fury filled screech that it hurt her ears.

Bringing her hands to her ears she winced, looking around frantically. "Spence, what the hell is this? What's going on?"

Spencer swallowed, so loudly that she heard it. His hand trembled even worse than before when he put away the glass. "I… I've really gotta go." His mouth opened but nothing came out. Instead he hurried out of the room. As soon as he'd left JJ glanced towards the glass he just held. His hand had been so sweaty that traces of his touch could still be seen.

Spencer was tense and nervous when he entered his apartment that evening. He hadn't seen any ghosts that day but he was sure that something or someone had been following him around. The events at work proved it.

He should've told JJ. That was all he could think about when entering his home, a place he once upon a time thought was his sanctuary. He really should've told her. Maybe…

No. What good would telling her have done? There was no way she would've believed him, not when he barely believed himself sometimes. He also didn't want to bring her into this whole mess.

And then Spencer froze in the middle of a unprocessed thought, his eyes widening. There was a sound his brain hadn't been expecting. Chills went through him as soon as he looked down. There, right below his feet, were hundrets if not thousands of pieces of glass. Several windows had been broken, along with what looked like quite a bit of dishes.

He'd already retreated a step when out of the blue all the lights he'd switched on began flickering, soon joined in by those he hadn't even touched. On… Off… On… Off… All of them in a perfect sync.

Spencer inhaled, hating the way it shuddered. A layer of sweat covered his tightly balled hands. "You're… here, aren't you?"

The lights kept flickering everywhere around Spencer, almost mimicking the frantic thumping of his heart. His hands trembled while he reached out towards his gun, already knowing that it wouldn't get him anywhere with this threat. His eyes darted around, not managing to spot a thing. He swallowed, his mouth dryer than any sandpaper.

The presence of evil… It was loud and clear.

"I can't help you if I can't see you", he pointed out in a somewhat pitiable, weak tone. The flickering of the lights only grew faster and the atmosphere of threat tightened around him, crushing him. He took a step forward, feeling broken glass under his shoes. "What… What do you want from me?"

There was a deafeningly loud screech, a scream of rage. Something hit the wall right next to him so hard that a hole was formed. Invisible nails scratched the hallway's mirror, making him cover his ears and whimper once with discomfort. The words that formed were the same he remembered all too vividly seeing before.

DON'T LOOK FOR HER

Spencer shook his head, backing away a step. He could remember a million times when he'd been desperate to run away from the troubled spirits that seemed to find him wherever he went. This was the first time he feared for not his sanity, but for his very life. "I… I have to look for her. I can't… I can't let her die, do you understand? I can't. I need to find her. Maybe… Maybe then I can help you, too. Let me find her and I'll figure out a way to help you."

The response came immediately. At first Spencer was hurled and held against the wall, so hard that his vision swayed dangerously for a moment. Then a invisible hand was crushed right against his windpipe, with such force that breathing became impossible. He struggled, kicked and squirmed but the will holding him in place was much stronger. In a couple of moments black spots began to dance in his line of vision. He gasped, not managing to get even the slightest bit of air into his lungs.

Spencer had never felt that kind of terror in his life. The feeling of suffocating was so absolute that it swept everything else from his head. He knew exactly what was to come. It'd take only a few more moments, until…

And then, out of the blue, he heard a distant, oddly muffled knock. The voice that followed barely registered to his oxygen deprived head. "… know you're home, Reid. Open the door."

Spencer's eyes widened with terror. Derek… If whatever was attacking him would get a hold of Derek…!

As adrenaline rushed through Spencer he noticed that the attacker's hold on his throat was suddenly loosening. Clearly it hadn't anticipated an interruption. Spencer took the valuable moment and sucked his lungs full of much needed air. His eyes watered slightly when pain ripped through his abused throat.

All of a sudden he was thrown to the floor. The sudden violent act struck all recently gained breath from his lungs, made him gasp until he was sure that his throat was on fire. On his way down the side of his head must've collided with the hallway's only cabinet, for droplets of blood fell to the floor, right before his terrified, dazed eyes.

"Reid! What the hell is going on in there?!"

Something sharp pierced the skin of his back, and for some reason he remembered forgetting a tiny fruit knife to the kitchen table that morning. Hard as he tried he couldn't keep it inside any longer. He unleashed a cry, fighting with his all to get back to his feet before there'd be a new strike. A new blow of pain. He didn't have much luck. He stumbled right back down when pain ripped through his back once more, making him scream out loud.

What the hell was the spirit going to do to him?

Derek was already working on making his way through the door. In some other situation Spencer might've worried about what the neighbors would think. "Reid!"

The knife kept moving until all of a sudden it disappeared, leaving his abused back burning with pain along with his breathless, raw throat. Spencer gasped, tried to stumble to his feet, but his body just didn't have what such drastic motions would've required.

The was a one more, ice cold breath in the air until his body rose with the aid of invisible force. He didn't know what he was thrown against. His head spun even worse than before while he slid to the floor, knowing full well that he wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.

Just before he sunk into the dark Spencer could've sworn that a unfamiliar male voice hissed into his ear. "Stay out!"

TBC

A/N: (shudders) From bad to worse, huh?

Sooooo, the question goes… Was this chapter worthy of your love? Or is a 'delete' button needed? PLEASE, let me know! It would seriously brighten my day. (gives irresistible pleading eyes)

Until next time! I truly hope that you'll all join in for that one.

Peace out!

Guest: Awww, 'happy to hear that. (beams) As for seeing more in the future… Let's just say that right now things are looking pretty good. (grins)

Lots of thank yous for the review!

Ren: Reid? Catching a break? Pfft! Like that's ever going to happen. (sighs) The poor thing is a danger and trouble magnet. His ability to find problems is against all statistics.

BUT, gosh, I'm REALLY glad to hear that you've enjoyed the ride thus far! (grins from ear to ear) I truly hope that the next one turns out to be everything you've been expecting.

Colossal thank yous for the review!