A/N I have had to edit chapter 3 because I forgot to put an important bit in!

TRACK MARKS
Chapter 4
Tracks

"Our life is composed greatly from dreams, from the unconscious, and they must be brought into connection with action. They must be woven together." – Anais Nin

Todd and Prentiss ran out of the bar. Emily was already on the phone to Dave.

'It's her, Rossi, the one who abducted Hotch.'

'We're on our way to the address now. Meet us there.'

Dave was driving fast through the streets. He guessed that the woman Bond would not be there now, but any clues to her whereabouts could get them to Hotch and Reid sooner rather than later. He and Morgan stepped out of the SUV down the street from Bond's last known address. Together, in shooting stance, the two agents approached the house. They made their way to the front door.

'FBI! Open the door!' Dave hammered on it with his closed fist.

He nodded to Morgan who kicked the door, and the two men entered the house.

-0-0-0-

Reid didn't move for a long time. He could hear talking in the van. Until they either left or went to sleep, Reid didn't dare move. Hotch's screaming had subsided to a soft moaning and the occasional loud cry. Reid was desperate to get to him, but he would be no good if he got caught again, and he doubted if either of them would live long if he did.

So he waited. Although the sun was up, he could feel the cold dampness of the ground seeping into his bones, and he shifted slightly in his hiding place.

When the man and woman finally decided to move, Reid wasn't sure if he could, he was so cold. He tried to hold his breath as the two UnSubs got out of the van and briefly checked on their captive. Reid heard the door open and close again, and shortly after he heard the bike start and drive away.

He looked out for feet. He couldn't be sure if they'd both gone or not, but after about five minutes and no one had returned, he decided to risk it.

He rolled out from under the van, and stood shakily. He shivered and wrapped his arms around himself and went to the other side of the van and opened the door.

Hotch was still chained to the side of the van, and his head was hanging forwards. He was breathing heavily, but he didn't look injured. Reid crawled to him and lifted his head gently.

Hotch flinched, cringing back away from him.

'Aaron, it's ok, it's me, Spencer. I'm going to try to get you out of here.'

Hotch opened his eyes and recognised Reid. Spencer noticed that he was clammy and cold, and his hair was stuck to his forehead.

'I'm getting you out!'

Reid stood and tried to release the cuffs from the bars on the side of the van. The only way was to break the bars.

'I am going to find a lever or something to break these bars with, Aaron.' he said gently. 'Just hold on.'

Reid searched the van for something he could use as a crow bar, but there was nothing. He went back to Hotch.

'I don't know how I'm going to do this, Hotch.'

He held onto one of the bars and braced his feet against the side of the van and pulled, but nothing happened. The bar didn't even bend.

'You will have to leave me and get help.' Hotch said in a low pain filled voice. 'It's the only way.'

Reid looked at him for a second, undecided what to do. He didn't feel that he could just leave him there, but he couldn't do anything to help him on his own.

'I'll get help for you, Aaron. Just don't give up.'

'I won't.' he whispered. 'Go now.'

Reid went to the door. He looked back at Hotch, but he had his head down again, and Reid jumped from the van and closed the door.

-0-0-0-

Bond and her friend pulled up on the bike at the back of the house. Emily and Jordan saw them before Bond had got off the bike.

'FBI! Get off the bike and keep your hands where I can see them!'

The man had Reid's gun, and Bond had one of Hotch's, but they were no match for the agents. As the man raised his gun, Jordan took him out with a head shot. The woman dropped her gun and fell to her knees beside him.

'Oh no!' She was crying, and trying to grab hold of him as Emily cuffed her hands behind her back. Jordan called Morgan and Dave out of the house.

'They came home, Rossi. One's dead, but we have the woman!'

-0-0-0-

'You just killed my man. What do I care about your agent?' she sobbed. 'I will tell you nothing. I want a lawyer. I will tell you nothing. So what if he dies.'

Dave and Morgan were interrogating the woman.

'Agent and not agents?' Dave said. 'You abducted two. What happened to the other one?'

'I'm saying nothing. You killed my man. I'm saying nothing!'

'You've already told us that one has escaped. Who escaped, Margaret? Was it your man's fault? Did he let the agent escape?' Morgan said, leaning forwards on the screwed down table. Bond was crying.

'It wasn't his fault! The kid tricked him. It wasn't his fault!'

'So Reid escaped and it was your man's fault.'

'So where is Hotchner? Still in the van?' Dave asked, not expecting an answer, although she had given a lot away already. If they could just keep her talking.......

'Yes!' she spat. 'and you'll never find it. He will die in there and you'll not find him.'

'Reid will tell us.'

'Ha! That's where you're wrong, you see, we moved Hotchner after the kid escaped, so even if you find him, he won't be able to tell you.'

There was a knock on the interview room door. Rossi got up to see to it.

'There is mud on the bike wheels.' the cop said. 'The CSU's should be able to tell us roughly where the bike had just been.'

'Good.' Dave said, glancing back towards the door. 'because I don't think we are going to get much out of her.'

-0-0-0-

Reid stumbled through the woods in the direction that the bike had taken, but he soon left the track. If the UnSubs were to come back he would be seen if he stuck to the track. He kept thinking of Hotch left to the mercy of the UnSubs and he had to find someone to help him quickly. He didn't know how long they would keep him alive.

The sun was moving across the sky, giving him a rough idea of how long he had been walking. It was coming to late afternoon and he was feeling thirsty, and thought about Hotch with no water. He considered going back to help him, but it was vital that he get help for him. And the man and woman could come back at any time now, if they hadn't already...........

He pushed through the low branches and the thick bushes and brambles. The branches flicked back in his face and his hands became sore and cut. He found what looked as if it might once have been a trail, although it was now overgrown. He pressed on along the trail, and after about an hour, the trail opened up into a small clearing with a ranger's hut at the edge. He felt like crying with relief as he approached the door.

There was a rusted pick up at the side of the hut, and the door was overgrown with weeds. He pulled back the plants and tried the door. It hadn't been opened for a long time.

It was locked but with a little pushing he managed to get it open.

At first he thought the single room had been deserted for years, but when he went inside, he noticed that the dust had been cleaned from the table, and someone had been sleeping on the raised bed along one side, although there was no one there now. He wondered how whoever it was had got in, and then he noticed that the window was open.

He looked around for a phone, although he didn't expect to find one. There was no food in the hut, but there was a container of water from which he gratefully took a drink. There was a cloth by the dry sink, and he poured a little water on it and washed the cuts on his hands and face. He was exhausted after his trek through the woods, and his skin was hurting where he had been bitten by insects. He sat on the bed and tried to think of what to do now. He couldn't find his way back to Hotch now even if he tried, and if he walked much further, he thought he would pass out. He tried to stay awake, but as he sat there, his mind on Hotch, his eyes closed and he fell into a fitful nightmare laden sleep

Hotch was in the van, but he was dead, and abandoned. Reid reached for him, and Hotch's dead eyes turned to face him accusingly..... 'you left me to die'...... 'I tried to help you, Aaron, I walked for days, but I couldn't find you'........ 'I died waiting for you'........Reid touched Hotch's face with frightened hands and flesh fell from his face leaving a mocking smile and Reid woke up with a cry.....

'NO!' he screamed, clutching at the air where Aaron was laughing at him. Reid was bathed in sweat, and tears stung his face. He wiped the tears and sweat from his eyes and stood on shaky legs. It was dark outside, and he wondered if he ought to try walking again. It was difficult enough in the daylight. He sat back down with his hands on his face and wondered what he was going to do. A sound outside grabbed his attention and he sat up straight as he heard the sound of someone opening the door.

-0-0-0-

The blood had dried on Hotch's arms. He had stopped struggling. He had seen how Reid had tried to break him out but couldn't, so he knew that no amount of pulling on the cuffs would help him.

The day got very hot. The sun beat down on the metal roof of the van and heated the air inside like an oven. Precious water seeped from his pores as he sweltered in the van with nothing to drink or relieve his thirst. He was surprised that the man and woman hadn't been back to inject him with something. Had they finished with him already? He couldn't believe that.

Although he didn't want them to return and poison him with something new, he didn't want to be left. He wondered how far Reid had got. He couldn't have found any help yet, otherwise he wouldn't still be here.

The light was fading now. The air in the van was cooling as the sun dipped, but relief was only for about an hour, when the cold set in and Hotch began to shiver in the darkness.

He was desperate for water. His tongue was swollen and stuck to the roof of his mouth, and he was dreadfully tired. He allowed his head to drop forwards and rested his chin on his chest. He closed his eyes in an attempt to sleep but he was too cold. The wind had started to blow and buffet against the van. Hotch lost his balance and fell to the side, the cuffs cutting his wrists again and drawing fresh blood.

The chains weren't long enough for him to sit on the floor, he could only kneel in the freezing cold of the night. He prayed that Reid would find help soon. He didn't think he could last long like this.

Aaron passed out in exhaustion around about midnight. In his dream he watched as he died and his body rotted and no one ever found him. He woke up with a soft cry and blinked in the darkness, and wondered if the dream was a premonition.