A/N: Last chapter for the night, then I can eat some ice cream!

The next day went incredibly slow at the station. They didn't have any new information and they feared that it would take another victim to learn more. Hotch just did not want that to happen. What they did learn was that the type of torture described in "The Pit and the Pendulum" never really existed, however if this UnSub was as smart as they thought she was she probably had a plan devised to recreate it. Despite the tighter security in and around the school a girl still went missing that day.

"Sixteen year old Perrie Dublin was reported missing by her parents when she didn't come home from school today." JJ announced.

"Wait a second, Perrie?" Reid asked. "She was Will's current girlfriend."

"Do you think letting Helen go was a mistake?" Prentiss asked.

"It's too early to tell. We wouldn't have enough to convict her even if she was behind it. All we have is circumstantial evidence.

"The UnSub took her last victim to an abandoned house in the woods." Morgan said. "Deputy Greenwood we need officers at every abandoned property in Smithsburg."

"On it." Greenwood affirmed as he paged all on duty officers in both Smithsburg and Hagerstown. If only they knew then that they were too late.


The UnSub laughed at how easy Perrie had been able to control. She didn't even have to use the Rohypnol. She knew the police would catch on quickly so she had to get her work done now. Luckily, no one had ever suspected her working back here in the middle of the forest day in and day out. She couldn't even remember when the first idea had struck her; all she did know was that she was influenced by thoughts that weren't her own. She assumed she was delusional, maybe psychotic, but none of that mattered now that her final plan had been put into action.

Perrie Dublin lay tied to a table in the middle of the room screaming to be set free. Of course, no one would hear her scream all the way back here, at least not until it was too late. Before she started up the mechanism that would end Perrie's life, the UnSub took out her knife and slashed a deep cut into the girl's forearm. She produced a small inkwell and filled it with the blood of her final victim. The last quote was going to be pretty long and she wanted to make sure she wouldn't run out of "ink." She switched the mechanism on and watched and listened with a pure carnal desire to hear the girl's screams. Slowly the pendulum (of the UnSub's own design) began to severe the girl in half.

She wrote out the poem on a piece of parchment and left it at the secondary table. The poem was one of her favorites and foretold much more than the others had, but that's only if someone was bright enough to figure it out. She reveled in the screams of anguish from her last victim once more and then left the cabin and got the hell out of there. It was only a matter of time before the police showed up and she would be caught on her own terms; or at least terms more favorable to her. She was almost certain that one man who always wore the sweater vests would figure her out. She went straight home and cleaned herself up. She hid her murder accessories well enough so as not to be found before her plan could be completed.

She looked outside and saw the bright lights of police cars headed towards Smithsburg and knew that they had found where she left her victim to die. Things were working out perfectly.


The entire team rushed to the scene. Morgan was the first one in the house almost immediately screaming for a medic. Perrie Dublin had lost a lot of blood and her insides (particularly the intestines) were practically hanging out. This UnSub was one sick-minded fuck. JJ actually had to turn away because the girl's injuries were so bad. They tried extracting information concerning who had done this to the poor girl but she had lost consciousness before she could utter a syllable.

"Damn it!" cursed Morgan. He helped lift the stretcher onto the ambulance and then hopped in for the ride. He held Perrie's hand as they sped through what little traffic the town had to offer at the time.

Reid examined the mechanism (which had been stopped) with an amazed expression. Whoever was responsible for this was truly a genius; too bad they would be spending the rest of their life in prison. The machine itself was made mostly of everyday objects and used fundamental principles of physics to propel itself. After tearing himself away from the stroke of genius he hopped into an SUV with the rest of the team and drove off to the hospital.

A/N: wow that was kinda short but I figured that was a good place to stop. Now time for ice cream! I'll post more tomorrow. 6 more chapters!