Note: Because this Sunday is Easter Sunday, I am posting this chapter early.
A special word of thanks to our lovely reviewers: Prolific Reider and Pita Cake. Your kind words are very much appreciated.
Warning! Some graphic and disturbing imagery for this chapter. Nothing happens. I repeat: nothing actually happens. However, there are still some threats made, one of which involves a child, so be warned.
Reid tested his bonds for what must have been the tenth time in past half an hour.
He'd already known they weren't going to give, but he had to do something.
The pain of his wounds from before hadn't gone away entirely, but it had lessened, settling to a dull ache that he welcomed after the sharp sting of the whip.
The basement door creaked open again, and he cringed back instinctively. His injuries seemed to throb with a greater intensity, though, he knew, that was surely a trick of the mind.
Selene reached the bottom of the stairs. She held a white box in her hands.
Reid recognized it almost immediately as a first aid kit.
So… she had hurt him and now she was coming to heal him.
She approached wordlessly, seeming almost meek now.
Reid watched her warily, knowing enough that this was just another game for her.
He knew how quickly she could change.
"That looks like it hurts," she said, speaking for the first time since she'd come down. She was smiling, almost hopefully, as she knelt by his side, cracking open the box.
He didn't answer.
Accepting his silence, she applied something to the wound on his arm.
The pain flared up again and he hissed between clenched teeth. He wanted to pull away from her, to prevent her from touching him, but there was nowhere for him to go.
Logically, too, he knew she was helping him, keeping the danger of infection at bay.
It didn't mean he had to like it.
"What do you want?" he asked finally.
Selene stood and moved around so she was standing before him. She was smiling again, now as if satisfied of some victory.
Reid wondered why that might be, even as he felt a sliver of panic sliding into his heart.
"I told you, Spencer," she said. "I want your help. Do you think you're ready? "
In her hands, she held a few slips of paper.
Selene placed one on his lap, allowing him to read it.
"Read it carefully, Dr. Reid. I want you to remember every word." She tilted her head, brown hair spilling over her shoulder. "Not that that should be a problem for you." She gave him a girlish smile.
It was a note, or, more accurately, it was a script.
He blanched when he saw what was written, what he was expected to say, what he was to do.
"No," he whispered. He couldn't keep his voice from shaking. "No. Not her. Please, not her. Leave them alone. Please! I… I can't."
Reid didn't care if he was begging. He didn't care if that was, essentially, giving her exactly what she wanted.
He wouldn't-couldn't-do this.
Not to her.
He couldn't betray her.
Not like this.
Not at all.
She knelt again, this time so she could look up at him, placing her hand on his knee.
Reid shuddered at the contact.
"I thought you might say that," she told him. "So I have a counter offer to make."
She held up a photograph, this one of a woman and child together.
They were taking a walk, the woman smiling down at the child she held the hand of.
They were both completely oblivious to their stalker.
A chill ran down Reid's spine as sudden terror gripped his heart.
He recognized them immediately.
No. She couldn't.
"I know where the Hotchner family lives," she told him, leaning forward almost eagerly. She took his chin, gently forcing him to look her in the eyes. "How would your superior feel if it were his beautiful Haley, or perhaps dear little Jack, here with you instead? And what if he knew it was your fault? He might never forgive you." She chuckled, leaning in close till her lips brushed his ear, as she whispered, "He might even kill you himself. And all because you wouldn't sacrifice a member of his team," she glanced down at the photograph. Automatically, Reid did too. "...for the sake of his family," she continued.
"No!" Reid pulled away from her and she stepped back, her eyes laughing at him, enjoying his predicament.
"What will it be, Spencer?" she asked. "You're going to have to choose. And choose quickly because if you don't, I will go to their house. I know Haley will open the door for me. After all, what reason would she have to suspect anything? And then I will gut her, her and little Jack. I'll slice her up and watch as her blood spurts and sprays all over her precious little son, and then I'll pick him up and I'll throw him against the wall, again and again and again!"
Reid winced, shrinking back with every repetition, tears in his eyes.
"I'll bash that precious little head against the wall," she whispered in his ear, "until those smart little brains don't work anymore."
"Stop, stop, stop!" Reid murmured feverishly, panicking. He couldn't close his eyes. All he could see were the poor little broken bodies. He couldn't open his eyes. All he could see was her.
"And I'll make sure she knows who's responsible before she dies," she continued, her breathy whisper tickling his ear. "She'll know who to thank for her pain."
She straightened.
"And how do you think Aaron will feel when he comes home and learns that you could have prevented their murder? You're not his family, Spencer. You never have been. Why would he care that you didn't have a choice? All he'll know is that the two most important people in the world to him are dead." Her voice had increased in its intensity. She was angry. Furious. At what, he could only guess. "He'll need somebody to blame. And you'll be the easiest target."
It no longer seemed like she was talking about him.
Whatever was at the root of her anger, it was deeply personal.
Selene clasped her hands together, the anger suddenly fading.
She seemed almost demure now, girlish in her simplicity.
"Would it make you feel any better if I promised not to hurt your friend?"
"You're lying," Reid said. He was shaking, his entire body trembling like leaves in a windstorm. He swallowed thickly. "You'll tell me you won't hurt her because you want me to go along with you, but you're lying. You're lying. You're going to hurt her anyways."
"Aw, Spencer. Now you're just hurting my feelings. Do you really not believe me?"
She moved behind him and gripped his shoulder tightly, painfully.
Reid clenched his teeth as she leaned over him, continuing, "Have no doubt, Spencer," she hissed. "I meant what I said. I will kill them. Both of them." She fingered the edge of the photograph. "I'm sure you've already figured out how much I love photography. I'm good at it too. Did you know I studied it in college?" She let the picture fall to the ground. "I'll make it last. And I will show you. Every. Bloody. Detail when I'm done."
Selene stepped away from him.
"I'll leave you to think on it then."
She turned on her heel, casually crushing the photograph underfoot.
She cast one look behind her when she reached the stairs. "Have a good night, Dr. Reid."
Then she disappeared.
Reid's eyes traveled down to the picture.
The mother and son looked so peaceful, so happy, enjoying time to themselves.
Selene had violated something sacred when she had snapped that photo.
Reid closed his eyes, suddenly unable to hold back his tears.
He knew what he had to do.
He just prayed he could be forgiven for his part.
Note: So like I said at the top, this chapter is coming early. This will not upset our previously settled updating schedule however, and chapter eleven will be coming the chapter after Easter.
Speaking of which... HAPPY EASTER EVERYBODY! :D