(Door closes as Hazeljv leaves with my rum)

Me: Sigh…

Rossi: Do you really have to say "sigh"?

Me: Yes, as a matter of fact.

Hotch: You don't need rum to be happy.

Morgan: That's right, kick the addiction!

Me: I'm not addicted!

Reid: Most addicts refuse to admit they have a problem, which makes it practically impossible for you to get help.

(Everyone stares at him)

Reid: WHAT!

Me: Ummm… you know…

Reid: THAT WAS FOREVER AGO! I mean, come on! Even in this story, it's been weeks since… Wait… Do you guys know something I don't know?

(Uncomfortable shifting)

Reid: DARKANGEL!

Uh, I don't own Criminal Minds…

"So stand in the rain..."

~"Stand in the Rain" by Superchick

Detective Harding and Officer Alex made their way down the path with Alex's canine companion. The group had split up when the path had diverged. Each BAU member had gone with a canine cop, as well as Harding. The remaining officers had paired up and gone down the remaining paths. The SWAT team had broken up and were sweeping the forest from a different direction, just in case the dogs missed something.

Alex's dog, Apollo, was straining at the leash, nose glued to the ground. He sneezed his way through a pile of leaves, losing the scent. He zigzagged his nose across the ground, found the trail, and kept going.

"Look," Apollo said, pointing at the ground ahead.

Harding saw the small footprints ahead in the dying light.

They quickly walked up to them and knelt. Apollo was excitedly sniffing the surrounding area.

Harding frowned. "Am I crazy or are there three sets here?"

"You're not crazy."

"I guess that the nine paths didn't really mean a girl for each. What do you think the duds led to?"

Alex shrugged his shoulders. "They could just be older paths that the girls or the kidnappers walked up or down."

Harding nodded. "Their plan was probably to split us all up." She shook her head. "And we walked right into their trap."

Sara, Ollie, and Megan stopped when they got to a small stream. They were extremely thirty and Ollie had twisted her ankle a ways back.

"Are you doing okay?" Sara asked. She and Megan had been trying to go slow and help her along, but the mountain terrain wasn't the easiest to negotiate.

When they had first gotten away, they had simply run. They hadn't thought to run in a certain direction.

Now that they had stopped and felt a little safer, they needed to decide on a game plan.

"What do we do now?" Megan asked. "We have to get to a house or something. We need to save everyone else."

"I know." Sara looked up at the sky. She couldn't tell how late it was with the storm clouds. "We need to go downhill, I think." She stood and helped Ollie to her feet. "Come on. We need to get moving. If we see a place to spend the night, we might want to stop. It's going to rain."

Harding tripped over a root and stumbled into Alex.

"Sorry!" she apologized.

"It's okay. This path is horrible with all the roots growing out of it." He squinted at something ahead. "And it looks like you aren't the only one to have tripped."

Harding followed his gaze and saw a piece of a sandal caught on a root. It appeared that one of the girls had caught her foot and fallen.

"That must have hurt," Harding commented, looking at the knee imprints on the other side of the root.

"It did." Alex was a little ways ahead looking at some more footprints. "You can see were she's limping." He pointed out the change in prints and Harding nodded in agreement.

Apollo barked impatiently and whined as he pulled at the leash.

"I think we're getting closer. I can see a clearing up ahead, maybe they're there."

Harding and Alex quickened their pace. Apollo forgot about sniffing and trotted ahead.

"Hello?" Alex called just before entering the clearing. "It's the police!"

They burst through the last stand of trees, guns drawn.

Nothing.

No one was in the clearing.

Harding, Alex, and Apollo all walked over to the stream. They all stayed alert, just in case.

"Girls?" Harding asked the empty space.

Alex picked up something that resembled a golden laurel headpiece and turned it over in his hands. "We must have just missed them."

Harding looked around the clearing at the surrounding woods, wondering which direction the girls had taken.

Suddenly, Apollo's ears perked and he stared at a section of trees. He let out a low, questioning growl.

Harding and Alex pulled out their guns and aimed at the trees. "Come out! We know your there!" Alex yelled.

Slowly, a small figure in white appeared. "Are you really the police?" she asked.

Harding took out her badge and flashed it. "Yes. My name is Detective Harding."

"My name's Sara."

"We've been looking for you, Sara."

"Is there anyone else with you?"

Sara nodded and two more girls appeared, one supporting the other. "Megan and Ollie. Ollie's hurt."

"We can help," Harding said as she stepped forward with Alex and Apollo.

The two groups met in the middle of the clearing. The girls were dressed in Greek outfits.

"I believe this is yours." Alex handed Megan the golden laurel he still carried.

"Thanks, but I don't really want it," she refused.

"Sure you do," Alex insisted. "It completes the look."

"No, really." Megan tried to hand it back.

"If she doesn't want it, don't make her wear it," Harding said, shocked at Alex's insistence.

"She needs to wear it." Alex raised his gun to Harding. "And you need to disappear."

The rain began to fall.

Uh oh! Trouble's a brewin'! Exactly now many officers are involved in this? Heck, I'm not really even sure! ;D

I'll go ahead and tell you that this cliffy is going to last for quite a few chapters… Sorry! Aaannnddd there's going to be a lot more cliffies...

Well, that's pretty much all I gots to say about that…

Reid and Review!

~MyDarkAngel710