this chapter is up sooner than i thought. i finished secrets of the manor, and so now i have more time to focus on just this. of course, im already thinking about a sequel for manor becuz im awsum like that. anyways, lots of warnings for this chapter. mostly language becuz the people in this family know little more than curse words but there is also sexual um...non con i guess u can say and um major angst so watch out.

Hotch didn't say anything as Benjamin pulled him off the wall, and for the first time in what seemed like forever, the handcuffs were taken off. He couldn't escape though. He wasn't able to walk on his own anymore. He could barely move. Reid got himself into a sitting position, but he didn't look comfortable. He was looking down, and Hotch knew that the boy genius was past the point of caring. It broke Hotch's heart. They were both going to die there. Reid was still bleeding from when Joseph raped him. Reid didn't say anything, but Hotch knew how badly it had to hurt.

"I'm not going…to…touch him," Hoch said firmly.

Reid didn't look at him. All of this was Hotch's fault. He should have gotten Reid out of there when he knew how dangerous it was. He knew that the unsubs wanted Reid, and he didn't go out of his way to keep the younger man from harm. It was Hotch's mistake, but they were both going to have to pay for it. Hotch put his head against the wall to stop an upcoming headache, but that's when he heard footsteps coming from down the hall.

"You wanted me Ma?" Daniel asked quietly asked he poked his head in.

"Yeah, it's time to get rid of the virgin. He's just getting in the way," Laura said.

Benjamin got in front of Hotch, and took hold of Reid by his hair. He grabbed a handful of it, and pulled Reid away from the chief leader. The kid was still struggling against all odds, but he wasn't going to be able to defend himself. If Hotch didn't do what they told him to, it would all be over. Daniel was already holding that damned crowbar, and Hotch felt like crying. He didn't have a choice. He was so cold, and he was getting scared. He didn't know what to do.

"Stop," Hotch said weakly. He pushed himself away from the wall, and got on his knees. "I'll do it. I'll do…it…just let him…go."

Laura laughed loudly, and slapped her palms together. Benjamin dropped Reid, and kicked the agent toward Hotch. Hotch scooted closer to the boy genius, and put a comforting hand on one of his shoulders. Hotch wasn't seeing things earlier. The kid's lips were tinted blue, and it was one of the scariest things that Hotch had ever seen in his life. Why wasn't Reid given a choice? Why did it all have to fall Hotch?

"Come on then, get on with it!" Laura said. "Turn around your skinny ass so your big Hollywood boss guy can show you how real men act."

"Can you please…take off his…handcuffs?" Hotch asked weakly. He couldn't stand seeing the boy's hands chained together. The wrists were badly bruised and the fingernails were broken off. It wasn't fair that Hotch's hands were finally free when Reid still had to suffer.

"No way," Laura said.

"Do him aleady," Benjamin said leaning against a wall. "You keep putting it off."

"I'm not going to hurt you," Hotch whispered.

"They didn't give….give you that option," Reid whispered back.

Hotch nodded to himself, and saw that the crazies were just standing around, waiting. Daniel had disappeared again, but the mother and father were looking anxious for the show to begin. Were they just going to kill them anyway after Hotch did this? He couldn't imagine them just letting Reid go when they were done, but it might buy them more time. Reid deserved his life. If they wanted to kill someone, it needed to be Hotch. He caused all of this, and now he was going to hurt Reid even more.

Hotch moved his hand down Reid's shoulder and onto his shoulder blades, but it was Hotch who recoiled his hand. He just couldn't do it. This was Reid. The kid trusted him with his life. How could he betray him like this? He heard Laura laughing, and Hotch looked down.

"So you're ready to kill him now?" Laura asked with a big smile. "This will be fun either way. I heard that my boy has fun with people even after they die, if ya know what I mean!"

Hotch glared at the woman who may have been from the surface of hell itself. They wanted him to make Reid bleed. They wanted him to suffer, and Hotch just couldn't understand why. He couldn't. His body was just so cold. His muscles weren't working the way they were supposed to, and he didn't think he would even be able to get himself turned on unless he was warmer. What would happen if that was the case? Would they be killed?

Reid was looking at him with big puppy dog eyes, and Hotch didn't know how he would ever be able to get through this. He put his hand back on Reid's stiff shoulder, and closed his eyes. He kept telling himself that he would be able to picture that Reid was someone else, anyone else, but that was impossible. He knew Reid too well for that.

"Come on! Fuck him now!" Laura shouted.

"Just do it," Reid said quietly. "I…don't want…want to die. Please."

Hotch moved behind Reid, and guided his hand down the boy's slender back. Hotch avoided the bloody marks left on his back from what Benjamin did to him, and Hotch's heart dropped when he had to see the handcuffed hands again. Reid's hands were lying useless on his back. They weren't struggling at all against the unwanted touch. Hotch would rather be killed than do this.

He got his hand right above Reid's rear end, and stopped. All of it was going to be over soon. It wouldn't take that long, and they would be allowed to go on with their lives when it was finished. It would have been easier if Reid wasn't so beat up. The young man's butt cheeks were badly bruised, and his thighs were still stained with dark blood. Hotch was scared of touching him because every touch was probably pure agony, but what could he do? Hotch finally put one hand upon the agent's butt cheek, and put his other hand on himself. None of this was going to work at all if he stayed as limp as he was. He could barely control his hand though. The muscles were stiff, and they refused to cooperate with him for the most part, and it wasn't getting any easier. Water was still dripping off his dark hair, and his breathing felt shallow. He needed to get out of that freezer.

It took a few minutes just to get a proper grip, and he had to use most of his strength to get the stroking the way it needed to be. He added his other hand to help get the blood flowing, but it was also just to stop touching Reid. The young man felt like a corpse. He was breathing too slowly, and the skin was tough. Where was the team? They had to have still been looking for them. They had to.

"Hold on," Hotch whispered to Reid.

Reid didn't say anything, but Hotch figured there was nothing to say. What could you possibly say to someone that was about to violate the most sacred part of your body? Hotch had to stop thinking about that. He had to stop thinking about anything or he would never get this over with. It took a while, but he was finally hard enough to do what they asked of him. He was ashamed that he was able to get on. How could his body barely be able to move, but it was still able to think about sex? He moved back into position between Reid's bony legs, and used one of his hands to pull the legs further apart.

He would have suggested Reid getting on his knees, but he didn't. He wasn't going to humiliate the boy any further by exposing him even more to their audience. He was just going to work with what he had. He placed one of his hands back on the cold flesh, and moved his fingers down to the entrance. It was wet, and it disgusted him. He withdrew his fingers quickly, and wiped his hands on the floor. The blood came off easy enough because he was wet, but his heart was pounding. He wasn't going to test Reid or see how loose the boy was. He was just going to go for it and hope for the best, but if Reid made any cries of any kind, Hotch was gone.

Hotch positioned himself in front of the entrance, and slowly pushed himself into the tip. The muscles were extremely tight around him, and he felt himself ripping up the already damaged tissue further. Reid gasped, but he didn't say anything. Hotch waited for a second, as the warm blood gathered around his member, but Reid stayed quiet so Hotch pushed in further. The flesh never loosened up, and while the tight heat felt glorious around Hotch's manhood, he couldn't help but look down at the trembling body underneath him. The longer he was in there, the longer Reid would have to suffer.

He pulled himself back out to the tip, and pushed himself back in all the way. Reid was making soft whimpers, and Hotch made sure he was as gentle as possible. He didn't move as rough as he would have liked, but Reid's well-being was all that mattered. Hotch found a rhythm of his own soon enough, and closed his eyes while he pushed and pushed. He was going to come sooner than he expected, and all would have gone as well as one could except, but that's when Hotch heard footsteps coming down the hallway.

"Daniel, what are you doing?" Laura asked quickly.

Hotch looked up in time just to see Daniel pour a bucket of freezing water on top of Reid's bare back. Hotch pulled himself out just as the water hit Reid's skin, and Reid screamed. Daniel didn't bother to take any chunks of ice out of the water this time around, and all of it hit Reid's flesh like pointed daggers. Reid curled his body up to protect it from any further damage, but the damage was done. Reid was lying in a puddle of fresh blood and icy water, and it was killing him. Hotch looked back up at Daniel. The kid was still standing there holding the bucket, his eyes fixated on Reid. Hotch lunged forward to attack. He didn't know what he was thinking, but he had to protect his friend. He had to protect Reid. He wasn't going to let Reid get hurt anymore, but Hotch wasn't in any kind of shape to fight. Daniel took a step back, and poured the rest of the water right on Hotch's head. Hotch closed his eyes, but the water burned. His mouth opened sharply to take a deep breath, and he fell back on his hands.

"What was that for?" Benjamin asked.

"Now it will be more like having sex with a dead body," Daniel said proudly. "See? He's colder now. Like a dead…dead people…dead person. Dead person. Reid is like dead person now."

"He will be a dead person soon if you don't watch it," Benjamin said.

"We can't have him dead yet! They's goin give us a sexy show, and I ain't turned on by dead people. Do it again Hollywood!"

Hotch was trying frantically to get the ice out of his hair. His fingers were shaking again, and the painful headache was trying to come back. He backed against the wall, and raised his knees to his chest to try and keep his body heat with him. Reid was lying in a fetal position where Hotch left him. How long did it take for someone to freeze to death? Hotch figured that it wasn't long.

"Do it again!" Laura screamed.

"What?" Hotch asked weakly. All of the voices seemed so far away. He didn't know what was happening, but he didn't feel like he was on the same planet as them.

"Fuck him!" Laura shouted.

Benjamin came out from where he was standing, and dragged Hotch to where Reid was. He forced Hotch back on his bleeding knees, and kicked him into place. Hotch didn't have to hear them to know what they wanted.

"No," Hotch managed to say.

"You want me to kill him now? Do you?" Benjamin warned.

Benjamin grabbed a handful of Reid's hair, and lifted him off the ground. Reid coughed as his feet struggled to find the floor. This nightmare was never going to end. It wasn't.

"Fine!" Hotch exclaimed.

The alcoholic dropped Reid, and went to stand by his wife to watch their enjoyment. Hotch crawled over to his young teammate, but instead of forcing Reid on his stomach, he wrapped his arms around Reid's shoulders. He hugged him as tight as he could, and listened to Reid's short yet frantic breaths. Hotch finally accepted that they were going to be killed here. Neither one of them were going to walk it out of there alive.

"Cold," Reid whispered.

Hotch could have kept hugging Reid all evening. It wasn't warming them up at all, but it was giving them the comfort that they both needed. They weren't going to have to die alone.

Prentiss and Rossi were walking around outside while Morgan and J.J. talked to the boy and his family inside. They were on the lookout for the missing boy, but they hadn't found anything yet. The forest was huge, and the lack of sunlight wasn't helping them at all. If the boy was out there somewhere, they would probably never find him. Prentiss hated it here. She tried not to stumble over the little stones hidden by the newly fallen snow, but Rossi wouldn't laugh at her if she did. They were looking for a missing kid, not taking a stroll in winter wonderland.

"Find anything?" she called out to Rossi.

"Nope. You?"

"Nope," she answered him.

They weren't that far apart, but they wanted to cover more ground. Prentiss found herself back on the boy's property, and was running her flashlight over a creepy looking swing set when she found a girl sitting on one of the swings. The girl jumped when she saw Prentiss.

"What are you doing out here? It's freezing." Prentiss walked up to her, and saw a cell phone glowing in the girl's hands.

"I live here," the girl answered.

"Then why aren't you inside? Who in the world could you be texting out here?"

Rossi came from around the other side of the creepy looking swings, and pointed his flashlight directly at the phone. It made the teenage girl jump, but she was up to something. It was too cold even for someone who lived here to be playing around outside.

"Who's Joseph?" Rossi asked.

"The boogey man," the girl answered.

"Who is he?" Prentiss asked louder.

"A guy. He lives down the street. He goes to the same school as me."

"I couldn't quite make out what it said," Rossi said circling around to the front. "But I'm sure I spotted the word FBI in there. What did it say?"

"I just told him you guys were coming…" the girl mumbled.

Prentiss turned around, and got out her own cell phone. She dialed up Garcia while Rossi continued trying to talk to the teenager.

"The mistress of all things involving wires and buttons is speaking," Garcia said.

"Hey, is there any boys named Joseph in Parker's class?" Prentiss asked.

"Looking, looking, looking, and negative," Garcia said.

"Are there any Josephs related to any of the kids in the class?"

"Already there my dear, and there is indeed a Joseph here. The kid is named Daniel Bates, and he has an older brother named Joseph that is a senior. Daniel was on the list of names that you were going to talk to."

"Thanks," Prentiss said putting her phone back in her pocket. "Rossi, we gotta go. Joseph is Daniel's older brother. That's the house we're going to next. She was warning them!"

Rossi and Prentiss ran to the front door to get the other two, but they were already leaving. Both parents were waving them out, and J.J. was zipping her jacket back up. All of them were wearing bullet proof vests underneath their shirts, but they didn't provide much warmth. They were still freezing. Morgan thanked them for the time, and got out to the porch.

"We need to get to the next house now," Prentiss said once the door was shut.

"Why? What is it?" J.J. asked.

"We found Elijah's older sister outside texting," Rossi said. "I couldn't make out most of the message but I saw, 'I told Joseph' and 'FBI' so I can only assume what was said."

"Who is Joseph? The next kid is Daniel," Morgan said.

"Yeah, we thought of that," Prentiss said. "So we called Garcia. Joseph is Daniel's older brother. They go to the same school. What reason would there be for this girl telling Joseph that we are here? We didn't tell them that we are heading over there next, and even if we did, why would she go around texting him? It's almost like she was warning him."

"Do you think she knows what they are up to?" J.J. asked.

"I don't know, but we need to go over there now," Rossi said. "I'm getting a bad feeling about this."

They piled into the car with Morgan in the driver's seat, and they sped away. Rossi sat next to him, and was dialing Garcia up immediately. All of them knew perfectly well that if they were heading to the unsubs house, they wouldn't give up. They would want to fight, and Rossi wanted to know exactly what they were in for.

"Speak and be heard by the goddess of technology," Garcia said.

"Hey, it's Rossi. I'm calling to get some more information on Daniel Bates."

"Daniel, Daniel, Daniel," Garcia mumbled. "You're heading over there now?"

"Yes, we are," Rossi said looking out the window. It had stopped snowing, but the roads still looked slippery.

"Okay, got it. Daniel Bates. He's 15 years old. Interesting, he's a Capricorn. His birthday is coming up in January, but um…he was raised up a grade. He's supposed to be a sophomore but he's super smart so they made him a junior. He's good at school, doesn't look like he's one of the popular kids though. He lives at home with his brother and parents. Doesn't look like he ever took lessons in anything…Interesting."

"What about his brother?"

"Looks like he's failing most of his classes. Gets detentions a lot. He's 17 years old, looks a lot like Daniel. He's been in trouble more often than not."

"And his parents?" Rossi asked.

"His mother doesn't work. Doesn't look like she's ever worked. Her name is Laura, born and raised here. She volunteers at the church a lot though. The father is named Benjamin. He also lived in this town for like forever, and he used to work but he got injured a few years ago and hasn't worked since. Doesn't look like the injury was that serious, like he just hurt a leg. He should have been better by now for sure."

"Pretty much describes what we are looking for," J.J. said.

"What kind of car do they have?" Morgan asked the phone.

"Um, let me see…it's a truck. Ford. Was registered in his father's name, but it was passed down to Benjamin in his will. Well, that's something unique to leave in a will."

"Yes, it does," Prentiss said agreeing.

"Thanks Garcia," Rossi said hanging up.

"This does sound them," Morgan said pressing down on the gas. "We still need to be on the lookout for Tommy though. If they took him in the place of Parker, he's going to be there."

"I can look around outside," Rossi volunteered.

"I'll go with you," J.J. said.

Rossi smiled at her, and looked up just as the car they were in swerved to one side. Rossi held onto the door handle, and Morgan took the wheel of the car in both hands, but the car was sliding. J.J. was falling forward, but Prentiss grabbed her before she fell too far. Both of the girls gasped out loud when the SUV crashed into a tree that was hidden by tons of snow. Rossi closed his eyes, but the impact wasn't that hard. All of them jumped, but the car got most of the damage. The engine was smoking, and Morgan slammed a fist against the wheel.

"Damn it!" he shouted.

"Everyone okay?" Rossi asked turning around.

Prentiss and J.J. looked shaken up, but okay. Neither one of them got so much as a scratch, but Rossi almost got into a lecture about the safety of wearing a seatbelt. J.J. could have gotten thrown out of the windshield if this had been a bad accident, but he kept his mouth shut. All of them weren't thinking straight. Hotch and Reid still were still missing.

Morgan's door was jammed, but he kicked it right open to inspect the engine. He wasn't a mechanic though, and while Rossi loved cars, he couldn't fix a smoking engine. He wasn't stupid enough to try.

"I'll call the sheriff," J.J. said.

"How much further is this house?" Morgan called out.

"It was half an hour drive, and we've been driving for about 10 minutes," Prentiss said.

"Do you just want to try walking? There's only one road here. We can't get lost," Morgan said.

"Oh, we can get lost," J.J. said. "When I was younger, I was with my sister at an amusement park and we got separated. I was crying because I didn't know where I was. She found me in like 5 minutes, and I felt so stupid. There was only 3 rides in the whole park."

"We're all going to stay together," Prentiss said.

"I think we should try it," Rossi agreed. "I haven't been out walking in a long time. We just shouldn't go into the forest. We don't know what lives there, and we really would get lost in there."

Rossi put his gloves back over his hands, and got out of the car. It was cold. There was no denying it, but it was cold pretty much everywhere. He stepped out onto the main road and looked ahead. It was dark outside. He could barely tell that this is where the road was, but there were signs and everyone had working cell phones. If something did happen, they were armed, but Rossi doubted that they would run into any trouble. If there was trouble, it was at a little house about 20 minutes away.

The others joined him on the lonely road, and they began their walk. Rossi was ready to meet the unsubs who took his friends. He kept wondering about what kind of shape would they be in. Would they even be able to walk? They weren't dead. He could sense it. Hotch and Reid were still alive, but they had spent days with these psychopaths. What was done to them?

Joseph ran as fast as he could to get home. He jumped over all of the logs that were embedded on the forest floor, and he was lucky enough to avoid of the jagged rocks on the path. He needed to get home as fast as he could. The pigs were on their way. The fucking FBI would be at his house, and he needed to get prepared. If they showed up, and everyone was covered in blood, what the fuck was going to happen? Pa couldn't tell them it was just blood of a stupid cow or something. The FBI weren't stupid people. They needed to have a plan.

He dropped of all of his new belongings on the kitchen floor, and ran to the freezer. The door was already open. His father was standing over the agents, and fresh blood was on the back of the older one. It looked like Hotch took a beating from his father, but that wasn't the interesting part. The interesting part was that Hotch had his body over the younger agent, almost like he was protecting him or something. Daniel was watching with a sick fascination on the floor, and Joseph found his mother leaning against one of the walls. No one saw him come in.

"We got a problem," Joseph said trying to catch his breath.

"That we do my son," Benjamin answered. He kicked Hotch in the back, and the agent grunted with pain. "These two ain't doin what they were told. I think it's time we kill the virgin."

"No!" Hotch yelled.

"You ain't the boss of me!" Benjamin shouted back. Benjamin picked Hotch up by the hair, and the agent pathetically fought. He couldn't even keep his legs on the ground because they kept slipping. Joseph figured that Daniel was playing in the lake and got the agents all wet again. It was funny as hell to watch Hotch try and get his footing, but his legs didn't work anymore. They were disgusting looking things, covered in blood and probably broken.

"Bigger problem," Joseph said.

"What's wrong?" his mother finally asked.

"Rest of them FBI is comin over here, like soon," Joseph replied.

Benjamin dropped Hotch, and top of Reid, and the older agent went right back to shielding the doctor's body with his own. Idiots. Daniel never stopped watching them though. In fact, he was bending over so his face would be equal with Reid's face. They would have been eye to eye, but Reid's eyes were closed. And he was looking even more pale than when Joseph left.

"What?" Benjamin asked.

"You heard me old man. They's comin here, and I don't know what to do."

"They can't search the house without a warrant," Laura said getting off the wall. "I won't let them. I'll tell them I just cleaned or somethin."

"Like they'd believe that," Joseph said laughing.

"They ain't allowed in!" Laura shouted. "No!"

"It don't take that long to get one of them warrants," Benjamin said. "We gotta separate these two. It'll be easier to hide them if they ain't together."

"Please…" Hotch said in a cracking voice. "Just leave…us…in the woods. Please."

Benjamin laughed, and kicked Hotch off of Reid. Before Hotch could use his body as a human shield again, Benjamin grabbed him. He held Hotch back, and Hotch fought. Hotch reached both of his hands towards Reid, and tried using his broken legs to kick Benjamin, but Joseph's well fed father was stronger. He pulled Hotch back, and kicked him in the stomach. Hotch cried out with pain, and stopped fighting.

"Can I…has…take…" Daniel stuttered, and wiped his forehead with his palm. "Can I have Reid?"

"Fine," Benjamin said. "We gotta do somethin to keep this ass under control." He pulled Hotch's hair, and forced his head back.

"Kill me," Hotch said looking Benjamin in the eye.

"We ain't killin you honey pie!" Laura said kissing Hotch's cheek.

Joseph rolled his eyes. His Ma was really something else sometimes. Daniel whispered something into Reid's ear, and helped Reid to his feet. By some miracle, the agent was still able to stand, but he needed support. Daniel wrapped one of Reid's arms around his neck, and after a few failed attempts, Daniel helped the agent out of the freezer. Joseph let them pass without comment, and wondered how long Reid had left. It didn't look like long which was a shame because Joseph never had fun with him.

"Reid!" Hotch screamed. "Bring him…don't hurt…him!"

"I'd be more concerned about myself if I were you sweetie pea," Laura said.

"Don't hurt him…kill me…but…don't hurt him," Hotch pleaded. He looked directly at Laura with his plea, but Benjamin kicked him again which broke the eye contact.

"What we goin do with him?" Benjamin asked.

"We're not goin kill him," Laura said. "I like him. He's too sexy."

She grabbed Hotch's ass, and the agent jumped at the pinch. It was disgusting. Joseph didn't want to watch his own freakin mother picking some strange man's ass.

"Just let…Reid go," Hotch struggled to say.

"We ain't letting nobody go," Laura snapped. "Nobody. Got it?"

"We got guns," Benjamin said. "We got them guns. We ain't goin just let them go. We could just shoot them assholes that come stickin their noses where they don't belong," Benjamin said.

"Dad, that's stupid. They would just send more, and besides, they're sendin men too. Not just dumb women but freakin men who know how to shoot better than you."

"What are your ideas then boy?" Benjamin asked.

He kicked Hotch again in the stomach, but the agent didn't cry. His head dropped down on his chest, and Benjamin dropped him. The man fell with a loud thump on the hard floor, but he wasn't moving. Joseph didn't care if he was dead. They could just throw his body in the river next to Tommy's and move on with their lives. It'd be one less thing to worry about. Laura got on her knees next to Hotch, and lifted up his head.

"Still breathing," she mumbled. "He ain't dead. Ain't dead…we gotta get him out of this freezer. He is fucking cold. I don't want him to die yet."

Benjamin shrugged, but lifted up Hotch's arms, and dragged him out of the freezer. Benjamin put him by the couch where Joseph raped the teacher. Hotch still wasn't moving. It was sad that they weren't going to let him freeze to death. Joseph never saw anyone die that way before. Laura sat on the couch next to Hotch, and massaged his head.

"What are we goin do?" Laura asked quietly.

"If they come in here and see one of these guys, it ain't goin be good. And if they comin over here, they probably got some idea of what we got. We can't let them come inside."

Peter was heading back home after his short talk with Joseph. He knew how crazy his friend's family was, and felt that it was his duty to get them prepared. It would probably be better if they could figure out some way to get the little brother out of the house. Peter only talked to the kid a few times, but he was weird. He was weirder than weird, and Peter never felt comfortable being around him for long. The kid wasn't a killer or anything. He was too skinny to hurt anyone. Peter didn't know the rest of the family Joseph never invited him over, but he told Peter all kinds of story about how his dad drinks himself to sleep most nights and about how his mother has an extremely short temper. Peter didn't mind though. Nobody could choose who their parents were.

Peter checked his phone, but Elijah's sister stopped texting long ago. He was going to ask her if she could pick him up, but he decided not to. He didn't want to see like a lameoid who was afraid of the dark because he wasn't. He just didn't want to run into a bear or something. They lived out there, deeper into the forest of course, but they were there. He turned around and decided to find the main road. If he managed to find that, he would just take that home. He couldn't wait to get back home. He was going to have a big glass of hot chocolate, and surf the internet for girls who were free that weekend. He wanted to party.

He reached the lake where he was when he saw Joseph. His friend was gone, but at least Peter knew where he was. The lake was broken in the middle, but that wasn't unusual. Stupid animals wandered out on thin ice all the time, and that led them to their deaths. Survival of the fittest as they said. It looked like a bigger animal from the looks of it. Poor thing met a terrible death for sure. Peter saw Joseph's house in the distance, but he wasn't going back there. He just needed to find the damned road. He turned around, and that's when he spotted something glimmering from one of the trees.

He walked over to the tree. It was an older pine, probably lived here for the past 100 years or so, but it was still strong. Snow was blanketing most of it, but Peter saw a piece of a necklace perfectly placed on one of the jagged edges. Someone put it there. It couldn't have fallen off of some jogger or hunter or something. Someone put it there for people to find. Peter picked up the necklace piece, and turned it over in his hand. It looked so familiar. It was a tiny flower. Peter brought it closer to his eyes, but he still couldn't remember what girl wore this. He put it back on the edge, and shone his cell phone on light. He took a step back. It was hard to see at first, almost impossible to see, but there were spots of something red on it. The red spots were dried, but they were there, and it wasn't paint.

Peter took several steps away from the tree, and turned around as fast as he could. He broke into a jog, and nearly fell over everything hidden in the snow. He didn't care though. He wanted to get as far away as possible. He ran and ran and ran. He ran until his legs were begging for relief, but he didn't stop until he knew he was far from the lake and that damned tree. He ran for the main road, and stopped to catch his breath. His heart was pounding, and he felt the calf of one of his legs bleeding slightly. A tree branch must have scraped him, but he wasn't thinking about that. All he could think about was that bloody necklace.

He took out his cell phone, and looked through his contacts. All of the names were jumbling together. It was hard to read because he was shaking so bad. He stopped looking, and put his cell phone against his jeans.

"Damn," he said to himself. "God, God, God…What the fuck? What the hell was that?"

He was crying because he was so upset. He didn't know what to do. Who in the world was he supposed to call? Joseph? Tell him he found part of a bloody necklace outside his house? That didn't sound right at all. He slammed a fist down on a wooden post, and tried to stop his tears. Crying wasn't helping anyone. He just needed to think. That's when it hit him. He remembered where he saw the necklace before. It was around Parker's neck. She wasn't his teacher, but she wore that thing every day. He saw her talking to another teacher when Peter was walking to lunch, and he thought it looked nice with the pink sweater she was wearing. He didn't think about it again until now. That was part of her necklace. And she was dead. Dead. That was part of a necklace that belonged to a dead woman.

Peter stuck his hand in his pocket, and started pulling out all the crap he stored in there until he found what he needed. It was a card that the FBI gave him when they were at the school that one day. They were handing out cards, and Peter stuck it in his pocket. He never thought that he would actually ever need it. Next time his mom wanted him to change pants, he would remind her of this situation. Not washing his pants got him what he needed. These people probably wouldn't answer the phone. They were too busy doing FBI stuff, but what if they did answer? What would he say? That he found a bloody necklace that looked like something the dead teacher was wearing? It was near his friend's house, but his friend didn't do it.

He debated about pretending he never saw the stupid thing. He would just take the road home, and get online like he planned to. He straightened himself up, and got back to walking. It was quiet, and the cold wind blew in his face. He wanted to forget what he saw. He wanted to act like none of this ever happened, but he couldn't. He remembered reading about a woman who was getting murdered in front of an apartment complex, and not one person called the police. The murderer even left for a while and came back to finish the job, and still, no one got her help. He didn't want to be like that. He stopped walking, and dialed the number.

"This is Agent Morgan," a voice answered after a few rings.

"Yeah, hi, um, you were at my school a few days ago," Peter started. "I was out walking, and I saw something that you might be interested in. Probably not, but um, I thought I should tell you."

"What is it?"

"Um, I was walking and I saw something shiny on a tree. I didn't know what it was so I got closer and um, it was a necklace piece. Like the thing that goes on the necklace, but not the chain and stuff. It was a flower, and I didn't recognize it at first, but then I remembered I saw it on that teacher. Miss Parker. She wore it like every day, and I can't figure out how it got out here."

"Where are you?" Morgan asked.

"I'm away from the tree now. I ran, but it was near Joseph Bate's house. Joseph didn't have anything to do with it. He's my friend, and he wouldn't pull something like this. Maybe whoever had her let her run around or something, and she tried to run to his house for help."

"Thanks for telling me," Morgan said. "Don't go back there. Head home."

"Night," Peter said.

Peter hung up the phone, and leaned against a tree. Did he do the right thing? The agents were going over to Joseph's house anyway so he wasn't really getting in the way. Joseph didn't have anything to do with it anyway. They would talk to them, and then follow the leads that the necklace gave them. Everything was going to work out. Peter stretched out his legs, and got back on the road to walk home.

Reid had never been so cold in his entire life. He couldn't feel his toes or fingers anymore, and his body wasn't going back to the shivering stage. He was getting worse, and when Daniel threw the bucket of frozen water with pieces of ice on his back, Reid almost blacked out. It was too much for him. The ice chunks ripped open the wounds on his back, and created bruises underneath his hair. The headache he got from it refused to go away and it took everything he had to just stay awake. He wasn't aware of what Hotch was doing. He felt another body on top of his, but he didn't register what was happening. He didn't even open his eyes until he felt Daniel pulling him to his feet.

"Are you dying?" Daniel asked him once they were out of the freezer.

Fiery pains shot up his body with every step. His muscles felt strange and foreign to him, and his breathing was too slow even for him. Reid didn't know what was happening to him.

"No," Reid managed to say.

"I am," Daniel said.

Daniel pushed open the door in the kitchen, and guided Reid outside. It was colder out there than it was in the freezer, and Reid wanted to go back. He needed to get warmer or he would die. There would no question about it. Freezing to death was becoming a real realistic probability, and with Reid going outside with Daniel, Reid was scared. Daniel wasn't right in the mind anymore. Even if Daniel wanted to help, Reid didn't think he could. Both of them were sick, in their own ways, and Reid was scared that this is how it was going to end.

The teenager supported Reid as they ventured out into the black forest. Daniel was humming a tune that Reid didn't recognize. He seemed to be in good spirits even though he was stumbling on his feet more than Reid was. Daniel didn't take them out far. He found a tree that he seemed to like, and helped Reid sit under it. The snow burned against Reid's rear end. It burned, and he jumped when it hit his skin, but Daniel held him place. Reid was forced to sit in the snow, and when Daniel was confident Reid wasn't going anywhere, Daniel sat next to him.

"I was gived…give…" Daniel hit himself in the head and took a deep breath. "Born. I was born out here. Ma thought it would…would…get me close nature. Close to nature. You're cold."

Reid nodded his head, and looked at Daniel. He was such a confused kid, and he had to go through all of this by himself. He had no one to talk to, and when the cancer started developing in his head, he had no one to turn to. He was alone, and living with the family he did, things just got worse. Reid stretched out the fingers behind his back, and tried reaching for Daniel's hand. He was different from his family, and Reid understood.

Daniel didn't notice Reid trying to get his hand, but Daniel did take off the shirt he was wearing. It was made from thin material, and the old thing had holes all over it, but Daniel put it over Reid's legs. Reid brought his knees up to his chest, and the shirt worked as a little blanket. It didn't bring much warmth, but Reid would be eternally grateful. Daniel had cuts and scrapes all over his back, and while Reid didn't witness any abuse directly from father to son during his stay there, it was obvious that was happened. The kid had been suffering long before he developed the cancer that was killing him.

"Do…believe heaven?" Daniel asked. Daniel ignored the words he skipped or couldn't say.

"I think…so," Reid said. Reid could barely talk too. There was a soft wind blowing outside, and that made it seem even colder out there. Reid couldn't take this. He needed to be inside.

"Miss…teacher is there. She waits. Me." Daniel hit himself against the head again. "I didn't mean…she died. I didn't want. Accident."

Reid didn't want to talk about what happened to Kate. Whenever he thought about her, all he could see was her decaying body sitting in that rocking chair. He didn't want to remember her that way, but it was hard to think about anything else when he was talking with the boy who did that to her. If he really did just kill the young woman on impulse, what was stopping him from doing that to Reid? Daniel was unpredictable. He proved that time and time again, and Reid actually felt safer with any other member of the family. They didn't want him dead yet. Daniel probably didn't want to kill him either, but he wasn't in control anymore.

"Liked her?"

Reid nodded again. He wanted to save all of the energy he had to keep his body heat. He tried thinking back as to what happened when he was in the freezer with Hotch, but all of his memories were jumbled around. He just couldn't think right. What were they going to do with him? If they were hurting him, Reid would just die. Hotch was doing everything he could do to keep Reid safe, and Reid blamed himself. Hotch shouldn't have had to do that. Reid would rather have died than Hotch. Hotch had his son to worry about it. Jack was still just a baby, and he needed his father. Reid didn't even have siblings. Reid would have given his life so Hotch could see his son again.

"Don't let them…hurt…Hotch. He has a son," Reid found himself saying.

Daniel looked at him, but he didn't say anything. He looked forward towards the forest, and put one of his shaky hands on Reid's covered knee. Reid thought he heard something howling in the distance, but he wasn't sure. He was feeling extremely dizzy. He was sure it was because of how cold he was, and he wanted to tell Daniel. He wanted to beg Daniel to get him back into the warmth of the house, but he couldn't. He opened his mouth to talk, but the words wouldn't come out. He ended up laying his head against the tree. A strange wave of sleepiness was overcoming him. As tired as he felt, he knew he couldn't sleep. He couldn't. He was sure that if he fell asleep, he would never wake up again.

yep. chapter 21. is over. its awsum writing daniel cuz i dont even know what n the world he is going do next but its sad. i mean, he totally is guilty of murder, but hes like really sick. u love him but u hate him at the same time. not many characters can do that. plz review! xoxoxo. till next time my beautiful friends