Note: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CRIMINAL MINDS CHARACTERS! Enjoy :)
In a terrible moment, the heart was ripped from the city. Just before, a young innocent child walked the streets. But then there was only blood, crumbling walls, and cries of agony. The grey wisps of smoke curled around everyone's throats, suffocating them. A terrible ringing filled the air. Serena sat in pain and semi-blindness amidst the chaos. She found herself slumped against a crumpled piece of cement. She saw tables and chairs, overturned and splintered. She saw bodies. Lots of bodies. All coated in red, thick blood. She looked up, but all she could see was red, flaming hot smoke. Her head was pounding. Then, as if she slipped into a trance, and got up. The young boy was dead at her feet. She then heard the desperate and loud cries.
"Serena! Serena, where are you?!"
A sudden feel of irritation came over her. She didn't need them. They didn't understand her. She needed to get away.
On the chopper
Hotch had curled up in his seat. The blast was too much. His head was pounding harder than ever, and his hands were clamped on his ears, desperate to block out the sound. Soon he heard nothing but a painful ring. He groaned.
"Is he alright back there?" The pilot asked.
"Is it possible for you to make an emergency landing?" Rossi asked frantically. It hurt him to see Hotch in pain.
"I'll try, but it'll be hard with all this smoke." The pilor replied.
"Hotch, you okay?" Rossi said to his friend.
Hotch didn;t reply, he just pushed his hands closer to his head. He thought this hearing problem had gone away, but now he was in more pain than ever.
Soon, the pilot landed the chopper and JJ and Rossi helped Hotch out. Rossi insisted that Hotch leave the scene immediately, so he stood in the field nearby, looking up at the smoke. Morgan stayed with him.
"Hey, Rossi, JJ!"Prentiss' voice came out of the smoke. Her leg was cut up pretty bad, but she seemed well considering the traumatic event.
"Emily! You're hurt!" JJ hugged her friend and looked at her leg.
"I'll be fine. Have you guys seen Serena?"
"I thought she was with you!" Rossi exclaimed.
"We-we split up!" Prentiss replied. She looked around them. "Where's Hotch?" She asked.
"He's alive. Couldn't stand the blast, so he's just outside the plaza with Morgan." JJ assured her.
"Couldn't stand it? Is his hearing sensitive again?" Prentiss sounded worried.
JJ gave her another hug. "He'll be fine. The blast was really loud, that's all. We need to find Serena. Also, where's Spence?"
"I saw hima bit earlier, but he went in to find her. I assumed he did and they went to you guys." Prentiss said.
"So we're missing both of our geniuses. Great." Rossi said.
"It's impossible to see through this smoke. We'll have to let Bomb Techs clear the area." Prentiss choked out. The smoke was slowly suffocating and blinding them.
"And we still don't know if that nitro thingy Reid mentioned got activated. We should leave." Rossi replied, and started to walk away.
"What about Serena and Reid-" JJ protested. She had lost Reid before when she and him split up, resulting in him being kidnapped and tortured by Tobias Hankel. She did not want that to happen again.
"They'll be fine, I promise." Rossi said, coughing. The smoke was really getting up them now. "We need to get out of here!"
JJ looked to all the bodies. "But what if-"
"JJ!" Prentiss yelled, using her sleeve to cover her mouth and nose.
JJ gave one last look to the smoke void, and with the others, left.
Spencer POV
"Serena! Serena, where are you?!" I yelled. The smoke had made my voice raspy, and I couldn't see anything.
"Sir, we need you to get out of this area!" A man in firefighter gear said to me.
"I'm with the FBI, I need to find a missing agent!" I hated how desperate I sounded.
"If you tell me what they look like, I can help you find her. But I really need you to leave the scene!" He shouted back.
"She's about 5'6, has long black hair. East Asian." I choked out. I started coughing.
"The smoke, sir. You really need to get out!"
Reluctantly, I let him escort me out of the smoke. On the way out, I stumbled across something. It groaned. It was an old man, sprawled on the ground.
"I'm so sorry. Hang on, sir, help is coming!"
"Soon the whole ground was filled with cries and groaning. People were dead, if not that, on their way.
"Firefighter, sir! These people they-"
"Can you get out by yourself?" He asked, his voice muffled under the gas mask.
I looked around. The smoke had enveloped everything at the point. I could still hear the sirens, and see the bright red flames. Suddenly I wondered if those 10 bomb techs had even made it out of the building alive. Hell, I didn't even know if we were all breathing in poisonous gas right now. The smoke burned my eyes, and the tie around my neck was starting to feel tighter than usual.
"Yeah, sure I can." I replied.
"Get out quick!" He warned, and went to help the old man.
Soon, the smoke cleared. The green outdoor park was not affected from the blast, and I saw a chopper, with 6 figures standing near. I wished so hard one of them was Serena.
"Spence!"
JJ's blonde hair whipped around in the air, as a smile came across her face. I could tell she had been worried. She pulled me into a hug.
"Have you seen Serena?" I asked.
JJ gave me a sad look. "No, we all hoped she would be with you."
Rossi, Morgan, Prentiss, and Hotch were all standing next to the chopper, along with some guy who looked like the pilot. Hotch was bent down, with his hands over his ears. I gave him a worried look.
"Is Hotch alright?"
"The blast opened up the hearing problem again." Rossi explained.
I noticed Prentiss' leg. "You're hurt."
"I'll be fine, as long as we find Serena." She responds, and gives Hotch a glance. "And as soon as we get Hotch some help."
The ringing had cleared a bit now, but all of their voices were still muffled. Then sight of the graveyard of bodies I had seen in the smoke finally hit.
"There were so many bodies." I choked out.
The team gave me a fearful look.
"They were all bleeding, and dying, and I couldn't help-"
"Spence, you did everything you could. You warned us about that poisonous gas. We'd all be dead right now if you hadn't told bomb tech that." JJ patted me on the back. Hotch straightened up, and he gave me a look.
"What?" I asked, maybe a little too harshly. I was used to Hotch being quiet, but seeing him in pain was a different story.
"You were very brave." he said shortly, and sat down on a park bench. He seemed exhausted.
"Where are the paramedics?" I asked again.
"They're all so busy with the bombing and everything. We're not considered top priority patients." Morgan scoffed.
"But Prentiss and Hotch are hurt!" I argued. This was outrageous. And Serena was still missing!
"I know, kid. We'll get help as soon as there are paramedics available. And once the smoke clears, we'll all go and search for Serena."
I sat down next to Hotch as the rest of the team discussed their next move. I clicked my tongue, and Hotch winced. This was pretty ahrd to imagine. Hotch, weak and all. He was always so strong, and calm. He was the backbone of the team.
"Sorry." I apologized softly.
"It's alright, I'm just a bit jumpy." He replied.
"I thought the hearing problem went away."
"I did too." After some pause he said, "Well, you're a doctor. Am I gonna lose my hearing forever?"
"I'm not a medical doctor, Hotch."
"Right, sometimes I forget that."
More silence.
"You know, Rossi told me what the gas was gonna do. I forgot the chemical name, it was so long."
I decided now wasn't the time to tell him the name. I didn't want to be annoying.
"You saved thousands of lives today, Reid." He said. As if an afterthought, he added, "No more need to throw books."
I laughed lightly. It felt unfamiliar. I heard Garcia's desperate shouts on the phone to Morgan, and him calming her down. Rossi was on the phone with the director. Prentiss and JJ were talking. The team almost felt whole again. Almost. Where the hell are you, Serena?
Author's note: Hi again! Whoo another chapter! I had a lot of fun with Specer's POV! It was so interesting to write from his perspective. Also, I caught a small mistake in the previous chapter and I apologize for that I was probably rushing T^T
Anywayssss do you think they're gonna find Serena? OOooooOOOo
Please leave a review if you can, and a follow and favorite would be appreciated! Thanks for reading!
~ Mel