Thanks for the reviews! See the author's note at the end.

Chapter Forty-Eight:

"You have to open your eyes at some point."

Reid recognized Iris's voice.

He turned away. Reid's movements were limited, as his wrists were in padded restraints. His right arm hurt from whoever shot him. It was a flesh wound and no bones were broken.

"Spencer, I know shit is dark right now. But there are still reasons to live."

He refused to engage with her.

"I need you, Spencer. I need someone to help me raise this kid."

He squeezed his eyes close.

"Don't you even want to know how this happened?"

Reid kept his expression neutral.

Iris remained silent for a while. Sighing, she left.

He let out a sigh of relief.

…

Reid refused to eat. They force-fed him. He refused to engage with his counselors. The only time he spoke was to tell people to leave. He didn't care how many tears his friends shed; Reid did not want to exist anymore.

Uris was back in full force. No meditation could stop him from ripping Reid's gown off and raping him. The taunting was relentless as Reid screamed himself senseless.

At some point, Reid knew he was being transferred back to the Mercer Institute. He didn't care. It was just a different prison, at this point.

…

Reid woke to the sound of big band music. Someone was singing along. Despite himself, he opened his eyes.

A woman around Reid's age with brown hair a few inches below the chin was working on a tablet while sitting beside him.

"Go away," he said bluntly.

"Nice to meet you too, Dr. Reid. I'm Dr. Maya Selzer."

"So, I've burnt through, my other two shrinks. Aren't you lucky?"

"I do like a challenge," she said.

"Get the fuck out!" he shouted.

"Let me hear the end of the song."

Reid started screaming. Selzer wouldn't turn off the music until the song finished. She tried saying something, but Reid screamed over her. He screamed until he was certain she was gone.

Her voice came from the intercom.

"No one is giving up on you Dr. Reid."

He turned away and closed his eyes.

…

"Anne Frank spoke the truth when she said she believed people were good at heart."

He was losing his mind. It was Maeve's voice.

"Maybe it was her youth that allowed her to believe in the goodness of people despite the atrocities she'd seen. Maybe it was simply the strength of her character. Regardless, Anne Frank is someone we should model our thinking after."

"What are you doing!?" Reid shouted. "STOP THIS! STOP IT!"

Selzer appeared in his line of vision.

"Maeve took a broadcasting elective. It was done on a bet with a friend of hers. She had to record her voice for one such session. We recovered it."

Reid turned away. Calvin's voice came on next. Reid tried screaming over it, but Selzer kept pushing the volume higher.

"Anyone who works in the field knows there's a risk. I gladly accept the risk to live life to the fullest. What is the point of life we don't risk something to achieve greatness?"

Reid was coughing, as he started to cry.

"Stop," he whimpered. "Stop."

"What do you want Dr. Reid?"

He couldn't stop coughing. He shut her out.

"This," he sputtered out. "Darkness. Alone."

Author's Note:

I didn't want Reid to get better at the end of the chapter. As someone who has suffered from depression, I know how recovering any sense of function doesn't happen on a schedule. It takes time.

If you know who Selzer is from, God loves you for putting up with me back then. I really didn't know what I was doing.