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A/n thanks in advance to all my readers. This story takes place after the end of the current season.
It was a black night in early March. Clouds roiled over the starless sky and thunder boomed directly over an ancient Volvo slowly traversing a lonely highway in rural Maryland. A blustering wind drove torrents of rain onto the automobile, the windshield, and the sodden ground. It tossed the trees that closely crowded the two-lane into a frenzied dance of ebony shadows across the winding road.
Dr. Spencer Reid gripped the steering wheel of his car and tried to survey the unlit road by way of headlights, flashes of lightning and wipers that did their best to keep the windshield clean of skeins of rain. He eased his foot up from the accelerator and let the speed of the automobile drop further as the punishing rain abruptly increased to a deluge. The water fluttered in the backwash of his headlights and made vision nearly impossible.
The road curved ahead of him and he took it with extreme caution. His speed hovered at twenty miles per hour. He wondered if he'd find a place to pull off until the storm passed, but he hadn't seen a car, a house, a business, or a wide spot in the road for the last ten miles. In fact, he hadn't seen another human, or animal in two hours. It was as if the storm had somehow washed away every living thing and he was alone in a post-apocalyptic landscape of water and shadow instead of fire and ash.
Another ferocious gust of wind buffeted the car as he followed a curve in the road. He squeezed the wheel until his hands cramped. "Ah," he groaned and forced himself to relax. "A well thought out shortcut," he berated himself. "You should've listened to Garcia and taken the route she planned with GPS."
He shook his head and smiled to himself, but it was a rueful grin because he had his own smartphone and knew how to access maps powered by GPS, but he liked old-fashioned paper maps. He liked the feel of them in his hands and the sound they made when he unfolded one to memorize it. He blinked and realized that he'd reached another bend in the road and slowed again.
"Why," he asked himself. "There's no one out here. You choose it deliberately, remember."
His thoughts of his plan for this long weekend came to a sudden halt as he heard a metallic clang and a loud grinding noise from the front of the car. It was loud enough to be heard over the crash of thunder and the pounding ticks of rain on the windows.
"No," he shouted and realized that he had to pull off the road when the wheel shimmed in his hands and the car nearly went into the opposite lane of traffic. How? Trees crowded so near to the road it was impossible.
"Damn," he shouted when the car swerved again.
He pushed down on the gas pedal and heard the car groan. It shuddered and instead of accelerating ahead, his speed fell to ten miles per hour. The oil light flickered on and then off again and the engine squealed. Another flash of lightning lit the deserted road. His heart began to slam in his throat. He couldn't stop in the middle of the road. He frantically searched along the rural route, as he kept the gas pedal pushed to the floor. The car groaned and his speed hovered at ten miles per hour as he rounded another bend.
When a lightning flash made him blink against its brightness, he saw something to his right and about a hundred feet ahead. It was a second road, a dirt road, but a place to get off the main highway.
"Yes," he shouted and blessed his luck.
He had to haul the wheel with all his strength to turn, but finally, the car responded, and he bumped into the new road. He blew out a breath just as the front wheels rolled over something that caused a small explosion under the car. The automobile hitched, slid and spun around like a child's top. He stomped on the brake, but it was too late. The passenger side of the car slammed into a tree and stalled. His body jerked sideways, and his head met the glass of the driver's side window with a sickening thud and crack. Pain bloomed like a malignant rose through his left temple and the darkness of the night claimed his vision.
CMCMCMCMCM
Two men, one tall and the other stocky, but muscular surveyed the wreck of the car in the backwash of hand-held lamps. Their glow illuminated the interior of the auto and the younger man in the front seat, slumped over the steering wheel. Blood flared scarlet in the golden light and dripped down over his ear and onto his shoulder.
"Is he alive, father," said a female voice behind them.
"I told you to go inside. How many times must I remind you it is not safe for you here."
"But, Father – "
"Do not argue with me, girl," said the tall man through clenched teeth. "Go inside and back to bed."
"Yes, sir."
The tall man watched her go until the shadows of the trees swallowed her whole. He sighed and turned back to the stocky man. "Jarvis, does he still live?"
"He does," said Jarvis. "I can see that he breathes."
"Well, we may be able to turn this to our advantage. We must deal with him carefully. Can you open the door?"
"Yes, sir."
"Then, let us get him out of this cursed rain before we all catch our deaths.
CMCMCMCMCM
She watched her father and Jarvis carry the man from the car up the driveway to the house. Her third-floor window let her see the shape of the man, but not his features. Oh, she wanted to see him again, the glimpse of his profile in the low light of Jarvis's flashlight had captivated her. He reminded her of an Angel in a painting that hung on the wall of her father's study.
A chill hit the base of her spine and rippled to the top of her head. This man, this stranger was from the world outside her reach. Her father had always warned her what would happen if she stepped outside the confines of their property. She went back to the window and saw that Jarvis was going back to the road. The trees would hide the stranger's car, but her father would have to deal with the vehicle, soon.
She turned away again as lightning flashed in the sky and the rain thundered down the roof of the house. The floor creaked outside her door, and her heart jumped into her throat. She threw off her shawl, crawled into her bed and yanked the blankets over her head. The door handle twisted with a creak and slowly the door swung open on its hinges. She squeezed her eyes tight and tried to slow her breathing.
"I know you do not sleep, Rachel. I felt your eyes on me from your window. Hear me now and stay away from the stranger. He was brought to us for a purpose and I will not allow you to interfere." She heard the rustle of his clothing as the door shut. She let out a breath and began to cry.