A Trick

I've been sitting here sort of holding my self together. I've been listening to what they have to say but they can offer me nothing. I would like a promise that they will let me go if I find Spencer and Emily, but they won't do that and they really would have been fools if they had. I would have taken full advantage of the offer and killed indiscriminately between now and that time we find them. Alas it's not meant to be.

I light up and watch them ranting and waving arms around. The deeper I take my smoke down the deeper I can feel it healing. I can stall them. I can keep them a bay for a short while, but I'm not taking this crowd onwards with me if I can help it.

The dogs are letting off the occasional yelp but mainly only when they get too close to me. Which I find amusing but laughter hurts. I don't want to laugh right now…my head might come off…then I'll be up shit creek.

So I sit and smoke and watch and snarl when the dogs get too near and I watch some more and they watch me.

It happens differently this time.

Not the same as with Sam.

Yet I feel it – I feel it with such sudden pain that I think I must let out a noise of some sort because the two Feds turn to look at me. I keep my mouth shut but I know I'm rocking. I know I am purposefully smacking the back of my head on the tree.

I look at the two blokes and when it's obvious they aren't going to pounce on me I close my eyes tightly and let the scream escape. It escapes in a long silent wail. They mustn't know. They must never know. I can feel wetness leaking from my eyes and racing down my face so I wipe it away quickly and try to think, but Taki is making it hard for me. He is making this far more personal than it already was, which I think is the whole damned point. First Sam, and taking Spencer from me and now he has Prentiss and has taken Rosa. I don't remember doing it but at some point I have risen to my feet and a hand is on my arm.

'What is it?' Hotchner's voice.

I look up at him and shake my head. 'Get off me.' I push his hand away. 'Don't touch me. Don't come near me.' I take a few steps away from him and I am trying to decide what to do. If I go storming the place with this lot he will just slaughter Spencer out of hand. He won't care by then, his job will be done. He will have taken everything which is mine. I think back. I think a long way back when my only love was the princess a Frankenstein child but I loved her…but it didn't matter…she wasn't real…this time…now…I have this weakness and Taki is using it.

There are a few things I could do. I could kill this lot then move out to find Spencer. I know the basic direction I need to go in. Really it wont take much to find him. Taki knows this but then I cant blame this lot of deaths on Spence. There is also the risk that I might, just might, in the weakened condition I'm in right this second, I might you know, not win and that's a risk I'm none too willing to take.

What I need to do is get away from them.

I light up again and look at the diminishing pile of smokes. I will have to replenish that somehow at some point.

I need Spence.

I need to hold him and smell him.

I need to push my face in his hair and breathe him in and feel him pressing against me.

I need to get to him.

'I need a slash.' I tell them as I suck in the smoke. I spit the butt out and put my hand to my neck. It is sore and sticky but not deadly. Not now anyway. I put my hand to the hole in my side and again it is sticky but not with anything fresh. I really do need to pee though so this is my chance. I start to do it here. You know, in the clearing, with them watching.

'Can you go somewhere else and do that?' The voice of Morgan, and I knew he'd say something. I knew it. Predictable little man. I turn and walk away – and I walk away from the direction I know Spence is in. I can feel him…I can feel he is behind me now. I walk to the small line of trees and look quickly behind me. They are watching me. Keeping a careful eye on me. I do have a pee. There into the undergrowth, but I don't turn back and return to the party in the forest.

One step forward.

One to the side.

I hear my name being called, but by then I'm moving. I'm moving fast and I'm moving on all fours. I run like the very wind its self. My feet and hands hardly touching the forest floor…my scent I push out behind me to mask and confuse. I keep going straight, almost, I round trees and I by pass things but I keep in a general straight direction.

Then I stop. I stop and I lay my scent for them. Something for the dogs to find. I make it nice and obvious for them by snapping twigs and then with their voices in the distance I move off again this time I am upright and my feet move fast. They move sure and the dogs will no more be able to track me than they could Taki.

I am off at a tangent and moving back on myself. Faster and faster. The plant life leaps out of the way as I sweep through now finally feeling Spencer at my front again.

He has killed my sweet little Rosa and I don't know how I am going to repay him for this. I don't know what I will do or be capable of doing until I reach my babes. I might have to just get him out and leave revenge for another time.

I know my options are limited.

I know Taki is luring me.

I know that is how he got Sam. I'm not Sam though. Well I am, but I'm not so easily fooled and Spence has Sam in him ready for when I get him back again.

All I need to do now is remember that I am not at full strength and that Taki is.

-o-o-o-

I stand with my back against the wall and just look at the scene in front of me. Whoever this person is and he hasn't introduced himself yet has left the three of us alone. My arms are at my side and the back of my head is pressed hard against the wall. I look at Reid who is kneeling on the floor being sick down a drain. I can hear him crying. I think. I think that is what the sound is. He is rocking back and forth on his hands and knees and he is bringing up food he must have eaten a long time ago. Thick drools of green slime is slipping from between his lips. I can see his eyes are open. I can see tears, but I don't know if they are from anger and frustration or from sadness of what just happened.

Now I glance at the child. He took her head off. Completely off. He stabbed into her chest and then kicked her two separate parts out of the way. He told me that it is my turn next, but he is going to have fun first. He is going to play first and he ran a very long fingernail down the side of my face.

And what did I do?

How did I react?

I just stood there and let him do it.

I stood and listened to the howling coming from Reid.

I leaned on the wall to stop myself from falling over and I let him touch me. I let him move his hand down my chest and across my hips and I tipped my head back and let him.

I don't know why.

I don't know why I let him do that to me and in a way I wish I was Spencer. I wish I too was on my hands and knees and giving in to the need to vomit and scream.

Now we are alone.

I try not to keep looking at what remains of the child. I bite on my bottom lip and I wipe my sweaty palms on the side of my pants legs and I take in a deep shuddering breath. I have to help him. I have to get him to stop what he is doing and listen to me. We have to get the hell out of this place.

He is curled up on his side now and he is just laying there staring out into nothing. I walk slowly forward until I can crouch down and reach out to him with my shaking hand.

'Spencer.' I say it quietly, but he doesn't react. 'Spencer!' and I shake him gently, but still he doesn't react. 'Reid! Snap out of it. We have to get out of here.'

'He will kill me.' His voice is so low it is hardly even a whisper. 'I tried to protect her Emily. I tried.'

I move around so I am behind him and then I sit with my legs crossed. I then take a hold of Reid's shoulders and pull him towards me. He doesn't resist. He lets me do it and rests his head on my lap. He is shaking and his skin is cold but sweaty. I push my fingers through his damp hair. 'Reid we have to get out of here.'

'We can't. We have to wait now. Now it's too late.' He is rocking again and now I can see he his scratching at his chest and stomach. Digging his nails in and making his skin bleed. I put my hands over his to stop him and for a little while he does. His hands are still. In tight fists against his chest. I knew Spencer was a skinny guy, but I didn't realise how thin until now and that skinny bony body is covered in sores and bruises. I can see along his right side where feet have made contact with his ribs. I can see the bleeding under the skin.

'It's not too late.' I need to keep his moral up. I have to stop this decline I can see in him before it is too late.

He turns around so he is lying on his back, his head still resting on my lap. 'Emily, you saw what he did. If he will do that to her then he will have no problem taking from us what he wants. Please believe me. Don't fight him on it.' I'm not sure if Reid is saying what I think he is, but if thinks I am going to let some weird samurai rape me with no protest then he needs to think again. I run my fingers down the side of his face.

'Is that what he did to you?' He holds his hands up for me to see. At first I think its his bloodied fingertips and nails he is showing me and then I see the bruises on his wrists. 'He restrained you? He raped you?' But he doesn't answer, he puts his hands back to his chest and he is scratching at his pale skin again. 'You need to stop doing that Reid.' But this time he pushes my hands away from him.

'I need to do this Emily so Sam can get out.'

And now I am puzzled. Is there more than one Sam?

'Get out? Where is he?'

But he stops communicating with me now. The only things he says are words telling me to leave him alone. When I try again to move his hands from the cuts on his chest he pushes away from me and crawls back to next to the drain. I can see blood on the back of the sarong he is wearing. I can see where he has been abused but there is nothing I can do to help him now. All I can do is keep up a gentle barrage of words so that he knows I am still here, but if the point of this exercise was to break Reid then he has likely succeeded.

I watch him rocking gently and occasionally being sick. I listen to the strange noises he is making for about an hour. Then the door opens and the guy walks in.

-o-o-o-

I know he's come for Prentiss. I cant let that happen. He's done this to me, I wont let him do this to her too. I've failed in protecting the girl, I swear I will die to keep his hands off Emily. I don't look at his face. I am careful. I need to play his sick game. I roll onto my hands and knees but I keep my head down. I cant look at him. If I look at him he will know he has failed. And he has. He has failed. I'm not as broken as he thinks I am. The Reid part of me might have been destroyed, but the Sam part of me isn't going to let him hurt anyone else.

'What do you want dog?' and he spits on the floor between my hands. I want to flinch away from it. Part of me wants to curl up and keep my back tight against the wall, but no, I can't, I have to do this. I have to keep his attention away from Prentiss.

I crawl slowly towards him, mindful to keep my head down. I reach out and touch his left foot with my right hand and I am waiting. I am sure he will start to kick but he doesn't. He stands and lets me do it. I don't know what Emily is doing. I don't want her to be watching, but at the same time it's not going to stop me doing this if it means he will leave her alone. I move my hand to his leg and I crawl in closer.

'You want me?'

His voice. I don't know how it makes me feel. It is a beautiful voice I know that and the sound of it makes my stomach twist and my hand hold tighter to his leg. Still he doesn't move so I move in even closer and crawl my way up his legs with both hands. I need desperately to distract him from Emily. I need to give her this chance, maybe her only chance to get away. I just hope she realises that is what I am doing. The part of me which has closed down and vacated is screaming. I can hear it in my head. It is howling at me to stop what I am planning here. It is telling me I will throw up. It is telling me…..

Filth.

Scum

Pervert

Freak

Dog

But it's not going to stop that other part of me, that part which is excited and willing to give myself to the man who just decapitated a small child. I can feel him inside me manipulating my hands to do what he wants me to do. I still keep my face down and I lick my lips greedily as my hand brushes against the front of Taki's clothing.

'Say please.' I am told and a hand rests on the top of my head and I feel the fingers twisting in my hair. Somewhere a small groan of need escapes from between my lips.

'Please.' I am begging him like a common whore.

-o-o-o-

At first I don't know what Reid is doing. I slowly get to my feet though as I see him moving in and touching the guy standing there. I don't want this to be happening. I don't want to watch Spencer give this guy a blow job and I can clearly see that is what is going down here. I can see the way this person has complete control of Spencer and I want to run in and drag him away but that isn't going to help either of us. I watch. I watch the back of Reid's head for a short while and then move my eyes upwards to the face which is looking down at Reid. He is not paying any attention to me. I can see the perfect mouth is open slightly and gradually the eyes close and the head tips back. I need to get out but I am held here watching this display. Watching Reid degrade himself to this extreme for me, to give me the chance to get away. I see the guys other hand move over and rest on Spencer's head and now I am moving. I move fast to the door and pull it open and I am out and I am running. I will get help. I will come back with a weapon. I will come back…I promise. I will come back for you Spencer.

I hope he knows.

-o-o-o-

She's gone.

But I don't stop.

Actually now she is gone I can relax into this and let my inner self take over and do this. I can feel Taki shudder under my hands. I rest one on a hip and slide the other around to behind him, to keep him in place. To keep him still. I need to make it last. I want to make it last…not just so that Emily can get further away, but because I am enjoying this.

I know I will pay for it.

I know he is going to be cross.

I have a feeling I might join the child dead in the corner of the room for doing this. I have, hopefully tricked him. I have….

Oh god this is so good.

I show him all the tricks Floyd has shown me.

I need to show him what a dirty slut I am. That is the only way he is going to let me live after this. I am going to have to give him better than he thought possible.