GAME
Chapter
3
Level One
"Life is the only game in which the object of the game is to learn the rules" – Ashleigh Brilliant
'We need to get the key and the first aid kit.' Garcia said. 'Do you think you can run?'
Hotch was leaning against the wall. He could barely stand, let alone run. 'How far and how fast?'
'Not far. From the centre of the room to that door over there.'
'What do I need to do?'
'We go down there, collect the key, then the first aid kit, then we use the key to get into the next room through that door.'
'So why do I need to run?'
'Because as soon as we pick up the kit, the roaches are released.'
'Ok,' Hotch said. 'Let's do it.'
They sat on the edge of the ledge. Hotch insisted on going down first. Carefully, he let himself slide off the ledge onto the floor. He stood still for a moment or two.
Nothing happened.
He turned to Garcia.
'Ok, all clear.'
She shuffled closer to the edge. Hotch reached up and took her hands, and she slid off the ledge and looked around.
Cautiously the two stepped towards the centre of the room. The key was about five feet above their heads.
We have to get the key first.' Garcia said. She jumped and tried to snatch it. Hotch just stared at it as it he could release the key by sheer will power. Neither worked.
'One of us is going to have to lift the other.' Garcia said nervously.
Hotch pressed his lips together, and wove his fingers together for Garcia to stand on. With her hands on his shoulders, she kicked off her shoes and stood on his hand. Hotch painfully straightened his back, and Garcia reached up for the key. Hotch was getting a bit wobbly, Garcia had one hand on the top of his head trying not to touch the bloody mess on the side of his head. Hotch silently gritted his teeth, hoping that this wouldn't happen at every level. The effort was making him dizzy.
'Ok boss, I've got it.'
Slowly and shakily he lowered his hands and she stepped off, and slipped back into her shoes. Hotch started a coughing fit and sat on the ground.
'Are you alright Sir?' she asked. 'Do you need a drink?'
'I'm fine Garcia.' He managed to say between coughs. 'Let's get the first aid kit and get the hell out of here.'
Garcia bit her lip. This was the easy level. She bent down and put a hand on the first aid kit.
'Take the key Sir and get ready to try the door.'
He crawled to the door and pulled himself up. He held the key ready.
Garcia grabbed the kit and started to run to Hotch. He slipped the key into the keyhole, and a trap door above him opened.
Thousands of Cockroaches fell from the ceiling. The shock made Hotch scream and Garcia pulled him away and started to pull them off him. They were in his hair and between his shirt and his skin. His instinct was to crush them but that would have meant crushing them against his skin. Suddenly the lights went out and Hotch tried not to get hysterical as they crawled down the collar of his shirt and into the waist band of his trousers. He ripped his shirt off, wanting to scream more but terrified they would get in his mouth.
Pulling them off in the handfulls, Garcia pulled him over to the ledge. One by one more trap doors were opening and thousands were on the floor. As she pulled Hotch away from the creatures she felt them under her feet, crunching and squashing them. It was making her feel sick, but they weren't falling on her.
Frantically Hotch was pulling at his trousers to try to make them fall to the ground, but they were clinging to his underclothes and he couldn't get rid of them. Some of them were biting at his skin where blood had dried, and he smacked them away from his neck and face. Garcia turned him to face the ledge.
'Climb up, Sir, There aren't any on the ledge.'
She threw the first aid kit onto the ledge and guided his foot into her hand much as he had just done for her, and she lifted him up so that he could climb onto the ledge. They had begun to crawl up her legs and she beat at them and threw them off. Hotch reached down for her and she pulled herself up with his help. He pulled his trousers off and shook them hard over the edge, and he pulled the last few from his hair where they were feeding on hid dried blood, and from his underclothes. As he put his trousers back on the lights came on again. Garcia was lying on her back panting and Hotch was sitting against the wall, holding his neck, breathing heavily.
'What the hell? You could have warned me.' He said. 'I've been bitten.'
'That was different to the game. In the game they came out of vents near the floor. The creep has changed it.' She looked at Hotch, who was still breathing heavily from panic and shock. 'Are you alright, Sir?'
'Yes. I am sorry about that. It was a bit of a shock.'
Garcia saw him shudder and wondered at the evil mind of the UnSub. It was a deliberate move that where ever Hotch ran, that was where the roaches fell. He was watching them, and could change the game as he wished. She stood up and shouted.
'You are being unfair!' she yelled. 'You are changing the game to suit yourself!'
-0-0-0-
I watched from the car – wonderful entertainment. Dropping the roaches on Hotchner was a work of genius. Seeing the stuffy unit chief fall apart like that was priceless. I might send a copy of the file to David Rossi. I'm sure he'd love to see a hysterical Hotchner. It would play havoc with his authority if they all saw it. And this was just the roaches.
Have I got some fun stuff lined up for you – if you think that was bad, just wait to see what I have planned for you.
-0-0-0-
Dave and Morgan had all the things out of the cars on the table; Garcia's coat and bag, Hotch's jacket and go-bag. The contents of Garcia's bag were in a tray.
'There are no clues here.' Morgan said. 'Not that I'd know a clue if it jumped up and bit me. Emily might know.'
'Send her a list and ask her. Damned if I know normal handbag contents either. Handbags are a mystery to me.'
Morgan grinned despite his worry. He called Prentiss and told her the contents.
'No all that is normal. She was doing some game research for someone or other. The CD was probably to be posted back. Most of the other things I have in my bag though. Nothing abnormal.'
Morgan sighed. 'Ok Em, it was just an off chance anyway.'
He closed his phone just as Dave's beeped.
'I've been sent a video file.' He said, and waited while it downloaded.
'Who's it from?' asked Morgan as Dave pressed play.
Unknown.' Dave said, and they watched as the screen lit up.
They watched as Hotch lifted Garcia up to get the key. They saw Hotch about to unlock the door as Garcia picked up the first aid kit. Then they watched as thousands of roaches fell onto Hotch. They could see the panic in his eyes as he tried to pull them off, and rip at his clothes. When it went dark, they saw as if through night vision glasses, and Garcia pulling him away from the creatures. They watched helplessly as he and Garcia climbed out onto a ledge and Garcia pulled the last of them out of his hair. He was holding his neck as if he had been bitten.
'What the hell was that all about?' Morgan asked.
'I have no idea. But I think we need Kevin here to help us.'
Morgan was on the phone to Kevin's department head. 'Let's get him then.'
-0-0-0-
'So what's next?' Hotch asked when his heart rate was back to near normal.
'He's cheating, Sir. So since he changes the game to suit himself, none of my knowledge of the game is useful.'
'But your knowledge is all we have to go on for now. What's next?'
'We have to unlock the door and go through to the next level.' She said. 'Which means going back down there.'
Hotch looked down at the disgusting creatures, three thick on the floor.
'We could try unlocking the door from here.' He said. 'I could try leaning over and reaching the key.'
'Ok Boss.' Garcia said doubtfully. 'Let's try it.'
Hotch lay on his front on the ledge above the door. Garcia held his ankles as he reached down for the key.
'I can't reach, Garcia.' He said. 'Help me back up.'
He sat back against the wall again, exhausted and in pain.
'I need to get back down there.' Hotch said. Very carefully he lowered himself onto the floor. The sound of crushing beetles made him feel sick, and the smell was nauseating. As he walked through the roaches, he tried not to tread on them as he made his way to the door. The key was in the door and his adrenalin level rose as he got ready to run.
He slowly turned the key and the door opened. He kept the key in his hand and pushed it wide. He stepped through into the next room with trepidation. Suddenly the door slammed behind him, and Hotch turned back to the door to try to open it, but it was locked again, and there was no keyhole on this side. He banged on the door.
'Garcia, Are you there? What the hell is happening?'
Garcia sat on the edge of the ledge, and looked at the door in horror. She wondered how Hotch would manage the game on his own. Without the key she was trapped on level one, and couldn't move on. Hotch was on his own now, unless...........
Most of the shortcuts and secret passages and bonus areas were lost to Garcia because they didn't work on the game. But if she could find a way through without using the door........
She started to check the walls inch by inch. She didn't think Hotch would be able to make it on his own.
-0-0-0-
Hotch stood with his back to the door waiting.
He'd seen Indiana Jones.
There was no ledge in this room. In the middle of the floor there was a box with the word DRINK written on it. There was no key as far as he could see. He wondered briefly what happened to the first aid kit and hoped it wasn't needed to get through this level. He took a very cautious step into the room. The second he stepped forwards, he notices a yellow smoke pouring in from vents at the side of the room. It quickly overwhelmed him and he started to cough. The foul air burnt his throat and now he realised why the box contained a drink. His eyes streamed as he groped forwards to where he thought the box was. He coughed as he knelt down to find the box, but the smoke was thicker here, and it was filling his lungs and making him light headed.
Ahh he found the box, and tore it open, desperate for a drink before he passed out. A sports bottle was in the box, and he pulled the lid off and took a deep swallow of the sweet water. As he drank, the smoke was sucked from the room. Hotch leaned forwards and coughed harshly as the last of the smoke left his lungs. He was suddenly dizzy with sickness. He tried to stand but his limbs lost their strength and he reached for the water again – the smoke must have had some kind of poison in it. On his hands and knees, he vomited onto the floor, and tried to crawl to the safety of the edge of the room. The bottle slipped out of his hand as he fainted; he didn't see the word written on the side of the bottle........ POISON!