Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds

Chapter Four- Present Day

4:06 a.m. Mississippi

She was miserable, in pain and freezing lying all alone on the cement floor of a dark room. She had no idea what time of day it was as absolutely no light entered the cracks in the damp cellar. Her captor had left her sometime ago, wrists and ankles bound together on the floor. She twisted her wrists in an attempt to loosen the ropes. She looked in awe at her wrists when she felt the ropes loosen slightly and regained just a little bit of hope.

5:32 a.m.

Drops of rain covered the windshield faster than the wipers could clear them away. Hotch attempted to squint through the rain as he drove at alarming speeds down the water filled streets. Rossi sat next to him completely unconcerned with Hotch's driving technique as he tapped his foot absentmindedly to the beat of the radio. JJ was of course a different story. She sat in the back seat, her hand gripping the door handle for dear life. She closed her eyes tightly when the large SUV began to hydroplane, a small yelp coming from her lips. Hotch quickly regained control, JJ letting out a sigh of relief.

Morgan drove along the roads at his normal frightening speed. The rain seemed to be pelting down harder than it had been even a minute ago. Morgan looked at the clock as he began to press down on the gas pedal even harder, causing the SUV to turn completely sideways as it skidded down the road. Prentiss turned her gaze to Morgan, large eyes gaping at him with fear, but she kept quiet trusting him to regain control. Reid sat in the back eyes squeezed shut as he mumbled something under his breath that sounded like "Please God, not today, not today."

5:56 a.m.

As soon as the car came to a halt Reid opened his door and fled from the SUV glad that the torturous ride had come to an end. Morgan laughed slightly at Reid's abrupt departure from the vehicle. Reid scowled at him before turning to Prentiss for help. Prentiss just raised an eyebrow before she turned towards the road to await the others arrival. Reid crossed his arms with a pout before turning to Morgan and sticking out his tongue. "Relax kid, we're alive," Morgan stated before walking up beside Prentiss. 'True', Reid thought. The day really couldn't get much worse, little did he know, it could, and it did.

6:03 a.m.

Rossi was snoring lightly in the front seat. JJ slapped his arm angrily wondering how he could sleep through such a dramatic car ride. Rossi sat straight up, now alert and looked around as if trying to get his bearings. Then he felt the sting in his arm, realizing what had awoken him from his peaceful slumber he turned and scowled at JJ.

Hotch was trying desperately to keep control of the vehicle but the heavy rains and winds were making it extremely difficult. He let out a puff of air in frustration as he heard Rossi and JJ bickering beside him, breaking his concentration. He looked at the GPS, only 5 miles to go.

6:06 a.m.

Prentiss looked at her watch for what felt like the millionth time in the past five minutes. Where in the hell were they? Morgan and Reid had returned to the vehicle to keep dry while Prentiss had been assigned to watch out for the rest of the team. She squinted through the rain as it ran quickly down her face before dripping off the end of her nose and chin, hoping that they would soon arrive.

6:08 a.m.

With a mile to go JJ actually began to believe they were going to make it scathe free. Hotch had slowed down his pace considerably as water had started to flood the roads, and the wheels began to hydroplane more frequently. She was taking deep breaths in and out, keeping herself calm, as she needed a level head if they were going to catch this unsub.

Hotch held his hands steady on the wheel, forcing the vehicle to drive as straight as possible. He had never encountered such a rain fall in his entire life. Beads of sweat were visible on his forehead as he continued to remind himself that it wasn't that much farther. He wondered if the rest of the team were there yet, wondering if they had survived Morgan's brutal driving and such extreme weather conditions.

6:10 a.m.

Prentiss was now shivering as her clothes were soaked through and clinging to her skin. She was about to say the hell with it and head back to the vehicle when she noticed headlights shining through the blanket of rain. 'Finally' she mumbled to herself before hurrying to get Morgan and Reid and strapping on her vest. It was time to take down another unsub she thought to herself and awaited Hotch's instructions.

JJ threw her hair up in a slick ponytail before putting on her vest and jumping out of the vehicle. Morgan, Prentiss and Reid were already standing with their vests on ready to go. She turned her attention to Hotch and awaited his instructions.

Morgan's hands were shaking with anticipation as he awaited the arrival of the other team members. He startled when the back door was pulled open and Prentiss stuck her head in. "They're here," she announced as she grabbed her vest and fastened it around herself. Morgan jumped out of the vehicle quickly and headed over to the other SUV and awaited Hotch's instructions.

Rossi was now wide awake thanks to his short nap in the car. He watched as JJ quickly readied herself before stepping out of the vehicle into the pouring rain. He stepped out of the vehicle to stand next to her and awaited Hotch's instructions.

Reid stepped out of the vehicle, slipping in the mud. He grabbed the open car door to steady himself before again attempting to walk towards the rest of the group. He pushed his long hair from his eyes as the water dripping from his bangs distorted his view. He walked up to the rest of the team and awaited Hotch's instructions.

Once the team had gathered in front of him Hotch cleared his throat before beginning instructions. They had about 500 meters to walk before they reached the driveway. They would walk up in two groups, one entering the back door and the other the front. Hotch, Rossi and JJ would cover the front, while Morgan, Reid and Prentiss took the back. On Hotch's signal they were to enter and clear the rooms as quickly as possible. They had two goals, to catch the unsub, and bring out Jesse Taylor alive. After asking if everything was understood the team nodded and they were on their way.

6:13 a.m.

Jesse continued to work away at loosening the ropes around her wrists as she had been doing for the last several hours. They continued to dig farther and farther into her wrists causing blood to flow freely over the ropes and onto the floor. She bit at the ropes pulling forcefully with her teeth as the rope finally gave way. She made quick work of sitting up and undoing the ropes from around her ankles. Feeling along the wall she found the door and to her delight it was unlocked. Her captor had clearly underestimated her abilities but she wasn't about to complain. She climbed the stairs and took off into the night.

6:14 a.m.

Her cries of pain had silenced long ago, now only the sound of the falling rain filled his ears. He sat alone in an empty room nothing but the darkness and a single chair accompanying him. He felt sadness begin to overcome him yet again as visions of his wife danced throughout his mind. It was time again, time to sacrifice another in her memory. He stood slowly from his chair and made his way towards the basement stairs. The sound of the screen door flapping in the wind startled him and he turned to look out into the cloud covered hours of the early morning. He squinted through the rain when he noticed the bright yellow sundress running across the yard and without further thought he dashed out into rain.

6:16 a.m.

Dark clouds rumbled over head just as a flash of lightning illuminated the sky. The team worked their way towards the house as fast as they could against the rain and wind. Morgan, Prentiss and Reid crossed the yard and prepared themselves at the back door waiting to hear Hotch's voice over the radio. Morgan stood facing the door prepared to kick it down as Prentiss stood slightly behind him. Reid faced the back yard, where the raging river ran through no more than 100 feet away, looking for any sign of the unsub, or Jesse Taylor. If not for the bright yellow dress she wore, he would have missed her completely.

Hotch, Rossi and JJ walked up the front stairs, guns ready to be used if needed. Hotch was about to whisper the word 'go' into the radio when Morgan's voice came through the other end.

"Guys, get to the back. Two people are running along the river, it appears to be Jesse Taylor and the unsub. Without a word the three of them were off the front steps and running in the direction of the river.

6:18 a.m.

Reid fell slightly behind Morgan and Prentiss as they sprinted towards the two figures running across the yard. Occasionally one of them would slip and have to get back upright before beginning to sprint again. They were extremely close to the unsub and his victim now, no more than a meter or two away. Morgan leaped at the unsub, pulling him to the ground just as Jesse slipped on the bank, nearly falling into the water. Prentiss caught up with her then, reaching out a hand to help her back up. Just as Jesse began to stand, she again lost her balance, pulling herself and Prentiss into the raging depths of the icy blue water.

A/N: Thanks for reading and please review!