A/N - I was going to update yesterday, I had this all written out but couldn't find the time"/
This chap is a little shorter than the others because if I added the game it would be way too long and you wouldn't get another update either today or tomorrow.
Chapter 4
"What are we going to do now?" Everyone thought for a second.
"Wait a second," Reid said slowly, "We forgot about the necklace. Why set it up in a booby trap if you can just find the next room?" Everyone waited for him to finish but he didn't.
"So, are you saying that you need the necklace to get into the next room? Like if you wore it you wouldn't get hit?" Emily was the first one to work out what he was saying.
"Exactly." Reid pointed his finger at her.
"No guarantees, though." Hotch added.
"I'll go," Derek volunteered, "It seems that lately the girls get all the action." He grinned at Emily and Jennifer who just glared at him. He put the necklace on and stepped into the room. Nothing happened. Hotch tossed him a flashlight.
"Look around a little." He instructed. Morgan scanned the walls until he found a lever. There was a little symbol of a pendulum next to it so he lifted the leaver.
"Guys!" He yelled, "I shut off the ceiling thing!"
"I believe it's called a pendulum." Reid told him as he stepped into the room.
"Whatever, man." Morgan rolled his eyes.
"Here." JJ held out her hand for Emily to take and pulled her up off of the floor.
"Thanks. Ugh, that's going to leave a mark in the morning," Prentiss grumbled, stretching her arm, "Lets go." She led Agent Jareau into the room with the others.
"What's in here?" JJ questioned the group as she and Emily joined them.
"There's just another door." Hotch confirmed what they'd found.
"What is the likelihood of there being nothing in the next room?" Garcia turned to Emily.
"I'd say there's more chance of a snowball in hell." She replied, eyes darkening, "Let's just do this." Hotch grabbed the door handle and opened the door cautiously. The lights were on in this room, so the guys all stepped forwards first, and then followed by Garcia. Just as JJ and Emily were about to enter, metal bars shot across the door preventing anyone from getting in or out.
"Son of a Bitch!" Emily yelled, "What should we do?" her voice now quieted with worry.
"You and JJ go back and find somebody." Hotch told her and she nodded.
"Yes Sir." Jennifer grabbed her arm and they made their way back through the pendulum room.
"Shit." Emily said.
"What Em?" Agent Jareau asked worried.
"My dad is more fucked up than we thought." She shared and JJ rubber her arm comfortingly.
"We'll find a way to sort this out." She told her just as they walked out of the room with the desk." But then they both stopped short. There was no longer a hall leading to a ladder. A solid looking wall was in its place and there was now a dark looking corridor leading the other way.
"Should we-" Emily cut her off.
"We don't have a choice."
They both turned on their flashlights and gripped each other tightly with their free hands and slowly made their way into the tunnel. It was a lot longer than they anticipated and as they rounded a corner they could no longer see the lights from the rooms behind them. The hairs on the back of Prentiss' neck stood up on end.
"Jen..."
"I'm right here, Em." She replied soothingly, hearing the fear in the older agent's voice. Suddenly Emily's death grip on her arm disappeared.
"Em? EM?" She screeched as she twirled on the spot as her flashlight picked up nothing. Jennifer Jareau felt something hard hit her round the head.
"Emily…" She mumbled before finally succumbing to the darkness.
Reid finally looked around at the things surrounding them as they waited for the ladies to return. He frowned as he saw a piece of paper on the floor and picked it up.
"What is it, Reid?" Hotch asked him.
"It seems to be some sort of rules. A game perhaps?" He pondered more to himself than the others. Morgan looked around the room.
"So we have to play our way across the room?" He looked confused. The floor was covered with coloured tiles only big enough for one person to stand on.
"Sort of. It says here that one person must sit in that chair over there…" He pointed to a big worn-looking armchair, "And direct everyone else across the board to claim the prizes." Rossi looked around the room and saw two oval shaped cages attached to the far wall with the escape door in between.
"But there aren't any prizes." He pointed out. Just as he spoke a hatch opened in the wall of the cage and an unconscious Agent Prentiss slumped to the floor, then an unconscious Agent Jareau into the other.
"God." Was all Hotch said, his ever-impassive face giving nothing away.
"Prentiss! JJ! Can you hear me?" Morgan yelled to them. JJ was as still as ever, but Emily groaned and lifted her hand to her head in response only to find that they were bound together.
"Emily, are you hurt?" Hotch asked her. The team knew he was concerned because he used her first name.
"Only my head… What happened?" She asked, using her elbows to half sit up.
"We're not sure. What happened after you left here?" Rossi tried to start from the beginning.
"Err… The walls had moved so we couldn't get back to the ladder and the only other way was this really dark tunnel, so me and JJ walked down it and I can't remember any more. I think someone got me from behind, but it's a bit fuzzy…" She trailed off as JJ began to wake up too.
"Em! There you are! I was so scared." JJ sat up and said quickly, but then copied Emily's groan as her head spun.
"JJ," Hotch brought her attention to the team. "What's the last thing you remember?" Jennifer waited a moment before answering as she sorted through jumbled up memories in her pounding head.
"It was dark and Em was gone. Something hit me on the head…" She said, reaching up and wincing as she touched the sore spot, "What am I doing in here?" She suddenly asked, only just realizing her surroundings and began tugging at the ropes around her ankles.
"Woah, JJ, slow down. We're going to get you and Prentiss out. Do you trust me?" Morgan asked her and she nodded slowly as to not jar her head too much.
"Good." He turned to Reid, "How are we going to play this?"
"I'll sit at the chair and tell you guys where to go, if you don't mind," Everyone shook their heads so he continued, "JJ and Prentiss can help if they see fit, but I think at the minute they need to rest – they could have a concussion. Basically, we have fifteen minutes exactly to play this game. You can only move forwards one square at a time. After each person has moved something will happen to one of the danger tiles." Morgan interrupted him.
"Then why don't we stay off of the danger tiles?" Reid considered this for a moment then shook his head.
"There isn't enough time. The danger tiles are a risk, but because they are larger you could make more progress." Everyone nodded in grim understanding apart from Garcia.
"That sounds awfully dangerous." She whispered, her eyes wide with looming anticipation at the task ahead." Morgan wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
"Don't worry, baby girl, only one of us has to make it across the board, so if it's okay with everyone else you can stick to the normal squares." Hotch and Rossi nodded in agreement at this statement and Garcia looked a little better.
"Okay. Thanks, my gorgeous chocolate God." She thanked him.
"Ahh, there's the Garcia we know and love." He grinned at her. Getting down to business, Reid finished their conversation.
"Shall we get started then?"
A/N - Sorry if the game doesn't make any sense, I had to make it up on the spot.
Don't forget to review! It makes me write faster!
