It was too quiet.
For all the times Reid has awoken from a state of unconscious in the past hours there had at least been some indication of where he was – Angie's cocoon of campy music, the cage with Emily shaking him back to life and the dripping, moist depths of the cellar where Davey had left him for dead.
Maybe he was dead, he thought; Dead and somehow hanging on to awareness.
However, the sound of soil spilling onto wood shattered that notion. And strangely enough the sound was coming from above. Gazing up in pitch black he could not see where it was coming from or why. But with hands no longer cuffed he was able to reach above. His fingertips grazed what appeared to be rough, unsanded wood. It wasn't just above him either… it was all around.
Finally it made sense: he was in a makeshift coffin.
And the dirt…
They were burying him alive.
Releasing all notion of calm, the young doctor flailed out in an uncontrollable wave of panic. This specific nightmare had plagued him ever since he was rescued from the graveyard on Marshall Parrish, where Charles Hankel promised to bury him alive.
Now it was actually happening.
His mind raced for some solution, but it was hopeless. This underground prison was impenetrable without outside help.
Suddenly he felt movement. However, it was coming from beneath him. Based on the faint impact he surmised someone else was trapped as well. It could only be Emily – possibly kicking from below.
Ever since the Tobias Hankel affair the fear of being buried alive lingered in his mind. Every so often, before he closed his eyes to go to sleep at night, he would be transported back to that scene, thanking whatever had prevented him from meeting such a grim end. Yet, here he was again.
All he could do was wait – wait for some miraculous rescue or wait to die.
Adrenaline ran through Morgan's veins as he drove the SUV through the barren road leading to Ismay. An ambulance followed close behind, silent so it would not alert the unsubs of their arrival. Even a copter flew overhead to transport the agents if their circumstances were dire. They weren't going to take any chances.
Rossi remained silent in the passenger seat. There wasn't much to say. Their agents – their friends – were out there and time was running out.
Almost a half hour passed before they reached the same sign Reid, Prentiss and J.J had met more than 24 hours before. According to Garcia, J.J's call had come from the center of town. It only took another few miles to reach the location. Illuminated in the headlights, Morgan could make out three figures. Two appeared to be down, with one kneeling over one of the bodies.
Oh God, he thought to himself. We're too late.
Parking the SUV in the middle of the rode, Morgan grabbed his glock and carefully approached the scene before him. It was J.J for sure, even though she was barefoot, wearing a child-like dress. He was able to release a sigh of relief when he realized the body was not Reid or Prentiss, but a man in his 20's. The other body was also someone else.
"J.J..." Rossi started, as he approached behind Morgan with Hotch joining them after parking his own vehicle.
She looked up at them – her blue eyes larger than ever and filled with tears.
"He… he tried to save me," she said quietly in a daze.
"J.J, where are Prentiss and Reid?" Hotch demanded. They could comfort her later. Now they needed to find the other agents.
"T-the house. T-they were in the house… on the h-hill," she stammered. "Unsubs… they hurt them."
The three agents looked at each other. This terrain was new to them. They would have to get their traumatized friend to lead them there.
"J.J, you gotta take us there," Morgan said, kneeling next to her.
Her eyes filled with fright, but she nodded in agreeance. Morgan helped her up into the SUV.
"Just follow us there with the ambulance and the back-up team. And get word to the helicopter," he said to Hotch once J.J was secured in the vehicle. He nodded and followed Rossi to their own SUV.
It took a deal of navigating, but J.J eventually led them to the location that had served as the three agents personal hell for the last day or so. The house on the hill looked menacing as they approached – especially since it contained horrors unknown.
"Stay here, it'll be okay," Morgan said, giving her hand a light squeeze. "We're gonna get you all home."
J.J still looked frightened, but she nodded and closed her eyes – seemingly retreating into her mind.
Morgan reconvened with Hotch and Rossi along with the officers from Miles City.
"From what I could get out of her it sounds like there are at least three unsubs in there. They're armed and have two of our agents hostage," Morgan told the group.
"Let's move, we don't know how much time they have," Hotch confirmed.
Morgan and Hotch took the back route while Rossi and the rest of the unit entered through the front.
Morgan could hear the shout of "clear" as they crept along the side of the house. As they approached the backyard the sound of a shovel hitting ground could be heard. Two unsubs appeared to be covering something up. Another round of dread hit Morgan at full force as he couldn't help but wonder if they were burying the bodies of their friends. Hotch gave him a look that suggested he was having similar thoughts.
"FREEZE!" Hotch yelled, "Drop your weapon and get on the ground, now!"
The larger of the two men froze and dropped his weapon as he was told while the second made chase. Morgan darted after him in pursuit.
"Rossi, come in," Hotch spoke into his communication unit. "We have one unsub back here on the ground and Morgan is going after another one on the run."
"Copy," Rossi said. "We found an elderly woman. She was armed, but she's being taken into custody now… Hotch, this place… you have to see this."
"You have to see this," Hotch responded, looking out into the field of hundreds of cars.
He regained his composure and apprehended the man before him.
"Where are they?" he growled as he handcuffed him from behind.
The man laughed callously.
Hotch tightened the cuffs in response.
"WHERE ARE THEY?"
"In hell," the man said maniacally, nodding toward the ground.
Hotch froze. They were buried in the ground.
"Rossi, get the unit out here now. Reid and Prentiss are buried out here. They might still be alive."
Once back up arrived, Hotch grabbed the shovel and started digging as fast as humanly possible. He was not about to lose his agents and friends to these inbred diseases.
Morgan returned with the second unsub in custody just as the team started to reach the pine box five feet under the ground. He jumped into the hole and started removing dirt with his bare hands.
"Reid, Prentiss, you're safe. We're here," Morgan yelled.
Careful not to hit whoever was inside, Hotch cracked open the box from the side to reveal Reid inside, hanging onto consciousness.
"Oh my God," Morgan released. He could make out the carvings on his chest and the rest of the bruising and cuts on his body. He was wincing, half stunned by the appearance of his friends.
"Reid, we got you," Morgan said calmly, pulling him up.
"We need the medic!" he yelled. The ambulance crew quickly made its way over and covered Reid with a blanket before putting him inside and hooking him up to fluids.
After removing Reid's box, they moved onto Prentiss. After cracking hers open she nearly burst out and grabbed onto the nearest person – Hotch. He held her unclothed form tightly as she began to sob.
"I need to call Garcia…." Morgan muttered to Rossi as they watched the scene.
Prentiss, it appeared, was in far worse condition than Reid and was placed in the helicopter, which had landed on the front lawn of the estate. Hotch went with her, tightly holding her hand in support.
"Thank you," she rasped, before losing consciousness.