Eidetic - A Criminal Minds/Spencer Reid Story

Chapter Seven - Tough Luck

"Survival is nothing more than recovery." - Dianne Feinstein

ONE WEEK LATER

*Vivian Santos*

You would think that even FBI agents in the BAU deserve a break now and then, but vacations were almost unheard of in the BAU. I've learned that even one night spent in your own home is a break all on its own. It hadn't even been a full twenty-four hours after the kidnapping case that we were being sent off to El Paso, Texas to investigate the murders of three college students who had been completely gutted post-mortem and then dumped in a local park. I love this new job, but I was beginning to miss how I was able to sleep in my own bed for days on end when I was in San Francisco.

"Everyone ready?" Hotch asked when we had all strapped on our vests. We had gathered outside of the unsub's secondary location which was an abandoned slaughterhouse just outside the city. Considering the fact that our unsub was gutting his victims completely, I wasn't exactly thrilled to see the inside of this slaughterhouse. "Morgan, Viv, and I will take the west entrance. Dave, Reid, and JJ take the east entrance. We'll each take a SWAT unit with us," said Hotch.

Just as we were about to split up, Reid put his hand on my back. "Be careful," he whispered in my ear before rushing off behind Hotch and Morgan. I felt shivers down my spine. I wouldn't admit it in front of him, but maybe I did have feelings for Reid. But that was impossible, right? I've only known the guy for a month...

"Viv, let's go," I heard JJ call from behind me. I turned around and hurried off after her and Hotch with SWAT agents following closely behind us.

After the door was busted in, we rushed into the cold, dark building. The slightest scent of musk was in the air and the walls were beginning to discolor. "JJ, take the SWAT agents and keep heading that way. Viv and I will go this way and see if we can find the girl he abducted this morning," Hotch ordered.

"Copy that. Let's go, guys," she said. Once her and the SWAT unit had gone off, Hotch and I rushed off in the other direction.

Being in a creepy, dark slaughterhouse wasn't doing a lot of good for my confidence. Every little sound made me spin around and shine my flashlight on everything. If there was one thing that I was absolutely afraid of when I was alone, it was dark. However, I wasn't by myself, I was with Hotch. I was going to be fine. "Viv, head that way. We'll cover more ground if we split up," Hotch said. He headed off down the other end of the hallway. Great, now I was by myself.

I'm not exactly sure how my fear of the dark came about, but ever since I was little, I have been terrified of the dark. It was mostly due to the fact that I couldn't see what was around me. Even though I had my flashlight with me, I could only see whatever I shined it on, and it wasn't very comforting. As I walked further and further down the hallways, the more uneasy I felt. I knew that he was here somewhere, watching me, waiting for me to slip up and let my guard down.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash from around the corner and it made me jump. Slowly, I walked towards it with my flashlight and my gun pointed out in front of me. When I reached the corner, I looked around it and saw that there was nobody there.

I felt something hard hit me in the back and I fell face first to the ground. Rolling onto my back, I saw the unsub standing over me holding a baseball bat. He was tall with long hair and his clothes were disheveled. He wore a long white apron over his clothes and he reeked of blood and alcohol. "Tough luck, girlie. I get to kill an FBI agent today!" he exclaimed. He raised the bat over his head again, but I was able to roll out of the way before it came crashing down next to me. I quickly got to my feet and tried to pick up my gun my flashlight, but he pushed me down to the ground again. "You should've known better than to mess with me!" He pulled me up and punched me in the face, knocking me down again.