The Chase (Criminal Minds)

Knockin' On Heaven's Door

"One, two, three!" Morgan shouted as he kicked the door down with brute force.

The team rushed into the house one by one, each agent taking off in different directions to search the house.

JJ and Morgan ran upstairs. They took turns checking all the rooms and closets.

"Clear!" Morgan yelled down the stairs.

Rossi and Hotch went out the back door and searched the perimeter of the house.

"All clear!" Rossi yelled once they got back inside.

Prentiss was the only one left. She ran into the living room where she saw Reid hovering over someone.

"Reid?"

She took slow steps towards him, not exactly sure what to do. She stopped to listen. Reid was mumbling.

"I hope you rot in hell you son of a bitch..."

It wasn't until she was behind Reid that she saw what was happening.

"Reid, stop!" She yelled, wrapping her arms around Reid's torso as she tried to pull him away from Victor's pale lifeless body.

Reid resisted against her as he kept his grip on Victor's neck.

"HE DID THIS," Reid screamed. "HE DID THIS TO US! TO EVERYONE!"

Prentiss was still trying to pull him away but realized it was a losing battle. She never knew how strong Reid was when he wanted to be.

Having no other choice, she put her hands together and connected her elbows. She then used all the strength she had as she slammed her elbows down into the middle of Reid's back.

Reid immediately fell down, losing his grip on Victor.

Finally getting her chance, she quickly swooped in and pushed him away from the body. He tried to get away, but she grabbed his arms and gripped them tight.

She took a moment to look Reid straight in the eyes.

She barely even recognized the face of one of her closest friends.

His eyes were bloodshot, his hair was greasy and tangled, and his clothes were tattered and stained with sweat. Even his normally dark eye circles were darker than usual.

The man she was looking at didn't look human.

He looked broken.

Holding his arms, Prentiss noticed the burn marks covering his arms. Some of them looked like they were infected. She saw blood covering his wrists from the excessive rope burns and could only imagine the struggle he went through to obtain them.

Prentiss was furious. Even though Victor was dead, there was a part of her that wished she could have been the one to kill him.

The one to watch the life slowly leave his eyes.

She finally snapped back to reality.

"Reid, what happened to you?" She asked with a deep tone of pity.

Reid was in his own world. Almost like he was having an internal battle with himself.

"Reid," Prentiss repeated. "What did he do to you?"

Reid looked at the ground for a moment and then up at Prentiss. She thought he was going to start screaming again.

"He..." Reid breathed. "He killed her..."

He collapsed to the floor and held his hands to his face as he cried.

Prentiss picked him off the ground and held him in her arms.