UNDER REVISION Silence in the Scars (A Criminal Minds Story)

Silence in the Scars (A Criminal Minds Story)

PROLOGUE

Spencer Reid walked as silently as he could down the deserted looking hallway. The only noise came from the occasional squeak of his shoes upon the floorboards and the sound of the rest of his team and the police moving through the rest of the house. The beam from his flashlight shone over dusty furniture and an assorted jumble of objects that littered the floor.

Reid entered a room at the end of the hall and scanned the room with his flashlight. A door leading outside stood ajar, but there was nobody in the room. There was a creak of weight on the old wooden flooring behind Reid. Before Reid could turn and see who was there, something heavy connected with the back of his head. Reid dropped to the dusty floor unconscious.

Meanwhile, the rest of the BAU team and the police were assembling outside the abandoned house after a frustrating, dead-end search had revealed no UNSUB and no clues as to who the UNSUB was.

"No sign of the UNSUB," Prentiss said. "The UNSUB must have left after making the call."

"Have you guys seen Reid?" Derek Morgan asked. He had been with Reid in the house, but they had split up to cover more ground.

"Not yet," Prentiss said.

Morgan frowned, his brow furrowed. "Try calling him," he said.

Prentiss pulled out her phone and dialed Reid's number. A hint of worry working it's way into her frown. "It went straight to voicemail."

"That's not a good sign," Rossi said. "He might still be in the house."

JJ walked up to the group. Her posture and expression were both tense and anxious. A plastic evidence bag was clenched tightly in her hand.

"JJ, have you seen Reid?" Morgan asked.

JJ's expression paled. "No. This was left on one of the squad cars." She handed Hotch the evidence bag. There was a torn piece of paper with a short note written in slanted, jerky handwriting.

Hotch took the evidence bag and read the short message out loud for the rest of the team to hear.

"You have three days to get out of town or your agents dead," Hotch read.

The team looked at each other as Hotch reached the end of the note. Each member had the same thought as Hotch handed the evidence bag back to JJ.

Why was it always Reid?

"Everyone spread out, search the house again and the yard," Hotch ordered. His sharp tone snapping everyone out of their thoughts. "Morgan, inform Sheriff Jones what happened. There's a chance that Reid could still be here."

Hotch knew that there was a slim chance that the UNSUB had stuck around, but he was hoping that there would be some evidence that could point to who took Reid. The members of the BAU and the police spread out across the yard and house, searching for any sign of Reid. Nobody noticed the pair of tail lights vanishing over the hill in the distance. 

Edited: 01/24/16