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

Chapter 8: The Shack in the Woods

UPDATED: 12/13/16

Reid came to with a splitting headache. He could hear the rumble of a car engine and feel the vibrations through his entire body. Everytime the car went over a pothole, the pain in Reid's head spiked. His first and immediate thought was to tell Morgan to slow down and stop driving over potholes. Reid opened his eyes and was met with the pitch black interior of a trunk. Panic set in as he desperately tried to remember what happened.

Reid closed his eyes and took several deep breaths, willing himself to remain calm. With his eyes closed, Reid started to process what was around him. He could feel something damp and sticky on the side of his face. That, coupled with the fact that the headache seemed to stemming from a dull throbbing knot on his head, made Reid assume he had been hit in the head with something heavy. He tried to move his hands to feel how bad the head wound was, but realized that his hands were bound in front of him with coarse rope. Reid tugged at the ropes a few times, trying to undo the knot with his teeth. Whoever had tied the rope had done their job well and Reid gave up after several unsuccessful attempts.

Instead, Reid tried to recollect the events that lead to him being tied up in a trunk. He remembered the phone call and tracing it to the house. Reid ignored the statistics about kidnappings that were threatening to overcrowd his memory. He remembered the hallway and having to split up. Morgan was gonna kill him for not having backup. The last thing that Reid could remember was going through the door with Officer Jackson. After that his memory went dark.

Reid assessed his surroundings. The carpeted ground beneath him and the low thrum of an engine already informed him he was in a car trunk. A quick search of his person informed Reid that his bulletproof vest was gone, along with both his cellphone and gun. He couldn't tell how long he had been unconscious for and had no idea how far from the house he was. Reid only hoped that the others had realized he was missing by now.

Soon after Reid regained consciousness, the car stopped and the engine turned off. Reid hardly dared to breath. After the constant thrum of the engine, the silence felt to loud. There was the sound of three car doors opening and then slamming shut. Reid lay still, waiting as the sound of footsteps crunching on gravel grew louder.

Reid could hear a woman's angry voice, the same one from the phone call. "I vote we just kill him and be done with it. I'll do it if you're too much of a pussy, Tyler."

"Dammit, Zoe," Tyler snapped back. "You're the one who suggested kidnapping a fed, we're not just gonna turn around and kill him."

The name Zoe sounded familiar to Reid, Hadn't one of the victim's mother's mentioned something about a friend names Zoe? Reid vaguely recalled JJ mention something about a Zoe, but they hadn't pursued that lead because there was no last name and the profile hadn't fit at the time.

"Relax you two," a third voice said.

There was a faint jingle of keys and the trunk flew open. Reid found himself staring up a three people. A flashlight was shone in his face, temporarily blinding him.

"Jack, get him up," Zoe said. Reid could see a faint outline of her illuminated by the moon. She had shoulder length red hair and sharp blue eyes. Her frame was slender and petite, hardly considered dangerous. Except for the gun she was pointing at Reid's head. Reid recognized the gun as his.

Reid felt himself being hauled out of the trunk. Before he could get his bearings, he was shoved backwards. His back connected painfully with the edge of the trunk. Reid stayed silent, not wanting to antagonize Zoe any further.

Now that Reid was out of the trunk he could see the two men. They were standing slightly apart. Jack had dirty blonde hair and was built like a wrestler. From the way he was standing next to Zoe, Reid assumed that they were dating. The other man, whom Reid was gonna guess was Tyler, was standing slightly apart from the other two. Tyler had short brown hair and blue eyes. He kept glaring at Zoe. Tyler was holding the flashlight, but his grip kept shaking. Reid also noticed that Tyler was standing a fair distance away from the trunk.

All three of them seemed to be in their mid-twenties or early thirties. Zoe's body language and the fact that she was holding the gun showed her to be leader of the group. Jack seemed to be her boyfriend and Tyler seemed to be an unwilling, but cooperative participant. Reid observed and filled all this information away for future use. Two things mattered to him in that moment. One, finding a way out of this situation and two, figuring out more about the people who were holding him hostage.

"You're Agent Spencer Reid," Zoe said.

"Doctor," Reid corrected automatically.

"You can't be a doctor," Jack said. "You're too young."

"Just because you didn't graduate high school doesn't mean the world is as dumb as you," Tyler muttered.

"Would you shut up already," Zoe snapped. Her eyes flashed dangerously. Reid swallowed, trying to stop his hands from shaking. Zoe seemed to already be at the end of her rope and Reid really didn't want to antagonize her any further.

"You've been ordering us around since the beginning and look what' happening!" Tyler said. His voice getting louder with every word.

"Everything is under control," Zoe replied.

"No it fucking well isn't!" Tyler shouted. He took a step forward. "People are dead and you've gone and kidnapped a fed."

Zoe whirled around. She pistol whipped Tyler, catching him in the side of the head. Reid winced sympathetically when Tyler fell to the ground with a sharp cry of pain. Zoe knelt down and place the barrel of the gun directly between Tyler's eyes.

"I'm not discussing this with you. Bring the agent inside." Zoe said, her voice deadly calm. "Or, if you like, I can put a bullet in that useless brain of yours."

Tyler glared at Zoe and opened his mouth. Zoe pressed the gun more firmly against Tyler's head. He dropped his gaze.

"Good," Zoe said. She stood up, tucking the gun in the waistband of her jeans.

Tyler got to his feet, blood trickled down the side of his head. Reid tried to step away as Tyler walked towards him.

"Come on," Tyler muttered. He grabbed Reid's arm and roughly pulled him along towards a small rundown shack that Reid hadn't noticed earlier. Reid winced at the tight grip on his arm.

"Tyler, you know you don't have to do this," Reid said. He couldn't stop the trembling in his hands. Reid knew that Tyler was already on the edge and after Zoe's display, Reid figured he could persuade Tyler to help him.

"Stop talking," Tyler said. He refused to meet Reid's eyes and instead pulled him along with enough force to cause Reid to stumble.

"You could just call my team," Reid said. "Zoe wouldn't even -" Tyler smacked him in the head with his flashlight. Reid hit the ground unconscious. His last thought was how long it would take before they killed each other or him.