𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐀𝐒 𝐈𝐂𝐄▬▬𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒊𝒅 .1

𝟏𝟔. ❙𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐞

The team all went into the conference room where JJ had a new case for them, but crime never stops, so they'll always be a new case. "Terra Mesa, New Mexico. Five dead. All from Mesa University. No signs of sexual assault and no sign of theft. They were five nineteen year olds, minimal defensive wounds. One of them was impaled on a six-foot wooden pole."

"God, who'd want to torture five college freshman like that?" Valentina questioned with disbelief, finding the torture far too overboard. Morgan too found something off about this, "They weren't tied up and no one escaped? No single unsub could have exerted this much control over so many people."

"So, you think there was more than two?" Elle asked Morgan, to which Gideon agreed, "I think we're looking at a pack."

"A pack?"

"Three or more that kill in unison. As in nature, the group dynamic dictates tat the pack's survival is dependent on their ability to hunt successfully." Spencer explained, Valentina finishing off that definition. "And it's their nature to keep killing until it runs out of prey or is stopped; stopped by a stronger pack."

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Valentina, Hotch, and Spencer had gone straight to the crime scene when they landed. The rest had gone to the sheriff's station, but they needed someone out there meeting the sheriff. Once they had walked up to the taped off house, the sheriff met them outside and shook Hotch and Valentina's hand as Hotch introduced them, "Sheriff, I'm Special Agent Hotchner. These are Agents Reid and Barnes."

"I was hoping there would be more of you." The sheriff admitted, but Hotch reassured him, "The other agents went straight to the station house to look at victims' files. Has forensics had any luck?"

"The county CSU went through for prints and trace evidence. They said with all the workmen tramping through here, looking at footprints would be a waste." The sheriff explained before motioning for them to follow. The three FBI agents walked into the house, following through the home as Hotch thought out loud, "The bodies were almost completely skinned, yet, there's so little blood."

"I think I know why. The unsub avoided areas of skin on the wrist and throat, areas where the veins and arteries are closest to the surface." Spencer explained, which confused the sheriff, "Why would they do that?"

"They didn't want them to bleed out, which means these kids were skinned alive." Valentina responded which earned raised eyebrows from the sheriff and a deep breath, trying to take in what was just pointed out to him. They moved into another one of the rooms which had no furniture at all, only what Valentina observed, "Two cases of beer, two sleeping bags. Everything you need for teenage romance. Don't miss that at all."

"There's a third sleeping bag upstairs."

"It's unlikely that two couples brought a fifth wheel to take notes." Valentina pointed out, but Hotch did contradict, "Sheriff it's possible there was a third girl here. A sixth victim."

"I'll get my deputies to canvass the area. See if anybody saw the girl." The sheriff offered before Hotch wanted to move on, hoping to get the rest of the information, "You said there was another one outside?"

"Yeah, he was like the others." The sheriff began as he walked out into the backyard, the agents following him. "Coroner said from the amount of blood he was alive when they impaled him."