Isabel was surrounded by darkness before she heard the music. What kind of music was it? At first, she couldn't tell, but then she realized what it was. Circus music. She could hear other types of circus sounds, too. A lion roaring somewhere. Children's laughter. Even the sound of a hoop going up into flames for the acrobat. Finally, the darkness receded, and Isabel saw the circus materialize around her. There was only one problem. There was no color. It was all completely black-and-white, including herself. She looked around, and saw that people weren't really moving... well, actually, they were. It's like they were moving frame-by-frame. They would be in one position, and in about five seconds, they would be in a different position, as if they were trying to move fluidly, but weren't able to. Only she was able to move fluidly.
She walked around, knowing there had to be something she was supposed to find. Maybe where the color was being held. She looked into all of the tents, noticing that no one really noticed she was there. She walked in on a fortune-teller with a couple, and in the crystal ball, she was able to see that the couple was holding a baby. The woman definitely wasn't showing, so if she was pregnant, it was the very beginning of the pregnancy. She noticed something strange about the couple, though. The man looked a bit like one of the men on her team, and the woman might have looked like her, but she had short hair with blue highlights. Isabel hated her hair short, so it couldn't have been her. She left that tent, and the next she found held the lion tamer, and the one after that, the acrobats with the flaming hoops.
Finally, she found a tent that was seemingly empty. That was, until she found out that there was another at that circus that could move fluidly. A pair of hands wrapped around her neck and pulled her down to the ground. She looked up to see who her assailant was, and she knew the face she saw. No... it couldn't be him. But it was. He smiled at her, and her eyes widened in fear. He said something, but she didn't know what it was. Her heart was beating in her ears, and her body was shaking uncontrollably. The man's hands felt at her shirt, before starting to slightly pull on it. Isabel fought. The man sighed and decided she wasn't worth the effort. She thought he would just leave her, but that wasn't going to happen. Instead, he put his hands to her neck again and began to choke her. She tried to pry his hands off, but his grip was like iron. She wasn't getting out of this. The last thing she saw before her vision went black was his face, smiling at the prospect of her death.
***************************
Ciara woke up from her nightmare screaming. She felt her neck, which actually physically hurt. It felt as if someone had actually just been choking her. She wondered if there would be bruises there, or if the pain was all psychosomatic. If the pain was all in her head, the idea planted there by a case that hadn't bothered her at all but had caused nightmares that did. She expected Akilah to be by her side, but after a few moments, she realized that she wasn't. Akilah wasn't coming, and Ciara realized she must still be sleeping her injury off.
It wasn't a serious injury, but it was enough that Ciara knew she wouldn't be working for a couple of days. If a new case came in, she wasn't going. Ciara looked at the clock, and though it was five in the morning, and her routine dictated that she should wake up at 6:30, she knew she wasn't going back to sleep. Not after that nightmare. Not after she saw that face. She quickly went to the bathroom, performing all of her morning routines. She took a little bit longer getting dressed, knowing she had time to actually pick something really good out, even though it was Saturday. It was the women's designated lazy day. They weren't doing anything but lounging around, watching Disney movies, and eating popcorn.
She ended up pulling a random t-shirt out of the pile, and after putting on the long-sleeved undershirt that hid her arms, she looked closer at the t-shirt, which was The Matrix inspired. Her favorite movie. The shirt was a size or two too big on her, but that was how she liked her t-shirts. The extra size not only made it loose but made it long enough to cover her butt and allow her to feel comfortable in leggings. After getting dressed, she decided to actually leave her hair semi-down for once and pulled it out of the bun on her head. She put it in a low ponytail, which kept it out of her face. Leaving her room, she decided to check on Akilah, just in case she was up. Ciara doubted it. She was a heavy sleeper, and this injury only made her a heavier sleeper. She grabbed a couple cereal bars and a glass of water anyway. Akilah could take them when she woke up. She entered Akilah's room, seeing that the woman was indeed asleep.
"Sleep tight, A-kilah. Ye need it," Ciara whispered, and set the sustenance on Akilah's nightstand. Ciara stood there for a minute, watching Akilah's chest rise and fall with every breath she took, her hair spread carelessly on the pillow. Ciara knew what she should do. She went to her own room, grabbed the chair that sat beside her bed, and took it to Akilah's room. If Akilah would sit by Ciara when she was plagued by nightmares, then Ciara would return the favor now. She sat down, and while Akilah slept, Ciara thought about everything that had happened in the two weeks since they had come back from Los Angeles, including Akilah revealing her leaving her faith. That was an interesting day.
"Woah, hold up a second. Who are you and why are you not wearing a hijab anymore?" Morgan asked. Akilah laughed and flipped her fiery red hair over her shoulder. Ciara always did like the color of her hair. Fiery red, combined with the warm brown shade of her skin and eyes, made for an intriguing, beautiful combination, much unlike her plain one. Akilah really was a beautiful woman and Ciara... wasn't.
"It's a long story." And she proceeded to tell a modified version of her falling out, leaving out the part with the whiskey and the letter, and Ciara knew why on both of those things. For the letter, Akilah didn't really want to talk about her father and what happened in her childhood, which Ciara totally understood. As for the whiskey, in Saudi Arabia, women weren't allowed to drink alcohol (Ciara wasn't sure if men could), and she was a little ashamed at having done so. From then on, Akilah went without her hijab, and she later admitted that she felt a lot more comfortable without it on.
Ciara looked back to Akilah, remembering how she injured herself, though Akilah probably wouldn't tell anyone she was injured. Akilah, deciding that they were actually going to do something fun after work the night before, had taken Ciara and herself to a local park, and said park just happened to have a sand volleyball court. While Ciara, of course, hadn't wanted to play, she was comfortable with watching Akilah join the game. There were already three guys against two girls, and the boys were more than happy to let Akilah play, for a different reason than evening out the odds. However, one of the guys got a little too into the game, and one of his hits had gone too fast for anyone to respond.
The ball just happened to hit Akilah in the face, sending her to the ground and giving her a concussion. He was apologetic as soon as it happened, but Ciara knew that when Akilah got back up and was wobbly on her feet that she probably had a concussion. Ciara had taken concussion training only a few months ago. Thankfully, they had walked to the park, which meant that they didn't have to worry about Akilah driving. Akilah finally began to stir, and Ciara sat up a little bit, wondering what Akilah would say, if she said anything at all.
"Shit, why does my head hurt so much? This doesn't feel like a hangover, but... was I drinking last night, Ciara? I don't remember," Akilah said, reaching for a cereal bar.
"No, ye actually took us to a park. Ye played sand volleyball with a few strangers, and one of them accidentally hit the ball into yer face. I think ye have a concussion," Ciara told her, and Akilah nodded.
"Actually, I do remember just a tiny bit of that. I remember something hard hitting my head. I thought that might have been when the alcohol kicked in," Akilah said, and Ciara shook her head.
"A-kilah, I said I only think ye have a concussion. Ye need to go to the doctor to make sure it actually is a concussion. If ye don't make sure, ye might not let it heal properly, and that can have serious consequences. I, uh... I actually made an appointment for ye. It's at one," Ciara told her, and for once, Akilah didn't fight back. She just nodded, which totally confirmed in Ciara's mind that she was concussed. One of the symptoms was acting unusual, which she was.
"What time is it now?"
"It's nine. We have about three hours," Ciara told her.
"Ciara, I think you hit your head, too. Nine plus three makes twelve. We have four hours," Akilah responded, and Ciara shook her head.
"No, because ye aren't driving, and I don't have a license. We have to take a bus, and we want to get there a little bit early. We have three hours. We probably want to get ye ready at 11:30 so we can get there," Ciara explained, and Akilah nodded, before going back to sleep. This was going to be a long day.
**************************
Ciara and Akilah rushed into the BAU office, after Hotch had contacted the both of them and told them there was a case. Ciara knew that Akilah wouldn't be traveling and that she shouldn't have even come in, but Akilah was stubborn, even after she was diagnosed with a concussion. A diagnosis that Ciara had with her, and would immediately be giving to Hotch. While Akilah wouldn't listen to Ciara, she would listen to Hotch, because if she didn't, she very well could lose her job.
They both went into the round table room, which only had Rossi and Morgan in it so far. Hotch was still in his office, looking like he was making final preparations before leaving for the case, which meant the case wasn't in the area. Akilah sat next to Morgan, and immediately began to talk, which was like herself, but Ciara could tell by the look on her face it was taking a lot out of her to keep up the act. Morgan didn't notice, but she was sure Rossi noticed. Ciara excused herself and went to Hotch's office. Akilah had no clue that she had the diagnosis with her.
She knocked on the door, which was open anyway, and Hotch looked up, beckoning her in. He asked what she needed, and she put the diagnosis on his desk in front of her, knowing no words were necessary. It spoke for itself. As he read, she noticed his face change, from confused to understanding.
"When and how did this happen?"
"We went to the doctor just this afternoon, but the actual concussion happened last night. A-kilah was playing sand volleyball and took a hit to the face," Ciara explained, and Hotch nodded.
"I assume that she's...?" Ciara, even though she knew it was rude, interrupted him, knowing what he was going to ask.
"Oh no, she's here. She wouldn't listen to me when I told her that she needed to stay home. But I know she'll listen to ye, so I thought..." Ciara drifted off when she felt that Hotch knew what she was saying.
"It'll be handled. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. JJ should be in the round table room by now, so you should get back. I'll be there shortly. Oh, and Ciara?" Ciara was in the doorway, but she stopped. "It won't kill you to look up from the floor every now and again." Ciara nodded but knew that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. She knew why she rarely looked up from the floor, but that reason was hers to keep and cherish. Well, maybe not cherish, but she was going to hold on to it. She went back to the briefing room, which had everyone but her, JJ, and Hotch in it. JJ arrived shortly after Ciara had sat down, and Hotch after that. He didn't say anything to Akilah, but Ciara saw the diagnosis with him, and she assumed that he would say something after the briefing.
"These two girls disappeared two weeks ago from Towanda, Illinois, population of 481," JJ said, bringing up pictures of the two girls. One was white, and the other was black, which told Ciara that race was not of importance to this Unsub. JJ then pulled up two other pictures. They were pictures of the same girls, but in the second set, they were obviously dead. "They were found last night, both dumped in a ditch by the interstate."
"They were taken two weeks ago, but we are just now getting called in?" Morgan asked, and JJ pulled up one more picture.
"At about the same time the two dead bodies were found, this girl was reported missing," JJ explained, and that seemed to satisfy Morgan.
"What was the cause of death?" Reid asked, and JJ told him that cause of death had not been determined.
"He doesn't seem to want to hide his victims. He takes no time to pose them or hide them," Hotch started.
"He probably didn't care. He was in a rush to get his next victim, he didn't have time to carefully dump the bodies. They are just bodies to him, not needing any posing," Akilah said, and while Ciara was glad she was able to contribute, she knew she was still not traveling with them.
"The bodies are in different stages of decomposition," Ciara said, and everyone looked back at the victims. "The first girl looks like she might have just died only hours before dumping, but the second girl looks as if she had been dead several days. So why was she only found now? Was he keeping her for some purpose?"
"Keep that in mind. Garcia, have you found any connections in between the three?" Hotch asked, and Garcia's face came on the screen via video.
"Besides the fact that they live in one of the smallest towns ever? That connects them in several ways. They go to the same school, visit the same hospitals, go to the same places to eat, there really isn't a lot that doesn't connect the two. I don't know which is important," Garcia told them, and Ciara nodded, knowing the feeling of growing up in that small of a town.
"Keep looking. There has to be something of major importance between them. As for the rest of us, let's go to Towanda. Wheels up in twenty," Hotch said, and Ciara stood up, knowing what was to come. Hotch walked over to Akilah, who had yet to stand up, and set the diagnosis in front of her.
"What's this?"
"When were you going to tell me that you have a concussion and are not cleared to travel?" Hotch said, and Akilah looked surprised and a little confused, before looking at Ciara.
"Dammit, Ciara, why'd you tell him?"
"Because ye aren't supposed to travel and the doctor said ye probably shouldn't even be working. Doctor's orders, A-kilah," Ciara explained, and Akilah sighed.
"I'm fine! It was just a knock on the head. I'm completely fine and able to work," Akilah argued.
"A-kilah, ye watched me take that concussion training six months ago! I know what can happen. If a concussion goes untreated, it could worsen, cause serious brain damage, or in very extreme cases, even cause death," Ciara explained.
"She's right, Akilah. Concussions are serious and need to be treated as such. You have not been cleared to travel, and will not be going on this case with us. If I were you, I would go home and rest for a couple days, and go back to the doctor and see what he or she says," Hotch told her, and Akilah shook her head.
"A-kilah, I'm worried about ye, and I don't want to see ye cause yourself any more harm," Ciara said, the worry evident in her voice. Akilah's glance softened for a moment, before going back to her natural look.
"Listen, I understand not going on the case. But I'm not going home. There's a girl missing, and I would go absolutely stir-crazy just sitting at home when I could be helping. I'm sure there's something around here I could do that would help the case. I don't care. I'm going to help this case, because that's what I've been trained and hired to do," Akilah said, and Hotch shook his head.
"There's something to be said for stubbornness, that's for sure. If you absolutely insist on helping this case, then so be it. But you have to tell someone if you start to feel unwell, understand? And if you do, go home. That's an order," Hotch said.
"Deal. What am I going to do?" Akilah asked.
"You'll be helping Garcia out," Hotch said, and Garcia, who was still connected to the video chat, laughed.
"You know what that means? You're my bitch now."
Anyone remember that line when she said it to Reid? I really liked that line, so I decided to use it here. So, I'm really sorry about not updating for a while. I had writer's block really bad, and right now, time is an issue for me. I'm currently a senior in high school, so college applications, scholarships, and the FAFSA are completely dominating my weekends, as well as work and all that other jazz. Actually, just today I took the ACT, so that must have gotten my brain going enough to actually write something. But anyway. What do you think is going down in this case? Why are the girls being taken, and how did they die? All theories welcome! So, small side note, what would you guys say if I wrote a fanfiction that wasn't about a fandom? When I say that, I mean... a bandom. I have an idea, but I don't know if I should go forward with it. Would any of you guys read a band-related fanfiction? So, yeah, I guess that's all I have for this time, so... BYE!
"After enough concussions, the head injuries blur together." -James Nicoll