Isabel had no clue where she was. She was surrounded by trees, completely alone. She could hear a voice, but making out who it belonged to or what it was saying was pretty damn near impossible. She heard a twig snap somewhere, and although her investigative nature told her to go check it out, her horror movie training told her that going near the weird sound was almost always a bad idea. Better to be curious and alive than satisfied and dead. She started walking in the opposite direction, still not knowing where she was going, but knowing that she had to find her way out of these trees somehow. But the question was, how? All the trees looked similar, and there wasn't anything to tell her that she was going the right or wrong way. Even if she marked the trees, she was sure it wouldn't help her any.
She stopped under a tree with a particularly thick trunk, knowing she needed to think. As she stopped, she heard the voice, but this time, it was clearer. She knew who it was this time and what it was saying. She smiled, knowing the voice belonged to someone that, even though she hadn't met him, she knew was friendly. Someone that wouldn't hurt her. She went towards the voice until it suddenly stopped, and she felt someone grab her from behind. The person whispered in her ear to not struggle, and once she heard the voice, she froze. But only for a second. Then she did the opposite of what he told her. She fought as hard as she could to get away, until he growled and pinned her to the tree, his hands going around her throat.
"I've had enough of you being so damn difficult. If you won't just listen and do what I say, I'll find someone who will. And the best part? No one will find your body in these trees," he said, before he started squeezing her throat. She tried to grab his hands and pull them off, but he was much stronger than she was. Before she knew it, her spirit and body were separating, and she saw the man whose voice she had been following. He was leaning against what Isabel recognized as a taxi cab, and a plain one, at that. He smiled when he saw that her spirit had detached from her body, and he opened the door for her to climb inside. She faltered, looking at the other man laying her body gently on the ground, before kicking leaves and foliage over it to cover it up.
"Don't be afraid, Isabel."
"Where will it take me?" she asked, and he smiled.
"Home."
**********************************
Ciara had just settled in to start working on paperwork when JJ came into the bullpen, announcing that everyone needed to grab their go-bags and get on the jet quickly, where they would be briefed. Morgan asked what was going on, and JJ said the two words that got everyone's ass in gear: child abduction. They all knew that the chance of survival for abducted children dropped significantly after the first twenty-four hours: that was law enforcement 101. Ciara asked how many hours had already gone by, but JJ didn't answer, telling everyone that something was definitely up. Ciara grabbed her bag and walked beside Akilah, who smiled over at Ciara.
Ciara knew that she was happy that Ciara was back to normal (more or less) after not talking unless necessary and not interacting at all after they had been taken and she had been thrown into that pool of red water. She still had nightmares about it and what it meant for her, but the CD Reid had gotten her, twenty one pilots, had helped her tremendously. From letting her know that she wasn't alone in her dark thoughts, to providing her comfort after a nightmare, to giving her hope that one day she'll win the fight against her mind, it had returned her mind to the state it was in before the abduction. Well, more or less anyway.
Ciara knew that Reid had also noticed the difference, and he was proud of himself for getting something that helped her so much. Garcia was still angry at both Ciara and Reid for not telling her about the day at the music store and for letting her believe that she was the first one to get Ciara to smile, but neither Ciara or Reid really cared. It was entertaining for the both of them, and Ciara knew that Garcia couldn't stay mad at them for very long. One day was incredibly impressive. A new record, if the BAU was being completely honest.
Ciara settled into a seat next to Reid, and Ciara noticed that Akilah had immediately sat next to Morgan, and the two were bantering back and forth as usual, but there was something different about Morgan's side of the conversation, but what was it? Was it the tone of voice? Was it his word choice, or perhaps the body language? She couldn't put her finger on it exactly, and she had a feeling that Akilah didn't even see it. Or maybe she did. They were both profilers, after all. JJ and Hotch were the last two on the plane, and JJ immediately started talking as soon as she entered, two pictures showing up on the screen in the jet. Time was of the essence here.
"Two hours ago, eight-year-old Kortni Aldaine and her five-year-old brother Tehl were reported missing from their home in Sisters, Oregon. However, it is uncertain as to when the siblings were actually taken," JJ said, and Morgan spoke up.
"So we actually have no idea how long we have before we have to assume the kids are dead?" Morgan asked, and JJ nodded her head, and Ciara shook her head in exasperation. In every child abduction she had ever worked in L.A., they had a working clock. They didn't have that here. JJ explained that the parents had gone out that night to celebrate their anniversary, and had reported the kids missing once they arrived home again, meaning the kids could have been taken anywhere during that time. Ciara was about to bring to attention that the kids had either been left alone, or there was a babysitter that could have a lead, when Hotch spoke up.
"It's also important to know that this is not only an abduction case, but a murder case," Hotch said, and everyone gave him a questioning look, when another picture was put on the screen, and Ciara's eyes widened.
"Seventeen-year-old Maliya Aldaine, Kortni and Tehl's aunt, was watching the children while the parents were out. When the parents, Arthur and Naomi Aldaine, returned home in this morning, they found Maliya dead and their children missing," JJ explained, and Ciara looked at the girl in the picture. She had been sleeping on the couch that night, and she was on her stomach, one arm hanging off of the couch, blood staining the couch around her head, the dripping of blood down her arm frozen in photography. Her eyes were closed, but Ciara saw from the picture of living Maliya that had been pulled up next to dead Maliya that her eyes were a nice shade of brown, her hair matching exactly. However, dead Maliya's hair did not match. It was stained with blood, and Ciara could see why. The girl's head had been bashed in, the bloody metal baseball bat on the floor next to the couch. Ciara saw several things in the picture that actually made a few things make sense.
"Did police check the bat for prints?" Ciara asked.
"There were none. Whoever did this had gloves on."
"I'd say the children were taken no more than an hour before the parents returned home, if even that," Ciara said, and all eyes were to her, making her look down.
"Why do you say that?" Hotch asked.
"Look at her hand. Ye can see the blood going all the way down at her arm, but zoom in on her hand," Ciara said, and they did so, automatically seeing what she saw. "The blood was still dripping when this picture was taken, meaning she wasn't dead long before she was found. If she had been dead all night, the blood would have dried. But it didn't. It was still wet enough to drip."
"Actually, I have an explanation for that," Garcia said, the video chat popping up quickly.
"What is it, Garcia?"
"So you know how we were told that Maliya was dead?" Garcia asked, and everyone nodded their heads, except for her. She slowly shook her head.
"What?"
"They assumed she was dead because of the damage done to her head, but after that... lovely picture was taken of her, someone on the CSI crew noticed she was still breathing, but barely. They don't know how she's alive, but they called in medics and she was life-flighted to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland. There isn't any news as of yet if they managed to save her," Garcia said, and everyone slowly nodded as she disconnected the call. Maliya had survived the trauma to her head? But how? They had seen victims with less damage done that had quickly killed them, while Maliya had somehow lived through one of the worst traumas they had ever seen. It was a miracle if Ciara had ever seen one. Even Reid, who put all of his faith into facts, had to admit that Maliya's survival was a miracle. There was absolutely nothing else to call it.
"Even if they manage to save her, we probably won't be able to talk to her, so we should keep going forward as if she hadn't survived-"
"But she did, and that says something right there. The Unsub wasn't planning on Maliya being there. But she was, and he had to get rid of her quickly and messily. If the Unsub was planning on Maliya being there, he probably would have killed her more quickly and efficiently," Akilah said, and everyone nodded. She had a point. "The children's room was adjacent to the living room, where Maliya was sleeping. He knew that if he took the children and they woke up and started to freak out, he would wake Maliya up, and she would be right there to see what was going on. He probably bashed her head in until he thought it was good, and then took the children without checking to make sure that Maliya was dead."
"Look at the bat. It's pink, and if you look at the handle, it has Kortni Aldaine scribbled on it with Sharpie. He didn't bring that with him. He saw Maliya, saw the bat, and used it. It was opportunistic and disorganized. But in every other way, he's organized. He wore gloves to keep from leaving fingerprints, and according to the reports, there wasn't any sign of forced entry, but both Arthur and Naomi said they had locked the door before leaving, telling Maliya that they had done so. So the Unsub must have picked the lock," Reid put in.
"But Naomi said she tried the door again in the morning, and it was still locked. How did he lock it when he left?" Morgan wondered.
"Did Maliya have a key?" Rossi wondered.
"It's a possibility. According to Maliya and Arthur's parents, she spent a lot more time over at Arthur's house than at her actual home because she loved spending time with Kortni and Tehl, and they just adored her," Prentiss said.
"Okay, we only have twenty hours at the most to find these two children. Akilah and Ciara, you two go to Legacy Emanuel to see how Maliya is doing and to talk to whatever family is there with her. Reid, victimology. Why the Aldaine children? Rossi, Morgan, and I will go to the crime scene, and JJ and Prentiss, meet up with the head of the investigation. I know we don't have very many leads, but we need to try to find these kids alive," Hotch said.
"One problem. Sisters is near the Deschutes National Forest. What if the Unsub took the children into the forest?" Akilah wondered, and Hotch said that it was a possibility that they had to consider. If they had been taken into the forest, there was a possibility that they wouldn't ever find them, but that they had to have hope that they would. Ciara knew that finding the kids alive was a long shot with their limited information and their one possible lead hanging in the balance between life and death. It would take a miracle, but what if the only miracle they were allowed had been taken by Maliya? For the rest of the flight, Ciara listened to music, the same two albums on repeat, until she felt Reid pull on her earbuds.
"Are you listening to twenty one pilots?" he asked, and she shook her head.
"Yes and no. I did some searching, and it turns out, the lead singer, Tyler, had recorded music while he was in high school and had posted it online. I found the music and downloaded it. Right now I'm listening to his song called 'Trees', and just...woah. Kind of hard to think that a high school kid did this. I knew he was talented, but this just proves it. Ye want to listen?" Ciara asked, and Reid slowly nodded. Why not? She put in one earbud and gave the other to him, rewinding the song and pressing play. They listened to the song together, and Reid knew she was right. This man was talented. Ciara knew it meant so much more, though. While it proved it was talented, she knew at that moment that Tyler Joseph had been made with a purpose, and his purpose was to make music. God knew when He made him that this was what Tyler Joseph would do with his life. Ciara couldn't help but wonder where the music and the band would take him going into the future, and where it would take her.
But, there was something about this song that Ciara couldn't shake. There was something special about it. Something different, something that she needed to pay attention to, but she didn't know what. It was as if listening to it would give her the answers she needed, but what was she missing? What was she not seeing, not hearing? After Reid had given her earbud back, Ciara listened to the song on repeat, hoping to find the answer she was missing, but she couldn't find it. It was hidden well, and it didn't help that she had no clue what she was looking for. Eventually, she decided she needed a little boost from the darkness of this case, and she put on the song "TB Saga" which was just as funny as the first time she listened to it. It was just a ridiculous little song, but it lifted her spirits. Still, her mind drifted back to "Trees" and how she felt that the song would become very important to her sometime in the future.
As Ciara looked out the jet's window, she saw something that let her know exactly where in the country they were flying over. Everything was flat and plain and looked like it was made of sand, until suddenly they were flying over a small forest. Nebraska, her old home. Particularly the Halsey National Forest. She thought about all the childhood memories associated with the forest, until she shook her head to clear her mind of them. She didn't want to think about that when she should be focusing on looking for more clues in the file as to where the Aldaine children might have been taken, or who might have taken them, and why. But still, her gaze wandered back to the forest, until she saw the Sandhills beginning again, and she shook her head, ignoring the feeling of dread that she had begun to feel when they had flown over the forest. They were going to Oregon, and that was where her focus needed to be. Nowhere else. She began to listen to music again, this time her entire playlist instead of just two albums. She was right in the middle of "America's Suitehearts" when she heard something else, something so very soft, that she had to pause her music to try and hear what it was.
As soon as she had done that, though, it stopped. But there was no denying that it had ever been there. Or was it? Was it something real, or was her mind making things up again? Voices that others somehow couldn't hear were commonplace to her, but there was something different about this one. She had given up on ever hearing it and went to play her music again, when she heard the soft voice again. She tried to take her earbuds out to hear it better, but then the noise of the jet drowned out the voice again. She put her earbud back in, enjoying the silence it gave her so that she could hear the voice. It was a girl's voice, but she still couldn't quite tell what it was saying. Who was the girl, and what did she want with Ciara? Then finally, she said two words that made a lot of things clear to Ciara.
Kortni... Tehl...
Was Ciara hearing the voice of Maliya Aldaine? And if she was, did that mean that Maliya was dead? She waited for Hotch or Garcia or maybe JJ to announce that Maliya had finally been pronounced dead for real this time, but the announcement never came. So what if she wasn't dead? How was Ciara hearing her voice? She had always known that her mind was receptive, and the time with George Foyet and Errol Alvin had proved that her mind was able to connect with others, but both of those times she had actively sought out their minds. Was Maliya's mind seeking hers? Or was this just a voice to confuse Ciara? Then the soft voice said something that made Ciara stop.
I know where you stand...
Silent in the trees...
And that's where I am...
Silent in the trees...
Ciara had a feeling that "Trees" would be important, but she never expected this.
Who could have? So, okay, I'm gonna be honest, I'm gonna be spoiling you guys with updates over the next couple of days, for several reasons. One, I have the next few days off from work, and I'd rather spend them at the library writing then at home doing nothing. That, and I have a few things to celebrate. Number one: Psychosis has hit 7K reads! I never thought we'd get here, but look, we did it! Number two: it's Pride Month, and while that doesn't mean anything to some, it's a special month for me. Number three: yesterday I took a huge step into adulthood and did something that no one in my family expected. I got a tattoo! And yes, I'm very proud of it. And finally, number four: The Watty's are back! I've entered Psychosis and pretty much all of my fanfictions, so let's give every entry, mine or not, and winner or not, support! It takes a certain amount of bravery to enter The Watty's, so we should be supporting every entry. Leave the judgment to the judges, m'kay? Until next time... BYE!
"The most incredible thing about miracles is that they happen." -G. K. Chesterton