it was a quiet night in the little north Georgian mountain town. the sun had set only just and hour ago and the crickets where chirping in the cool night air. a sleek black suburban rumbles down the worn out gravel pathways of the rundown neighborhood just outside of town before pulling to a stop just outside of a small house, a term used loosely when referring to the almost decrepit looking structure. the lawn was yellow and the paint was peeling from outer-walls, the windows where hazardously boarded up where the glass had been previously shattered and the roof seemed to have sunk in the middle. it was a miracle the things was even still standing.
the two men looked at it in disdain. wondering how anyone could stand to live in such conditions as they unbuckle and cut the engine. they opened their doors and stepped out tentatively, dreading having to agitate whoever lived inside. with careful steps and squared shoulders they walked forward, prepared for whatever they might discover when the splintered door is opened.
inside of the house was another pair of men, this time brothers. one was passed out drunk on the tattered couch cradling an empty bottle in his arms, and the other was at a small card table in the corner fidgeting with a crossbow. the inside of the house wasn't much better then the outside. the floors where dirty, their where beer bottles everywhere and every corner contained some kind of mysterious water stain neither brother had the energy or time to care about. its not like they wanted to live in filth, but this house held painful, cruel memories. why would they be nice to it?
the younger of the two brothers, was startled out of his monotonous cleaning of the crossbow by a firm knock at the door. he stood up and quietly made his way to the entrance, trepidation in his chest. he looked through the clouded peephole, just barely making out the figure of the two men standing on his porch. they where wearing nice suites. nobody around here wore suites. the man stepped back and growled a small sigh as he glanced back to his brother, who was still firmly unconscious. what if they where there for his brother? would he even have the energy to care? he doesn't know.
he hears another knock, this time more insistent. he just stands there for a moment, trying to decide what to do, trying to decide if this was even real. slowly he raises his had to the doorknob and twists it open, not even fully aware of what hes doing till hes face to face with the two serious men. hes almost scared to ask... well, maybe scared was to strong a word for it. he was more so hesitant, as if he knew to expect bad knews and was simply mustering up the energy to listen. he was broken out of his revere in the next few seconds.
"would you happen to be one of the Dixon brothers?" the older of the two asked. he was pale with dark hair. he was obviously the one in charge. "yeah, who's asking?" he questioned back with a thick southern drawl as he crossed his arms Infront of himself. a clear display of his discomfort as he tried to appear more in control than he was. the other man spoke up again. "I'm arron hotchner, and this is my colleague Dereck morgon. we're with the FBI Behavioral Analisys Unit and were here in reguards to a case you or your brother may have some information on. if its not too much trouble, may I ask which brother you are?" he explained, not pausing for even a second as both he and morgan flashed their badges.
"we don't take kindly to feds round here." he replied shortly, not really a threat, not even exactly a warning. just a fact of life... he doesn't trust them. this time morgan steps forward. "look man, we get it, this aint our first rodeo and we aint here to start shit with the locals. but im sure you've heard by now that there are people missing and bodies turning up along the trails. we where told you and your brother know these woods better than anyone else in town, we could use the help. we know you both tend to have some issues with the law but we don't care about drug charges or minor felonies. we're here to find a murderer." he explained quickly and carefully, trying to dispel any possible worries.
he listened to Morgan carefully, analyzing his words, looking for any possible deceit, before looking back at his brother again. its true, there where people going missing. all kinds of people, people they knew. they all turned up mutilated along the trails. he considered them carefully before huffing slightly, wanting to kick himself in the ass as he bit the bullet and caved. "names Daryl, and if you want help you best let me drive myself down. don't need to be showing up with no damn feds." Daryl stated, but it lacked any true bite to it as the men in front of him nodded, relaxing their shoulders some even as Daryl closed the door in their faces.
he turned and walked tiredly back to the table to grab his keys only to hear a dull thud from where the couch was. his brother lay on the ground looking around till his eyes land clumsily on daryls figure. "you talkin' to the someone...?" he questioned, standing up and swaying slightly as he stumbled over to Daryl. he slung an arm around the shorter mans neck as he tried to take a swing of his still empty bottle. "go back to sleep merle." Daryl replied shortly, shoving the older man off roughly and watching apathetically as he tumbled to the floor. "y-youu fucking ass-wipe, you get off on treating me like this? your nothing without me Daryl." he said from the floor as he swung the bottle around wildly in his attempts to get back onto his feet. Daryl ignored him and walked to the door only getting it open a crack when he felt glass shatter against the back of his head. he winced but refused to turn around even as merle yelled angrily after him. it was nothing he hasn't heard before; he slammed the door behind him and stomped to his truck. trying to ignore the sharp pain in the back of his head as he took off down the path, kicking up dirt as he went.
Daryl pulled into the station sometime just before midnight. the lights where on, illuminating a small portion of the parking lot as he cut his engine and gazed in, his head still throbbing slightly when he eventually found the energy to step out of the truck and trudge his way through the doors. the lights where almost too bright and the smell off Febreze, coffee and dirt was just a little too much for him to handle as a headache set in. Morgan was the first to notice him and was quick to lead him back into a room piled high with manila envelopes, technical nonsense and empty coffee cups. there where two small windows on either side of the door that looked out into the main part of the station where Daryl could see a few others that seemed to be part of the little group. two blonde women sat near the front of the station, one Infront of a computer and the other standing just a little ways off by the coffee machine. she was heavily pregnant. then just a little bit closer to the windows was the guy Arron from before and an older man with a goatee, they seemed to be having a tense discussion. another woman sat at a desk reading something over, she had shorter black hair and looked pretty serious. Daryl analyzed all of this from his little seat at the little table in the little cluttered office.
the only thing that brought him out of his little observation fest was something Morgan said... to the top of the desk? "we got a helper here pretty boy, time to come out of your cave and socialize a bit." Morgan said tauntingly. the things on the desk shook slightly as a small thud sounded from underneath. a young man scrambled out, holding a stack of papers close to his chest as his eyes wide brown eyes shifted back and forth between the two other men. Morgan huffed a small laugh and shook his head. "that's what you get for hiding under the desk like a weird little cave monster." he joked. spencer hunched his shoulders up slightly. "I wouldn't have to do it if you'd just let me turn the lights off, their too loud." he replied as he fixed his shirt a bit.
Morgan sighed slightly and turned to Daryl. "this is our resident genius dr. spencer Reid. hes got four PHDs and is currently working on a fifth, but don't let his book smarts fool you, hes as socially awkward as they come. so be gentle and take it slow." he explained with a wink and spencer glared at him. "I'm not that bad." he replied weakly as Derek left. the two stayed there in a bit of an awkward silence before spencer cleared his throat and apprehensively handed a few files over to Daryl. he clumsily made his way around the table and sat down next to the older man before opening a notepad and grabbing a pen. "so uhm, we normally start with names but I guess we don't really have to do that now. Infront of you are the files for all of the victims, including mortuary analysis, cause of death, time of death and location. I also have a map with the locations drawn onto for easier visualization." spencer explained, hopping right in. Daryl nodded along and opened one of the first files quickly scanning through the contents.
"you already got all this, the hell you need me for?" he questioned. spencer ducked his head slightly. "well, from what I've heard you seem to know the area better than most people. and you hang out within the suspect crowd so you have a high probability of previously running into the man who did this." spencer explained. Daryl growled lowly and slammed the envelope shut. "so your saying I'm a fucking suspect?" he questioned while standing up. Spencer's eyes widened. "no, that's not what I'm saying at all!" he responded, trying to explain.
"fucking- I knew I shouldn't of come here, fucking bastard cops." Daryl ranted as he marched a few steps to the door. spencer was quick to grab his shoulder. "your too gentle!" he shouted out. Daryl paused in his tracks before turning and scoffing slightly. "Ain't nothing bout me gentle." he stated with a growl as he leaned forward over spencer. crowding him slightly as he tried to intimidate the other in an attempt to prove his point. spencer shook his head slightly refusing to let the other man intimidate him. "that's not exactly what I mean. you see, I looked through a lot of the arrest files and all of the times you've been in trouble it was because you got dragged in, I know the signs. your never the aggressor and even if you are its in defense of something. that's why I had them choose you... your almost... kind like that. and the man we're looking for wouldn't be, hes likely someone you don't like actually." spencer explained quickly, trying to quell daryls rising anger. "and as mush as the others don't want to admit it we just don't have the right supplies or bandwidth to properly search for this guy. a lot of times we work in bigger cities where everything is filed digitally and can be searched up in an instant. I can read fast, almost lightning fast but even I don't have the time to track down and read every ancient paper file on this town. we need help Daryl, and I know you can be the one to help us." spencer explained with determination in his eyes.
Daryl stared at the young man, his gaze almost heavy before he took a deep breath and sighed in defeat. "alright fine. even if you where right theres no way I could possibly know where to start here. theres a lot of people I don't like, and there are a lot of places out there to hide a body." he explained shortly. spencer just smiled up at him slightly. "that's what I'm here for, to help you narrow down the search." he explained, only to paus slightly and tilt his head a bit as his eyes became clouded with concern. "I'm sorry, but are you ok? it looks like the back of your head might be bleeding." spencer said. Daryl froze slightly, "well, uhm, probly is." was all he replied with.
twenty minutes later spencer is sitting on the desk behind Daryl, who was sitting on a chair going over the files. spencer winced in sympathy as he gently poked at the older mans head. "you have glass embedded in your scalp." spencer said as he picked another piece out. Daryl shrugged. "ain't the first time." was all he responded with as the duo lapsed into silence. spencer busies himself with cleaning the cut gently. "this guys pretty sick. sounds like hes using some kind of hanger to bleed these people out." Daryl explains. spencer nods. "see, I thought so too, but everyone keeps saying that the markings are inconsistent to any kind of industrial meat hanger so to them that obviously means its not the case. but the only thing it tells me is he has a DIY kind of setup." spencer replied as he kept working. Daryl hummed in thought. "fucker probably does, a lot of the guys in town do." he replied as he leafed through another photograph. "looks like it could be some kind of ritual. he does the same thing over and over. takes em, bleeds em, steals the heart and stuffs them up with wood chips." he said. spencer hums slightly. "that rules out anyone who actually has commercial equipment, and your right, its definitely a ritual.. but I don't think its a religious one. at least it doesn't ring any bells for me. its not a lot but its a start." spencer said softly as he wrapped the mans head in gauze. Daryl winces slightly and spencer places a hand on his shoulder.
"you doing ok?" he asks sympathetically, turning the man around in the chair so he could get a good look at his eyes. slowly the other man grabs a pen from off the desk. "follow the pen." he said gently, waving it trough the air slowly. Daryl huffed slightly but did as he was told and followed it with his eyes... only to freeze when they got caught in spencer's own honey brown set. daryls mouth seemed to go dry. the other man was saying something, but Daryl could only pay attention to the way his mouth moved.
"Daryl?" spencer asked again. concern written across his face, an expression that had Daryl slowly snapping out of it. "yeah?" Daryl asked slowly, having not paid attention. spencer carefully put a hand on the older mans cheek and forehead seemingly feeling seemingly feeling for some kind of fever even as Daryl half heartedly bat his hand away. "I think you might have a concussion, are you feeling ok? you seem a bit out of it?" he questioned. quickly standing from the desk and turning the light off to see if that helped give Daryl a little reprieve. "nah, m fine. just tired." Daryl said, brushing off whatever spell seemed to be cast over him as he looked forlornly down at the file in his hand. "I don't think I'm actually doing shit." he explained, suddenly just tired.
spencer shook his head. "that's not true. you've only been here forty minutes, and most of that was just going over the reading. objectively your doing pretty good." spencer explained gently, his voice subconsciously getting softer as he tried to make the environment easier of Daryl to deal with. "why don't you sit back down, we're really only just beginning." he explained. Daryl allowed himself to be pushed back against the seat and spencer quickly took up his position on the desk again. Daryl sat there and thought for a moment just staring at spencer as the young doctor flipped through the pages quickly. "are you really reading that fast? like, for real?" daryl questioned. genuinely curious even if his mind was preoccupied with something else. spencer caved in on himself slightly. "yeah, sorry. I can slow down if it makes you uncomfortable." he replied. Daryl shook his head. "don't. Its a good skill to have, why would it make me uncomfortable?" he questioned. spencer shrugged. "some people think I'm showing off when I so things like that, so I just kind of... well, stop doing them Infront of people." he explained. Daryl nodded slightly, he could understand how that feels.
"that why you hid under the desk?" Daryl quizzed. spencer flushed slightly. "I, uhm, well I guess I don't really have an answer for that." he replied quietly. Daryl couldn't help but smile slightly. "I don't mind it, you don't have to hide it away. don''t care much what you have to do to get something done." he replied quietly. spencer just smiled at him and flipped the paper page of his notebook.
..paper.
wood.
the lumbar yard! Daryl thought, the abandoned lumbar yard. he quickly stood and started pacing. "theres a guy that wanders just off the trail at mountain peek ridge. he don't talk much but he does hang round the old lumbar yard. probly live in one of them old cabins out there that damn near been forgotten about." he explained quickly, his tone getting straight to the point. spencer couldn't help but smile slightly. "that would explained where he gets the supply for the, uhm... ritual without leaving any kind of paper trail." he exclaimed. "now we just need to send a team out to investigate and track him down." spencer said as he gathered a few things and rushed to try and get the door with full arms. Daryl was there in a heart beat opening it for him, and as spencer stepped out he gave the man a broad smile.
"... thank you, Daryl." he said quietly, with a smile so genuine Daryl hardly had the courage to keep looking at it.
the atmosphere changed so suddenly then. Morgan, the one from before rushed in. "please tell me you got something good here." he asked. spencer nodded. "yes, I was just about to give you a call, we have a positive ID and a means to track him down." spencer replied, fast and to the point. Derek nodded. "good, cuz he just nabbed a little girl, we got the call a few minutes ago, mom doesn't know how long she's been missing." Derek explained. from there it was a frenzy of policemen, then a frenzy of sirens and suddenly there was just silence. that is until one of the blondes pulled him aside. "I know, its always a little jarring when they just hightail it outta here." she said gently as she laid a hand on her belly.
"you should enjoy the coffee machine for me. seeing as I'm currently unable too." she explained. Daryl just nodded awkwardly. then she paused again and turned. "oh. and, if you want to meet up with spencer again then the whole group will probably head to the nearest diner as soon as its over." she explained. "why would I want to meet up again?" he questioned. the woman only smiled at him, an almost knowing look in her eyes. Daryl grumbled slightly and just walked straight out the door. he was done with strange feds.
the next day (only a few hours later) spencer sat in the back booth of the small diner nursing a coffee and running over the events in his head as the others who stuck around meandered the rest of the place. hotch, Emily and JJ all went got on the early flight back home. he was still working the night over in his mind, how was it even possible for him to be this torn up about it? he didn't know. hes seen horrible injuries before but this was just... different. wrong. the sun was just barely peeking over the horizon, casting the clouded sky in dim blue light as he heard the bell to the diner chime somewhere in the back of his mind. she shouldn't of been able to do that, she shouldn't have looked the way she did and she definitely shouldn't have been.. chewing. it was just so unbelievable.
"you look like shit." he heard a voice say next to him. spencer flinched harshly and gasped before relaxing slightly and leaning back against his seat. Daryl looked a little confused. "Daryl, sorry. wasn't expecting you." spencer said with a small sigh before scooting over and offering the man a seat. he sat down roughly with a grunted sigh before glancing over to the younger man. "so, what happened?" he asked. spencer shrugged a little as he looked down into his coffee. he had dark circles under his eyes and his smile was a bit wobbly. "you sure you want the details? its, its a lot." he said gently, looking forlornly into the dark blue of daryls eyes, almost begging him not to ask. Daryl looked thoughtful for a second as he analyzed spencer's face. "a lot for me or a lot for you?" he asked. spencer huffed slightly, it wasn't exactly a laugh but it was something close, even it slightly sad. "is both a good answer for that?" he questioned. Daryl just shrugged.
"heard round the grapevine that it was little tammy Ellis? she's a little ass-kicker." Daryl said, as if trying to lighten the mood. spencer smiled slightly. "yeah? what makes you say that?" he questioned, maybe he wanted to take his mind of things, or maybe he liked daryls blunt honesty, he didn't know exactly what it was but it made him warm up to Daryl faster than hes ever warmed up to anyone else. it was almost jarring. Daryl leaned back a bit with a distant smile. "my brother and I go to her mommas bar a lot, one of the better ones in town. mostly cuz her momma don't tolerate no shit. little tammy got that from her. one time merle was hitting on heather just a little to hard, while being just a little too drunk so tammy got up from her little corner, politely asks for some guys empty beer bottle, climbs onto the bar counter and hits merle square in the head with it. knocks the idiot clean out. then she just got down and continued doodling in her little kiddie corner as if she's damn near the most innocent little thing in the world." Daryl explained lightly. spencer couldn't help but smile a bit.
he opened his mouth to respond but the bell chimed again at just the right time. Daryl looked up to the front and quickly placed his arm on the table Infront of spencer, shifting ever so slightly so the younger man was behind his shoulder. his smile fell top, twisting into an aloof, almost numb look. the change seemed to set everyone else off too, Penelope and Rossi stopped talking so they could survey the scene and Morgan was slowly inching up behind the man that walked in, prepared to defend if need be.
"well if it ain't my little baby brother. getting all cozy with the feds now are you?" an older, bigger man questioned. spencer kept his head turned to his coffee, looking at the duo through the corner of his eye. Daryl scoffed. "I ain't cozy with no damn fed." he stated roughly. his hand balling into a fist. "like hell! heard you where helping in some prissy little investigation with heathers little girl, you into little girls now Darylina?" merle taunted cruelly. spencer rolled his eyes and scoffed quietly, unable to contain his disdain. caution was being thrown out the window and he couldn't give less of a damn.
"something funny little man?" merle asked with a sneer. spencer nodded his head slowly. "yeah, something's wrong, well... someone's wrong, and that someone is you." he replied, pointing to merle as if it wasn't obvious enough who he was talking too. "you see, I cant help but sense a little jealousy here. your brother helped save countless lives and bring justice to 12 other individuals just by talking to us for 40 minutes. while you... well, got drunk." spencer explained slowly, almost as if talking to child. daryl would have been impressed if he wasn't so damn panicked about merle, he shifted Infront of spencer further, glancing back slightly as if to beg the younger man not to provoke his older brother. "your jealous because you know your brother is infinitely more useful than you could ever dream of being. this whole ruse of 'squealing to the feds' is just an excuse to take your anger out on him because of your own deep rooted insecurities about being a far less superior male. deep down you know that the 'feds' couldn't give less of a shit about you. we hunt serial killers, and rapists, and terrorists, generally people who could cause a massive amount of pain to a substantial sum of other living beings. news flash merle, no one really cares that you getting into bar fights, or drug feuds. your a sad man taking it out on other equally sad men and you just cant stand the fact that Daryl here isn't a waste of space like you perceive yourself to be." spencer said, ending his little tirade by taking a sip of his coffee.
merle glowered lowly, his face turning red in anger as he bunched his hands into fists. "you stupid piece of fucking trash, like hell I'm jealous of some piece of shit white trash." merle yelled, trying to slam his fists into spencer's face only to fall to the ground when Derek casually kicked his knees out from under him and handed spencer another coffee as if it never happened. Daryl felt like he was experiencing whiplash, he was fully prepared to brawl it out with his brother in order to keep the mouthy detective from getting his ass beat, but it seemed his little team had it in control the whole time. spencer took the cup gratefully and only smiled slightly when merle wandered away, kicking at the tables as he spat curses to their little group. "that was stupid." Daryl stated plainly. spencer smirked a bit, quickly speaking up after daryl "... ly fun. " he added on as he sipped on his coffee to unsuccessfully hide his little grin. that was until something caught his attention out in the street. he put the cup down slowly. gasping for air and almost unknowingly grabbing daryls arm in a death grip, his wide eyes trained on the window, as they analyzed the sight with startling intensity.
there in the distance, against the hazy backdrop of the misty trees stood a tattered looking man, his jaw was unhinged, his stomach was sliced to ribbons and he was missing most of the flesh on his legs. it was sickening. the man stumbled forward across the street, leaving a trail of blood in his path. spencer was getting flashbacks.. it was just like what happened last night...
then the TV's started blaring, emergency broadcasts left and right... that was the day everything changed.