", what was that gunshot just now?" doctor spencer reid asked just as he entered the bullpen, clumsily balancing four cups of coffee in his arms. why didn't he just get a holder tray for them? that will forever be a mystery to the genius.

"someone got shot on the streets." derek morgan, said in an oddly serious tone. "we're going investigating right now."

"god, really?" spencer asked incredulously.

morgan stifled a laugh. "no, pretty boy." the man shook his head. "marathon."

spencer raised his eyebrows in realization. "ah. that's why there was so many people outside today. i was starting to believe that humanity discovered the true blessings of being outside and absorbing vitamin d—which also has been proven to cure depression and many other mental illnesses—but i guess not." the doctor shrugged. "where are the others?"

morgan rolled his eyes. "somewhere 'round here, i don't keep track of those losers." someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. spencer thought.

"i'm delivering them coffee today."

"and why?"

"because i had my dose of vitamin d this morning and felt nice." spencer shrugged nonchalantly, setting foot to find his other coworkers.

"HE'S GOING TO KILL ME! HE'S GOING TO SHOOT ME!"

spencer turned around, just in time to catch the girl that had seemingly, screamed those words. not being able to balance four coffee cups and now, a girl, spencer let go of his coffee, some of it pouring on the ground, her arms, and his trousers.

the girl sobbed manically into his arms before her head went limp, her blacking out.

his instincts kicked in. "hey! HEY! someone call 911!" spencer yelled throughout the station, making eye contact with any workers who were just staring at him. "GO!"

"excuse me miss? are you okay?" she was unconscious. spencer shook her a few times in attempt to wake her up. he wasn't, to say the least, prepared for this kind of human interaction this early in the morning.

spencer turned the girl around, putting one arm under her knees and one under her back to lift her up off the ground. her pale skin was covered in purple bruises, with scars of cuts that aged all in different times. what spencer could guess from looking at her was,

this girl had been in pain for a long time.

"hey! what's going on?" aaron hotchner, unit chief, came running with his eyebrows furrowed (they always were.)

"sh-she just came in and fainted on me!" spencer said, almost accusingly and feeling guilty after. "she's in bad shape, the ambulance is coming."

"he's coming for me...he's coming..."

spencer looked down at the limp body in his arms, processing the words that came out of her mouth. "who's coming for you?"

the girl winced and let out a whimper.

spencer, along with the rest of the BAU that was with him now, were all baffled, flustered, and nervous at the same time. something had happened to this girl.

they were going to find out exactly what.

—

the sirens wailed loudly as the ambulance drove off into the distance, carrying the strange girl in it.

the BAU exchanged looks. they were all thinking the same thing—could this possibly be linked to the serial murders happening in virginia at that time?

"i think we need to see her. this might be a case linked to x-man." agent jennifer "jj" jareau suggested.

"x-guy." david rossi interjected, narrowing his eyes at the air. "no man commits murders."

spencer glanced at the blonde and the rest of the team, nodding. "she was covered in bruises and cuts...she has symptoms of ptsd, seeing from the 129 seconds i kept my eyes on her."

"yeah. something isn't right crew." derek morgan muttered. "something with that girl was really off."

—

"this is your fault, remember?" he smirked maliciously in gracen's face, fixing a stand of her hair hanging from her face. "take a look."

he backed away, revealing gracen's best friend tried up, her mouth covered in tape. she was struggling, screaming through the tape and wriggling around.

gracen closed her eyes. "let her go!!!"

"i didn't let your mom and dad go did i? it wouldn't be fair..." he whispered in her ear.

the hairs on gracen's arms stood up and she scooted her and her chair away. "she didn't do anything. she doesn't deserve it—"

"SHE DESERVES IT. BECAUSE OF YOU!" he shrieked in her face, making gracen sob even harder.

"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?! WHY?!" the girl yelled in her raw voice, "i'll do anything. i'll do anything—"

"kill her then." he handed her the blade.

"NO!" gracen screamed, knocking the knife he was holding out to her out of his hands, using her own head. she felt blood run down her own face. that was stupid of her, oh so stupid...

"this is why she's being killed. IT'S YOUR FAULT! YOUR FAULT ONLY!" he yelled, almost in pain, following his statement with manic laughter. "now i'll have to do it."

walking over to gracen's best friend, he grabbed her neck. gracen screamed even louder. "STOP! STOP IT BEN!"

"PLEASE KILL ME! KILL ME INSTEAD! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! SHE DOESN'T DESERVE THIS!!" gracen gasped for air. "she doesn't—deserve—"

"gracen—" analeise started, eyes widening in horror as—

—ben slashed her neck two times, blood spurting out from her mouth. gracen shrieked and shut her eyes, not wanting to see another corpse. too many dead bodies. so many when she closed her eyes. she couldn't escape it.

her cries only got louder, crazier, and desperate. desperate to die.

"open your eyes." he said, her hearing that he was closer now. "OPEN YOUR GODDAMN EYES." a hand grabbed her neck, cutting off her air.

gracen opened her eyes, tears blurring her vision. she could see her best friend, analeise, laying limp on the ground, surrounded by a pool of blood. she screamed even louder. "ANA! WAKE UP!! WAKE UP!!!!"

"miss jones?"

"PLEASE WAKE UP!"

"MISS JONES!"

she felt hands shaking her limp body, grabbing her arms. gracen forced them off her. "don't touch me. DON'T TOUCH ME!"

"miss jones, open your eyes."

"i don't want to see it! i don't want to see it!!!" the girl screamed in desperation, fighting off the arms once again.

"miss jones, you're at the hospital, you're safe."

gracen's vision blurred to focus as she opened her eyes, vision being greeted by bright white lights. she hadn't seen a room this well lit in a while.

i feeling of dread came over her. she wasn't dead. gracen, looked at her side, at a woman who was still holding onto her arms. forcing them away, she scooted away, adrenaline pumping.

the thoughts drove her insane. the images, the bodies, the screaming.

her head pounding, rattling, shaking with all these feelings, memories, and sounds...she couldn't take it. she couldn't live with it.

it drove her mad.

—