Threat of Silence - Adopted by Emily Prentiss

Chapter One

"No, no, no! How is this happening?!" Emma harshly whispers to herself as she's running through the dimly lit streets of Washington, D.C. Emma had just finished her Thursday night softball practice. She got home a little later than usual tonight, staying behind and doing some batting practice with her fellow teammates. "Where?" Emma pants as she keeps running. She takes a quick glance at her smartwatch. 19:42. It's been 7 minutes since she started sprinting from her home. In a daze, she zigzags through the alleys and main streets. In the distance, she can hear the high pitched sounds of the sirens. She knows she didn't do anything wrong, but it's not safe here anymore.

After about 15 minutes of running, Emma decides to make a sharp turn and duck behind a dumpster. Looking over the top she checks to make sure she hasn't been followed. Once she deems it safe for the moment, she checks her pockets. "Shit! No!" She silently curses herself. She doesn't have her phone. Emma looks around thinking of where to go. Somewhere safe and she can gather her thoughts. Then it clicks. She knows exactly where to go to think and clear her head. Without wasting another second, Emma takes off sprinting in the same direction. It's not far from where she is. She thinks? "Where am I?" Emma thinks to herself. She notices a small gas station that's closed on the corner of the street. "Okay, It's okay." She whispers.

After about another 10 minutes of running, Emma finds herself at the place where she can think. Where she can forget the entire world if she needs to. The high school softball field. Emma pushes the gate open and walks in. The field is lit up with giant field lights. She closes the gate behind her and looks around. Nobody here. Obviously, it's 20:07 now. Who'd be at the high school this late? She walks up to the home plate, thinking back on the day she had. She had breakfast with her father. They joked about how he'd always read from the paper but still have his iPad on the table with the news app open but wouldn't look at it. "Reading from the paper reminds me of the days when I would sit at the table with my parents and spend time with them in the mornings before school." He said and then Emma would make a joke about him getting older and she would laugh at the fake offended look on his face.

"How is this even happening?" She says to herself as she walks to the dugout. Emma sits down on the bench and hangs her head in her hands. Suddenly she hears a car door. She immediately jumps up and is in panic mode. She doesn't run this time, there's nowhere to go. She runs to the corner of the dugout and waits. She's holding her breath, trying to get her breathing under control so she doesn't get caught by whoever is there. "Emma! Emma Ashford! My name is Emily and I'm with the FBI. We know you're here and we're not going to hurt you! Can you come out so we can get you checked by our medics?"

Emma risks a peak around the wall of the dugout and sees a woman with grayish hair holding a badge in one hand while her other hand is slightly raised in the air, staring in the direction of where Emma is hiding. Giving out the impression that she is there for help. Emma slowly lets her guard down and walks from around the corner. Not leaving the "safety" of the hiding place she found. The woman is already looking at her when she comes out. "Hi Emma, I'm SSA Emily Prentiss, that's SSA Jennifer Jareau standing by the gate." Emma quickly looks over to the gate, not noticing the other woman until now. The other woman has blonde hair and has both of her hands on the gate, not making a move to enter. Her body language remains calm. She gives a light smile. Emma looks back at the older woman. "What do you want?" Emma asks with a short and defensive attitude. "We just want to take you to the hospital and get you checked out, make sure you're okay." The older woman responds calmly.

This causes Emma to snap. Her head shoots up and she has a fire behind her eyes. "Okay? Okay?! You want to know if I'm okay?! Fuck no I'm not okay!" Emma yells at the older woman. While yelling Emma walked out of the dugout and onto the field towards Emily. "My father is dead! He's dead and you're standing here asking if I'm okay?! He's the only person I had left! Everyone is gone! They're all gone because of me! This is my fault!" Emma yells. Then the realization hit her. "Oh my god, they're all dead because of me." She says to herself. Emma starts pacing and going on about how she never meant for this to happen and that she would trade places. She thinks she can hear some talking but can't listen to what they're saying. During her ranting, Emma's vision started to become blurry. Her words became breathless and airy. "Emma, I need you to take some deep breaths for me." Emma hears but ignores the woman. "I didn't want this! Why? Why!" Emma yells at the older woman. Emma feels the air leaving her body. She can't breathe. The world is going dark and then. She hits the ground.