Psychopathy

Chapter 54- Not Out Of The Woods Yet

Isabel was stumbling through the dark. She heard voices in the distance, but she couldn't find them. She just kept running and stumbling, trying to find the light at the end of the tunnel.

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Teresa stood outside of the house, waiting for the medics to come out. She'd seen them go inside and had felt the miracle that had happened in there. But now she was waiting for them to come out so she could give the flowers to Ciara and talk to her for the first time in over two years. She was both exhilarated and terrified, and she didn't know which feeling was dominant. She looked around the forest, wondering if she should go see her parents. She had some words she needed to say to them.

Before she could get all of the words straight in her head, she heard what sounded like a helicopter. Without even thinking, she looked up to the sky, trying to spot the aircraft. When she couldn't see anything through the thick trees, she looked down at the ground, smiling and laughing at herself. Even in Virginia, where she saw and heard airplanes every day, she still looked up at each one. It was a habit picked up from her childhood; in central Nebraska, seeing an airplane was a rare occurrence. Every time they heard one, Teresa and Ciara would look up at the sky in excitement, cheering when they finally spotted it.

"Lifeflight is landing in a field on the other side of Highway 2 now. Let's get her there." Teresa turned, smiling when she saw the medics bringing the gurney out of the house. Her smile dropped when she saw that the person on the gurney wasn't moving. She ran to the porch, waiting until the medics got down the stairs to get close. Ciara was laying in a prone position, an oxygen mask on her face, and far too much happening on her back for Teresa to properly describe.

"Ciara?" Teresa called. Her sister's fingers clenched slightly at Teresa's words, but other than that, there was no response. Teresa turned back to the house to see the entire BAU rushing behind the medics. She looked at Reid, his red-rimmed eyes meeting hers. "What happened?"

"Ty... Ty shot her in the back. Missed her spine by two inches," Reid answered, his voice scratchy. He'd been crying. Maybe even screaming. "She... she..."

"I know. I know that she died, but something brought her back," Teresa told him. His mouth opened slightly, a questioning look on his face. "I felt it. I felt it when she left, and I felt it when she came back. Don't go all science man on me. Don't question it. Just know that I felt it."

"Okay," Reid said, clearly not having the energy to argue. Teresa looked back at Ciara, stepping close to the gurney once it was securely on the ground. She took Ciara's hand and followed along with the medics, practically running to keep up with their punishing pace. It had been a long time since she had run like this. Kenna and Kota got this exercise every day, running after toddlers. But Teresa hung out with babies all day. No running involved. They'd just gotten back to the main trail when the older medic looked at Teresa with a scowl.

"Ma'am, you're going to have to step back," he said, and Teresa shook her head.

"She's my sister. I'm not leaving her," she responded, and the three medics all looked up at her. "She's adopted."

"Well, if she's your sister, maybe you can answer some questions for us," the youngest medic asked, and Teresa nodded, nearly tripping on a rock. She didn't imagine this grueling pace was bringing Ciara anything but pain. But Ciara seemed to be out cold and wasn't responding to the jostling of the gurney. Besides, it would be a lot worse for her if they didn't get her to the helicopter as quickly as they could. "What's her blood type?"

"AB Negative," Teresa responded, and the young medic looked at her. "Yeah, yeah, I know, it's the rarest blood type."

"I don't know if the hospital will have any of that on standby."