An Emblematic Woman ● S. Reid | ✓

31- Decoy

JJ

The cabin was up ahead, the path lead us right to it. There was light smoke rising from the stone chimney, the lights were out. Nobody seemed to be home. Rossi and Kate took the cabin, Hotch and I went into the shed.

He busted through the door, and I was at near relief that we found our friends. But then, they weren't there. All in their place were a few knocked over chairs, and zip ties on the floor. 

"They escaped," Hotch said.

"They're alive! They escaped, they're out there somewhere. This is a glimmer of hope," I told him.

"Linwood's not in the cabin, seems as though he and the dog abandoned it about a day ago," Rossi said.

"He's already got a head start. This forest is huge, we don't even know which way they went," Kate said.

"Okay well, they're smart. They wouldn't panic, they would develop a plan to get home," I said.

"One of them is injured though, how far would they get?" Hotch asked.

"We need to think like they do; Reid is smart, he'd be tactful. Morgan is the brawn, he's a natural born leader. Russo is experienced, she acts fast. Together, they'd be able to navigate their way through the forest and find their way back to town," I said.

"Cooperstown is twenty miles out from here. They really gonna travel that far?" Kate asked.

"It's a survival instinct, they'll have to," Rossi replied.

"We still have to worry about Linwood. If he's already on their trail, they may not have much time until he finds them," Hotch said.

"So now we have to organize a man hunt through the forest? We don't even know which way they went," Kate replied.

"Yes we do," I said.

"What do you mean?" Rossi asked. I led them outside and pointed up to the night sky.

"That's the north star, they saw that and they headed west. They're heading home," I told them.

"We need the tracker dogs," Rossi said.

"There's a wet cloth on the floor, the dog could pick up their scent, maybe even Linwood's," Kate said.

"We better hurry then. Dave and Rossi head back to town, we'll scower the perimeter of the woods. We need a helicopter up in the air and finding any signals or clues they leave for us. JJ and I will join the search team, we'll head north. There's a chance we'll be able to run into them and bring them home," Hotch said. We made our separate ways, all I could do was pray that we found them in time.

Russo

We continued hiking in the dark with the dim light of the flashlight only to guide us. I was hoping they would find us soon, I was feeling sicker and sicker with every pace.

"How you guys doing?" I asked.

"Okay, how about you?" Reid asked.

"Never better," I replied.

"Lying," Morgan said.

"Ah shut up," I sneered with a fake smirk. All of the sudden, we heard a dog barking.

"Could that be a rescue party?" he asked.

"Maybe we're close to home," Reid suggested. The dog barked again, then howled.

"I don't think so guys," I said as I headed for the sound. "That bark came from the opposite direction," I was starting to get nervous. The bark sounded again, followed by a cracking twig. "He found us,"