Aria (a psych fanfiction)

Chapter 25

She thought she was hallucinating, at first. Out of all the airports in the world, all the days in the year, and they'd just happened to be there -

Her breath hitched in her throat as she felt a hand grab her elbow. She knew better than to turn around - it was a familiar grip, rough and nearly unbreakable.

"Good girl." Her heart grew heavier with each breath she heard him take. "Now, let's start towards the exit, nice and quiet."

She nodded.

"Good girl," he repeated, guiding her away from the luggage carousel. Her eyes flickered every which way, scanning the crowd frantically. Now or never… "Shawn!"

Frederick's head snapped in her direction just as a family of four crossed between them, perfectly placed for her to duck behind and bolt.

"Shawn!" She ran, trying to relocate him - she knew she'd seen him. "Gus! Sha - " She swerved to avoid a stanchion, nearly losing her balance. The exit was close, a steady stream of travelers passing through it, and there - No. They were - but - They were just there...

"I'm sorry, have you seen my daughter? 'Bout five foot three, brown hair, red shirt?"

Frederick's voice was gentle, concerned - no doubt whoever he was asking for help thought him to be nothing more than a worried father looking for his kid.

Aria kept running. Past the people, past the ticket machines, past the revolving doors, her lungs burning as she took in breath after breath of chilly Queens air.

Keep running.

Gus's nose led them out of the airport, following the cloying scent of jasmine to a warehouse a few blocks away.

"This way!" Gus took another uncertain sniff. "I think."

"You think? C'mon, buddy."

"It's not my fault, Shawn. The Super Sniffer cannot function in polluted urban locations!"

Shawn squinted. "You sound like you're reading a user manual for a toaster oven."

Gus tsked, then sniffed the air again. "This way. Definitely," he added. Shawn had frozen. "What?"

James Frederick was standing in front of them.

He wasn't looking at them, but...he was there. He was, without a doubt, walking in front of them, glancing to either side of him before disappearing into the warehouse. And he was alone. Which meant that Aria was...where?

Aria froze, back pressed to the wall, as she heard the warehouse door creak open, gentle city sunlight leaking in. "I know you're in here, Little Bird. I don't know what kind of trick you're trying to play, but believe me," he stopped to chuckle, "It will not end well. So I suggest you come out now."

I shouldn't have stopped running.

"You want to play hide-and-seek, huh? Well, then, ready or not, here I come..." The footsteps began to sound further and further away, as did his voice, and Aria closed her eyes in relief - only for them to fly open at the sound of the door creaking once more.

Frederick stopped walking. Aria stopped breathing. But Shawn and Gus - apparently oblivious to the fact that they were standing not twenty feet away from a serial killer - didn't stop talking