Trials and Tribulations

Chapter 6

Emily awoke but hadn't opened her eyes yet.
Her body was sore and achey.
Her head pounded and she let out a groan.
She finally opened her eyes but saw nothing.
She realized there was something covering her eyes and tried to remove it but her hands were bound behind her.
She tried moving more of her body but her legs were bound also.
Emily's breathing sped up.
She thrashed around trying to free a limb or feel what was around her.
She was tied tightly and there was no sign of getting free.
Emily opened her mouth and tried to let out a scream but nothing came out.
She cleared her throat. It hurt.
"hey" It came out as barely a whisper.
Emily sighed in frustration.
Before she could call out again there was a loud bang that startled her.
A door had opened and footsteps were heading her way.
She stayed in the position she was in, frozen.
there was the sound of something dropping beside her.
The person grabbed emily forcefully and sat her up against a wall.
She tried to yell out but the sound was quiet and squeaky.
Suddenly her blindfold was removed.
She saw what they had brought into the room.
Hotchs body lay bloody and limp on the ground.
His head was missing.

Emily jolted awake and sat up in her bed. She was panting and couldn't catch her breath. Her body was covered in sweat and and her face was wet with tears. Emily grabbed her phone from the bed side and quickly opened it, went to her contacts and pressed on Aaron Hotchner. She put the phone to her ear and listened to it ring once before a voice cut in.

"Hello?" Hotch answered.

"Aaron" Emily said. it was all she could get out.

"Emily. are you okay?" He wasn't hiding the concern in his voice.

Emily's breathing was still labored but she tried to calm it.
"Aaron i'm sorry. I just....I had a bad dream. I...I didn't know what to do" she said.

"It's okay. really." He said back. There was silence for a second but Aaron spoke up again.
"Do you want me to stay on the phone while you calm down?" He asked.

"Yeah okay. that would be nice" Emily said. "I'm going to get a glass of water." she spoke again.

Emily got out of her bed, putting her slippers on and made her way to the kitchen.

"What time is it anyway?" Emily asked as she got a glass from her cupboard.

"It's 3:28" He said.

"Damn. you really answered my call after one ring at 3:28 in the morning" Emily said with a little bit of a laugh.

"I really did" He replied.

Emily smiled to herself as she filled the glass with water. She gulped down the whole glass quickly.
Just as she was placing the empty glass into the sink she heard a sound at her door. she froze in place. She listened closely and the sound came again. It was louder and it sounded like something was being juggled in the lock. Not even a second after, she had bolted to her bedroom and shut the door behind her silently.

"Hotch. Somebody is at my apartment. they're trying to get in." she said into the phone quickly.

Without missing a beat Hotch chimed in on the other end.
"I'm on my way. Emily be careful " he said.
Emily unlocked the safe in her closet and removed her gun.

"I'll call in backup" Hotch said.

"Wait...uh... you're not going to stay on the phone?" Emily responded.

"No. I have to call the police. you'll be okay em."

"Aaron-" Emily started but he cut her off.
"Be safe. I'll be there soon" he said then the line went dead.

Emily sighed and put her phone on the nightstand. She kept her gun in a lowered but ready position as she quietly walked to her bedroom door and pressed her ear against it. She still heard the sound of something in the lock. She waited there for a moment. Suddenly emily heard the sound of the door being forced open. She jumped back.

"Shit" she muttered under her breath.

Adrenaline was pumping through her body.
She kept her gun pointed straight out in front of her and walked back to the door. This time she turned off the lights in her bedroom, leaving herself in nearly complete darkness. She placed her hand on the doorknob turned it and flung open the door. The hallway was empty. She slowly crept from her room down the hall. Her eyes were lazer focused trying to notice any inconsistencies in the dark apartment. She made it down the hall and into the kitchen. She saw the faucet was running in the kitchen sink, she knew that hadn't been her. Emily walked to the sink to turn it off but before she could even reach out her hand.
Everything went black.

Hotch arrived in front of Prentiss' apartment building and parked his car. He heard the sirens that were not too far behind him. Hotch got out of his car instantly and ran into the building, taking the stairs in twos as he bolted up to Emily's floor. He got to the door that opened on to her floor and unholstered his gun. Bursting through the door he ran down the hallway until he was at Emily's apartment. It was closed and nobody was outside. Hotch grabbed the knob and turned, it was unlocked. He opened the door with one hand, his other holding his gun out in front of him. He was greeted with a dark apartment. Upon first scan Hotch saw nothing. With his eyes and ears locked in and on alert he pushed further. He cleared the living room then moved toward the kitchen. He noticed the faucet was running and walked over to turn it off. When he did, he stepped in something. Looking down he saw a dark liquid on the kitchen tile. He crouched down and put his finger on it. He knew it was blood. He got up quickly and continued his search. The bathroom was empty. The bedroom was empty. The closets were empty. Hotch checked every corner of the whole apartment. With a sigh, he pulled out his phone and clicked sped dial 3 for Garcia. She answered after a few rings but Hotch didn't wait for her to speak.

"Get everyone down to the bau now. Emily is gone."