Running

Chapter 13

We're driving to my mothers house.

When we went back into the glass room Hotch informed us that they'd tracked Raymond's cellphone to a motel in the town over, Laurel. So Rossi and JJ are on their way to get him. Hotchner wanted all hands on deck, to find those missing kids.

It's only 5:01am, so by the time we park outside, no one in the house is awake.

We walk around to the back, and when we get to the yard an ear splitting bark rips into the air. And again. Until the unseen animal is going so ballistic that I'd swear I was about to go deaf. That's when a Rottweiler comes galloping out of the trees.

"Oh shit-" Morgan says, hiding behind the corner of the house. Reid joins Derek, cowering beside him. Prentiss takes a small side step behind Hotch, who stands his ground.

I've heard stories of when Hotchner went head to head with The Reaper. And before Foyet had attacked him with a knife, he'd shot a bullet at the wall behind Hotch. The bullet whizzed right past his head. Hotch didn't even blink.

The dog progressively gets closer, barking up a storm.

"Blue!" A woman yells, walking out the back door, her arms wrapped around her torso protectively. "Blue shut up!" she yells again, clearly half asleep. But he keeps going. And before I know it he's throwing himself at me.

"No!" Morgan yells, but I let out a joyful squeal and start to laugh, silently praying that he doesn't shoot at the dog.

"Blue off," I say, and he bounds off of me instantly.

Reid's jaw drops in confusion, as Hotch smirks slightly. I stand off the ground and pet the dog, his tongue immediately hanging out of his mouth.

"Nora?" Adeline says, raising a brow. "What are you doing here? It's..." she checks her watch. "5:00am?"

"And what are you doing up, at 5:00am?"

She chuckles.

"We need to search for something in the woods..." I say, walking up to stand on the back porch. I shut my eyes, breathing in the fresh air, remembering.

Slowly, my feet start to carry me into the woods. I can hear the crackling of twigs beneath me.

People always say that the forest is silent. But with my eyes shut, I can hear everything. The trail is engrained in my brain, and when I come to a certain point, I stop.

I open my eyes and look around. To my left, I find a path. The same drag marks still brand the dirt, no matter how many years have passed since my dad.

The others come up behind me, and we all pull out our guns. I walk down the path first, the edges of the trees scraping against my arms.

It takes a while, since I'm not running right now, but eventually we come to a clearing. The same clearing I crept apon, ten years ago.

The shack stands in the middle of the field, and I stop dead. The others begin rushing towards the building silently, but I'm stuck, frozen to the ground.

Spencer comes up behind me, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"You did it, Elle," he whispers to me. "You found the shack. You've done great."

I nod imperceptibly and start walking again, gradually growing into a jog.

We meet up with the others at the front, and Hotch kicks in the door. Instantly we walk into the living room, where four locked doors sit along the far wall.

I rush up the stairs while the others clear the room, but I know that nobodies here.

At the top I look around. It's the exact same as the last time I was here.

The bed sits to my right, and I creep towards it, creaking it open. Inside I find ten individual keys. Four for the rooms downstairs, and the rest for the ones up here.

The others come up the stairs, and I pass out the keys.

"Their each numbered to match with a letter on the door." 20, 25, 1, 5, 14, 5, 19, 8, 12, 13.

We all separate to find the correct doors. I hear Morgan yell from upstairs, "GOT ONE!"

Soon after, Prentiss says, "I've got Farrah," from behind me, on the first floor. I open my second door, and at the back, cowering with a blindfold on his face, sits Kayden Jones.

"Hey Bud..." I whisper, walking in to kneel beside him. I take off his blindfold and he looks at me with wide eyes. Slowly they soften.

"Ray said you'd find us... you're Nora right?"

I smile softly, "Eleanor Price. Come on, let's get you out of here..."