The Woods, 2/?
She’s covered in her father’s blood when they find her.
‘Jennifer!’ It’s her mother’s voice, but it cannot quite break through the daze that this confused little girl is in.
Her mother looks for her husband, but cannot find him in any form. It has been nine hours since Jennifer had gone into the woods, eight and a half since her father went in after her. To Jennifer Jareau, it felt like just minutes.
She doesn’t know that time moves differently in the woods. Minutes feel like seconds, hours like minutes, days like hours, weeks like days. Some have escaped from the woods only to find that their entire family is dead, that years have passed. Some have never escaped at all.
* * *
Hotch decided that ultimately, keeping JJ away from the crime scene was the best idea. If the deaths had been similar to her father’s, then the last thing he wanted to do was bring up old memories by sending her out there.
‘Morgan, Prentiss,’ he instructed. ‘Crime scene.’ All the bodies had been recovered in the same location, no more than three days apart. The victims themselves had all disappeared from other areas, all of which were near the edge of the woods.
Reid and Rossi split off from JJ and Hotch, taking the list of family’s names that had been supplied to them.
‘Are you sure you’re alright to do this?’ Hotch asked. He was always concerned for his team, but it took almost extreme circumstances for him to voice it.
‘Yeah, I’m fine.’ JJ’s voice seemed distant, almost snappy. ‘It was a long time ago, Hotch. It threw me at first, but I’m over it.’
He nodded. ‘As long as you’re sure.’
She smiled at his concern. ‘Yes, I’m sure.’
In any case, she found herself changing the subject rather quickly, an event that did not go unnoticed by Hotch.
‘Theodore Birmingham, age thirty-six. Disappeared almost two weeks ago. Found dead three days later. We’re talking to his wife, Janet.’
Janet Birmingham was still in shock. As she told the Unit Chief and the media liaison, she had lost her first husband from cancer just two years ago. To lose Theodore - Teddy, she called him - seemed almost twice as bad. It was for this reason that she had been, as yet, unable to talk to the police.
‘Teddy loved his photography. He went out on his lunch breaks to just take pictures. It made him so happy. And then...oh God...they didn’t even find the camera. I wonder...did he take a picture of the man who killed him? What kind of monster did this?’
JJ closed her eyes for just a second, and saw the image of her nightmares. It was seven feet tall, clawed. Fangs dripped with blood-tainted saliva, skin rough as bark. In her mind’s eye, she saw those claws rip her father’s chest open.
She choked slightly, stepping back. Both Janet and Hotch turned to look at her.
‘I...It’s nothing.’ But she could not stop herself from breaking down right then and there. Cutting her losses, she walked quickly back to the SUV, leaving an anxious supervisor in her wake.
* * *
She does not speak. Her mother tries to get her to talk. Her aunt tries. A child psychologist tries. Still, she tells none of them what happened in the woods that day. She knows that they won’t believe her; she’s at the age where she has just come to the realization that all the monsters her parents taught her about are fake. She knows that they did not believe in the monsters in the woods - they had only tried to convince her otherwise so she would not venture too far.
None of the numerous search parties ever find her father, but she is already resigned to the fact that he is dead. Her mother does not believe it at first, but after several weeks, she too loses hope.
The true story of what happened in those woods is known only to Jennifer Jareau.
And she isn’t going to tell.
* * *
The Chevy Suburban drew to a stop just over a hundred feet from the crime scene.
‘It’s weird, don’t you think?’ asked Prentiss as they ducked underneath the yellow tape that cordoned off the area. ‘At least four of these bodies were dumped right under the police’s nose, and yet they never even saw anyone?’
‘A lot of cover,’ remarked Morgan, staring into the thicket of trees. With his limited knowledge of flora, he could distinguish elm, maple, oak, and not much else. ‘It wouldn’t be impossible to get a body to the edge of the treeline and then go back the same way you came.’
‘He’d have to know the woods pretty well then. They’re not exactly sparse. You think he lives in there?’ She squinted her eyes, as if expecting to see some kind of shelter in amongst the trees.
‘It’s possible, I suppose.’ Morgan frowned, and tilted his head. ‘Did you hear that?’
There was silence between them as they both listened for the sound again. It came seconds later; a muffled scream.
There were no preliminaries. Both Morgan and Prentiss ran in the direction of the scream. Tree trunks flew past at an alarming speed.
‘How far in, do you think?’ Morgan asked. Due to the increasing density of the forest, neither could see particularly far in front of them. They heard the sounds again, each the increasing loudness of each scream telling them that they were getting closer.
‘No idea...Do you think it’s our unsub?’ She was not as fit as Morgan, she had to admit, but then, she didn’t do a thousand sit-ups every morning.
‘It could be,’ was all Morgan said. He did not want to get his hopes up. Then, suddenly, the screams stopped. They kept going, though, knowing that the victim could still be alive.
‘Wait,’ Prentiss called out. ‘Wait.’ Morgan slowed to a stop, looking at his colleague incredulously. She wouldn’t make him stop if she was unable to run any further - not if there was someone in trouble.
‘Look around, Morgan.’
He frowned. This did not look like the forest that they had run into. This seemed on the whole, much, much darker.
Neither saw the clawed creature creeping up behind them.
‘Jennifer!’ It’s her mother’s voice, but it cannot quite break through the daze that this confused little girl is in.
Her mother looks for her husband, but cannot find him in any form. It has been nine hours since Jennifer had gone into the woods, eight and a half since her father went in after her. To Jennifer Jareau, it felt like just minutes.
She doesn’t know that time moves differently in the woods. Minutes feel like seconds, hours like minutes, days like hours, weeks like days. Some have escaped from the woods only to find that their entire family is dead, that years have passed. Some have never escaped at all.
* * *
Hotch decided that ultimately, keeping JJ away from the crime scene was the best idea. If the deaths had been similar to her father’s, then the last thing he wanted to do was bring up old memories by sending her out there.
‘Morgan, Prentiss,’ he instructed. ‘Crime scene.’ All the bodies had been recovered in the same location, no more than three days apart. The victims themselves had all disappeared from other areas, all of which were near the edge of the woods.
Reid and Rossi split off from JJ and Hotch, taking the list of family’s names that had been supplied to them.
‘Are you sure you’re alright to do this?’ Hotch asked. He was always concerned for his team, but it took almost extreme circumstances for him to voice it.
‘Yeah, I’m fine.’ JJ’s voice seemed distant, almost snappy. ‘It was a long time ago, Hotch. It threw me at first, but I’m over it.’
He nodded. ‘As long as you’re sure.’
She smiled at his concern. ‘Yes, I’m sure.’
In any case, she found herself changing the subject rather quickly, an event that did not go unnoticed by Hotch.
‘Theodore Birmingham, age thirty-six. Disappeared almost two weeks ago. Found dead three days later. We’re talking to his wife, Janet.’
Janet Birmingham was still in shock. As she told the Unit Chief and the media liaison, she had lost her first husband from cancer just two years ago. To lose Theodore - Teddy, she called him - seemed almost twice as bad. It was for this reason that she had been, as yet, unable to talk to the police.
‘Teddy loved his photography. He went out on his lunch breaks to just take pictures. It made him so happy. And then...oh God...they didn’t even find the camera. I wonder...did he take a picture of the man who killed him? What kind of monster did this?’
JJ closed her eyes for just a second, and saw the image of her nightmares. It was seven feet tall, clawed. Fangs dripped with blood-tainted saliva, skin rough as bark. In her mind’s eye, she saw those claws rip her father’s chest open.
She choked slightly, stepping back. Both Janet and Hotch turned to look at her.
‘I...It’s nothing.’ But she could not stop herself from breaking down right then and there. Cutting her losses, she walked quickly back to the SUV, leaving an anxious supervisor in her wake.
* * *
She does not speak. Her mother tries to get her to talk. Her aunt tries. A child psychologist tries. Still, she tells none of them what happened in the woods that day. She knows that they won’t believe her; she’s at the age where she has just come to the realization that all the monsters her parents taught her about are fake. She knows that they did not believe in the monsters in the woods - they had only tried to convince her otherwise so she would not venture too far.
None of the numerous search parties ever find her father, but she is already resigned to the fact that he is dead. Her mother does not believe it at first, but after several weeks, she too loses hope.
The true story of what happened in those woods is known only to Jennifer Jareau.
And she isn’t going to tell.
* * *
The Chevy Suburban drew to a stop just over a hundred feet from the crime scene.
‘It’s weird, don’t you think?’ asked Prentiss as they ducked underneath the yellow tape that cordoned off the area. ‘At least four of these bodies were dumped right under the police’s nose, and yet they never even saw anyone?’
‘A lot of cover,’ remarked Morgan, staring into the thicket of trees. With his limited knowledge of flora, he could distinguish elm, maple, oak, and not much else. ‘It wouldn’t be impossible to get a body to the edge of the treeline and then go back the same way you came.’
‘He’d have to know the woods pretty well then. They’re not exactly sparse. You think he lives in there?’ She squinted her eyes, as if expecting to see some kind of shelter in amongst the trees.
‘It’s possible, I suppose.’ Morgan frowned, and tilted his head. ‘Did you hear that?’
There was silence between them as they both listened for the sound again. It came seconds later; a muffled scream.
There were no preliminaries. Both Morgan and Prentiss ran in the direction of the scream. Tree trunks flew past at an alarming speed.
‘How far in, do you think?’ Morgan asked. Due to the increasing density of the forest, neither could see particularly far in front of them. They heard the sounds again, each the increasing loudness of each scream telling them that they were getting closer.
‘No idea...Do you think it’s our unsub?’ She was not as fit as Morgan, she had to admit, but then, she didn’t do a thousand sit-ups every morning.
‘It could be,’ was all Morgan said. He did not want to get his hopes up. Then, suddenly, the screams stopped. They kept going, though, knowing that the victim could still be alive.
‘Wait,’ Prentiss called out. ‘Wait.’ Morgan slowed to a stop, looking at his colleague incredulously. She wouldn’t make him stop if she was unable to run any further - not if there was someone in trouble.
‘Look around, Morgan.’
He frowned. This did not look like the forest that they had run into. This seemed on the whole, much, much darker.
Neither saw the clawed creature creeping up behind them.