maniac. | spencer reid

| twenty-three |

GRACEN.
—

her eyes slowly opened, but when gracen caught sight of the gray concrete wall, the dim lighting, and the smell of strong chemicals and cinnamon, it hit her. her eyes shot open, adrenaline running through her veins as she let out a strangled scream, kicking around in the chair she was tied to. her chest heaved up and down as she tried to wake up from her nightmare, digging in her nails into her hand.

but this was real. she was back here and this was happening. a tear slipped down her cheek, then many more, as she thought about the things she hadn't done yet in her life.

gracen knew she was going to die in here. she knew he was going to kill her after ten years.

fuck.

she thought back to the five months of freedom she had. gracen wished she did more. she should've known it wasn't over. she should've taken more walks outside, she missed the sun so badly. she missed spencer so badly.

and the last thing she said to him was she never wanted to see him ever again. gracen sobbed, her cries escalating until she her throat seized up from a lump. it hurt so badly—everything hurt so badly.

"end it." gracen said. "FUCKING END IT! KILL ME!"

her voice echoed throughout the cellar, and no voice was heard except for hers. "DO YOU HEAR ME?!" she shrieked.

suddenly the wooden door flung open, and gracen immediately regretted her actions. from what she could tell, the door only led to another area, not outside. she was underground.

there was a shadow standing in front of the now closed door, and as he approached gracen she started to freeze. wanting to run. needing to run. but she was bound tight to the chair.

"gracen..." he cooed. "oh, my little grace..."

she froze, paralyzed from shock as the man's face finally came into view.

her heart was sending all kinds of signals—telling her she knew this man, and that there was more to him than what her eyes could see. but gracen couldn't put her finger on it. who was this man to her?

her brain didn't recognize him. but her heart did. and right at that moment, it was screaming at her to get away.

"who...who the hell are you?" she asked. "are you ben?"

the man was middle aged, maybe in his late 30s. he had shaggy brunette hair and round glasses that sat on his face, somehow adding more eeriness to his features. he wore an outfit that was similar to how reid dressed—and she thought back to what the cute genius had said to her one time.

"if i don't have my gun on me gracen, i look like a teachers assistant."

a teacher. her instincts were firing up, this man had to have been a teacher. at her school.

"don't fuck around." he said with hard eyes, crouching down at eye level. "don't play stupid."

"i don't know who the hell you are." gracen spat at him, making him flinch. "let me go."

"i'll make you remember." he said, standing up angrily, slapping her. gracen didn't let out a single reaction as her cheek burned with pins and needles. she stared him dead in the eyes.