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I would love to hear your opinions and look to working further on the story.

I do not own or have connection with the "Criminal Minds" program or its characters.

Chapter One. The Snowbank

The car moved on the black tar heading into the mountains of West Virginia to the federal prison. Two members of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit are heading there to interview with a serial killer who agreed to participate in the VICAP project. The day was cloudy and grey with snowflakes falling slowly and consistently. The mood in the black SUV was somber and quiet as the men drove in comfortable silence.

"Uh, Hotch?"

"Yeah, what is it Reid?"

"Do you know when we will get to the next town?"

"About thirty miles, why?"

"Ew, that far."

"What is it Reid?"

"Hotch, we gotta find someplace, I gotta go." The driver looks at his passenger in exasperation and a little amusement.

"Why didn't you go when we stopped at that service station in the last town?"

"I didn't need to go then. But I really gotta go badly now."

"Can it wait until the next town, it's should only be about 40 minutes away."

The man groaned.

"Maybe not. You should have gone even if you didn't need to. I didn't think I was supposed to remind you like I do with Jack."

"Very funny. Do you think there might be a house or something along the way that we might be able to stop at?"

"I don't know, this is a sparsely populated area."

All of a sudden the vehicle began to slide on a patch of black ice, Hotch struggled to keep the vehicle on the road and in control but they hit another patch and went straight into the snowbank on the side of the road. Both men hit the dashboard just before the air bags deployed holding them into their seats. After A few minutes the men began to stir from the feeling of hitting a wall.

"Reid, are you okay? Do you still have to go?"

"I am okay and no I don't have to go right now. Where are we?"

"We are about 26 miles away from the next town and 12 miles from the town behind us. I haven't seen any houses or buildings behind us but I don't know about what might be ahead of us. Do you feel up to a walk to see if we can find something or do you want to stay here and see if we can get the car out of this snowbank."

"It is still snowing out there do you think it is going to get worse?"

"Yeah, I think so but staying might not help us either. We haven't seen any other cars coming by in either direction. We can try to dig ourselves out before we can trudge someplace that might have a land line phone. My cell isn't working about yours?"

"No, I am not getting any signal either. I guess the crash detector is also not working."

"Doesn't seem to be. What would you like to do?"

"Let's try to dig out and if that doesn't work, we can walk."

"Sounds like a plan." The men get out and go to check the back of the SUV and discover there is not shovel or anything to use to dig out with. They decided to take their go bags and walk, abandoning the vehicle. Figuring one way was as good as the other and that they don't remember seeing anything from the way they came they walk toward the next town.

They walk a half a mile and discover a driveway off to the right. They look down and don't see the end of the drive to where it leads. After a minute of discussion they decide to tackle the drive. The snow is falling harder and visibility is becoming more difficult. The men trudge through the unplowed snowy driveway for another half mile before they finally begin to see a building. The building looks like a vision from the Victorian age when the houses where large and extremely imposing. It was a dark and dismal looking edifice with six gables and seven bay windows peering out at the them. If you were so inclined you could almost see the ghosts of people through the dark windows. The site was welcoming to our wet and snowblind agents. If they had seen it in a different light and when they were not tired, cold and wet they would have fled from the imposing dark building.

The men walk up to the front porch and bang the lion's head doorknocker. They stand and wait for an answer which never comes. It seems that no one is currently living here. In profiling the building as it is they believe that the owners might have left a key in the area outside the door and begin to look around. They are lucky because in a small bird feeder next to the bench on the porch a rusty old skeleton style key was found. They try it on the door and it turned the tumblers. It would take the strength and muscles of both men pushing on the door to get it to open far enough for them to squeeze through. It squealed and squeaked the entire time.

When they got inside into the foyer, Hotch looked around for a light switch and found one which turned on the foyer chandelier. They felt very luck about that and then turned to close the door to keep out the snow and wind. If they had any clue what this building was and what await them, they would have gone back out to face the snow and wind.

It seems that the men have encountered a former sanitarium for the severely mentally handicapped and that the spirits of those who died there are still present and that is why the building was closed thirty five years ago and has not been inhabited since then. There is a caretaker which lives in a small house a half mile away. Although there has been talk to tear it down the owners still won't do it.

What will happen to these men as they enter this building and learn of the horrors that went on there?

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