The sun was beating down on the dry Montana soil. The pavement on Route 94 seemed to be on fire in the ferocious heat. Most people with good sense were indoors depending on air conditioners or fans like life support. In the small nook of Custer County it seemed to be utterly deserted spare for a black SUV winding down the road. The BAU had just finished a case in one of the more populated towns. A week prior they received a case involving a child predator who was kidnapping young girls. It was a long strenuous case involving much anguish from grieving parents, confused locals and resistant police officers. The team simply just wanted to get home.

Prentiss was driving while J.J sat next to her in the passenger seat. Reid was in the back, his usual spot when it was the three of them. There was a lot of frustration at the moment. The GPS in this particular car was broken and they'd been trying to find there way back to Billings where the case was. The three had them had drove all the way out to Custer to check up with a possible witness, but then they received a phone call from Morgan. Rossi had dug something up and the unsub was apprehended. Now they just had to find there way back.

"Er, do you think it could've been that road back there?" Reid suggested sheepishly. He really didn't want to irritate his teammates anymore than they already were, but if there was any possibility he could figure out the way back he was going to make suggestions.

"No, it just leads back to the other road we were on before… I think," J.J responded as she tried to get service on her phone for the umpteenth time. With the "no service" image blaring on the screen she rubbed her temples in frustration. She was feeling quite nauseous from being in the car so long and felt anxious at the thought of being away from Henry longer than needed. With the way things were going they were likely to miss the jet back.

"No luck?" Emily asked with sympathy.

"Nope, until we find somewhere a bit more populated we're out of luck."

Reid leaned back and pressed his head against the window. The air conditioner was doing a decent job, but it was still uncomfortably dry. Gazing out of the window he was reminded of the flat, dry land of Las Vegas. He hadn't been back there since Christmas. Once again a familiar trickle of guilt came over him. Things had been even more confusing since the headaches started. It began with a light buzzing in his temples once in awhile, but then it escalated to intense migraines each day. His visit to the neurologist only made things worse. He suggested that they might be "psychosomatic". Reid's mind instantly darted towards schizophrenia. The thought of that mental illness pulsing through his brain made him nauseous. He could not and would not end up like his mother, a lost cause.

And there it was, right on schedule. A headache was starting. It was the worst possible time for this to come about, especially since he wasn't really planning on telling anyone about what was going on. Casually he took his sunglasses out of his messenger bag and put them on. It helped a bit, but there was still discomfort.

J.J glanced back at Reid for a moment. He was unusually quiet. She almost felt the desire to prompt him to start spewing statistics at them, but he looked as though he wanted to remain in his head. Her eyes then flashed towards the gas meter. They had about a quarter left before it was empty. That only gave them a few more miles to find a gas station or they would be completely screwed.

"I know," Prentiss said as she saw J.J examining it.

"There has to be a town somewhere," J.J responded as her anxiety heightened. The idea of walking in the heat was more than unpleasant, but downright dangerous. She didn't know how they had gotten themselves into this. If they could only find service they could find their way back. But the vast land of Montana was sparing them no mercy.

Suddenly a sign came into view. It said: Mama's Montana Cookery, Best Burgers and Biscuits around, Next Left. A few feet down another sign said "Welcome to Ismay, Montana".

"Aha, there's something," Prentiss said with relief.

As she said that Reid popped up out of his hypnotized state and looked out the windshield. Like them, he was relieved to see some signs of civilization.

"Someone there will probably be able to get us back on track," Reid added with a weak smile. He then heard his stomach rumble. It had been awhile since he had eaten anything. He imagined the rest of them would be hungry to. The advertisement made him even hungrier even though he knew it was probably bound to be a bit shady in these parts. He hoped they could get some food to go at least. But like everyone else he wanted to return to Virginia as soon as possible.

Out of nowhere a town came into view. It had a Main Street that seemed almost abandoned. A few of the stores looked as though no one had been in them in years. It was like a ghost town. However, Mama's was in full view and a sign flickered on the window saying open. At least there was someone around. Even so, they all felt uneasy.

Getting out of the SUV was like stepping into an oven. The heat was overwhelming. Reid knew this wasn't typical of Montana, despite its dry nature. They were definitely experiencing a heat wave.

"Jesus… this heat is ridiculous," Prentiss exclaimed as they headed for the door.

The first thing she noticed was that it was covered with a thick layer of dust. It didn't seem like anyone really cleaned up the place. Inside was even worse. There was a thick odor of rotting meat and stale air. Reid couldn't help but make a face as the scent greeted their nostrils. He no longer felt hungry.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" J.J called out after they waited at the counter for a bit.

Silence.

"Maybe there's no one here," Reid said. This place was giving him the creeps. He felt like he had stepped into some sort of horror film. Then again, that was part of their day to day job.

Prentiss then eyed a little bell on the counter. She supposed ringing it wouldn't do any harm.

"Hold on, I'm coming," a hoarse voice called out from the back.

A husky woman who looked around forty stepped out. She was wearing a frumpy blue dress with a dirty apron tied around her waist. It pressed into her skin creating a muffin top of compressed fat. Her hair was messily done up in a greasy bun. Many moles covered her chubby, coarse face along with red spots of acne scars. The agents were good enough at poker faces to hide their reactions. She wasn't exactly easy to look at.

"What do you want?" she asked rather abrasively. It looked as though she was thoroughly annoyed by their presence.

Prentiss automatically took the lead.

"We don't mean to disturb you, but we were wondering if you could help us find our way back to Billings. We're a little lost." Her tone was a calm one that she would often use when talking delicately to the families of victims. But at the moment she just didn't want to give the woman any reason to send them off.

"I haven't been out of this town in ten years so I'm afraid I can't help you." As she said this she tapped her chubby fingers on the counter.

"What about a phone?" Reid suggested with his hands in his pockets.

"Don't have one here. But if you're willing to drive down the road there's one at the house," the woman said eyeing them. Then her eyes set on Reid's gun in its holster. "Now what the hell is that for?"

"We're with the FBI," Reid blurted out. J.J and Prentiss both tensed up. They knew it was never a good idea to tell that sort of folk that they were with the government from past experience. Reid knew too, but sometimes things just slipped.

"FBI, huh? And you just happened to end up here?" she questioned with a hint of anger.

"We were working on a case in Billings, but it led us out here and now we're lost," J.J retorted calmly.

"Is that the guy who's killing those kids?" she asked.

"Yes, but the case is closed. We got him," Prentiss told her. She knew she didn't have anything to explain to her, but the more relaxed they were the more they could get. Right now the people in this town were all they had to depend on.

"The house is up a ways down Main Street and up the back road, you'll see it."

"Thank you very much," J.J said with a smile.

Prentiss and Reid also muttered a thank you and they left thankful to be out of there. All of them were utterly disturbed by the woman's behavior. It seemed as though she was hiding something. Then again, there was always something to hide in a small town. And this town was as small as you could get.

As soon as they were out of sight Abigail Seaver retreated to the back of the store. She cursed those arrogant agents in her mind. They were the worst ones yet to trek through their town. Picking up the phone she had concealed she dialed home.

"Gary, we have three."