An Emblematic Woman ● S. Reid | ✓

16 - Victim

And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything.

~ William Shakespeare

Russo

"There's just so much blood and gore and-and...ick!" Garcia exclaimed.

"Garcia, it's a slasher film. How do you do a slasher film without violence?" Morgan asked.

"You imply it, that's how," them two, along with Reid and I were walking out of a movie theater downtown stairs.

"Baby, the movie is called "Unfriended", what were you expecting?" he asked.

"An awkward basket case high school film with a twist of comedy. I'm gonna have nightmares for a week now," she said.

"So, with everything that we see on a daily basis, that got to you? Really?" I asked.

"Listen, Lara Croft," she said, which made me laugh out, "You may be all kick-ass awesome with your big guns and your tae kwondo stuff — which is awesome BTW, but the mystical mavens of innocence like myself jump at things that go bump in the night,"

"Aw, Penny," I sighed.

"Why are worried? I'm sure that Morgan will protect you. As long as he's not jumping out of his chair like a prepubescent schoolgirl," Reid laughed. I laughed along with him, while Morgan just rolled his eyes.

"Yeah that's right Reid. I protect Garcia, Russo protects you," he smirked.

"Hey!"

"And the only reason I jumped is 'cause you guys woke me up," he said.

"How could you sleep through that?" Garcia asked, completely bewildered at his comment.

"Easy. You drag me out after a 12-hour workday — for what? You telling me that girl didn't know that the unsub was waiting for her upstairs? Come on, now," he replied.

"Villain," Reid said.

"What?"

"In movies, unsubs are called villains," he said.

"My bad," Morgan scoffed.

"You want to know why horror movies are so successful?" he asked.

"Why's that genius?" he asked.

"They prey on our instinctual need to survive. In tribal days, a woman's scream would signal danger and the men would return from hunting to protect their pack. That's why it's always the women and not the men who fall victim to the bogeyman," he said.

"Ha! Count on genius Dr. Reid to break horror movies down to an exact science," I giggled.

"What? It's true," he said.

"Well, my favorite thing about horror movies is the suspense factor," I told them.

"Ah yes, the ticking clock of doom," he said.

"What?" Garcia asked.

"Think about it: The helpless victim walks through the dark, shadows reaching out to get her," I said, setting the mood.

"A sudden noise draws her attention. Is someone there, or is it just in her head?" Reid asked, playing along with my game.

"She reaches for the door, unaware of the sudden threat that awaits her on the other side,"

"And as soon as she thinks she's safe, that's when he has her most vulnerable,"

"RAAH!"

"AAH!"