24 Hours (A Spencer Reid Story)

Prologue

Dorothea Romani woke up, startled, a loud scream pulling her out of the dream world of princesses and unicorns. She sat up in her bed and looked around her room, her pink princess night light illuminating her bedroom, protecting her from the monsters in the dark. Her door was a jar and the light from the hall leaked through in the crack in the door.

Another loud scream came from the other room. The small girl hid under her covers and silently cried into her stuffed bear, teddy. She listened for what seemed like hours to the sound of someone or something moving around out side her bedroom door. Her door opened and the girl froze in her bed as a large hand combed through her hair before it was moved and the sound of someone living the house pulled the child out of her frightened state.

Tears fell from her eyes as quiet, almost silent sobs escaped her mouth, as she climbed out of bed and walked slowly toward the door. She reached up on to her tippy toes as she slowly opened the door and quite made her way out to her parents bedroom across the hall. Holding tight to teddy she pushed open the door and peaked her head around the door, listening for the soothing voice of her mommy telling her everything is OK like she had done countless times before after the little girl had again had seemingly bad dreams, but the girl heard nothing, not even the sound of her parents quiet breathing, the silence in the air was deafening and it scared the girl. She dropped teddy as she looked around the room for her mommy and what she found then was something she should never have had to see.

There on the bed laid her mommy, eyes open wide, the fear frozen on her lifeless face, her lips were cut and her face, bruised. The tiny girl moved closer to her mommy and saw all the blood all over her body and the bed. She ran over to the door and picked up teddy and walked back over to the bed and climbed up on to the blood socked mattress, pushing gently on her mommy's arm. "Mommy, wake up. I'm scared." She whispered. The fear building up inside her.

After getting no answer she tried again, "Mommy, Mommy, wake up, please?" She asked pushing her mommy's arm harder. After getting no response, she did what any 6 year old girl who was scared out of her mind would do. She curled up into her mommy's arms and cried. She let out a loud scream as she saw a tall figure standing in the door way.

"Who are you?" she asked, but she got no reply he just rushed towards her and grabbed her arm, hitting her across the head.

*****************

The room she woke up in was dark, door opened ajar but no signs of anybody. 

"Hello!" Dorothea called as she tried to stand, but the chains on her ankle Kept her still.

"Hello Dorothea." A voice spoke, sending chills down her spine. 

Dorothea was only 6 but some how, she know, what was happening wasn't good and she wouldn't make it out of this alive.

*************** 

With their guns out ready and flash lights on, SSA David Rossi and his partner Jason Giddion made their way through the abandoned Subway tunnel where reports told them it's were they would find the missing girl. They slowly made their way through, catching glimpses of rats, rubbish and then, David Rossi spotted her. Dorothea Romani, the six year old girl who had been taken from her house in The Bronx, 23 hours ago.

"Jason over here." David called, Jason came over, taking the girls appearance in. She wore a tee and a pair of shorts. She had multiple cuts over her body and her eyes were open, searching the faces of the two men who stood in front of her,  filled with fear. Her face was bruised and her lips cut like she'd been beaten.

"I'll call it in" Jason whispered, walking off. David stepped closer to the girl who began to struggle and let out an almighty scream. She tried to stand but David caught her as she fell.

"hey, listen you're safe, you gonna be OK now." He whispered to the crying girl who cried softly now into his chest as he picked her up and carried her off to get help.

"The man that killed mommy and daddy, he took me away, then he left me again in the tunnel." And "he hurt me."She wept as David met Jason at the subway station entrance and the EMT's came over and took the small child away who just kept fighting and screaming trying to get back to David.

"David, no I want David" The girl screamed.

"Hey, listen I'm right here OK, I promise I won't leave you." David soothed as he ran over to her and sat in the ambulance with her. 

"You go with her, I'll meet you at the hospital Dave, see if she knows anything." Jason called once David got the girl calmed down.

So enough she felt a sleep in his arms and as he look down, he felt his hear swell. This girl had nobody left, her parents where killed and she probably didn't even know it. Soon enough her world is going to come crumbling down and David Rossi would make damn sure she was going to get though it and she wouldn't be alone.