Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of "Criminal Minds"-they are property of Jeff Davis and CBS. The title, "Hurry Up and Save Me" is a song by Tiffany Giardina. I don't own that either. The song got stuck in my head while I was driving, and flashes of a story were coming to me as I heard it.

Author's Note:

1. Vampires are overdone. This is something I know. But I couldn't get this out of my head, and as a writer, it wouldn't leave me alone til it got written down.

2. There are more cliches in this story than I can count. But with the oversaturation of vampires in the media lately, it's hard to come up with something completely original.

3. This is my first attempt at a Criminal Minds story. There shall be no pairings. As you can tell from the story specs, it features Reid pretty prominently. And my vampire, Aura. The story will shift back and forth between Reid's POV and Aura's POV. But I'm not hooking them up. And don't expect much in the profiling department. What I know about it comes from watching the show and a book I picked up in the Bargain Bin at Barnes and Noble!

4. I love constructive criticism. It helps me write. It makes for a better story. But I also know that it's a reviewer's right to flame if they want. Knock yourself out. I really do want to know what you think-the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Reviews make my day. Everyone says that, but it's true.

5. If there's a record for longest author's note-this is probably it. :) That being said, enjoy.

CHAPTER ONE

I was born the night of the Great Chicago Fire.

Except when I say "born," I don't mean your everyday birth. You know, the "First a mommy and a daddy have to meet…" thing. Your typical embarrassing explanation to a five-year-old. In fact, maybe I should just rephrase.

I died the night of the Great Chicago Fire.

And then I came alive again.

Well…sort of.

I'm a little shy of 140 years old. For those of you who want to call me out, yeah, okay, I'm 138. But I still look the same age as when I died-the ripe ol' age of 20. My eyes are the same gray they always were. My hair is still black, though it's changed in style over the years. Right now I'm sporting a navy streak down one side, kinda like that chick from the X-Men movies. I'm pretty fond of it, actually. I'm just a little paler, that's all. I'm more or less still me.

There's definitely perks to being vampiric. The speed, that's cool. I can run a city block in about three seconds. The super-strength, that's neat. I can open all my own pickle jars and move a VW Beetle with one hand. The two of them combined-well, those guys that do parkour would be hugely jealous over the fact that I can jump two stories straight up. If I wanted to cross DC, I could maybe do it in about ten or fifteen minutes because there isn't anything I can't go up, around or over. Through, too, though that's a little conspicuous. Even the mind-reading is all right sometimes. It really comes in handy playing poker, thought most of the people I play with are trying to read my thoughts as well while I'm trying to get a bead on theirs. There are thoughts, though, that I'd rather not hear. My eyesight and night vision are amazing-the Special Forces have nothin' on me. I always wonder what would happen if I joined the military. I could be one hell of a sniper-and I wouldn't even need the scope.

The blood. That's a downside. The constant dependence is ridiculous. I'm like a cocaine addict, I have to have my fix. Except I don't feed off of humans. Rats and strays don't taste as good, but at least I am not a murderer. The others in my clan think I'm crazy, but they don't really care, as long as I protect our existence one way or the other. And I figure I'm doing the city a favor-I'm keeping it clean. Ha.

The cops know something's up, but there's never any witnesses, there's never anyone left alive. The others are very, very careful. The safety of the twenty of us in this city is dependent on that, and the others like us around the country. They have a stack of unsolved murders and two missing persons cases they will never solve. And as much as it sucks, it has to stay that way.

At least it does if I…if we…want to live.

"Aura? What you thinking about?"

We were standing on the rooftop of Union Station. It's one of the best places in the city to just come sit and think. It was chilly tonight, even by my standards. I turned to my companion. Merrick is 16, for all points and purposes. A newbie to our way of life. Merrick is learning from me-he didn't ask for this life, and doesn't ever want to take another. He originally was a meal ticket until the gal that changed him decided to make him a partner. Shaggy blonde hair, blue eyes, and a penchant for rock group T-shirts and jeans, he a typical teenager. He can drive me up the wall sometimes.

"Just thinkin'," I replied. It's true, I wasn't really thinking of anything in particular. It's a good coping mechanism to just let my mind wander. You'd think after like 140 years I'd have accepted this role, but the truth is, every day I wake up hoping someone can fix me. I didn't ask for this life. It was thrust on me by force. I know what you're thinking-it's so typical. A vampire that doesn't want to be a vampire. Well, clichéd as Hollywood's made it, it's true. To have your life taken from you by force, I mean, even flesh and blood humans can relate to that somehow, can't they?

Two large black SUVs and a horde of police cars came screeching by at that moment. Merrick leaned over to get a better look. "Come on," he said excitedly, glancing around before vaulting over the side of the building.

"Merrick!" I yelled, then shaking my head, followed him. Like I said, a typical teenager. He landed on the concrete easily and took off at a run. And quick, too. I had a hard time keeping up with him as he darted through the darkness, following the sirens. He scaled an apartment building, only using the fire escape as a boost. I shook my head with a smile. I hadn't just gone for a run in a while, and I missed it. This was fun. Pretty soon we were trying to outdo each other, jumping higher, running faster. Merrick beat me to the scene, but not by much. He looked back at me and stuck his tongue out. "Old lady," he teased. He hit the top of the roof and leapt off the other side, coming to a stop on the roof of another complex next door. Merrick peeked over the edge. The police were fanning out, and some of the neighbors were following them. I heard a woman crying hysterically. "There's a little girl missing," Merrick reported.

I listened into the conversation of one of the FBI agents that acted like he was in charge. He was tall, with dark hair and eyes. He was barking orders to the Metro police. He turned to two of the agents-one was an older man with graying hair (I wondered why he wasn't in charge) and a woman with dark hair. They were going up to the apartment. Curiosity got the best of me, and I leaned over the edge, trying to listen in to the conversation. I heard them step into the apartment and walk into the little girl's room.

"The front door was locked, Rossi," the woman agent said. "They said they don't keep a key outside. There's no outside access. So how did someone walk into this apartment and walk out with Abby Shannon?"

He looked at her seriously. "What do we know about the family?" he countered.

"You think this is an inside job?" The woman didn't sound surprised. Sad, when something like this was a feasible possibility.

And yet…I leaned a little farther down. Then I could smell it. It smelled a little like humans, but something was…off.

And I knew what had taken that little girl.

This wasn't right. And it didn't make any sense. As far as I knew, nobody out of the 20 of us in this town would do something to bring the heat on us like this. Nobody was that stupid. I felt anger welling up inside me, a dangerous emotion. Who would take a little girl from her family? And why on earth would a vampire take a little girl at all? And who in the hell in our crew would be stupid enough to do something that could expose us all?

Nikko wouldn't be happy to hear about this.

I came back up. Merrick looked at me. "I smell vampire," he said.

I nodded. "Does it smell familiar to you? I can't get a read on it."

He leaned over. "No. There's too many humans around."Merrick bit his bottom lip. "There's too much blood in the air," he said finally. He looked at me curiously. "You think it's someone we know? Or somebody new in town?" He shifted from his left foot to his right. "Man…I'm gettin' hungry."

I shook my head. "Me too, kid." He's right, the blood was driving me insane. Like sharks in a chum slick. I did the mental math-there were only thirty of them down there. The guns didn't matter. Merrick and I could be in and gone in…I pushed the thoughts from my mind. I wouldn't lose control, not now when I needed to be focused more than ever. A voice caught my ear, and I leaned back over the edge again. A young man was standing with the agent in charge. He was talking about the difference in statistics between a family and a non-family abduction. I shook my head; he sounded like a textbook. He also didn't look old enough to know all this-I bet he barely pushed thirty.

I realized as I listened to the conversation that these people were profilers. So their job was to get inside the head of the criminal and figure him out. This potentially was not good. Although I was fairly certain that the six people in front of me probably would never get around to "vampire" on their suspect list…I returned my gaze to the youngest member of the group, who was now spouting off stats about this particular part of DC…well, he might.

This was something I was going to have to keep a close eye on.

But first, someone was going to have to tell Nikko. And I wasn't looking forward to that conversation in the slightest. I turned to Merrick, and gave him a smile I hoped belied the fact that I was very, very nervous. "Race you back to the Hollow?"

He smiled widely. "You're on."