Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds

Summary: Reid and Emily wake up in a mental institution withouth any recognition of how they got there.

A/n: Like my story Seven, this one mostly centers on Prentiss and Reid (Friendship). The other characters will be in this too. Finally, I borrowed a few lines from the Movie, Gothika in this chapter as my medical knowledge is practically below zero… if that is even possible. Hahaha... And I realize that I am not the king of grammer and spelling. I know there are probably mistakes and if you see them, you can point them out and I will gladly fix them... just don't be rude about it.

Also, this story will be very dark… Not as dark as my other story, but dark all the same.

VERY IMPORTANT: This story takes place three months after the Colorado incident.

Asylum

"One person's craziness is another person's reality," ~Tim Burton

Chapter 1

The night is dark, just like any other night, but tonight something is different, something is off. He can feel it in the air as he walks down the daunting, long hallway. The moon is full and the light drifts into the asylum, taunting him to just get it over with. The door at the end of the hallway makes him feel small, and on the other side he can hear two people in the throes of ecstasy.

It drives him insane.

And then the world begins to crumble in a mad blur. A glass ball shatters, someone screams, and then suddenly Emily Prentiss is standing in front of that door, covered in blood. He hasn't taking dilaudid in years, yet the room spins now. He calls out her name, but the word gets caught between his teeth.

In an odd way, he feels like this is déjà vu, which doesn't make any sense at all. Like Emily, he too is covered in blood, but he doesn't understand the essence of how that came to be. Then, the truth explodes without warning, and like a poison, it is the last thing he wants to touch.

He recoils back, terrified at what he sees in the mirror. The door and Emily are so close, and yet as he calls out her name, one last time, she disappears. He doesn't have time to panic over it because the next thing he knows is the candle dropping from his hand. Without warning, the devil's flame engulfs his soul.

...

Reid awakes with a start. There's no candle in his hand, just the tangled sheets of his bed. However, the realization that he is not alone quickly sinks in. They attack him without cause or warning. He fights back hard and even manages to knock one of the intruders to the floor, which gives him enough room to make a run for it. However, as soon as he's on his feet his world caves in around him. He can't steady himself so he slumps unwillingly against the nearest wall.

They have drugged him heavily enough for his legs and brain to turn to mush. It takes an eternity before the room comes to a halt, and when it does, his stomach drops inside of him. He doesn't know where he is. The safeness of his own comfortable room isn't there, so naturally he panics.

As a result, the two men in the maroon uniforms move towards him again. He grabs the nearest thing and throws it at them. "Get away from me," he screams. However, they don't stop. "Get away from me. Somebody help me! Get off of me. Somebody help! Help!"

"Restrain him."

The familiarity of the voice is enough to stall him. He falters, which is enough for the two men to prick a needle into his arm. The effect hits him almost immediately, and his body goes limp as they push him back down on the mattress.

"Thank you," the deep voice tells one of the orderlies, and then with a sigh the man turns back to Reid. "Hello, Spencer."

Reid looks up with wide, brown eyes. It's one of his mother's doctors, one who has been taking care of her at Bennington Sanitarium since he was eighteen years old. That's when it finally sinks in: The small room, the barred window, and the metal door. This room isn't welcoming at all, not like his bedroom at home. He's been in a room exactly like this before, however. He knows exactly where he is. But this can't be right. Why would he be in a hospital for the mentally insane? Something is wrong. Surely it is a mistake.

"Dr. Hall?" he asks nervously. "What… what am I doing here? Why? Where am I?"

"Spencer, there was a fire at Bennington Sanitarium, so we moved you back to Washington where you would be closer to your friends."

Reid didn't comprehend anything Dr. Hall just told him. "I don't... I don't understand."

"Spencer, this is very awkward. I suppose that technically I shouldn't even be treating you, but your team figured this would be the best place for you." Dr. Hall pauses to adjust the Rolex watch on his wrist. "Anything we discuss in this room is in strict confidence and won't go anywhere but this room."

"How long? How long have I been here?"

"Three days."

Violent shakes begin to take hold of his body. This isn't happening. It can't. "Why?" he forces out through a gasp.

Dr. Hall sighs. "You were admitted to our neurosurgical unit, you were seizing violently when we found you after the fire. We did some tests. They revealed left-sided weakness, numbness, and severe frontal-lobe deficits. You received haloperidol, Ativan injections. When you came out of it, we tested… you were positive for PCP."

"No," Reid whispers but he isn't even sure if the word was ever brought to life. "No. That's a lie. I don't remember any of that."

But Dr. Hall continues on as if he hadn't said anything at all. "You were put in restraints for a few days, so you wouldn't hurt yourself. Then, you basically went into a state of catatonia. This is the first time I've seen you lucid."

"No. I shouldn't be here. This is a mistake," Reid practically cries. "I… I want to talk to someone. Hotch. I want to talk to Aaron Hotchner head of the BAU. Call him. He'll tell you that this is a mistake."

"You know," Dr. Hall goes on, ignoring him, "you're the most logical person I know. You rely only on the facts. Why am I telling you this?"

Reid hesitates before answering. "You don't think I'm impulsive or emotional."

"And following this pattern of analysis we are about to discuss a traumatic event which rendered you psychologically unfit."

Reid swallows hard. "You think I'm in denial?"

"Don't analyze yourself… just focus on remembering. Now what's the last thing you remember?" Dr. Hall asks him calmly.

His mind feels like it's been drained, which makes it all the harder to think. However, there is one memory that's painstakingly clear. "Colorado," he whispers, scared. "I remember Colorado," he recalls louder. The memory burns in the back of his mind. "Oh god, Emily. Where's Emily?"

Apparently this isn't the right answer because Dr. Hall frowns. "That was three months ago, Spence. Think harder. Do you remember taking the drugs?"

"Three months? What no. That's not right. I don't take drugs. Not anymore."

"What about three days ago," Dr. Hall presses. "Do you remember why you are here?"

And then his mind suddenly races back to his dream, the one with that daunting long hallway and the flames. "I was visiting my mother. I came to visit her."

"Yes. What else?"

Dr. Hall raises his eyebrows; clearly, he doesn't remember this part of the story. "Glass. A glass ball shattered."

"Do you remember anything else?"

Reid grips his hair. They were talking so fast that he could barely comprehend it. "My mom. I remember her. Where is she? I want to talk to Hotch."

"Do you remember the fire?"

"What fire? Where's my mom? Why are you treating me when you should be treating her?"

Reid watches as Dr. Hall inhales deeply. The man is clearly not telling him something. "There was a fire a few nights ago at Bennington Sanitarium."

"Why are you telling me about a fire?" Reid shouts, nearly hysteric. The feeling in his legs is slowly returning and he is grateful that he has control over his body once again. "I want to talk to Hotch."

"You don't remember anything about the fire? Anything at all?" Dr. Hall sighs again. "Look, Spence. I've known you since you were – what – eighteen? I want to help you. I do, but you have to remember."

"I want to talk to Hotch," Reid insists, and this time, he jumps off the bed.

Dr. Hall jumps up with him, blocking his only way out. "I have to tell you something. Something very difficult."

Reid backs away from him until he hits the wall behind him. "My mom will tell you too. She'll tell you that I don't belong here."

"Calm down, Spence."

"This is calm," Reid snaps back.

"Spencer," Dr. Hall says, gripping his shoulders firmly. "Your mother is dead."

For a moment it doesn't register, but then it hits him hard and knocks the wind out of him. For what feels like an eternity, he can literally feel the weight of those words pressing down on him. He lets the weight push him to the ground. But his mother can't be dead. He just saw her. She was alive and well.

"What? No. "

"She died in the fire," Dr. Hall tells him, hovering over him.

And he begins to panic. The burning sensation starts in his chest, then slowly it wraps around his lungs, making it impossible to think, impossible to breathe. He has experienced panic attacks once or twice before, but those times couldn't even compare to now. Not like this. "No. She's not dead. I saw her last night. She's fine," he screams. "There was no fire. I want to speak to Hotch."

There's a beat of silence before Dr. Hall finally answers the question he has been asking all along. "Spence, you started the fire."

I was going to have them at the hospital Reid's mother was it, but then I thought that that might be in Las Vegas or somewhere like that? So I had them moved to Washington for the sake of the story.

And Emily will be in the next chapter. =)

So what did you think?