XXVII. | psychotic 

                  I WAS SITTING there, watching Sarah as she slept, making sure she was breathing every few minutes. From what I could tell, she was stable. Or, as stable as she could be. I was pretty much useless, squatting in the blood with a straight face. I'd gotten used to the coppery scent filling the room, and now only focused on my dying aunt. I wouldn't lie and say that everything was going to be okay. In fact, I knew that if no one came to help us soon, Sarah would die from blood loss on the floor, and I wouldn't be able to stop it.

Very faintly, as I held my fingers to check for Sarah's pulse, I heard the sound of a car door shutting outside in the parking lot. For a second, I thought I was imagining things. No one came to the station unless called in or forced. Then, the lights went out above my head.

The shrill sound of an emergency alarm went off with the yellow tinted back up lights, bringing us out of the pitch black darkness. I looked up at the ceiling, trying to understand what was going on when I heard the first volley of gunshots hit the side of the building, right where Sarah's normal desk was.

I couldn't believe what was happening. The sound was so loud I couldn't even hear myself think. It was like a movie scene, and I hunkered down while I listened to the gunfire of machine weapons destroy the windows and walls on that side of the building.

For a few minutes, I stayed shielded next to Sarah, then the gunfire stopped completely. The regular lights were still out, but there was no movement or sound of attack. I slowly stood from my crouch and looked around for anything to warn me of danger. When I stood, I looked down at my aunt, whose eyes were still closed. The only person in the whole building that could help me was most likely locked in the cell block with Stiles's father. Melissa would know what to do, wouldn't she?

From where I was, the cell block wasn't that far away. If I could remember correctly back to the days when I would play in the station while visiting Sarah on a school holiday, I could sprint and make it there in under fifteen seconds. That was before the floor was slick with glass, bullets, and blood, but it was also before I could run at full speed as well as I could now.

Without thinking too much, I decided to make a run for it, and accept the consequences that came from my stupid, stupid actions. I wasn't as strong as Presley, but Sarah wasn't that big, so even though I struggled, I was able to get her in my arms bridal style. The venom from the kanima was probably already wearing off, but Sarah was far too weak to carry herself.

I stumbled on my first few steps, but quickly got used to the extra weight I was carrying and made it to the wooden doorway. From my vantage point, I still saw Stiles and Derek on the ground, but Jackson was nowhere to be seen. I stepped over the two on the floor, whispering a quick 'sorry', before setting myself up on track. I breathed in deep, hoped I wouldn't fall, then ran like it was the only thing I knew how to do.

Running and I had a complicated relationship. When I was younger, I'd been in track and loved the feeling of flying down a street with the wind in my hair. As I'd gotten older, running and I had a falling out. It wasn't just that it was un-fun, it was that Presley had taken the spotlight as athlete twin, and left me to become the smart bookish one. Now, as I felt glass crunch under my borrowed shoes, and slid on wayward streaks of blood on the floor, I realized that running and I needed to become close again. Not only was this because I was winded in less than five seconds, but because I felt the rhythm come back to me with ease.

Internally, as I sped down halls hiding from both Jackson and Matt, I decided that running would probably be a good pastime for me, especially if I was going to keep running from crazy, psychotic serial killers. I could use the practice.

The cell block was in front of me in seconds, and I skidded through the door before laying Sarah on the ground. She was still asleep, but I saw her chest moving as she breathed. Stiles's father was still handcuffed to the wall, while Melissa had her own spot in the cell, looking at me through the metal bars. They both watched as I scrambled around the room, making sure no one was behind me before digging through the cell block officer desk for something to help me stop the bleeding that I had just re-jostled. I came up with a roll of gauze and sat down next to Sarah, facing the cell.

"What do I do?" I asked Melissa quickly, glancing at the clock in the corner for the time. "She was shot about an hour ago. She's losing blood. What do I do?"

Melissa moved fast, removing the sweater she had over her hospital scrubs. Had she been at work? "Here," she said, squeezing the fabric between the bars of the cell. "The gauze won't be enough. Apply pressure."

"If you get me out of these cuffs I can help," Stilinski said from his spot on the wall.

"Lay her hand on the bandage for pressure," Melissa told me. "Go help him."

I did as I was told quickly, pressing the sweater down over the soaked flannel, then racing over to the Sheriff and pulling on the cuff with as much strength as I could muster. Considering the adrenaline running through my veins, I assumed some movement, but it wouldn't budge. "It won't work," I said, "It's too strong."

"Try it from the wall," Stilinski said, pulling on the loop that he was cuffed to. It was metal, sure, but it was screwed into the wall badly, with cracks all around it showing weakness.

Melissa was watching Sarah with a close eye while Stilinski and I positioned ourselves to pull. I placed one of my sneakers on the wall for support, ignored the bloody footprint it left behind, then yanked as hard as possible. Stilinski did the same, both of us grunting with effort. We pulled and then pulled again. On our third attempt, the loop came loose, sending us reeling back. We cheered and smiled at each other, but stopped when Melissa gasped and pointed behind us.

I turned just as Matt appeared, using the butt of Sarah's gun to hit Stilinski over the head and knock him out cold. I jumped out of the way as Stilinski crashed to the ground. Matt turned on me, then stopped when he saw Sarah at my feet. "I told you to stay put," he said. "I said I would kill everyone if you did something stupid."

To save me from speaking, Melissa tried to get his attention. "Matt. Matt, please. My son has been shot, and I've heard other gunfire, and I don't know what's happening. But can you please just let me see my son?"

Matt replied with venom in his voice. "How totally clueless are you people?" He turned and pointed at me with the gun. "Even this dumbass knows the truth."

Before Melissa could answer, I heard a growl from behind me. I turned and saw the blood red eyes of Derek Hale, now in full wolf form. I smiled until I heard a hiss from the other side of the room. I looked that way and gasped when I saw the kanima, tail flicking from side to side. Without thinking, I bent down and grabbed Sarah's limp arms before tugging her to me roughly so she was closer to the wall, repositioning her hand over her wound again and hunkering down next to her.

The fight started then, Matt running from the room and the kanima and Derek clashing and yelling and growling. I leaned back, keeping my distance. In the cell, Melissa was gasping as she tried to understand what was going on in front of her. I kept a hand on Sarah and attempted to keep a straight face when the kanima turned and stalked towards me with his claw raised.

He got close, but not close enough before I saw Scott run into the room, fully morphed. He clawed the kanima and threw it over his shoulder so it could continue its fight with Derek.

Behind me, Melissa was crying. "Scott. Oh my god. Scott, are you okay?"

It was a sad moment when Scott turned his head to look at his mother, slowly revealing the monster he'd become. She gasped, but didn't say anything else. Even in wolf form, though, I could see the sadness in Scott's eyes. I reached forward, despite the yell of warning Melissa sent my way, and grabbed his forearm.

"Scott," I said, squeezing him harshly until he looked me in the eyes. "Everything will be okay."

He stood to his full height and I rose with him. Melissa was crying then, shrinking to the back of the cell, hiding her face in her hands. She was scared, and I understood, but there were still things that needed to be done. "Look after Sarah," I told her over my shoulder fiercely. Then, I pushed Scott out of the room. "Where's Stiles?" I asked him as we shuffled away from his terrified mother, the unconscious ex-Sheriff, and my severely wounded aunt.

"I had him in an interrogation room," Scott told me, slowing down and letting his face turn back to normal. He was just as broken when his eyes turned from bright yellow back to their usual dark brown. His mother finding out about the whole werewolf thing was less than ideal, and I could see worry etched on his face. "You'll go find him?"

"Yeah," I said, patting his shoulder comfortingly. "Go see if Derek needs help."

Then we split, moving away from each other on our own missions. I moved quickly, rushing down hallways until I was nearly back at the cell block. I skidded to a stop when I found Stiles on the ground outside of one of the interrogation rooms, laying facedown.

"Hey," I said, squatting down next to him, "Are you okay?"

He was jerkily moving, trying to get control back after the kanima venom wore off. "Not doing so hot." He flipped suddenly so he was looking up at me. "How's your aunt?"

"Not doing so hot," I told him honestly. "Melissa found out."

Stiles opened his mouth to ask what she found, but then sighed. "She knows?"

"As much as she can understand, yeah." I put my hands on his shoulders. "Can you stand?" He thought long and hard about his answer, then shrugged. I couldn't control the laugh that came bubbling from my throat. We weren't done with kanima, but we were definitely done for the time being.

With some struggle, I got Stiles up. Once he was standing, he was easier to manage, but I had to continue supporting most of his body weight as we stumbled down the hallway back to the lobby, where I could call for emergency help with the phone. As we shuffled along, I noticed the damage to the police station. Windows were shattered, bullets covered the floor, and pretty much every person on the night shift aside from Sarah was dead. Ripped to shreds.

As we walked passed the dead, I couldn't help but look at their faces. Tears sprung to my eyes when I recognized one of the officers more than the others. Stiles noticed, and we stopped walking for a second so I could catch my breath.

"Did you know him?" Stiles asked softly.

Sure I didn't know many people in Beacon Hills, but I'd come to enjoy and even like the man at my feet. He'd gotten me dinner, driven me home, and even developed an obvious crush on Sarah. A tear fell out of my eyes and splashed on Stevens's still boot. His eyes were closed and he was covered in blood.

I shook my head at Stiles. "Not well." And even though that was true, I knew I'd known Stevens better than Stiles, and I definitely knew how much his death would break Sarah. "Let's keep moving, yeah?"

The walk to the lobby was somber, but not as dangerous as before. There were no sounds of fighting, and no more gunshots. I was quick to dial the hospital when we made it there, and propped Stiles up in the lobby desk chair while the phone rang.

"Beacon Hills Memorial," the voice on the other end rang.

My throat went dry. "Mom?" I asked.

She laughed. "Quinn, is that you? Honey, why are you calling so late, you should be in bed by now. Melissa had an emergency, so she called to have me cover her shift. How was the party? Kiss any cute boys?"

"Mom," I dropped my head in my free hand and cried. My voice got thick and shaky, and I didn't have the heart to look over at Stiles, who I knew was frowning at me. "Mom, Sarah's been shot."