EIGHT LETTERS || Liam Dunbar [2]

THIRTY SEVEN

The next night, Katherine had been sitting in her room when Stiles yelled at her from downstairs that they had to leave immediately, because the Beast was out and active. She hadn't been doing anything special; mostly just waiting. After finishing her homework before she even got home from school and eating dinner and showering before five pm, she'd been left with few choices other than watch Tinker Bell in order to keep calm, and drink ginger ale in order to keep her stomach settled. She'd even been so bored she sprayed perfume into her shoes because they were starting to smell.

As soon as her brother called her, she was ready to go, and they were racing after the patrol cars within minutes. She was in the back seat clinging to the handle up to her left, and through Stiles' copy of the police radio she could hear the familiar voices of officers talking about some kind of large animal racing down the street at the front of the police line up. She had a blanket draped over her lap. Vaguely, she processed one voice to be Hayden's sister, Valarie.

Her heart hammered anxiously in her chest as she silently hoped to whatever god was out there that everyone would be okay.

"All units stay back," Stiles warned, having plucked his own speaker from it's resting spot on his dashboard. "Do not engage. I repeat, do not engage."

"Stiles, get off the radio," their dad's barking voice crackled over the radio. "All unit alert. Wait for back-up. Repeat, no one goes near this thing," he then ordered, and Katherine felt her heart squeeze with worry.

She couldn't keep up with the sighting directions being announced over the speaker as she tried her best to keep her breathing even and slow her heartrate down. "Wait a second? Beachwood to Mitchell?" She mumbled to herself, having somehow managed to process the information in her scattered brain.

Scott picked up on her train of thought. "It's headed back for the hospital."

Stiles grabbed the radio again without a moments hesitation. "Dad—"

"—Stiles, get off this channel—"

"—Dad, just listen to me, okay?" Stiles barked. "It's headed for the hospital, all right? He's headed for Beacon Memorial. You hear me? It's headed for the hospital."

Then he switched gears and slammed his foot down on the gas, and Katherine was mildly surprised the jeep was even able to stand their previous speed. But strangely enough, it seemed to always be able to handle exactly as much as it needed to.

She kept her eyes closed for the majority of the ride, her good hand holding tightly to the handle above her head while the other sat limply in her lap. The moment the jeep was put in park the two of them turned to look at her, and she immediately scowled. "I'm not staying behind, so you can both respectfully shove that idea up your asses and keep it there."

"Fine," Stiles grumbled. "But you stay with us, okay? No...wandering off."

"Pinkey promise," she nodded once, and that was that.

She followed them through the front doors with her jaw clenched, blanket draped over her shoulder. She flinched into Stiles' side at the sound of a gun cocking behind her, but quickly sighed out in relief at the sight of her Dad standing there with a finger over his mouth murmuring a quiet shhh.

Her relief was short lived as something shuddered the entire building from somewhere above them, and a series of roars and snarls echoed down from the scene of the fight, and the four of them looked up at the ceiling.

All she could think of was sinister glowing eyes and sharp teeth, and she shuddered.

"Fourth floor," Scott murmured softly.