Nothing is Thicker Than Blood - Appetite For Destruction Sequel

Fall To One, Rise To Another

Escaping a mental hospital is hard.

Escaping a mental hospital with a katana was a fucking art.

I was still a little unsteady on my feet, though whether that was from the Haldol or the nightmare I'd just endured was up for debate. I'd finally got my strength back enough to break out of the restraints and carry Oliver's unconscious body back up the stairs and leave him outside the basement. He may have tried to drill a hole in my head but, like Stiles, he hadn't been in control.

Even so, I didn't drop him as gently as I could have.

Mine escape plan wasn't very extravagant. There was no tunnel beneath the hospital, no bribe to be made to the orderlies, no starting a riot and escaping in the mayhem - though that last one had crossed my mind. It was two in the morning, the only light in the halls was the moonlight shining in through the windows, and the only thing I had was my admittedly shitty luck to get me out of this.

I was tired, in pain, pissed off, and carrying a goddamn sword around a mental hospital. At some point I was going to have to come to terms with the fact that my life was this level of crazy, but right now wasn't the time.

I ducked into a darkened doorway when I heard footsteps up ahead, clutching the sword to my side to keep it from clanking against the wall as an orderly rounded the corner, whistling to himself like he didn't have a care in the world. My eyes honed in on the key card dangling from his belt that would get me through the doors that needed one to be opened, and I left my hiding place to slide up behind him and tap him on the shoulder.

He turned around and blinked in surprise, taking in my dust-covered clothes and the sword slung over my shoulder. "I'm really sorry about this," I said, and before he had time to react I punched him in the face. He crumpled to a heap on the floor, out cold. "Sorry," I said again, taking the key card and fleeing the scene.

The rest of the hospital was silent at this hour and I managed to pass through every door on the way to the exit without running into another orderly. I had to wait for the receptionist at the front desk to leave for a coffee break so I could take back the possessions they'd taken from me upon arrival - phone, shoes, half a pack of gum - before running out the front doors to freedom.

Only seconds in the night air and I started to shiver, the thin clothes I was wearing providing no protection against the cold, but getting my jeans and hoodie would have taken precious time I didn't have, so I wrapped my arms around myself in a vain effort to keep warm as I approached the iron gates at the end of the long, winding path. A high fence of black bars encircled the building, their tips curving inwards to dissuade any possible escapes, but the gates were easy enough to climb.

I slid the sword through the bars and climbed the gate quickly, pushing myself over the top and just let myself drop, landing on the balls of my feet with practised ease. I grabbed the sword and spared a glance back at Eichen House; the leering tower of a hospital didn't look any less intimidating in the dark, the overall impression of the place that it was not one you entered light-heartedly.

My breath was freezing as it hit the air in a thick stream of white and I pulled out my phone with numb fingers, scrolling through the contacts until I reached the one I needed and pressed call.

Scott answered after a couple of rings, his voice thick with sleep when he mumbled a confused, "Ginger?"

"Get your ass in gear McCall, we've got a problem."

-x-x-x-

"This is everything non-lethal I could find," Allison said as she opened the door to the study. I followed Derek and the Sheriff inside to examine the assembled gear; a bundle of rope, a flashlight, some zip-ties, a stun gun, some pepper spray, and two dog whistles.