Gather The Ashes || Stilinski || Book Three

Forty-Three

"Sierra?"

She shook her head, unable to see anything through her tears.

"Sierra!"

Sierra's eyes sprang open, her heart pounding. Two arms kept her from sitting up too quickly as she lurched forward, trying to decipher where she was.

Her focus fell to Malia, who stared down worriedly. "What the hell happened to you?"

Sierra took a moment to respond, catching her breath.

She saw the white walls and felt the tile floor underneath her. Beeping of monitors and the chitchat between nurses filled the air.

Her body relaxed at the realization. She was back at the hospital.

Remembering she hadn't answered Malia, she stuttered, "R-repressed memory."

Malia's face washed over with understanding and she nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense. I'd ask you about it, but we have another problem."

Sierra snapped into focus. "What's wrong?"

"Scott, Theo, and I discovered another chimera," Malia said as she helped Sierra to her feet. "Some electrical wires in the school basement were completely destroyed. That's why the lights kept flickering all day."

"Kira and I didn't do it, so that's good," Sierra replied, before she fully processed Malia's words. "Wait--what? If it was at the school, why are you here?"

"Scott remembered his mom saying there were electrical issues at the hospital, so we thought we'd check it out to be safe," Malia told her. "And to check on you, Lydia and Stiles."

"So what you're saying is..."

"Yeah," Malia sighed, seeing the distress in Sierra's eyes. "The chimera is at the hospital."

"Well that's just perfect."

*^*^*^*^*^*

Just like Sierra told him, Stiles found Melissa on the third floor.

Dressed in her scrubs, she was in the middle of doing her rounds when the boy approached. Stiles didn't waste a moment in explaining the situation downstairs.

Luckily, Melissa had an answer for the lack of light. "We've been having issues for the last hour," she informed him. "Maintenance is coming to check it out. For now, that floor is down to backup lighting." She paused to grab a folder from outside a patient's door. "I thought you said this was more of a hearing thing?"

"Auditory," Stiles nodded.

Melissa shot him a weird look. "Yeah."

She continued to walk, Stiles wittily commenting, "It's also more of a Lydia thing."

"Well you guys shouldn't worry about it," Melissa brushed off his concern. "I'm sure everything's fine."

"I guess I'll head back downstairs then," Stiles sighed. "I'll see you later."

Melissa bid him goodbye, and within moments, Stiles found himself getting back inside the elevator. A stressed hand ran through his thick hair after he pressed a button. At this point, he was ready to head home and sleep the rest of the week away. The day had dragged far too long in his opinion.

However, as his eyes landed on another figure in the elevator, he knew luck wasn't on his side.

A woman, in the corner, with her head down. Her dark brown hair covered her face, and she barely came to Stiles's shoulders wearing a hospital gown. She didn't say a word, even as the elevator doors reopened.