WHEN SIERRA AND THE OTHERS ARRIVED AT THE POLICE STATION, the damage had already been done.
The front door had been hanging open and trails of blood covered the tile floor. Scott raced to Deputy Clark, who was attempting to get the sheriff back on his feet. Sierra and Stiles followed the blood, Sierra abruptly stopping when she turned the corner.
Stiles caught her from stumbling back, the couple unable to tear their gazes away from Lydia.
The banshee laid on the ground, her green eyes squeezed shut from the sharp pain racking her body. Blood poured from her side, Kira frantically applying pressure to the deep cut to try and slow it down.
It was like Sierra couldn't move from the shock, Stiles standing beside her completely flabbergasted from seeing his friend bleeding out.
However, Theo, who noticed the situation from behind the pair, didn't hesitate to step in. He quickly undid his belt and moved passed Stiles and Sierra, kneeling down beside Kira and wrapping the belt around Lydia's waist.
This caused Sierra to blink, reality hitting her and allowing her to finally move. She fell on Lydia's other side, resting one hand on the girl's leg. "Hey, hey, hey, Lydia," Sierra gently, yet urgently, called out to her. "Stay awake, okay? You're gonna be alright."
Lydia didn't have a chance to respond as Natalie suddenly appeared behind Stiles. The woman's eyes were wide with fear when they landed on her daughter and she moved instantly to be by her side.
"Sierra!"
The true empath heard Scott call out her name, but she didn't want to leave Lydia's side.
"Stiles, Sierra, come on," Scott urged them, noticing the trail of black blood lead towards the basement. Deaton already covered up Tracy's tail that had been sliced off but there wasn't any other sign of the girl--or of Malia.
Sierra raised her head this time, locking eyes with Stiles and debating whether or not she should leave with Scott. Noticing this, Theo spoke up in reassurance, "She's okay, Sierra. She's alright."
Lydia forced a small smile on her chapped lips, stuttering out, "Tracy. Sierra, I'm fine.
"H-help Tracy."
"Sierra," Scott warned, raising his voice as the sound of sirens filled the air.
"Go!" Lydia agreed, causing Sierra to finally let go and shakily rise back to her feet.
Stiles pulled Sierra out of the room, following Deaton, his father and Scott to the trail and down to the basement.
Scott skidded to a stop when he laid eyes on Malia, who was standing over Tracy's body. Malia threw her hands up in defense, her voice cracking, "It wasn't me."
"Then what the hell happened?" Sierra demanded, moving away from Stiles and joining Scott and Deaton on the floor to examine the body. Stiles took a step towards Malia, noticing the werecoyote's frightened expression.
"There, there were these people," Malia tried to describe her attackers, tears glistening in her eyes. "They had masks. There, there were, um, there were t-three of them--I think they were three."
"Woah, woah," Stiles placed his hand on her arm so she'd calm down. "What're you talking about?"
"They were strong, Stiles," Malia defended herself. She knew how this looked to them. She knew she looked guilty. "They, they had a weapon, I--" Malia cut herself off and whipped her head to Sierra, pleading to her, "Sierra, I didn't do this!"
Sierra did not answer, exchanging an uncertain look with Scott.
"Okay," Stiles assured Malia quietly, "We'll get this figured out, Mal. Okay, you're okay."
"She's not changing back," Deaton observed from where he was kneeling on the ground. He held Tracy's hands, which still had claws sprouted from her fingertips. "We need to get her out of here."
"Hey, absolutely not," Noah stepped forward before Sierra and Scott could blink. "This is a crime scene. We call the coroner."
Deaton just stared at him in disbelief. "I think the coroner might be very confused by this girl's reptilian tail," he deadpanned.
Noah snapped back, "I don't care."
"You should," Deaton replied calmly. "Unless you're ready to hold a press conference and announce the existence of supernatural creatures in Beacon Hills."
Noah huffed, beyond frustrated with how the night had gone. "Dad," he whipped his head to see Stiles looking at him worriedly. "You know he's right."
"Maybe at the clinic we can find a way to change her back, and then call the coroner?" Scott suggested, trying to find a solution that would appease the sheriff.
"There, there is a line--there is a line we have to draw," Noah stated firmly, pacing back and forth.
"Sir, not to stand against you, but you've already crossed that line," Sierra spoke honestly. "More than once."
"Sheriff, please," Deaton regained the older man's attention. "Let me help. I've dealt with things like this before."
The teenagers looked at Noah in anticipation, watching him shake his head. Finally, he sighed. "Just, just do it fast," he muttered.
Scott quickly pushed up his sleeves and looked at Deaton, who nodded once. Both carefully picked up Tracy, everyone stepping out of the way. Before disappearing, Scott looked at Sierra.
"You follow Lydia to the hospital," he said. "I'll head there right after we stop by the clinic."
"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" Sierra asked, unsure.
"We'll be fine, Sierra," Deaton assured her.
"Promise you'll text me if anything goes wrong?"
"I promise."
*^*^*^*^*
"Stiles, honey, I love you, but if you keep tapping your foot I'm gonna break it."
Stiles instantly stopped from his girlfriend's threat, his foot pausing midair. He turned to Sierra, guilt pulling his lips down into a frown once he saw her anxiously leaned forward with her elbows on her knees. "I'm sorry, string bean. I'm not really helping the tension, am I?"
Sierra sighed, sitting straight up and facing him. "No, but I shouldn't have snapped like that either. I'm sorry, Stiles. I'm just worried."
"We're all worried," Stiles assured her, resting a comforting hand on her back, "but Lyd's a fighter. She'll be okay."
"Scott said that he's almost here," Kira spoke up quietly from where she sat across from them in a similar plastic chair. Her eyes scanned the new message that popped up on her phone screen. "And that Liam is with him."
"Good," Sierra blew a heavy breath from her lips, Stiles moving his hand to hold her own. "That's good."
"Liam's the sophomore, right?" Theo's voice caused everyone to glance his way. Except he only looked at Stiles. "The one who was with you in the woods?"
Stiles didn't answer, already annoyed at Theo's presence. He had hoped Theo would go home after joining them at the police station, but Theo claimed he wanted to make sure Lydia was alright.
And Sierra didn't have the heart to tell him no.
"Yes, Liam's the one who was with Stiles in the woods," Sierra finally replied when she realized Stiles purposely decided to keep his mouth shut. "He became mine and Scott's beta when Scott accidentally bit him last year."
"Well, if he's been training with you and Scott I can see why he's so intimidating," Theo commented, offering her a smile.
"Eh, we've taught him a few things," Sierra shrugged, returning the grin much to Stiles's displeasure. "But Liam's always been strong on his own. Scott and I just help him keep control when he, you know, gets angry and stuff."
"Oh, look, Scott's here," Stiles changed the subject quickly, raising to his feet from seeing his best friend and shooting Sierra a warning glance. She had revealed information about Liam too easily in his opinion, almost as if she was letting her guard down in front of Theo--just like Scott was starting to do.
Have they learned nothing about trusting people too easily?
Sierra didn't notice the look from him, her face brightening at the sight of Scott and Liam rushing towards them. Theo smiled softly in her direction, accidentally catching Stiles's eye in the process.
Stiles glared but stayed quiet, moving closer to Sierra as she started to talk with Scott.
"Anything new yet?" Scott questioned her.
Sierra shook her head, "No, she was wheeled away about twenty minutes ago and we're waiting on your mom to tell us more information."
"Well, unfortunately, I don't have much to tell," Melissa stated, appearing behind her son in her scrubs.
Immediately, Sierra's face pulled into an expression of concern. "How bad is it?"
"It could've been worse," Melissa said truthfully. She turned her gaze to Theo. "Nice job on that tourniquet. You probably saved her life."
Theo simply nodded, noticing Sierra shoot him a small grateful smile. Stiles, once again, caught the exchange and looked at Theo wearily while Melissa glanced between Scott and Sierra.
"Alright, she's about to go into surgery," Melissa shared. "So it's going to be a while. Any other supernatural details that I need to know about or do we just stitch her up and hope for the best?"
"It was the tail," Kira stated, but Melissa furrowed her brows, not understanding.
"Yeah, Tracy cut her with the tail, if that makes a difference," Scott clarified and Melissa let out a heavy breath.
"Okay. I'll let you all know if her condition changes," Melissa glanced around the tired teenagers, her gaze lingering on her son and his two closest friends before she nodded and headed back from where she came.
"But it wasn't just Tracy," Malia finally spoke for the first time. She hadn't said a word since they arrived. "There were the others, remember?" She looked at Stiles and Sierra to back her up. "The guys in the masks?"
The couple discreetly exchanged glances, neither knowing how to answer the girl. Finally, Sierra stepped forward and gently pat Malia on the shoulder. "We know, Mal, and we'll figure it out, alright? I think now though, we all need to go home and get some rest. We still have school tomorrow, like it or not."
"Sierra's right," Scott agreed. "Kira, I can take you and Liam home. Stiles, you can take Sierra and Malia. Theo, do you have a ride?"
"Yeah, my truck's out front," Theo confirmed.
Everyone started to gather their things together, allowing Liam to quickly pull Sierra and Stiles aside before he left with Scott. "What's up, little bro?" Sierra questioned, noticing how panicked he seemed. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Liam waved off the worry, "but I found something interesting tonight while you all were with Tracy at the clinic."
Stiles crossed his arms over his chest, glancing at Sierra in confusion. "What did you find?"
"Okay, so after you all left school, Lydia and Kira went to Tracy's house to see if they could find anymore clues. I dragged Mason to talk with Brett," Liam began.
"Wait, Brett?" Sierra interrupted. "Why did you need to see him?"
"Lydia thought it was possible Satomi was Tracy's alpha, you know before we found out she was a kanima," Liam explained. "Brett was the only pack member I knew. Anyways, he went with Mason and I to the reserve because I remembered seeing a necklace when I fell in a hole. A necklace that belonged to Tracy."
"So you're saying Tracy was buried alive and dug herself out of the hole?" Stiles read between the lines, his face twisting up.
"I mean, it wouldn't be the strangest thing we've encountered," Sierra reasoned, and he shrugged his shoulders.
"Touché, string bean."
"It gets weirder though," Liam caught the couple's attention once more. "Mason tripped into a hole while we were there, but it wasn't the same one. I mean, it looked like the other one--dug up and stuff, but Tracy's necklace wasn't there. And it wasn't out and the open, it was by a huge tree."
"So you think that because Tracy came out of the first hole, someone else came out of the second," Sierra caught onto Liam's thinking and he nodded.
"Yeah."
"But who?" Stiles asked them, racking his own brain for answers.
"That's what we have to figure out."
*^*^*^*^*
Malia was done searching for the Desert Wolf.
Or at least, that's what she told Stiles and Sierra.
Sierra watched from the edge of Stiles's bed as Malia erased her mom's alias from the crime board, her eyebrows furrowed together. Stiles also looked at Malia questionably, leading Malia to shrug.
"We have more important things to figure out than who my mom is," Malia said quietly. "I'll see you all tomorrow--my dad's waiting outside for me."
Sierra offered her a small smile as Stiles bid her a good night, yet Malia hesitated in the doorway. She glanced back over her shoulder to see Stiles sitting beside Sierra with a heavy sigh escaping his mouth.
"You guys...you believe me, right?" she asked, honestly too afraid of the answer. "I, I didn't kill her."
"Malia, ever since you became human again, Stiles and I have taught you about two things," Sierra replied, holding up her fingers. "One: honesty is everything. Two: we don't kill people, we save them." Sierra raised to her feet and approached Malia's side. "Now, I wasn't in the police station when you reached Tracy, but I know you. If you say these men with masks appeared, then I believe men in masks appeared. You haven't given me a reason not to trust you, so it'd be foolish of me to doubt whatever you say."
"Really?" Malia looked close to tears; she had been so scared the two people who meant the world to her were going to shut her out.
"Really," Sierra assured, pulling her into a side hug. "Now, go home and get some rest. You're probably exhausted. I'm headed to bed myself after a crazy day like today."
Malia nodded and briskly wiped her eyes before giving the couple one last glance and leaving the room.
Sierra waited to speak again until she heard Malia's dad drive off, and turned around to see Stiles still sitting in the same position with his eyes focused on his crime board.
"Well, you're uncharacteristically quiet," she lightly teased him.
Stiles blinked, tearing his gaze away and forced a smile. "I'm fine...just thinking, I guess. About tonight, I mean."
"Care to share?" Sierra urged him to open up more, walking back to where he was.
He straightened his back as she carefully sat in his lap, and he wrapped his arm around her so she wouldn't fall. Sierra draped her arm behind his neck and let her other hand intertwine with his.
"Did you really mean what you said?" Stiles asked instead, fiddling with her fingers to avoid looking her in the eye. "About believing Malia?"
"I believe that we've done a good job teaching her where the line between right and wrong is," Sierra explained herself. "Do I think she wanted Tracy dead this afternoon? Yes, absolutely. Does that mean she actually killed her? I don't know."
"You know how she's been acting recently," Stiles reminded her. "Just think of this morning--when I showed you that picture Braeden sent me? Malia tried to say the Desert Wolf hurt those people because they deserved it; she defended her. And Malia's been dead set on finding out who she is ever since we took down Peter in Mexico. But now she's wanting to just give up the search? I don't know, string bean. It doesn't make sense."
"We have to trust her," Sierra stated, running her hand through his hair once he let out a stressed sigh. "Stiles, even if Malia did kill Tracy, we can't just push her away. Trust is everything to her, just like it is to us. And when she was here, there wasn't one instance where I thought she wasn't being honest with us."
"And what about Theo?" Stiles changed the subject, glancing up at her. "Did you read any dishonesty off of him?"
"I haven't had time to talk with him one on one, so I can't answer that," she replied and he frowned. "But his actions tonight did speak some words, I mean, he did save Lydia with his quick thinking about the belt."
"Yeah, he was speaking some words alright," Stiles muttered and rolled his eyes. "Ugh, did you hear him at the hospital? His flirting is pathetic."
"Flirting?" Sierra echoed, scrunching her nose. "With who?"
"Uh, with you. Seriously, I caught him staring at you like fifty times at the police station and the hospital," Stiles huffed and then raised an eyebrow once he saw Sierra's confused face. "Wait, you seriously didn't notice?"
"Considering I never noticed your old flirting habits sophomore year, no I didn't notice Theo," Sierra retorted and then tilted his head towards her with her fingers tucked under his chin. "Though to be fair, you're the only one I notice nowadays."
"Awe, that was actually kind of sweet," Stiles smiled, raising up so their noses brushed together. "But you did bash my flirting skills, which I don't appreciate Sierra Michelle."
"You wanna play the name game?" Sierra recognized the twinkle in his eyes and smirked. "Okay, Miecz—"
Stiles immediately covered her mouth with his hand, cutting her off from saying his full name aloud. He playfully narrowed his eyes. "Not cool, string bean."
He pulled his hand away as she rolled her eyes and replied, "You started it, you loser."
"So I go from being the only guy you notice to a loser?" Stiles faked hurt, pulling a pout. "That stings, honey. Truly, it does."
"Oh, shut up, you."
Sierra then connected her lips to his, interrupting whatever sarcastic remark that Stiles had on the tip of his tongue. But he wasn't about to complain.
Sierra kissing him was his favorite way of being shut up.
*^*^*^*^*
If Sierra knew anything, she understood that even the supernatural world had limits. Creatures had weaknesses--borders they couldn't overcome if they tried.
For most, it was mountain ash.
The black dust counteracted whatever strength people had, whether it be from a werewolf, a wendigo or a werejaguar. Someone like Tracy, who was somehow a mix of a kanima and a werewolf never should be able to so easily run past the barrier.
Yet she did.
The rules Sierra thought she was starting to understand were blending together, blurring science and the supernatural.
Deaton shared her worry; instances like Tracy and the attacker from Senior Scribe rattled the foundation he had built his work on for years. He didn't know what to tell the kids, but he wanted to find answers.
Someone was changing the rules, and he wanted to know who.
"He'll only be gone a few days right?" Sierra asked Scott, her brows furrowed in concern.
Scott let out a sigh, but nodded as they continued to walk down the school hallway. "That's what he said. Until then, we're supposed to protect our friends and protect each other."
"So basically, we have absolutely no idea what's going on," Sierra interpreted his words and Scott forced a smile.
"What else is new?"
They two paused in front of their classroom door, Sierra turning around to face her best friend properly. "You know, I'm getting kind of sick of people trying to kill us--and our classmates for that matter."
"You and me both, Sisi," he agreed. "We'll figure it out though; I know we can."
"Awe," Sierra stuck her lips into a playful pout and jokingly pinched his cheek, "there's that McCall optimism."
"I have to keep it up, especially since I didn't do the reading last night," Scott explained, both of them deciding to walk into the room.
"Well, let's just hope you don't get called on today," Sierra replied, taking her seat at the lab table in the front. Lydia was still in the hospital, so she got the space to herself today.
Scott took his seat as well, muttering to her, "When have I ever gotten that lucky?"
Sierra chuckled but didn't reply, letting him kiss Kira good morning while she took out her notebook.
The two didn't get a chance to continue talking, Mrs. Finch walking in and starting class immediately.
Diagrams already filled the chalkboard yet she added more details before turning to the students. Sierra copied them as she listened, Scott's attention focused more on the supernatural crisis they were facing.
"If ninety-nine point nine percent of our DNA sequence is the same as other humans," Mrs. Finch started, "what could account for the missing zero point one percent difference? Theo?"
The boy looked up from where he had been scribbling. "Um, nucleotides," he answered, glancing to where Sierra was sitting only to make accidental eye-contact with her.
She offered a polite smile, but quickly faced front so it wouldn't happen again. Scott noticed her jerky movements and raised his eyebrows, turning slightly in order to see Theo smiling down towards his desk.
"Yes, Kira," Mrs. Finch called on his girlfriend, bringing Scott's attention back to the front of the room.
"Can there be more than one species in the same DNA?" Kira questioned, fiddling with her pen in her hands.
"No," Mrs. Finch shot down the idea with a small shake of her head, "but there can be multiple sets of DNA in the same individual. We call that a chimera."
Sierra copied down the word in her notes, staring at it with her nose crinkled. She underlined the term multiple times as Mrs. Finch asked where it originated.
"Greek mythology," Sydney answered from behind Sierra. "It's a lion with a goat coming out of its back and a tail that ends in the head of a snake."
"That's right, Sydney," Mrs. Finch confirmed, a knowing look in her eyes as she continued. "Do you want to read us the full Wikipedia entry off your phone?"
Sydney awkwardly looked down at her lap, setting her phone on her desk while Mrs. Finch changed subjects.
"But that does get us into the next topic of mutation," she stated. "As you know from the reading, DNA is a fragile molecule." Mrs. Finch noticed one of her students concentrating on his notebook in front of him and she cleared her throat. "Isn't it, Scott?"
Scott quickly glanced up to see Mrs. Finch staring down at him.
"Or did you miss last night's assigned reading?" she questioned.
Sierra winced from her seat, and buried her forehead in her palm.
"Um, kind of," Scott answered honestly, but it wasn't good enough for his teacher.
Mrs. Finch pushed, "Kind of or yes?"
"Mostly yes," Scott corrected himself with a defeated sigh, Mrs. Finch looking at him in disappointment.
"Well then, thank you for another helpful transition in topic," Mrs. Finch stated then, turning to her desk to grab a stack of papers. "Drop forms," she explained as she held them up, walking through the lab stations and setting a few on students' desks. "All those acutely aware that they do not belong in this class, you should fill one out. The others will be on my desk."
Taking her words as a sign of class being dismissed, the teenagers started to collect their things. Scott looked at Sierra as he shrugged on his backpack, and she automatically knew what he was thinking.
She shook her head to argue but as Scott moved passed her, he whispered, "If the situation gets worse, Sierra--"
"You don't know what will happen," she interrupted sharply, grabbing his arm to keep him from snatching a form. "It's one reading, Scott. You can make it up."
"Maybe now it's only one reading, but think about how the past two years have gone," he replied, gently tugging his hand off of him. "I couldn't even handle the regular classes."
"Scott--"
"It's my choice," he stated sadly. "I'm not saying I'm going to turn it in...but I need to think about it. Talk it over with my mom, you know?"
Sierra wanted to stop him, but he was right. If he wanted to drop the class, she didn't have a right to force him to stay. She sighed, and slowly nodded her head. "Fine, but believe me when I say as your best friend that you are underestimating yourself. Don't let your fear of failing stop you from chasing after the career you want someday."
Sierra picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder, offering him a small smile and leaving the classroom.
Scott let out a heavy breath as he watched her go and moved himself closer to where the drop forms were stacked. Mrs. Finch kept her eye on him while he debated whether or not to pick one up.
You are underestimating yourself.
Scott kept his head low, quickly snatching a paper and shoving it between his books before he left the room.
*^*^*^*^*
Later, Sierra, Stiles and Malia found Scott and Kira in the library studying. Kira looked up from where she had been taking notes as they approached with disappointed faces.
"Did you get in to see Lydia?" Scott asked them, surprised to see them so soon.
"No," Sierra grumpily replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "She's still in the ICU, so no one outside family is allowed in. And Stiles wouldn't let me argue with the nurse that I have a empathic connection with her."
Stiles placed a comforting hand on her lower back, but rolled his eyes towards Scott over her head.
Not only would the nurse have thought Sierra was insane, Sierra would've exposed the supernatural world.
Sierra obviously knew this, but still pouted because of her inability to see her friend. Luckily, Stiles understood and simply gave her a hug to make her feel better.
"We did bring this though," Malia held up a huge book for Scott and Kira to see.
"I'm really glad we decided to make a physical copy of the bestiary in English," Scott stated as Malia set it down on the desk. "I'm not in the mood to translate archaic Latin."
Scott flipped through the pages, everyone watching him as Kira asked, "Is there anything in here about half-werewolves, half-Kanimas?"
"The chimera," Scott recited the term from AP Biology.
Stiles scrunched up his nose in confusion. "Um, what?"
"Chimera," Sierra repeated. "It's a creature made of incongruous parts."
"And if Liam said he found two burial sites, it means Tracy is not the only one," Scott added.
"So who is the second chimera?" Kira inquired.
"And who would bury them?" Stiles asked, looking between Scott and Sierra.
Scott answered, "Deaton thinks it's part of their process."
"The people in masks," Malia muttered and then raised her head. "How long do you think we'll be here?"
Sierra exchanged glances with Scott, who shrugged. She sighed and faced Malia to reply truthfully.
"As long as it takes."
*^*^*^*^*^*
Bodies.
So many bodies.
That's what thought continuously rolled through Liam's mind as he glanced around the club he stood in.
Mason had dragged him there, claiming Liam needed to be his co-pilot, wing man and hot flight attendant in order to get Mason hooked up with someone.
After bribing a very displeased Hayden by the back door, the boys went inside to a very dark room. The main lights were practically off, but the strobe lighting provided just enough to see. Black and white movies played on the walls, yet everyone was drinking, ditching their shirt or dancing.
Liam crinkled his nose at the name of the club, Sinema, and forced a smile from seeing Mason having a good time--even if it was with Brett. It was obvious the werewolf wasn't Liam's favorite person, but if Mason liked him Liam would support the relationship.
However, his expression suddenly grew grim. His eyes scanned his surroundings, looking for anyone suspicious or anything out of place. He couldn't explain his need to suddenly become alert, and it didn't light up as more people started to crowd in around him.
All he knew is that he didn't like this feeling--not at all.
Liam shoved the bodies away from him, pushing through them to get to Brett. He was the only other supernatural creature there. Maybe he felt the same way Liam did.
"No," Brett answered once Liam questioned him. "I didn't catch anything."
This didn't ease Liam's conscience. "No one else in here's like us?" he double-checked.
"I don't know, dude," Brett told him with a shrug of his shoulders. "Maybe. It's Beacon Hills. What's the difference?"
"It felt different," Liam calmly argued.
"Oh did Sierra's powers rub off on you now?" Brett retorted but Liam shook his head.
"Don't be ridiculous. I'm being serious."
Brett narrowed his gaze. "What do you mean?"
"It felt off," Liam huffed and then added lowly under his breath.
"It felt wrong."
*^*^*^*^*
Kira and Scott were the first ones to leave the library, Sierra staying with Stiles and Malia to continue looking through the bestiary and different history books.
Melissa had texted her son in a hurry, allowing the couple to rush from the school to the hospital within a few minutes. Luckily, she found them as soon as they stepped out of the elevator. "This way," she urged. "He came in about forty-five minutes ago."
A scream echoed throughout the hallway, causing chills to run down Kira's spine. She shared a concerned glance with Scott, who listened to Dr. Geyer--Liam's dad-- tell Melissa he was going to find an anesthesiologist covering acute pain.
The screaming continued, now raising the hairs on the back of Scott's neck as they stood in front of the door.
"Mom," Scott called her, worried. "What's happening to him?"
"It's the pain," Melissa explained. "Nothing's working. We've already pumped him full of morphine."
"Can't they do anything to help him?" Kira asked, wincing from hearing the boy yell at the top of his lungs.
"Put him in a medically-induced coma," Melissa told her. "It's how we help burn victims deal with the pain.
Scott's face softened and he glanced towards the door. "Let me see if I can help."
The poor boy looked like was in absolute agony when Scott walked in with his mom. His wrists and ankles were in restraints to hold him down. Sweat covered his pale face, which was tightly scrunched up from the brutal pain.
"Please, make it stop," he begged, tears running down his cheeks. "Make it stop!"
Melissa guarded the door as Kira and Scott wearily approached his bedside. Scott grabbed his trembling hand, causing Kira to speak up. "Scott, be careful," she warned. "You can't take as much pain as Sierra does."
"It'll be fine," Scott assured her and then almost immediately, black veins ran up his forearms. His eyes squeezed shut and he withheld from shouting at the pain by biting down on his lip.
Except this time looked different from the other experiences Scott had at taking the pain away.
This time, the black substance crawled up his neck and spread out like a spider web. Scott's head fell back and his body jerked.
"Scott," Kira called his name worriedly, but he didn't reply as he gasped for air and choked on nothing. "Scott, let go!"
Melissa and Kira rushed to his side, trying to pull his hand from the boy's.
Melissa shouted, "Scott, let go of him!"
Finally, Scott released his death grip and collapsed to his knees from the intense experience. Usually, the pain faded in seconds. But somehow, this was taking longer to go away.
Kira held Scott upright as he took in several deep breaths to calm his racing heart. "I'm okay," he eventually stated after a moment and exhaled once more. "I'm fine." He turned to his mom. "Let me see it; let me see his arm."
The boy had fallen silent, looking almost peaceful yet completely exhausted. Melissa slowly let go of her son, moving to gently undo the boy's bandages.
"Holy," Scott withheld himself from spewing curses at the gory sight, the wound large and still bleeding. "What is that?"
"The lab says scorpion venom," Melissa informed the teenagers.
Scott couldn't believe his ears. "Scorpion?"
"Yeah, I know," Melissa sighed, "but that's not the weirdest part." She covered the bandage once more and explained, "A sting this bad means that he should have been dead ten hours ago...and the scorpion that stung him would have been ten feet tall."
"Please don't tell me that means there's a giant scorpion running around Beacon Hills," Kira said, distressed over the possibility.
"Lucas."
The three turned their heads at the broken voice to see the boy looking back at them. "It was Lucas," he repeated tiredly.
After discovering the boy's name was Cory, Scott gently urged him to share more details about how Lucas stung him. Cory seemed caught in a daze, but focused when Scott looked at him.
"What Lucas did to you, he's going to do it to someone else and it's going to be a lot worse," Scott shared. "We need to know what happened."
"I don't really know," Cory told them honestly. He slowly sat up in his hospital bed, wincing when his arm grazed the bedside. "He's never been like that before."
"Like what?" Kira asked softly.
"Aggressive," Cory recalled, still confused by the whole ordeal. "We were taking it slow, but it wasn't me. He was the shy one. Then we were hanging today and it's like he was a different person."
Scott still didn't fully understand. "Different, how?"
"Like, super confident," Cory tried to explain to the best of his ability. "We were just kissing and then I felt this sharp sting on my arm and...and then I looked up at him and, I swear, his eyes turned black."
"You mean totally black?" Kira questioned and he nodded.
"The whole eye," he agreed. "But it was only for a second. And then he said sorry, that he'll see me at the club tonight and then he just left. And then a few minutes later, I'm in the worst pain of my life."
"Hold on," Kira caught something and moved back towards him. "You said club. What club?"
Cory told them, "Every Friday night. Sinema."
Alarmed, Scott looked at Kira.
"Call Sierra," he ordered, already moving to the door. "Now. Tell her to meet us at Sinema. Mom, we have to go, but text me if you need anything--alright?"
"Just be careful, Scott," she warned him, knowing he was about to be involved in a deadly fight.
"I am," he promised her.
"That's why Sierra is meeting us there."