Laws of Nature [2]; Liam Dunbar

four: a night out

Marlow burst through the station doors. She had parted ways with Mason and Brett and made Liam wait in her car. Marlow was just too upset to take him along as well. Inside, a scene of horror awaited her. There was a trail of blood leading to her father's office. A cut-off Kanima tail lay on the floor. Her dad and Deputy Clark could barely stand. "What happened?" Marlow choked out.

Noah looked up at her. "It was Tracy."

Marlow gave her dad a concerned look. She rushed to his side. "Are you okay?"

 Noah nodded. "I'm fine. It was the Kanima venom." 

Marlow's thoughts began to race. What Kanima venom? And why was there a discarded Kanima tail on the floor? "Who's blood is this?" Marlow asked, pointing at the floor.

Noah looked towards his office. "Lydia."

Marlow's eyes widened. "Are you okay to stand?" she asked Noah. Her dad nodded and Marlow ran into the office. Her breath hitched as she saw Lydia on the floor. Kira and Ms. Martin kneeled next to her, horrified looks displayed on their faces. Theo was in between them, tightening his belt across her abdomen. Marlow couldn't move. She had no idea what was going on and the heaviness of the situation was starting to weigh on her.

Theo looked up at her. "Don't worry, Marlow. She's going to be fine," he assured her. But Marlow couldn't hear him. The blood pounded in her ears. Breathing became harder. Her heart started pounding, so hard Marlow was scared it would burst out of her chest. She clutched her chest.

"Marlow?" Kira asked. Marlow could hear her voice faintly. But she couldn't stay in this room. Lydia's pained face only made her condition worse. She had to get out. "Marlow, are you okay?"

Marlow shook her head. She had to leave. Tears started rolling down her cheeks. "I..." she choked out. She shook her head once more and turned to walk out of the room.

"I think she's having a panic attack." she heard Theo say. Marlow stumbled out of the room and fell to her knees. She felt a sticky substance on her hands and saw that it was Lydia's blood as she raised her hand. Breathing became damn near impossible.

She started crying harder. Nothing about this situation made sense. Lydia might die in the same office Marlow had spent half her childhood. "Marlow!" she heard someone yell once more. She couldn't tell who the voice belonged to. Her mind was too far gone at that point. She had to get out of the station. She needed air. As she tried to get up, Stiles came into her point of view. He raised his hands in a calming motion.

Both siblings were all too familiar with panic attacks, though Marlow hadn't had one in years. Marlow cried harder as she walked towards the door. She swatted Stiles' hands away. She wanted to scream so badly but it was as if there was no air left in her lungs. She could feel Stiles follow her. Marlow pushed open the doors to the station and stumbled outside. She didn't know what to do. She could hear the ambulance sirens coming closer and collapsed to the floor once again.

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When Marlow opened her eyes everything around her looked light and clinical. She rubbed her forehead with a groan. Her throat still felt scratchy. She turned her head to see several injured people around her. Noah let out a relieved breath. "Hey there," he said with a light smile. 

It looked forced like he was trying not to freak out. "What happened?" Marlow asked. Her eyes tried adjusting to the fluorescent lights. Noah grabbed her hand, giving it a light squeeze.