Rising Moon: Scavenge | Teen Wolf ( 4 )

The Last Chimera

The strong chemical scent of anticeptic assaulted my senses as I ran down the hospital corridor, my ears pounding with the sound of my own heartbeat and the sound of the wet soles of my boots slapping the linoleum floor. Tears blurred my vision but I refused to let them fall, I refused to cry anymore, I refused to be anything other than strong and stoic. 

A few onlookers that I ran past glanced down at the dried blood that coated my hands and clothing but it wasn't a completely out of the ordinary sight to behold in a hospital. A dull ache had taken up residence in my chest the moment that my mother had called to tell me that John had been brought to the hospital in critical condition. The pain of losing Hayden, nearly losing Scott and now worrying whether or not John would survive, I wasn't sure how much more I could take in such a short amount of time. Each new heartache weighed down on her soul, slowly pulling her down under the shroud of darkness as she fought to keep afloat.

I almost gasped in relief when I saw Stiles and my mom standing on the other closed doors at the end of the hallway and focused my hearing so that I could hear what they were saying as I hurried towards them.

"– as soon as he can. I can call Malia." I heard my mom tell him gently as she placed a comforting hand on his arm and he immediately shook his head in protest as he bit his lower lip, a sure fire sign that he was internally freaking out.

"No, no, no. Don't, don't call anyone." Stiles told her with a sigh, glancing away from her probing gaze as he twitched nervously and I pushed open the doors with both hands as they both turned to look at me in surprise. Mom sighed in relief at the sight of me as tears gathered in Stiles' eyes and I didn't say a word as I rushed over to him, wrapping my arms around his neck in a tight embrace. His arms circled my waist as he melted into me as though he had been struggling to stay up right on his own and I was more than happy to help him carry the burden.

"Is there anyone else we need to notify? A next of kin?" the nurse behind the counter asked sympathetically as she looked over at us with a small frown and Stiles pulled back from our embrace as he turned slightly to look at her sadly.

"No, it's me. It's just me." he told her honestly as he reached down to link our fingers together, trying to gain some comfort from my presence next to him and I squeezed his hand gently in acknowledgement to his pain. Because that was sometimes all that was needed; for someone to acknowledge your pain and be there to witness it alongside you.

"Come on, honey." I murmured softly as I let go of his hand before immediately threading my arm through elbow and he snapped his head over in confusion as I led him down the corridor with mom following after us. After a moment the realisation that I had no idea where I was going set in and I froze in the middle of the corridor with a frown etched on my lips. Mom must have figured out my predicament because she gently patted my arm as she walked past us and then we followed her into an empty waiting room in the surgery wing of the hospital.

Stiles collapsed down on one of the chairs with an exhausted sigh escaping him and I took the seat next to him without hesitance. Within a matter of seconds I could sense of the differences in our stance; Stiles was slumped over, his shoulders drooping with the weight of the world and in comparison I was sitting with my back straight as my muscles refused to relax for even a second. Too much had happened for me to become complacent, there were too many variables for me to be anything less than vigilant.

I shifted slightly to that my knee was pressed against Stiles' thigh, a subtle reminder that he wasn't alone but I wasn't positive he was in the right frame of mind to even realise. My mom looked between the two of us with a frown touching her lips and she opened her mouth to say something but I shook my head in warning with a purse of my own lips. She nodded in understanding with a sad glint in her dark brown eyes and she crouched down in front of us as she lowered her voice soothingly, "I'm going to go get an update on the sheriff's condition. I'll be back as soon as I can."