Bishop walked in and Sally closed the door with a sad face. Josh wanted to tell her to take care of Aiden but the transformation was already taking place. He did catch Bishop's terrified face though, when he realised that he had been tricked. That alone would be nearly worth it, no matter what happened.
Wolves didn't like strangers in their territory especially not those with such an aggressive behaviour as this one. He smelled unpleasantly like blood. The wolf bared his teeth as a last warning for the stranger to disappear. When he didn't, the wolf jumped.
/
On the other side of Boston, Aidan began to realise that he had been tricked.
"Sally!" He called once he had arrived at the house. "Sally!"
She appeared in front of him and her sad face immediately clued him in.
"No." He was shaking his head, walking backwards back to the door. "No, you didn't."
"I'm sorry." She said forlornly.
"If anything happens to Josh, I swear I will find a way to kill you again and again and again." With those words he sprinted out of the door.
/
He could smell Bishop in the hospital but when he took the stairs down he could smell something else instead: blood. And he heard someone whimper in pain. Taking another stair he saw Nora lying on the ground, blood leaking out between her legs.
"Aidan." She whimpered. "Please help me." He was torn. Josh was so close...but he couldn't just leave her here, not like this, not when she meant the world to Josh.
"Shh, shh, it's okay." He kneeled down next to her, picking her up gingerly. "It's okay. Everything will be okay." He was lying through his teeth and the rational side of her had to know that but she clung to him as if she wanted to believe him. He carried her upstairs to the emergency room and she wouldn't let go of his hand so he couldn't leave her.
"Sally, "He thought, "please Sally go look for Josh." He saw a flicker of her between the other patients and doctors and nurses and hoped she would tell him and dreaded it at the same time.
/
Sally was gone for a long time or at least that it was what it seemed to be. In reality it couldn't have been more than a couple minutes. Nora had finally let go of his hand when they had brought her to surgery and Aidan had collapsed in the locker room, too emotionally exhausted to move.
"Sally?" He asked into the empty room, hoping she could hear him.
"Aidan." She appeared right in front of him, there were tears running down her cheeks that crushed Aidan's heart.
"Josh?" He managed to ask.
/
He walked down the stairs again the second time tonight. There was still blood staining the floor where Nora had lain. He felt the sudden urge to throw bleach over the spot and scrub until even the last drop of blood was gone.
He took the last stair and pushed the door open.
The room looked like a slaughterhouse with blood splattered over the walls, the floor and the ceiling. He could smell Bishop's blood as well as Josh's and to his own shame in his heart he wanted them both to be alive. There was a figure lying in the corner of them room and Aidan could smell death.
He fell to his knees next to Josh's corpse, shaken by sobs and so desperate that he leaned into the man that appeared behind him and laid a hand on his shoulder.
"He fought bravely, "Bishop told him softly, "I'm sorry for your loss."
"I hate you."
"I know." Bishop crouched down next to Aidan and turned his head away from Josh until he looked at Bishop. "I know you hate me. Come home, Aidan. Come home." He used his most compelling voice and kneeling in Josh's blood Aidan didn't have the defences to keep Bishop out.
"I will never forgive you."
Bishop leaned close and kissed him softly. "Yes, you will." He whispered confidently. "One day, you will."
