Chapter Ten: Emergencies

Hours. It had been hours since lunch and now Maddie found herself leaving her last class of the day. She wasn't entirely sure if she was supposed to meet someone somewhere due to this…shopping trip, but it was a safe bet that she would run into one of the people she knew before she left the school. She was hoping it'd be the boys she'd been trying to track down all day. They'd both managed to evade her thus far and it was irritating to say the least. Even in the classes they shared, they managed to grab seats as far away from her as humanly possible. It was a fair reaction, considering she'd blatantly attacked their werewolf friend after all. Still, it was getting infuriating.

Now, she found herself walking down the crowded halls, hoping to find something – what that something was, she didn't know yet. Anything, really. A lead, a fight, an escape from this afternoon's plans. She released a heavy sigh and lazily put her wavy hair up in a messy ponytail as she turned the corner, finding her eyes gravitating toward a couple in the center of the corridor. She groaned, recognizing Jackson and Lydia almost immediately. It had hardly been past a week and she knew them on site and that almost scared her a bit. This was not how she thought her week – let alone her mission – would go thus far. Her pace slowed as their voices became clearer. An argument. Great. She wanted to turn around and bolt down the hall in the opposite direction and even hesitated as she continued forward.

"Dumping, actually. I'm dumping you." Jackson's voice was light and airy as he spoke, a smirk resting on his face.

Maddie froze at the words and began debating if it was too late to turn around.

Lydia grabbed his leather jacket and pulled him back. Her face struggled to remain stoic as she looked him dead in the eye. "Dumped by the co-captain of the lacrosse team." Maddie noticed the look in her eyes betrayed her expression and her words, which was interesting. It was a more unrestrained reaction than even the other night at the school; it was baffling that something like this affected her more. "I wonder how many minutes it'll take me to get over that."

Jackson simply smiled and shrugged her hand off, walking past Maddie who was just carefully making her way over. Lydia's stare was ablaze as she shouted after him, "No, wait, seconds! Seconds!" The fairer girl looked around, as if to see if anyone caught her blowing a gasket. That's when her eyes stopped on Maddie, who was almost right next to her at that point and giving Lydia an expectant look. Lydia huffed and glared. "What?"

Maddie's eyes were wide as she raised an eyebrow and looked back at the direction Jackson had gone, then over to Lydia again. "…Everything okay?"

"Fine," the redhead said, a sharp edge in her voice. "Everything's fine." She dropped her phone into her purse and folded her arms. The next words that came out of her mouth seemed hesitant and almost forced. "So. Shopping?"

Maddie's mouth fell open to say something against it as Lydia began walking towards the school entrance. The slayer sped up to stay in toe, brows furrowed. "Wait, what about Allison? Isn't she going too?"

Lydia's eyes rolled. "Allison cancelled. She said she had something important to do." Her annoyance shone through in her tone as she roughly pushed open the door to the outside.

"What?!" Maddie replied, unable to hide her shock. "But- no, I- …she said-"

They made their way through the parking lot to the shiny black Volkswagen Beetle in the center. Lydia, clearly resolving to keep her cool, reached in her back for her keys. Pulling them out she pressed a button attached to one of them, causing the lights on the car to blink. As she reached the driver's side of the vehicle, she gave Maddie a deadpan glance. "And now, she's not going. Get over it and get in the car."

Maddie frowned; she didn't quite understand why she was still moving towards the car but there was something authoritative in Lydia's tone that made her oblige. She managed not to gripe about it and instead mustered up a half-hearted glare and got in the passenger side.

It had been little over an hour and Madeline Hayes found herself trailing behind Lydia Martin in the center of Macy's with little choice in the matter. Lydia seemed to be manically picking up, examining, and putting back clothes. She'd only managed to pick up one item and decided to buy it. Of course, this clearly wasn't enough. Maddie didn't quite understand how this was helping the girl after a break up; how spending money could possibly quell her frayed emotions. Then again, she wasn't one to judge.

On the other hand, she certainly felt like she was wasting her time.

This was neither beneficial toward her mission nor following her leads. If anything, this was hindering her progress with pointless activity. She grimaced at the mannequins in their trendy clothes.

Lydia seemed to note this reaction but continued nonetheless. She raised a top she'd picked out just moments before and examined it in the mirror. The color was too dark and seemed to wash out her skin tone – not to mention it wasn't nearly bold enough. It was then she caught a glimpse of an increasingly bored Maddie eyeing passersby. That was when she stuck out her hand and grabbed the girl's arm, dragging her over.

Maddie seemed caught off guard by the action, as she actually let it happen. She gave the other girl an indignant look and was about to say something when Lydia beat her to it. "Stand still." She then proceeded to place the top in front of Maddie and study it. After a few seconds, she shoved it into the petite slayer's hands before moving on. "That's what I thought."

"Huh?" Madeline managed to say. She looked down at the piece of clothing quickly, shaking her head. "Whoa. Okay, no. Not happening!" This seemed to make Lydia stop and turn back around, giving Maddie a look as if she were speaking gibberish. "We're not here for me. We're here for you – just you."

"I completely agree," Lydia said, spinning back around and continuing to look through clothes. This time though, it seemed she only kept analyzing them and turning back to also analyze Maddie. "Allison wants you to sit with us and even though I don't understand her judgment on that, I can work with it. In fact, I've been needing a…" Lydia held up another shirt and looked at Maddie again before putting it back. "…project."

"Is this about your boyfriend?" Maddie suddenly asked, causing Lydia's head jerk back towards her.

"Ex," Lydia stressed, narrowing her hazel eyes. "And no, it has nothing to do with him. Can't a girl do anything without it being because of some half-wit boy?"

Maddie blinked and shrugged her shoulders. "…I don't know how you want me to answer that."

Lydia gave a small sigh and went back to flicking through the hangers, stopping ever so often. She raised another top, studying it for a moment. "Besides, I find organizing new color palettes…" Her head tilted and a tight smile stretched across her lips. "…soothing."

The sun had long since set and Maddie now found herself walking the remaining distance to the motel. After their strange yet almost amiable outing, it took her about ten minutes to convince Lydia that she was going to walk home. There were quite enough questions she had to make up answers to and she didn't need another. Now she quietly carried her backpack through the dimly lit streets, half patrolling and half walking to the motel. Tucked away safely in her bag were a few other bags now – clothes Lydia had convinced her to buy after quite a bit of arguing. They were alright, considering she never really thought about wearing anything that exceeded her comfort level. If she couldn't fight in it, what was the point? She adjusted the strap of her bag and sighed, bring her thoughts back to patrolling.

She then came to a traffic light, stopping as she saw the bright red hand across the street. The slayer shuffled a bit in her spot, mulling over her thoughts; dwelling over how she hadn't accomplished a thing all week. All the girl needed was one moment to question Scott McCall or his little sarcastic friend and that would've been progress. After all, it only took less than a week to stumble upon his identity – which certainly called into question just how bad he was at keeping his secret. Maddie was astounded that Allison didn't know yet. Of course it also meant she had given her own secret away, but she decided not to think about that just now.

The traffic light turned red just then and just one car slowed to a stop while the red hand turned into a whitish-yellow person. Maddie began walking, her feet slightly dragging across the blacktop. She was getting tired and it wasn't even ten yet. Part of her thought that this mission would be quick and easy, meaning she'd be on her way back to headquarters by now. Instead, she had hardly made any progress at all. She stuffed her hands in her pockets as she passed the blue jeep and reached the sidewalk.

That was when she stopped. Blue jeep. No. Other people have those too. She spun around and looked at the vehicle, finding a wide-eyed Stiles and an slightly older stranger in the car. Her head tilted as she examined them, unable to hear their voices.

What she did hear as the light turned green again was the stranger saying aggressively, "Stiles, drive."

The wheels screeched as they spun out a bit and zoomed off into the night. Maddie suddenly seemed to find herself at a crossroads, in more ways than one. Well, I could wait for opportunities to come to me…

Her eyes narrowed on the car that was speeding away. …or chase down my own.

She tightly gripped her bag and went into a full sprint. The car was faster though, much faster as it failed to stop at the next stop sign. It was certainly times like this she wished she could toss her bag into the bushes and give herself the extra momentum – alas setting down her things tended to end with her losing them altogether. She pushed herself harder, still in sight of the car and slowly gaining on it. Her hair whipped around as the wind picked up, making it especially hard to see. Maddie just barely missed hitting the fence in front of her, instead vaulting herself over it.

Across yards and sidewalks, she ran, silently thanking Kennedy's harsh training regimen before returning her focus to the blue jeep. Weaving through some trees, she found herself back at the sidewalk and, to her own relief, right next to Stiles' car as it kept going. Her eyes darted over for a moment to see an intrigued, scruffy looking stranger and a mortified Stiles clearly mouthing 'Oh my God! What the f-' before she had to turn back to narrowly miss an oncoming car. The ugly, mustard-colored sedan screeched to a halt and loudly honked its horn as the jeep and the girl continued on.

That was when Stiles made a quick, unanticipated left across traffic and into the entrance labeled "Beacon Hills Hospital". Maddie came to a stumbling stop, nearly tripping over herself. She growled under her breath and speedily crossed the intersection to catch up once again. She slowed her pace finally, several feet away from the jeep. She noticed the dark silhouettes in the window and stopped, crouching quickly behind a bush. Her breathing was ragged now and she was sweating quite a bit as she finally set down her backpack. Her hands fumbled as she rushed to unzip it and dig past the plastic shopping bags to reach what was under them. Maddie carefully pulled out a newly sharpened stake and a small, dark vile, stowing them in her sleeves.

That was when she heard the car door open and slam shut. She immediately poked her head up at the noise, eyes focusing on the lone figure walking towards the entrance. Her stare darted over to the jeep, noting the stranger was still sitting in the passenger side. Her eyes narrowed on the figure, uneasiness settling in her stomach. The slayer wondered quietly whether either of the two were also wolves or not. There was no telling yet but odds at least told her that there was a better chance that if they both were, Stiles would most likely be the easier to take in a fight. Of course, the only way to get there was to pass the car. She cracked her neck then, grumbling to herself, and stood. Steeling herself, she began the nerve-wracking walk to the jeep.

Unfortunately, before she could make her way all the way over, the stranger swung open his door and thunderously slammed it closed. He had a phone to his ear and was facing her instantly. Maddie stopped in her tracks, hardly a yard away from the man that towered over her. There was a familiarity to him as he glowered at her. She glanced past him to the hospital entrance then back to the stranger. "I have to get in there."

He growled – not an ordinary growl though. Something lower, more ferocious, and almost…inhuman. In that moment, she watched his eyes glow a bright blue, piercing through her. Her eyes widened for a moment before her stare darkened and a grim laugh passed her lips. "Of course it's you."

Instead of moving to attack her or reply, he instead seemed to speak into the phone. "Then ask for Jennifer, she's been taking care of my uncle." Neither moved from their spots, though Maddie's hands twitched at her sides anxiously. After another moment, the man's glare shifted to confusion. "What?!"

Maddie's curiosity piqued as she focused her attention and hearing on the phone. Vaguely, she managed to make out, "He's not here. He's gone, Derek."

That was when something she hadn't expected happened, the werewolf – Derek – paled. His attention didn't seem to be on her at all anymore. He turned to the hospital with wide, horror-struck eyes. "Stiles, get out of there right now! It's him! He's the Alpha! Get out!"

Maddie seemed to go white as a ghost herself as the wolf hung up the phone and he quickly shot her a look. "What the hell are you waiting for?! You're a slayer; go do your job!"

She gaped at him. "How-"

"Go!" He grabbed her by the shoulder and pushed her forward. The beta went into a dead run himself, clearly expecting her to follow. It took her a second to register what was happening but quickly followed him all the same.

They ran in the double doors and bolted down corridor after corridor. She kept her eyes on the wolf who days before got the better of her, unsure if she should trust him. There was no time to think about that now though, especially if the Alpha was in the building. Her heart was beating rapidly, though she couldn't discern if that was because of all of the running or because she's knew someone could be in danger. She willed herself to go faster, unfamiliar with such a level of adrenaline.

They turned the corner once more and the beta elbowed what looked like a nurse in the face.

At the far end of the hall was a man with graying hair and a face that was horribly disfigured on one side. He looked at Derek without even an ounce of surprise. "That's not nice; she's my nurse."

"She's a psychotic bitch helping you kill people. Get out of the way," he said without taking his eyes off of the older man.

Stiles seemed to have taken the last part as an order directed towards him as his shoulders slumped. "Ah…damn," was all he managed as he ducked down to the ground.

"You think I killed Laura on purpose? One of my own family?" the man replied, his voice lower, angrier as he walking closer. Derek let out a deafening roar and went forward to attack, only to be caught by the scarred man and shoved into a wall so hard that the part of the wall was crushed for the force. Maddie took a defensive stance, the motion catching the man's attention as Derek fell to the ground. "And you - you seem to be getting in my way a lot lately. How very typical of the Slayer."

Much faster than she anticipated, he ducked her oncoming forearm shot and easily backhanded her into the other wall, having much of the same effect on it as Derek did. She fell to the ground on her hands and knees, spitting out a bit of blood in her mouth and peering up at the man – the Alpha. In the distance, she noticed Stiles scramble out of the way. Discreetly as possible, she allowed the vile to slip out of her sleeve as she grasped it tightly.

"You know," he began again, keeping his foot on Derek's throat as he pulled something from his leather coat. In the florescent light gleamed a freshly polished double-headed hand axe, both sides filled with intricately carved Celtic symbols weaving through each other. Maddie's eyes widened and, for the second time that night, she paled. The man looked at the weapon with interest. "I was beginning to see you as a threat, but let's be fair here –" He threw the axe, narrowly missing the slayer as she rolled out of the way. "You can't even keep track of your toys."

Without another word, she popped open the top of the vile and quickly splashed the content in the direction of the Alpha. Although it barely hit him, some made contact with his skin, searing it momentarily. In the distraction, Maddie made it to her feet weakly and bolted toward her hand axe, yanking it out of the linoleum. She them sprinted to the closest open door, behind her dropping the vile labeled 'Wolfsbane Oil – Emergencies! :)'.

As she heard the fight commence between the two wolves, she caught sight of a panicking Stiles crouched on the floor. The slayer grabbed him by the collar roughly and dragged him to his feet. "C'mon!" she whispered, her voice harsh and urgent.

Without a second thought, the two bolted toward the exit.

A/N: The wolfsbane was in fact given to Maddie by Willow. Just FYI. Don't forget to review if you liked the chapter! Feedback is mucho appreciated.