This isn't violence this is just a war in my head,

I give it time but it never seems to end.

I feel a fire in the back of my throat,

So let's get covered in flames and play some games with the smoke.

You said "don't you try to run right now, 'cause baby I could burn you down."

- Smoke, by PVRIS

A crack echoed through the room and shocked both of us.

He turned his eyes onto me, bright red, and panic laced through my veins. My instinct was to apologize, but I swallowed that and rode the wave of anger that still crashed through me. "I'm not going anywhere, Derek! Stop treating me like a traitor."

I realized two things, in that moment. One: the pounding heart, Stiles' scent that randomly attacked my nose—it was all because he was still in the school. He had apparently been racing back towards us during the argument, and he burst into the room. He was out of breath and looking between us with suspicion and worry on his face.

My eyes flashed briefly over to the man I had just assaulted before focusing on Stiles. He strode toward me with determination. "Are you okay?" He asked.

I felt my face scrunch up in confusion. "What? Yeah, I told you. I can handle this, why aren't you back at the game?"

He glanced back at Derek briefly before focusing on me. "Well, I was going, but the whole way there, I couldn't shake the feeling that I—" he broke off and hesitated. "Look, I know you're not familiar with how the whole friend thing works, but I couldn't just leave you."

"I was trying to be a friend!" I said defensively, crossing my arms. "You want to play in the game, right?"

"And then I saw the open door was left wide open, and I knew that couldn't have been you guys—"

"What door?" Derek asked, stepping forward to interject.

Stiles looked between us with a wide-eyed expression. "You guys didn't see it?"

"No," I shifted on my feet. "We were a little busy." Stiles frowned at me, rearing up to yell at us for being careless, and I cut him off. "Stiles, make your point. What door?"

"The one by the entrance…" He looked between us as if waiting for us to catch on. "The handle was completely covered in some kind of slime!"

"Ew," I scrunched my nose up. "You didn't touch it, did you?"

"Yeah, I wiped it all clean with my bare hands and gave it a little taste, just to see what it was." His voice dripped with sarcasm and I found myself barking out a surprised laugh. "I told you, the door was wide open. If Gerard had walked past, it all would've been over—I thought it was weird, it didn't make any sense; I thought you guys were in trouble—"

"So you thought you'd put yourself at risk?" Derek frowned, crossing his arms.

"He thought he'd try to help," I snapped at him, and Derek's eyebrows cinched together.

"Even if we were in trouble, there was nothing he could've done—"

"That's bullshit, and you know it! God, Derek, be a little more condescending, please. He warned us, didn't he? We never would've known, at least probably not until it was too late—"

"Okay," Stiles awkwardly waved a hand to catch our attention, and we whirled on him. "Yeah, hi," He bobbed nervously in his spot. "Quick question—if you guys didn't do it, who did?"

"Someone with a really bad cold?" I weakly suggested, but the boys didn't find it amusing as I looked between them. I looked back at Derek, who seemed just as troubled as I was, before looking back at Stiles' hesitant face, his eyes worried.

Derek thoughtfully paused and crossed his arms. "We need to get out of here," He decided, striding past us to lead the way out of the door.

I gestured for Stiles to follow Derek out. He gave me a weird expression, but went ahead and followed him out. I stuck close behind him and immediately started scanning the hall. It was still just as dark as before, and just as empty. I frowned and suddenly felt disturbed. It's creepy that someone could have busted in here, but left the place looking completely ordinary.

"If the door was left open, it could've been anyone." Derek said, though his words did little to either reassure me or panic me. I wasn't sure what to think. "You said the handle was coated in something?"

He nodded and I followed Derek's train of thought. "You don't think it was Gerard, right? I mean, what are the chances—"

"Probably not him…" Stiles said, his eyes glued behind me. I followed his line of vision and looked up to see The Lizard, settled in the upper right corner of the hallway behind us. The hallway that led to the exit, of course, and it hissed as it made eye contact with me—for the second time. Except now it seemed a lot more pissed off than confused.

"Ohh," I said slowly. "That makes sense."

The Lizard suddenly moved, freakishly fast, actually—and scurried down the wall. Derek shouted for us to run, and I pushed Stiles into motion as we took off in the opposite direction. The sound of its nails clicking against the waxed floors helped to spur us on, and we frantically turned a corner.

We passed the cafeteria, and my mind flashed to the exit that was near the library—which wasn't too far from the cafeteria. "We should cut through there!" I pointed to the closed doors, and Stiles skidded slightly as he tried to change course.

"No!" Derek commanded, latching onto Stiles' arm as he dragged him along. "It'll be locked."

"You don't know that!"

"Just trust me!" He snapped.

I felt rage boiling again. "Are you kidding me!?"

Stiles shook Derek's hand off and tried to run with us. I slowed my pace a bit to make sure he wasn't left behind, as we did set a brisk pace—to put it mildly. But The Lizard was still pursuing us, and with our speed, we're that much closer to losing it. After all, I knew what it felt like to not be able to keep up with everyone. I had led a large part of my life with a limp that slowed me down in more ways than I care to remember.

"Come on," I grunted, waving at Stiles, trying to motivate him to push a little harder—move a little faster. The Lizard screeched behind us, doing a better job than my words ever could. I glanced back at it as we turned another corner, farther away from the cafeteria, and deeper into the heart of the school. "Clearly this asshole's got a plan." I knew Derek could hear me, as he ran in front of us, and I definitely used that to my advantage as I ran next to Stiles. "Not that he would ever share that with us."

"Does this seem like a good time to you?" Stiles panted, frowning at me. "The passive aggressive digs, they seem like a good idea right now?"

I pressed my lips together, his words soaking in slightly. Point taken.

Derek suddenly turned to burst through the doors to the pool. I stumbled to a shocked halt because if we were to go in there, we would certainly be trapped. My mind couldn't conjure a reason that Derek felt this was a good plan, or the best place to have chosen. My hesitation wasn't as dumb as it could've been, since Stiles' sudden increase in speed from before did help to gain us a little distance, but the thing still ran really fast. It was gaining on us, and Stiles made the decision for me as he latched onto my arm and dragged me through the doors.

Having the same thought, we both turned to slam the door shut behind us. The Lizard ran head first into the door. Stiles was knocked back slightly, but pushed back as hard as he could. I did the same, although The Lizard was frighteningly strong, and my feet slid against the ground as I struggled to keep the door shut.

It cracked open again as The Lizard crashed into it, and some of its claws poked through the opening, terrifyingly close to Stiles' side. I felt my heart pounding in my throat as I shoved it closed again.

"Stiles!" I grunted out through my teeth. His eyes flashed to meet mine, our faces not too far apart because we were both putting all of our weight and strength against the closed door as The Lizard crashed against it again and again. "Lock the door."

"But—" His eyes looked back to the door, and I knew what he meant without him having to say a word. In order to lock the door, he would have to turn around, because the lock is inconveniently located behind both of us. If he were to let up, The Lizard would have the distinct advantage. It would be purely my strength against its strength, and I would have to keep the door completely shut long enough to let Stiles flip the heavy lock. It was clearly an impossible task. I shook my head.

"Do it," I growled, and he clenched his jaw as he hesitated. Breathing roughly through his nose, he cursed under his breath as he flipped around to lunge for the lock.

The moment he let up, I cried out and planted both my boots into the ground as I braced my entire weight and strength into the door. The Lizard bashed against the door again, and it popped open really far for a minute. Far enough to allow one of its arms through, the claws swiping out at Stiles' arm.

He let out a deep ramble of curses and dodged back just in the knick of time. Panicking, I closed my eyes and shoved the door as hard as I could. The Lizard's arm cracked a bit as the door closed on it, and it let out a high pitched shriek as it hissed and jerked its arm out from the door.

Snatching the moment up, I slammed the door shut and Stiles' fingers were already clasped around the lock. The moment that the door was closed he flipped the lock, and we both scrambled back.

But The Lizard didn't crash against it like we expected. It had hissed for a moment longer, but now it was unsettlingly quiet behind the door. Stiles and I looked at each other with wide eyes.

"…Where did it go?" He breathed, and I shook my head, the fear in my throat stealing my breath away.

I reached out to gesture for him to get down the steps and away from the door. We hurried down the steps, my knees shaking as I went, and adrenaline pumping furiously through my veins. Fear rolled off of Stiles in sheets, but so did an undercurrent of determination. I was impressed with his bravery, as I felt completely horrified myself, but all of my thoughts about the matter were drawn to a close as I stepped onto the tiled of the aquatics room.

I turned to see Derek on the other side of the pool, watching us with his arms crossed.

"Thanks for the help!" I snapped, and he shrugged a shoulder, which just caused me to get even more pissed off at his nonchalant and unapologetic apathy.

"You guys were just wasting your time. If it wants in, it'll get in." He said,

"And now, thanks to you, we're trapped!" I went on, striding across the tiles so I could scream at him properly.

"I'm sorry, was it me who just locked us in? I could've sworn that was you," He smartly gestured between us as he pretended to ponder the question.

"You led us here! I tried to lead us through the cafeteria, so we could take the exit, but no!"

"I told you, that would've been locked!"

"So we break the lock!" I stomped my foot and his eyebrows shot up. "You're strong, right? Mr. Alpha—"

"That would set off the alarms, and then what?"

"Guys, this is all very interesting, and it's probably good material for Savannah to use at her next therapy session, but right now we've got bigger problems." Stiles tugged his phone out of his pocket and began to scroll.

"What are you doing?" Derek demanded.

"Calling Scott," Stiles returned in a lighter tone.

Derek frowned and let his arms fall. "Why?"

"Because he can help?" Stiles' eyes widened in exasperation, and I smirked.

"See what I'm dealing with?" I gestured with my thumb at Derek, who shot me an acidic glare that I dutifully ignored as Stiles pursed his lips with knowing wide eyes as way of reply.

"Make one more comment like that." Derek darkly threatened. "Your sweatpants will disappear."

I gasped, "You wouldn't!"

He raised his eyebrows. "Try me," He warned.

"You guys have a really healthy relationship," Stiles dryly interjected, shifting on his feet anxiously as he tried to contact Scott. I snuck a glance at Derek, who had already turned away to look at something nearby. "Why isn't he responding!?" Stiles growled in frustration.

"Maybe he's still at the game. Did you try Allison?" I stepped closer to look down at his phone, and saw the answer for myself before he said anything.

"I did," He sighed. "Neither of them are answering."

We froze as his words, spoken aloud for no real reason but to relieve his frustration, sunk in.

"You don't think?"

He looked at me with wide, frightened eyes. "…No." He tried to sound sure, but it only came out as hesitant and desperate. "The Lizard wouldn't have just left. No way."

We both looked down at the phone as we tried to convince ourselves.

It didn't work, and Stiles began to frantically tap at his phone, and I flapped uselessly around him. "Try to call him! Or her! Maybe their texts are on silent!"

"What?" Stiles frowned.

"Right?" I pathetically replied, bringing a nervous hand up to rub at my nose as I paced around him. "That's a thing? Right? Your calls can have a ring tone, but your texts will vibrate?"

"I think that's on iPhones only."

"No," I shook my head. "I'm almost positive it's not."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Oh, do you have a phone?"

"Hey," I pointed at him. "Don't judge me."

"I'm not judging you," He quickly amended, seeming slightly worried. "I'm not! I'm making a point."

"Well," I defensively crossed my arms and pouted. "Shut up."

He huffed out a dry laugh and looked back down at his phone. I turned to get Derek's input on the situation, and frowned when I didn't see him. The place he had last been standing in was empty. I turned all around, fearing the worst. He wouldn't leave us, though, right? He wouldn't. Right?

The room was empty, the lights in the water of the pool reflecting a bright blue over the entire room.

"Derek?" I called out, grabbing Stiles' attention. "Derek!"

The longer the silence went, the heavier it grew, and so did my stomach. If he just abandoned us, I will never forgive him.

I strode forward and continued to call out to him, when suddenly, I tripped over something.

I yelped and hit the ground with a heavy thud. Looking back, I gasped when I saw Derek lying absolutely still on the ground. "Oh, my god!" I exclaimed, my heart seizing as I scrambled forward to look down at him. "Derek, what are you—"

"It's in here," His voice was low and his chest rumbled, his eyes briefly flashing red as he looked around. My heart began to pound furiously and I sat up to look around wildly. Stiles had stopped texting and was making his way over to us, his own heart picking up speed as he looked around the room.

"Where is it?" I asked, though neither of them could answer me. "Where did it go? Why are you on the ground? Get up," I hurried to my knees. "We've gotta get out of here!"

Derek huffed out an impatient sigh. "I can't," He ground out. "I can't move."

"What?" Stiles and I chorused. Derek looked pained to admit this, but he looked so vulnerable there on the ground that it only came across to me as slightly endearing.

"I can't move. I'm paralyzed, I think it's got some kind of—poison on its claws, Savannah, you've gotta watch out for its claws. I think it goes for the back of the neck." He frowned and looked up at me. "Get out of here."

"Yeah," I breathed, reaching down to grab his arms. "Let's get out of here,"

"No!" He snapped. "There's no time! Just go!"

"Oh, yeah," I sarcastically snapped. "The sooner you stop suggesting that I abandon you, the better off we'll be. I can't keep having this argument with you—"

"Savannah!" Stiles said from behind me. I froze where I had Derek's lifted half way up, standing awkwardly over him with my arms underneath his back as I lifted him, his legs below mine.

"Huh?" I grunted, struggling to look behind me.

"It's too late," Stiles pointed to a corner where the emergency exit was. "It found another way in,"

I let one arm slide out from behind Derek so that I could get a better view as I turned.

And sure enough, there it was. It was standing on two legs, but slowly began to crouch upon spotting us. It hissed and lowered slowly to the ground.