Crashing, hit a wall
Right now I need a miracle
Hurry up now, I need a miracle
Stranded, reaching out
I call your name but you're not around
I say your name but you're not around

Chapter 36: Resuscitation

Sherry hated broken windows. Hated them with a passion. Wherever there was broken glass, there was trouble, and today was no different.

Before they even entered the building, she could already see what was glaringly wrong. The beautiful stained glass window of the school library was thoroughly smashed, spiderwebbing cracks splintering from the center outward.

"Oh, crap," she muttered, and sprinted to the doors. Mason picked up his pace to keep up. Before she even caught sight of the bookshelves, she heard the crashes.

The shelves were all askew. The big tables were defiled, raw rakes exposed from the dark finish. Books littered the floor, pages bent and open at careless angles. In the center of it all, a hunched shape raised poised claws over a figure lying vulnerable on the ground. Crimson scratches marred the victim's face and dripped to the linoleum floor.

"That's what you don't get, Scott," sneered the voice so chilling and rage-filled Sherry almost didn't recognize the person from which it came. "I want to kill you. I want to!"

"Liam!" Mason bellowed, desperation evident. She'd never heard him raise his voice like that, but it still did nothing to shake Liam from his vengeful mode. His glistening claws raked at Scott's bloodied face. "Liam!" Mason yelled again, and Sherry joined in.

"What are you doing?" Sherry pleaded, terrified and furious. The look in his once-peaceful boy's eyes was murderous, devoid of any compassion or mercy.

Slowly, Liam lowered his fist, turning to look at them. "Hayden," he realized.

"She's gone," Mason explained. "Hayden died a few minutes ago." He sighed, breath shaky. "She's gone."

In an instant, Sherry witnessed a boy crushed. His amber eyes faded, his mouth went slack, and every part of his body seemed to droop. Before she knew it, he disappeared, and she almost thought he'd turned to dust and had been blown away by the wind. But his footsteps pounded down the hall, and the front doors slammed, and for the moment, Scott was safe.

Mason descended to Scott, offering an arm to pull him up. "What happened?"

"It's the Supermoon," he replied, painfully. "It was just—"

"Bad timing," interrupted Theo. He stood at the library doors, watching all of them with derisive eyes. Sherry'd never felt so terrified in her life as he strode towards them, looming closer and closer— "I mean, seriously. You couldn't have waited five minutes?" He lashed out, slamming Mason to the floor. Sherry nearly shrieked, hands flying to cover her mouth.

Theo's stare was a threat, but she swallowed and refused to pack down. "Hit me!" she dared, though she probably sounded like a terrified mouse. Tears pricked at her eyes. "Just do it, you lying b—"

He hit her. She went sprawling on the hard floor, the rough rug burning into her elbows as she slid. Her head knocked into a bookshelf, and for a moment she couldn't see, only hear Theo say, "I should've stayed. I should've made sure."

"Because now you have to kill me yourself," Scott replied.

"They're still mine," Theo leveraged. Sherry wanted to scoff. "Maybe not yet, but they'll come around."

"Not for you." Scott's voice grew intense. Softer, but firmer. "They're not like you. They never will be."

"Because I'm a Chimera?" Theo spat, and the news barely clicked in Sherry's mind. Her daze deepened. "Because I'm not a real werewolf?"

"Because you're barely even human."

She could tell that hit a nerve, because just then, Theo roared in pure hatred. As Sherry's vision cleared from the fog, she caught a sight of the two of them just as Theo extracted his claws from Scott's chest, and Scott, in slow motion, sank limply to the ground.

"No," she breathed. This couldn't be happening. Not now. Not again. Not after—

She pushed herself to her feet. "Theo!"

He didn't look up from Scott's body.

"Theo!"

He ignored her for another second, then lifted his head in annoyance. "What?"

"Why did you do that?"

"He was a threat." He flicked the blood off his claws, almost casually. "But you? You're more like a bunny. You bounce around, and you're little and cute, but you couldn't do any damage if you tried."

Her blood ran cold. She almost had tunnel vision, everything around her blurring except that evil, foul face. "I will be a threat," she said, summoning all the fury that she had. "I will stop you, and I will kill you, because I killed the werejaguar, and I've survived so far, and I will do whatever it takes, and I will be a threat!"

He was laughing. "Sherry, please." His claws retracted, his facial features smoothing back to normal. "I'll be back. Don't hurt yourself while I'm gone."

"What? It's not like you care."

His eyes glinted. "Because I want to do it myself."

Sherry almost smiled, almost giggled, because this was exactly the type of thing he'd have said when he was fooling with her. But she had to shake herself back into reality. Now was too late for delusions.

As he left, arm bumping into her, she couldn't move. She hated herself for feeling as terrified as she did. Scott had been brave to his last breath, and so had Hayden. Theo was right. She was as much a threat as a stuffed bunny rabbit.

Her feet were cemented to the floor, her heartbeat pounding in her ears. Tears pooled in her eyes, but not tears of sadness or anger or betrayal. Tears of frustration. She let them fall, let them dribble down her cheeks and around her nose and off her chin. Tears were weakness, and it was about time she recognized that weakness was all she had.

Her muscles finally began to move. She stumbled out into the hallway, her hands searching for something firm to hold. She found the wall, let her back thud against it, and slid down, trying to wrap her mind around the day.

Hayden was dead-she was crushed, but it had still been a long time coming. She had half been preparing herself for it. But... Scott was dead too, and she couldn't believe it. The one person she thought could never die...

The entire weight of the world came crashing down on her and she whimpered, burying her face into her knees. She couldn't breathe. The atmosphere felt ten degrees colder. Tiny wisps of wind nudged her, as though reminding her. As if she could forget. As if she needed yet another voice to tally up her sins. She shivered uncontrollably. The image of Scott burned in her mind's eye, and the thoughts of Kira somewhere far away, her mother in the hospital room, Hayden dead in Liam's arms, her father's shouts of agony, Parrish in his comatose state, and Liam poisoned by wolfsbane all crowded her mind's eye. She nearly collapsed.

Theo reappeared from around the corner. As soon as he saw Sherry, he stepped forward carefully, almost like he cared, grabbing her wrist and pulling her up to standing. Then he reached behind him, his hand hovering over his back pocket, and brought forth the answer.

A scuffed black handgun, the same one Braeden had given to her to defend herself, the same gun that had saved friendly lives and destroyed enemy ones. The same fund that had been her one advantage in a world full of superpowers. This was the same gun that Sherry'd always had at her disposal, aimed away from herself and ready to fire, and Theo pressed this gun gently into Sherry's shaking hands.

She knew she shouldn't trust him, that something was off. But his grip offered stability and warmth, even as he slowly, slowly turned the barrel around and pressed the tip over Sherry's heart.

He let go and she faltered, fingers unsure how to manage this weapon backwards. The metal was cold on her skin, the same temperature she was. Her hands couldn't keep still, even as she tightened her grip on the trigger.

She stared up at Theo, whose eyes were still green and trustworthy, and she almost felt comforted. His stare was wide, and still glinting, but she didn't notice. All she wanted to do was pretend everything was okay again, so she told him, voice small and vulnerable, "I'm scared, Theo."

"You don't want to ruin anything anymore," he reminded her.

"I know, I know, I know!" She sniffed, bringing her cheek to her shoulder to wipe away tears. "But I'm not brave enough."

He leaned over, his wide eyes at level with hers. "I'll count with you, okay?"

She wanted to move the gun to face him, but instead she kept it immobile over her heart. Her fingers itched to move the gun up to her temple. "Can I make it quicker?"

He shook his head, his fingers soft on her cheek. "You feel guilty." He was soothing, almost like a therapist. "You want more pain. Why do you deserve to live painlessly while your friends have suffered?"

She squeezed her eyes shut, another tear falling down her cheek. "I know."

"Three," Theo said, startling her. His hands were on her shoulders, steadying her. "Two."

Another tear wetted her cheeks, then a whole river.

"One."

Pounding steps rounded the corner. It was the grief-stricken beta Sherry still loved.

"No!" he pleaded, reaching out.

Caught off guard, Sherry's hands dropped. But she'd already pulled the trigger.

She fell forward, knowing already that she'd missed her heart. Her head collided with Theo's chest, but he stepped away from her, his job done. He didn't know he'd failed.

Another pair of arms caught Sherry's fall. Liam.

"No, no, no," he begged, his voice cracking.

Her chest was aflame. Every single part of her screamed but her voice, only because she feared she'd puke if she opened her mouth.

Everything hurt. She couldn't move. The blood rushed, the bullet tore, the edge of her vision darkened and frayed. She shut her eyes, wishing for it to end. But then she remembered the deaths she hadn't stopped and the lives she'd helped to ruin and the weakness that defined her and immediately she relaxed. She was doing this for them. This was her apology... If they had felt the pain, she could bear it too.

Liam was whispering something, but Sherry's hearing came and went in waves. When was the last time they'd touched like this? She almost smiled at the irony. When Liam had been dying, ages and ages ago.

"Please, please don't die," Liam murmured. "Please, Sherry. I can't lose you, too. I love you."

That was all she ever needed to hear. "I love you," she whispered. "I've loved you for ages." And she smiled weakly. The blood pooled in the back of her mouth as her head became lighter, a side effect of blood loss. "I'm not going to die, Liam. You distracted me. I missed."

"I'm going to take you to the hospital," he said.

"Don't!"

He lifted her up anyway. Her stomach lurched and she twisted to the side, coughing blood everywhere. She was thankful she hadn't eaten in a day.

"Remember last May?" Liam asked, his voice weak. "You risked your life for me; I still owe you."

"You don't." The strain of speaking ignited shocks of pain in her chest.

"I do, okay? I still owe you." He sounded as if he were about to cry.

Her vision was cloudy, obscured by a fog of purple spots. She knew she was close to fainting. Liam's lips brushed her forehead, causing a strange sensation. It was like all her pain slowly traveled through her body, her chest, and up to the point of contact with Liam. He'd pulled the pain out of her.

Her eyes flickered closed. "When did you learn that?" she murmured drowsily.

A tear splattered onto Sherry's forehead, yet he didn't answer. And then she knew. She'd predicted it. With a slight, bittersweet smile, she blacked out.

Somewhere else, a bellowing roar shook the building to the foundations.

Scott was alive.

A/N: I know it's taking me forever to update bc college app season SUCKS, but it feels really great to finally finish writing season 5a. Idk when I'll ever get around to writing 5b. Hopefully before season 6 airs lol. I'm trying to submit some of my work to the scholastic art and writing competition, so I'm probably going to work on some original stuff before I write too much more of Bear Hugs. But I also don't wanna abandon Sherry right before things start to turn around for her :( :( :(

ANYWAY what did you guys think of this chapter? Too cliche? Too OOC? Let me know so I can maybe fix it when I eventually go back and revise!

As always, review, favorite, and follow! 3 3

xx Delaine xoxoxo