It was much too bright- and her hand felt clammy.
Slowly inhaling, as if breathing a new life into her body, Kirby fought with all her might to achieve the small triumph in allowing her eyes to flicker. She didn't think it would ever be such a massive deal to simply open her eyes, something she had taken for granted when her alarm would wake her every morning.
The blaring hospital lights caused her nose to scrunch in distaste and her hand twitched, seemingly stirring the person whose hand was grasped around her own. The soft weight felt familiar, strange and comforting all at the same time, and through her dazed, sleepy blurriness, Kirby could just abouts make out the outline of a feminine figure. She had a head of dark hair… and her hand was so so warm. She didn't want to let go.
"M-Mom?"
Sidney had just allowed herself the small mercy of allowing sleep to infiltrate her system. It was silly really, but as soon as she had been able to heal and question whether anyone had survived the latest Woodsboro massacre, she had felt a weight lifted when Dewey had confirmed that Kirby had survived.
She had recalled the frantic events of the evening that had taken place almost a month ago to this very date. Hidden in the basement, trying to stay away from the masked figure that had pursued her through the house, she had stood with Kirby and tried to keep her quiet, keep her safe.
Trust had never been Sidney's strong point. Trust let her down, trust had made her weak and she couldn't be that person anymore. However, looking into the young blonde woman's eyes, she had been startled to see just how much she saw of herself within Kirby. Sidney had trusted her immediately, but then she had left Kirby for dead- and it had stuck with her.
In her novel, she had spoken of survivor's guilt within the first couple of years. So many of her friends and loved ones had ended up dead because they were used as pawns to get to her. Tatum, Randy, Haley, Derek, Kate…even her brief romance with Kincaid had died because of her issues. Of course, he hadn't blamed her for what became of them. He was a gentleman, even when she was screaming at him and pushing him away. But pushing away was easier than having to watch him carted off in a body bag.
But she'd come out of that. Or at least, she thought she had.
As soon as she had heard that Kirby had indeed survived her stabbing, Sidney's goal was to recover. She rested, took it easy, took her medication. Even at her lowest point where it would have been so easy to crawl back into the shell she had built up, protecting herself and everyone else from an untimely fate, she had entertained Dewey and Gale, smiled and embraced them. She kept a straight face and waited until she could walk, and when she could she was by Kirby's side.
It sounded ridiculous really. Sidney had been aware of that, of course. She was of no real relation to Kirby, she wasn't even what one might regard as a friend. But that night in the basement, those few moments shared were something that only the two of them would ever know. The infinite trust, the reliance they had to have on each other… Kirby was the first person who had never really let her down.
So, she tried to help. Sidney read news articles (making sure to definitely leave out the majority that explored the horror of the night). Kirby's phone had been returned to her, screen smashed but still working, and Sidney had played some of her favourite music to try and rouse her. Small talk about the weather and idle chat about favourite foods and celebrities was pointless, but at least she felt like she was doing… something.
Two weeks of this and all she had received was the slight twitch of a hand or the flicker of an eyelid. Sidney was not stupid, and she knew that they were simply reactions to being placed in a coma. But in her mind Kirby Reed was a survivor, and she wasn't about to leave her in the hospital by herself. She had been the one to let Kirby down that night, but she wasn't about to let her down again.
But recovery was recovery, and Sidney's body was still trying to repair itself from surprisingly similar wounds to Kirby's, and she had succumbed to sleep for only a few moments when she felt the twitch of Kirby's hand. It wasn't unusual.
"M-Mom?"
Sidney's bewilderment was quickly replaced with sheer relief at the sound of Kirby's voice. It was croaky, disoriented and confused- but it was her voice, nonetheless. Her heart ached as she heard Kirby call out for her mother- and part of her wondered why she wasn't here by her daughter's bedside.
Clasping her hand just that little tighter, Sidney raised her head enough for Kirby to see her properly- and once her vision cleared, she could tell because panic flooded through Kirby's eyes almost instantaneously. The machine that was observing her vitals became high pitched and increased in its frequency.
"Please! Please don't let him!" Kirby cried, her arms flailing and spasming in her reaction to their first use in four weeks.
"Kirby, it's alright! It's me…Sidney." Sidney had stood up now, and was desperately trying to calm the younger woman by running her hands through Kirby's matted and bloodstained hair. "It's over…It's over."
She didn't get to say much more because of the influx of doctors and nurses that flooded into the room. Because of Kirby's condition, it meant that she was on high observation by the staff (not to mention they were all on high alert after the incident with Jill that first night) so the drastic change had alerted them that something was really wrong.
"If you wouldn't mind stepping out for a while, ma'am," one of the nurses quickly ushered Sidney out. They weren't concerned about her presence there, they knew of the incident regarding both of them- but they needed to regulate Kirby's breathing and settle her.
Sidney didn't protest. She was exhausted from just observing the hospital staff attempting to restrain Kirby's arms and legs as she kicked and thrashed, tearing out her canular in the process. Her eyes were wild with confusion and fright- and there was no wonder. This was going to be the most difficult few weeks of her life.
But as Sidney returned to her own room, shutting the door and closing the blinds on the monitoring window, she decided she had to be there. She owed it to Kirby.
Sidney awoke with a start only a few hours later to the opening of her door. Nobody came through the door immediately, and she slowly hitched herself up in the bed. Ignoring the temporary strain from the last set of stitches and against her better judgement, she called out.
"Hello? Is someone there?"
Instincts kicking in immediately, she searched around in desperation for a weapon, anything she could use to defend herself with. Upon realising she had limited options, she unplugged the lamp from the side and picked it up. Not quite the blade or gun she would hope for, but it had some weight behind it.
Standing up, Sidney's legs trembled as she slowly made her way towards the door. The lamp was raised behind her in preparation for attack. She took a few steady breaths before leaping out, ready to injure anyone who had thought it would be a good idea to creep around.
Silence.
The hallway of the ward was isolated, empty and dark- and Sidney detected something wrong almost immediately. She didn't get time to dwell on the silence though as she heard a large bang echoing from the other side of the room, causing Sidney to twist and face the direction of the noise.
Her breathing was sharp now, quick and frightened. The window that she had always kept firmly shut had been pushed upwards. She hadn't done that. But somebody else had- and she wasn't about to stay and find out who the hell was behind it.
Still with the lamp in her hand, Sidney fled from her room into the hall, checking each room to see if she could find someone, anyone to help her.
As her brisk walk turned to running, then turned to sprinting, Sidney wasn't sure whether the thudding she heard were footsteps closely following her, or her heartbeat throbbing in her ears- and in the height of panic, the next door she came to that was open became her sanctuary and she quickly shut it and held the door handle. There was no lock on the handle, so her hold would have to do.
Silence came over the scene again, and Sidney forced her breathing to quieten, trying to listen to any sign of life.
There were footsteps.
Slow, purposeful, slick strides that seemed to ooze confidence and assurance. She felt like a mouse being toyed with by a hawk. And as the footsteps grew closer and closer, a new sound infiltrated Sidney's senses.
The unsheathing of something cool, metallic…sharp. The blade of a knife. Squeezing her eyes shut for a moment, Sidney bit back tears, trying to decide what to do as a new sound was present, she could hear the holder of the weapon scraping it along the hospital walls. She could almost feel it vibrating through her and clutched the door handle even harder, resisting the urge not to throw up.
Then it stopped.
Closing her sweaty palms around the handle like her life depended on it, Sidney had the lamp under her arm- which dropped to the floor as someone at the opposite side of the door grabbed the handle, beginning to rattle and shake it with ferocious motive, attempting to wrench it open as Sidney screamed, leaning back and holding on to it for dear life.
After a few moments of trying, the door stilled and Sidney wondered why the hell it had. This door was protecting her from whatever was trying so desperately to get in.
"Sidney…"
The voice didn't come from outside the door.
Before she had chance to turn around, Sidney felt two hands grab her forearms, dragging her back into the darkness. She was falling, she couldn't stop.
"Sid!"
Sidney's eyes flew open and she saw the familiar face of Dewey looming over her, panic and concern etched into his eyes.
"It was just a dream, Sidney. You're alright." Another familiar voice this time, and Sidney turned her head to see Gale standing at the other side of her, her unbandaged arm clutching Sidney's still-flailing one.
It took a few minutes to come around properly. Her pyjamas were sticking to her skin through sweat and every sound that wasn't Dewey or Gale's voice had her on high alert.
Once settled, Gale had taken her leave to go and grab everyone a coffee. She was under no impression that she and Sidney were anywhere near as close as her husband and Sidney were- and the small snippets of conversation would be relayed back to her that night by Dewey anyway.
"I've just been to see Kirby," Dewey introduced the topic of conversation, leaning back in the visiting chair once he knew that Sidney was conscious enough to know that no harm was going to come to her.
Sidney nodded slowly, feeling embarrassed and uncomfortable by the show she had just made of herself. She knew that Dewey didn't pay it any mind, of course. He had his own monsters that wore the exact same mask.
"It's good to see she's awake." Sidney eventually replied, picking at a loose cotton thread on her sheet.
"Awake but asleep, the doctors had to sedate her a little- just to keep her relaxed enough. Seems like another thing you two have in common, two sets of stitches." He smiled weakly at his feeble attempt at a joke, and Sidney had the grace to respond with the same weak smile.
"How much does she know?" Sidney asked, wondering what must be going through her mind at that moment. The feeling of being targeted by a serial killer was one thing; that serial killer being your best friend was a completely different level of betrayal.
"Nothing as of yet. As Sheriff of the investigation, it's my responsibility to explain, but I figured you might want to do that." He trailed off, relieved when Sidney nodded. Nobody really knew the real her anymore, Sidney wasn't even sure she knew who she was after the latest attack, but Dewey was the person who came closest.
The opening of the door startled Sidney, and she immediately tensed up, only to relax when Gale walked in with two large coffees, a young man in a uniform assisting her with the final one and handing it to Sidney.
"I'll be overlooking the next couple of evening shifts between you and Miss Reed, ma'am." He explained, smiling at Sidney in way of introduction. "I'm Adam Burke, pleased to meet you."
Sidney was surprised when she heard the surname of the officer in front of her. Woodsboro was a small town and everybody knew everyone. So, she didn't forget the boy she used to babysit for.
"As in, Sheriff Joseph Burke's son? The last time I saw you, you were putting up a massive fight about going to sleep so early." She looked at Adam's confused face and couldn't help but chuckle. "I was your sitter sometimes, not often."
"Oh," Adam stammered, a quiet blush rising onto his cheeks as he shuffled in his stiff uniform, it was ironed to the point and quite obviously new. "Apologies ma'am, I don't really remember much before the first… well…" He was positively beetroot now.
Gale rolled her eyes at the newbie.
"Adam is just finishing his training with the academy and has just joined Woodsboro county police." She didn't mince her words. "He will be taking the nightshifts with Dewey and Hicks-for experience," She added.
"I just thought I'd introduce myself is all, can't be great having unfamiliar people around the place after everything." Adam added, shuffling once more- clearly not sure whether to stay or leave.
Dewey smiled at Adam, almost like a father comforting a son.
"You did right, Adam. Go to your station with Hicks and I'll be along shortly."
Adam nodded, grateful for the sign that he should leave as he made his swift exit.
Dewey looked pointedly at Gale, who was taking a sip of her coffee when she made eye contact with her husband.
"What?"
"Do you have to emasculate and terrorize every single one of my officers?" he asked.
Sidney had to admit she was enjoying the playful bickering between the pair, it was a distraction from the underlying issue of what she was going to have to tell Kirby.
After another hour, Dewey and Gale took their leave, with promise that Dewey would be back the following morning to provide moral support for both Sidney and Kirby. The sooner she found out, the sooner they could all once again start picking up the pieces.