The day was uneventful- especially when watching Jackson go through the ropes of his day on a generally normal accord. When I got home, Louise was gone once again. She'd left a note on the door saying she'd be working late tonight at the hospital on account of a burn victim who needed to be watched 24/7. I walked inside, flipping on the light. With a tired sigh, I tossed my bag into the corner of the room and headed for the kitchen, making my way through the living room. As I flipped on the light switch to the kitchen, my heart nearly jumped into my throat- Derek, sat the kitchen island, looking up when I entered the room. "What the hell!" I yelled, falling back against the wall as my heart pounded in my ears. "Jesus." I muttered. He said simply. I sighed. "Have you ever though about, I don't know, not sneaking up on me?" I asked, moving over to the stove and putting on a pot of water. "Sorry." He said simply. I glanced back at him. "Coffee?" I asked, getting a mug from the cabinet. "Sure." He said. I pulled out a second mug and set it out on the counter, pulling out the coffee grinds and the creamer and setting them next to the mugs.
I sat down next to him at the island. "Okay, you're obviously here for a reason." I said, looking at him as he stared at the counter top. "Something's going on with Lydia." He said. "What do you mean?" I asked, watching the serious expression on his face. "I mean, her delusions- their getting worse each day. It's like some kind of progressive mental illness." He said. I bit my lip as I thought about what he said. "What if… what if the infection from the bite is still in her system. Still in her body." I suggested. He looked up at me when I said this. "It would make sense. I mean, it makes more sense than post traumatic stress syndrome, if these hallucinations she's having are getting worse." He said. I nodded. "What if her body's trying to … fight off the infection, and it's starting to loose." I said, realizing that it could mean certain death for Lydia if we didn't help her. He sighed, obviously at just as much of a loss as I was about what to do for her. "Great- how the hell do we save her?" He muttered. I got up from the counter as the whistle on the kettle began to blow. I turned of the stove and made the coffee, putting a small amount of creamer in mine. "How do you want it?" I asked. "Black." He said matter-of- factly. I handed him his mug, sitting back down next to him. "I had an encounter with the Kanima a few weeks ago. Stiles and I ended up trapped in the pool. But the Kanima… it couldn't swim." He said.
I thought for a moment. "So, whoever is controlling this thing, can't swim." I said. He nodded. "Okay. Unfortunately, that doesn't help us in figuring out who this thing really is." I said. "I know." He said, looking into the depths of his mug. "How about this- the full moon is in two days. Erica and I will watch Jackson, and Boyd and Isaac will watch Lydia." I offered. "I mean, it shouldn't be too hard to sneak into their houses." I said with a shrug. "No. No it's way to dangerous for any of you to be that close to this thing when it shifts." He said. "That's why we'll go in two's. We have a better chance at this in pairs." I said. He was quiet. "No. You'll get yourselves killed." He said. "No, we won't. Derek, what other options do we have?" I asked. His jaw clenched, and his eyes became threatening. After a moment, he nodded. "Tell the others tomorrow." He said. I nodded once, taking a sip of my coffee. I watched him silently for a moment. "Hey, we'll be okay." I said, touching his shoulder. He looked up at me from under his eyelashes, and I felt myself falling into the depths of his black eyes. It was like they went on forever, never seeking an end. Suddenly I knew- no matter what happened, or what kind of hell we'd all been placed in- I was safe with him.
He watched me carefully, his eyes intrigued. I involuntarily moved closer to him, letting the hand I'd let touch his shoulder wind into his hair. I breathed in his scent, closing my eyes. Before they had a chance to reopen, I heard the sound of someone screaming. That someone sounded like Erica. "Erica?" I said, my eyes snapping open. In half a second I was out of my chair and at the door, yanking it open to see a blood soaked Erica standing fifty yards away, an arrow sticking out of her shoulder. It had started raining, and the cold immediately radiated into my bones. As she fell to the ground, I noticed more blood seeping out from her abdomen. I sprinted over to where she lay on the ground, Derek not far behind. I turned her in my arms so I could look at her. Her face was pale, and her eyes were closed. "She's unconscious." I said, looking up at Derek, who kneeled beside me. Give her to me." He said, holding out his arms. I lifted her into his arms, careful of the arrow as we hurried into the house. He set her down on the couch, as I sat on the edge next to her. I pulled up the bottom half of her shirt to see that the blood was coming from a bullet wound in her stomach. The area around the wound had started to turn a bluish- purple. "Wolfs bane." I said. I looked up at Derek. "It's a wolfs bane bullet." I tapped the side of her face, trying to wake her up. "Erica, what happened?" I said, watching as her eyes opened a fraction of an inch.
"I was… following your scent…" Her breathing was raged, and her words were slurred as she struggled to stay awake. "Argents…" She seemed to have slipped back into unconsciousness. I held her upper body for a moment. "I need you to hold her up while I take out the arrow." I said. He moved to where I sat, taking my previous position. I stood over her, and took a hold of the front of the arrow. I broke off the tip, getting ready for the screaming as I took hold of the it from the back. "I'm sorry about this." I said, even though I doubted she heard me. I slowly pulled the arrow out, trying not to cause her too much pain. Her eyes snapped open, and she let out an ear splitting scream of agony. Derek held her tightly by the arms to keep her still enough for me to finish taking out the arrow. My hands were covered in her blood as I tossed the arrow on the floor. The wound in her shoulder had already begun healing. But the wolfs bane bullet was slightly more complicated. We were gonna need another of the same type of bullet in order to fix it. The wound's current infection would continue to grow otherwise, eventually killing her. But at least now that the arrow was out, she was awake.
"Thank you." She said, her voice weak. "What happened?" I asked, standing over her where she laid. "I caught wind of your scent and I was following it through the woods when a whole bunch of hunters from the Argent's group showed up. They saw me and started shooting at me. I was too fast though- I lost them in the woods. I drew them back to toward the school quickly enough to confuse their trail on me before I picked up your scent again." She explained. I sighed, wiping my blood stained hands on my jeans. "They shot me with a wolfs bane bullet though." She said. I nodded. "I know." I said. After a pause for a moment of thought I headed into the first floor bathroom, grabbing the first aid kit before heading back into the living room. I pulled out a pair of tweezers, some medical tape, and a few large squares of gauze. I lifted her shirt to see more blood pouring from the wound. "Okay- I have to get the bullet out." I told her, looking up at her troubled eyes. She nodded, gripping the side of the couch with an iron grip. I nodded, taking the tweezers and searching in the wound for the bullet. She whimpered slightly, as I dug around in her flesh, until I pulled out the bullet. I dropped it on the floor as I took the large pieces of gauze and taped them down over the wound. "It won't do anything to heal the wound itself, but it might help slow down the bleeding." I said, pulling he shirt back down over the gauze.
I watched as she slowly slipped into sleep again. Anger began burning through my veins though. The Argents were obviously aware of what was occurring with the Kanima, and still they felt that we were the ones who needed to be extricated, when there was something far worse they could be occupied with. I turned and glanced at Derek, before heading into the kitchen. I grabbed one of the steak knives, hiding it in my boot before walking out the front door. I was going to get that bullet- straight from the source.
By the time I'd gotten the bullet, they would know what hit them. The rain was pouring down hard on my head and shoulders not, as I trekked toward the woods. "Selene!" Derek called. I turned to see him sprinting toward me. "What are you doing?" He asked. "I'm going to get the duplicate bullet. It's the only way we can keep her from dying." "Are you insane!" He yelled. "If you think your gonna just walk right into their house and take one of their bullets, you really are crazy." He said. "Oh, I don't plan on walking in the front door. Breaking in through the back… yes." I said. "Look, let me go with you. I can distract them long enough for you to get in, get the bullet, and get out." I shook my head. "Someone needs to stay and watch her." I said, glancing back at the house. "Then I'll call Isaac and have him watch her. You can't go in there alone." He said. I sighed. "Fine. Tell Isaac to get his ass over here ASAP." I said. He nodded. "We might as well wait in the house." He said. After a moment of consideration, I followed him back toward the house.