Let me just say it. I am horrible. It's been months, I know. But honestly, juggling school and work i probably the hardest thing ever. Now that summer is in the very near future, I am very much hoping that I can start posting more, and maybe even create new stories. I really hope you like this chapter! It's a big one, with a very interesting turn of events. Also, spoiler alert, next chapter will be even bigger!:P ENjoy!

"In a pool of electrified water it can take up to 50 milliamps to kill a normal human." Boyd explained as he turned on the hose. "Like me." I said quietly, raising my hand. I earned a glare from Derek, and a nervous look from Isaac. "Less than the power it takes to turn on a light bulb." Boyd added.

"That's comforting." Derek said sarcastically. I glanced at him before Boyd continued. "If we disable the circuit interrupter in the building's electrical room, the current will keep coming. And anyone who steps foot in here, they'll get a pretty shocking surprise." Boyd smirked. I nodded in agreement as Isaac added, "Especially someone who's barefoot."

I wrapped one arm around his waist, looking with a new-found hope in my eyes.

As Boyd worked on his plan, I sat down and watched him. He was so much smarter than anyone gave him credit for. He knew where to connect things, and when it didn't work, he tried and tested until it did work. I was in amazement when he turned on the power, and an electric current ran through the water. "Is this gonna kill them?" Isaac questioned. "I hope so." Boyd breathed.

I stood on the platform with Derek, while Isaac and Boyd were each on one of their own. Patience wasn't one of my strengths, so to keep myself busy, I started making various mouth noises. One was a truck pulling out of a driveway. Another was the sound of a train moving quickly across the tracks. Or at least, that's what my over-active imagination thought those noises sounded like. I think that the three werewolves in the room with me just thought they sounded like an attempt to annoy them.

"Shut up." Derek muttered simply. I ceased the noises, raising a brow at the broody man. "Not in a good mood?"

He glanced at me from the corner of his eye, then back at the wall he was staring at before, not answering my question.

"Sorry." I mumbled to him lightly. The alpha pressed his lips together in a tight smile. "It's okay."

There was a rather long silence as Isaac and Boyd each sat on their platforms, while Derek and I stood on ours. As much as I wanted to tap my foot or crack my knuckles over and over again, I respected the serenity.

Suddenly, I glanced over at the other small platform where the water level didn't rise to. The only one that didn't have someone standing on it. Sitting on it, was my bag. "Shoot." I muttered. Derek turned his head slightly to watch as I walked over to the edge of the platform. I wasn't much of a gymnast, but I was pretty sure I could make the four-foot jump.

Just as I readied myself to leap, I lost balance and dropped toward the electrified death trap.

"Lucy!" I heard Isaac's voice yell in a panic from his platform. A human barrier prevented the painful fall, standing me back up. "Thanks." I said to Derek as he let go of me. He pressed his lips together before simply taking an elongated step over to the other platform, and another back, with my backpack.

I glanced over sheepishly at Isaac's alarmed expression. He was in a readied position, like he was about to jump onto the other platform to grab me. His back straightened, and he sat back down immediately. "Please be careful." He murmured to me in a quiet voice.

I bit my lip. "Comforting thought." I mumbled. I looked over to see Derek jumping effortlessly to the other platform and grabbing my bag before he jumped back. "Here." He handed me the bag, looking exasperated. "Just don't-" The alpha frowned. "Don't move."

I frowned slightly at his tone before I gently reached into the bag and pulled out the electrical rod, waving it near him. He flinched slightly, but just glared at me. Isaac watched me with a forced smile on his face. "Feeling powerful?" He asked. I laughed. "For the first time in a while."

Boyd smiled from over on his platform as I turned it on and pretended to poke Derek with it.

"Cut it out." Derek muttered to me. He grabbed the base of the electrical rod from my hand quickly, and turned it off before shoving it into his pocket. I smiled at him lightly as he still stood on the platform.

I sat automatically beside his feet as Isaac and Boyd sat silently across the room.

As I settled myself against the wooden post and closed my eyes, I let my mind wander.

These past few weeks had been incredibly difficult. Every time I thought of the trouble we were in right then with the alphas and the killings, I remember, I was almost free.

Given another year, I think I would have gotten over Isaac. Not completely, but enough to continue with my life. I'd be almost normal, other than the fact that I had been bitten by an alpha, with no effects on me whatsoever. That, of course, bothered me incredibly. I could feel my face scrunching together, which I always tried to avoid doing. My face had already aged about five years since I started dating Isaac, which also concerned me.

"What are you thinking of?" Derek spoke in a surprisingly soft voice next to me. My eyes flew open at the sudden noise. I hadn't noticed that he had ceased his tireless standing and taken a seat beside me.

I unscrunched my eyebrows, and sighed slightly. "Nothing." I murmured in an exasperated tone. The alpha didn't push it, simply looking forward once again.

After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, there was a sudden sound below us. We all stood up immediately when the lights diminished, and Derek grabbed my arm tightly. "It's not working." Isaac muttered. "The plan isn't working."

Derek pulled my cattle prod out of his pocket. He paused for a moment, and I could see the dispute going on inside his head. "Derek, I can fight." I snapped. He frowned to himself, but handed me the weapon anyway.

"Stay right there, Aria." Isaac said from the other platform. "Okay? Don't move."

I nodded, a new wave of fear going through me as I listened to Isaac's tone of voice. I realized why. We all immediately knew that we were done for. Unless we came up with a plan, there was no hope for survival.

Oddly enough, a feeling began to tug on my gut. A feeling that at least one of the four of us was not going to see tomorrow's morning sun.

So they came, the alphas. The twins, and the she-wolf entered, and they had leverage. They had Ms. Blake. My teacher, and Derek's current happiness.

As the one-on-one fight began between Kali and Derek, I didn't watch. I wasn't brave, or the savior like I wish I'd been. I took one long look at Isaac, and then I dropped to the ground. The last thing I heard was a sizzling, electric sound, and a wave of electricity pulsating throughout my body. I saw the defective cattle prod roll across the platform, out of my pained hand, and then I blacked out.

I wish I could say that I know why or how exactly this all happened. I wish I knew how she was able to come to me, or how this was even real. But I don't, and I don't think I ever will.

As I lay there, my vision black, and my hearing nonexistent. I mentally exhaled. There was a certain serenity of being like this. It was almost like death had come, and I was completely free.

But that confused me, and brought my mind slightly back to reality. I fainted, I remembered, which means I currently am unconscious. I also remembered that I know what being unconscious felt like, as I have experienced it before, and this was not it. So, if I was not unconscious, I had to have been dead, correct? That questioning did not upset me nearly as much as it should have.

I pondered in a deep, black serenity, until a familiar voice appeared. It was a voice I dreaded every day my my childhood.

"My dear, what have you gotten yourself into?" My mother's voice said, clear as a bell, in my ear. I looked around, but she was not there. "M-mom?" I whispered. There was a ringing laugh, that sounded like music. Her voice sounded much different than it had when she was alive. It sounded much clearer, and sounded less like she had been drinking all day.

"Yes, Lucy." She whispered in return.

"You're dead." I mentioned immediately.

There was a long pause. "That is not untrue." She finally said. "You almost are, as well."

I shook my head. "No, I-I just fainted. I probably was scared or something." I argued.

"Have you ever fainted out of fear, Lucy?" She asked me. I frowned to my self, but didn't answer her. The sizzling noise ran itself through my ears again, and the feeling over being electrified entered my mind again. I shook my head, trying to erase the memories.

Instead, another thought popped into my head. "Are you real?" I asked quietly. She answered immediately this time. "I am."

"How?" I asked her.

"Because, daughter, you are on the verge of death, and I am here to help you." She murmured slightly urgently, evading the direct question.

"What do you mean?" I questioned.

"You will see. Sleep now. You will wake up again, but it will not be in the real world, Lucy. You will be here again when you wake up." She explained as clearly and calmly as she could.

My breath caught in my throat. "Where exactly is here?"

"I guess you could call it an intermediate state of death." She replied. "You are not dead, but you are not currently in your body."

"For how long?" I questioned.

Again, there was another long pause in conversation. "Until I deem you ready to leave." She replied.