Chapter Six: Planning

Zoey didn't push away from that comment like she had the other times he had accused her of using her feelings. This time, she merely stared back at him, eye welling with tears.

"What am I supposed to do?" She asked quietly. "I always get hurt when I rely on my feelings. It's been proven before. There's nothing that my feelings can do to help Danni right now…"

"You're preparing yourself for the worst." I realized. "You're already responding as if she…"

Zoey looked at me, the tears spilling over. "Don't. Don't go there, John." Her voice had the sting of pain, however small the amount. She was going to hate me, but I knew what I had to do.

"You've shut down as if she's dead, Zoey. You've already written that into your mind. That's why you're acting this way."

"John, stop."

Sherlock must have figured out what I was doing because he let go of Zoey and started to walk away. "There's no point in trying to save her if she's already dead, right?"

"She's not dead yet!" Zoey's voice snapped strongly. I looked at her and she was shaking. She was glaring at Sherlock, hands clenched into fists before she looked toward the crowded room where her sister lay in a coma. "She's not dead and I won't let her die!"

"Good. Now that you're awake, shall we go?" Sherlock had stopped and was looking back at her, a smile in his eyes although it didn't show on his face.

"Go where?" Zoey huffed, trying to hold herself back from punching him.

"To Daniella's dorm room of course. And tell Analise to meet us in her dorm later. I have a feeling what we want will occur once she's returned."

"What will happen?" Zoey asked as I put a hand on her back and helped her walk after the pleased detective. He pressed the elevator button and stood staring at the doors.

"She'll be attacked like Daniella." He said simply as the doors slid open.

In an instant Zoey had run into the lift and pulled Sherlock in, pushing him against the wall as I slid in before the doors closed. Zoey had learned by now and had Sherlock pinned by bracing her forearm across his upper chest so her other arm could recover from her mother. Her fire was back for the moment and with his rather calm matter still intact, it reminded me of a Chihuahua taking on a Great Dane.

"What do you mean 'attacked'? Explain yourself Sherlock!"

"Isn't it obvious?" He looked down at her, over at me, and then back to Zoey before he sighed and stopped the elevator. "You lot are all so slow at times. Most of the time. Actually… I think you two are the brighter of my colleges but still rather dense..."

"Sherlock!" Zoey shouted suddenly, her body tense and eyes closed as she did so. "Just tell me…"

"Right then. Its rather obvious once you take everything into account." He stepped forward easily, pushing Zoey back as he did so. "Consider the first fact: Ana and Rachel were creatures of habit. Perhaps not all the time, but on Tuesdays they always did the same routine. Next: Ana did the spontaneous action of leaving the dorm to go get popcorn and a movie. Surely they normally had one already or Rachel would be the one to fetch the film. Next, Daniella was attacked. Now then, whatever killed Rachel was a fast acting poison. Daniella no doubt, was administered the same. However, unlike Rachel, Daniella was not alone in her room once the poison started taking effect. You can thank Lily for saving her life later."

"My sister is in a coma, Sherlock. Not to mention we don't know who or what poisoned her."

"Yes, but judging from her deterioration, the poison is taking longer to fully effect on her than it did Rachel. Which means, either different poisoned each girl, or it responds differently to each individual."

"But what makes you think Ana is a target?" Zoey asked, hugging herself as she listened to Sherlock. She was breathing slowly in an attempt to calm herself down.

"Because Rachel was an accident. It's always been your sisters. This whole thing has been about getting to them. However, your appearance may have also put you at risk so I think it best if you stay close to Ana."

"I am not sitting out of this just 'cause I'm a target and… wait… Stay with Ana?" Zoey had started to object to what she had thought Sherlock was going to say but suddenly realized what he had truly said.

"Yes, of course. There is no way I could keep you out of danger at this rate; what with your sister fighting for her life. It's much easier if I keep the killer's targets together at all times. It will be a much easier target for him and make it easy to keep an eye on both of you myself as well."

He stopped when Zoey suddenly jumped back against the wall and tried to hide behind me, her eyes wide.

"Whatever has come over you?" Sherlock asked as he looked behind him and around the lift in the area she was pointing. "You can't be serious."

What she was reacting to, was the presence of a small spider on the floor by the corner. After extending his foot and crushing it, Zoey breathed a sigh of relief. However, she remained behind me.

"It's just a spider, Zoey." I looked over my shoulder at her, trying to comfort her. "A dead one now, but still, it was rather small and harmless."

"Quite the opposite, John." Sherlock replied as he observed Zoey still attempt to recover. "From what I gathered, it was what is called a "Hobo" spider. If bitten, it can indeed kill you if given time. Until then, severe tissue damage is inflicted."

I gave Sherlock a look as Zoey gripped my shoulders, no doubt also shooting him a glare. "Not very helpful, Sherlock."

"I've always hated spiders. Size makes no difference." Zoey grumbled. "Now then, why do we need Ana to come to her dorm? Isn't it safer staying at my dad's?"

"Safer, yes. However, helpful? No. We have to make it known that you and Ana will be spending the night in her dorm tonight, in an attempt to get over all that has happened. She can warm back up to her room and you can spend quality time with your sister, while attempting to forget about what is happening at the hospital. That being said; if we can manage to make this information known and keep a watch on that room, the killer is sure to arrive at some point in time."

"How will you know who the killer is? The halls are usually filled with students." Zoey sighed.

"That's true, Sherlock. We can't easily pick out a killer we don't know in a sea of people. Especially when we don't even know how they're administering the poison in the first place." I agreed as I reached over to the controls only to have Sherlock beat me to it and restart the lift.

"Because I already know who I'm looking for."