I came awake screaming out my sister's name, jolting upward before the dead weight of my body dropped me back down onto the soft mattress beneath me. My head pounded. My skin felt too tight, even small movements hurt.

Tamara's face appeared above me, her weary eyes danced over my face. The urge to empty my stomach burned in my throat as I noticed the smudge of dried blood on her cheek. I clenched my teeth. There was no way I was going to vomit. She arched a brow and asked, "You think you can sit up?"

My eyes remained glued to the blood on her face. I nodded, which didn't help the pounding in my head. The pain must have been clear on my face because she reached down and placed her hand at the base of my skull, allowing me to use her as a support as I sat up.

The world spun around me for a moment. Tamara's warm touch was the only thing that kept me grounded. When everything finally slowed and became stationary once more, I released a heavy sigh. At the show of relief, Tamara stepped away from me and I realized that we weren't alone in the room.

Alec stepped forward and handed me a glass of water, holding my gaze for only a moment. I suppressed a groan as I drank deeply. My mind was draped in a heavy fog, making it hard for me to formulate any real thoughts.

"What happened?" I asked after I finished off the glass of water, setting it down on the night stand beside the bed.

"You fainted," Tamara said. Her eyes shifted to Alec who was focused on the ground.

"Of course I did," I muttered softly under my breath. My sister might be with a murderer, Callum was in police custody, and I was acting like a damsel in distress. I shifted on the bed, tossing my legs over the edge. "How's the boy? Did he say anything more?"

Tamara's eyes narrowed as she watched me. "He's alive but quiet. He needs an actual doctor."

"Do you trust taking him into town?" I asked, legs trembling as I stood up.

Was anywhere safe from these people? Was there anyway to know who was in on this murder scheme? For all we knew, it could be a group of them working together. The only people I trusted without a doubt were Cal, and Mary-Beth. And they were gone.

"No," she replied with an exasperated sigh.

I turned toward her. "Then I guess he's not going anywhere, is he? Because he's the only witness we have. The only person who might be able to fix this."

It was time for me to take some action. It was my job to protect Mary-Beth - she had no one in this world but me. The fear and desperation were consuming me. Restless energy carried me forward to the exit. I was going to save my sister from whatever had taken her, even if it was the last thing I did.

"Where are you going?"

"Where do you think? To get my sister," I said, brushing our shoulders as I passed her. My walk up the hallway toward the living room was unsteady but determined. A headache pulsed behind my eyes -- must have hit my head pretty hard when I fainted. The footsteps that followed mine were firm, and angry.

"Don't be an idiot." Tamara grabbed hold of my wrist, and pulled me back. I stumbled under the force, knocking my shoulder into the wall. Pain shot up into my jaw, forcing me to wince. Tamara either didn't care or hadn't noticed. She invaded my space without care, holding me prisoner between her bruising grip and a menacing sneer.

"Let go of me."

"Make me," Tamara said, a mouthful of teeth on display. It's a hungry and ominous grin.

Anger and fear rushed through me, turning my blood to fire. It scorched my insides as I struggled like a fly caught in the spider's web. All of my actions were in vain, but I struggled and raged all the same.

"I think she gets the--" Alec began to speak but stopped at the vicious snarl that rumbled out of her chest.

"What do you think you can do? I could kill you right now if I wanted. Any of us here could. It would take little effort on our part." Her voice is rough and garbled, less than human. She grabbed my face with her other hand, giving it a rough squeeze. "You have no idea of the position you're in."

Roxanne coughed loud. Her pink hair comes into view over Tamara's left shoulder. "You've made your point. We're all big, scary monsters."

Tamara held onto me for a moment longer before stepping away. She turned her back to me, shoulders tense. The anger and fear slipped from my eyes in hot streaming tears. My muscles trembled under the force of my restraint. I wanted to scream until there was no air left in my lungs, until my throat was raw -- until I shattered into a million pieces.

I clenched my hands into tight fists at my sides. They really would have to kill me if they wanted to keep me from chasing after Mary-Beth. This was my battle. It was from the very beginning, but I was afraid. I had done nothing but hide behind everyone else.

"I'm going," I said, holding my head up high. It was hard to know what Tamara had been attempting to achieve with her display of power. When she turned to me now, there was no anger, only a dull look of exhaustion and sorrow. She wasn't going to stop me this time.

"I'll go with her," Alec said.

"No way!" Roxie was quick to deny him. Her eyes hardened as she met his stare from across the room. "We can't trust you. For all we know you're the killer and all of this has been part of your plan to get us to let our guard down."

The room went quiet. My eyes shifted to Alec. Roxie had given me a new lense to see the world through. Honestly, I had never considered the possibility of him being a threat. He had been a bit eager in regards to Mary-Beth when we first met, but I chalked it up to puppy love.

"I'm not responsible for this."

"How do we know that? Can you prove you're innocent?"

Alec clenched his jaw, dropping his head a bit. My intuition told me he wasn't our killer. It didn't mean he wasn't hiding something, but it could be nothing more than the normal secrets teenagers had. I knew in my gut that this boy cared about my sister. He would never hurt her, purposefully.

"He's not our enemy," I said as I pushed myself away from the wall, testing my footing. There was still a throbbing behind my eyes but my movements felt more controlled.

Alec looked to me, eyes growing wide. He hadn't expected me to believe him. His mouth opened and words began to form on his lips but he stopped himself. Instead he gave me a nod. A simple gesture that was easy to interpret. 

"Well, he's definitely not our ally." Roxie's cheeks puffed out at her muttered response.

"Who cares?" It was true. Enemy or ally, at this point I was not in a situation to be choosey. "If he can help me find my sister then I'm willing to take that risk."

Tamara pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "Callum would kill me if he knew I let you do this. It's dangerous. Especially for you."

She was right. This was dangerous, especially for me. I was still human and that meant I was fragile, mortal. The fear was there, but not for myself. No, I was only afraid of what might happen to Mary-Beth if I didn't get to her.

"I promise I won't do anything too crazy. Once we find Mary-Beth, I'll call the police." This was a lie. There was no way that I could ever sit around and wait if there was something I could do. "But I have to do this. You get that, right?"

Alec placed a hand on my shoulder and said, "I won't let anything happen to them."

Tamara fixed us with a narrowed stare. The air was thick with the oppressive weight of our situation. If we did nothing and stood by then we would both lose people we cared about. If we rushed forward then we might lose ourselves in the process. There wasn't much of a choice -- for any of us.

"I'll keep this kid alive. So you just worry about yourself, got it?"

I nodded my head, glancing toward the boy passed out on her couch. Was his family worried about him? Was he responsible for Mary-Beth being taken? What had they been doing together? There were so many things I didn't know. I turned away, shoulders stiff. "Come on, Alec. Let's go."

I didn't wait to see if he would follow, because I knew he would. When we stepped outside and I was certain no one was listening, I said, "My sister has gotten herself into something and you know what it is, don't you?"

His face paled a little at my words but he said nothing, only nodded.

"Do you have any idea where Mary-Beth was taken?" I asked, trying to restrain my anger. These kids - they had no true understanding of what had been happening.

He shook his head, brow pinched. "But I should be able to track her." He taps a finger to his nose.

A glimmer of hope. "Get in the car. You're going to tell me where you found your friend. We'll start there."