"Shouldn't they be here by now?" Liam questioned nervously as he glanced out into the empty hospital hallway. It had been close to an hour since he had talked to Mason, and there was still no sign of them.

I nodded, letting out an anxious sigh as I hung up the phone, pulling it away from my ear. "Scott's not answering his phone." I announced, moving across the room to join him.

He looked over at me, his eyes holding a look of fear. "Do you think something's wrong?" he wondered.

I glanced over to the unconscious bodies for a moment before diverting my attention back toward the hallway. "Yeah." I whispered, my voice coming out shaky as the lights began to flicker overhead. "I think it's starting."

Liam's face fell as he pulled me closer to him. "We need to get out of here." he mumbled, holding me close. "If what Nolan said earlier is true, this place is crawling with Monroe's army."

Nodding, I pulled away from him ever so slightly, leaning over to check the hallway. "I'll go out." I proclaimed, "Make sure there's a safe way out for you."

"No!" Liam argued, reaching out to grab onto me, "You're not going-"

As I spun to look at him, my eyes grew wide at the sight behind him. "-Liam!" I screamed, cutting him off, "Look out!"

He pivoted his body, his eyes filling with shock as they landed on one of the supposedly unconscious patients now sitting, gun in hand.

Liam shoved me to the side of the room as the man began firing shots at us. I crouched to the ground, throwing my hands over my head as shots rained down around me. "Liam!" I cried, watching as he rushed the man.

To my immense relief, the shower of gunfire stopped within a matter of seconds, as Liam had picked up the man and launched him harshly into the hallway.

"Come on"! Liam yelled, rushing to my side. He took a hold of my hand, pulling me from the ground. I looked around the room for a minute, pulling from his grasp to pick up the discarded gun of our assailant. I rejoined him, taking a hold of his hand before rushing back into the hallway.

My breathing was rapid as we entered the eerie hallway. Lights were flickering, and it was deadly silent. I looked down at the unconscious man who had just attacked us, praying he wasn't going to get up.

However, it turns out that that man was not the one I needed to worry about, as moments after we entered the hallway, the sound of several guns cocking broke the eerie silence.

"Wait!" a voice yelled. I didn't need to look to see who it was...I knew it was him. Gabe. "Let me have him."

As I pulled my eyes away from the unconscious man, I felt my breath catch in my throat. In front of us stood Gabe and two men, all of their guns pointed at us.

Liam's grip on my hand tightened as Gabe spoke again. He was watching us with an amused smirk. "Go ahead, Liam. Run." he taunted. "And leave Sydney here. I'll make sure she's okay." his words laced with venom. "It'll be more fun that way."

Without words, Liam slowly took a step backward, pulling me with him. His breathing was rapid as he picked up the pace, quickly backing us into the elevator. Gabe and the men advanced on us...we had no where else to go.

I moved my body in front of Liam's, like he always did to me. It was my turn to try and protect him. "Gabe," I begged, my voice wavering, "Please don't-"

I was cut off by the ding of the elevator, and within seconds someone was yanking Liam and I into the lift. A surprised gasp flew from my lips as whoever it was pulled us to the wall, shielding our bodies with their own.

Shots began to fly, hitting the far wall of the elevator as the three of us huddled against the side. They didn't cease as the doors slowly closed, the sound of the bullets dinging on the closed metal doors assaulted my ears.

Once the doors had closed, Liam and I pulled away from our mystery rescuer to see it was none other than Theo Raeken. My eyes widened in a mixture of surprise and gratitude.

"What are you doing here?" Liam demanded, his breaths quick and laboured.

Theo ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head. "I was just asking myself the same thing."

---

I nervously bit at my finger nails from where I stood at the back of the elevator, watching as Liam leaned toward the door, listening for any sign of a threat.

Five minutes had passed, and we were still standing in the stopped elevator, waiting for the moment we could exit safely. Essentially, we were sitting ducks.

"They still out there?" Theo questioned, his face written with concern.

Liam turned his head slightly, giving a small nod. A nervous sigh flew from my lips as I anxiously raked my hands through my hair. What were we going to do?

Theo's face clouded with what looked like urgency and regret. "Look," he announced, taking a step closer to Liam, "I'm not dying for you."

Liam's face contorted in defense. "I'm not dying for you either!" he shot back.

"How about we all refrain from dying?" I offered, stepping in between the two boys. Theo met my gaze for a moment, pushing his lips together before nodding.

When I turned to look at Liam, he did the same thing. The disgusted look that he had been giving to Theo slowly fell as he glanced back toward the doors. "Fine." he muttered. "I will..." he trailed off, catching my eyes for a moment. When I gave him an expectant look, he continued, looking back to Theo. "I will fight with you.

Theo let out a deep breath, glancing back at the doors like Liam had done. "Okay," he conceded, "Let's fight."

A satisfied smile covered my face as I looked between the two boys, "Now, was that so hard?" I grinned, earning glares from both of them.

Theo glanced over at me, "You're staying in here." he ordered as if it were obvious.

I scrunched up my face, unhappy with where this conversation had ended up. "Yeah, right." I muttered sarcastically.

He looked bewildered as he looked to Liam, "She's going to get herself killed." he exclaimed, throwing his hands up.

"She," I announced, pulling the gun from my waistband, "Can handle herself perfectly fine."

Liam tried to hide the grin that covered his face, but failed immensely.

"You can't be serious." Theo gawked, looking between Liam and I as if we were insane.

"Oh," Liam nodded, turning to the door to prepare himself for the fight that was about to ensue once we opened those doors. "She's serious."

Theo shook his head, still in shock, but decided to forfeit this argument. I gave him a sweet smile as I stood behind the two boys, readying myself to shoot.

"Okay," I whispered, looking between the two of them as Liam reached to push the emergency stop button, effectively shutting it off. "Let's do this."

I could hear my heartbeat pounding in my ears as the doors dinged before slowly sliding open. Liam quickly glanced back at me, giving me a small nod before he and Theo both let out angry growls.

It was go time.

My feet were moving before I even had time to think about it. Theo and Liam rushed from the elevator, attacking the men with guns who advanced toward us. I held steady as I emerged from the elevator behind them, firing shots at men who rushed in from down the hallway.

Gunshots, growls and grunts filled the air as the battle ensued.

Theo and Liam clearly had the upper hand and were dominating any attacker who got in their way.

Injured bodies littered the floor in front of me as I continued to fire at any walking figure not already taken care of by the two boys.

After a few shots, the gun in my hand stopped firing bullets. I was out of ammo. I let out a quiet curse as I dropped the gun, my eyes quickly scanning the hallway for an alternative.

I felt my heart leap when I noticed a discarded gun beside one of the unconscious bodies. I looked ahead, seeing that the boys were dealing with the last of the current attackers. Now was my chance.

I rushed forward, scooping up the gun and cradling it my arms, thankful that I had managed to grab it without any consequences. However, that relief was short lived, as the minute I went to take a step forward, a hand gripped onto my ankle.

I let out a loud gasp as my leg was pulled out from under me, sending me to the ground with a harsh thud. I turned with wide eyes, watching as the man who had pulled me down reached for his own gun which lay right in front of him.

I let out a grunt, attempting to kick it away from him as he continued to grab at me. "Get off!" I growled, sending my foot into his chest. He brushed it off quickly, still trying to keep me pinned to the ground.

Liam and Theo spun around at the sound of our struggle, both of their eyes widening as the man managed to grab his gun, and ram the butt of it into my head.

The room began to spin as I tried to shake off the hit. Warm blood now trailed down my face from the blow. Attempting to push myself to my feet to stop the man who was now on his own feet, ready to advance toward Liam and Theo, proved very difficult as pain consumed me.

I had managed to push myself onto my side just as another figure rounded the corner, ramming a taser prod into the man. He let out a grunt, convulsing for a moment before falling to the ground beside me.

"Mom?" I gasped, watching as my mother continued to press the prod against the man, her eyes wide in delightful surprise that she had done that.

My surprise didn't end there, as seconds later Nolan came flying around the corner, wasting no time in picking up one of the other discarded guns. He struck the other man in the back of the head, knocking him unconscious as well.

It was almost too much for me to take in all at once. Seconds later he looked back to where Liam and Theo were, his eyes widening. "Get down!" he screamed.

I looked up just in time to see Gabe approach from behind the two boys, his gun raised. My view was soon blocked as Nolan threw himself down on top of me, holding us low to the ground to shield us from the oncoming barrage of bullets.

I couldn't see them, but through the sound of gunshots I could hear Liam and Theo sprinting toward us, trying to get out of the line of bullets.

I pulled my head out from under Nolan's grasp, checking to ensure my mother was okay. Luckily, she had managed to duck behind a gurney and was protected from the assault.

My breathing was rapid as I looked back toward where Gabe was approaching. Liam and Theo had finally reached us, but they weren't unscathed.

Both of them fell to the ground beside us. Liam clutching his leg where he had been hit by a bullet, Theo doing the own with his own shoulder.

"Liam!" I cried, trying to fight against Nolan's hold on me. I knew Liam would heal, but that didn't necessarily ease my worries.

"I'm okay!" he yelled to me over the noise, his voice coming out as a grunt. I could tell he was in pain.

When Gabe thought he had gotten the job done, a satisfied smirk overtook his face as he turned his back to us, likely on his way to murder his next victim.

I wanted to scream as Liam pushed himself to his feet, taking off down the hall after Gabe. Nolan clamped his hand over my mouth, maintaining his grip on me as he pulled us against the wall.

I ripped his hand away from my mouth, gripping onto his arm in worry as I attempted to lean forward to see what was about to happen.

A growl flew from Liam's mouth as he rushed Gabe, grabbing onto the gun as Gabe spun around in shock. A few shots fired from the gun, hitting the ceiling over head. Nervous tears pooled in my eyes as I tightened my grip on Nolan's arm, terrified I was about to watch Liam die.

Another voice carried over the noise, pulling my eyes toward another man who stood with a gun pointed at Gabe and Liam who continued to fight over the gun.

"We have to do something." I pleaded, craning my neck to look back at Nolan who was seated behind me.

He met my eyes, giving me a quick nod as he untangled himself from where he had been holding me. "Stay here." he ordered, not waiting for my answer as he quickly rushed across the hall, ducking behind the gurney.

I looked back down the hall, meeting my mom's eyes. She gave me a comforting look, but I could tell she was scared too.

With my eyes locked on my mom, I was startled as gunshots rang off down the hall. My eyes instantly flew toward where Liam and Gabe were, only to see Liam drop to the ground as bullets fired toward them.

However, it wasn't Liam who got the brunt of the shots. I watched in horror as Gabe's body staggered backwards as a shower of bullets was fired into his chest. Blood began to seep through his shirt.

I clamped my eyes shut and threw my hands over my ears, unable to handle witnessing it any longer.

Only did I open my eyes when the gunfire ceased. That seemed to be thanks to Nolan who stood behind the man, a fire extinguisher in hand. He had knocked him out.

Silence settled over the room as Gabe fell to the ground, his eyes wide in shock at what had just happened.

My breathing was laboured as my heart continued to thump against my ribcage. Everyone looked around with shocked expressions.

The minute I was past the initial stage of shock, I was pushing myself to my feet, ignoring the pain that shot through my head. I had to get to Liam.

Everyone seemed to snap out of their trance, all of us watching as Gabe slowly pulled himself across the floor, leaving a trail of blood in is wake.

I tore my eyes away from him as someone let out a pain grunt beside me. Turning my head, my eyes landed on Theo who was attempting to push himself up off the ground despite the bullet wound in his shoulder.

"Here." I mumbled, taking a few steps toward him, making a pitstop before getting to Liam.

Theo looked up at me in surprise as I stuck my hand out. "Thanks." he whispered, shooting me a grateful look as he wrapped his hand around my own. Another pain grunt fell from his lips as I pulled him from the ground.

The minute I was sure he was on his feet and okay, I was rushing to Liam who was slowly pushing himself up with the help of my mom.

"Liam." I breathed, worried tears still in my eyes as I linked my arm under his armpit, helping to pull him from the ground. My mom watched us with a small smile, slowly releasing her grip on him.

Liam looked over at me, giving me a sad smile before pulling me in to an almost bone crushing hug. I let out a teary, relieved laugh as I wrapped my arms around him, burying my head into his chest. The sound of his heart beating instantly caused me to relax.

As we pulled apart, he tentatively ran his thumb over the wound on my forehead. I reached up, catching his wrist and pulling his hand down to hold my own. "I'm okay." I promised, my eyes then travelling to his other hand which was gripping his leg. "Your leg-"

My words trailed off as a cough from across the room drew our attention to where Gabe was resting against the wall, blooding leaking from his mouth. Everyone else was watching him, unsure of what could be done.

I felt sadness pang in my heart at the sight of him. Gabe wasn't even close to innocent, but he didn't deserve to die.

"It hurts." he whispered through laboured breaths. "It hurts."

Fresh tears of sadness pooled in my eyes as I looked over at my mother. "Mom-" I started, but one sad look from her caused me to stop. There was nothing that could be done.

Liam placed a comforting hand on my back, his own eyes set on Gabe who continued to cry out in pain.

I closed my eyes, turning my head to the side as sadness consumed me. He was going to die.

The sound of footsteps caused me to slowly force my eyes open once again, and when I did I was met with the sight of Theo slowly moving across the room toward Gabe.

We all watched with curious eyes as he wordlessly dropped to a knee beside the injured boy. Gabe watched him through drooping eyes as Theo reached out for his hand. Slowly, he pushed back Gabe's sleeve and wrapped his hand around the dying boy's wrist. Theo was taking his pain.

I reached up, running my sleeve across my eye to wipe the tears that had blurred my vision. I had never thought I would cry for Gabe, and I never thought I would see Theo taking someone else's pain. But yet, here we were.

Gabe's quick breaths of pain slowed as I watched the pain flow from his body into Theo's. The smallest of relieved smiles covered his face as he looked up at Theo through teary eyes.

"Does it hurt anymore?" Theo questioned, his voice soft.

Gabe slightly shook his head, it seemed that was all he had the energy for. "No." he whispered, so low I could barely hear it. And then, his eyes slowly closed as his head began to droop to the side. Gabe was gone.

I leaned into Liam, letting out a small sniffle as he pulled me close. I clutched onto him, the thoughts that that could have been him dying in front of all of us filling my head.

My heart clenched in pain as my eyes stayed focused on Gabe. He was a kid, we were all kids. None of us deserved to die, especially not like that.

Suddenly, another voice cut into the quiet air. We all spun, our eyes falling on the source of the voice. It was coming through a radio on one of the men's belts.

My eyes lifted from the radio toward where Mason and Corey were standing. They had joined us at some point. I wasn't sure when, but I was relieved to see they were both alive.

The voice through the radio spoke again, "This is Monroe." she sounded terrified, and deep down that brought me a sense of joy. "Someone report with a status. Now." When no other voices came through the line, she spoke again. "Someone respond! Someone talk to me!"

Softly, Liam untangled himself from me and began making his way toward the radio. Theo and I shared a look before both of us followed after him. Monroe continued barking orders through the device, but received no responses.

I watched as Liam stopped in front of the man, reaching down to pull the walkie from his belt.

"Someone pick up the radio and tell me what's happening!" Monroe yelled, her voice laced with urgency.

Slowly, Liam raised the walkie to his mouth, a small smirk playing on his lips as he pressed down the button to speak. "...You lost"

-an-

okay, so this chapter is so long but there was no way I could break it up. so much happened it was a rollercoaster for sure.

even though this is technically the last chapter that took place in the present during the episode, I'm going to be doing a few more to wrap up, and then will be writing the future scene when the pack meets alex...so I will save all the sappiness for then.

I really loved this episode, especially when Theo took Gabe's pain, that really made me cry. This whole episode was emotional.

comment your thoughts on this chapter, and the episode in general...let me know what you guys thought :)