Scott McCall's Arc

Chapter 7 of 9

The nurse's office hadn't been enough. Malik's ankle swelled fast, and he couldn't put any weight on it at all. Scott and Stiles helped him out to the Jeep and drove him straight across town. The emergency sign glowed red over the sliding doors. Scott carried most of Malik's weight as they pushed inside, Stiles holding the other arm. Melissa spotted them from the desk and walked over with one eyebrow already raised. "Really? What did you boys do?" Scott and Stiles went blank. Malik cut in fast. "It was a mistake. I tripped." Both boys stared at him in shock. Melissa didn't buy a word of it. She pulled her stethoscope from around her neck and pressed it against Malik's chest right there in the hallway, listening for a long second. Then she pointed at a room. "In there. I'll be back for X-rays." Once Malik was settled on the bed, she waved Scott and Stiles into the hall and shut the door behind her. "Really. Bullying a freshman." Stiles opened his mouth to protest. Melissa lifted one finger. "Zip it." They stood there in silence while she walked off. A few minutes passed. Scott counted tiles. Stiles bounced on his heels. Then Melissa came back holding the X-ray film up to the light. Her face shifted. The bones were clean. No fracture. No swelling on the scan at all. Normal. She turned the film toward Scott. Scott and Stiles looked at each other. "Is he a werewolf?" Stiles whispered. Melissa closed her eyes and rolled them behind the lids. "Oh god. Not another one." She lowered the film and looked at Scott directly. "Whatever he is, he heals fast. And he's not the only new thing in this town this week." Scott felt the floor shift under him. Malik wasn't just supernatural. He was healed already, sitting in a hospital bed, watching them through the window with steady gold eyes. Five nights left. Two friends still marked. And now something else was awake and watching back.