Tatum was only half aware of what was going on anymore. Besides the blinding pain and the fact that she felt like she kept fading out, there wasn't much else. She was aware of her laboured breathing, that she had definitely lost a lot of blood. It was hard to say, not being in the observer position that she usually took, but she thought maybe she was bleeding out. She felt incredibly weak and nauseous, and the idea of fighting back against the wolf was almost too mammoth of an idea to consider. She could only lay there, hoping mostly. There were tears flowing from her eyes, but she had no real control over them, just heaving and sobbing, the corners of her eyes leaking profusely. It hurt so much, and he was so big.

She felt brief relief when some of his weight shifted, breathing became the tiniest bit easier, but she closed her eyes tightly and just waited as he began to paw at her face. She let her head fall to the side, feeling her hair fall over her neck as the wolf began sniffing at her furiously. This was it, she figured. He would just tear her throat out, he was just literally a breath away from it, and then at least the pain would be over. It hurt, and actually anywhere the thing's teeth got her fucking burned, all of the bite marks and claw tracks and piece of flesh he had torn into. If she died, at least she wouldn't be in agony anymore.

She'd see Frankie, there was that. She did owe her an apology of sorts. If that whole afterlife thing was true. Even if what the church taught them was true, she was pretty sure that they'd end up in the same place anyway. Lesbians and suicidal people were all supposed to go to the same hell, or at least she was sure that was what her dad would say. Her dad, she wondered briefly, would he even care she was dead? He'd probably be happy.

Letting out another shrill cry as the wolf began attacking her again, ripping into her just above the top of her jeans, Tatum tried to get the energy up to scream for help again. She didn't want to die, but she couldn't fight, couldn't help herself. She needed someone. "Mack please," she tried again, in a low croak that stood zero chance of making it up to the campus. Even when she had been screaming at the top of her voice, no one stirred. She felt another scream boiling up in her as the wolf bit hard into her hip. "F-Frankie, Mack, p-please somebody!" she managed to get out, feeling the tears still leaking from her eyes even as she laid on her back and accepted her fate. "M-Make it-- just s-stop, it hurts," she murmured weakly. She was definitely bleeding, and way too much.

"S-Sam, somebody.. I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean-- I d-didn't know, I-I'm sorry, I'll s-stay out of the woods," she managed to get out, feeling fainter than ever. How long did it take to die anyway? Some people, it took hours. She didn't know if she could wait that long. Everything ached and stung and throbbed.

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The wolf ignored her pleas at first, energized by the blood and the fear but something broke in him. Sam. Something tore through the wolf, ripping him away from the girl. The wolf wasn't finished but Sam was awake now and he was stronger than the primal urge to rip and kill.

The wolf was reeled back. What have you done? The wolf's head shook, he only did what was natural bu guilt was tearing him apart. Sam knew he needed to get the wolf away from her before he lost control again. He ran as fast as he could, howling to get attention from anyone. Someone had to hear. Someone had to save her. He put himself in King's Hall and barricaded the broken door. He couldn't let the wolf hurt anyone else.

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Just laying there, Tatum tried to think of something else, anything except the pain and the weight of the wolf continuing to bear down on her. She figured it would be over soon, he could only play with his food for so long before he'd probably get bored, but she was genuinely shocked when the wolf went reeling away from her. It was so quick pulling away from her, like she had hurt it or shocked it or something, but she hadn't moved a muscle. She still felt like she couldn't. When the wolf turned and took off, howling and barreling back the way it came, Tatum didn't even know what to do.

Maybe she was already dead, and she was dreaming this or something. Why would it just leave her here? Well, it was leaving her for dead. There was that. The redhead still felt incredibly faint and sick and hurt so bad. With the world swimming in front of her vision, she formulated a plan through the haze of agony that was filling her brain. She was hurt, and she was hurt bad, and no one was coming. It was pretty late, it had been late when she left, and the chances of someone coming along in time were too slim.

She had to move, but she was almost positive she couldn't do it. Still with tears running down her face, most of her clothes soaked or splattered with blood, and gasping for air, she tried to test herself. From flat on her back, she very slowly tried to turn herself on her side, screaming again at the pain it caused her, ripping through her, from her shoulder and neck especially but going through her whole body. Her vision doubled, tripled, went vaguely fuzzy before returning to semi-normal. That hurt, really hurt, and it was going to be a long way to drag herself all of the way back toward the dorms. She didn't know how she was going to do it, but she knew she was going to die if she didn't try. The wolf could be fucking with her, he could come back any second and finish the job, especially if she kept shouting. She wouldn't make it till morning out here, there wasn't any question anymore. The smell of her own blood was thick and pungent, turning her stomach worse than it was.

Breathing deeply in an attempt to brace herself, Tatum shut her eyes tightly and made a bold move, turning herself further so that she now lay on her stomach. That hurt. She was torn up over her whole torso, she half couldn't believe that her guts weren't hanging out like a horror movie or something. Maybe they were. She was scared to look. She'd waste time if she started examining herself though, precious seconds, and she could imagine without looking how bad of shape she was in anyway. But she had to move. Feeling fainter than ever, with all of her pressure now on her badly bleeding upper body, she made another bold decision. Slowly, Tatum began to drag herself.

It wasn't easy, not on the asphalt, but if she could get to the other side of the parking lot, she'd hit grass. Then it'd be a little closer to school, too.

She didn't stand a chance of standing, so dragging it was, breathing heavily between whimpers as she ever so slowly began pulling herself along the ground, desperate to get inside. If she passed out before someone found her, she was done.

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From inside, it seemed like one of eerily quiet nights. The full moon poured silvery light all over the grounds but growing up ever suspicious Michi knew better than to chance fate. Still, pregnancy cravings were not something she could ignore either and after trying to tell herself for an hour that she didn't need ice cream she finally broke down. There was no sense in bothering Hunter, she and Mack were having a total bro hang out and she didn't want to interrupt, besides, what kind of trouble could she run into while getting ice cream?

She grabbed her keys and kicked on her shoes before heading outside. It was creepy, she could smell a strong scent on the air that she could almost recognize. Whatever it was, it was unpleasant. She power walked all the way from the University dorms to the parking lot before she heard something that made her hair stand on end. It sounded like someone was in pain. She looked around wildly. "Hello!" she called out.

It didn't take long to find Tatum though. The sight of her made Michi's heart drop. "What the fucking fuck happened?" she squealed breathlessly. She rushed to the other girl and with shaking hands tried to get a better assessment of the situation. She was torn up, gashes, cuts, and bites all over her upper body. Her shoulder was the worst part. "Tatum, Tatum, look at me baby," she said, her voice terrified.

There was so much blood, Michi knew she couldn't get her to the hospital in time. She had to stop the bleeding but first she had to find where it was coming from. "Okay honey, I'm going to flip you," she said resolutely. "It's the only way I can fix a damn thing, alright. You're gonna be okay." Slowly, she began to turn Tatum into her, cradling the other girl's head in her lap.

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Tatum had been incredibly focused on her task, her head down and her teeth gritted as she continued to pull herself along, slowly but surely. She weighed next to nothing, but right now, dragging her legs was more of a struggle than trying to lift a car or something. Breathing heavily, only worsening as she continued to push herself physically and mentally both, the redhead just tried to think about her goal. She was bleeding awfully, she didn't think all of the moving was helping. Mack might be mad at her for wandering outside, but she would get help. She'd know what to do, she just had to get herself to her first.

When she heard Michi's voice, she was sure that it had to be her own imagination. Struggling to lift her head to look up at the other girl, she quickly gave up and just stayed still, spitting a mouthful of blood as far away from herself as she could get. "I d-don't.. I d-don't w-wanna die, p-please don't let me d-die," she managed to gasp out, looking up finally at Michi as she came closer, right beside her now. Her brain was still muddled, full of pain and worry and everything else, and once more she saw her vision swimming, but it was real. It was really Michi and she was really here. She'd know what to do.

But when Michi told her what she had to do, Tatum was already whimpering in pain and shaking her head as best she could. "N-No, it h-hurts, it.. I c-can't, please, I can't d-do it," she pleaded, her breathing feeling suddenly more laboured again. Just the thought of the pain she had put herself through to turn over was excruciating. So much as she cried though, she didn't fight it, letting the older girl pull her head into her lap. She closed her eyes, shaking and bracing herself. When Michi finally began to turn her again, white-hot pain shot through her back like mad, making her scream loudly again. It felt like her whole back was flayed open. "I.. I r-really l-liked this sweater," she gasped, once the turning was done and she was staring up at Michi with half-lidded eyes. She was in and out, the pain was definitely going to black her out soon, but not soon enough.

She barely contained another cry of pain as she reached up, shakily, pressing a hand against her own shoulder in a half-hearted attack to stop the blood pouring from there. It felt like half of the damn shoulder was gone. How was she going to recover from this? She didn't even want Mack to see her this way, the more she thought about it. She was such a mess, and it was her own fault. She had been warned. It was her own fault she was in this mess, just like it had been her fault when Frankie had died. She had caused that mess as well. Maybe she deserved to die. "I w-was-- I-I am gonna d-die, aren't I?" she asked, coughing suddenly and groaning as she did. It sent agony through her whole body, rocking her with it.

"I just.. I w-wanna see.. I wanna s-see Frankie, I c-can't f-fight it-- Michi, it hurts, I just.. I'm g-gonna die, I k-know I am. I w-wanna see her," she groaned, only half making sense. "Y-You have to.. y-you have to go, there's a.. he m-might come back, p-please."

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"I aint gonna letcha die honey," she said even though tears were running wildly down her cheeks. She gently rubbed Tatum's cheek with her thumb. "Now you just hush that nonsense," she knew she had to stop bleeding. This was really the only chance she had to save the other girl. "Look how far ya came?" she said following the bloody trail from where Tatum had presumably fallen. Sure she didn't know what it was yet but something had torn her apart.

"That bitch is gonna hafta wait, ya hear me? She gonna hafta wait until yer old and wrinkly cause we got plans Tate. You're gonna be my roommate and yer gonna teach me that pokeymon game," she tried to sound brave despite her tears. "And you're gonna wear a cute little dress in my wedding, got that? You aint dyin', not tonight," she dug in her pocket for her wand and pulled it out.

"I aint leavin you here," she said determined before she got to work. A quick siphoning spell showed her the major injuries. There were two long and deep gashes in her shoulder and some pretty nasty scratches all over her torso. She focused all her energy into the spell "vulnera sanentur." She repeated it like a song over Tatum's shoulder until the skin began to knit back together leaving angry little pink patches.

"Good, we're looking good Tatum," she said moving to the gash above her jeans. Michi made quick work of stopping the bleeding but she had already lost so much blood. She knew Tatum had to get to the hospital and she had to get there as soon as possible. "Okay honey, the bleedin's stopped. I'm gonna put you in my car and we're gonna get ya to the hospital. Ya need bleed. Y'all were bleedin' all over the parking lot."

She pointed her wand at her car and flicked it once, the car doors flew open. "We aint too far away. I'm gonna carry ya." It got tricky as Michi positioned herself to lift the girl off the ground. She wasn't big at all so that wouldn't be a problem, even if she was pregnant, though she was sure to get a lot of hell for it. With all the effort she had, she lifted Tatum off the ground, cradling her carefully against her own body so as not to cause further injury.

It was an almost tedious trudge to the car but she got there and set the smaller girl inside. "You're gonna be alright little Tatum, don't you worry," Michi said reclining the seat. She was quick to get into the other side of the car and she started driving like a maniac toward the Bluebell Hospital.

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She was only half listening to what Michi told her, just trying to nod her head along with it, but not really following it all. She was only getting more and more nauseous and dizzy, and every movement was terrible, making her wince and her eyes swell up with tears all over again. Dying did take a long time, and she wished that it could just be over already at this point. She had made a good run, but she was so tired. But Michi seemed pretty set against letting that happen to her.

Even if just giving up and dying would bring relief, they did have plans, didn't they? She tried to focus on that, think about the apartment and about moving out, about all the things they were going to do, rather than the aching pain that was hazing her mind right then. "S-She's.. s-she's not a b-bitch, why d-does everybody gotta c-call her a bitch," Tatum blurted out, after several moments of silence and gritting her teeth as Michi tended to her wounds. She was still woozy and disoriented, but it felt better to at least have her shoulder closed. It didn't feel so open and raw anymore, but it still hurt an awful lot.

"D-Don't," she quickly protested, showing the most energy she had since Michi had discovered her. She didn't want the other girl lifting her, if she hurt herself or something then she didn't think she could forgive herself. And Hunter would probably see to it that she ended up dead, if that happened. But before she could properly argue, she was being hoisted up awkwardly and held against Michi's body. Despite her urge to resist, she felt safer already and found herself resting her weary head on the girl's shoulder as they moved to the car.

She wanted to scream again when Michi put her down in the seat, her back still felt all torn open and sore as hell, even with a lot of the blood gone and some of the cuts healed. There was only so much Michi could do; Tatum didn't know if she would have been able to do any better on herself, and this was meant to be her future career. She was in rough shape, and she knew it. "Y-Yeah, blood," she agreed quietly, her eyes winced shut tightly as she leaned her head back against the seat, trying to stay conscious. She didn't even pay attention to the way Michi was driving, or where they were going. She was just glad to be in the car and that nothing could get them now.

"I'm.. I-I'm making a m-mess of your car," she spluttered, giving a little groan as she tried to move in the seat a bit. There were definitely broken bones in her chest somewhere. Maybe she was bleeding internally too, that would be a treat. "I-If I.. if I d-do die, I won't b-be that s-sad," she muttered, a bit breathlessly. She pressed a hand against her stomach, whimpering as she did. "I k-knew.. I knew b-better, Le said.. h-he said he thought it was a.. b-but I didn't think.."

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Michi ignored all her protests. "Honey... I'm s-sorry, not need to argue semantics over that girl," her voice was shaking. "But she aint gettin' you tonight."

When Tatum mentioned making a mess of the the car Michi reached over and took the other girl's hand. "Shh, shh, I don't give a damn about the car. So long as your safe."

"Well I'll be fuckin' sad if you die. And Mack an' Hunt an' Sera," she tried to keep the shaking out of her voice but couldn't really help how desperate she sounded. "What was it?" she asked. "What did Le think it was?"

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"W-Well okay.. I g-guess," Tatum relented, her eyes still closed and her head tipped back against the seat. Keeping herself alert was becoming more and more of a challenge, but when Michi took her hand, she was quick to squeeze it back as hard as she could. It wasn't much, but it was something, and she did feel a little better. It didn't help the pain any, but it was an extremely comforting gesture. If she died, at least she wouldn't die alone anymore.

"It's a n-nice car," she murmured, managing a very small smile as she swallowed thickly, groaning a little as she shifted in the seat again and hurt her back once more. It didn't seem like things could get worse, her entire body was made up of aches and agony, but every little movement just made things that much worse, sharp jabs and prods of pain.

Her eyes opened a little at the mention of Sera, and she furrowed her eyebrows a bit, as she continued on forcing herself to sit up a bit better. Her free arm leaned against the door, propping her up. "If I d-do die, I owe m-my sister some m-money.. she c-can have the s-stuff under my b-bed, t-the uh.. it's d-drug money but.. I-I g-guess.. and uhm, m-my.. my camera 'c-cos it's got.. n-nice and it's got stuff on t-there, like of u-us," she murmured, her eyes shutting once more as she began particularly weak, reeling back a bit as her vision tried to double on her again.

Upon Michi's question, she slumped back into the chair more heavily again, trying to regain her hold on the world. She had been positive for a second there that she was done, everything had been black for what felt like forever, but in reality had probably only been a few moments. Still, she felt disoriented. "W-Wolf," she murmured, looking over at the bloody handprints she had got on the door. "What e-else right.. like a.. l-like a werewolf, like a p-person I guess, I don't-- I d-don't know why they didn't.. k-kill me."

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She kept Tatum's hand in hers like it would anchor them both to what was real, like it would anchor them to the world. She zoomed in and out of traffic, focusing on Tatum's voice and tutting and shushing her when she talked about dying.

"I don't give a damn about the car, my mom gave it to me as a gesture to get me back on her side," she sniffled. "You aint gonna die though," she reassured her. "Keep focusin'," she said. "Tell me about pokeymon," she encouraged the girl. She had seen it before when people were near death, they needed to talk about stuff that was unrelated, they needed to focus away from the pain. "Don't you think that would be cool if they were real? They'd be real cute wouldn't they?"

Her head was spinning when she told her Leland's suspicions. "A werewolf?" she asked, her voice shaking. "No," she shook her head, fighting tears. Werewolf meant that it would change Tatum's life forever, that this was something the poor girl would have to deal with every full. "No, there couldn't be a werewolf," she fought the hysterics in her own voice. "You musta scared it off baby," she said nodding. "That's right, you just scared the piss right outta that wolf."

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