Icy horror swept through me, freezing me over so rapidly, I knew that I would shatter into a million pieces if I dared to move.

Kyle's hand went from my hair to gently rubbing my back, his hand burning into me like fire.

Whispering, my voice so low it was almost soundless, I asked, "What?"

Carefully, like he could sense that I would shatter too, Kyle shrugged, arms tightening around me. "I'm not really sure what happened. When we caught up to you guys, someone was on the ground with a crowd around them, and I heard people shouting."

I pulled away, looking Kyle straight in the eye. His pupils were blown out and his skin was covered in a fine sheen of sweat. Hoarsely, I said, "What were they shouting?"

He shook his head stubbornly. "Nothing I'm telling you right now."

When I started to argue, he shook me slightly and said, "Sacha's not out of the woods yet. It looks like the bleeding's slowed, but the wound hasn't even been cleaned yet. We've got everything we need. Sacha needs you to get to work."

Feeling like I had a tornado ripping through my brain, I nodded and stood up before sorting through the stuff Shane had brought us.

Handing Kyle a saline solution and darting into the bathroom to grab a hand towel, I said, "Start cleaning."

Kyle unwrapped Sacha's leg, looking up at me in horror. My eyes burning with tears I couldn't actually produce, I said, "He was bleeding too hard. I couldn't think of anything else."

He reached over and squeezed my shoulder lightly before starting to clean away the blood and debris clinging to the wounds. The bleeding had slowed substantially. I went into the bathroom, scrubbing my hands until they were raw.

I grabbed a suture packet and tore it open, then took some peroxide and dumped it onto the needle and my fingers. I got up onto the bed, tugging Sacha's leg gently until it was resting in my lap.

We both jumped hard when there was a low groan from the floor. I remembered the man who Shane had knocked out. I watched as Kyle took out his own sidearm and waited for the man to sit up.

His voice flat and threatening, he said, "Leave. Now."

The man jumped slightly, clutching at his head before scrambling from the room, casting a weird look over his shoulder that I didn't think could mean anything good.

I looked at Kyle who grimly, tucked his gun back into its holster before he held Sacha down again.

I bent my head over his leg and started sewing.

My fingers were cramping by the third hole, but there were two more to go. I shook my hand out and reached for another packet.

That's when I heard the shouting begin to float up the stairs.

Oddly though, I wasn't frightened. Any repercussions that could come against me for what had happened at the gate couldn't be as bad as what had already happened.

Sacha was breathing. And with each moment that kept happening, I became a little more sure that he would actually be okay.

Shaking with fatigue, I finished the last two punctures, grimacing at the jagged lines I had left.

Thankfully, Sacha didn't stir until we were cleaning it again.

I was holding his leg up as Kyle wrapped and looked up to find myself being watched by exhausted green eyes. "Sacha!" I exclaimed, making Kyle look up. "Baby, you're okay. You're gonna be just fine."

I was alarmed when he turned and coughed before spitting up a glob of sticky blood.

"I know that," he rasped. "You're here, aren't you?"

I smiled weakly, a new worry starting to bubble up as I remembered that last horrid scream. I got up and moved over until I was sitting right beside him. Lifting my fingers, I pressed lightly against his throat, making him flinch and bat my hand away.

"Where's Viktoria?" he croaked, before his hand went to his throat in alarm. "What's wrong with my voice?"

Whispering, I said, "You screamed when we cauterized some of the holes. I... I think you might have ruptured something. At the very least strained your vocal cords or something. I'm sorry that I'm not really sure."

That's why Sacha sounds like someone who's smoked three packs a day for fifty years, even though he's still only like sixteen and has never smoked a day in his life.

His voice was permanently damaged that day. Mostly because I didn't know how to treat it properly. I know that's been one of your many points of interest concerning us.

Sacha just shrugged and peered curiously down at his leg before sinking weakly back against the pillows. He was asleep again in seconds.

The shouting grew louder, and I finally looked at the door. Kyle grabbed my hand where it was resting on Sacha's chest and said, "Nothing is going to happen to you."

This was said so fiercely that I actually smiled. As full of emotion as I had been a second ago, I was now completely empty. I felt like someone had scooped all of my insides out with a spoon.

Kyle bolted to his feet and stepped in front of me and Sacha, drawing his gun again when the door burst open. He relaxed when it was just Shane and Cassidy.

Shane shut the door behind him and looked at Sacha. Clearing my throat, my voice just as hollow as the rest of me, I said, "He woke up a second ago. I think he'll pull through."

"Course he will," Shane said. Gruffly, he finished, "We wouldn't let him do anything other than that."

We were all silent for a very, very long moment, just watching Sacha as he slept. I realized I wasn't completely empty when I started to feel my heart slamming around, the percussion echoing through my ribcage.

Shane sat in the rocking chair, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees, his hands clasped together. The entire left side of his face was purple though his eyebrow had quit bleeding, as had the scratches Sacha had left on his cheek and neck.

I shivered when he looked at me with eyes the color of storm clouds. Quietly, he asked, "What happened, Raleigh?"

I swallowed hard. With a jagged breath, I said, "I don't really know. The only one I clearly remember hurting is Justin. I'd jumped down from the bed of the truck to follow you and Sacha inside, but he grabbed the back of my shirt. Maybe he wanted me to explain what happened, but I couldn't. I just... I flipped out and clawed his face. Badly. I think I might have gotten his eye."

I paused, unconsciously rubbing my nails along the seam in my jeans, gagging when something actually came out from under the crescents. Whispering now, I said, "I honestly don't remember much after that. More people grabbed me and I... I..."

Shane, his voice even, asked, "What happened?"

I couldn't look at him, staring down at the whorls in the grain of the floorboards instead. Still whispering, I said, "I took out my knife. That little folder I always keep in my pocket. I just started slashing, wanting them to let go of me, to get away from me. Someone grabbed my hair and I stabbed them. I lost the knife and got to the house."

Lowering his voice, the timbre deepening, he asked, "Where did you stab them?"

"J-just in the arm," I stammered, looking up again. My eyes widened when Shane slowly shook his head. I could feel the fracture lines beginning to spread through the ice inside me.

Shane, for once, looked like he had no idea what to do, or even say. So Cas stepped in, hugging me to her so that my face was pressed into her stomach. Petting my hair with an uncharacteristic tenderness, she said, "It hit his throat."

I felt pieces start to chip off, breaking away. In their place, panic and horror mixed together like acid. Looking up at her, I asked, "Who?"

Nobody answered for a moment. Then, Kyle said, "Cam. That guy who's always with Justin. I guess he thought that you were gonna ki—"

Shane made a slashing motion and Kyle broke off, looking like he was angry with himself.

I sat there, stunned. I looked over to Shane, whose face was still a mask of calm. He read the question in my eyes and nodded minutely and then... I waited.

I waited to feel something. Remorse. Sorrow, maybe. Fear, even, for what the fallout might be.

All I felt was horror that I felt nothing. I didn't like that I'd killed him. I didn't want him to be dead, but he was. And I certainly didn't want to have been the one to end his life. But I couldn't force myself to feel anything that was normal.

What's normal anyway?

I don't really mind that look of yours at this particular revelation. I deserve it. I should have cared, since Cam hadn't actually done anything at that moment to truly deserve killing.

It happened anyway.

Which is a life lesson, by the way.

Death happens anyway, regardless of whether or not it's deserved.

Everyone waited in silence, until I looked up at Shane and asked, "So what happens now?"

Fury passed over his face like a dark cloud, and for a second I thought he was mad at me. Because I wasn't reacting correctly. Even in the moment I knew it wasn't the right way to respond.

His words relieved me of that particular delusion though. Practically snarling, he said, "Not a fucking thing. I won't let anything happen. Period."

"We won't," Cas and Kyle said at the same time.

We all froze when there was a knock on the door, then there was a scramble of activity when the other three crashed in on me, weapons drawn.

The door opened after a moment, and Lauren stepped in. She gazed at all of us grimly, her eyes lingering longest on Kyle. Shane let his brother take the lead when Lauren shut the door behind her.

Kyle took about half a step away from me and asked, "What do they want?" His voice was hard, with a worried edge.

She ignored his question in favor of her own inquiry. Looking directly at me, she said, "Give me a rundown, starting with Sacha."

I was surprised by the concern and just started talking. "He'll be okay, I think. As long as we keep it clean and he stays rested, there shouldn't be any complications." I paused, a habit from childhood cropping up as I reached over to rap my knuckles quickly against the wooden nightstand.

Looking visibly relieved, she sighed and sank down into the rocking chair Shane had just vacated to defend me. Looking beyond exhausted, she asked, "What happened when you got here? People are saying that you just started attacking them for no reason. They want to know if you've been bitten."

I couldn't help the snort that escaped and waved apologetically at her icy glare. "I was screaming the whole time," I muttered. "When's the last time you saw a dead one screaming a bunch of obscenities while it tries to eat you?"

Lauren raised an eyebrow. "You have a point. So tell me what happened."

Licking my too-dry lips, I said, "I was in the bed of the truck, with Sacha. When we got here, Shane grabbed him and ran inside. I tried to follow, but Justin grabbed me. Damn near pulled me to the ground and I just... I honestly couldn't even think, Lauren. I scratched the crap out of his face and then other people started grabbing me."

Lauren closed her eyes briefly before running her hands through her ragged blonde hair. "Well," she finally sighed. "Hell's bells."

"What do they want?" Shane growled, his eyes hard and bright.

Lauren didn't answer for a long time, staring down at the floor. "Most of them are calling for... like a trial, I guess. Some of the ones that were injured want to just skip straight to punishment."

"Define punishment," Shane hissed threateningly, pressing closer to me, clicking the safety off on his gun.

Lauren bit her lip, looking at me with genuine worry in her eyes. "Nothing good."

Shane snarled and Lauren stood up, beginning to pace as she spoke. "Justin's been screaming about eye for an eye. Talking about how this is a fucking Old Testament plague and that we should go back to what the Old Testament taught."

"Because he's probably going to lose the eye." We all jumped when Danielle's strained voice came from the door.

"Serves him fucking right," Shane and Kyle snarled at the exact same time. They looked at each other and frowned before Shane looked back and continued, "He shouldn't have touched her."

"I agree," Lauren said. "But there are a lot of good, supposedly God-fearing people here. And to them, he's making an awful lot of sense."

Danielle snorted, fingers clutching the ever present cross around her throat. Heatedly, she said, "Convenient believers."

"Come again?" Cassidy asked, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

Danny displayed the symbol of faith, one that I shared, as did Shane and Kyle, though none of us as strongly as the half Puerto Rican woman. She shook her head in disgust and said, "True believers understand that they can't just use one part of the scripture to push their own ideas. You have to take all of it, or none of it. Justin is conveniently forgetting the newer lessons like 'turn the other cheek' and 'love thy neighbor'. And he's preaching to a lot of very scared and confused people right now."

"Aunt Ash is trying to keep that reined in," Lauren muttered, and we all paused in surprise. The blonde just shrugged and said, "I convinced her that there was more to it than you two just flipping your shit. And, I mean, she saw Sacha. Saw the state he was in. And if Aunt Ash understands anything, it's family and the lengths you'll go to for them."

"Where are Vik and Sam?" I asked, voice hoarse. "I thought she'd be up here already."

Danny smirked a little. "She's working the crowd. The ones not listening to Justin anyway. Her and Sam, they're explaining it. All of it."

I choked up a little before whispering, "She's doing that? Instead of being up here with Sach?"

Danny shrugged. "She loves you too. And she knows that Sacha's already got someone looking out for him. She's making sure that she's looking out for that particular someone."

I closed my eyes, the burn of tears starting up again.

There was another soft knock. Lauren stood up. Her voice commanding, she called, "Come in."

No one was surprised to see Ashley come in. She was still very pale, her usually perfect hair slightly less perfect and her eyes very wide.

I finally noticed they were the same blue as Lauren's. I'm not sure why that seemed important. Maybe it was because of what Lauren had said. About Ashley understanding family.

We all held our breath when she looked directly at me. Voice a little shaky, she asked, "Sacha's okay?"

I nodded, heart in my throat again.

Ashley tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked at each of us in turn. Finally turning to Lauren, she said, "I've convinced them to hear her out."

"Then?" Shane snapped, making Ashley wince.

"Then," she sighed, seeming to age a little before my eyes. "Then it'll be put to a vote."

"What will be put to a vote?" Danny and Cas asked at the same time. They glanced at each other in amusement.

Ashley wrung her hands. "What we'll do with her."

Shane's voice was pleasant when he said, "You'll do absolutely nothin' with her." Somehow, he made pleasantness sound more threatening than any other tone that had been used today.

Lauren frowned and said, "She did attack like five people, Shane. One's going to lose an eye and another's dead."

He laughed derisively. "I like how you think that's gonna mean jack shit to me. You hate Justin's guts."

"That may be true," Lauren said coolly. "But we have to have rules, Shane. If we just let this happen, then it'll keep happening whenever anyone has a disagreement."

The light in Shane's eyes went out, his expression turning cold and brittle. It was the same expression I'd seen before he'd killed the others who'd had to die by his hand. He cast those dead, emotionless eyes over Lauren, who frowned at the change.

He took a step forward, making her tense, but I grabbed his wrist.

He stopped, staring at Lauren for a very long time before looking down at me. I placed my hand against his cheek and waited for the light to come back as he focused on me. Shaking my head, I said, "Lauren's right, Shane. Something needs to happen. You wouldn't let anyone else get away with what I did."

Shane choked on a denial, but couldn't get the lie past his teeth. Giving the floorboards a savage look, he snarled, "I will kill anyone and I mean anyone who even attempts to put hands on her. Do you understand me, Lauren?"

I was surprised when it was Ashley who snapped, "It's still a democracy, Shane. It'll come to a vote."

His tone caustic enough to melt steel, he said, "You'd put her life in the hands of a bunch of scared fucking civilians? What happens when they want to kill her, Ashley?"

When she didn't offer anything up, I shivered and Shane hissed, "I don't care who of your people gets hurt, Ashley. I swear I don't. She's my wife. Do you understand me?"

Lauren turned to her aunt, looking a bit bewildered. "Aunt Ash?"

Ashley turned to her niece, blue eyes flashing and said, "We need to keep balance, Lauren Ann. She killed someone. Murdered them in cold blood. I'm leaving it up to the members of this society."

"Society?" Shane scoffed, but stopped when Lauren shot him a warning look.

Lauren turned to her aunt, who just held up her hand, silencing the younger woman.

Ashley left then and silence reigned throughout the room.

Kyle tilted his head at Lauren. "What are you going to do?"

She turned to him with shell-shocked eyes. Then fury flickered in the blue depths. "Are you asking me to pick your family over mine, Navy?"

Kyle's mouth pressed into a thin line, but he didn't expand.

Lauren looked at me. Not sounding exceptionally confident, she said, "I'll get her to understand." Then she turned to leave.

She froze just at the door when Shane's voice floated across the room, carrying easily despite the low tone. "I'm dead serious, Lauren. I don't care who gets killed, who gets hurt. But know something right now. Me and my people, we're the ones walking away."

Her shoulders bunched up, but she nodded stiffly. "Consider me warned."

She slammed the door behind her.