Y/N sighed while looking down at her phone. She'd been clean for a year, but Nick didn't know that. They'd been best friends in high school, but when they were seniors he got into drugs. She eventually tried them too and it led to a year long addiction. Once she had finally reached rock bottom she got help, never looking back. Nick didn't want her help anyway. She knew that.

At least until now, anyway. Y/N had seen the news videos and the conspiracies circling online, yet she tried to ignore them. Only now she believed them slightly more because Nick certainly wouldn't have reached out to her for drugs. He was always the one getting them for her.

She tried to decide what to do, not knowing of any prescription dealers in the area. Plus, her phone wasn't working. The text from Nick was the last time she had service - she couldn't even text him back. After thinking long and hard she figured out where to go. She stood up from where she'd been sitting outside her apartment to head to her old high school. She knew that it had been a half day, and she also knew where they kept the drugs locked up. The one perk of your ex best friend's mom being a counselor.

The walk to the high school was peaceful. She knew a way to get there from her apartment that didn't involve any major highways or roads, and seeing as she didn't own a car it wasn't like she'd get there any other way. She heard plenty of commotion coming from the streets but she ignored it, her only focus being on making it to the high school safely. Soon she arrived and noticed a lone car parked in the parking lot, though she didn't recognize it.

The girl slowly crept through an open window on the first floor, and once she was inside she quietly walked through the hallways. She was heading to the evidence locker and praying the police hadn't come to collect it yet. Eventually she reached the room, breaking a window and reaching her hand inside to unlock it. Once the door was open she removed a crowbar she had snagged off of her neighbor from her jacket, going to wedge it into the crack of the locker.

Before she could start to pry it open, however, she heard someone say her name, causing her to turn around quickly and come face to face with none other than Nick's mom.

"What are you doing here?" Madison said, an urgent look on her face.

"Nick texted me," The younger girl said honestly. "He said he was going cold turkey and needed help."

Madison eyed the girl up and down, taking in her clean cut appearance. It was much different from the last time she'd seen her. "What about for you?"

"I'm clean," Y/N answered. "Have been for a year, but he doesn't know that. I tried to text him back but it wouldn't deliver. I just want to help."

Madison nodded, causing Y/N to realize that she was here for the same reason. Without exchanging another word the girl went back to prying the locker open. Once the door had begun to open she reached her hand inside, pulling out multiple bags of contraband. Finally, she reached in and pulled out a bag of OxyContin, fist pumping slightly in success. That caused an unimpressed look to form on the other woman's face but Y/N ignored it.

She then went to hand the bag over to Madison, who took it gratefully. Before Madison could walk out, though, Y/N spoke up again. "Can I have a ride? It's getting bad out there and I don't have a car."

Madison sighed, seemingly weighing her options. Eventually she agreed to give the girl a ride, and the two began to make their way back toward the 1st floor of the building. As they reached a breezeway Y/N saw her old principal standing there, though his back was turned to them. Madison quickly shoved the pills into Y/N's hoodie, causing the girl to raise her eyebrow slightly at the woman who was now approaching the principal.

"Artie?" Madison said. The man appeared not to have heard her, causing Madison to call out to him again. "Artie, are you okay?"

He then turned around, only Y/N could tell it clearly wasn't Artie. "Madison, don't go near him!" She exclaimed, but the woman ignored her while walking toward him. As she got closer she went to touch him, but he suddenly began to make a sort of gargling noise that made her step back. This wasn't enough, though, and he suddenly grabbed onto her shoulders in an attempt to pull her back in. Y/N watched as the man then went to try and bite her, causing her eyes to go wide as panic began to set in.

She wasn't sure of what to do, but she was sure she had a crowbar in her hoodie that would hopefully help. She quickly pulled it out as Madison continued to struggle against the older man. Y/N wielded the crowbar back while approaching the two before slamming it across the man's head. That was enough to make him release Madison, who stumbled backward into Y/N. Y/N held her up while also beginning to push her forward in an attempt to get her moving. Madison got the memo, running past Artie while he was turned the other direction. Y/N followed, but she realized Artie was right behind them. She hadn't expected the man to be so quick, but she also had a slight limp from an old injury that certainly wasn't helping her speed.

As the two reached the stairs Y/N felt a pair of hands on her shoulders, causing her to turn around and come face to face with the man she had just hit. He then leaned forward to bite her, but she was pushing back with all her strength. It wasn't enough, and as she was pushing on him her foot slipped, sending them down the flight of stairs. As she reached the bottom she felt something in her shoulder pop, and she groaned out in pain. She could only use one arm to hold the man back, and she was screaming for Madison to help her.

Madison ran down the stairs, a fire extinguisher in her hands. When she reached the bottom she slung it into Artie's head, causing him to fall off Y/N. The girl began to scoot back in an attempt to escape. As she did Artie grabbed onto Madison's foot, now bringing her down to the ground. Y/N quickly stood up, ignoring the pain in her shoulder while moving to grab the fire extinguisher that was now laying beside the two currently fighting. With her good arm she swung it back, bringing it across the man's head. She knew that wasn't enough so she then took it back again, this time using it to slam his head into the floor. He continued to groan out, causing her to repeat this two more times. After her third hit he went silent, and she nearly threw up at the sight of his head now bashed in. His blood was covering her hands and hoodie, and she started wiping her hands frantically in attempt to clean them.

A gentle hand on her shoulder tore her attention away from the gruesome scene, and she turned to see Madison standing there. "Come on," The blonde woman started. "We need to leave right now."

Y/N only nodded in agreement, turning her attention toward the door in order to avoid seeing what she had just done to the man. The two ran out of the school, heading toward Madison's car in a hurry. Once they reached it Y/N jumped in, yelping out in pain as her shoulder hit the car seat.

"What is it? Are you bit?" Madison asked frantically, turning as if she was about to start inspecting her for bite marks.

Y/N shook her head. "No-no when we fell down the stairs I felt something in my shoulder pop," She pointed toward her left shoulder. "It hurts so fucking bad, Madison."

"Travis' ex wife is coming to our house, she'll help," Madison responded while starting the car. "You most likely just dislocated your shoulder."

Y/N nodded. "I'm guessing I'm not going back to my place?"

"Not now," She responded while starting to drive off. "Are your parents home?"

"No," Y/N mumbled out quietly.

"Where are they?"

Y/N shrugged slightly with her good shoulder before responding. "They're dead." Madison's mouth hung slightly ajar at this revelation, unsure of what to say next. "Car wreck," Y/N added on to stop the woman's confusion.

"I'm so sorry-"

"Don't be," Y/N cut her off. "It was a year ago, I'm fine."

Madison left it at that, and the rest of the ride was silent. On the way back to the Clark's house Y/N looked out the window, watching as multiple people they passed seemed to be packing their cars up. She realized that this certainly was serious, not that killing Artie really left that up to be questioned anymore.

After a short ride they pulled up to Madison's house, and the two quickly hopped out of the car. As they entered Y/N heard Alicia question why she was there. Alicia had never liked Y/N, always blaming Nick's addiction on her. Y/N ignored the question however, running over to where Nick was laying on the couch. He looked bad, cold sweat covering his face as he shook slightly.

"He went full grand mal," Y/N heard Alicia say to her mother as she pulled the oxy from her hoodie pockets. "Of course she would have stuff," The girl then muttered.

"Alicia, not now!" Madison exclaimed while walking toward the couch. "Give him two," She then said to Y/N who nodded in response while taking two pills from the bag.

She handed them to Nick who took them gratefully. He sat up, laying the pills down on the table to crush him. As he did that Y/N stood back up, grimacing in pain as her shoulder moved slightly in the process. She then looked down at her hands, gagging slightly at the sight of the now dried blood. Without saying a word she ran to the bathroom, kneeling to the floor and throwing up in the toilet as soon as she reached it. All she could picture was Artie's head on the school floor.

The sound of the bathroom door opening made her turn her head, and Madison was standing there with a wet rag and a pair of scissors. "Clean your hands," She said gently while passing the younger girl the rag. "And then I'm going to cut your hoodie off so I can look at your shoulder."

"Okay," Y/N said quietly while beginning to scrub her hands with the rag. The blood came off easily, and soon the rag was stained red and discarded into the trash can. Madison then helped the girl stand up off the floor. As she was standing Alicia walked into the bathroom, shooting the girl an unimpressed look.

"Why is your hoodie covered in blood?" Alicia asked while staring at the hoodie as it was being cut off.

"Alicia, please not now," Madison sighed while removing the hoodie from Y/N's body. Once she did Y/N was left standing in a tank top, her shoulder now fully exposed. Madison gasped slightly while looking at the shoulder that was clearly out of place, and Alicia gasped as well. "It's definitely dislocated," The blonde said while reaching into her pocket. "Take this for the pain."

Madison attempted to hand Y/N an Oxycodone to which she quickly denied. She had been clean for a year and didn't need pain medicine to set her back. Not now. "I can't," Y/N said through gritted teeth, causing Alicia's eyebrow to rise.

"The addict denying drugs," She laughed out. "Never thought I'd see that."

"Y/N's clean," Madison said while sending Alicia a glare. "For a year. Now go get her ibuprofen from my bathroom."

Alicia rolled her eyes, clearly not believing her mother but going to retrieve the medicine anyway. While she was gone her mother sent Y/N a sorry look to which she simply shrugged off. She was used to people still treating her like an addict. Most people didn't even know the girl was clean. After her parents accident she stopped talking to everyone from high school, going to rehab and getting clean instead.

Alicia finally came back with the ibuprofen, handing them to her mother who then gave them to Y/N. The girl quickly took them, dry swallowing them instead of wasting time with getting herself a cup of water.

"Are you going to tell me what happened now?" Alicia said with an annoyed tone.

"I fell," Y/N answered, not entirely lying.

"And you ended up with my mom how?"

Madison then cut into the conversation. "Y/N was at the school for the same reason I was, Alicia. Nick had texted her asking for drugs and she knew where to find them."

"And she came back here why?"

"Alicia, look at her shoulder! She needed help," Madison said angrily.

Alicia sighed. "The hospital was out of the question?"

"Yes," Y/N and Madison said at the same time, causing Alicia to raise an eyebrow in their direction.

"Will someone tell me what is going on?" Alicia asked seriously. Her arms were folded across her chest and she stared over at her mother with a questioning gaze.

Madison nodded while moving closer to her daughter. "People are getting sick, Alicia. It's not safe out there."

"That doesn't explain why Y/N is here, covered in blood with a dislocated shoulder," Alicia replied.

"She saved me," Madison said. "That's all you need to know for now."

Alicia rolled her eyes at this answer, causing Madison to roll her eyes back. Y/N watched the exchange silently, not really being able to focus on anything but the pain in her shoulder.

As the three stood there Nick came in, obviously not picking up on the awkward situation. "The neighbors have a gun. I tried to steal it once," Madison opened her mouth to say something but he quickly continued. "We should go get it."

The three girls agreed, although Madison forced Y/N to stay behind because of her injury. The y/h/c girl watched as the three climbed their neighbors fence before disappearing out of view. As they did so she sat down in the grass, leaning up against the side of their house. Nearly five minutes passed before she heard someone coming into their backyard, making her head turn quickly toward the person. Only it wasn't a normal person. He looked just like Artie had, except his face was covered in blood.

"Madison!" She yelled, but at the same time she heard Nick and Madison yelling out her name. She also heard the front door of the Clark's house open, although she had no clue who it was.

The man was getting close, and as she ran into the house he followed before she could close the sliding glass door. He grabbed onto her shoulders, making the girl scream out in pain as he grabbed her bad one. At the same time she heard a man yelling, and turned her head to see Travis standing there, along with two people she'd never seen. Travis grabbed onto the man, pulling him off of Y/N who was now breathing heavily. At the same time she saw Nick and Madison run into the house, gun in tow. Alicia was nowhere to be seen, though.

"Travis, get away from him!" Madison exclaimed while pointing the gun in their direction. As Travis pulled away from the man a loud bang rang throughout the house, and the man's head was now splattered on the glass door. As this happened Y/N heard screaming from the backyard, causing her to run out there quickly.

Alicia was climbing over the fence, only something was holding her from making it over. Y/N ran up to her, holding her good arm out in the younger girl's direction. Alicia ignored her help though, instead telling her to get away. Y/N didn't listen, reaching up and grabbing her hand anyway. She then pulled on it, setting Alicia free from whatever was holding them and causing the two to fall to the ground. Alicia landed on top of Y/N who yelled out in pain at the force of her shoulder hitting the ground. She then yelled out in pain again when Alicia sent her elbow flying into the other girls nose.

"I was trying to help you," Y/N groaned out as Alicia rolled off of her. Alicia ignored her, walking away while the woman Y/N still didn't recognize ran up to her.

"Let me look at your nose," She said while reaching over to the girl's face. Y/N remained on the ground while she looked at it. "It's not broken," She said once she was through examining it, wiping the blood away with her own shirt sleeve.

"My shoulder," Y/N mumbled while moving to sit up. As she did the woman's eyes widened, causing Y/N to laugh gently. "That bad, huh?"

She shook her head. "No, I just need to relocate it is all," She said while helping the younger girl up. As they walked into the house Y/N noticed Madison chastising her daughter for her actions while Alicia sat there unimpressed.

The woman, who Y/N heard Travis refer to as Liza, sat the girl down beside Alicia on the couch while moving to grab a blanket. "Bite down on this," She said while placing the blanket in Y/N's hand.

"What are you doing?" Alicia asked Liza while turning to look at the two of them.

Liza didn't answer, waiting for Y/N to bite down on the blanket. Once she did so Liza moved beside her, placing the girls shoulder into her hands. Without warning she quickly jerked her shoulder, putting it back into place. Y/N groaned loudly, but it was muffled by the blanket she was biting down on. Alicia watched with wide eyes as it happened, her mouth hanging slightly open.

After a few seconds Y/N released her bite on the blanket, slowly moving her head back to rest against the couch. She watched as Madison and Liza walked away, leaving her alone with Alicia. As they walked out Madison said something about Alicia making sure Y/N was comfortable to sleep, causing the girl to roll her eyes.

She stood up, grabbing a pillow and throwing it in Y/N's direction. "You should be with your parents," Alicia said while staring the girl down, unbeknownst to the fact the older girls parents were dead.

Y/N laughed slightly out of spite while moving to lay down. "Yeah, you're probably right."