Disturbia – Prologue

Derek smells blood and sheer terror and is up and running before he even hears the desperate cry. Mary.

While ducking branches and jumping over obstacles, letting his sense of smell guide him, he thinks. Every possible scenario runs in his head, every single thing that could have gone wrong. Dammit, why did his father let Mary and John go in the forest alone?

His two younger siblings were humans. The potential dangers were numerous: falls, attacks by predators...not that much predators risked entering on werewolf territory anyway, but still...

He had tried to talk to his father about it, but the older wolf had been adamant that it was a necessary experience for them. "They need to learn how to go by without a werewolf at their heels, Derek. They can't become dependent on the Pack for protection. Besides, they know the surroundings perfectly well".

Derek actually didn't disagree on a theoretical level: being Pack meant family in every sense, but it often meant danger as well. Every member, human or not, had to become self-reliant. He understood it perfectly. Where he had a problem, though, was when this motto was applied to two thirteen-years old.

Which had lead him to follow the two youngs from a distance, just to be sure that they were alright, even if it meant going against his Alpha wishes. He hadn't intended to intervene in any way, just observe. Until now.

The voice had been Mary's, which meant the problem probably lay at John's feet. Not that it was surprising, mind you. Derek's mother, Thalia, used to describe John as « a wolf in spirit if not in body », and she was right. The kid didn't fear anything or anyone, always loud-mouthed, arrogant and certain he was right the way only a thirteen year old could be.

It sometimes lead him into rather nasty situations, like the one time he managed to insult Logan, the Alpha of the Callen Pack that was passing through. The resulting mess was amusing to remember now, but at the time, it had been an absolute bitch to deal with. But generally speaking, John usually inflicted his problems on others, created annoyance at best and a gnawing envy to hit him at worst, but it wasn't serious. Not real trouble.

Except the horror he'd heard in Mary's scream said otherwise. She was usually so calm and collected. To make her sound like that...And the smell of blood is becoming more and more pronounced the closer he's getting.

He quickly takes in his surroundings: he is heading in the direction of Great Cliffs, the highest and more steep cliffs of the area. And the most rickety. What the fuck are they doing here? It's dangerous, the even-the-werewolves-don't-come-here kind of dangerous. And emfuck/em, it smells of so much blood...

He pounces noiselessly in the in the clearing, half-wolfed out, ready to fight if necessary, but his nose didn't deceive him. There are only him, Mary, who is crying and clawing at her arms in despair, her eyes fixed on...Oh God.

Derek isn't particularly sensitive to the sight of blood or gruesome scenes but that is...John is lying on the rocks under the cliff, his body twisted in a impossible way, blood splattered everywhere around him.

But that isn't the worse. The worst of it is that he's still alive. After such a fall, every bone in his body broken, some even piercing the skin but he...Derek grits his teeth to hold the nausea back and forces himself to move. Maybe, just maybe, the Bite can still save him if Derek manages to get him to his Father. Quickly. Very quickly.

He realizes how quick he needs to be when he crouches down besides his little brother, whose breathing has turned into a half-wheezing, half-coughing gurgle. His lungs are most certainly pierced in several places, and his spine is probably in pieces. At this point, Derek considers, moving John means possibly killing him.

Which means there is only one way left. He'd always through he would hesitate if the need arose. That he would think of himself, maybe be too scared of the consequences to do it...In the end, he doesn't even hesitate.

He turns to Mary, who didn't even seem to register his presence, her eyes glued on her brother's body. Derek grabs her chin and force her to look up. She startles badly, but the hope surges on her face when she recognizes him, and she clings to his arm desperately. "Derek..., "she pants, half-choked by tears, "Derek, you..."

He cuts across her words, because they don't have time. "Listen. I'm going to take John to father, okay? What I'm going to do, it'll seem weird to you, but all you need to know is that it'll allow me to bring him over there faster. Alright?"

She nods bravely, and he smiles at her. "I'm leaving you here because I can't take two when I...do what I'm going to do. I'm going to call the others, you wait here for them. Don't move, are we clear?"

She nods once more but she seems lost and afraid. Derek wishes he had more time to reassure her, but each second he spends here is a second John can't afford. So he smiles at her again, as soothing as possible, and gently extract his arm from her white-knuckled grip.

Then he leaps to John's side, catches his arm. He takes two seconds to howl, calling out to whoever member of the Pack is the closest from his position, letting the urgency color his voice.

And he closes his eyes, concentrate on the idea of home. And pushes. The last thing he hears is Mary's scream of fear.