Exodus: Infection
Chapter One
September 9th 2012
"Looks like we've got ourselves a couple of strays!"
Erica clung to Boyd's arm, feeling little comfort as one of the Alpha's surrounding them broke the circle and walked slowly towards them. A man, a huge man strode towards them, fangs extended and eyes a luminous red.
"We…" Erica whispered as she gripped Boyd's arm tighter. Boyd looked down at her before looking at the approaching man.
"We want to join you," Boyd finished for Erica and causing the man to stop in his tracks, "We've been looking for you for days,"
Another Alpha laughed, a woman this time and she strutted towards the massive male to stand next to him and loop her arm around his. She starred both Betas' down and watched with undisguised pleasure as Erica jerked her head away so not as to meet the older woman's cruel gaze.
"Well it's too bad we're not looking for you," She hissed, fangs barred.
Erica gasped and looked the woman up and down, seeing that she was barefoot and her toe-nails were lengthened into razor-sharp claws which brushed the ground absently. There was a collective chuckle from the pack, three of them still in shadow.
"We are looking for your Alpha, to be exact," Another male said from the shadows.
Boyd and Erica turned to where the voice had come from; whoever had just spoken had a refined British accent with a cold sharp edge.
One of the shadows moved, flanked by two more until the last three Alphas were in view, illuminated by the moonlight; one was a middle aged man with sandy hair, sunglasses and a hard expression while the other two were identical twins who looked no older than Boyd and Erica and both were growling softly behind the older man.
"Derek…" Erica gasped, letting go of Boyd's arm, "What do you want with him?"
The older man smirked before setting a long cane he had set at his side in front of him and holding onto the end of it with both hands, "You are his Betas, correct?" The man asked with a slight tilt of the head.
Boyd growled for a moment and the other Alpha's growled lowly in response. Erica silenced him by tightening her grip his arm once more, "Yeah," Erica replied, not taking her eyes off the man and trying not to side-eye the woman who was coiled and ready to spring.
"Kali," the man said simply with a dismissive wave of his hand which caused the woman 'Kali' to straighten out of her aggressive stance and let out a disgruntled snort.
The man walked slowly towards the two Betas followed by the twins, "I'm sorry to say this but I have no use for his Betas, but that is not to say that you are not necessary for his…development," The man explained, his expression unreadable.
Erica tensed and Boyd's fangs begin to extend causing the Alpha's except for the older man to snarl in response.
"Kali, Ennis…take them," The man said once more before turning and walking away, his cane scraping along the earth as he did.
Erica didn't have enough time to react before a clawed hand wrapped around her waist and she was hauled onto the big man's shoulder in time to see Boyd knocked to his knees from a savage kick to the back of the knee by Kali.
The older man called over his shoulder as he walked back into the darkness, "Take them to the bank, and hope that Mr Hale values his Betas enough to come for them,"
Erica growled in response to the man's words and clawed at the Alpha 'Ennis's' shoulder, drawing blood and causing him to chuckle as if he were only being tickled, "Yeah, yeah fight all you want," he grumbled.
"Boyd!" Erica yelled as Kali began to drag the much larger male by his ankle with ease. The young man did not respond as his eyes rolled to the back of his head, "Boyd…" Erica whimpered once more as Ennis began to follow Kali into the depths of the forest.
Kali looked back at her and grinned, flashing her fangs.
Then the big man suddenly stopped moving and began to sniff the air and Erica's breath hitched, she could see Kali had also stopped moving, her eyes wide and nostrils flaring.
"Ennis…you smell that?" She asked with a disgusted expression before letting go of Boyd's foot.
Erica felt Ennis's shoulders rise and fall, "Yeah…smells like...rot" He replied with an equally grim edge to his voice.
A sudden rustling to the left caught Erica's attention, the sound of running feet, and lots of them.
All was quiet until a sudden shriek of pain made Erica's heart jump into her throat and she saw Kali pitch forward, blood flowing from a deep gash to the back of her calf.
"Boyd, no!" Erica choked out before once again struggling against Ennis's massive shoulders.
Boyd's claw's dripped with Kali's blood but before he could get another swipe in she spun and her toe-claws swiped across his face, slicing into his flesh and causing him to cry out in agony.
"Little shit!" Kali snarled, before another yell of pain rang out into the forest as Erica bit into the big man's shoulder and ripped away a good chunk of flesh between her fangs. This caused Ennis to drop her to the moist forest floor below.
The man fell to his knees and Kali stood frozen in place, "Run!" Boyed choked out to Erica, his face barely recognizable as the deep wounds poured with blood.
Erica let out a sob before using her hands to push her body away from the moist dead leaves on the ground and took off at full speed into the forest leaving Boyd to look up at Kali as she raised her hand to deal the death-blow.
"Kali!" Ennis called, now on his feet with blood cascading down his front and staining his shirt.
Kali stopped as the running sound got progressively louder, "Leave him, we have to go!" The man snarled.
Boyd looked up at Kali his vision blurred before she kneeled in front of him and bent down, her face inches from his, eyes red and filled with venom, "This isn't over," She hissed before standing and disappearing out of view along with Ennis.
Boyd gasped softly as he stared up into the sky, watching as the clouds covered the moon. The frenzied footsteps were getting louder and louder and sharp snarls and growls were beginning to make themselves heard. Boyd struggled to turn his head towards the noise but somehow managed though the pain.
"What…" He gasped as he saw figures approaching through his swirling vision, they were sprinting, coming closer and closer. A sudden sickly scent caused Boyd to widen his eyes and he tried to push himself onto his elbows. He found himself unable to move through the pain as something collapsed on top of him…or rather, someone.
Boyd looked up at the figure atop him but couldn't make out any features other than a strange viscous fluid dripping from its mouth and he could smell something rotten, like decaying meat falling away from bone, something dead. In the brief moment he had to try and understand what was happening the figure descended upon him with a high pitched shriek…
.O.
Two nights later…
Scott McCall grumbled in frustration as once again Leon Kennedy's digital intestines were ripped out and promptly eaten by zombies for the fourth time that evening. This is how they had spent the last few weeks of their summer; playing games and not having to worry about homicidal Lizard men and an insane old man.
But summer was about to end.
"Dude…you suck," Stiles said plainly before stuffing a handful of popcorn into his mouth and side-eying his friend when he placed the controller on the coffee table, "You okay Scott?"
Scott sighed and sat back on the sofa, "I hate zombies," He admitted. Stiles laughed.
"Werewolf afraid of zombies, cute," Stile mocked, poking at Scott playfully. The other boy shrugged him off with a grin.
"Let's just watch some T.V," Scott huffed before reaching for the remote and switching the channel. Images flickered on the flat screen as the News belted out its story of the evening.
Images of San Francisco's downtown area flashed across the screen from what looked like an aerial view from a helicopter, "As you can see the rioting in the downtown area is in full swing as police try to contain the situation," the news anchor in the helicopter yelled over the roaring blades.
Stiles leaned forward in the sofa, his mouth slightly ajar as he watched the people on the screen running through the streets, fires erupting from upturned cars and listening to the muffled sounds of screaming.
"What the hell?" Stiles muttered to himself before grabbing the remote out of Scott's outstretched hand and turning up the volume just as the image switched back to the newsroom.
"As you can see, chaos on the streets of San-Francisco in another wave of unexplained rioting occurring throughout the state of California, citizens in area's affected are advised to stay indoors while local authorities attempt to control the situation" Susan Anderson of Channel Eight news commented as images of the chaos flashed behind her.
"Well this is…new," Scott said before looking at Stiles who's eyes were narrowed in concentration. Stiles suddenly switched channels and leant back into the sofa, "Stiles, you have that look,"
Stiles registered Scott's concern, before turning to him with a grin "Guess you haven't watched the news lately… zombie outbreak, huh?" he teased, making Scott grimace.
"Stop, you know I don't watch the news…besides, I've been a little distracted," Scott admitted as he shuffled his feet absently and earned a huff from Stiles who slid closer to him.
"Still thinking about Allison?" Stiles asked earning a slow nod from Scott.
Scott looked his best friend in the eye, "I know…I promised to wait for her to decide and I'm really going to try to be the person she wants, she needs…she deserves," he admitted. A soft smile ghosted his lips for a moment before he continued,
"I've been studying, I'm trying to live normally but…the wolf is getting harder and harder to control," Scott finished with a sigh. Stiles placed a hand on Scott's shoulder.
"You're in control buddy…besides, you've still got me," Stiles replied with a pout and giving him the dreaded puppy dog eyes. Scott narrowed his eyes in annoyance for a moment before Stiles burst out laughing, "Hell, I'm your badass zombie slayer!" Stiles finished, pumping his fist in the air.
Scott simply shook his head with a smile, "Dude, you-"
A sudden frenzied hammering on Stile's front door interrupted Scott and Stiles yelped before diving under a pile of cushions. Scott laughed at Stiles and stood up to make his way over to the door.
"Calm down, it's probably just the pizza," Scott called over his shoulder with a chuckle as Stiles poked his head over the back of the sofa. He reached for the door handle and turn it as whoever was outside continued to bang on the other side as if their life depended on it.
Scott was momentarily startled as a blur of blonde hair and what looked like a bloodied mouth came screaming through the open doorway and tackled him, He let out a scream of horror followed by Stiles as the figure in Scott's arms writhed and shrieked unintelligibly.
Scott pushed the struggling person away and held them at arm's length to get a good look at them. A girl stood shivering in Scott's grip with long blonde hair strewn over her face, her mouth and body smeared in dried blood, she stopped struggling and panted softly as Scott silently reached out to move the strands of hair away from her face.
"Erica!" Scott gasped, stepping back from her, as Stiles walked next to him with a look of equal shock.
Erica stood in the doorway, her eyes streaming with tears, "You have to help me Scott…they," she sobbed, "Boyd…they,"
Scott opened and closed his mouth while Stiles' face hardened before he turned to Scott, "We have to take her to Derek,"
Scott snapped out of his shock momentarily before nodding and placing an arm around Erica's heaving shoulders and leading her through the open door.
.O.
Derek stood by the large window of the loft, staring out at the surrounding area.
He put his hand against the glass for a moment before turning away from the window and looking around the large room which was almost empty save for an old writing desk and swivel chair that sat in front of the window.
He had only moved in that day and managed to rent it at a reasonable monthly price along with a neighbouring warehouse for his pack to use during the full moon…or just Isaac seeing as Erica and Boyd had left, and Jackson was moving to London in a few weeks.
"Hey Derek," a young man's voice called from the other side of the room. Derek turned to face Isaac who was descending the spiral staircase holding a bloodied hoodie.
Derek grunted at the Beta as he reached the bottom, "I'm all set up, thanks for taking me in by the way," Isaac said.
"You might want to throw that out," Derek noted, gesturing towards the hoodie in Isaac's hands. Isaac sighed and looked down at the shredded item of clothing.
Isaac huffed in annoyance and shook the hoodie in his hand, "Yeah…guess clothes don't heal like I do…Thanks Allison," Isaac replied with a wry smile.
Derek walked around the small desk and clapped Isaac on the shoulder before walking over to a pile of boxes, "Landlord's coming tomorrow afternoon with the furniture so you need to be gone while he does his thing," Derek explained without looking at Isaac.
The young Beta cocked his head, "Why?" he asked.
Derek turned to him, "Because you're not listed as living with me and if he finds you here you're not going be able to keep the fact you're a werewolf from a foster family," He explained before pulling out his wallet and taking out a couple of hundred dollar bills and handing them to Isaac before bending down to pick up a large cardboard box labelled 'kitchen'.
"Get yourself some clothes after school, I'll let you know when it's safe to come back," Derek explained, ignoring Isaac's annoyed glance.
"Gee, thanks dad," Isaac grumbled before stuffing the notes into his back pocket.
The sound of wheels pulling up on tarmac caught both wolves attention, and made Derek drop the box of items he had only just picked up onto the floor with a loud crash before he ran to look out the window. Stiles' Jeep was pulled up outside the front gate of the complex.
"What is it?" Isaac asked, joining Derek at the window.
"Stiles," Derek grumbled, rolling his eyes.
He watched as the boy in question stepped out of the Jeep, followed by Scott who helped a terrified looking girl out of the back passenger door. Derek focused on the girl and a sudden wave of recognition rolled over him.
Derek wheeled on Isaac, "Get the gate and bring them up," Derek ordered.
"What…" Isaac responded.
"Now!" Derek growled.
Isaac swallowed hard and quickly walked away while Derek watched as the trio outside waited outside the gate; Erica clinging to Scott with extended claws and even from the loft he could hear the frenzied beat of her heart.
.O.
Derek hurried towards Erica as soon as Scott walked her through the sliding metal door and as soon as she saw him she released Scott from her grasp and clung to Derek.
Derek allowed the girl to cling to him for dear life and let her bury her face into his shoulder.
"What happened," Derek growled to Scott and Stiles as Isaac, who looked downright horrified at Erica's state, close the door behind them as they entered the loft.
Scott shook his head and Stiles stepped forward with a glance at his friend, "No idea, she turned up on my doorstep like this, She and Boyd have been gone for two days, Derek, and you didn't even try to look for her?" he asked, eyes narrowed.
Derek ignored Scott before sitting Erica down on the chair behind the desk, looking her in the eye, "Erica, you have to tell me what happened to you and Boyd…what did you see?" Derek asked calmly, trying to coax information out as Erica continued to whimper.
She looked up at Derek, meeting his hazel eyes. "The pack…they were Alphas and…they tried to take us…Boyd made me run…I hid…" Erica whimpered through the sobs.
Derek nodded and squared his jaw; he remembered what Peter had told him and Isaac about the pack coming to Beacon Hills…about being IN Beacon Hills, "How many?" Derek demanded, his voice growing louder.
Scott advanced towards Derek, "What did she mean about an Alpha pack, what's going on Derek?!" he exclaimed, but Derek ignored him, "Derek!"
The Alpha turned to Scott, his eye's flashing red for a moment before fading back to their original hazel, "Go home…both of you," Derek snarled before turning his gaze back to Erica.
Scott was about to argue until Erica spoke once more.
"There was something else in the forest," Erica suddenly whispered which piqued the interest of everyone else in the room.
Derek narrowed his eyes while Scott, Stiles, and Isaac watched Erica with looks of equal confusion.
Derek placed his hand on Erica's knee, "What was in the forest…where is Boyd?" He asked softly but with an edge of concern.
Erica shook her head, "Boyd…The Alpha's found us in the forest, there were five of them and…they said something about using us to get to you," Erica began, looking up at Derek and trying not to start crying again.
"Okay," Derek said simply, "then what happened?"
Erica looked around feverishly as she tried to think back, "Then…two of them tried to take us…I managed to get away but Boyd was hurt…" Erica broke off as more tears started to form, she wiped them away before continuing in a shaky voice, "He…told me to run…and I hid…but I saw people running through the forest and I could smell something off about them…like decay," She finished before finally letting go and breaking into heavy rasping sobs.
Everyone was quiet besides Erica, especially Stiles who turned his head to Scott with the faintest look of intrigue in his eyes
"Please…go home; I'll take care of this," Derek requested sternly, breaking the silence.
Stiles scoffed loudly at this; "Like you took care of her and Boyd?" this earned a deep growl from Derek who turned his head to Stiles, presenting him with a threatening red glare.
Scott also shook his head in disbelief, "Stiles is right we can't just leave if Boyd's still somewhere out there," he pleaded, slowly walking towards Derek.
Stiles gripped Scott's shoulder to stop Scott walking towards Derek, "Come on, they'll handle it," Stiles said. Feeling Scott relax in his grip he let go and watched as he threw open the metal door and walked through.
Stiles stopped walking for a moment and glanced over his shoulder at Erica questioningly for a brief moment before following Scott through the doorway and shuddering at the harsh sound of Isaac sliding the door shut it behind them.
.O.
Allison Argent gripped the steering wheel hard as she drove down the barely illuminated road. Lydia sat in the passenger seat behind her checking her phone as she spoke.
"So yeah," Lydia stated, "Jackson's leaving soon and Derek gave him the whole, Werewolf One-oh-One on how not to kill people during the full moon,"
Hearing no response from Allison she glanced at her friend with a raised eyebrow, "Come on…American Werewolf in London," She finished and finally earning a giggle from Allison who glanced at her for a moment.
Allison watched the road ahead carefully before speaking, "At least you're taking it pretty well…I know he wasn't too happy when his parents decided on moving to London," She said.
Lydia sighed, "I guess, he did we'll stay in touch…E-mail, Skype" She admitted, crossing her arms and pursing her lips.
Neither spoke for a while as Allison continued to drive until Lydia broke the silence, "So…what you and Scott?" she asked with genuine interest.
It was Allison's turn to let out a sigh before looking over at Lydia once more, "I still need some time with that…I did threaten him after all," she admitted, to which Lydia nodded in agreement and pursed her lips.
"You did threaten him," Lydia noted, slowly nodding her head, "But you were cute together…even if it was a little Twilight-y,"
Allison scoffed, "Twilight-y?" she repeated shaking her head before turning to Lydia.
Lydia laughed, "Yep, human girl falling for the handsome supernatural creature, I mean-"
Allison narrowed her eyes when Lydia stopped speaking and cringed when she let out an ear splitting screech of horror.
"LOOK OUT!" Lydia screamed, and Allison snapped her eyes back to the road to see a figure stumbling across the road.
"Shit!" Allison yelled, before jerking the steering wheel and causing the car to swerve violently and something to slam hard against the side of the vehicle and caused whatever they had just hit to roll under the wheels making the car shudder violently . The car screeched to a halt before it managed to hit the crash barrier, leaving both girls panting for breath.
"Oh, God," Lydia gasp, her hand fluttering up to cover her mouth as she glanced between Allison and what the car had hit. Allison gripped the steering wheel hard, her knuckles turning white as sickness rushed through her.
"No…no," Allison breathed harshly as she struggled to remove her seatbelt and opened the car door, stepping out onto the road. A man lay on his side in the road a few meters away, motionless and facing away from her. She walked slowly towards the unmoving form of the man who was barely illuminated by a nearby streetlamp.
"Allison, wait!" Lydia called as she stepped out of the car and went to follow the other girl but stopped when Allison suddenly halted beside the fallen man.
Allison felt her teeth chattering as she looked down at the body at her feet, he was most definitely dead; chunks of flesh were ripped from his body, the wounds visible through his clothes and his neck was twisted at an unnatural angle with bone showing through the puffed stretched skin. But what made Allison feel sick to her stomach was not the foul stench the corpse gave off. It was the fact that she knew who it was.
The sound of Lydia's shoes clicking against the pavement followed by a gasp of revulsion made Allison let out a harsh breath through her teeth and step back.
"It's Boyd," Allison hissed through her teeth to stop herself from screaming. Lydia looked down at the corpse, she couldn't see his face but she knew Allison was right due to the jacket he was wearing, or rather the jacket he started to wear soon after Derek had turned him.
Turning away from the corpse and clutching Allison's arm she span the girl around and looked her in the eyes, "Okay…we have to call the police," She stated.
Allison looked at the corpse once more before nodding. It had been an accident and she knew that she couldn't run away, but in the back of her mind she remembered how she had hunted both him and Erica and had injured them both and even now she could see the tears in his jacket that were left from the arrows.
.O.
The drive back from Derek's loft had been mostly silent until Stile's spoke.
"I don't like this!"
Scott nodded in agreement to Stiles' sudden outburst, "I don't either, but Derek said he would handle it," he deadpanned, slumping in his seat. Stiles glanced over at him for a moment with narrowed eyes.
"What happened to 'we have to do something' dude?" Stiles asked teasingly, "Was it what Erica said about things in the woods?" he finished with a smirk.
Scott shuddered, "That's not funny, Erica was terrified, anything could have happened to her…and Boyd," he said, looking out the passenger side window as the tree's flew past in a blur.
Stiles felt a pang of guilt at Scott's words, he couldn't say Boyd was a friend seeing as he did have a part in causing trouble for Scott during Derek's little rise to Alpha-hood, but Erica was different. She had caused a good amount of trouble for them herself but she was one of the first to relent and leave them be, even helping them subdue Jackson, putting her life at risk.
Letting out a small groan Stiles glanced at Scott once more, "How about we check out the forest after school before it gets dark," he offered.
Scott turned his head to Stiles, his lips parted slightly, "If you're sure," he said.
Stiles shook his head, unsure.
"Can't say I'm a hundred present sure but it's better than doing nothing,"
Scott let out a long breath in silent agreement and both boy's fell silent once more.
They were almost home; the jeep making its way down the main road until Stiles began to slow as flashing red and blue lights up ahead came into view.
"What's going on?" Scott asked, craning his head to get a better view as Stiles drove closer to the source of the lights.
Stiles could make out a couple of police cruisers as well as an ambulance where two men dressed head to toe in white protective gear and masks, were unloading a stretcher from inside. Strapped on top of the stretcher was a black body bag.
"Allison!" Scott suddenly cried.
Stiles jumped in his seat at the shout and looked ahead to see the Allison's SUV just behind the ambulance with a large smear of blood against the side of the vehicle.
The jeep pulled to a halt a few yards away from the scene and Scott wasted no time in wrenching his seatbelt off and throwing open the door and taking off before Stiles could react.
"Scott, wait!" Stiles called after his friend, his hands shaking as he removed his own seatbelt and got out of the jeep.
Scott jogged up to the ambulance, his breath coming out in ragged pants as the worst case scenario flashed through his mind.
One of the stepped in front of Scott just as the doors at the back of the ambulance were closed by the other man who began to roll the stretcher away, "Sir, I need you to step back," he requested.
Stiles reached Scott and gripped his Shoulder, pulling him back far more easily than he should have, "What happened?" he asked.
"There's been an accident so I'm going to have to ask you and your friend to leave the area," The man in white explained, his expression unreadable under the protective gear.
Scott shrugged Stiles' hand off his shoulder and stepped in front of the man, "Where is she…please don't-" he whimpered before a frail voice cut him off.
"Scott?"
Allison was walking slowly towards them with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. The lights from the police cruisers lit up her pale, tear streaked face.
Scott wasted no time in running up to her and allowing her to throw her arms around him and bury her face into the crook of her neck. He held her close for a while and felt the blanket slip from her shoulders and onto the road.
"Oh god…Allison," Scott whispered into the girls hair as she began to cry softly, "I thought," he moved her back slightly, feeling caught up in the emotion and for a brief moment remembered the promise he had made to himself that he wouldn't see her until she was ready, but that feeling soon faded and was replaced with a feeling of dread.
Allison's breath hitched before she spoke, "It…it was an accident, I took my eyes off the road for a second and I hit him, he just wondered into the road," She whimpered, shaking her head in disbelief. Scott's eyes narrowed in confusion then realisation; the body bag wasn't for Allison but somebody was going into it.
"What happened?" Scott asked, gently cradling Allison's face between his hands and feeling the fresh tears that spilled down her face.
"It's Boyd…he's dead!" Allison cried, pulling out of Scott's hands and backing away from him.
Scott's stomach lurched and he almost threw up. He stumbled to the side and managed to hold himself up on the side of the ambulance, he looked away from Allison and was unsure of how he felt.
"Boyd's…dead?" Stiles repeated in a high breathless voice.
A sudden yell of "Stiles!?" caused the three of them to turn. Sherriff Stilinski was striding towards them with Lydia trailing behind looking just as pale as Allison.
"Dad…" Stiles whispered softly; looking down at his feet for a moment before looking back to Lydia and then his father.
Stilinski, stopped his approach when he reached Stiles, "I need you to take Scott and Lydia home right now, you're not seeing this," he ordered, his voice commanding yet slightly worried which didn't go unnoticed by his son.
Lydia glanced at Stiles with a look of protest before walking over to Allison and placing a supportive arm around her shaking shoulders, "I'm going with her, to the station," she tried to argue.
Stilinski turned to Lydia, "Her father's been called so you don't need to worry, there's nothing more you can do until we take your official statement tomorrow morning," he barked, silencing her.
Allison stiffened when Stilinski mentioned her father and began to breathe heavily; her eye's darting from the Sherriff to Scott who was still propped up against the ambulance.
"I'm sorry…" She gasped, when Scott didn't look at her. Stilinski then proceeded to wrap the blanket around her shoulders once more and gently led her away from Lydia's who whispered some words of support to her before the Sherriff began to lead her away.
Stilinski turned to look at Stiles once more as he walked Allison to the police car and mouthed "Go home,"
Stiles felt numb as he attempted to help Lydia to the jeep only to be shrugged off as she made her own way, he watched as she got into the passenger side before turning to Scott who was looking past him with glazed eyes as Allison was helped into the back of the car and the door was shut behind her.
Stiles walked over to his friend and placed a hand on his back to steady him, "Come on, buddy…there's nothing we can do,"
Scott didn't resist as Stiles led him away from the flashing lights, but he couldn't help but look back. Through the gap in the cars he could see more men in white surrounding a white sheet which covered a large bloodied mass.
.O.
It was approaching two in the morning when Steve Stilinski walked through the sliding doors of the Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital. He was tired and his eyes felt like they had paper cuts.
Allison was currently at the station being questioned and Stiles was hopefully at home, but there was still one more thing that needed doing before he could call it a day.
Stilinski thought back to the scene at the road. He had only caught a glimpse of the body but he could make out some of the savage wounds that were inflicted on it before the forensic team covered it up. In the rational part of his brain he knew that the wounds were inconsistent with a victim of a motor incident and that tires didn't rip chunks of flesh and muscle.
"Can I help you sir?" the receptionist asked, looking up from her computer, snapping Stilinski out of his thoughts.
"Yes, I'm here to see Doctor Brookes," Stilinski requested, his voice strained and tired as he rubbed his brow.
The receptionist's mouth formed an 'O' in recognition, as she picked up the phone and dialled a number. She held the phone to her ear as it rang, offering a small smile to the Sherriff.
"Hello, Doctor Brookes," The receptionist greeted, followed by a man's muffled voice through the receiver, "Yes, he is…" She finished. More of the muffled voice followed before the receptionist placed the phone back on the hook.
"He'll be down to see you in a few minutes, if you would like to take a seat in the waiting room and make yourself a coffee," The receptionist said gesturing towards the waiting room on the left hand side of the reception room.
Stilinski flashed her a smile before making his way to the waiting room which was empty apart from a boy not much older than stiles who was sitting with his feet curled up on a leather two seater. He made his way over to the boy and sat down next to him pinching the bridge of his nose and yawning.
"You look as bad as I feel…" The boy mumbled, without looking at Stilinski, his eyes blinking slowly.
Stilinski turned his head to the boy and saw that he looked just as exhausted as himself, his slightly curly light brown hair hanging over his eyes. He then turned to the Sherriff, his eyelids drooping.
"Part of the job kid," Stilinski admitted with a sigh.
The kid grinned and moved his hair out of his eye's "Just waiting for my Dad…and speak of the devil?" The kid noted, gesturing towards the archway that led to the reception hall. Sure enough a man who was quite obviously a doctor stepped through and stopped when he saw the boy.
The man regarded the Sherriff for a moment and Stilinski could see the resemblance the doctor had with his son.
"Sherriff," Doctor Alan Brookes greeted, walking up to him. Stilinski stood and offered his hand for Brookes to shake. The Doctor took his hand and shook it firmly, "Alan Brookes, I don't believe we've met, I'm taking over from Doctor Rhodes," Alan explained.
"No we haven't, Steven Stilinski," Stilinski greeted, flashing a tired smile.
Brookes glanced at the boy who was still sitting on the sofa behind Stilinski, "The coroner is waiting at the end of the hall, go on ahead," He requested, pointing towards a corridor to the right of the waiting room.
Stilinski nodded and followed Brookes' directions leaving the Doctor with the boy.
"Cody…" Brookes breathed in exasperation; folding his arms, "I'm sorry you had to wait so long…do you have those files?"
Cody Brookes scoffed and pulled a ring-binder labelled "Office" that lay at his side out and handed it to his father.
"You said eight," Cody grumbled, not looking at Alan.
Alan sighed, before Cody stood and pushed past him, "Son," he called after him.
Cody stopped and turned to him, "I need to get home…I have school in…oh" he checked his watch "six hours," He finished with biting sarcasm.
Alan wrung his hands guiltily, "Say, hi to Bonnie and your Mother for me…I'll be home soon," he asked.
Cody didn't respond, he simply turned on his heel and left the building.
.O.
Stilinski grimaced as he placed the mask over his mouth and nose which did nothing to hide the biting chemical stench of the morgue. The body was covered by a thin white cloth and was brightly lit by the overhead lighting.
Alan stood at Stilinski's side as the coroner moved to the other side of the metal slab with a handheld recorder to his masked lips.
"Commencing examination at two-twenty AM, eleventh of September twenty-twelve," The coroner said into the recorder before setting it aside on a table next to the slab.
The coroner glanced at Stilinski, then Alan before pulling back the tarp.
Stilinski had to bite back a curse at the state of the body, now completely illuminated. Deep wounds covered the cadaver; flesh ripped away from the muscle with some wounds going down to the bone, his throat in particular.
The coroner regarded the corpse for a moment before speaking once more, "the deceased is a well-built African American man, approximately seventeen years of age, weighing in at one-sixty to one-seventy taking into account the amount of missing tissue," the coroner droned as he placed a finger to one of the deeper wounds on the stomach.
"His name was Vernon Boyd," Stilinski pointed out, trying not to look at the pale and almost unrecognisable face.
Alan cleared his throat before turning to Stilinski, "It's best not to refer to him by name," he said.
Stilinski grit his teeth, of course he knew not to use their names as he had done this more times over the years than he cared to remember, but after the Matt Deahler case over the course of the summer he found himself wanting to know the victims' names, to see them as people rather than empty shells.
The coroner continued to examine the various wounds, "The ribcage is crushed," he noted at the deep indent of the puffed greying flesh of Boyd's chest.
Stilinski couldn't pay much attention as the coroner spoke, he could only think about how his parent's would react when they found out the fate of their child.
The coroner suddenly pitched forward in interest and probed at the ragged wound on Boyd's throat, "Now this is interesting," The coroner noted, "Doctor Brookes, could you take a look at this?"
Alan walked around the slap to the coroners side and looked at the wound, "The carotid is severed," He said, glancing at the coroner with interest.
Stilinski looked at the coroner and Brookes as they examined the wound, "Was it caused by the car?" he asked, still trying not to look at the body for an extended period of time.
The coroner looked up to meet Stilinski's stare, "I'm not sure, your report mentioned that the driver witnessed the deceased walking into the road…this wound is older…and if the carotid vein is severed the victim will die within minutes…let alone be able to walk…and there is something else I noticed about this wound as well as some of the others," the coroner explained.
Stilinski swallowed hard before speaking, "What is it?" he asked, his eye's flitting to the open wound.
The coroner didn't answer right away, but looked the Sherriff in the eye when he finally did, "Around the edge…there seems to be bite marks,"
Stilinski grimaced, "Wildlife?" he offered.
With a shake of the head in disagreement the coroner looked back down at the wound, "No, the indentation is human,"
Both Stilinski and Alan starred at the coroner in disbelief.
"Human," Stilinski repeated, finally bringing himself to take a good long look at Boyd. He felt a familiar feeling, another unsolved case…something unexplainable.
.O. End Of Chapter .O.
A/N And here is the first chapter of my TW zombie AU trilogy, I would like to apologize if my dates are off…I had to retcon season two slightly… as in having it happen earlier due to a mistake but hopefully this can be forgiven due to the whole AU angle lol.
This chapter was more of an re-introduction to the characters and is sort of a two-parter as the fallout from this chapter will be concluded in the second chapter which will give my OC a more in depth introduction (I hope you all like him, I've tried to make him as human as possible lol)
Hope to see you all again soon.
