LYCANTHROPY: Chapter One: Introduction
What was once a quaint, cozy town had become a nightmare in more ways than one. You see, it all started with a bite and a body. I know what you're thinking. 'This is just going to be some cheesy vampire story. I just know it.' That's where you're wrong. Of course, I'm sure there are some of you that didn't guess vampires…probably 'Team Jacob'. But that's okay too.
What some of you didn't expect was a plot twist at every turn. But then again, there's probably some of you that figured something like that would happen. Really. What's the fun in reading a straightforward story? What's going to make it dazzle? What's going to reel you in for more? A plot twist. But what if there isn't one? That if this is just a plain, old story. I guess you'll just have to find out.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x- x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Scott McCall was your typical teenage boy, generally speaking. He played lacrosse, however he was good enough to make the team, not first line. You see, first line was like being royalty. The team was your kingdom, and you roamed it proudly. Everyone acknowledged that power, and they respected it, while at the same time, they craved the same honor. Of course, like a kingdom, the team had a king, or so to speak. The king ruled his kingdom, just as captain, Jackson Whittemore ruled his team.
Unfortunately, Scott had severe asthma, only making his goal even more far-fetched. Luckily, Scott had his best friend, Stiles Stilinski. The two had been friends for a while; they were practically brothers.
Stiles was an interesting kid. Rather than going by his birth name, which is never to be spoken, he goes by a shortened version of his last name, Stilinski. Like every person, Stiles had his quirks…it was an endless list. One of his main quirks was his avid ear to his father's calls. Stiles' father was the Sheriff for Beacon Hills.
After months of boring calls of noise complaints, traffic violations, and vandalism, Stiles finally heard a call worth something. Excitedly, he rushed to Scott's and began climbing up shrubs and trees to Scott's room.
Inside, Scott organized his belongings in preparation for the first day of school. While taking a break to brush his teeth, he began hearing noises outside, rustling in the bushes, and what sounded like someone trying to break in. Adrenaline began coursing through Scott's body as he grabbed the wooden bat from his closet and walked to the porch. Once the sounds were at their peak, Scott pulled the bat back, preparing to take a swing. Just as Scott begins to swing, Stiles hangs down from the roof, startling him, and also being startled in return from the bat.
"Stiles, what the hell are you doing?" Scott relaxed his stance.
"You weren't answering your phone!" Stiles retorted. "Why do you have a bat?"
"I thought you were a predator..." Scott shrugged.
"A pre-?" Stiles scoffed and sighed. "I know it's late, but you've got to hear this. I saw my dad leave 20 minutes ago. Dispatch called, they're bringing in every officer from the Beacon department state police."
Scott raised his head slightly as he began to gain interest. "For what?"
"Two joggers found a body in the woods." Stiles jumped down.
"A dead body?"
"No, a body of water. Yes, dumbass, a dead body." Stiles rolled his eyes and climbed over the railing, standing on the porch with Scott.
"You mean like, murder?"
Stiles placed his hands on his waist, shaking his head. "Nobody knows yet. It was a girl, probably in her twenties…"
Scott scrunched his face slightly, confused. "Holds on, if they found a body, what are they looking for?"
Stiles began to grin, nodding, as if he were some sort of expert. "That's the best part. They only found half," he nodded. "We're going."
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
After a short ride into the woods, the two stopped at a sign. 'Beacon Hills Preserve. No Entry After Dark', it read. With Stiles' adventurous spirit, the duo unloaded themselves from Stiles' Jeep and made their way past the sign, armed only with a flashlight.
After a brief lecture from Scott and a bit of wilderness-trekking, Stiles spotted a group of flashlights in the distance and quickly took off.
"Stiles!"
Stiles stopped and realized he'd left his pulmonary-handicapped friend. He began turning in slow, steady circles, searching for the direction of Scott's voice.
A fierce dog bark came from his side, and Stiles fell, startled once more.
His father and the rest of the cops that were searching had found him. While Sheriff Stilinski got his son out of trouble, Scott hid behind a tree, not wanting any for himself. A few white lies later, the search party of officers walked away while the Sheriff, not too far behind, began reprimanding his son.
As the two disappeared off in the woods, Scott began wandering aimlessly, hoping to find his way back home. During a brief pause to take a puff of his inhaler, a stampede of elk came his way, causing him to drop it and fall to the ground immediately.
Once he'd made sure the coast was clear, he got up and began searching for his fallen inhaler, using his cell phone to light his path. Scott looked around on the ground nearby, and began walking a bit further when he came across exactly what he and Stiles had been looking for.
On the ground before him lay the upper half of a young woman's body, cut at the waist. Startled by his find, Scott rolled down a hill, bumping his back roughly against a tree on the way down. Once more, he got up and began to walk, but stopped dead in his tracks when he heard a rather intimidating growl behind him. Slowly, Scott turned to find a large, wolf-life creature lunging at him aggressively.
The creature mounted him and began to attack him. As adrenaline flowed through his body, Scott tried to get away, but found himself dragged away by the creature. After one bite, the creature released its grip on Scott, allowing him to get away.
Frightened and potentially traumatized, Scott ran as fast as he could, making sure the animal didn't attack again. He huffed and puffed as he ran, taking to time to look behind him when he heard the loud, ear-piercing screech of a fairly large SUV. Once again, he shouted, afraid that he'd be hit, while the car maneuvered around him and kept going on its way. Scott began to catch his breath and slowly lifted up his sweatshirt, revealing a large, bloody bite mark on his side. Still breathing heavily, he dropped the hem of his sweatshirt and looked around him while trying to wrap his mind around what'd happened.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
The next day at school, Stiles met up with Scott, eager to see the wound. Scott lifted his shirt, revealing a large bandage over the spot.
"It was too dark to see much, but I'm pretty sure it was a wolf."
"A wolf bit you?" Stiles asked, using his usual sarcastic tone.
"Uh huh."
Stiles scoffed at the reality of Scott's situation. "No, not a chance."
"I heard a wolf howling…"
"No, you didn't."
After a brief banter, Stiles finally got it through Scott's head that the creature wasn't a wolf.
"California doesn't have wolves…not in like, sixty years."
Scott shrugged, mentally ruling it out.
"Well, if you don't believe me about the wolf, you're definitely not going to believe me about when I tell you I found the body."
Stiles' eyes widened with excitement. "Are you kidding me?"
"I wish…I'm going to have nightmares for a month."
Stiles let out a soft chuckle, "That is freaking awesome. This is seriously going to be the best thing that's happened to this town since…since the birth of Lydia Martin."
His attention quickly shifted as he turned to see his long-time crush stroll past him.
When Lydia walked, she was a show stopper. The way her heels clicked against the ground with each step, the way her soft, strawberry blonde curls bounced with each step…it all had Stiles in an instant trance.
"Hey, Lydia. You look... Like you're going to ignore me." He scoffed and turned back to face Scott.
"You're the cause of this, y'know? Dragging me down to your nerd depths. I'm a nerd by association."
The bell rang, and the two swiftly made their way into the building.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
While the teacher talked, the entire class was completely obtuse, with the exception of Stiles and Scott. The two shared looks as he went on about the discovery of the body. "...which means, you can give your undivided attention to the syllabus, which is on your desk, outlining the semester." Scott picked up his copy, but just as he began to read, he heard the sharp sounds of a ringing cell phone. Anxiously, he looked around the room, trying to find the source of the ringing. He looked and looked, but found his search cut short by a voice from outside.
"Mom, three calls on my first day is a little over-doing it."
Scott found his attention drifting away from the teacher as he watched the girl sitting outside.
"Everything except a pen," she continued. "Oh my god, I didn't actually forget a pen."
Scott continued to watch her as she dug through her bag.
"Okay okay, I gotta go, love you." The girl pressed 'End' and put her phone away before being greeted by the principal.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," he said. "So, you were saying San Francisco wasn't where you grew up."
"No," she replied. "But we lived there for more than a year, which is unusual for my family."
"Well, hopefully Beacon Hills will be your last stop for a while." Scott's eyes roved over towards the door, hearing their voices get closer and closer before they entered the room.
"Class," Principal Ruckman began, "This is our new student, Allison Argent." Scott, along with the rest of the class, watched as she fidgeted nervously. "Please do your best to make her feel welcome."
Allison slowly tucked a strand of her long, dark hair behind her ear and walked down the nearest aisle, taking the seat behind Scott. Instinctively, he turned and handed her a pen before she could even sit down.
"Thanks," she smiled.
Scott smiled back and turned to face the front of the room.
"We'll begin with Kafka's Metamorphosis on page 133."
Scott bit his lip to keep his excitement inside. Behind him, Allison looked down at the pen she'd just received. 'How did he know that,' she wondered.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
After first period was dismissed, Scott hurried to his locker among the hall traffic. Before he could try his combination, a fragrant scent overwhelmed him. It smelled of lilies, lavender, and jasmine, attracting his nose to the familiar scent. He turned away in the direction of the fragrance, noticing Allison at her locker across the hall.
Allison shut her locker and turned, preparing to walk away when she noticed Scott. She gave him a sweet smile as she adjusted her bag. Just as she was about to walk away, Lydia Martin and her beautiful curls came bouncing towards her.
"That jacket is absolutely killer," the queen bee twirled a curl between her fingers. "Where'd you get it?"
Allison pursed her lips awkwardly at Lydia's straightforward approach. "My mom was a buyer for a boutique back in San Francisco. "
Lydia grinned devilishly, admiring the new girl's appearance. "And you," she pointed to Allison, "are my new best friend."
She laughed and smiled as Jackson Whittemore made his way to the girls.
"Hey Jackson," Lydia smirked at her boyfriend.
Jackson wrapped his arms around Lydia's waist, kissing her gently. Allison stood awkwardly, looking away from their affectionate display.
Scott, now joined by Stiles and Kayla, continued watching the three of them.
"Can someone tell me how new girl's been here all of five minutes and she's already hanging out with Lydia's clique?" Kayla propped a hand on her waist, rolling her eyes in disbelief.
Stiles shrugged while Scott continued to watch Allison. "Because she's hot...beautiful people hurt together."
Scott's gaze intensified as he continued listening to Lydia and Allison's conversation.
"So," Lydia leaned onto Jackson, folding her arms over her chest. "This weekend, there's a party."
"A party?" Allison inquired.
Jackson scoffed, "Yeah. Friday night. You should come." He smiled, holding Lydia's hips tightly.
"Oh, I can't," Allison frowned. "Family night's this Friday... thanks for asking." She smiled kindly.
"You sure?" Jackson shrugged nonchalantly. "I mean, everyone's going after the scrimmage."
The brunette cocked her head, gaining a bit of interest. "You mean like, football?" She smiled. Jackson withheld his urge to laugh in her face. "Football's a joke...the sport here's lacrosse. We've won state championships for the past three years," he bragged.
Lydia smirked, tousling his hair a bit. "Because of a certain team captain," she finished for him, going in for another kiss.
Kayla and Stiles argued, but Scott remained oblivious. All he cared about was Allison. There was something about her that was different with everyone else. No other girl's he'd ever seen were more beautiful, more stunning, or more incredible. Scott was smitten from the moment he watched her through the window, and became more so with each moment he saw her.
"We have practice in a few minutes." Jackson offered.
Just as Allison was about to decline, Lydia cut her off, grabbing her by her small wrist. Before Lydia could drag her away, Allison spared one more smile for Scott.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x- x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
To be continued.