Night has fallen and we're racing through the forest, desperately trying to save three lives. I pray that my friends' parents aren't dead, and that we can rescue them safely without any collateral damage. But we're dealing with the supernatural world, and unfortunately there are always tons of collateral damage.
"Come on!" Deaton shouts, up ahead with Scott and Isaac. "Up here!"
"Not everyone has supernatural powers that grants you freakish steroid-induced (superhuman) speed," Stiles grunts, panting. I'm still running beside him, because, face it or not, we're the only two humans non-useful in our little rescue mission. I'm running a sweat myself and ignore his comment. Still, we both redouble our efforts and manage to somewhat catch up with the rest of the group.
"Stop!" Scott says suddenly, throwing out an arm to halt us. "We're here."
"Get down," Isaac hisses, and we all duck behind the bushes. It's dark anyways, so I doubt our former-teacher-actually-banshee-in-disguise will be able to see us, but I'm not counting on it. As long as she's supernatural, anything's pretty much possible. I suck in a breath, holding it in, trying to remain as silent as possible.
After a few terse moments Scott murmurs, "Jennifer's not there. It's only our parents."
"Let's go!" Deaton says. "Quickly!" His words send a thrill of adrenaline down my spine.
We rush towards the nemeton, and to me it looks absolutely familiar, as if I'd seen it in a dream, because I've been unknowingly obsessively drawing it page after page in my notebook. The others scan around the perimeter of the tree, trying to find a way to get in, or, under the tree.
"Dad! Dad! Can you hear me?" Stiles shouts.
"I'm coming, Mom, just hold on!" Scott yells.
"This time I'll save you Dad!" Allison promises.
"How the hell are we supposed to get in?" Isaac interrupts. He's right. There's no way under, unless we dig seven feet under the ground.
They start making a commotion and everyone starts arguing, but I walk slowly around the tree, my hand reached out to feel the tough, worn bark. "Lydia?" Stiles calls out to me, but his voice sounds distant and far away. I start feeling the bark for a familiar place and - ah - there it is. I'd memorized the tree so well from my drawing, there's just one place in the bark that's chipped in. It's a symbol. I trace it then push it down, and a passage opens with stairs leading down.
"Dad!" I yell.
As the stairs descend the only see is my dad, his face ashen-grey and his uniform covered with dirt. He looks worn but not yet defeated, similar to times when he's had a hard question to solve for a case throughout a late night. But this time the situation is much worse, and the stakes are much higher.
"Stiles!"
I hurtle myself towards him and embrace him straight away, and the hand that's been gripping my heart for so long finally releases it's hold. I feel like I can finally breathe again, because all that matters is that he's here and he's safe. With me.
I release him quickly and begin trying to get the bonds restraining him off of him. But my human strength is feeble and weak, and I know I can't free him.
Isaac steps forward, and with a slash of his claws the ropes are cut.
I'm hugging him again, and he angles his head so that he can whisper in my ear something no one else can hear.
"I'm sorry for not believing, Stiles."
"It's okay," I assure him. "You do now." And I let the tears fall down my face. "I'm sorry too, Dad."
"For what?"
"For not finding you sooner," I say. "Are you hurt?" I quickly release him and start to examine him. "Did they hurt you?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine. Just glad you're here." He smiles at me, and I swear I feel like a little kid on a Christmas morning; I've never been so happy to see him smile. I look around and see that Allison and Scott have managed to free their parents and I grin. We finally won.
"Sorry to interrupt your happy reunion," a voice interrupts coldly, and my heart drops like a stone.
Jennifer.
I turn around quickly, dreading for the worst, and I'm right. Jennifer has Lydia, one claw stretched over her throat, ready to rip her throat out. Lydia's beautiful green eyes are wide with fear, and she's shaking like a leaf, though she tries to hide it and be brave. But I know better.
Instantly my anger boils over and something snaps in me. "I swear to God if you hurt her I'll-"
But Jennifer cuts me off with a bone-chilling laugh that cackles throughout the room.
Even throughout this situation I can't resist saying, "...God, that's not creepy at all."
Jennifer's glare instantly turns icy. "You can't save her, Stiles. You can't save anyone." That strikes a chord deep within me, and Jennifer knows she must have gotten through to me, because she smirks and rakes her claws against Lydia's throat, leaving behind the faintest of red scratches. It's enough to make my heart hammer wildly in my chest and the anger rushing to my head.
"Stop!" I yell, and my voice frightens even myself, as it echoes throughout the cave. "Please, don't hurt her. I'll do anything. Just let her go." Lydia looks at me, really looks at me, as if surprised I would sacrifice myself to save her.
A determined glint appears in her eye, and in a fluid motion she slams her elbow into Jennifer's ribs and snaps her forearm into her throat, finishing with a hard kick to her midriff. Everything stands still for a moment as I watch Lydia in disbelief, but then time starts moving again and Scott is holding Jennifer's hands behind her back as Lydia escapes.
I stare at Lydia as she comes to stand with the rest of the group. "Close your mouth, Stiles," Lydia says to me curtly. "It was self-defense anyways."
I realize that I'm gaping at her like a fish without water. I quickly close my mouth and say, "Remind me to never get on your bad side."
She shoots me a look and tosses her hair in that Lydia-esque way of hers. I try to focus back on the situation at hand.
"Deucalion will turn you into a killer, Scott. He needs you to kill to become an alpha."
"And what do you want from us?" Scott demands.
With a cruel, cold, calculating smile Jennifer turns to the girl I love beside me. "Lydia."
An instant chill runs up my back and my anger resurfaces. "No!" I immediately shout. "Scott don't trust her!"
Jennifer's still wearing that smile. "Who do you choose as your enemy, Scott? Me or Deucalion?" I can see my best friend hesitate.
"We can deal with Deucalion," Scott decides determinedly, and I release the breath of air I hadn't realized I'd been holding in for so long.
"We're going to have to kill her here," Isaac realizes.
"Before she escapes," Deaton adds, nodding grimly.
"What's your choice, Scott? Give Lydia up or become a killer?"
It's a tough situation. No one can win. Except for our enemies, whichever choice Scott picks. Before the silence lingers in the room, Lydia speaks up.
"I can run," she says shakily.
Heads snap towards her, and I say, "What?"
"I can escape from Beacon Hills," she clarifies. "I'll hide somewhere, and you guys can keep Jennifer in town while you find a way to kill her. Scott can't become a killer, and I don't want to be killed. It's for the best." I can't even believe what I'm hearing.
Jennifer's lips are curled back in rage, but Scott nods. "It's a good plan."
"Stiles, get Lydia out of here," Deaton says quickly. "We'll hold down the fort."
"But my dad-"
"I'll take care of him," Scott assures me. I nod numbly, my mind still reeling from the shock, then I take hold of Lydia's arm and tug her out of the nemeton. When we're outside and not within earshot, I spin towards Lydia in anger.
"Are you out of your mind?"
She looks surprised, scared even, at my outburst, but says nothing, so I plunge on. "Where are you even gonna go? No one can protect you. You're better off if you just stay hidden somewhere in town." My fists are clenched at my sides, tightening and releasing. Yes, I'm that mad. Because Lydia would rather go off in the world without a plan where to go or hide and take the risk of being killed.
"You're forgetting Deucalion and his pack," she snaps right back at me. "They'd just use me anyways as leverage both ways. I'm better off if I leave."
My eyes shoot down to the ground, staring at the dirt, and Lydia chooses that moment to begin walking out of the forest. "Wait!" I catch her arm and she looks back at me, angered.
"What?" she says irritably.
"Let me come with you," I offer.
For a moment the facade she's been holding up so well drops and she looks directly into my eyes. Then the moment is gone and she says to me with a hard voice, "Your Dad needs you. And I can take care of myself." But her emerald eyes look unsteady, and I'm afraid she might fall apart any second. "I can do this by myself," she repeats softly, and I'm not sure this time if she's saying it to me or herself.
"You're unstable, Lydia. You've been walking around in the dead of night, finding dead bodies, and I don't know about you, but that would've scared the hell out of me. Your boyfriend left, and a supernatural being wants you dead. Look me straight in the eyes and tell me you're okay, because I know you're not."
She does look at me straight in the eyes but doesn't confess. Instead she starts screaming at me. "Tell me Stiles what difference it would make if you came with me, one of your parents is dead, you've never recovered from that, your dad's almost been sacrificed, you were dead an hour ago and you have panic attacks! Tell me what difference would it make!"
I just feel numb and I can't even find the words to answer her.
Tree branches cracking underfoot sends our heads whipping to the source of the noise, and Jennifer emerges from the dark trees.
"Lydia, run," Stiles says to me quietly.
"Stiles-"
"Go now! Run!" He shoves me hard, but not hard enough to make me fall, and I don't know what's happening but my legs are running, far, far, far away from him and the trees are scratching me and I can't see, all I see is the dark. I'm running blindly, the air flying past me stinging the tears that are falling as I start to hear his tortured cries. I have to run. I'm forcing myself to, and it's hell listening to him screaming like that and being helpless, not being able to do anything to ease his pain, his suffering. I can't turn back around for him. I keep hearing him screaming, and even when it stops it's still echoing in my head, again and again and again and I don't know how but I make it to his car and start the engine, it's dark and I'm blind, and the engine is roaring to life under my fingertips. I can't see, but I can still hear him even when it's stopped. He's screaming my name now.
A/N: So this is finally the continuation of Sink or Swim, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thoughts, opinions, and suggestions are very much welcome and I always appreciate your feedback ;) btw lydia's going to be having more than a tough time in the next few chapters and stiles? is he dead? hmm, you'll just have to wait and see ;)
