This chapter was also rewritten, kind of...
TRIGGER WARNING FOR TORTURE
If this is a trigger for you, please read until the *** then skip until the next ***
After the motel incident, Scott, Stiles, Isaac, Boyd, Allison, Lydia, everyone avoided her. They didn't even acknowledge that she was right when Lydia found the wolfsbane in the whistle. It was like they were afraid of her or like they didn't trust her.
It's been a week since the motel incident. Gale decided that today, she is going to confront them, going to talk to them. She needs to know what is going on. With a new set of determination, Gale starts her walk to school.
Gale is five minutes away when she notices a line of grey powder falling from her backpack. She quickly drops the bag, and the dust makes a circle around her.
Just before she can let out a scream, everything goes black. When Gale comes to, she's in a dark room.
***"Gale? Oh, Gale?" The voice is calling out to her. It's a woman's voice, and it sounds like she's addressing Gale as one would address a child.
As her eyes open, she's faced with the tormented and destroyed face that she saw in the fire. "Hello, nymph."
"What do you want with me?" Gale managed to choke out as she feels the fear start to take over. Her body is in so much pain. She feels as if there is fire in her veins. Gale could feel the blood already oozing out of her back. The darach must of done something to her back.
"Well, I've already killed my celestial nymph, but you are just too strong of pawn to let live. I saw your little trick with the fire at the motel. So, yes, I am, but I want you to suffer, like I had to suffer."
You see, emissaries are always at risk of their pack killing them. I had the misfortune of an alpha who couldn't quite get the job done. She left me in the woods, slashed to pieces."
Gale felt her left ankle twist, and she heard a sickening snap.
"I just barely found enough strength to drag my body to a sacred place, the Nemeton, where the tree gave me just enough power to hold on until the police could find my body."
The darach shoved a knife into the already broken ankle and twisted. The pain was excruciating, and Gale cried out. She looked down to see black blood oozing from the wound.
"The pain was the worst I've ever felt," The darach said as she twists the knife more. "You can never really trust a werewolf if you're a nymph or druid. They'll try to kill you as soon as you turn your back." Each word is paired with a drag of the knife against her ankle. Gale felt like the ankle was being cut off.
"Pl-please, pleas-se stop. Ple-ease do-don-n't do this-s."
"Oh, dear, Gale, I've only just started."
Gale's right ankle was broken next, and the pain was starting to haze everything over. Gale doesn't know how much she's bleeding, but she thinks it's a lot because she is so light headed.
"You know, I thought you of all people would understand my cause. After your sisters were killed by werewolves, in a sorry excuse of a sacrifice."
"Sh-shut up," Gale just barely gets out. Her outburst is met with a sharp slap to the cheek.
"It was the Hales, you know. Laura and Derek, trying to do anything to save dear dying Uncle Peter."
Gale tries to tune the voice out and block out the pain, but it's a futile fight because all she can sense is pain.
"Hey, why don't you take a look at your friend?" The darach hissed out. "Good ol' Dr. Deaton, the local veterinarian. You see, I'm sacrificing him, and you get to slowly die while too weak to save him, when you know you could do so easily."
Gale looks to see a dark, middle-aged man hanging by his arms in the middle of the room. He keeps pulling himself up for a breath, before dropping down of exhaustion. She tries to put the little energy she has into pushing him up.
"Tsk, tsk, Gale. I thought you knew better than to try that."
Each word spoken is emphasized with a drag of a knife down her skin. Gale realizes she's only in her sports bra and spandex shorts, when she feels the hot press of the knife digging into her thigh.
"Now, Gale, how about I ask you how you found out about the poisoning at the motel?" The woman's voice is dark, as the knife slices into her right wrist, and Gale is really starting to feel the blood loss now.
"Gale, I asked you a question."
"It w-was the wolfsb-wolfsbane," Gale manages to push out. "I-I could smell it."
"Ah, I see. You're quite the smart one, huh?" The darach says thoughtfully. " I was hoping I could leave you alone, but, well, that certainly fell through."
She stabs the knife into Gale's stomach and drags it across. Gale opens to scream, but all that comes out is a hoarse gasp.
Gale can hear the woman keep talking, but no longer has the energy to listen and respond.
Gale is slapped again. "Are you listening, Gale? I asked you a question. How would you feel if I killed that little mate of yours?"
All Gale can focus on is the drag of the knife against her skin. "Wh-what are you ta-talking about-t?"
"You know what I'm talking about. Don't try to play dumb with me. You know that nymphs can only have one mate. A little bit like werewolves. The spirits place a kindred soul, and any nymph can recognize that soul."
The knife is at her shoulders now, drawing small but deep and jagged circles.
"You saw Lahey, and you knew that he was the only one whom you could ever love. The legend says that the nymphs were supposed to be celibate their whole lives, but one nymph fell helplessly in love with a farmer. She would bring rain and sun whenever the man needed it, healed his wife and children, and protected their home. In return, the gods allowed for her to be with the man if he would take her. Of course, he didn't, and she killed herself in grief. From then on, nymphs were allowed one love for their entire life. Now about my question, how would you feel if I killed little Lahey?"
"P-p-please, le-leave h-him-m out-t of th-this-s." The knife is taken away from her skin, and Gale almost sighs in relief. Until agonizing pain flows all over her body in liquid form.
"This is a nice light mixture of juniper and aconite. You see nymphs are weak to juniper, and well, aconite is an over stimulant. While your body is in overdrive to mend itself, it will suck all that juniper into the blood stream and slowly burn you from the inside out."
She is soaked in the mixture, and all she can sense is pain, lightheaded when she finally hears, "Well, it looks like my work is done. Have fun watching her die, doc."
***Gale's vision is spotted, but she's not dead yet. Gale started using her shallow breaths to push Dr. Deaton upward.
"No, save your energy. You'll need it if you want to heal," he said.
"I'm-m no-not imp-important-t," Gale whispered. "Just l-let m-me help you-u."
Gale tried to keep him up, but she only has so much strength left. She guessed it's been less than ten minutes when she finally passed out.
"Gale? Gale? Can you hear me? Wake up, Gale." She heard a voice calling to her, but it's so far away.
"Sheriff?" She weakly answered, her eyes just barely opening. She saw Scott talking to Dr. Deaton a few feet away, but everything was in doubles and blurred.
"You need to stay awake, Gale."
"Gale." The Sheriff was starting to sound desperate. "The ambulance is almost here, just hold on."
The next time she woke up, Gale was in a hospital bed. Her dad started yelling for a nurse.
"Gale, hold on, someone is coming," he said kneeling by her side before going to cause more commotion in the hallways.
"Hi, Gale, can you hear me?" She heard a nurse walk in and gave a weak nod.
"That's good. I'm Nurse MccCall," The woman said with a smile. "You lost a lot of blood, enough to kill someone. It's a miracle you're alive, especially with the aconite and juniper we found in your blood. We've stitched up all the wounds and repaired the internal damage that was done to your stomach."
"Wh-what about my a-an-ankles?" Gale whispered.
"The bones been reset, plated, then pinned, but the damage to your ankles was intensive. It wasn't just broken bone, it was ripped muscle and tendons and ligaments. You won't be on your feet for at least three to four months. We aren't sure if you'll be able to run or dance again without any serious damage to the tendons and ligaments."
"Wh-what?" Her voice is weaker, and tears start to drip down her face.
"I know, I know, it's okay." Nurse McCall said with a hand on Gale's. "You'll get through this."
The tears are falling faster now, and all Gale ccould feel is overwhelming sorrow and overwhelming hatred. The pain started to seep back into her senses, and Gale winced.
"I'm going to give you something for the pain, but it will put you to sleep, okay?"
Gale didn't have the chance to nod, before she fell into a dreamless sleep.
"Hey, Gale, I know you probably can't hear me, but I'm sorry. I'm sorry Scott and I weren't there to protect you. The darach is never going to touch you again, I swear," the voice trailed off.
"I-isaa-ac?" Gale croaked out.
"Gale! Do you need anything?"
She opened her eyes to see him sitting next to the bed holding her hand. Black veins ran up his arm. "Sh-she des-destr-oyed m-my ank-kles. N-nurse sa-said I-I won't-t da-dance or-r ru-run again-n.""
"I know, Gale, I know. We'll figure something out, I swear." With Isaac's words, Gale slipped back into sleep.
The next time she woke up, Gale heard thunder and rain. Her hospital room was dark and empty, and the halls were silent.
"H-hello?" Gale said to the dark and empty room she was in. An 'x' made with red tape marked her door.
She moved to sit up, wincing as she feels the stitches stretch. She grabs the bag next to her bed and pulls out the clothes her dad left her. She puts on the black leggings and blank sports bra, throwing the hospital gown to the ground.
Gale walked slowly, each step causing pain in every orifice of her body. She moved towards the small bathroom and looked into the mirror. Her arms were covered in small horizontal lines of stitches, barely holding the deep gashes together. Her face was bruised, a black eye, bruised cheeks, and a split lip. Her hair was matted and unkempt. With her fingers, Gale brushed out some of the knots and pulled her hair into a tight braid.
While she was looking at her ankles, looking at the braces that now held them together, she heard crashing and roaring. She slowly stepped towards the open door and peaked out.
She saw two werewolves fighting and a girl lying on the ground. One of the werewolves was massively huge and terrifying, and the other, well, he was definitely losing.
She sees Scott and Stiles, with Ms. Blake and someone else, when the huge werewolf throws the other out the hall.
Scott and another werewolf charged at the huge one, while Stiles and the guy who had been thrown down the hall ran toward the girl. Gale reached out to grab Stiles.
"Stiles, what's going on here?"
"Um, Derek's not dead, Ethan and Aiden are a mega-werewolf, Derek's uncle, Peter, is trying to get Derek's sister, Cora, out of here, and Ms. Blake is the darach," Stiles rushed to get out. "Can you run? We need to run, like now."
"I can't fucking run," Gale tried to yell, as Stiles pulled her along with him anyways. Pain shot through with each step, but it was pain or death.
They're standing in a hallway, while Gale tried to catch her breath. Gale leaned against the table, not far from the body of Derek's sister, Cora.
"Now, just what are you? And why are you here?" Peter asked.
"I'm a nymph, and I'm here because the bitch of an English teacher put me in here," Gale said through gritted teeth. "And just who are you?"
"Well, I'm just your regular, average, back-from-the-dead, werewolf uncle. Uncle Peter."
"Nice to meet you," Gale deadpanned.
"Is she really dying?" Scott asked Peter.
"Well, she's definitely not getting any better," Peter replied.
"There has to be something that we can do. We have to help her," Scott urged.
"You can't," Jennifer said, entering the room. "Only I can. I can save her, and I can tell you where Sheriff Stilinski is. But there is a pack of alphas in this hospital who want me dead. So I'll help you, but only when I'm out of here and safe. Only then."
Derek threw a table to the ground and moved to attack her. Scott pulled Derek back. "Derek, wait!"
"She was trying to get out," Derek said with a snarl.
"I was trying to keep from getting killed. You can't blame me for that," Jennifer replied.
"If you want to show you're one of the good guys, then heal her," Stiles suggested.
"Not until I'm safe-"
"I'd like to volunteer a different method of persuasion - Let's torture her." Peter said.
"Works for me," Gale replied, as she began to pull the air from Jennifer's lungs. The woman fell to the ground, grasping at her throat, clawing for air.
"Gale, stop it!" Scott yelled.
Gale kept her focus, but turned to Scott, "Do you see me? Do you see what she did to me? I will never fully heal. I will never run or dance again. Do you understand what that means to me? I say, we see just how far it takes from killing her until she cooperates. Then once Stilinski and Cora are safe and sound, I'll kill her myself."
"I like that idea," Peter said.
"Gale, this isn't right. Nobody has to die," Scott reasoned.
"I was going to have to," Gale said, dropping the air from choking Jennifer.
"Um, can I have your attention? Mr. Deucalion, excuse me, just Deucalion, requests you bring the woman calling herself Jennifer Blake to the E.R. reception. Do this, and everyone else can leave. You have ten minutes," Nurse McCall's voice said through the intercom.
"He's not going to hurt her," Jennifer said standing up, massaging her throat.
"Shut up," Derek snapped.
"He won't. Scott, you know why. Tell them its true," Jennifer said. She gave a sigh when he remained silent. "You're not the only one he wants in his pack, Derek. Deucalion doesn't just want an Alpha pack. He wants perfection. That means adding the rarest of alphas to his ranks."
"A true alpha," Peter breathed out, looking to Scott.
"What's that?" Stiles asked.
"The kind that doesn't have to steal his power from another. One that can rise from the force of their own will, our little Scott," Peter said.
"It doesn't matter," Scott replied. "We still need to get her out of here."
"Scott, your mom-" Stiles started.
"My mom said there's one more ambulance coming in 20 minutes, and I don't think we've been here that long, so if we can get down to the garage, get to the last ambulance, we can get out of here."
"The twins aren't going to let us just walk out," Peter noted.
"I'll distract them," Scott said.
"You mean fight them," Gale interjected.
"Whatever I have to do."
"I'll help you," Derek started.
"Um, sorry, but I'm not going anywhere without you, Derek," Jennifer whined.
"I'll do it," Peter said. "But I'd prefer to be out there with an advantage.
"An advantage? Like what? You mean like a weapon?" Stiles asked.
"Something better than a baseball bat."
"I can help," Gale offered.
"You can barely walk," Jennifer said.
"And whose fucking fault is that? Besides, I don't need to walk if I can try to hold them still," Gale snarked.
"You can help, but we still need to find something for Peter," Scott said.
The room dissolves into a frenzy searching for anything that could help, while Jennifer stands there. Stiles picks up the defibrillator, "What about these?"
"Do you know how to use them?" Derek asked.
"Well, no-" Stiles said
"Put 'em down," Derek orderd.
"Epinephrine?" Scott asked.
"It's pretty much adrenaline," Gale added.
"No, it'll only make them stornger," Derek said.
"How strong?" Peter asked.
"Strong enough to bring you up to speed, I'm guessing," Gale said.
Scott throws Peter the syringe, and Peter quickly injects himself.
"Let's go," Scott said.
"All right, boys. Let's rumble," Peter said, before letting out a roar. Scott and Peter charged, while Gale held the air around the twins, making it difficult for Ethan and Aiden to move.
Scott and Peter were just barely holding their own, and in the end, the three of them end up running.
"That shot didn't last very long," Peter said as he fell to the ground.
"Come on, we have to keep moving," Gale said as she quickly walked. The three of them walked into a linen closet and closed the door.
"Those twins are really starting to piss me off," Peter groaned from the table he's leaning against.
"How the hell are we supposed to get past them?" Scott asked.
"Personally, I think if we keep letting them beat the living crap out of us, they'll tire and give up."
"I could take all the air from the lungs and brain, thus killing them," Gale suggested. "Just an option, we might want to consider."
"No, Gale," Scott said. "I don't want anymore people to die."
"Besides, do you even have the energy for that?" Peter quipped.
"As if you're in better shape."
"The two of you, stop it. Come on," Scott said as he ushered them down the laundry chute.