Chapter 6: Past, Present, Future?
Lynne couldn't sleep that night. She kept looking out the window in Taylor's bedroom, it was a reminder of what everything that happened that night. Every time she closed her eyes she saw Scott's almost monster-like face. She kept telling herself it was just her imagination but how could she just imagine that? She was laying on her back looking out the window going over every scenario in her head; either it was just a prank, she was slowly but surely losing her mind or...she didn't want to think about the or. Rolling over for the seventh or eighth time she heard Taylor stir beside her, slowly waking up. "Ok, either you really can't get comfortable, or your mind is preoccupied on something." She muttered turning on the bedside lamp.
Lynne sighed sitting up in her friend's full sized bed. "I think I'm losing it."
"What do you mean?" Taylor asked rubbing her eyes.
"Would you believe me if I said I saw a...werewolf tonight?" Lynne almost wanted to whisper that last word.
Taylor was fully awake now, she sat up, her elbows resting on her knees. "Actually right now, maybe. Michelle is convinced she dreamt about a werewolf the other night," She sighed running a hand through her mussed hair. "But why are you talking about them now?"
Lynne took a deep breath, running her hands over her face. "Tonight, when we were separated I went to look for Scott." She paused thinking back to the carnival. "He looked just like what your brother told us about when we were kids."
"Now I regret getting him to tell us all those stories." Taylor whispered rubbing her forehead. "Ok tell me exactly what you saw."
Lynne moved to sit at the foot of the bed. "Well it was Scott but he had hair coming down the sides of his face, he was growling. I saw these teeth..." She cringed. "but his eyes. They were bright yellow, or maybe even gold. He didn't notice me but I still just can't get that image out of my head."
"Well, if it bothers you this much, talk to him about it."
"Yeah, I can imagine how that conversation goes, 'Hey Scott, I think I saw you turn into a werewolf. By the way you're a great kisser!'"
Taylor scratched her head. "Maybe talking to him not's the best option." She shrugged. "So what are you going to do?"
"I'll let you know when I think of something."
"Well I suggest you sleep on it, because its three in the morning and, as one of your best friends, I know you don't make much sense when you're tired."
Nodding Lynne laid back down in her spot. Her nerves were a little more calm but she still felt nervous. Just what was she getting herself into? After Taylor turned the light out Lynne pulled the comforter to her chin thinking how she was going to bring the subject to Scott.
Across town Scott and Derek were patrolling the woods. They had been tracking a scent for the past hour and they had a feeling it was just leading them to a dead end. Coming to a stop Scott sighed. "We've been going around in circles."
Derek shook his head. "How many were at the carnival?"
"Just one, but he didn't seem like he wanted to hurt anyone. He was just trying to get away." He explained. "He only became aggressive when I approached him."
Derek nodded clenching his fists. "No one saw you right?"
"The crowd was pretty cleared out by the time I reached the guy." Scott defended. He was about to say something else when he felt his phone vibrate. "Stiles, what's going on?"
"Besides reports of destruction of public property? There's only one other thing reported: Eli's missing."
"Eli, as in Michelle's date?" Scott thought he saw Derek's eyes narrow at the mention of Michelle's name.
"No, Eli as in 'Eli Manning,'" Stiles snapped. "Who else would I be talking about?"
Scott rolled his eyes. "Well what did the report say?"
"A girl said she saw Eli being pushed or tossed aside like a rag doll, but she couldn't see by what. That's pretty much it. I think we need to check out the fairgrounds."
Scott and Derek nodded. "Be there in ten minutes."
They met Stiles at the deserted carnival. A few lights still hung about them but most of the tents and booths were destroyed. "So what are we looking for?" Scott asked.
Before anyone could say anything they saw something that stopped them in their tracks. Eli was half-laying on a busted table, his legs splayed out in front of him. His neck had a huge gash in it, blood pooled down his chest. "Oh my God," Stiles whispered.
"You sure he wasn't aggressive?" Derek asked.
Eli's death was all over the papers the next morning. Michelle couldn't get past the front page. There he was, Eli's smiling picture with the words 'Tragedy this Spring' above it. The article didn't give out much information, only deputies found him early that morning. She tossed the paper aside beside her bed. Leaning back she thought about her dream and Eli's death; could they somehow be connected?
Hearing soft knocking at her door she pulled herself from her bed. Before she even reached the handle the door creaked open. Michelle smiled seeing her friends standing there with a carton of ice cream and spoons in their hands. She gestured them to come in as she made her way back towards her bed. "So where did you run off to last night?" Lynne asked as Taylor shut the door.
"I went to our spot." She sighed falling back onto her bed.
Taylor saw the morning paper on the floor. "So I'm guessing you heard about Eli."
Michelle nodded, looking up she saw them sit beside her. "I know the guy was a jerk but I didn't want him to die."
They nodded opening the ice cream. "I wonder if Stiles' dad told him anything." Lynne muttered grabbing a spoon.
"I can ask him tonight when I go over to his house." Taylor suggested placing the lid of the carton on a bedside table.
"So are you two paired off now?" Michelle asked eating a spoon full of ice cream. "Leaving me alone, in my singleness."
"What about Derek?" Taylor asked dipping her spoon in the carton.
"What about Derek?" Michelle repeated. "The guy is colder than Antarctica. Even when I was with him last night..."
"Wait," Lynne exclaimed. "You were with him last night?"
"Yeah, I meant to talk to you two about that," She slightly chuckled.
Lynne and Taylor moved to sit in front of her. Both giving her a look that said 'You better start talking.' "Guys, nothing happened. We just played pool." Michelle sighed holding her hands out.
"Well, that's better than nothing." Taylor smiled.
"Yeah, I guess," She mumbled. "I just wish there was some way to get him to open up to me. I just want to help him."
A couple hours later Lynne decided to go to Scott's house. With every step her anxiety grew. There was still no explanation for what saw the previous night. She thought maybe it was the light, the way it shined on him but that didn't make any sense to her.
When she reached his house she saw his mom walking to her car, dressed in her nursing uniform. "Hi, Ms. McCall," Lynne waved as she walked closer.
"Oh hi," Melissa McCall smiled. "You must be Lynne."
"That's me, how did you know my name?"
"Scott was telling me about you. You know, you're the first one to pull him out of that Allison rut."
Lynne nodded. "I'm glad, I know getting over your first love is hard. I just want to be there for him."
She saw Melissa smile. "Well, I'm glad he has someone like you there for him." Looking down at her watch she gasped. "Oh, I gotta go. Tell Scott to get some sleep. He looks like he's been up all night."
Before Lynne could say anything Melissa had gotten into her car. As she drove off Lynne made her way up the steps to the front door. Inside she called for Scott but she didn't receive an answer. Looking around she saw no sign of him. Deciding to check upstairs she made her way up the staircase trying to see where his room was. Most doors were closed but she saw one open. "Scott?" She called peaking in the room.
What she saw made her smile and blush at the same time. Scott was laying on his bed, flat on his stomach, without a shirt on. Lynne patted her pockets but remembered she left her phone at home. Very carefully she pushed the door open but the creaking woke Scott. "Lynne?" He mumbled sleepily. "What are you doing here?"
"I was bored." She chuckled. "I just thought we could hang out. I didn't mean to wake you up."
"No, it's ok," He yawned sitting up so she could sit down. "Did you hear about Eli?"
She nodded. "Yeah, me and Taylor went to Michelle's house this morning to see how she was doing."
"How was she?"
"She was just in shock, I guess. She seemed ok, but that may have something to do with her seeing Derek last night."
Scott was now fully awake. "Wait, Derek? Derek who?"
"Derek Hale, I think Michelle likes him even if she won't admit it right away."
This was a shock to Scott. He knew he was going to have to talk to Derek, he just didn't know when. Over at Stiles' house Taylor was sitting in her car waiting for Stiles to get home. He just told her he had to do something and for her to wait on him. Sighing she took her seatbelt off. For some reason she felt jumpy, maybe it had something to do with what her friends thinking they saw werewolves in town. The whole day she felt like something bad was going to happen and the unknown scared her.
She almost screamed when someone knocked on her window. Outside she saw a middle-aged man with sandy blonde hair, slight scruff on his face, dull blue eyes that were staring at her. Very hesitantly she rolled down her window. She tried her best to smile. "Hi."
The man nodded. "Who are you? You've been sitting out here for ten minutes."
"Uh, I'm..." She stammered feeling very thankful for Stiles' timing.
Stiles had been at the Sheriff's department, pretending to be visiting his dad but he had been listening to conversations about Eli. There was no evidence pointing to his attacker so the investigation for the moment, was cold. Before Stiles could hear anymore his dad kicked him out. On his way home he tried calling Scott with no answer. He also tried to find the girl who saw Eli before his death, but again he had no success.
When Stiles reached his house he saw Taylor but was a little worried when he saw her expression. "Hey, Samuel, I see you've met my girlfriend." He nervously chuckled slamming his door.
"Yeah, I just saw her sitting out here. I thought I would come over to say hello." Samuel smirked looking down at Taylor, sending chills down her spine. "I'll talk to you later Stiles," He winked. "Miss."
Taylor waited until he was completely gone before opening her door. "So that was Samuel," She whispered walking over to Stiles.
"Yeah, he's always been like that," Stiles sighed.
"Creepy and disturbing?"
"Pretty much."
Taylor didn't know why but she got a bad vibe from Samuel. She felt Stiles wrap an arm around her, making her smile grow but still she felt a nervous feeling in her stomach. Knowing Stiles lived right next to that guy made her feel uneasy. She really cared about him, and the thought of something happening to him felt like a punch in the stomach. "Hey," He whispered. "You ok?"
"I sure hope so," She muttered so quietly he barely heard her.
Meanwhile Michelle was staring at her ceiling. She just wanted the day to end already, but it felt like it was just dragging on and on. Her curtains were drawn letting her see the sun set behind the trees in her front yard. Sitting up on her bed she stared at the dull orange light slowly going away. Thinking back on the previous night, seeing what she thought was amusement in Derek's eyes made her smile slightly. Scoffing she slipped on her tennis shoes and reached for her car keys on her desk. Somehow she was going to convince Derek to get that stick our of his ass for more than a pool game.
Derek had just finished his workout when his phone rang. Picking it up he saw 'Scott' on the caller ID. "What?" He demanded.
"Why were you with Michelle last night? Are you two together or something?" Scott asked quietly watching Lynne cook in the kitchen.
"What are you talking about?" Derek asked but stopped when he heard something snap outside. He heard Scott say something else but he hung up the phone.
Taking quiet, short steps to a window he peaked out into the empty yard, nothing suspicious caught his attention until he heard rustling come from the side of his house. Before Derek could think a wall in his living room crashed, out of the rubble he saw red eyes staring at him. The black, monstrous wolf growled at him, Derek gave the wolf a growl of his own. Just as quick as it appeared the alpha disappeared. Derek slightly titled his head but a pair of headlights on the wall made his head snap up. Looking back out the window he saw Michelle step out of her car.
Nightfall had quickly fallen as Michelle approached Derek's house. She could barely see her hand in front of her face as she opened her door. She took a deep breath as she took hesitant steps away from her car. The wind blowing her hair, twigs snapping under her feet with ever step but it seemed like she had been walking for twenty miles. Just as she stepped onto the Hale's front porch she noticed something else was on the porch with her. Two red, calculating eyes stared at her through the blackness.
Michelle slowly started backing up but every step she took the eyes got closer as well. "Derek!" She screamed as she started running.
Leaping off the porch she started running blindly deep in the woods. She heard it behind her though, it was running just as fast as she was. Looking up clouds covered what should have been a full moon. Not being able to see Michelle felt her foot catch on a log sending her falling down a small hill.
As she tried to catch her breath Michelle heard a sinister growl come from above her. Shuffling behind a tree her breath came in quick gasps. 'Derek, where are you?' She thought covering her mouth.
Just when she thought the wolf would just walk away she heard the bark on the tree rip before she felt pain in her upper arm. Michelle rolled forward trying to avoid the knife-like claws coming down at her again. Crawling she tried to get away but the claws caught her pants leg. A shrill scream pieced the night as the moonlight shone through the clouds. 'I guess this is it,' she thought closing her eyes, waiting for the impact.
Two district growls made her open her eyes. In front of her Michelle saw a black wolf, just like the one in her dream and the other one staring at them. She hesitantly stood, staying right behind the one who saved her life. It's red eyes glanced at her sending her a silent message to hide. Finally finding her footing she ran behind a tree.
The fight was intense to say the least. Growls and snapping noises were all she heard. Michelle was shaking, her teeth chattering uncontrollably as she watched the scene in front of her. Her eyes widened seeing one wolf fall to the ground, a deep gash in his abdomen. Seeing the other alpha down the still standing wolf sniffed his fallen opponent. With a small growl he ran off. Very carefully she stepped out of hiding, her arms wrapped around herself. Michelle still hadn't been able to control her breathing, she could still feel her body shaking. Looking down at the ground she gasped, a hand shot up to her mouth. "D-Derek?" She whispered, tears coming to her eyes.
"Y-you need to get...out of here." He stammered, his voice sounded so weak.
Michelle fell to her knees beside him. She examined his wound. "What can I do?" She asked.
Derek knew she wasn't going to leave him with him wounded like this. "Help me get to my house." He sighed.
Michelle nodded grabbing one of his arms, wrapping it around her shoulder. Very carefully she helped him stand and with small steps they slowly made their way to his house. She couldn't help it, she looked down at the gash, blood dripping down covering the top of his pants. She could feel it seep into her sweatshirt but she didn't care. All she cared about was getting him to his house and bandaged up.
Back at Stiles' house Taylor was sitting on his bed watching Stiles work on his laptop. "So how long have you known Samuel?" She asked.
"Oh, he's lived there for as long as I can remember. He used to live there with his dad but when I was little I saw his dad being wheeled out in a body bag. They never found out what happened to him."
"Did you ever find out why he moved away?" She asked laying on her stomach.
"No, he never said. He kept brushing it off."
Seeing her phone light up she saw a text message from her mom. "I gotta go," She sighed. "she wants me home."
"Oh, ok, I'll walk you out." He muttered standing from his chair.
Outside Taylor gave Stiles a quick kiss before hurrying to her car. She watched Stiles go back inside his house, after he was gone she looked back at Samuel's house. In front was a black mail box with 'Myers' written on one side. "Oh, how fitting," She whispered starting her car.
Back at Derek's house Michelle was cleaning his stomach with a warm wash rag. Very carefully she dabbed it on his skin. She had been very careful not to put too much pressure on the gash, but while she wasn't paying attention the wound had healed itself. "How...?" She whispered running her hand over his skin, like he had never gotten hurt.
"I'm fine," He grumbled trying to move away from her. "How's your arm?"
Michelle had completely forgot about the scratches on her upper arm. Seeing red through her sweatshirt she slowly stripped it off, leaving her in a black tank top. She cringed when she felt his hand run over the three scratches. Luckily they weren't that deep, they looked like they just grazed her skin. "I'll be right back," he muttered standing from their spot on the floor.
She watched him walk out of the room. Her arm twinged a little bit but at least she wasn't in a lot of pain. Looking around the room she was thankful she had stopped shaking after all this time, she finally felt safe. Derek came back in the room with a small first aid kit in hand. Opening it he sat back down in front of her. "Hold out your arm." He gently commanded.
Michelle did what he said watching him pick up a bottle of rubbing alcohol. "This may sting," He whispered gently patting her arm with a cotton ball, cleaning the specks of blood.
She cringed, balling her hand in a fist. "Just a little bit," She grumbled looking down.
After he wrapped her arm in a bandage he packed away the kit. "Why are you here anyway?" Derek asked.
"I wanted to talk to you about last night but now...what was that thing?" She muttered rubbing her arm.
Derek didn't know how to answer her. She had already seen the alpha and him in his werewolf form, so he figured the truth was the best option. "The other alpha."
Michelle tilted her head. "Alpha? But what is that?"
"A very powerful werewolf, just like me."
"So you're both...werewolves." She swallowed but saw him slightly nod his head. "So who is he? Or she...it?"
Derek shook his head. "I don't know, all I know is...he knows about you now, which is going to cause problems for me and Scott."
Hearing Scott's name Michelle's head shot up. "Scott? You mean Scott's one too?"
"He's not an alpha, he's a beta, still a werewolf but not as powerful."
She nodded, biting her bottom lip. "Why are you telling me all of this?"
"Because after tonight you are going to need protection. He knows that you know me, and is going to assume that you know about me. He'll want you gone."
Michelle felt herself starting to shake again. "Oh my God, this has been one messed up weekend. And its definitely going to put a damper on prom."
"What does prom have to do with it?" He snapped.
"Oh, I don't know, thinking some psycho werewolf trying to kill me before I even get to go to my prom. Sorry for thinking like a teenage girl."
"Well, I guess you can't go."
Michelle suddenly smiled, a plan forming in her head. "What if you went with me?"
Derek shook his head. "Remember what I told you? I'm not exactly welcome out in public."
"Come on, I need protection, you said so yourself. If you go I will be protected and get to enjoy the dance with my friends. Who knows you might actually have fun too."
Derek didn't even attend his own prom. He saw a hopeful look in her eyes. "I'll think about it." He sighed. "And your friends, they are the ones that are dating Scott and Stiles, right?" Michelle nodded. "If the alpha knows about them...they are in danger."
Michelle stared at him with a frightened look, what if something happened to her friends? She saw the way the alpha attacked her, but she was lucky enough to escape. What if they weren't so lucky?