Stiles was silent.
Even his breathing was barely a whisper on the wind. But, of course, it could still hear him.
It could probably hear the beating of his steadily thumping heart, even from this distance.
But Stiles didn't need to be invisible. He just needed to lure the creature into a false sense of security. Just enough so that it would show more than a flash of it's tawny brown fur and yellow eyes.
Just enough so that Kira and Allison will finally believe that the mysterious wolf WAS following them. Had BEEN following them.
The sly bastard (bastardette?) had managed to trail them since they started their trek though the forest. But Stiles had spotted their silent stalker almost immediately.
Now, he just needed it to slip up enough for the girls to see…
"Stiles," Kira sighed, her voice shockingly loud in the silence, "There is NOTHING out there. I'm telling you, I can see for almost a half mile- we're alone."
"Shhh-!" Stiles hissed irritably. "It's there. I know it is."
Rubbing his strained eyes, Stiles gave up (for now) stood from his spot in the bushes bordering their temporary camp. He lifted his bat and moved with practiced caution on bare feet towards the fire crackling nearby. The weight of the carved wood felt comforting as he rolled the worn handle in his hand.
Three feet of roughly-carved Mountain Ash wood- his new favorite weapon of choice.
He approached the stooped figure in the middle of the camp with hesitation. "We've been here too long," Allison muttered grimly, eyes lit by the dwindling fire. "We'll need to move out soon."
"Yeah," Stiles answered, watching her carefully. "And you, uh, you're still hearing the, um…?"
"Yeah, I can still hear someone being hurt." She snapped warningly. "You still see your imaginary wolf-friend?"
Stiles winced. "Right. Okay. Yeah, let's roll out. No sense waiting for the next baddy to find us."
The three friends were ready within seconds. It was easy when you had practically nothing to pack up.
Bat? Check.
Wristband? Check.
Two badass female friends? Double check.
Inventory complete. Ready to move out.
No one complained. No one asked questions like, "Where to" or "How much further". They had stopped bothering after the first week.
Now, there was only the constant forward progression of time as they moved through the seemingly endless nighttime forest.
At least, Stiles hoped it WAS a progression. They couldn't even be sure of that much. They could've be wandering around in the same mile of woods for all they knew.
"Alright, huddle." Stiles faced the two women as Kira dug the worn out pamphlet from her bra. "Let's call it."
"Okay, last mark was made after the red-headed werecoyote attack. After that we've had… the three horny werewolves, eight humans, two, uh… what did we agree to call the lizard ones?"
"Kanima cousins," both Allison and Stiles responded promptly.
"Right. Two of those, sequentially, and the group of three vampires."
At the mention of the vampires, they all cringed. Stiles rubbed his arm almost unconsiously where it had been broken when he'd fallen the forty feet out of the air.
NOT a fun experience. First time meeting vampires- God willing, the last.
Of course, his arm had only stayed broken for a little while. Shout out to the Nemeton for that. Probably the ONLY shout out the Nemeton was gonna be getting from him would be the relatve speed of medical attention. And they had needed A LOT since the Hunt began.
"Okay," Stiles hummed, "They all happened pretty consecutively, I'd say only a couple hours between each. Shortest fight is always the werewolves. Just a little sniffing and dry humping. Longest DEFINITELY the fucking vampires. That was at least three hours- counting the time spent treading water in the river to make a plan." Stiles did some fast mental math. "I'm gonna vote that it's been three days- so 72 hours-ish."
Kira nodded, but Allison was frowning tightly.
"I think the Phil took up at least nine hours." She made a face, at the memory. Stiles was already nodding in agreement.
"Shit. Yeah, our buddy, Phil was just recently, huh? God, it's hard to remember who was when. Poor dude."
"You left him concussed and tied to a tree…" Kira reminded him.
"For his- AND EVERYONE'S- safety!" Stiles defended.
The human, Phil, had been one of the most affected people that had crossed their path since the hunt started. Covered only in mud and tree leaves ' for camoflauge' as he had insisted, the man had been every brand of INSANE. He'd sworn that he had been in the forest for over two years AND that they were all figments of his imagination.
That he needed to personally kill-
-with his sharpened spear-
-To appease the Nemeton and earn its forgiveness-
-Because he had VERY UNWISELY threatened to burn down during his first few stressful days of the Hunt.
Phil had been a very good lesson for the group. Do NOT piss off the magic tree that was in charge of Space and Time.
Funnily enough, the first time the group had FINALLY stopped and sat down to read through the pamphlet (around the third 24-hour span when it seemed way too weird that no one needed to pee), angering the Nemeton was 'Item of Concern Number 1'. In Big, Bold lettering.
The Nemeton is an ageless, sentient magical force that made it's home in the tree bearing it's name. Do NOT threaten or insult it. It WILL know.
Stiles had a VERY difficult time not fucking that up. It was pretty clear almost immediately that their group was at the mercy of the magical tree. And even if it was described as ageless, mentally Stiles would put it at the age of a super-bratty seven year old. Like, someone really needed to spank it's petulant butt. He was 100% sure that the Nemeton knew he didn't like it, and was intentionally tripping him with random roots and shit.
It was definitely laughing at his suffering…
"Okay, so Phil was at least nine hours of crazy homicidalness," Stiles sighed, forcing his thoughts to the present, "So, let's say about three and half days since the last check-in."
Allison and Kira nodded in agreement, and Kira used a fine-edged twig with dark mud from the ground to scratch the tac marks on the bottom edge of the pamphlet paper.
"That puts us at," she counted quickly, her glowing eyes moving over the MANY sets of five dashes, "twenty-seven days."
The group was silent, taking it in.
Twenty-fucking-seven days of walking - and more often running- through the nightime forest, blindly and aimlessly.
Twenty-fucking seven days of werewolves, werecats, wizards, lizards, magic booby-traps, one tentacled lake monster with abandonment issues, a tree that ATE Kira, humans half (and in Phil's case- completely) out of their minds, every possible type of shapeshifter and supernatural creature, a tiny fucking malevolent fairy that Stiles had to trap in the battery container of his anal plug and toss into river, and now most recently— vivid hallucinations.
No wonder Phil lost his shit.
Plus, now Kira was beginning to…spark.
Mostly when she was anxious or they were in a nasty fight, but still, shooting blue sparks of electricity was probably even worse than Allison's crying voice and Stiles (apparently imaginary/but totally not) wolf-stalker COMBINED.
It was Stiles that finally broke the grim silence.
"I am going to kill Derek." He stated matter of factly in a calm voice.
"I'm not sure this is really his fault, Stiles…" Allison tried.
"No." There was a twinge of crazy edging his tone now, "No, this is TOTALLY his fucking fault. HE was supposed to be rescuing us. HE was the reason you and me got sucked into this in the first place! All because Peter's dumbass wanted to drag HIM out here for…for, I don't know- fucking politics. Where the hell is he? I stepped through his fucking family gate- so why are we running around in circles for twenty-seven god damn days waiting on him to find us?!"
Stiles was breathing furiously as he ended his rant. Allison looked defeated, clearly not willing to argue any further.
"…I'm glad you guys are here," Kira spoke softly, a spark shooting out of her limp hand like sad confetti.
Stiles flinched. "Yeah. Geez." He ran an nervous hand over his face. "Sorry, Kira. I'm glad you're not out here on your own, too. I mean, obviously. Fuck." He rolled his bat awkwardy in his right hand, resisting the urge to beat himself with it as an apology.
She smiled sadly, and Stiles felt like a massive dick.
"Okay. No sense regretting shit now." Stiles shook off his bad mood, "Let's just get moving, alright? I don't think after twenty-seven days, either of you suddenly need to use the bathroom, eat or maybe sleep?"
The girls shook their heads.
"Right, me neither. I am a little grungy and banged up from our last fight. Everyone up for a dip?"
Stiles night vision had sharpened after the first few 'nights' and he could see the dirt covering the girls' pale arms and legs. Kira was able to heal, but he was sure Allison's feet were as scraped up and aching his own. God, humanity had really hot the jackpot when they invented shoes. Fuck sliced-bread. He was never going to take his crappy converse for granted again…
The girls nodded to him, and Kira folded and tucked the worn pamphlet securely back into her bra. They all three moved closer to each other, taking deep breaths.
Once Stiles felt like they were all ready, he stated in a loud, over-dramatic voice, "Gosh, I sure feel tired and achey and dirt-"
And then they were suddenly NOT standing on solid ground anymore.
Ice water flooded into Stiles' nose and mouth as he sank into the inky blackness of oblivion. It would have been just as terrifying as the first time, in the river by the arena castle/fortress all those weeks ago, but now it was actually borderline tedious.
He waited in that frigid and deathlike place, not bothering to even kick as he sank deeper-
-and deeper.
His body went numb as the cold sank into every cell. He could almost imagine all his bumps and scrapes healing themselves all over his paralyzed body.
Then, he was loose and breaking the surface of the water. He kept a tight grip around his bat, using it to help keep him buoyant and his head above the water.
He sucked in air, blinking the now warm water from his eyes. At his sides, he could hear Allison and Kira gasping and splashing, too.
Item #3 of the informational pamphlet- 'When injured or otherwise physically and emotionally too distressed to continue, the Nemeton will provide assistance."
Well, it wasn't inaccurate…
A quick glance around showed the night sky above them (nothing new there), and a river bank about ten yards to their right.
They swam for it together, but Allison quickly out-paced them. She reached to shoreline and was out of the water a solid twenty seconds before Stiles and Kira dragged themselves onto land.
It wasn't a surprise that Allison would want out of the water immediately. She'd been the one dragged to a cave by the lake monster during the first week(?) of the Hunt, and it had taken Stiles and Kira almost two full 'nights' to storm the cave and rescue her.
That had been when they had first truly realized that the Nemeton would help them. 'Help' being a generous word. The Nemeton would arrange circumstances in their favor, and THEY would have to figure out how to be successful with what they had been given to work with.
Never something as easy as 'Gosh, a machine gun would blessed bullets would be super-handy against the vampires' or 'How about some more of that awesome black smeary shit that acted as bad-guy repellant for the WHOLE 24 HOURS IT LASTED?'
No, the Nemeton didn't neccessarily take requests. It just did the bare minimum to keep them in the Hunt.
Which was all stated clearly in the pamphlet (which they had NOT read in the beginning, like fucking idiots).
In the case of the lake monster, Stiles had been so worried and angry after dozens of failed attempts to dive for the bottom of the lake, that he had finally shouted in frustration "HOW THE FUCK IS THERE NOT A BACKDOOR OR SOME SHIT TO GET DOWN THERE-!?"
At which point, Kira had lost her footing, tripping and rolling into the small mouth of a well-hidden cave. Which had OBVIOUSLY led them through shallow water tunnels and into the- you guessed it- monster's cave. Via the backdoor, one could say.
Another good example of the Nemeton's intervention was Stiles' handy-dandy bat.
He had casually made the comment (after being beaten and thrown around by a…bird-something that he needed to check the Beastiary to identify) that he 'really wished he had a fucking weapon so he could avoid any more concussions'.
A tree branch had fallen on him.
It wasn't until several minutes later after Allison and Kira had unpinned him, and he'd dragged himself up and began physically assaulting the tree, that he realized what TYPE of tree he was hitting.
Mountain Ash.
And in just a short time later (with much help from Allison's pie-slicer), he had carved his now beloved bat out of the tree branch.
Then, they'd gathered up more limbs and sticks from the tree and made a fire, collecting as much ash as possible in folded leaves. Kira had watched them with amazement and a little disbelief at first. It had taken her a while to fully grasp what the Mountain Ash wood could do to a supernatural creature like herself. Stiles had tried to explain that this type of wood, when weilded defensively by a human, could repel the supernatural. But it had taken seeing a furious werewolf knocked fifteen feet through the air with a single swing from his bat for her to actually believe in it.
But, NATURALLY, the Nemeton had taken them quickly away from the tree shortly after, and dunked them in a shallow steam. And ALL their Mountain Ash powder dissipated just like that.
At least Stiles' bat had managed to re-find them after dozens of separations, so… there was a positive side there. Sorta. If you squinted.
Stiles kept his grip tight on his weapon now, as he helped drag Kira out of the water to the bank. He felt a tiny ZAP! from his grip on her hand, but didn't think twice about it.
So his friend sparked and occasionally zapped them. Yours doesn't? Your loss, then. She made starting camp fires super-quick and easy, so definitely better than un-sparky friends. She was practically rivaling Scott for BFF at this point in their forest trek. (Mostly because HE was supposed to be helping to rescue them, with Derek.)
As they dripped profusely on the stones of the bank, he didn't need to check to know that his entire body had been healed and refreshed from head to toe. Not even the hint of a bruise lingering on any them. They were completely refreshed and ready to…
…well, to repeat the same shit they had been doing for the last twenty-seven days. Yay.
Wet, but drying supernaturally quick, the group took stock of their surroundings. As was always the case, nothing looked familiar.
It seemed like every time the magical water swallowed them up and spat them out, they'd wash up somewhere new.
"And you don't hear THAT, I guess," Allison suddenly said, eyeing the two of them closely.
Stiles and Kira looked at each other, then at Allison with raised eyebrows.
She groaned, wiping her hands across her face. "It's like we're getting closer to him. I can hear him more now. He's hurt- bad. This is-" she let out a frustrated roar. "This is going to drive me CRAZY-!"
Both Stiles and Kira took several steps back, giving Allison (and her pie-slicer) space to vent.
Allison watched them, huge eyes sad in the moonlight.
"Stiles…I- I know this is just going to make me sound crazier, but I need you to believe me, okay?"
"Ally, of course I believe you. We're in a freakin' magical forest getting trolled by a-" he caught himself and finished carefully, "- a very generous and powerful tree. So, yeah, hearing voices is actually NOT in doubt, at present."
"Stiles, it- it sounds like…maybe…Isaac."
That had Stiles coming to a full stop. "What?"
"I think it's him. Stiles, I've heard him crying before. In the icebox…down in the basement."
Stiles nodded, mouth tight. "Yeah." He looked around at the trees and shadows along the bank, thinking. After a moment, he nodded to himself and turned back to Allison. "I believe you. And I think we should follow the voice."
Allison broke into a grateful smile. "Thanks, Stiles. I KNOW it must be him. The Nemeton must be trying to send us to help him."
"So, this is one of your pack that you hear?" Kira was watching them both, clearly confused.
"Yeah, Isaac is one of the beta werewolves from our pack. He, uh, he had a rough life. It's a long story. But, point is, if Allison's hearing him crying, them it's gotta mean something. Everything that happens here means something. So, I vote we follow it and see if he's really in some shit."
"Okay- that's all I need to know. I'm down." Kira stated, making a determined face. Blue sparks sputtered weakly from her clenched fists.
Allison and Stiles grinned at her.
It felt like they had all suddenly caught a second wind. Instead of wandering around confused and lost, they now had a purpose.
Follow the creepy crying voice that only Allison could hear and hope it led them to Isaac and the rest of the pack.
Yeah…
So, maybe it was a little weird and probably dangerous for a lot of reasons. But, it was a purpose, nonetheless. Better than waiting for their wayward werewolf pack to find them.
…-^_^-…
Close.
He was so close.
The wolf paused, snout to the ground.
Yes. Stiles had been here. And so recently that the ghost of his scent still practically held the young man's form. Five hours, maybe.
But he was gone.
Again.
As he always was.
Just out of the wolf's reach.
Throwing back his head, the wolf howled his sorrow and anger.
Why was the Nemeton keeping him from his mate?!
He wanted his mate- NOW.
…-^_^-…
"Allison- you gotta slow down!" Stiles shouted ahead, breath huffing as he stumbled over the uneven ground and various fallen limbs. (He should really be better at his by now…he was totally getting tree-trolled!)
The shadow of Allison in the distance called back, "We're so close! Stiles I can hear him- he's hurt!"
Kira, who was keeping a steady pace beween the two of them, turned her worried, glowing eyes back to Stiles. Her bare feet sparked faintly with each hurried step. She was definitely going to risk starting a forest fire at this rate.
Stiles already knew what she was thinking as their eyes met.
Even though Allison was insisting that Isaac's voice was loud and clear in the night, they STILL couldn't hear anything.
Which was a bad sign- especially as Allison's form kept getting further and further out of sight. She was becoming frenzied. Out of control.
It was dangerous to run ahead. Dangerous to not keep each other in sight.
Stiles was pretty fucking fast, but even he was about to stagger to a stop from pure exhaustion. Kira seemed to be practically flying on swift flashing feet, only slowing to make sure Stiles wasn't left behind. No way Allison was naturally this quick- even with hunter training.
SOMETHING was pulling her further away from them.
In the deep shadows of the woods to his left, Stiles caught the occasional flash of his wolf-stalker, keeping pace parallel to him. It was there, then gone, then back for a brief glimpse so many times that Stiles was beginning to think that it really WAS all in his head. How could it keep finding them after all the magical transporting and fleeing for their lives that they had been doing…?
He had to ignore those thoughts, though. For now, at least. He couldn't afford to be distracted or he would lose sight of the other two.
But, Allison…Allison was already gone. Whatever was pushing her, adrenaline or magic or both, it was making her way too fast to keep up with.
Just when Stiles thought his legs were going to give, Kira abruptly stopped ahead of him. She paused, frozen in place for a second.
Suddenly she ran back for him, yanking his gasping body down to the ground and dropping beside him in a flurry of panicked sparks.
She slapped a hand over his mouth and he clawed at it, desperate for sweet, life-sustaining air. But a glance at her terrified orange eyes made him stop and go still.
He did his best to suck in air quietly, waiting and watching Kira for some clue as to what was wrong. He shifted his bat silently into a position to be ready to swing at any threats.
They stayed low in the brush, only the faint sparks from Kira possibly giving away their location.
The forest was silent as his breathing slowed. Only the now too familiar night sounds filling it.
Then, he heard the voices.
They drifted through the trees and bushes, barely carried on the wind.
-From the direction that Allison had disappeared.
Stiles strained his ears, cursing every cricket and breeze that drowned the voices out.
'Please no more fucking vampires…' he groaned silently.
He couldn't understand what the voices were saying.
"They got her."
Stiles snapped his head around to stare at Kira's wide eyes. Jumping to his feet, he moved to immediately charge the unknown enemy. But, Kira caught his arm, dragging him back to the low brush again as she whispered hurriedly, "No! No, she's alright, Stiles! They're…talking to her."
"Vampires?" Stiles asked with quiet dread, sticking his head up trying to catch a glimpse. He could see the faint yellow glow of light ahead.
"No. Humans, it sounds like it. Hunters."
Stiles met that statement with mixed feelings.
On the one hand, Allison was a hunter, technically. So, she was probably better off with them than one of the many other supernatural creatures skipping around the forest.
On the other hand…fucking hunters. Were there any that weren't pains in his ass?
"What are they saying?" He asked, feeling a sense of dread rising in his chest,
"They keep calling her an 'Argent'. They know her grandfather, I guess."
"Oh. FUCK." He naged his head against the spiky ground.
"Is-is that bad?"
"SO BAD. Definitely NOT good guys."
"Okay. Right. Um, she's…she's telling them that she's alone…?" Kira was looking at Stiles to see if that was a good thing.
He nodded emphatically, "Yes. Smart. Very smart of her. Cuz they'd probably not like you very much. No offense."
Kira looked a little worried, but turned her attention back to the direction of the voices. Several quick snaps of electricity were making her stray hair strands stick up, as if to emphasize her non-human qualities.
"Can you see them? How many are there?"
"Three," She answered lowly, "And they're…they're wearing miltary looking outfits. And they've got guns. They're saying there's more of them at the camp."
"What the fucking fuck-? That's- that's not ALLOWED! That's like, items six AND eleven in the pamphlets!"
"They're saying that they've…caught some…mutts." Kira trailed off, voice tight.
"Fuckity fuck fuck."
"Yeah. This sounds really bad, Stiles." She finally managed. "They're inviting her to go with them back to the camp. She's…she's agreeing. Playing along."
"Right. Right. Okay." Stiles rolled onto his back, trying to think as he stared at the sky through the branches. "How are they even here? They can't be part of the Hunt. Not with that type of clothes and guns. Why is the Nemeton letting them stay here? Shit-!"
"Stiles, we can't leave Allison alone with those psychos!" Kira hissed, straighteneing her head t look over the bushes. "Stiles, they're leaving now! We have to follow them."
Stiles covered his face, considering the situation with growing panic.
"Kira," Stiles emphasized, "hunters are smart. They've got, like, a sixth sense for finding supernatural creatures. And that's when they DON'T have glowing eyes and sparks shooting off of them!"
"What are our other options?" She hissed back, "Leave the people they caught- and Allison- to try and save themselves?"
"You're right. I KNOW you're right," he agreed, frustrated. "Okay, listen- you have to use your super-vision and hearing now more than ever, Kira. They may have scouts or guards hidden around the camp, and we CANNOT risk getting caught by them. Do you understand?"
"Yeah, I got it."
Stiles' head rolled back on the ground, and he let out a frustrated sigh. Great. Another crisis. Because they haven't had ENOUGH near-deaths and terrifying experiences in the last however fucking many nights worth of time that they had been out here.
But, Kira really was right. No way could they just LEAVE people to the hunters' mercy. Plus, if Allison's hallucinations were actually real, then Isaac and the rest of the pack were the mutts that the hunters had mentioned.
And that would actually explain Derek's delay in rescuing them…
"Alright. Let's go."
…-^_^-…
So close, again.
His mate's scent hung in the air, floating teasingly.
But always out of reach.
A trail was wafting faintly on the air in one direction.
He followed.
…-^_^-…
Kira's faint sound of surprise was the only indication that they had hit a barrier.
Stiles cringed at the sudden noise ahead of him, freezing and listening to see if they had been heard. The forest was silent, except for the faint voices and crackling fire about forty yards further ahead.
Stepping forward to where Kira was shoving at the air perplexed, Stiles crouched down beside her.
"Mountain Ash?"
"Mountain Ash," he whispered lowly, nodding and scanning around them as if his limited sight could pierce the darkness. "That's a good sign. Means they probably didn't bother to set up guards. Can you see the inside of the camp?"
"Yeah, sort of. I see the fire, and…Allison, talking to some people. A lot of people. I think the prisoners are on the ground, tied up over to the right. And guns. Lots of guns. Like, everywhere."
"Okay," Stiles began slowly, "Let's do this, but smartly. First, we need to find out where this camp is, without getting caught. Then, we'll need to swing around and come in from a different angle, so they wont associate us with Allison." Kira moved to crouch closer, nodding as she listened. "Then…well, you're probably not gonna like this next part…"
She frowned, but said firmly, "No, tell me."
"I think we're gonna have to pretend that I caught you- just so the hunters trust me enough to let us get into the camp."
Kira was thoughtful for several seconds, before asking, "What about once we're in there? We'll still be outnumbered. And did I mention all the guns…?"
"Yeah…" Stiles' brain was working over time. Really, this wasn't too different from about a dozen scenarios that had already happened to the pack in Beacon Hills in the past. He just needed to consider all the variables….
They had Allison on the inside, armed with the hidden pie-slicer, so that counted for something. Plus, the prisoners were hopefully in a good enough condition to fend for themselves if they could just get loose. If they were the Beacon Hills pack, then they would fight, at least long enough to get everyone clear to safety. If they weren't the pack, then there was a chance they would make an immediate dash for freedom. Not much luck if they, unless Stiles or Allison took down the barrier for them…
But the hunters were armed, which was the real problem here. The surprise of a sudden attack would wear off fast, and they needed to make sure the hunters were at a disadvantage when it did. So…how to disable the hunters long enough to free everyone and make a run for it…?
There sure as fuck wasn't a section in the pamphlet about taking down a group of armed rogue hunters that were somehow illegally crashing the Hunt for nefarious purposes…
"Damn," Stiles mumbled, "this would be a really great time to have some badass magic on our side…"
Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, his bat was yanked roughly from his hand and rolled to Kira's (sparking) toes a yard away.
Stiles and Kira met each others eye.
Okayyy. That seemed like a pretty straighforward clue from the Nemeton. Made for a nice change.
"Um, I guess either I'm supposed to have the bat, or you specifically AREN'T." She suggested, eyeing the piece of carved wood nervously.
Stiles frowned, but shrugged toward it. "Well, see if it's okay to touch. Mountain Ash can't really hurt you unless it's wielded against you by someone."
Kira nodded, and stretched her hand towards the bat. Stopping just inches away, she seemed to change her mind and extended her pointer finger to poke it hesitantly.
As soon as her finger made contact with the side of the bat, a large flash of electricity shot from the top- burning a streak across the ground for nearly two feet.
Kira lifted horrified eyes to look at Stiles.
Stiles grinned widely in return.
"I'd say THAT is some pretty badass magic."
…-^_^-…
"Screw you, stupid human!" Kira shouted loudly, elbowing Stiles in the face— hard.
Stiles tried to shake off the sharp pain, wincing internally. Kira sucked at the verbal acting, but she sure wasn't holding back on the physical side of it.
He twisted her arm behind her back tighter, snapping in an angry voice, "Shut the fuck up, you freak! I'm sick of your kind AND being stuck in the goddamn forest!" (Okay, maybe verbal acting wasn't really either of their strongsuit.)
"They're coming. You ready?" Kira whispered, glancing towards the direction of the camp.
"Yeah, go time." Stiles answered back quietly.
Kira twisted out of his hold, kicking him (MUCH harder than he considered neccessary for theatrical purposes) and sending him rolling several feet away.
He jumped to his feet, bringing his back up to the ready.
Kira faced off with him, crouching into an attack position.
"FREEZE!"
They both froze, turning looks of mock surprise at the strangers emerging from the woods, guns trained on them both. Flashlight beams in his face made him wince painfully.
Stiles adjusted his stance to include them in range of his bat. "Who the hell-?!"
"Easy now, kid. we've got enough fire power to put a couple dozen holes in you." A heavily muscled man grinned threateningly at him. Stiles scowled, but lowered his weapon carefully. This was his first look at the hunters who had taken Allison. Kira had been right. These people were fully clothed in what looked like some kind of para-military uniforms. Their camoflauge blended into the surrounding forest and nighttime shadows, making it difficult to see much detail. Several things gleamed metallic in the moonlight, though, which was enough for Stiles to get the impression that they were heavily armed.
"The fuck is this? More freaks? You with her-?" Stiles growled, jerking his head in Kira's direction. Her hair was practically standing straight up, blue sparks sputtering from her raised hands. She looked appropriately terrified, which Stiles doubted was an act. The hunters had apparently decided that she was the bigger of the two threats, and turned their guns on her.
Stiles felt his heart thumping harshly.
Why had this seemed like a good idea…? If they just shot Kira for the hell of it, then what?
But, the hunters seemed to consider the situation for a moment before one of them ordered the huge man closest to Stiles, "Check him."
Suddenly, Stiles was being disarmed and dragged roughly towards the distant firelight. He heard the sounds of Kira shouting and struggling behind him. Stiles made a scene, shouting and cursing as he was jerked roughly forward.
The buzzing of magic abruptly stopped. Stiles almost collapsed under the sudden absence. He hadn't even noticed the constant hum anymore ever since leaving the arena. But, as soon as they passed over the barrier, the magic of the Nemeton seemed to be unable to touch him.
The man stopped abruptly, shoving Stiles to the ground as he called back to the others, "He's clear! Human!"
Stiles realized that they must have passed through the Mountain Ash barrier. The rest of the group had come to a stop several feet behind them. Stiles rose carefully to his feet, snapping, "Of course I'm human! Someone want to tell me what the fuck is going on?"
The hunters seemed to be grappling with Kira, trying to bind her in ropes. The man who had bought Stiles across the barrier smiled widely at him. "It's your lucky day, boy. You're being rescued." Then the hunter stepped back towards the group and asked, "Got her bound?"
The others responded with affirmatives, and the man stooped to break the barrier. As soon as the group was through with the wildly sparking form of Kira, he quickly closed the line again.
Stiles watched them closely. It was too weird. Even if the Nemeton couldn't touch them INSIDE the Mountain Ash barrier, how were they allowed to move freely when they were OUT of it…?
Stiles was handed back his bat, which he snatched back and immediatey raised defensively. "Someone better give me some fucking answers," he demanded.
The hunters just laughed. Stiles was clapped on the back by the burly man at his side. "Like I said, relax kid. You're safe now."
…-^_^-…
The sharp sting of fury seemed to be piercing his mind, coloring everything in a haze of blood red.
He was being teased. Played with by the power of the Nemeton.
It was keeping him from his mate. From what was HIS.
The wolf dug claws into the soft earth beneath its paws, wishing that it were the flesh of the Nemeton.
Even now, Misha could be claiming what belongs to him.
HIS STILES.
Just as he muscles clenched and he was preparing to throw his head back in another furious howl, he caught it again.
The scent.
STILES.
His entire body jerked to attention. His nose dropped to the ground, smelling the soft tones that made up Stiles.
It was fresh.
Very fresh. Barely forty minutes.
A jolt of eagerness and hunger shot through him.
STILES.
…-^_^-…
Allison did a fantastic job of appearing not to recognize Stiles and Kira as they were led into the camp. Stiles figured she knew him well enough to know he would try to rescue her. But, she could barely hide her unhappy scowl at the sight of Kira being shoved over to where the rest of the prisoners were laid out. The two had grown close during their shared time in the night forest.
Whatever the range of emotions she felt, she hid it behind the question, "Another hunter?"
The group of armed hunters were eyeing Stiles closely in the bright firelight. He tried to look surly and dickish. You know, like a hunter.
"Good question. He was fightin' off the little Katsune bitch when we got to 'em." One of them stated, moving all up into Stiles' personal space. "What d'ya say, brat? Why're you participating in this werewolf rape party?"
Stiles actually had to fight his face to stop it from reacting to the man's description of the Hunt. Like, whoah. He may not agree with the whole nudist sex-fest theme they had going, but it was pretty clear that all the participants stopped at the awkward groping phase.
Luckily, Stiles and Kira had already hashed out the backstory in the short time they took to get the hang of zapping shit with the bat and circling around to the far side of the camp.
"This whole thing is fucking bullshit!" Stiles exploded, aiming to sound like he'd been waiting to share his rant with other 'sane' humans. "And how is THIS fair punishment!?" He glared to take in the prisoners tied up together on the ground a few yards away. He searched their faces as he spat toward them.
Most of the faces seemed scared, he noticed with a cringe. Wide-eyes of several different colors watching him and the hunters with obvious signs of fear.
He didn't see Derek or Scott.
He didn't recognize any of them, in fact.
Except one.
Isaac.
He met Stiles gaze with a slight yellow eyed nod.
There was dried blood smeared in his matted blonde curls and on his face, and much more around his mostly bare body. In the moving light of the fire, Stiles could even spot some of the slower healing wounds.
Slash marks.
Stiles was going to draw some blood of his own for that.
He did a subtle count to get an estimation of the number of hunters around them. At least twenty…
Okay…fuck.
"And what exactly is it that you're supposed to have DONE, kid?" Asked the same hunter. Stiles could spot that he was leader, based off the way the other hunters let him do the talking.
"Nothing those stupid mutts didn't deserve!" He snapped, laying it thick. "All I wanted was to even the playing field, you know? I can spot a dog when I see one- my dad always told me keep an eye out for them when I left for college. Said they'd be sneaking around big cities. And he was right. The fuckers were on the damn college soccer team! Cheating! Everyone knows it's not fair for their kind to be playing sports! So, I got them good!" Stiles grinned viciously at the now rapt faces of the hunters, "I spiked the water cooler with wolfsbane during practice. You should have seen it! All three of them- they were laid out across the field, puking up black shit!" He laughed meanly as he strolled over to where Isaac lay, giving him a smug shove from his foot. Isaac growled weakly and Stiles almost vomited tears. Shit, the dude was fucked up.
The hunters were practically giggling behind him, clearly getting a kick out of his story. He took that time quickly check over the ropes holding Isaac and the other hostages. They were a thick nylon rope. Definitely going need something sharp to cut through.
And TIME to do all the cutting.
Shit...
"So they figured they'd throw you into this mess and let the dogs play with you, huh? Disgusting animals-!" The leader kicked at an older man laying nearby.
Stiles didn't flinch, just nodded like HE was the wronged victim. "Sure enough. Been fighting them off for fucking weeks now. What about you lot?" He asked, motioning with the hand not holding his bat towards the leader's rifle, "You guys managed to smuggle all this stuff in here, past all the magic shit?"
The leader snorted, looking smug. "We've been planning this for a while. Got some of our guys on the inside." He stopped, frowning, "Not sure where the fuck they are, though. Fuckin' devil tree…" He seemed to shrug off his anger, and continued, "We're going to show these mutts why humans'll always win, right fellas!" The dozen or so hunters cheered, leering at the cowering prisoners. "We're gonna leave so much blood on the ground that this forest'll wither and die from it! Then, we're gonna burn that fucking evil tree to the ground!" There were more shouts and cheers from the hunters.
"Awesome," Stiles smiled widely, trying to sound excited, "Where do I sign up?"
"You hear that? Another volunteer for the cause!" The leader nodded toward a woman standing nearby, "Set 'em up with a charm, Tiff. The rest of you, line this lot up for execution. It's time to drop the dead weight and move forward!" He jerked his head at the group tied up on the ground, not even bothering to glance at them.
Stiles entire body stiffened at the man's words. Holy Shit-! The fuckers were the really bad kind of crazy! How the hell were they supposed to take all these hunters down with only him and Allison free to fight? He'd been expecting more time. At least enough of a window to steal a knife and get Kira loose. Once she had his bat, they'd be at least able to go on the offensive against all the guns.
No way they were all getting out of this unscathed. Like, zero chance.
And with the barrier up… would the Nemeton have the power to help if they got hurt?
Stiles shot Allison a panicked glance as the hunters started ordering the prisoners to their feet. To his surprise, she looked calm and determined.
"Get ready." She mouthed, nodding towards Isaac and the group being yanked to their feet.
The woman, Tiff, stepped up to him holding a weird shaped necklace in her hands. She draped it with a smile over his head to hang it around his neck. "This'll keep the you safe from the dark magic, hon."
Tiff grinned in front of him and he realized that she had a necklace with the same strange shape, too. In fact, he noticed that all the hunters, including Allison had the same item. He could see the threads of the necklace twine on the necks of all the hunters, now that he knew what to look for.
So, that had to be how they were able to move freely without the Nemeton stopping them.
He was suddenly snapped from his thoughts by Allison darting straight over to him and grabbing his arm as Tiff moved to join the others yanking the supernatural creatures to their unwilling feet.
"I slipped Isaac the pie-slicer. They passed it around," Allison hissed into his ear, "Get ready to fight."
Sometimes he REALLY underestimated Allison. Obviously she hadn't been waiting for him to heroically rescue them. Good thing, too.
Stiles barely had enough time to process the sudden solution to their problem before all hell broke loose.
The hunters were off their guard, weapons hanging loosely from their straps on their backs, or holstered on their hips. No sense bothering to aim a gun at tied up hostages, right?
The prisoners charged, ropes dropping to their feet as they shifted and attacked. Mostly werewolves, it looked like. Betas. But, a few other types of creatures mixed in. The hunters that were further away from the group fumbled for their weapons at the same time that the first wave of hostages attacked the closest captors. It seemed like they were so stunned, they just blinked in shock, temporarily frozen at the sudden change of events.
"Stiles!" A shout pulled his attention to the hostages.
Kira raised her crackling hands up. He immediately tossed the bat over several hunters' heads and into her waiting hands.
It seemed to glow a bright blue as she gripped the handle and took up a wide stance. She swung a low arc, a solid tendril of pure blue electricity lagging behind the tip of the bat. It struck the six hunters in front of her like a super-charged bolt of lightning, sending them airborn with a thunderous crack.
It seemed like every person in the camp stopped to stare with dropped jaws as the bodies landed heavily in the trees and bushes bordering the camp. They were twitching, like the electricity was still zapping them for several seconds.
"The hell-?!" Allison demanded incredulously from her position ducked behind a supply case.
"I know, right!?" Stiles cheered.
The eruption of gunfire wiped the grin from his face. He dropped for the ground, landing hard.
The remaining hunters, seeing the significant decrease in their numbers, had begun retaliating against the raging prisoners. Bullets flew from several different directions. Stiles panicked as he felt the heat of several whizzing dangerously close to him.
He was stuck in almost the middle of the camp- unarmed- as a battle between hunters and the supernatural clashed around him.
SO. NOT. GOOD.
He kept himself as flat as possible, flinching as the sound of howls and gunshots rang out deafeningly loud in the air all around him.
…O_O…
The wolf heard the muted sound of gunfire in the distance.
It was coming from the same direction as the scent trail.
Deep inside the beast, the faint but desperate human voice yelled "STILES!?"
The wolf was already launching forward, desperation and the cold chill of fear squeezing his heart like a vice.
…O_O…
Fuck. FUCK!
Stiles lifted his head just high enough to scan the area in front of him. He spotted Allison a few yards away, also imitating the world's flattest human rug. Isaac was crouched above her, apparently trying to shield her as best he could. Bullets were striking his flesh with sickening wet thuds, but he wasn't moving away from her.
All around them, bodies were staggering and dropping as the bullets hit their targets. The shifted forms of the freed creatures were falling back to take cover behind the cases and gun trunks. The sounds of chaos and pain were coming from everywhere. It looked like most of the remaining hunters had moved to the cover of the surrounding treelines and were firing from there.
They were losing. Totally outgunned.
Several flashes of blue lit up the camp, but Stiles was too afraid to raise his head any higher to try and get a glimpse of Kira's position. She could heal quickly, but not fast enough. neither could Isaac! No way they were going to last much longer- especially if the bullets were wolfsbane. And he seriously doubted that the Nemeton could bring you back from the dead after taking a bullet to the brain.
Shit- that's it! They had to find a way to get the Nemeton back in control!
He could see several betas in his range, grappling with a couple hunters despite the onslaught of bullets flying around them.
"TEAR OFF THEIR NECKLACES-!" Stiles shouted as loud as he could manage. "THE NECKLACES!"
He heard Allison and Isaac's voices join his, shouting the instructions into noises filling the camp.
"ISAAC! ALLY! I'M GONNA TAKE DOWN THE BARRIER-!" He shouted over the noise.
They both yelled back at the same time, "NO-!"
"STAY DOWN!" Allison practically screamed from her position beneath Isaac. "YOU'LL NEVER MAKE IT LIKE THIS-!"
Just as Stiles was about to yell back, a heavy weight landed on him. He jerked roughly away, preparing to fight off the attacker when he realized-
"KIRA!?"
She gasped raggedly, her entire body shuddering. She was bleeding from- from fucking everywhere.
"Oh my god-" Stiles wheezed, heart seeming to stop in his chest.
"KIRA-!" He heard Allison scream from her spot near the cases.
"Stay down!" Stiles yelled at her, worried that she would try to make it over to them.
"The barrier," Kira choked, blood bubbling out of her mouth. "It can't take us out of the barrier-!"
Her eyes were fluttering, face pale.
Fuck!
Stiles grabbed Kira's shoulder, squeezing it tightly as she blinked weakly at him. "I know! I know, Kira! I'm taking it down. Now! Just hold on!"
He sucked in a deep breath and sent up a desperate prayer.
Then, he ran.
He heard Allison and Isaac both screaming for him to stop, but there was no other choice. Only a human could break the barrier, and Stiles seriously doubted the hunters were going to be that helpful.
Fuck his life.
…O_O…
His breaths were ragged huffs as he closed in on the sounds of the battle.
He was close enough now to hear the shouts and roars boucung and echoing off the trees like he was in the midst of it.
He was so close, but still too far away to see what was happening.
He pushed himself harder and harder- bounding over fallen treees and bushes.
"STILES-!"
The voice was Allison's, faint but terrified.
The sound of his mates name shouted in fear seemd to rattle him deep in his bones.
So close!
He was so close to reaching them. To reaching his mate!
He need to be there already!
Why wasn't the Nemeton helping!? Why was it leaving his mate in danger!?
…O_O…
Stiles felt the first bullet hit him in his abs before he made it three steps. It burned scalding hot. The momentum he had kept him going, but the shock of pain made the muscles in his legged tighten painfully.
He forced them to keep moving, to keep him upright, as he put everything he had into sprinting into the treeline.
He heard Allison screaming his name, but he was already in the trees and high-stepping over bushes and fallen limbs. He felt shaky and dizzy, the pain from the gunshot wound almost paralyzing him. They really didn't do justice to getting shot in the movies. It hurt. Bad.
He didn't even see the hunter that fired at him from his right, but his body was already clenching when the shots rang out. He felt the sharp burn of another bullet hit his shoulder and burn a path through his shoulder blade and out of his back.
The world suddenly became muted and all the pain faded out.
He felt himself stumble, then drop.
…O_O…
The wolf could see the dim yellow glow of fire up ahead; heard the screams and gunshots.
There!
His mate was there!
With a new burst of energy, he shot forrward, fangs extended and ready to shred and kill.
He slammed into a hard wall with enough force to crush bone.
He richoched off of it, darkness and pain clouding his sight and mind.
Furious, he shook the weakness off lauching forward with claws and teeth to tear at the barrier keeping him from his mate.
…O_O…
Everything was black. He couldn't feel a solid surface to tell if he was laying down or still standing. There was a faint sense of pressure against his face, and he focused on it. He felt his lips, then his nose.
The world began to fade back in, and he urged his eyes to blink open. He was breathing in dirt and leaves.
He was on the ground, he realized.
He tried to move, tried to get his arms beneath himself to push up, and pain exploded across his body.
He was going to die.
All of them were.
They were all trapped inside the Mountain Ash, where the Nemeton couldn't get to them. The hunters were going to kill them all.
Unless-
He forced his head up, feeling every muscle and bone and CELL of his body scream in pain.
Where-?
Where was the edge of the barrier-?
And he saw it.
The light brown wolf- his stalker. It was jumping and biting and ATTACKING the air over twenty feet away. Each strike sent a faint crimson colored wave rippling.
Stiles sucked in a painful breath, lungs burning, and slung himself forward, hands and knees digging into the ground.
And forward again.
He just had to get there.
Keep moving.
Keep going.
Or everyone was dead.
Everyone was dying waiting for him.
Allison.
Kira.
Isaac.
They were all dying behind him at the camp.
Forward again.
Towards the fuzzy shape of the wolf going insane just ahead.
He could see the wolf's tan shape blurring in and out with his vision. He could see it barking. But the only sounds he could hear were pain-muffled shouts and growls behind him and the never-ending ring of gunfire.
Close-
He was supposed to go to college. His dad was so proud- Christ! He'd never told his dad the truth-
Almost there-
And Derek! How would Derek take it? He'd blame himself. Another death he couldn't prevent-
He couldn't breath-
Fuck! He didn't want to be another ghost haunting Derek-!
Almost-
The wolf's massive head was only a few feet from his own, sharp teeth exposed as it seemed to be barking furiously. Yellow eyes held his-
He slung his arm as far forward as possible and dug his nails into the ground- into the Ash- and dragged it back.
The barrier broke with a horrible roar of magic that promised the Nemeton's swift and bloody vengeance.
Stiles felt the darkness close in around him.
…O_O…
The wolf felt the barrier break under his paws, and rode the Nemeton's wave of power into the camp.
He bypassed hunters on all sides, aiming for the fire and searching the blood-scented air for a trace of his mate.
It was there- Stiles' scent, along with Allison and Isaac's.
He pushed towards the collection of smells just in time to see Allison crying over Isaac's bload soaked body as the ground took them both with a splash like it was liquid.
The same seemed to be happening all around him.
The Nemeton was taking everyone- dropping them into the blood stained ground and away from the camp.
STILES!
WHERE WAS HIS MATE-!?
The sharp coppery scent of Stiles' blood hit him like a punch to the gut.
A dread like he had never felt washed through him as his shaking legs rushed after the smell.
A mix between a whimper and pitiful moan ripped from him as his paws smeared with the still warm blood trailing towards the far edge of the camp.
Stiles' blood.
Stiles' life.
Stiles-
STILES-!
He saw a form laying motionless on the ground just ahead.
STILES-!
Before he could reach the bloody form, the earth swallowed it.
The wolf leapt just a split-second too slow, landing against the hardened ground.
The wolf roared like a clap of rightous thunder, claws digging and tearing into the dirt.
Gone-
Gone-
GONE-!
The wolf turned, shaking with rage and loss and the need to bring Death. The scent of his mate's blood in the air choked him and churned the vicious urges inside him.
The remaining hunters were confused and panicked. Their shadowed forms were running around in the dying light of the campfire. Their guns were flashing metallic as they moved.
The guns that hurt his mate…
The wolf attacked.
…O_O…
Deep.
Cold.
Numbness.
He broke the surface of the water with a horrified scream like he had never made in his life.
And he kept screaming until water filled his mouth and choked him. He gasped, hacking up the tepid liquid only to swallow more.
It took several dunks and resurfaces for Stiles brain to begin working again. When it did, he felt the feeling of his body come back. Muscles jerked and moved- his arms and legs flailed.
He was in water.
HE WAS ALIVE AND IN WATER-!
He kicked his legs, finding the surface and bringing his head up to stay above it.
He gulped in air, blinking water from his eyes.
He was alive.
Holy fucking shit- he was alive.
He bent his arms and legs and twisted his body but the pain from the bullets was gone. Totally and completely gone. His feet brushed something solid and he felt the softness of silt beneath his feet. Solid ground. At least, relatovely solid ground.
He glanced around, seeing a bank close by. He drug his body through the water, feeling the incline as with each step.
He heard the sound of splashing and gasping somewhere nearby, and turned his head.
A head and arms were sticking up out of the darkness of the water further down the river.
He pulled himself up onto the shore, smoth rocks shifting under his wet bare feet as he stumbled to get to the other person.
The closer he drew, he more he recognized the voice, relief washing over him so hard he almost collapsed.
"Kira!"
"Stiles-?!" She called breathlessly. "Stiles! Are you- are you okay!?"
He winced as his feet scaped over some sharp rock edges. "Yeah! Yeah- are you!?"
He made it to the edge of the water, just as she crawled on hands and knees out and dropped to the rocky ground. "I-I think I died, Stiles. I think I actually died." Her voice sounded like a sob.
"Yeah," he dropped heavily beside her, pulling her into a wet hug. "Me, too. Me,too."
They breathed together for at least a minute. Stiles felt the shock slowly disipate from his bones.
"Fuck," he breathed. "Holy fuck, that was bad."
"The worst," Kira mumbled from beside him.
"Where-?" Stiles suddenly jolted up, "Where's Ally?"
He was up, and on his feet in less than a second, scanning the smooth waters of the river as far as he could see in the pale moonlight.
"ALLY-! ISAAC-!?" He panted, panic rising. "ALLY-!? WHERE ARE YOU!?"
Kira was up too, shouting along with him.
"ALLY-?! CAN YOU HEAR US!?"
There was no answer, only the gentle lapping of the water and the familiar night sounds in the distance.
"What-?" Stiles whispered, "I don't understand! We-we always come up in the same place-! Where is she?!"
"I-I don't know," Kira responded quietly.
"She- she's not…?" He turned to Kira, "Was she okay- at the camp? With Isaac?"
Kira's wide orange eyes looked helpless, "It's all a blur. I remember getting to you, but…" She looked like she was about to burst into tears.
"It's okay," Stiles interrupted, forcing himself to be calm. "It's okay. Isaac was with her. She was afe- she wasn't hurt when I left to get to the barrier." He took a deep breath, trying to sound confident. "I'm sure they're both okay. The Nemeton would've saved them, like it did us."
Kira nodded, but her face was still pinched in worry. Her voice was quiet as she asked, "Then why aren't they here…?"
Stiles didn't answer her. He couldn't.
There was no possible way to know if Allison was safe. If Isaac was with her. He'd been so injured already...
No way of knowing where they were now and why they hadn't washed up with him and Kira.
And then there were two… he thought somberly.
He stared blankly at the black waters of the river and sent a silent prayer to the Nemeton to protect them.
The pale, elongated shape of his bat floated up from the water just a few feet from where they both stood.
They stared silently as it drifted on a small wave to the rocky shoreline at there feet, making a hollow thunk against the stones.
Kira stooped down and brought the carved wood up. It didn't even glow.
In fact, Kira had yet to spark since they came out of the river.
"I-I think I ran out of juice..." She muttered, handing the bat over to Stiles.
After a few moments, he turned to her. "Let's keep moving."
She looked up at him and nodded grimly.