"How did this even happen?" Scott stopped pacing to look at Braedon. The pack had gathered in Derek's loft after receiving a very abrupt text from Derek that declared a meeting.
"I was on my bike, driving into town and this creature sprinted towards me." Braedon explained, still pretty dumbstruck. "Knocked me straight off my bike and started gnawing at me. Luckily I had my gun, otherwise I'd be dead meat. The thing was incredibly strong."
"Was it definitely a zombie?" Stiles asked, one arm folded while he bit his nails.
"I've not seen many zombie movies, but I can guarantee it matched the specifics. " Braedon raised an eyebrow.
"Where did it come from? I thought they had the all infected sectioned off in hospital." Liam frowned worriedly.
"Obviously they didn't section them all." Derek stated blankly.
"I need to tell my dad." Stiles spoke up.
"So do I." Scott added.
"How did you kill it?" Lydia asked. Everyone turned to stare at her oddly. "Like, did you shoot it in the head? In the chest?"
"Well, I actually shot it three times in the heart - if it even has a heart - but that didn't work. So I blew it's head off." Braedon shrugged.
One by one everyone but Derek extracted their odd looks from Lydia and turned to Braedon.
"Why are you wondering how she killed it, Lydia?" Stiles frowned at the red-head.
"So that we can be prepared, right?" Kira looked over at Lydia in hope she got it right. Lydia sent her a nod. The kitsune was a smart girl.
"Say we do get attacked...we're going to need to know how to defend ourselves. Because clearly, if there's one of them, there's going to be more. And if this is anything like my vision, they'll bite. And they'll infect."
"So you're saying that we've got to carry around a gun with us everywhere? Can't we just rip out their throats?" Malia asked Lydia, gesturing to the wolves in the room.
"We don't know how contaminable these creatures are. You don't want to risk a single drop of whatever they have inside them on you." Lydia pointed out. "You don't exactly have to carry around a weapon, but so long as you can kill them; do whatever you must to, well, blow their heads off."
Braedon smirked at the young girl's comment.
"This is surreal." Liam mumbled.
"It may seem absolutely terrifying and crazy, but we need to be prepared." Scott spoke up. "Yes, this is out of our control, but we'll have to deal with it just like everyone else. It's out in the open. There's no magic, no curses, no wolfsbane that can help us out. It's just us against them."
Silence filled the loft as everyone slowly digested that this was it. They had no protection. Zombies were out there and the only thing that was stopping them come between them and humans was pure luck.
"Well, I'm gonna go home and start...preparing." Stiles shrugged, still unable to take it all in. "Watch some zombie movies or something."
"You're not going anywhere, you're staying here." Derek bellowed just as Stiles began to walk towards the door. He sounded just like the sheriff. "All of you will stay here until authority has been informed and people are sent out to protect the area. Stiles, call your dad. And, Scott-"
"I'm on it." Scott lifted his phone up before pressing it against his ear.
Stiles exhaled before fumbling for his phone.
..
"They've got troops coming in from the military camp to patrol the town. They're also testing everyone they come into contact with." Scott explained to the pack after ending the call with his father.
"Why aren't they evacuating everyone?" Lydia frowned, folding her arms.
"They're not going to take such extreme measures if they haven't actually seen any infected - not that they think you're lying, Braedon." Scott reassured the assassin.
"Well, what do we do in the meantime?" Malia asked.
"We wait. Until they give us the all clear." Scott shrugged. "Alerts have been sent to the local news channel, so we could-"
"No TV." Derek pointed out, gesturing to the empty loft.
"We have our phones, Hale." Stiles lifted his iPhone before flashing Derek a sarcastic smile.
Receiving a glare from Derek, Stiles sat down on the couch next to Malia and began to check the news sites for any updates.
After a couple of minutes, almost everyone's phone began to ring expectantly; their parents must have been worried.
"Mom-I'm fine, I'm fine. Yes, I know. Just please stay inside. Yes, I'm safe-I promise!" Lydia muttered into her phone.
"Hey, mom. I won't make it for dinner." Kira babbled nervously. "Yes, I'm aware worse things are happening than missing a meal."
"I'm safe, are you safe? What do you mean, Mason's there? Why is Mason there?" Liam frowned. "Well, tell him I had no signal. And also tell him to not go anywhere and just stay with you, alright?"
"Georgia, what? No, tell her to stay in Europe. She doesn't need to worry." Lydia's brows creased together as she took in what her mother was saying.
Stiles' head snapped up at the sound of Lydia mentioning her older sister. She'd spoke of her once, shocking him and Scott that she actually had a sister. She currently lived in France after travelling Europe and Lydia didn't see that much of her.
As the three teenagers continued to reassure their parents that they were safe, the others sat in silence. Stiles could see Malia was uncomfortable; she had no one to call. Her father was locked up and she'd disconnected herself from her fake dad a month back, much to Stiles' dismay. She still had trouble understanding what family and friends really meant. Of course, she loved her fake father, but she'd spent so many years as a coyote that Stiles believed she'd lost the ability to find emotional love. She didn't find it that hard to break away from her fake father.
Stiles didn't like that one bit. Malia's fake father was more of a father figure than Peter would ever be, but Malia still had a lot to learn about loyalty. But she was getting there, he could see that. Exhaling, Stiles placed a hand on his girlfriend's back and his thumb traced circles on her spine.
"When they give us an all clear, you can all go home." Derek spoke up, walking over to his large window.
"You can all take one of my guns, if that'll make you feel better." Braedon added, gesturing to the table displaying all of her weaponry.
"Um...thank you?" Liam smiled politely. "I don't think my parents would be too happy if I brought a gun home with me, though."
"Well, you've got no choice." Braedon smiled back, chucking the youngest pack member a pistol. He caught it quickly, looking down at the gun as if it was new existence.
