Derek keeps glancing carefully back at me. Honestly, it's getting annoying. I'm not about to kill him or anything. I'm following him through the woods, with Scott, Jack, and John. In the end, there was no way to convince the two not to come.
"Scott was right when he said there was a rotten corpse smell. We're going to be facing something undead." Derek grumbles.
"Does that narrow it down much?" John asks.
"Not by much." Derek says. I grin.
"We're facing a revenant. Probably someone I've killed. Revenants are undead creatures that have come back to seek revenge on the person who killed them, often terrorizing towns until the one who wronged them are brought to justice."
"Can they be killed?" Jack asks.
"No." Derek and I say, him with his now signature grumble, and me with a grin.
"What?" John asks.
"Don't worry, I won't let that stop me." I tell them. "But really, you guys shouldn't come in. No offense, but you'll be a hinder in a fight. Neither of you are well versed in fighting the supernatural, and revenants have enhanced speed and strength. Often times they also have great affinities for magic." I try once more.
"Krystie, it's my job to protect Mac, I'm coming in." Jack scolds.
"Stiles is my son, I'm not going to just stand by and watch as he's in danger." John says at the same time. I give a sigh.
"Fine. Just don't get killed." It's my turn to grumble.
"We're almost there." Derek warns. I nod, slipping my mask on.
"Now, remember, Derek. Stay out of the fight. I'll be setting off some wolfs bane smoke grenades, and you've already had a taste of my diluted wolfs bane. You don't want to try the enhanced stuff." I warn the wolf. He grunts in response. I notice John's hand creeping towards his holster. "So, John…" I start casually. "You got wolfs bane bullets?"
"Yeah. Argent gave me them after the encounter with the Darach." His voice is tight with nerves.
"Cool. Still, you guys get Stiles and Mac, I'll see if I can't distract the revenant and any help he has."
"Fine by me. That won't stop me from taking down anything in our way, though." Jack says, checking his handgun.
"Just, be careful, alright?" I say. We come up on a line of mountain ash. "And here we are." I smile under the mask. "Let's get this party started." John bends down to break the line of mountain ash, but I catch his hand. "There are ways of rigging a line of mountain ash to give an alarm when its broken. We'll wait until we're on our way out to break it." He nods in response, both him and Jack un-holstering their weapons.
"Ready." Jack nods.
"Ready." John says.
"Let's go." I reply, sprinting forward, lighter in hand. I light the fuse on one of the grenades and drop it, before lighting another one and throwing it forward. I catch sight of a fire pit to the right. I motion for Jack to head to the left away from the main campsite. Slowing down, I soften my footsteps before slowly approaching the fire pit. Scanning the environment for traps, I keep all my sense on alert. I keep track of John and Jack's footsteps, heading off. I light another grenade and toss it down. I hear coughing, and gasping ahead of me, and I crouch down, unsheathing my sword. The slight whisper of the metal is covered by the hissing of the grenade. Crouching, I sneak forward, circling around to the right of where the coughing is coming from. Through the smoke, I make out a figure, hunched over. It's obviously the person coughing and gasping. Before the hunched over figure is two other figures, laying on the ground, tied up. One of the tied-up figures is squirming around, but the other is oddly still. I bite back a growl in my throat. I carefully creep forward, closer to the hunched figure. When I'm about five feet away, I lunge straight for them. My sword cuts cleanly through the person's neck, and the squirming figure lets out a muffled yell. As the smoke dissipates, I see that the squirming figure is Stiles, and Mac is the still one. I note the subtle rise and fall of Mac's chest, and I give a sigh of relief.
"Shhh. It's okay. It's just me, Stiles. It's just me." I say. Reaching slowly towards him so I don't startle him, I untie his gag as he calms down.
"How did you find us? Where'd the smoke come from? Where's my dad?" Stile gasps. I quickly undo the knots around his wrists and ankle.
"Undo Mac for me, will you? I'll check him over once I take a look at the headless horseman over here." I tell him. He nods, and starts undoing the knots with shaking hands. "Derek tracked your scents, the smoke is from wolfs bane smoke grenades, and your dad is with Jack, the three of us came looking for you guys." I turn around to come face-to-face with a half-rotten face. Instinctively, I duck, and not a moment too soon. His claws slice at the ends of my hair. I roll to the side, quickly popping up with my sword ready. As I do this, I finally get a good look at the abductor. Even half decayed, I can easily recognize the face. My eyes widen.
"Well, well, well. You sure enjoy beheading me, don't you, little girl?" Cameron Tamar give a lopsided grin Well, maybe it was intended to be a full grin, but half of his face was missing, showing the bone under it. His voice is gravelly, whether that is a result of the wolfs bane smoke, or degraded vocal chords, I have no idea. My heart skips a beat, and I barely register the next swipe of claws. I bring my arm up to block it, grabbing a knife with my other hand and digging it into his exposed rib cage. He lets out a loud roar, and I jump back from a retaliating punch. His eyes glow a sickly yellow. I watch as his face shifts into that of a werewolf. I give my own, very human, growl back.
'BLAM! BLAM!' Two gunshots ring out through the campsite, and Tamar's head explodes. His body falls limp once again.
"Fire! Burn his body!" I yell. Already, I can see his body reforming. Jack and John grab Tamar's legs and drag him to the fire. As they do that, I kneel by Mac. There seems to be lightning-like scars running up and down his neck and back. His vitals seem stable, he's breathing easily, and his heart is steady, but I can't hold back a growl.
"What's wrong with him? Why is he unconscious?" Jack yells.
"Letharia Vulpina: Wolf lichen. It should wear off soon, but we should get him out of this smoke. Stiles, are you okay?" I say.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Is he going to be okay?" Stiles worries.
"He just needs rest. Wolf lichen isn't going to be fatal to a two-tailed kitsune. We just need to get him somewhere safe to rest up." I say simply. Jack gathers Mac in his arms.
"We can take him to the Yukimura's. They will probably know how to treat him." Stiles suggest. I snort.
"I said somewhere safe." Too late, I realize what I said.
"What?!" Jack hisses.
"John, do you think I could burden you a bit more?" I ask, ignoring Jack.
"Yes, of course." He responds.
Jack sets Mac lightly down on the couch. I send a quick text to Riley telling her to meet us at the Stilinki's house.
"So, fire is all you need to kill a revenant?" Peter asks. Derek, had followed us to the Stilinski house, and apparently invited Peter along.
"Nope. I doubt it." I say confidently.
"What?" Derek hisses.
"Come on, sour wolf! A revenant is something that was so determined to get revenge that it resurrects itself. A little campfire isn't going to stop it." Stile chides. A groan from the couch shifts everyone's attention.
"Hey, Mac, how ya feelin, bud?" Jack asks.
"Like an elephant's sitting on my chest, and a sledge hammer is pounding my head." Mac croaks in response. "And my throat feels like sandpaper." He adds. I offer him a bottle of water. "Where'd the revenant go?"
"Er, we left him in the campfire. We're going to need to come up with a more permanent solution. Maybe a bit of fox-fire?" I suggest.
"That might work, but we should have a backup, just in case." Mac nods, before wincing.
"Well, let's think about it." I give a soft smile. The door is thrown open, and immediately, I have my sword in hand. I sigh as I see it's just Riley.
"Mac! You're alright?!" She asks.
"Nothing permanent." He nods.
"Don't worry us like that!" She yells.
"Ow, ow. Too loud." Mac groans.
"Sorry." Riley apologized.
"What did he give me?" Mac grumbles.
"Ever hear of wolf lichen?" I ask.
"Oh." He says. "I'm just gonna take a nap." He grumbles.
"Good idea." I tell him. I turn back to find Derek and Peter gone.
"They went to go tell Scott and the pack about the revenant." Stiles explains. I nod.
"Argent should probably be alerted of the situation too. He might be able to give some suggestions of what to do." I say.
"I'll call him later. Feel free to stay as long as you need." John says.
"Thank you." I look him in the eye. He gives a nod. "This is bad." I grumble, sitting down on the floor. Jack, Riley, and Stiles all find places around the room to sit.
"Hey, at least it ain't Cairo-bad." Jack says.
"I don't know about that. I've got an undead revenant hell-bent on revenge trying to hurt my friends, and no way to stop it. Not to mention, a Nemeton that's drawing all sorts of creatures here. And now I'm even more worried about my biological family." I argue.
"No. Cairo was still worse." Jack says, shuddering.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." I nod.
"Why? What happened in Cairo?" Stiles asks.
"Dude, I've been trying to find out since I joined this team." Riley warns. "You're not gonna get anything out of those three."
"Awww, come on!" Stiles complains. "It couldn't be that bad." Stiles rolls his eyes. Jack and eye share a look.
"Yes, it could." We say, in sync. I look out the window to see incredibly dark clouds on the horizon.
"Hmm. Looks like there's going to be a storm tonight." Jack says, almost reading my thoughts.
"Hopefully that will hinder Cameron's healing. If it rains hard enough, it might scatter the ashes around." I reason. "It might buy us more time."
"Thank god! Finally, some good news." Stiles says, throwing his arms up in celebration.
"Yeah, but it looks like it's going to be a thunderstorm, so there's that." I say with a shudder.
"What, are you afraid of a little lightning?" Stiles teases. Even the word sends a shudder down my spine.
"Hey, we've all got things that are off-limits in this job, that's hers." Jack defends.
"Really? Thunderstorms? I didn't know that." Riley said.
"I really don't want to think about it." I grumble.
"Maybe you should just try sleeping through it?" Stiles suggests.
"No, I tried that. Trust me, it's worse when I wake up to a thunderstorm." I answer.
"But, you didn't sleep last night." Stiles' brow furrows at the thought.
"I'm an assassin, forty-eight hours isn't exactly me being sleep deprived. More like one-hundred-sixty-eight hours to make me sleep deprived." I shrug. We chat idly, about favorite food, colors, and the like. It almost distracts me enough to prevent me from noticing the sprinkles against the window. I can almost ignore the fact that the rain gets harder, very quickly. But it's not enough to prepare me for the first flash of lightning, the first crack of thunder. I can't stop the flinch that jolts my body when the first flash of light comes through the window. I can practically feel Stiles' and Riley's stares, but Jack keeps the conversation going as if nothing was happening. I ignore their stares, and respond to Jack's random comment, trying to invest myself in the conversation that I'm obviously not paying attention to. It starts to work, my heart starts calming down, until the crack of thunder reaches my ears, making phantom pain dance across my body. I close my eyes and desperately try to fight back the flood of memories.
"Well, well, well. What did you do now, Stilinski? Did you piss off the King by speaking out of turn?" One of the guards sneers.
"No, I betcha she killed the wrong wolf." The other one suggests. I bite my tongue, by now I've learned that it'll only make things worse to explain that I'm just here because the Goblin King thinks it's been too long since I was last disciplined. Their smiles grew.
"Hmm, she seems a bit quiet, maybe we should take her to the Storm Room." Guard number one says to his buddy. My heart skips a beat, but I don't let it show.
"Sounds great. I'd love to hear her scream." Guard number two grins. I simply decide to resign myself to a hell of a lot of pain.
I splutter as they finally let my head come up out of the water. My lungs burn as I try to fill them with precious air. Guard number two grabs the back of my neck once more, I take one more breath and try to relax as much as possible.
"Remember, little girl? This is the rain. It starts off as a drizzle, but grows to a downpour that steals your breath." He says cheerfully, dunking my head under the water once more. I don't bother struggling, don't bother fighting. It won't help. Time drags on, my lungs burn and bright lights seem to dance behind my closed eyelids. I want to surface, I need air, I NEED TO BREATH! I want this to be over, but I don't want this to end at the same time. I don't want to be drowning, but it's better than what's next. But all too soon, yet not soon enough I'm surfacing yet again, gasping for air, blinking the darkness at the edges of my sight away.
"After the rain, the lightning starts coming in. Flashes of electricity, pure energy, cutting through the sky." The first guard continues gleefully. I let them drag me to the next set up, and soon they have chains on my wrists and ankles, forcing me to stand, or hold all my weight on my wrists.
"Next time, just give me some goddamn alphas." I grumble, forcing my legs to bear my weight.
"Well, you won't be acting so cheeky in a moment." Guard One jeers. I watch as the two of them work in tandem to set the wires up to the very conductive chains.
"But I'll still be thinking it." I tell him. In retaliation, he simply flips a switch. I grit my teeth as I feel the electricity arc through me. As pain lances through my whole body, seconds last for eternities, I can't bite back my scream. I'm aware of one of the guards saying something, but the meaning, doesn't cut through the pain dancing across my skin, diving through my whole being. The time stretches on, until all I am aware is the pain cutting through my consciousness, forcing my body to spasm uncontrolled. After an eternity, the pain dies away, my body still twitching. I hang limply from my bindings, I have no more strength to even attempt to stand.
"Just remember, lightning always comes before thunder." I don't even bother identifying which guard says it.
"Betcha I coulda taken three." I manage to groan. The guards freeze in confusion.
"What?"
"Alphas. I probly coulda taken three alphas." I slur. One of them snorts, and a resounding crack echoes through the room. I don't have the energy to flinch, or even cry out as the whip cuts through the skin on my back.
"To know the distance a storm is from you, you count the seconds from the flash of lightning, to the crack of thunder. You're going to count the amount of 'thunder strikes' that occur, Stilinski.
"One." I whisper. My head snaps to the side, face stinging from the open-handed slap.
"What was that, little girl?" Guard one says, crouching in front of me.
"One." I manage to get out.
"Good girl."
"Forty-nine." I croak out, forcing the shout of pain back down my throat. Blood is dripping out of the gashes on my back, arms, and legs and pooling on the floor. It makes red streaks on the floor, still damp from the rain before. I find myself focusing on the patterns my blood makes as it heads towards the drain. I can't stop the yelp of pain as another sharp stab of pain flashes through my body. "Fifty." I gasp. I'm light-headed from blood loss, and there's no place on or in my body that doesn't hurt. Whether it be the dull ache of hunger, the burning of my lungs, or the stinging of gashes exposed to air, my entire being is made up of pain right now. Suddenly, my shackles are opened and I fall, boneless, to the ground.
"Well, well, well. She actually stayed conscious to fifty this time. Think we should try for a hundred next time?" Guard One says, a wolfish smile on his face.
"Naw, we should try a hundred-fifty." Guard two sneers. Another guard, a medic, walks into the room, grabbing me by the arm and dragging me to my feet. My muscles burn as I force them to support my weight, and the medic barely supports me as we make our way to the 'infirmary'. My mentor is waiting for me, and motions for me to sit on one of the cots. I do so, and he lays a gentle hand on my shoulder, but I still can't help flinching away from it.
I grab the hand on my shoulder, twisting the owner around into a painful hold.
"Krysti, calm down, you're safe." Jack's voice comes from the body in front of me. I take a moment, to realize that I'm gasping, and I can'tbreathitfeelslikeI'mdrowningagain. I stumble backwards, releasing Jack from the hold I had him in. I close my eyes and focus on the familiar presence of my friends. I try to mimic Mac's easy breaths as he sleeps. When I finally feel like I can comfortably breath, I open my eyes to find Jack, Riley, and Stiles staring at me with concerned looks.
"Sorry, Jack." I say, looking down at my feet.
"It's my bad, I should've known better than to grab you." He shakes his head.
"You stopped your panic attack really fast." Stiles notes, bewildered. "How? How do you do it so quickly?"
"Uh, practice, mostly." I shrug. "I can't afford to let a panic attack affect me on the field, so I just force myself to copy either Mac or Jack's breathing."
"You've had panic attacks on the field?" Jack asks, surprised.
"I've gotten good at dealing with them over the years." A storm of his very own seems to pass over his face.
"Tell me next time." He says seriously, looking me in the eyes.
"I won't ever let it get in the way of the mission." I promise.
"I don't care. Just tell me when it happens, okay, Krysti?" He restates firmly.
"Fine." I relent. I haven't quite gotten my heart to calm down, so I focus on Mac's easy breathing once more. I jump as a flash of lightning brightens the room, followed almost immediately by thunder. This is going to be a long night.