Letharia Vulpina Part 2:
Bex stood besides the table as they went through the contents of the bag that he had brought. She felt a hand in hers, as Stiles pulled her away from the group as they rifled through the bag. "What's wrong?" She asked him worried. "Are you alright?"
"Nothing, I just. I missed you, Bex. Are you okay? Did you get hurt at the hospital?" He asked as he touched her cheek. There was something off about this, but she pushed it away.
"I didn't. I'm fine, thanks. Honestly, I just...want this all to be over with." She told him truthfully.
"It will be soon." He gave her a small reassuring smile. She smiled back at him. His fingers brushed over her lips. It didn't have the same comfort as before.
"We should, um, we should help them," She replied quickly as she went back to the group. Stiles watched as they looked through the stuff. Bex still wasn't completely sure that Stiles was her Stiles, but there wasn't anything they could do. She knew that Scott was as conflicted as her.
"What the hell were you doing? Building a terminator?" Aiden questioned him.
"Thank you for that." Stiles replied sarcastically.
Bex rolled her eyes at him as she looked inside of the bag, herself. She found a folded up piece of paper. "Hey, guys. This is a map." She opened it up as they leaned around to look at it. "I think that's cross country trail." She looked at the red path that was drew on it.
It led right to a familiar point. "That's the Tate car. Where Malia's family died."
Stiles shared a look at him. "You mean that's where her father put the steel-jawed traps."
Bex glanced up at him. "Coach already took everyone to the trail. Yeah, I think we should go now." She wrapped up the map, handing it over to Scott to put up as the boys threw all of the other tools inside of the bag.
They ran upstairs and out to the parking lot. As expected, many of the students for this period were gone for track. Bex climbed into the car after Stiles and Scott as the twins took off running instead to get to the trail. Stiles sped as fast as his car could go just to make it to the beginning of the trail. They got there and stopped right next to the bus, where Finstock was standing. He looked more than shocked to see them. "Stilinski….whoa?"
"Coach, listen closely." Stiles stopped in front of him.
Scott and Bex took off after the students. Bex vaguely felt the ground beneath her feet as she picked up speed. She was going so fast that the trees were basically a blur to her as she ran. She could hear Danny nearby and he was going straight towards the old Tate car. As soon as she neared Danny, she nearly ran right into Ethan who tackled Danny to the ground. She stopped a few feet from them, but hidden in the trees. "What are you doing?"
"I-I missed you." Ethan quickly thought up an excuse as he kissed him.
Bex rolled her eyes, deciding to deal with him later. She heard Stiles yelling nearby and ran to see him standing with Coach, Scott and Kira as other students neared to see what was going on. "Whoa, whoa, stop!" He said. Stiles bent down looking for something that could possibly set off a trap.
Stiles grabbed the round end of a chain and slowly started to lift it up, trying not to set off any type of trap. As he slowly lifted up the chain, he realized that there was nothing at the end. It was just a random chain. Finstock started to clap slowly. "Congratulations, Stilinski." He sneered, sarcastically. "You found a length of chain. Can somebody now please tell me what the hell is going on?"
Finstock walked towards him at the exact moment Scott realized he was walking past a trip wire. "Hey, Coach!" He yelled, but he was too late. Some kind of arrow was set off and it hit him straight in the chest.
Finstock looked down at it. 'Oh crap." He whispered as he fell on his back. Bex raced over to the coach as Scott and Stiles followed her, they were soon crowded by many of the students.
"What the hell?" Danny came up to see what was happening.
"Danny, call an ambulance." Bex looked back at him and he hurried to do just that.
The coach started to scream, realization of what happened coming to him, "Ah! Get it out of me! Get it out of me! Get it out of me!" He was moving so much that the twins had to hold him down. "Get it out of me! Oh my God! I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die!" He was absolutely hysterical. It would've been funny, if it wasn't so serious. "Get it out of me! I'm gonna die!"
Stiles was trying to keep pressure on the wound, but it was a difficult feat with him flailing about like he was. "Coach! Coach, you're not going to die!"
His eyes widened in fear. "I'm gonna die!"
"The more you move, the more it's going to hurt you, Coach." Bex told him.
"Get that thing out of me!"
"Stay still, Coach, an ambulance is coming." Aiden tried to tell him as he tried to keep him still.
"Get it out! I'm going to die!"
Scott nudged Bex and she nodded, understanding what he wanted. She turned back to Danny and Ethan who stood at the front of all of the students, wanting to see what was happening. "Get back! Get them all back. He needs some space. Get back!"
Aiden stood up on his knees. "Get back! Give him some room!"
As soon as their were no more lingering eyes near them, Scott took the Coach's hand, who had since called down. He gripped his hand and closed his eyes as he took away the extreme pain that he was in. Bex looked on worried at Scott. This was the second time he's done it in the past day. Aiden watched the Coach as Scott let his hand go. "I think he just passed out." He informed them.
Stiles pulled his hands away, now covered in the Coach's deep red blood. His hands were shaking, violently. "I-I could have killed him." He looked down at the Coach's body. "I could have killed him, r-right? I meant what if it w-was his head or his throat?"
Scott looked at his friend. "But it wasn't and he's going to be alright." He promised him.
"I can hear the ambulance coming." Bex told them looking over at Stiles. "And the police."
Stiles looked at her. "And my dad."
xxxxx
It wasn't long after that, that the ambulance showed up along with the police. Stiles' dad was with him, as expected since he was the sheriff. He was currently hugging his son as Bex and Scott looked on at the scene. Bex glanced at her friend, who was looking pale. "Hey, Scott. Are you alright?" She asked him worriedly.
He hesitated before nodding. "Yeah, fine."
She stopped him from moving. "No, you're not. You're weak. I know that...I know that you think you can help and you can, but you can't keep doing this." She motioned over to where Coach was being wheeled into the ambulance. "I can help you."
"I'm fine, Bex. I can take it. I'm an alpha, remember?" He gave her a weak smile before they heard Aiden calling them over.
"Hey, Scott, Bex. I think I found something." They walked to the back of Stiles' Jeep. Aiden handed them a roll of wrapping paper.
"This was the same wrapping paper you guys used for Coach's birthday present." Bex said as she took it from the twin.
Aiden glanced up at him. "Wasn't that William Barrow's thing? A bomb made from nails and bolts, all wrapped up in a birthday present?" He questioned.
Bex looked over at Scott. "Are you saying that you think that there's another bomb here?"
"Possibly, we can't take any chances. It looked like he's been up to something." Aiden told them as he looked down at the bag. "Where did it go off?"
Bex and Scott exchanged a look. "On a school bus." He replied.
Scott ran over to Stiles. Bex looked over at Aiden. "Here put all of that up. We can't explain anything right now and this would make Stiles look like a psycho." She and Aiden, together put all of the evidence against him in the bag and deep into the trunk of the Jeep.
"What if he is?"
"He's not a psycho. He's Stiles." Bex said firmly as she looked over at her friends. By the panicked look on the Sheriff's face who ran to put the word out, they were warning the school. "We'll figure this out and he'll be back to us permanently but in the meantime, we don't want him ending up in a nuthouse."
Aiden hesitated before nodding. "I'll do whatever I can to help."
They looked up to see Scott and Stiles coming back towards them. "The Sheriff is going over to the school now. They were supposed to be loading one of the school buses." Scott said. "We're going to follow him in the Jeep, to see if this is a real bomb."
Bex got in the car after Scott and Aiden as Stiles slipped into the driver's seat. As soon as they arrived at the school, they could tell that the word has spread already. Kids were swarmed around the bus pick up. The four made their way to the beginning of the crowd, where they saw the Sheriff's new deputy going towards the big, yellow, school bus. Stiles looked on, worried. Someone could die and it would be his own fault.
The air was tense as the deputy entered the vehicle and the Sheriff watched on with the rest of the students, hoping that someone didn't die under his command. It seemed like an hour had passed as they waited for the deputy to emerge, with bated breath, 'What's taking him so long?" Scott muttered anxiously.
Not long after his question,the sheriff got word from the deputy on his radio. The werewolves easily listened in on the conversation. "It's not a bomb, sir, but there's something in the box." He walked to the beginning of the bus and showed him something that was very familiar. It was his name on a display, that was usually in his office.
"What does that mean?" Stiles looked at Scott confused.
Bex looked over at them, she understood now. She looked back over to where the Sheriff was now hurrying to get in touch with the other deputies. "It means that the bomb is at the Sheriff's station."
xxxxx
The sun was starting to set as they made it to the Sheriff's station. Stiles' father an in first. It was clear that they were too late. The bomb had went off and not everyone had evacuated quickly enough. They ran into the building, unprepared for the scene. Furniture was demolished, paper was everywhere. injured officers were on the floor. The sight was horrific. "Get me an ambulance here at the Sheriff's station, There was an explosion. We've got multiple officers down. Multiple officers down." The Sheriff called it in as he helped his fellow law enforcement officers from the ground, those who could stand, anyways.
Bex and Scott caught sight of one particular officer, he was in bad shape. Stiles sat on the other side of him. "Scott! Scott!" Stiles called for him, his voice shaking. Bex and Scott hurried over and sat on his left side. "C-can you do something? Take his pain away? Anything to make it easier?" He asked as his friend.
Bex tensed. "Scott, no, I can do this." She tried to explain to her friend.
"No, Bex. It's fine." He was stubborn in his attempt to help.
"Scott," Scott had already taken the officer's hand, shaking. He gripped it a bit tighter and she could see his veins growing darker as the pain shifted to the alpha. He inhaled sharply feeling the injury. It seemed to be working for a moment. The man lifted up his head slightly, to look at Scott, but the wound overcame him. His head fell against the floor with his last breath.
Scott was in shock. He couldn't believe that it didn't work. He was too late. He gently put his hand back down, staring at the lifeless body. The Sheriff saw the kids, he tapped Stiles' shoulder. "Go, go now! Get out of here. All of you!" He commanded. He wouldn't let his kid get arrested or worst for this.
Bex was the first to get her bearings, with a few shaky steps, she got to her feet, hauling Stiles and Scott with her. "Hey, hey come on." She tried to get Scott from focusing on the dead man. He couldn't help him and there was no reason he should blame himself. They begun leaving through the door when they were ran into by Kira.
"The oni, they're coming." She looked between Scott and Bex.
That seemed to snap Scott back into his right mind. "Stiles' we have to get you out of here now." He said as he pulled his friend out and the two girls hurried behind them. The girls jumped into the back of the Jeep as it started to rain. Stiles got into the driver's seat and Bex looked over at Scott. He seemed weak from the day. She felt worried for him. They needed to go somewhere safe. "We need to go to the vet's."
"An animal clinic?" Kira looked at her confused.
"Yeah, she's right. That place is lined with mountain ash, just like at my house. It will buy us some time." Scott agreed.
"But they can get through?" Stiles looked over at Scott.
"Eventually."
"Nobody's got any better ideas?" They both shot him a look. He backed off. "Okay, sure. Animal clinic." He agreed. The rain seemed to pick up the closer they got towards the animal clinic. As soon as they got there, Stiles parked in the back of the building and they all hurried to get to the door. Stiles hurried to pull on the door, but it was locked. Scott turned around slowly and saw the Oni. They all turned to see his gaze as they materialize out of darkness.
"Stiles, get inside." Scott demanded as he tossed him the keys. He hurried to grab him and started working on the door.
The Oni attacked. Bex and Scott were both prepared as they blocked their hits. Scott was handling two of them, while Bex was dealing with one. He swung and she ducked, missing it by an inch. "Hey, Kira, get inside!" She vaguely heard Stiles yell at her, distracted the Oni for a moment and she swiped it's leg from underneath him. Just as he went down, she noticed Kira fighting one of them, she took the Oni by the arm and flipped it into the air and hit another one with a hard piece of wood, it landed in the puddle of rain.
Bex and Scott both stared in awe as the rain splashed against them; apparently being a kitsune comes in handy. The Oni took advantage of the beta being distracted. Bex grabbed one of the blades before it could cut into her, kicking the Oni away, but Scott wasn't as lucky. She landed a punch, in time to see another one of the Oni stab him. Bex saw him go down the same time Kira did. Kira aimed a jumping kick at the Oni, who flew into Bex's blade. She tossed him to the floor and ran towards her friend. "Scott, come on."
"Alright, get him inside, get him inside." Stiles quickly took hold of one of his arms and Kira took the other. Bex opened the door to the animal clinic as they hauled him to his feet and through the door. They got him into the open space and helped him sit on the cold metal. He was breathing heavily and glanced at Kira. Bex stood on the other side of him as Kira began to pull out the blade, but was stopped by Stiles. She gasped as he gripped her arm pulling it away. He used the leverage of her arm and hit her head against the table.
Before Bex could move, Stiles had his hand against her throat, crushing her larynx. She gripped his hand as he shoved her against the wall. "Ah, ah." He grinned a sadistic, cruel grin. "I don't think so."
He tossed her into the cabinet, glass broke all around as her head hit the floor. She could barely keep consciousness as Stiles stalked over to Scott. His finger danced across the handle of the blade. "Please, don't. Stop." Scott pleaded. He knew that his friend was gone.
Instead of showing him mercy, Stiles put a hand on his shoulder and twisted the blade into his gut. He cried out in pain, trying to stop Stiles, but he was too weak. "Does it hurt? Hey, look at me. You really should have done your reading, Scott. See, a nogitsune feeds off chaos, strife and pain." He informed him as he twisted the blade even more. "This morning, you took it from Isaac, then you took it from Coach. And then a dying deputy." He gripped his shoulder, hard, "All that pain, you took it all." He touched the side of his face. "Now, give it to me." He commanded.
Suddenly, it was just like what Scott did to everyone in pain, except that it was now being transferred over to Stiles, The veins in Scott's face turned black as Stiles absorbed all the pain. "You really have to learn, Scott. You really have to learn not to trust a fox." He grinned. It made sense. This whole day, he was here. He planned it all. Stiles wasn't really back at all. "Mhmm, you know why? Cause they're tricksters. They'll fool you, they'll fool everyone." He was taking pleasure.
"Not everyone, I'm afraid." Stiles looked up as a women injected him type of syringe. Stiles gripped her arm as he fell down to the floor, falling unconscious. Deaton came in after the women. "I think your pack needs you more than you think, Alan." He walked over to was stammering to find words. He gripped his hand around the handle and yanked it out. Scott groaned in pain trying to find his balance.
"What was that? W-was that a cure? I-is he okay?" He asked the two adults.
"The fox is poisoned, but it's not dead." Deaton said as he looked over at Stiles. "Not yet."
Scott hurried over Bex, holding his stomach as he tried to wake her up. "Hey, hey wake up. Bex, come on." He tried to gently shake her, but he had no luck.
The women walked over to them, her boots clacked against the marble floor. "Try these. They're smelling salts, they should work." She handed him a small packet of some kind of crystallized substance.
There was a slight hesitation before Scott took them. "Who are you?" He questioned as he waved it in front of Bex. It took a second and she jolted awake. "Oh, Thank God." He sounded relieved as he helped her sit up away from the broken glass.
"Scott, what happened?" She asked him before she looked around the room. Her eyes only landed on one person before Scott felt her freeze next to him. It was though her blood ran cold throughout her whole body as she stared at the women, whose gaze was unwavering as she took in the young women. Bex's heart rate picked up out of uneasiness, concern, but also rage. "Mom?"