... ... ...
19, 53, 88... it spells Kira.
What are these other numbers? Stiles asks.
20 is Ca, 73 is Ta, 3 is Li, and 11 is Na... Catalina… oh my god. Lydia whispers.
They rush to Kira's house.
They only find Scott on the ground.
Unconscious.
Scott… wake up…
Kira, they took Kira.
And Cat. Lydia tells him.
Scott groans, he calls Isaac.
Did you find anything?
No, is Cat with you?
No. Scott replies. He took her too.
Isaac drops the phone, his eyes shining yellow. He howls, his claws extending.
I can do this. Lydia whispers.
It makes me want to scream.
Scream Lydia. Stiles urges.
Lydia complies.
Cat woke up, the scream from Lydia pulling her from unconsciousness.
"Please, just let me get her some help, I'll do whatever you want."
Cat opened her eyes, and saw Kira above her, pleading with someone. Barrow, it had to be. His only response was to chuckle before he walked away.
"Cat." Kira gasped, looking down at the blonde. "How are you awake? Better yet, how are you even alive?"
"What?" She groaned, trying to sit up before she groaned in pain. Her hand went to her stomach where the knife that she had been stabbed with earlier was still in her stomach.
"What the hell, Kira? You couldn't have pulled it out?"
"I didn't want you to bleed out and die faster or something?" the black haired girl softly cried. "I don't know what he wants with us."
"Help me sit up." Cat told her grabbing her arm as Kira lifted her upper body and leaned her against the chain link fence. "Have you tried to escape?"
Kira shook her head. "I wasn't going to leave you here. You're my first almost friend here, I couldn't do that."
Cat grasped the handle of the knife, steeling herself as she grabbed it and yanked it out with a small cry of pain before she fell limply against the fence.
"I don't think you should've done that." Kira whispered.
"I'll be fine. I'm a quick healer." She held a hand over the wound as the other hand came up to feel around for the bumps that were on her head. She was concussed, she knew she was concussed and while she wanted nothing more than to throw up then pass out again, she knew she had to hold off and try to figure a way out of this. She closed her eyes, feeling for the link inside of her that connected her to the pack, she reached out for Scott and found him on his bike, a cut already healing on his head.
He was coming to save them.
She just had to keep Barrow busy until then.
"Where is he?" Cat whispered.
"I don't know." Kira replied. "I kept begging him to let me get you some help but he keeps saying that you were important, that your numbers were on the board."
"Numbers? Right." She frowned, remembering seeing Lydia and Stiles figuring out what the numbers were. They were from the periodic table of elements. They spelled out both their names. But who wrote it? And why was her name on the board? Whatever was going on with Kira, that could be why Barrow wanted her but why would he need Cat? Did he knew about her connection to the wolves? Or was he after her psychic abilities?
"What numbers?" Kira asked.
"Someone sent him after us by spelling out our names using the periodic table of elements."
Kira frowned as she thought back to her conversation with Cat earlier that day. "But you asked me about those numbers. You asked me about them, did you know he was going to come after me?"
"If I did, he never would have gotten you." Cat told her. She began to pat herself down, trying to figure out if any weapons were still on her. But everything seemed to be gone and it creeped her out to know he had touched her… a lot, in order to find all her weapons.
"But how did you know?" Kira pressed.
"I'm psychic." Cat muttered, trying to listen for Barrow.
"Seriously, Cat."
"Shh." She told the other girl as she heard the sounds of electricity crackling. "Oh hell."
"What's wrong?" Kira asked before gasping as Barrow reappeared, a rubber glove on one hand as he held a live wire full.
"What are you doing?" the girl fearfully asked her.
"Right now?" Barrow asked before kneeling down and pulling out Kira's phone. "I'm going to take your pictures. A little bit of proof of our time here together."
He took one of Kira who glared at him as he smiled gleefully before turning to Cat, whose eyes were wide open as he snapped her picture. He looked at it with a frown before taking another picture.
"What's wrong?" Cat asked. "Missing some glowing eyes?"
Barrow's eyes widened as he looked at the blonde.
"I think you got the numbers wrong." Cat said, lifting a leg and kicking him in the chest as hard as she could.
"Run." She yelled at Kira, who looked hesitant about leaving Cat there. "Go. It's not me he's after. I'll be right behind you."
Kira finally scrambled up and took off through the substation. Barrow lunged for the girl but Cat had another kick ready for him. Seeming to know what she was doing, he moved to the side so Cat was left kicking air and before she could right herself, he had grabbed her head and slammed it into the fence, making her see stars from all the hits to her head that she had taken.
When her vision had finally cleared, she realized her hands were tied to the fence but she didn't care, she knew Scott and Stiles were outside, she could hear them. If she could just distract Barrow long enough….
"Barrow." She yelled. "Who gave you those numbers?"
"Shh, shh, shh." Came Barrow's voice from the shadows. "Now is the time to galvanize."
"What are you going to do? Electrocute me? You took my picture, my death won't help your cause."
He was quiet and Cat listened hard, trying to pin point his location. She could hear Kira's heavy breathing as she hid but she couldn't figure out where Barrow was. She heard Scott enter and as he appeared and called her name, Cat caught a glimpse of movement to his left and yelled for him to look out before Barrow slashed out with his live wire and hit Scott across the chest, sending him flying. Barrow now turned back to her and stalked towards her, a maniacal grin on his face.
"Stop." Scott yelled. "It's not her you're after."
Cat struggled harder, trying to slip out of her restraints but to no avail. Barrow leaned towards her with the live wire and Cat shrank away, trying to make herself smaller.
"Stay away from my friend." Kira yelled stepping in front of Cat just as the live wire hit her.
Cat watched with wide eyes as sparks and electricity flew through the air. Barrows went flying back as he was electrocuted and Cat knew this was it, she was done for and this was how she was going out. But something amazing happened and before her eyes, a circle formed around Cat, Kira just on the outside of it, her hands held out in front of her as she began to absorb all the electricity in to her. When it was gone, they were left in darkness and Kira finally turned towards Cat, a look of fear on her face.
Cat wanted to know what that was but it was clear that Kira didn't have the slightest clue and she feared that if she said anything in regards to it, Kira would burst into tears so Cat decided to not say anything and maybe focus on something else.
"Can you untie me?" She asked quietly.
Kira, her eyes wide, nodded before kneeling down beside Cat. She could see her trying to form words but nothing came out of her mouth as she silently untied her restraints. Scott appeared beside them, helping Kira untie the other arm.
"What was-" Scott began, only to be interrupted by Cat.
"Scott, not now, okay?"
He nodded, scooping up Cat in his arms. "You need to stop getting kidnapped."
"I don't plan it." She said with a small pout.
"This happens a lot?" Kira managed to squeak out.
"Just to me." Cat said. "Are you okay Kira?"
"No." She whispered.
"Guys, are you okay?" Stiles asked, running up to them.
"Where's your bat?" Cat asked.
Stiles looked down at his hands in surprise. "How did you know I had my- of course you knew. I lost it during all the electricity, what the hell was that?"
Scott and Kira both looked at Cat, as if she had all the answers.
"Barrow screwed up something, electrocuted himself or something." She answered, leaning her head against Scott's chest with a sigh. "We need to call the cops."
"They're on their way, they should be here at any moment" Stiles informed them.
"Is Isaac on his way?" She asked, not wanting to strain herself anymore at the moment.
"I'm guessing so. I texted him when we got here and knew you were here." Scott said, carrying her outside.
She closed her eyes, her head pounding, her stomach still sore from where she had been stabbed.
"You need to stay awake." Scott told her. "You can't sleep. We'll call you an ambulance."
"No, Mom can look me over, I just- I just want Isaac." Her eyes opened in fear and shock. "No, Isaac."
"What?" Scott asked.
"Oh my god, Isaac." She screamed. "Something- something's after him. My vision, they're surrounding him. Call him, someone needs to call him."
Stiles, being the only one with his hands free, pulled out his phone and began calling him.
"He's not answering." Stiles told her.
Cat looked up at Scott. "Please, you have to go find him."
"What about you? The cops will be here any moment."
"I- I'll stand, Stiles will help me, please you need to find Isaac."
Scott nodded, passing his small friend over to Stiles, who took her with a small grunt, before getting on his bike and taking off before the cops showed up and saw him there. Cat weighed barely over 100 lbs. since she was so short and tiny in stature but Stiles was just a regular teenage boy.
"I should stand." She told him. "I don't want any medics looking me over." He nodded, putting her down on her feet, wrapping one arm around her to help her.
"No one can say anything about Scott, okay?" Cat told them as Lydia got out of Stiles jeep and joined them. "They'll want to know why he left and it will cause more problems."
"What are we going to say?" Kira asked.
"That we were kidnapped. Stiles and Lydia figured it out and came here to see if we were here. Barrow tried to kill us with electricity but it backfired and he killed himself and that's when Stiles found us. Any questions?"
Everyone shook their heads, just as siren's were heard, coming closer to them. Kira, while looking spooked, also looked relieved that Cat wasn't saying anything about what had happened in there to her friends.
All too soon, the police and paramedics had arrived, descending upon them. Sheriff Stilinski was first, checking his son over before turning to the two girls.
"Are you both alright? What happened?"
"We're fine." Cat replied, taking the lead. "Barrow kidnapped us and the idiot electrocuted himself just before Stiles got here."
"Catalina, you don't have to hide things from me anymore, is that what really happened?" the Sheriff gently asked her.
Cat hesitated. "Scott was here but Isaac's in trouble, supernatural trouble so Scott went to help him but you can't say that to his Dad."
"Where's my son?" Agent McCall snapped as he walked up to them.
"Not here." Cat replied.
"I'm supposed to believe that? My son is always where he shouldn't be."
Cat lifted an eyebrow at him, shooting him an icy stare. "I'm sorry, Agent but I'm pretty sure Kira and I were just kidnapped and we're dealing with that, not the whereabouts of your son who is probably out with Isaac and has no clue what's going on."
"Then why is Stilinski and his girlfriend here?" He asked with a scowl.
"For the record, Lydia isn't my girlfriend." Stiles replied, his head popping up beside Cat's.
"As she damn well shouldn't be." Lennox replied, appearing beside Scott's dad.
Cat kept quiet, trying to supress a smile, even as a hand went to her stomach and she staggered sideways into Stiles, his grip tightening around her waist as her eyes fluttered and she let out a small moan.
"Cat?" Stiles questioned.
"That man threatened and stabbed me with his knife and now, instead of helping me, I'm being accosted by a fed. Sheriff, can you please get a paramedic for me? Then maybe the number of a superior so I can phone in a complaint against Mr. McCall?"
Cat could see the Sheriff gravely nodding before turning away and chuckling ever so quietly that Cat could only pick up on it with her advanced hearing.
"There's no need for that." Scott's Dad replied. "We'll get you the help you need then you're all coming to the station with me."
"Wow." Cat sneered. "One would think we're the ones who committed the crime. Need I remind you, that we were the ones kidnapped?"
"Oh I remember and somehow, all the weird stuff that goes on in this town always leads back to my son and his group of friends."
"You caught me. I helped Barrow escape from the hospital, then helped him kidnap me and Kira, then stabbed myself with a knife before electrocuting him. Wow, that's a lot of work for a mere high school student, wouldn't you agree Stiles?"
"Don't play dumb with me Danvers. I know how intelligent you really are, I've seen your files."
"Wait, you actually think I could pull this off?" Cat asked in disbelief.
"I think you have reasons for hating me and would do anything to get rid of me." Agent McCall replied.
Cat's jaw dropped as she stepped closer to him. "This has nothing to do with you. This is so much more bigger than you, so really, fuck off."
He grabbed her arm and started pulling her roughly towards his car. Cat dug her heels in and began to cry in pain.
"Stop, you're hurting me. I'm pretty sure I'm concussed too."
"Sir, you need to let her go, she's injured." A paramedic informed the agent, hovering near Cat.
"This isn't over." McCall hissed.
Cat yanked her hand away with a glare. "I think it is, Mr. McCall."
"What do you have against me?"
"You think I don't know why you're here? You think I don't know what you've done, what you plan to do? Scott and Stiles are my family."
"Scott is my son."
"You were a sperm donor, he wants nothing to do with you."
He opened his mouth to speak again but stopped as Cat laid a hand on his bare arm and he was left feeling the pain of what he had done. But how? How could it have been intensified so much? He looked down at the tiny girl in front of him and for a moment he could've sworn her eyes were different. They flashed white before she quickly closed them and stepped away.
The paramedic reached forward and grabbed her, slowly leading her to the back of an ambulance to check her over. Cat could only suppress a smile, happy to make him feel exactly what he should be feeling, with just a little bit extra from her.
… … …
"Mr. McCall is kind of a douche." Lennox said as she appeared on the edge of the desk inside of his office, facing Cat, Kira and Stiles on the couch. Lydia in a chair next to them.
"I know." Cat replied.
"Know what?" Kira asked, startled as she looked at her in surprise.
"You should've just put all you had in to him, made him cry like a little baby." The now blue haired deceased teen said.
"That would've been a little obvious."
"Are you all stitched up?"
Cat shrugged. "In a manner of speaking. It started healing, so they determined it wasn't that deep. They think I might be concussed and just told me to stay awake."
"Catalina, who are you speaking with?" The Sheriff asked, sitting behind the desk as they waited for Scott's Dad to return to the room.
"Lennox." She replied.
"Lennox?" He asked, glancing at his son, who had turned to Cat with wide eyes.
"She's here? What's she saying?"
"The usual… showing love for Agent McDouche."
"I miss him." Lennox suddenly announced, getting off the couch and kneeling in front of Stiles. "He was the first boy to ever show any interest. He was pretty amazing."
"He still is." Cat said with a small smile, following the girls movements.
"She's in front of me?" Stiles asked, tears in his eyes as he blindly looked ahead.
Cat nodded.
"What's going on?" Kira asked. "I mean, are you talking to a ghost or something? You told me she was dead."
"Yes." Cat simply replied.
"Whoa." Kira breathed. "Tonight just keeps getting weirder."
"Wait, you can talk to dead people?" The Sheriff asked. "That wasn't part of the chessboard right?"
"No, it's more recent." She turned back to Lennox and Stiles. With everyone just finding out about her new abilities and with everything going on, Stiles never really got to speak to Lennox through her and while it probably wasn't the ideal time, she didn't know know if there would be an ideal time in the next little while.
"You can speak to her." She softly told Stiles. "She can hear you."
A tear fell down Stiles cheek and Lennox reached over as if to wipe it off. She couldn't touch him but his eyes closed and he leaned towards where her hand hovered as though he could feel it and perhaps he could feel the coolness there.
"Lennox, I miss you so much." Stiles whispered.
"I miss you too." She replied, looking over at Cat who translated for her.
"She says she's worried about you." Cat continued, repeating Lennox's words. "Not a day goes by that she doesn't visit you and she's worried about your lack of sleep. She says you need to sleep more."
He gave a small smile. "Then the nightmares happen."
"She wishes she could take them away." Cat whispered. "She wishes-"
The door opened and Mr. McCall walked back in, a small notepad in his hands, the ever present scowl on his face whenever he had to deal with Cat.
"I'm leaving before my comments get you in trouble." Lennox announced before disappearing.
"Okay, let me get this straight. Barrow was hiding in the chemistry closet at the school. Someone left him a coded message on the blackboard telling him to kill Kira and Catalina. The Barrow stabbed and kidnapped Catalina, than Kira and took them to a power substation with the intent of electrocuting them which blacked out the entire town?" He asked, looking at all the teens.
"Sounds about right." Stiles said.
"How'd you know he'd take them to a power station?" McCall asked, turning his scrutiny on Stiles.
The boy responded with a scratch of his head. "Well he was an electrical engineer, so where else would he take them?"
The agent rolled his eyes. "That's one hell of a deduction there Stiles."
"eh, what can I say, I take after my Pops, he's in law enforcement." Stiles replied with a wink.
Cat let out a small giggle, holding her stomach as she did from the pain. "Watch the winking Stilinski, it's kind of hot."
"I could continue with it?" Stile suggested, picking up on the lightened mood.
Stiles' Dad let out a small snort which he turned into a cough as soon as McCall turned around to glare at him.
"Stiles, just answer the question." His Dad told him.
Stiles sighed "We made a good guess."
"And what were you two doing?" McCall asked the captured girls.
Cat sent him a look that said she clearly thought he was an idiot. "Oh, gee, I don't know, being kidnapped, being stabbed, being knocked on the head? My answer still hasn't changed."
"And why is it you took the brunt of all this and Kira was left unscathed?"
"Because he got me first, I put up a fight." Cat replied in a bored voice. "Kira said she was cooperative after she learned he kidnapped me, which I must say, was very smart of her."
"Do you believe this?" McCall asked the Sheriff.
"To be honest, I haven't believed a word Stiles has said since he learned how to speak. But I think these kids found themselves in the right place at the right time and these two girls are very lucky for it."
"Kira, is that how you remember it?" The agent asked the girl who appeared to be an outsider, not a part of his son's group of miscreant friends.
Everyone turned to look at the pretty girl who nodded. "Yes, it is. Can I get my phone back now?"
"Sorry but no, It's evidence." He picked up her phone which was in a plastic evidence bag as he motioned them to stand up and led them into the hallway.
"Kira, the deputy is going to take you home but first we need you to fill out some paperwork."
Kira looked at the officer taking her phone away before looking back at Cat who gave a small, imperceptible nod before she let herself be led away. Agent McCall turned to Cat, opening his mouth to speak when the door to the station opened and Scott and Isaac walked in. Her eyes widened in relief as she ran forward and jumped at her boyfriend, ignoring the pain and trying to stop herself from crying as Scott's Dad was right behind her.
"You're okay." She whispered, only for his ears.
"Me? What about you?" He murmured, holding her close. "Scott said you were taken and I freaked out, I almost lost it."
"How did Scott know?" Scott's Dad immediately asked.
Scott scowled at him Dad. "Stiles called me, what do you think? God, Dad, just back off ok? Don't you think Cat's been through enough?"
"Actually I think Cat and all of your friends are lying."
"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Scott hissed, grabbing his Dad's arm and leading him down the hall.
"Are you really okay?" Isaac murmured, grabbing her face between his hands as he looked her over.
"I was stabbed, knocked on the head a few times but I'm okay. What the hell happened to you? Something attacked you."
"I don't know what it was. They came out of the shadows. Scott found me and said I was freezing and going into shock. So he triggered the healing."
She winced at that, knowing exactly how they triggered healing in werewolves.
"I'm more worried about you. I shouldn't have left you at the school to go see Allison, this is all my fault."
Her eyes grew cloudy as she picked something up from him. Allison leaning into him, their lips almost touching, when her father burst into the room.
"What is it, what's wrong?" Isaac asked, looking slightly panicked.
"Nothing." She lied, stepping back.
"Cat, seriously, what is it?"
"My head hurts." She muttered. "I want to go home."
"Can you tell who attacked me?"
"They were the shadows from my vision." She replied. "The car's still at the school. Can you go get it?"
"How are you getting home?"
She shrugged. "Scott or Stiles."
"Get Stiles too, it's safer in his jeep." He looked at her but she pretended to be rubbing at her sore head as he leaned down to kiss her forehead before leaving the station.
Scott appeared moments later, looking to where Isaac had left before turning to Cat with a look of confusion on his face.
"How did you get him to leave your side? He was freaking out the whole way here."
Cat bit her lip. "I needed the car."
"That wouldn't make him leave."
"Scott?" She quietly said.
He gave her a questioning look.
"Can I have a ride home?"
"Cat? What is it?"
She didn't know how to tell him just how close Isaac and Allison were getting. How, even though she denied it ever happening because he loved her, it still was. If she told Scott, chances were he would seriously maim Isaac but really, this was Karma, wasn't it? For falling for Scott when he was with Allison? She should've known this would happen. She was losing Isaac.
And she didn't think there was anything she could do about it.
… … …