An hour before departure, they met again to go over the plan. They were going to attack from both ends. Fifteen guardians would go in from each side, accompanied by three half-breeds each. Ten guardians would remain at each entrance to hold back any escaping Vampires. Five novices would stay with them.
Stiles was assigned to watch the entrance on the far side. He was proud of that. Malia and his dad, unfortunately, were part of the groups actually going inside. Stiles wished desperately that he could have been with them, but he knew he was lucky to be along at all.
Their little army set out, moving at a brisk pace to cover the five miles. The group split when they reached the closest entrance to the cave. Malia and Guardian Stilinski were going in here, and as Stiles gave them one last glance, everything he felt was worry he'd never see them again.
Chris Argent and Adrian Harris were leading the group in. They stood poised at the entrance, waiting for the exact time they'd agreed upon with the other group.
The moment came, and guardians and half-breeds disappeared. Isaac Lahey was among them. He was the youngest half-breed present, and only because his power was very useful. Stiles didn't know any of the other half-breed who were there.
The rest of them stood there, lined up in a ring around the cave. They waited. There was nothing else to do. Every minute felt like an eternity. Then they heard it: the sounds of fighting. Muffled cries and grunts. A few screams. All of them tensed, bodies so rigid they nearly snapped.
A few minutes into it, they heard the sound of footsteps running toward them. Their stakes were ready. But it wasn't a Vampire who came out. It was a half-breed. She was scraped up and dirty but alive. She collapsed into the arms of the first person she could get to and cried.
A minute later, another half-breed came out. He too looked worn, and his neck showed puncture marks. Nonetheless, despite what horrors he must have faced, he was calm and joined the others in the circle.
Two more half-breeds and a novice came out. Several minutes passed, though with no one else. Stiles' shirt was drenched, soaked through with sweat.
Eventually, the guardian in charge received a message through his walkie-talkie. Most of the prisoners had gotten out, but their people were trapped. There was a stalemate.
The tension around them was so thick, they could barely breathe. No one else was coming out. No more reports were being made. The guardian glanced up and looked alarmed. Stiles followed his gaze — the sun was significantly lower.
Another message came through. The guardians were still having trouble with the retreat.
"Stephen, you go in," said the commander. He obviously wanted to go in too, but as the leader for this side, he was supposed to stay stationed here until the last possible moment. He sighed. "Stilinski, go with him."
Stiles didn't waste a moment. Following Stephen, he slipped into the cave where it was really cold. It was also dark and it smelled like sweat and blood. It was sickening. It reminded Stiles too much of Spokane.
Stephen flipped on a small light attached to his jacket. "I wish I could tell you what to do, but I don't know what we'll find," he told Stiles. "Be ready for anything."
The darkness in front of them began to fade. The sounds grew louder. Suddenly, they found themselves in a larger chamber. A fire burned in one corner — one that the Vampires had made? — that was providing the light.
Part of the wall had fallen in, creating a pile of stones. No one had been crushed under it, but it had almost entirely blocked the opening to the other side of the cave. Seven guardians — including Malia and Chris — were trapped by ten Vampires. There were bodies lying on the floor.
The problem was obvious: these Vampires needed to be taken out before the guardians could make their escape. Stephen and Stiles came up from behind but three Vampires turned toward them. Two jumped Stephen, and the other came at Stiles.
The Vampire grabbed hold of Stiles and slam him against the wall. Stiles didn't even feel it. He just kept moving, going on the offensive. He eluded his next attack, got in some blows of his own, and managed to slip down and stake the Vampire before his next hit. Then he went to help Stephen. He'd taken out one of his attackers, and between the two of them, they finished the third Vampire.
That left six.
Stephen and Stiles jerked the Vampire closest to them out of the circle and took him down. With the numbers reduced, the other guardians were having an easier time getting to the rest. They started freeing themselves from their trapped position, and their numbers alone were now an aid.
When the Vampire count was down to two, Chris yelled at them to start escaping. Their alignment in the room had changed. They were now the ones surrounding the last two Vampires.
Malia staked one of the two Vampires. One left. Stephen started to retreat. He shouted something to Chris, who yelled something back without looking at him. Chris, Malia, and two others were closing in on the last Vampire.
"Stilinski," yelled Stephen, beckoning.
Follow your orders, said the Trickster.
Stiles started to follow him and another guardian did the same. Then Chris and Malia caught up to them.
"They're dead," Chris said. "I think this is it."
Malia and Stiles exchanged brief, relieved glances, and then they were on the move. This was the long part of the tunnel, and they hurried down it, anxious to get out of there. At first, they encountered nothing, and then, at a T intersection, seven other Vampires jumped them — three on one side and four on the other. One of the guardians never saw it coming. A Vampire grabbed him and snapped his neck so quickly that it looked effortless.
Stiles doubled back, ready to get into the fray. But they were in a narrow part of the tunnel, and not all of them could get through to the Vampires. Stiles was stuck in the back. Chris caught a glimpse of him and a couple other guardians. "Start retreating!" he yelled.
None of them wanted to leave, but there wasn't much they could do. Stiles saw another guardian fall, and his heart lurched. He hadn't known him, but it didn't matter. In seconds, his dad entered the tunnel and was on the Vampire attacker, driving his stake through his heart.
Then Stiles lost sight of the fight as he rounded another corner with the three guardians with him. Farther down the corridor, he saw faint purplish light — the exit. Faces of other guardians peered in at them. They'd made it.
But where were the others? His dad? Malia? Chris?
They ran to the exit, emerging into the air. His group clustered by the opening, anxious to see what had happened. The sun, Stiles was dismayed to see, was nearly gone.
Moments later, his dad and the others came tearing down the hall. Guardian Stilinski gestured for them to retreat — everyone was supposed to go now. By the numbers, one more guardian had gone down. But they were so close. Everyone around Stiles tensed up. So close. So, so close.
But not close enough.
Three Vampires lay in wait in one of the alcoves. They let most of the guardians pass, but they attacked a few. It all happened so fast; no one could have reacted in time. One of the guardians was pulled aside and the Vampire bit his face. Stiles heard a strangled scream and saw blood everywhere.
The second guardian that was attacked, was hastily saved by Stiles' dad who jerked him away and shoved him forward toward the exit.
And the third guardian that was attacked was Malia.
In all the time Stiles had known her, he'd never seen her falter. She was always faster, always stronger than everyone else. Not this time. Something in the Vampire shocked her. The Vampire caught hold of her braid — the braid of hair she should've cut — and pulled her. Malia fell back. When her head hit the ground, the Vampire knelt, bent over and bit her neck.
Stiles heard another scream — this time, it was his own.
Guardian Stilinski started to double back toward the fallen, but then five more Vampires appeared. It was chaos. People started running everywhere. Panic took over.
Stiles couldn't see Malia anymore; he couldn't see what had happened to her. Indecision flashed over his dad's features as he tried to decide to flee or fight, and then, regret all over his face, he kept running toward them and the exit. Making the exact opposite choice, Stiles tried to run back inside. He met with his dad halfway and Noah shoved him back outside.
"You have to go, Stiles! More are coming. Sunlight is over."
Stiles fought against him. Didn't he understand? Malia was in there. Stiles had to get Malia.
Chris, dragging a guardian, started yelling others. They needed to get the half-breeds to safety. But few were listening. People ran. Screamed. Panicked.
A group of Vampires were after them, skidding to a halt just on the edge of the waning light. They were waiting for the sun to go away. Any minute now...
Stiles was still fighting his dad. Guardian Stilinski grasped a hold of his son and tugged him away. "Stiles, we have to get out of here!"
"No! She's still in there!" Stiles shouted, straining as hard as he could. "Malia's still in there! We have to go back for her! We can't leave her!"
He was rambling, hysterical, shouting at them all that they had to go rescue Malia. He could feel the Trickster growing stronger through his despair. It was getting so hard to breathe. People were banging against them. His dad shook him hard and leaned close so there were only a couple inches between them.
"There is nothing you can do. We can't go back in there. The sun will be down in fifteen minutes, and they are waiting for us. We're going to be in the dark before we can get back to the wards. We need every second we can get — it still may not be enough. Stiles!"
Stiles could see the Vampires gathered at the entrance, their red eyes gleaming with anticipation. They completely filled the opening. Ten of them. Maybe more. His dad was right. With their speed, even their fifteen-minute lead might not be enough. And yet, Stiles still couldn't take a step. He couldn't stop staring at the cave, back where Malia was, back where half of his soul was.
She couldn't be dead. If she was, then surely he would be dead too.
Suddenly another face was before him — Isaac. "Run!" he yelled, using his persuasion, his power. "She is dead! You're not going to join her!"
Stiles felt those words filling his mind. The Trickster tried to block Isaac's power, but he couldn't. The boy was too strong. Those words took over everything. They were the only things that made sense because all he could do for Malia right now was not die.
"Run!" Isaac insisted and this time his magic hit Stiles with everything..
Feeling like every step broke another piece of his heart, Stiles ran.
