Motel California:
"I've seen worse." Scott lied unconvincingly as he glanced around the dark parking lot with a grimace on his lips and I snorted derisively as I looked around at the sketchy Motel Glen Capri.
"Where have you seen worse?" Stiles asked my brother incredulously as he turned his head to stare at him with wide eyes and I quirked an eyebrow in thought as a small smirk pulled at my lips.
"I'm guessing a horror movie." I answered drily as I suppressed a shudder at the thought of whoever would willingly stay at this crappy motel and Stiles grunted in agreement as he nodded his head jerkily.
"Listen up. The meet's been pushed till tomorrow. This is the closest motel with the most vacancies and least amount of good judgment when it comes to accepting a bunch of degenerates like yourselves. You'll be pairing up. Choose wisely. And I'll have no sexual perversions perpetrated by you little deviants. Got that? Keep your dirty little hands to your dirty little selves!" Coach shouted loudly as he pushed his way to the front of the crowd and I had cringed as his blew the whistle hanging around his neck sharply. I scowled at the man as he started handing out keys to the rooms to people and I gave my brother a kiss on the cheek as I strolled passed him towards Allison and Lydia because I was going to be sharing a room with them for the night. I placed my hands in the pockets at the back of my jeans as I approached my friends with a smile and everyone else started heading towards the motel.
"Hey, girls." I greeted them brightly as I came to a stop next to them and Allison flashed me a smile as Lydia stared blankly at the building in front of her. "I guess we're going to be sharing a room. Anyone want to skip to the college experimentation in lesbianism?"
"You keep your hands to yourself, pervert." Allison scolded me playfully as she giggled with a blush on her cheeks and I laughed with her as I linked my arm through hers with a wink in her direction. I pressed a lingering kiss to her cheek as she scrunched up her nose jokingly and we looked over at our strawberry blonde friend in surprise that she hadn't said anything. "Lydia?"
"I don't like this place." Lydia murmured softly as she stared wide-eyed at the building and I frowned at her in concern as I slowly untangled my arm from Allison's.
"I don't think the people who own this place like this place. It's just for a night."
"A lot can happen in one night."
"Come on. I've anything does happen, the big bad wolf, aka me, will protect you. I promise." I told her reassuringly with a smile as I slid my hand into hers and she turned her head to look at me with a slightly anxious glint in her eyes. I squeezed her hand encouragingly as I started pulling her towards the motel and I smiled over at Allison as she grabbed my other hand when we passed her.
"Sophie!" I heard Lydia call out from behind me as I crossed the darkened car park walking back from visiting Scott and Stiles room and I spun around to face her in surprise as she hurried up to me with a panicked look on her face.
"Lyd, are you okay?" I asked her in concern as she came to a stop next to me and I placed a calming hand on her arm as she glanced around the car park nervously. "You look kind of freaked out."
"This place creeps me out." She murmured quietly as she linked her arm through mine and I frowned at the honest fear in her voice as we started walking across the car park. I didn't know what to say that would comfort her so I just squeezed her arm gently in silent reassurance and she offered me a small grateful smile in return. "So, uh, what are you doing out here?"
"Oh, I was going to find Isaac. I wanted to borrow a t-shirt to sleep in. Since Allison practically dragged me out of the house this morning, I don't have anything to wear."
"Why didn't you just grab one from Scott or Stiles?" she asked me in honest confusion as she tilted her head to the side and I chuckled drily as I shook my head with a grimace.
"It's just kind of creepy to sleep in one of my brother's shirts." I said to her with a shrug of my shoulder and she hummed in agreement as she nodded her head. "What are you doing?"
"Going to the front office to get new towels because even though the card on the dresser says we have a non-smoking room, somehow all of our towels reek of nicotine."
"Gross. Leave you to it then. I'll see you back up in our room soon, okay?" I asked her with a worried frown as we stopped under the flickering fluorescent light outside the front office of the motel and Lydia took a deep shuddering breath as she pulled to gaze away from the door to smile at me weakly.
"I hope they at least have comment cards. They are not gonna make the top of anyone's list when it comes to customer satisfaction." Lydia said sharply while I gave her arm another gently squeeze as I started to back away with a small smile and she nodded at me thankfully as she opened the sliding door to the office. A chill ran up my spine as I started walking across the parking lot and I shivered as I wrapped my arms around myself in an effort to stay warm. The only noises I could hear in the vicinity was the vague sound of crickets chirping in the distance and the almost robotic hum of the flickering overhead fluorescent street light.
"Okay, this is getting way too Psycho for me." I whispered to myself in a strained voice as I looked around the empty car park and fastened my pace towards the other side of the motel where Isaac and Boyd were staying.
Useless…
Pathetic…
Can't win…
I froze in the middle of the car park with a frown on my lips as I looked around for the source of the voice and clenched my hands into fists at my side as I felt my blood run cold. A shiver ran through my body as I spun around wildly in the same spot and glanced around frantic as I tried to see if I wasn't as alone as I thought I was.
"Sophie!" Scott's loud yelling voice echoed throughout the car park as I reached up to grip my hair with one hand and I spun around in surprise to see my brother running towards me with panic covering his face. I stared at him in confusion as he rushed at me as fast as he could and I heard a faint whistling sound getting closer as his dark brown eyes narrowed in determination. I let out a strangled cry in shock as he pushed me to the side and I landed on the hard asphalted ground with a small grunt of pain. I looked over my shoulder at Scott with a frown as pushed myself into sitting position and my eyes widened in terror when I saw my brother lying unmoving on the ground where I had once been standing.
"No!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as I rushed towards my brother's side and I fell roughly to my knees next to him as I gaped at the blood seeping onto his shirt. My hand hovered uselessly over his torso as I blinked away the tears that had filled my eyes and Scott's face paled drastically as he coughed weakly while fighting to keep his eyes open. I shook my head at him rapidly as I pressed my hands down on the wound to try to stop the bleeding and I felt my heart racing with panic as I whimpered slightly. "No, no, no. Please, Scott." I begged feebly as tears streamed down my cheeks shamelessly and my hands trembled as I applied pressure to injury on his abdomen.
"So..Soph…" Scott uttered faintly under his breath as his head lolled to the side on the asphalt and his dark brown eyes slowly opened slightly as he tried to reach out to me. I let out a small sob at the sound of my name coming from his lips as I squeezed my eyes shut for a second and took a deep shuddering breath as I opened them again with a determined purse of my lips.
"No. No, you don't get to die on me. You're not allowed to. I need you. I need my brother. Please." I murmured quietly to him as I watched the dark red liquid seep through my fingers and Scott's eyes fluttered closed as he took a shuddering breath that wracked his chest before it stilled completely. My eyes went wide in shock as I felt my veins turn to ice in panic and I listened intently to the sound of his beating heart but I couldn't hear the rhythmic pattering. "No, no, no, no." I repeated over and over again to myself as I started compressions on my brother's chest and I tilted his chin backwards before starting mouth-to-mouth resuscitation in an effort to delivers oxygen and artificial blood circulation. "Come on! Come on, Scott! Come on!"
Because of you….
You did this…
He's dead because of you…
I leaned my head down onto my brother's chest as I sobbed unashamedly into his shirt and I grasped the material in my fist as I ignored the blood oozing onto me from his wound. I lifted my head slowly as I wiped the tears away from my cheeks and everything went blurry except for Scott's handsome face as I tried to form words of some sort but couldn't even get my mouth to open. I felt my lower lip tremble as I reached up to brush his sweat drenched hair off of his forehead and I noticed with a frown that my hands were covered with dark red blood. I let out a strangled sob as I closed my eyes tightly and shook my head rapidly from side to side in denial.
Should've been you…
He's gone…
You did this…
I took a deep breath to stop myself from crying as I wiped my cheeks roughly with my hands and I counted to ten in my head silently as I swallowed down the lump in my throat. I fisted one hand in my hair as I reluctantly opened my eyes and let out strangled cry of panic when I saw that Scott's body had disappeared from the pavement. I looked away wildly for any sign of my brother but the parking lot was just as empty as it had always been and I slowly stood up from my knelt position on the asphalt. I frowned in confusion as I lifted my hand up in front of me and I blinked rapidly when I saw that it was clean of the blood that had been there previously.
"I'm going insane." I muttered to myself quietly as I cradled my hand to my chest and I glanced around to make sure that no one had witnessed my panic attack. I shook my head to clear the vision of Scott's lifeless face from my mind and I licked my lip nervously as I started rushing back across the parking in the direction I had come from because I didn't want to be on my own.
Better off without you…
Gone…
Because of you…
The door to the front office was slightly open under the flickering fluorescent light fixture as I approached quickly and I slowly pulled open the door as I snuck into the room. I saw no one behind the glass window at the desk as I walked further into the room and I frowned uneasily as I stopped the window with my arms resting on the desk.
"Hello?" I called out anxiously as I bit my lower lip in between my teeth and I waited a minute in silence as I leaned forward to try to see on the other side of the glass but it looked empty. I sighed heavily as I glanced around the room in annoyance and I frowned when I noticed a series of numbers framed on the motel office wall. "201. I wonder what that means."
Blood on your hands…
Thump. Thump. Thump…
Should've been you…
"Is anyone in there?" I asked loudly in irritation as I hit my hand down on the counter to try to get the attention of someone behind the window. I groaned in annoyance as I walked around the side of the counter to the open door to lead inside the office and I knocked on the wooden door as I peeked around the corner. When no one answered my knocking, I pushed the door open the rest of the way and slowly walked into the office to look for the linen closet so that I could get clean towels for our room. I pursed my lip together in frustration as I looked around the room with my eyebrow quirked and I frowned when I saw the familiar shape of a gun sitting on top of a table to the side of the room.
Better off…
Gone because of you…
Thump. Thump. Thump.
My gaze stayed locked on the metal pistol as I slowly walked over to stand next to the table and I could feel my heart rate quicken as I reached out to curl my hand around the gun. It was cold in my hand but something about holding it felt right to me and I closed my eyes as my hand tightened around the gun.
Pathetic…
Weak…
Helpless…
I felt the cold metal press against my temple as I held the gun to my own head and I was absolutely positive that what I was doing what was best for everyone. Without me to worry about, Scott could concentrate on protecting the other and himself more than he could now. I knew that I was just in the way and if I stayed where I was, someone other than Derek would die because of me. I didn't think I could live with myself if someone I loved died because of me or for me. Scott. My mom. Stiles. Lydia. Isaac. Allison. I needed to protect them. I needed to get out of the way.
Powerless…
Vulnerable…
Better off…
"Sophie!" a mixture of familiar voices echoed in my head as I started to squeeze the trigger and my eyes snapped up in surprise as I slowly turned around to face them with a blank expression. Allison, Lydia and Stiles stared at me with eyes wide in horror from the doorway and I blinked at them once as I felt tears build in my eyes.
"Sophie, what are you doing?" Lydia asked me in a small voice full of fright as she stepped slowly into the room with her hand half raised as though she could stop me. Stiles put one arm out to stop her from coming any further into the room without taking his fearful eyes off of me and Allison covered her mouth with her hand as she blinked away tears.
"I'm doing what needs to be done." I answered her emotionlessly as I stared at a spot over her shoulder at the wall and she made a whimpering sound in the back of her throat as she shook her head rapidly.
"What are you talking about, Soph?" Stiles asked me in concern as he slowly pushed Lydia behind him and Allie grasped onto the strawberry blonde's arm to stop her from moving forward with him.
"I need to save you."
"Save us? Save us from what?" he asked me slowly in confusion as he took a small step closer to me and I snapped my gaze down to meet his concerned light brown eyes.
"From me! I have to save you from me!" I cried out desperately as my eyes filled with tears and the hand holding the gun shook slightly as I curled my other one into a fist at my side. Lydia and Allison both gasped slightly at my declaration as they clutched each other and I clenched my jaw shut tightly as a single tear rolled down my cheek. "Don't you get it? I don't matter. But the rest of you do. With me out of the way, the rest of you have more protection. People are dying, and things are only going to get worse. The kanima, the Alpha pack, the Darach, and who knows what else is out there waiting! one life for the good of the many."
"Of course you matter!" Allison said wholeheartedly as she took a step forward with tears running down her cheeks and Lydia nodded in agreement as sniffed slightly with a frown. "We need you, Sophie. I need you."
"You're my best friend, Sophie." Lydia declared in a strong voice as she lifted her chin with determination and stepped forward pass Stiles' restraining arm with a resolute glint in her green eyes. "I need you. Please, don't do this. I don't want to be the one who has to tell Scott, or your mother, or Jackson, or even Aiden that you're not here anymore. Please don't make me be the person that takes you away from them."
"Aiden?" Stiles whispered to Allison in shock as he turned his head to look at the huntress but I kept my gaze locked on Lydia as she stepped forward and I frowned at her as I thought back over her words.
They don't need you…
Better off without you…
Should've been you…
"They're better off without me. Everyone is better off without me. I'm only in the way. I'm going to get someone killed. I'm useless. I'm just in the way." I muttered softly under my breath as I shook my head slightly with silently tears running down my cheeks and I ignored the gentle sobs coming from my friends as I closed my eyes serenely.
"Now!" Stiles shouted loudly as I started to squeeze the trigger and suddenly, I was being propelled backwards by an unknown force. I let out a small surprised grunt as I dropped the gun on the ground at my feet and I threw my hands out behind me to stop my fall as my eyes sprung open. My hand landed open palmed on the gas heater that was built into the wall and I cried out in pain as my skin immediately started to blister.
"Ah! What the hell?" I shouted out in pain as I quickly removed my hand from the top of the heater and I blinked away the fog that had clouded my vision as I turned my head around. I frowned in concern when I saw Lydia, Stiles and Allison all watching me with varying degrees of anxiety and tears running down their cheeks. "What the hell just happened?"
"Oh, thank god!" Stiles exclaimed in relief as I stood up from crouching in the front of the heater and he rushed forward to throw his arm around me as I stumbled in surprise by the outburst of affection. I hesitantly wrapped my arms around him with a concerned frown on my lips as he pressed a kiss to the side of my head and I quirked an eyebrow at him in question as he pulled back with a goofy grin on his face.
"Okay, what…." I started to ask as he stepped back but I was immediately attacked in an embrace by both Lydia and Allison as they squished me tightly in between them. I opened my mouth ask them what the hell they were doing but decided against it and just wrapped my arms around them awkwardly as they mumbled words under their breath that I could pick up even with my werewolf advanced hearing.
Stiles and Lydia explained to me what had happened to me and all the other werewolves as we searched for Scott because they had yet to find him and Allison went off on her own to look for him. I was even more confused by what was happening by the end of their explanation and I was desperate to find my brother before he could succeed with what all the werewolves were trying to do.
"I can't find Scott anywhere." Allison announced frantically as she met up with us at the top of the stairs and I looked over my shoulder at her with a frown as we continued down to the ground level.
"It's happening to him too, isn't it?" Stiles asked knowingly as he grabbed my hand in his for silent comfort but I wasn't sure if it was for me or me at this point.
"It has to be. Didn't you say there was another flare on the bus?" Lydia asked him hopefully as she raised an eyebrow and Stiles nodded in acknowledgement to her question as we came to the bottom of the staircase. We turned around to face the direction of the bus so that we could get the other flare and I froze when I saw Scott standing there in the middle of the car park with a lit flare in his hand facing away from us.
"Scott... " I breathed out in relief as small smile pulled a the corners of my lips and I dragged Stiles forward by the hand as I approached my brother slowly. Allie and Lydia followed behind us as we walked around to face him and I caught the moonlight glisten off something on the ground. I looked down at the asphalt as saw liquid spilled all around Scott's feet and I frowned in concern when I noticed the empty gasoline bottle lying in the middle of the puddle. I squeezed Stiles hand gently as I followed the line of gasoline up to my brother and I saw that he was dripping wet with what I assumed to be the gasoline.
"There's no hope." Scott said firmly with his voice filled with so much sorrow that it physically hurt me to hear coming from my twins' mouth and I licked my lip nervously as I stepped forward slightly away from the others.
"What do you mean, Scott? There's always hope."
"Not for me. Not for Derek."
"Derek wasn't your fault. You know Derek wasn't your fault." Allison assured him softly as her voice cracked with distress and I glanced over my shoulder at her as Lydia grabbed her hand in silent reassurance that she wasn't alone.
"Every time I try to fight back, it just gets worse. People keep getting hurt. People keep getting killed."
"Scott, listen to me, okay? This isn't you, all right? This is someone inside your head telling you to do this. Okay? Now..." Stiles told him gently as he stepped forward to stand next to me with his hand slightly raised in front of him and I nodded in agreement as I looked back at Scott with tears in my eyes.
"What if it isn't? What if it is just me? What if doing this is actually the best thing that I could do for everyone else? It all started that night, the night I got bitten. You remember the way it was before that? You and me, we were... we were... we were nothing. We weren't popular. We weren't good at lacrosse. We weren't important. We were no one. Maybe I should just be no one again. No one at all." Scott said resolutely as he whimpered slightly throughout his entire speech and he raised his hand holding the flare higher as Stiles grabbed my arm tightly.
"Stop it. Please, Scott. Scott, just listen to me, okay? You're not no one. Okay? You're everything to me. Earlier tonight I had to go through my worst nightmare. My biggest fear. Do you know what it was?" I asked him rhetorically as my voice cracked with emotional pain and I roughly wiped away a few of the tears that had fallen form my eyes without breaking eye contact with my brother. "My biggest fear was losing you. Scott, I love you. I can't do this without you. Please, don't make me. I need you my brother. I need my twin."
"You're someone, you're... Scott, you're my best friend. Okay? And I need you. Scott, you're my brother. All right, so... so if you're gonna do this, then... I think you're just gonna have to take me with you. All right?" Stiles declared softly in a firm tone with his voice shaking as he held out his hand for me to take and I swallowed down my fear as I placed my hand in his blindly. Together, Stiles and I silently walked forward until we were standing in the middle of the gasoline puddle in front of our brother. Stiles wrapped his hand around the lit road flare as Scott loosened his hold on it and I took Scott's free hand in mine as Stiles tossed the flare over his shoulder.
"No!" Lydia screamed at the top of her lungs from behind us and I spun my head around in shock at the same time that she launched herself at us. The lit flare rolled into the gasoline as we dived out of the way and we landed on the hard ground just outside of the puddle. Someone grabbed my hand as we scrambled to get out of the way and I didn't have to be told twice to move as the flame went higher.
"I think we should sleep on the bus tonight." I murmured quietly as we all slowly stood up from our sprawled position on the ground and everyone made noises of agreement as we watched the fire slowly burn out.
The sound of the doors of the bus opening followed by the stomping of feet woke me up from a restless sleep and I blinked my eyes open tiredly as I pushed myself into sitting position on one of the crappy bus seats.
"I don't want to know. I really don't want to know, but in case you missed the announcement, the meet's cancelled, so we're heading home. Pack it in. Pack it in!" Coach yelled loudly as I stretched my arms over my head with a yawn and I rolled my eyes at him as a smirk played at the corner of my mouth. Ethan nodded at me subtly as he passed by my seat and I quirked an eyebrow in surprise that he was even acknowledging me because had only interacted once the day before. I turned my head to the side as I watched Ethan sit down on to bench seat next to Scott and I immediately went into protective mode as I listened intently to their conversation from where I was.
"I don't know what happened last night, but I'm pretty sure you saved my life." Ethan said quietly so that no human would over hear them talking and I crossed my arms over my chest as I tilted my head to the side to listen better.
"Actually, I saved your life, but not that it matters that much. It's just... it's minor detail." Stiles corrected him instantly with a small amount of offence in his voice and I ducked my head to hide an amused smirk.
"So I'm gonna give you something. We're pretty sure Derek's still alive. But he killed one of ours. That means one of two things can happen. Either he joins our pack..."
"…and kills his own." Scott finished for him with a small sigh at the end and I tensed anxiously because even though Scott and I weren't technically part of Derek's pack we would still be included in the threat.
"Or Kali goes after him, and we kill him. That's the way it works." Ethan concluded firmly as though it was totally normal behaviour and he started to stand but stopped when Stiles started talking.
"You know, your little code of ethics there is sort of barbaric, just F.Y.I." Stiles said pointedly as Ethan rolled his eyes at the human and stood up before strolling down the middle of the bus towards where Danny was sitting.
"Coach, can I see your whistle for a second?" Lydia asked in rush as she stood up from her seat and I turned my head with a frown to see her practically ripping the whistle from around coach's neck. Coach stared at her blankly for a second before rolling his eyes and mumbling something under his breath as he walked away. Lydia frowned deeply as she stared down at the whistle in her hand and waked over to seat down in the seat across from Scott and Stiles. I walked in confusion as she cupped her hand around the end of it and then blew into it as a purple powder came out. I sat up in my seat in surprise as the familiar scent reached me and I swore to myself for not realising it sooner. "Wolfsbane."
"So every time the coach blew the whistle on the bus, Scott, Isaac, Boyd... " Stiles trailed off knowingly as he stared at the purple plant powder in Lydia's hand and she nodded in agreement as she wiped it onto her seat.
"…and Ethan."
"And me when I got on the bus. We all inhaled it." I added helpfully with a spiteful glanced at the whistle in her hand and I sighed heavily as I turned my body so that my back was against the window. "We were all poisoned by it"
"So that's how the Darach got in their heads. That's how he did it." Stiles murmured quietly to himself as he gaped for a second unsurely and then quickly grabbed the whistle out of Lydia's hand. I quirked an eyebrow at him as he knelt up on the seat and opened the small window before tossing the whistle out onto the ground.
"Hey, hey, hey, hey! Stilinski!" Coach yelled angrily as he watched the whistle vanish out the window and I chuckled softly as my cell phone vibrated in my pocket.
Unknown: Have you found out the truth yet? –A
Me: I've been a little busy. I'm sure you heard. –S
Unknown: I did. Are you okay? –A
Me: I'll live. Are you okay? I heard what happened. –S
Unknown: I'll live. –A
Me: You really need to find your own lines. –S
Unknown: But yours are so good. –A
Me: Yes, my wit is one of my best features. –S
Unknown: Oh? Are we playing that game now? Because I have a few things add to that list. –A
Me: Maybe later. I'm much better at physical games. –S
Unknown: I look forward to it. –A
Unknown: You're going to have to tell Scott about what happened at some point. –A
Me: Not until I know the truth. –S
I slid my phone back into my pocket with a sigh as I leaned my head back against the window and I risked a glanced at my twin brother as he laughed at something Stiles had said. I didn't want to disrupt his life any more than it was already but something's have a way of sneaking up on you when you least expect it.