The Sword and the Spirit:
My footsteps echoed loudly on the tiled floor as I rushed through the hospital almost blindly; the number of times I had been there to visit my mom at work, visiting one of the patients or investigating for one of our cases made it easy for me to navigate the maze of hallways. People moved out of my way when they saw me coming, maybe it was because of the terrified expression on my face or urgency in my pace but it was working in my favour.
Rushing through the hospital so early in the morning wasn't necessarily what I wanted to be doing but the high number of missed calls I found on my cell phone when I returned from my morning run caused a surge of panic inside of me. A few were from Chris, a large number were from John, but the majority of them were from Jordan so he was the one whom I called back immediately. His voice was frantic on the other side of the phone call as he explained that Chris had found numerous dead bodies in the tunnels under Beacon Hills and that they were bringing them to the morgue at the hospital for the medical examiner to check over. I didn't even bother showering or changing out of my shorts and sports bra before jumping in my car, knowing that he needed me and he was panicking that his dream was coming into fruition.
Horror flooded through my veins when my gaze landed on at least a dozen orderlies and nurses wheeling stretchers with full body bags on them into the Beacon Memorial morgue while some familiar deputies supervised. I took a deep breath, ignoring the rancid scent of death, as I forced myself to look away and I started searching the immediate area for any sign of the man I wanted to see as I carefully avoided getting in the way.
My breath caught when I saw him standing on the other side of the hallway, a dazed expression marring his features as he stared blankly at the bodies and I hurried towards him with a sigh of relief because being there meant he hadn't done something stupid, like confess to mass murder. I came to a stop in front of him as I gripped his upper arms tightly but it was like he was completely oblivious to my presence and I read the absolute devastation in his eyes as he stared at the dozens of bodies being brought in.
"Jordan?" I said softly as I tried to get his attention with a small frown on my lips but he continued to stare ahead without even blinking and I reached up to cup his face in my hands as I forced him to look into my eyes. I offered him a tremulous smile when he blinked himself back to reality as he seemed to register that I was there with him and he inhaled sharply with tears in his eyes as he looked away from me like he was ashamed. I shook my head sadly as I rubbed my thumbs over his cheekbones soothingly, sensing how overwhelmed he was at the moment and I stood up on my toes as I wrapped my arms around his neck while drawing him into a tight embrace. His strong arms wrapped around my waist as he tilted his face into the crook of my neck, breathing shakily so the warmth of his breath caused a shiver to run over my skin.
"Thank you for coming, Phee." he mumbled into my neck in a saddened tone of voice as he placed his hands on my hips and lifted his head to look at me with a small smile. I tilted my head to the side with a half-hearted smirk on my lips as I raised my eyebrows in reprimand, silently letting him know that he was being an idiot if he thought I wouldn't have come when he called about something so important. He huffed out a weak chuckle as he leaned in to press a lingering kiss to my forehead and I moved my arms to wrap around his waist as he pulled me back into a loose embrace.
"Parrish!" someone called out from behind us, causing him to loosen his hold on me as he turned slightly to look who it was and I let of him when I saw the Sheriff walking towards us with the aid of a cane since he was still healing. John solemnly glanced between the two of us, not surprised by my presence by the older man's side in the least as he measured our current state of mind. I knew that he could detect the overwhelming mixture of guilt and fear that Jordan was feeling that moment because he sighed heavily as he placed a hand on his shoulder and insisted softly, "Parrish, look at me. I know what you're thinking- the dream's coming true. It's not."
"Sheriff, there's twenty-three bodies. Twenty-three of them!" Jordan reiterated incredulously with his eyebrows raised as he gestured towards the oncoming gurney and I sighed slightly as I kept one wrapped around his waist while rubbing his upper arm with the other.
"Which means you're going to go back to the station, and you're gonna go through every missing person's report for the past two weeks. That's what we do." John told him understandingly as he nodded his head before he noticed the wary expression the deputy wore and he raised his voice into the stern tone he used when Stiles misbehaved as he repeated, "You got it, Parrish?"
Jordan hesitated a moment with his gaze lingering on the body bags, a prominent frown marring his features and I reached up to forcibly turn his head towards me to get his attention. I placed a hand on the side of his neck, ignoring sadness that was shining in his eyes as he looked down at me and I plastered a reassuring smile on my lips as I added my own opinion in a firm tone, "Go. Work. Give those people back their identity. You're a deputy, it's your job, and you're very good at it."
I smirked teasingly at the throwback to the first time we kissed, while we were fighting about whether or not he should've turned himself in. Jordan chuckled in amusement as he nodded at the memory of the conversation while wrapping his arms around my waist and I placed both of my hands on his chest as I leaned up on my toes to press a gentle kiss on his lips.
Someone cleared their throat uncomfortably behind is as I dropped back down so my feet were flat on the floor and a blush spread against Jordan's cheekbones as he dropped his head in embarrassment. I rolled my eyes in annoyance as I turned my head to give John a pointed look and I cocked an eyebrow at his exaggerated grimace as I spoke with amusement coating my tone, "Oh, come on. That was barely anything, and you've seen me do a lot more with a lot worse."
John rolled his eyes in frustration as he grimaced at the mental image I had inflicted on him and I giggled in amusement at his turmoil but decided to placate him as I removed myself from Jordan's arms. I gave the deputy a look letting him know that I would see him later on as he nodded in understanding with a small smile and he pressed a brief kiss to my forehead before joining some of the other deputies that were going back to the station.
Concern flowed through my veins as I watched his retreating back depart the hospital corridor with his colleagues and I bit the inside of my cheek until I tasted blood as I mentally sorted through all of the information I had gathered on the newest creature terrorising the town. There currently wasn't a lot for us to start investigating and it didn't help that we weren't all working together but in separate groups doing different things. Liam and Mason were trying to figure out what Theo was going to do with the Chimera's, Scott and Stiles were trying to identify the creature, Malia was hunting down her mother before her mother hunted down her, Kira was merely trying to control her inner warrior demon spirit, and Lydia had been institutionalised. Thankfully, I was able to call Chris Argent for his help the moment things started to look hard to handle since Deaton was missing in action and Braeden was helping Malia rescue him from the Desert Wolf.
The elevator let out a sharp 'ding' reminding me that I wasn't in a place where I could allow myself to be weak. I wasn't naive enough to believe we weren't in a constant state of war, a battle of wills and information that was leading up to a physical showdown, and so I needed to be in a constant state of awareness. I wouldn't allow myself to be taken advantage of anymore. It wasn't being kidnapped and tortured by the Dread Doctors that disturbed me, but the fact that I had dropped my guard around Theo when my instincts, and Stiles, were telling me not to trust him.
I released a faint sigh of relief when my brother, Stiles and Kira came running out of the elevator the moment the doors opened far enough, varying degrees of anxiety on their features as they hurried towards us to get an update. It was easy to tell the exact moment they noticed the orderlies wheeling the bodies down in the sewers into the morgue because they stopped in their tracks and stared in horror with their mouths agape.
"Who found 'em?" Stiles asked grimly with a frown marring his face as he placed his hands on his hips with a sigh, tearing his gaze away from the gruesome scene and making eye contact with his father solemnly.
"Argent. And he said the Doctors were down there. He also said you guys might know what this thing is.
"We've got a theory. It's a slightly terrifying theory..."
"Well, the M.E. said that the victims were killed somewhere else and then dumped in those tunnels."
"Hey, what if the Dread Doctors are hiding the bodies?" Scott asked suddenly as his dark brown eyes lit up with the idea, his lips twitching in frustration at not being able to put together an equation. It was a look I had seen numerous times when I was tutoring him over the summer.
"Why would they do that?" Kira asked in confusion with a frown as she stepped closer to her boyfriend like she was making up not being near him while she was in the desert learning from the skinwalkers that I had tracked down for her mother. Noshiko had come to me for help when Kira started displaying a loosened grasp on the fox spirit that lived inside of her and although she knew who could help her daughter, she had no idea where to find them in the current decade. It had taken a few weeks and numerous phone calls to find someone who knew someone who had an idea where to find a clan of skinwalkers.
"Maybe they're covering for it. Protecting it, like a parent would." Stiles suggested hesitantly as he scratched his chin with a shrug of his shoulders and I folded my arms across my chest as I nodded in agreement.
The Sheriff gave us an exhausted look, making it obvious that he didn't want to know the answer to his next question but his oath to protect the town and his desire to protect his family made him ask, "Protecting what?"
Scott grimaced slightly as he shared a look with his best friend, neither one of them wanting to explain to John what was happening in town and after a moment they both turned their heads to look at me in unison. I scoffed in disbelief at their matching expressions of helplessness and pleading but rolled my eyes as I relented and I turned towards the Sheriff with a small smile as I started explaining, "The Beast. La Bête du Gévaudan, also known as The Beast of Gevaudan, a monstrous werewolf who terrorized France in the 1700s. It was eventually killed by one of the ancestors of the Argent family. We believe that the Dread Doctors have brought The Beast back using a teenager, a Chimera as a host body. The Doctors wrote damnatio memoriae on one of the tunnel walls. They're trying to get The Beast to remember who it was before it was killed the first time."
John's face contorted in horror at the news as he paled considerably and Stiles shrugged his shoulders in understanding as he patted his father on the shoulder companionably, "We know. Horrifying."
"We better figure out what we're gonna call Parrish. Because it looks like his dream is coming true." John told us solemnly as he glanced over his shoulder at the empty gurneys that were being rolled out of the morgue after delivering the last of the corpses.
"Oh! I have an idea about that," I exclaimed happily with a sudden grin marring my lips as I clapped my hands once and he raised his eyebrows at me in silent question as I continued, "I think he's a Hellhound. They possess pyrokinetic and thermokinetic powers and are said to be the guardian of the supernatural world, making it their duty to make sure this world remains a secret to the human world. He fits all of the criteria. I'll talk to him about it later. For now, school!"
"No, no, no, no…" all three males started murmuring at the same time, Scott going as far as stepping in front of me so that he was blocking the entrance to the elevator and I frowned at them in confusion as I placed my hands on my hips defensibly.
"Um, and why not?"
"Uh, Soph, you're not exactly dressed for school. Or being outside." Scott told me quietly like he was breaking bad news to me and didn't want anyone to hear him so that he didn't embarrass me.
Maybe it was the residual bitterness left over from our fight, or the fact that we hadn't spoken about since and the anger with lingering, festering inside of me, but Scott's well-meaning concern only managed to irritate me. I rolled my eyes at him in a mixture of anger and frustration as I levelled him with an exasperated look and I forced my voice to remain calm as I explained slowly like I was speaking to a small child, "I have clothes in my car. I'm going to take Kira, and let her drive while I get changed in the backseat. You need to stop treating me like a child. By every social marker, I'm a fully grown woman. I've had my period. I've had sex. I've got my license. I'm over eighteen. I'm in college. Hell, I've even killed someone. I'm an adult."
Scott flinched at the obvious anger in my tone as he lowered his gaze to the floor in shame and I wrapped one arm around my stomach self-consciously, aware of the fact that the others were witnessing our argument. I risked a quick glance at them from the corner of my eyes; thankful that Stiles was offering me an understanding look since he knew about the catalyst of our fight and not surprised that both Kira and John were looking confused. I reached out briefly to squeeze Stiles' hand with a grateful smile barely touching my lips as I walked past him, heading towards the elevator and I noticed Kira quickly pressing a kiss to my brothers cheek before hurrying to catch up to me.
The elevator doors slid open with a 'ding' as I stepped inside the lift and the kitsune ran in just before the doors slid closed, panting slightly out of breath. I raised my eyebrows at her in a mixture of surprise and incredulousness because I thought that she would've had better stamina after being part of the pack for so long. Kira brushed a strand of raven hair behind her ear in embarrassment as she peeked at me from the corner of her eyes and a slightly awkward silence settled over the confines of the elevator.
Kira and I had never had the closest relationship in the pack; we didn't seem to have much in common other than our choice of friends. It wasn't her fault we didn't click, she just seemed to join the pack at an inconvenient time for me. When she first arrived in town we were dealing with the Nogitsune and I was a little distracted by Aiden trying to woo me into a relationship, and trying to defeat a thousand year old evil spirit that had possessed me nonbiological brother. Mourning the loss of Aiden and Allison had taken precedence after that, causing me to runaway to South America and then I was dealing with a clichéd love triangle between me, Derek and Jordan. Then I was trying to get over Derek after he smashed my heart into pieces while training Liam and Mason in how to deal with the supernatural. It was difficult to prioritise time to get to know Kira when I was mothering the rest of the pack. And it wasn't like Kira was going out of her way to spend time with me.
As we were exiting the elevator I couldn't help but notice the difference in how we acted; I strolled confidently through the lobby of the hospital like I owned the building, waving with a polite smile at the people employees that I had met from previous visits and Kira timidly followed behind me nervously as she tried to avoid eye contact with everyone around us. It was slightly amusing to witness; especially when the kitsune blushed profusely in embarrassment when one particularly bold gentleman wolf whistled at my lack of clothing.
I shivered slightly as we stepped outside into the parking lot, making my way towards where my car was parked in the employee parking lot and Kira hesitated on the footpath as she looked up at the warning sign before asking warily, "Are you supposed to park here?"
"I'm Sophie." I said as though that was all the explanation that was needed as I fished my keys out of my sports bra, breathing a sigh of relief when the metal was no longer digging into my skin. I tossed the keys over the roof of the car, causing her to fumble to catch them and I smirked in amusement as I climbed into the backseat of the car. Kira bit down on her lower lip as she slid into the driver's seat, hesitating a moment before turning on the engine and putting the car into reverse as 'Taylor Swift' played over the radio speakers.
I grabbed the duffel bag from the floor of the backseat as I hummed along with the song playing and slouched down a little as I slipped off my sports bra quickly before replacing it with the lacy dark purple one. Kira made a surprised sound in the back of her throat as the car swerved into the middle of the road, but luckily no others cars were around as I grabbed onto the door to steady myself from falling over while exclaiming, "Dude!"
"Sorry! Sorry!" she apologised as she straightened the car back into the right lane to avoid oncoming traffic and I cast a reprimanding glare in her direction as I pulled a dress over my head. I shook my head to myself as I pulled my running shorts down my legs and kicked off my sneakers before placing them in the duffel bag. I made the mental note to replace the emergency set of clothing for my car kit and pulled on a pair of ankle boots that would be comfortable to run in if something were to happen later on.
"Park at the front." I instructed absently when we turned into the crowded high school parking lot and she cast an unsure look back at me because most of the parking spots had already been taken. But nonetheless she followed my advice without commenting and my usual parking spot that I had somehow inherited from Jackson when he moved to London. A smile played on my lips as I climbed out of the backseat the moment that the car was parked and I waited patiently for Kira to get out of the driver's seat, handing me the keys that I immediately placed the purse I had thrown in the car earlier that morning before leaving for the hospital.
"Um, I have to speak to my dad before classes start, so I'll, um, see you later?" Kira asked hesitantly as she bit her lower lip anxiously, like she was unsure either or not I would reject her comment and I quirked an incredulous eyebrow at her as I cocked my head to the side. I didn't know why exactly she was acting like we were complete strangers; we had known each other for over a year, we'd battled evil together, she had technically tortured me in Mexico, and she was dating my brother. Maybe that was why she was acting strange, maybe she had heard about my fight with Scott and wasn't sure how I would react to her presence.
"I'll see you later, Kira." I told her truthfully with a smile as I reached out to squeeze her hand reassuringly and chuckled slightly at the blush that blossomed on her cheek as I walked towards the main entrance.
A few other students greeted me when I entered the school, causing me to smile at them in return and I immediately noticed the Sheriff's deputies milling around with huge sophisticated shotguns in their hands. I raised my eyebrows at them as wandered further down the hallway and I caught sight of Scott and Stiles standing near the lockers while whispering to each other conspiratorially. I hesitated a moment, unsure if I wanted to speak to Scott but decided that anything to do with the protection of the town was a good enough reason to speak to him. As long as I didn't allow him to segue the conversation into talking about our relationship or about either of my confessions, it would be okay for us to communicate.
"By order of the Sheriff, a county-wide curfew goes into effect tonight at sundown. All after-school activities are cancelled until further notice. Students should go directly home at the end of the school day." a voice announced over the PA system as I strolled over to where the boys were standing and I scoffed sardonically as I came to a stop in front of them with a tight smile on my lips.
"Hm. Like that's going to happen." I remarked with a roll of my eyes as Stiles wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pressed a sloppy kiss to my cheek, causing me to cringe away from him as I wrinkled my nose. I noticed Scott glance at us with a saddened and almost wistful expression, and I knew he was remembering when I would allow him to do the same thing, but now our relationship wasn't what it used to be.
"Come on. I need your skills." Stiles told me urgently as he grabbed my wrist tightly and I frowned at him in confusion as I anchored my feet onto the ground so that he couldn't pull me along with him. He groaned in annoyance as he ran his free hand through his hair and I levelled him with a look as he released an irritated huff before explaining, "I need you to come with me over there and flirt information out of the deputy."
"What!? No!"
"Oh, come on! You flirt with deputies all the time."
"Um, one deputy. Jordan."
"Can you just come and help persuade him to talk." he urged impatiently as he tried tugging me forward and I glowered at his back as I let him, silently seething over the fact that he basically using me as a whore for his own benefit.
Stiles dragged me towards Deputy Daniel Strauss, a young deputy in his early twenties and if I weren't already up to my ears in deputies he would be someone I would seriously flirt with. He was a nice enough guy to be around so I spoke to him a few times when I was at the station and the only thing Jordan had ever had to complain about him was that he stared at me a little too long for his liking.
"Hey, Strauss, you don't think this is a bit much in terms of firepower for a high school?" Stiles asked suspiciously as we came to a stop in front of the young deputy and I leaned back against the lockers, smiling slightly in greeting to the blonde man.
Judging by his expression Strauss seemed to agree with his words but he shrugged helplessly as he relented, "Your dad's the one that issued us these things... and he wouldn't officially say why."
"Did he say anything unofficially?"
"No... But everyone's got a theory."
"What's yours?"
"I shouldn't be talking to you guys. Don't you have class?" Strauss asked after a moment's hesitation, like he was realising that he was talking to a bunch of teenagers but we were all curious about how much he truly knew about the going on of Beacon Hills. Stiles groaned in annoyance as he flung his head backwards before turning to look over at me, widening his eyes suggestively and I scowled at him furiously as I shook my head in rejection but he repeated the gesture more intensely.
I huffed in annoyance as I plastered a fake smile on my lips and turned my attention to the handsome deputy, placing a hand on his upper arm as I spoke in an almost teasing lilt, "Oh, come on, Daniel. We want to know what you think. What's your theory?"
Strauss flashed a small smile in my direction but hesitated a moment longer in contemplation before looking around to make sure no one was within hearing distance and lowered his voice conspiratorially as he asked seriously, "Do you guys believe in the supernatural?"
My eyes widened in surprise as the boys looked at each other in alarm, not sure how to react to the unprecedented question and I forced a chuckle as I rolled my eyes like I thought he was making a joke. I tightened my hold on his arm slightly as I leaned forward so that my cleavage was on display, hoping to distract him from the conversation and it seemed to work because his heartbeat suddenly accelerated as I spoke in a low voice, "You're so funny. Okay, we'll let you get back to protecting us."
I trailed my hand down his arm tauntingly so that he would be thinking about me rather than the topic of conversation and he nodded with a dazed expression as I dragged my brothers away from him. They were both gaping unattractively as I pulled them down the hallway, obviously surprised that someone had guessed the truth but I was surprised someone hadn't found out before.
"Oh, my god! Do you think he knows? How did he know? Are we going to have to kill him?" Stiles asked in a panicked ramble as he gestured wildly with his hands and I rolled my eyes at him in exasperated amusement as Scott shook his head with a slightly baffled look.
"Oh, you kill one guy and suddenly you're our go-to assassin?" I asked him sarcastically with a smirk as I nudged him playfully with my elbow and I noticed Scott looking nauseous at the casual mention of his best friend killing someone, even if it was in self-defence. Stiles had informed me that they had talked about what happened when they went to pick Kira up in the desert, evidently they had a lot of time together on the way there. it was a just a glaring reminder that Stiles was one of the few people who knew the truth behind my own story and one way or another Scott was going to find out, even if I wasn't the one who would be telling him.
"I'm not saying I should be the one to kill him, but if it needs to be done…" he trailed off jokingly with a shrug of his shoulders, a cocky smirk on his lips and Scott seemed to finally understand that we were kidding as he tried to stifle an amused grin. I rolled my eyes at them as I chuckled, pleased that Stiles finally moving on from the incident because I knew that the guilt had been weighing heavily on his shoulders.
"Okay, killer, relax. I'll see you guys later." I said with a roll of my eyes as I waved a hand absently over my shoulder and hastened my footsteps so that was walking ahead of them. I could handle torture with a smile on my face while cracking jokes but whenever I was around my brother lately it had been so awkward to be around him and it didn't know how to deal with a situation where I wasn't in complete control.
Since the only class I was taking that semester wasn't scheduled for the day, I headed towards the newly renovated library so that I could get start on an essay for the college psychology course I was taking online. I couldn't concentrate at him; the silence that came with an empty house was suffocating and in that silence the memories that plagued my mind during the night had a chance to take hold. It was easier to be around people, to be around strangers, as I typed on my laptop, letting the click clack of the keys lull me into a peaceful serenity.
I was about to enter the library when my phone rang with a message, the specialised ringtone letting me know it was one of the pack members and it was priority to answer in case it was an emergency. I moved to the side so I wasn't blocking the entrance as I pulled out my phone and read the brief message from Liam asking me to meet him at my car because he needed my help with something important.
A slightly annoyed sigh escaped me as I cast a longing look at the library door but I turned around without even considering ignore him and headed towards the closest exit. The wind blow my hair in my face as I quickly took out my ponytail and redid it as I walked casually towards where my car was parked so that I didn't gain unnecessary attention. Liam was anxiously looking around like he was in the middle of a drug deal when approached my car and I shook my head in amusement as I made a mental note to add discretion to the lesson plan. He practically vibrated nervous energy as he made eye contact with me from near the passenger side of the car and I offered him a quick smile as I ran the rest of the way towards him, eager to do something.
"Get in, Scrappy." I ordered playfully with a wink, causing him to groan at the moniker I hadn't used in a while and I chuckled at his disgruntled expression as we both climbed into the front seat. He remained silent as I turned on the ignition and drove out of the school parking lot, choosing instead to stare broodingly out the window with a frown on his lips. I didn't ask what the emergency was, I didn't ask where I was meant to be driving; I figured he would break the silence whenever he was ready.
"Malia found me in the locker room, and asked me to pass a message along to Scott." Liam admitted quietly after another minute or two of silence, leaning his forehead on the glass of the window as he anxiously played with his fingers on his lap.
A slightly confused frown touched the corner of my lips as I nodded slowly, processing the information he'd given me and I tilted my head to the side as I questioned him inquisitively but softly, "So…why aren't we speaking to Scott?"
"I – I was just trying to do something right..."
"Oh, sweetie." I cooed under my breath with an empathetic frown, knowing he was speaking about redeeming himself for injuring Scott during the events of the Super Moon. I wasn't a stranger to regret or the desire to take something back, but I had learnt the hard way that life didn't work quite like that. "You can't look back. Things happen. Bad things, good things. And as much as we'd like to, we can't control them. You do what you think is right in the moment. Even if it's not right in the long run; you do what you think is right in the moment. And then you to make the pieces fit together however you can. But you can't look, Liam, or you'll drive yourself insane."
"I just want things to go back to how they were." he admitted sheepishly with unshed tears in his blue eyes, his hands clenched into fist on his lap as he turned his head away from me so that I wouldn't see him vulnerable.
"Things can't go back to how they were before. It doesn't work like that, hon. Something like what happened – it shatters your reality. And once something like that is broken, the pieces will never fit in the same way they did before. All you can do is move on and move forward. Second chances aren't given so you can make things right. They're given so we have the opportunity to prove we can do better, even after we fall. We form stronger bonds. We grow stronger in ourselves. Breaking, and rebuilding, it makes you stronger once you know what you're capable of handling." I explained softly from experience as I turned the corner, driving in a large circle around the town since I hadn't been given a destination and he sighed heavily in defeat as he turned his head to look at me with a desponded expression.
The Chainsmokers played faintly in the background as Liam thought over my words, his eyebrows creased with concentration and I waited patiently for him to sort through his thoughts because I knew from experience how confusing and aggravating it was to balance relationships, platonic or romantic, while dealing with the supernatural. I hummed along to the music as I tapped rhythmically on the steering wheel
"Malia asked me to tell Scott that he was right about the tunnels. Apparently, they were a lot closer than they thought when they were down there looking for us. Back when we were kidnapped by the Dread Doctors, I mean. There's an operating theatre down there. Maybe the one…" he trailed off unsurely with a grimace as he cast a hesitant look in my direction, like he wasn't sure how I would react to his meaning.
"The one where I was tortured." I finished for him with an understanding smile on my lips, immediately turning the car in the direction of the power station since I knew that it was currently an active crime scene so it was abandoned and it had tunnel access. I saw Liam flinch from the corner of my eye but he didn't verbally respond as he turned his attention to the scenery out the window and I left him alone to his thoughts as I drove through the town. It was nice to know that he cared enough about me to be disturbed at the thought of me being tortured; it was nice to know that the familial connection I felt towards him was mutual.
I parked around the back of the power plant so that no one would see my car from the main road and walked around to the back of the car, lifting the boot door so I could uncover the arsenal I had stocked there for emergencies. Liam followed after me, shifting nervously from foot to foot as he alternated from looking around anxiously like a SWAT team would suddenly appear from nowhere and eyeing the handguns that were lying in the case in front of him. I saw him debating whether or not to take the weapon before I rolled my eyes and handed him one the handguns, knowing he had trained with a number of weapons under my tutelage. I watched him check the chamber like I had taught him during lessons and grabbed a thigh holster since I was wearing a dress, arming it with extra ammo and a few blades. Liam made sure the safety was on before placing it in the back of his jeans so that the butt was hidden beneath his jacket and I offered him a quick reassuring smile as I slammed the trunk closed.
It was dark inside the power plant, only our enhanced eye sight made it possible for us to see and I led us towards the entrance to the underground tunnels out of instinct. Our breathing, heartbeats and footsteps were the only sounds in the abandoned room and I cringed when the metal ladder creaked eerily under my weight as I climbed down into the tunnels.
My eyes flashed purple in the darkness, allowing me to see clearly in the absent of light and I pulled out my gun in case of emergencies so that I could shoot from a distance. I heard Liam do the same behind me as I waited for him to catch up to where I was waiting by the intersection of tunnels and he seemed unnerved by the sound of water dripping from the pipes above but took a deep breath as we resumed our search.
I tried not to associate dark underground tunnels with something out of a horror movie but it was nearly impossible not to draw similarities between the two situations and I was thankful that I had someone down there with me. My paranoia was in overdrive as we passed tunnel entrance after tunnel entrance; my gaze lingering on the shadows in case something or someone was hiding within the darkness. The sound of something vibrating in Liam's pocket startled me slightly, causing me to swing around to face him with my gun pointed in his direction but at the ground so he wasn't in any danger of being shot.
"Dude!" I scolded him in a whisper as I shook my head at him and he grimaced apologetically as he pulled his phone out of his jean pocket before reading the message he'd received. I rolled my eyes slightly with a fond smile as he smiled weakly at whatever he was reading and I started walking as he followed behind me, putting his phone away without responding to the text. I caught sight of the cobweb-covered ouroboros symbol on the wall of the corridor, a marking of the Dread Doctors, and I figured we were close to an entrance to the operating theatre.
There was a sudden shift in the atmosphere, causing me to freeze in the middle of the corridor and I reached an arm out to stop Liam in his tracks as I listened for an anomaly. It took a moment but I distinguished a third heartbeat within the tunnel to the left and I cocked my gun, nodding my head for the younger boy to do the same. I took a deep breath as I aimed the gun out in front of me, turning the corner and shooting the shadowy figure standing at the end of the dark corridor in the upper right thigh.
"Ahh!" a familiar voice grunted in pain as he fell down to one knee, blood gushing from the open wound where he'd been shot and I exclaimed in shock as I clicked the safety on while Liam swore under his breath. "Ow, you shot me!"
"Scott! Oh, my god!" I cried out to him as I rushed to his side, crouching down next to him as he grimaced in pain while holding the injury so that it didn't bleed out and I ripped the bottom of my dress to use it as a makeshift bandage in order to stop the bleeding. After checking the wound, I saw that the bullet was still lodged in his thigh so I bit my lip sympathetically as I recalled the pain I went through when I had to remove bullets from my flesh without medication. Sweat beaded on my brothers forehead but he didn't seem to be going into shock because his dark brown eyes were watching my every move and I forced a smile as I told him, "I'm going to have to remove the bullet, Scott."
He nodded instantly as he turned slightly so that his back was against the wall and Liam used the light on his cell phone to illuminate the area as I tore my brother's jeans so that I could see the wound better. I focused on my nails, allowing them to grow into claws so that it would be easier to extract the bullet and I used one hand to push down on his thigh, holding it in place as I positioned my hand on the wound.
"Ready?" I asked softly in a compassionate tone as I looked into my brother's eyes, perhaps for the first time since our fight and he took a deep breath to steady himself before nodding once with a determined expression. I shared a look with Liam before I turned my attention to the wound, trying not to flinch at the sensation of flesh on my fingers and blood gushing out of the bullet hole. Scott groaned loudly in agony as he closed his eyes tightly against the pain, his body tense as he tried not to thrash against my hold but he couldn't help flinching his leg like he was trying to get away. I glanced at Liam, silently asking him for help and he quickly added his strength as he pushed down on the Alpha's leg to keep it stable. I bit down on my lower lip as I moved my fingers within the wound until I hit the metal bullet and I carefully extracted it without tearing the flesh any more than necessary.
"All done." I assured him as I tossed the bloodied bullet down on the ground beside us and Scott sighed in relief as his body slumped against the wall behind him, exhaustion clear on his face. I settled back on my heels as I tied the scrap of my dress around his thigh in an attempt to keep the wound clean until it healed itself in an hour or so.
"How did you know we were down here?" Liam asked in a befuddled tone of voice as his eyebrows crinkled together, avoiding looking at my brother in the eye as he turned off the light on his phone.
Scott lifted his head to look at the younger boy with a bashful expression, a blush barely visible in the darkness and he hesitated a moment before answering with a succinct, "I followed you."
Surprise caused the Beta's eyes to widen slightly but he didn't appear to be upset about the answer, a small smile trying to fight its way onto his lips as he helped me get Scott onto his feet and he asked another question, "Why are you following me?"
"Why are you down here?"
"We're just trying to figure out if this is where they took us. Me, Sophie and Hayden. Malia said she was down here, too- that the scent was the same. She said you were right."
A brief smile flashed across my brother's face at the validation, hope shining in his dark brown eyes and I couldn't help rolling my eyes at the singlemindedness of the male ego. Liam kept an arm wrapped around the older males waist, helping him limp forward as I picked up my gun from the ground and checked to make sure the safety was on as I told him bluntly, "Sorry for shooting you, but you were skulking around in the dark so... but since you're here now, come on. Let's see if we can find it together."
Scott scoffed out a laugh at my half-hearted attempt at an apology as he put weight down on his wounded leg, checking to see if he was able to walk on his own and my lips quirked into a small smirk as the three of us headed down the adjacent corridor in order to continue our search for the operating theatre.
There was a slight awkward tension between the group; Liam kept glancing at my brother anxiously from the corner of his eye, Scott kept switching his gaze from me to the Beta like he didn't know which if us he was supposed to speak to first, and I was trying to ignore them both because I didn't want to deal with our personal problems in the middle of a fact finding mission. I didn't want to be distracted if something were to happen; I didn't want anyone accidentally shooting me in the thigh.
A shiver ran through my veins when we walked past an open vent that went to the surface and I clenched my jaw so that my teeth didn't chatter from the cold. I glanced over my shoulder at the boys as we journeyed through the sewer tunnels, hoping that some of the awkward tension between them had diminished but they were still trading wary and sheepish glances when they thought the other wasn't looking. I rolled my eyes at them subtly as I turned back around, internally scolding the immaturity of the male gender and decided to stay out of it unless there was the threat of violence or irreversible harm to their relationship.
"Do you feel that?" Scott asked suddenly in a worried tone of voice as he stopped in the middle of the tunnel and a frown played on my lips as I did the same, tuning my focus to see if I could sense what he was sensing. Liam crouched down to the ground with a furrowed brow, holding one hand flat on the ground and placing the other on the wall as he closed his eyes in concentration.
An eerie feeling crept through me, causing me to suck in a sharp breath and all of my nerves felt like they were vibrating with untapped energy as I spoke softly in a whisper so that I didn't disturb the silence, "Like something's vibrating."
"I can't tell where it's coming from."
"It's coming from everywhere."
Scott grimaced in agreement with the bleak observation as he continued to look around in an attempt to find the source of the vibrations and I sighed heavily to myself as I started wandering further down the darkened tunnel. I heard Liam scrap his foot along with grime coated ground as he stood up, the chemo signals reeking of guilt in the presence of his Alpha and I knew that he was building up the courage to attempt to make amends. I kept myself in hidden within the shadows so that they could have their moment in semiprivate. A small part of me was jealous that Liam was showing more courage than I was in regards to make up with Scott, but I quickly reassured myself that I wasn't the one that made assumptions and tore our relationship to shreds.
"I was just trying to do something right..." Liam admitted softly as he kept his gaze trained on the ground in shame, a blush working its way onto his cheeks as he cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
Scott lifted his head in surprise at the change in subject but his eyes softened with compassion when he looked at the younger boy and I knew that he was remembering a time when he was in the same position; overwhelmed, nervous, afraid. There was no telling how everything would have ended up with Derek, Deaton and I hadn't been there to guide him through the supernatural, so he knew exactly what he needed to hear. "You do a lot right."
"Yeah, but I did one thing really wrong."
"Hayden's alive. Everything before that doesn't matter."
"It should. I feel like I have to do more than just say sorry."
Scott contorted his face slightly in amusement at the remark as his lips twisted into a smirk and he attempted to lighten the heavy atmosphere with a teasing joke, "Actually, you still haven't done that..."
"Back at my old school, at Devenford... I got into a fight with this kid. I knocked two of his teeth out. They made me write a letter of apology. We both knew it meant nothing. We both knew that, sooner or later, we were gonna get into another fight." Liam informed him seriously in a solemn tone of voice as he kept his gaze trained on the ground and he sighed heavily in defeat before he turned to look straight into Scott's eyes with a serious expression as he admitted softly, "I can't just say I'm sorry. I feel like I have to do something. Like... maybe, somehow, I have to save your life."
I felt tears sting my eyes as I looked away from them, leaning my head back against the wall as I blinked to clear my vision. I didn't want Liam struggling with his guilt, just as I didn't want Scott to distrust him, but I couldn't help being slightly bitter that my brother was willing to forgive the person that tried to kill him but he couldn't be bothered even asking me any questions about the person I killed. He heard that one fact and decided my fate; guilty.
Why couldn't he give me the same amount of faith that he gave Liam? Why couldn't he talk to me like he spoke to Stiles? Why was I held accountable when they were able to defend themselves?
I took a deep breath, burying my feeling into the recesses of my mind so that I could concentrate on keeping us all alive for the foreseeable future and turned my attention back to the two boys near me. There was a light in my brother's eyes, like he was genuinely touched by the unconventional apology and he crouched down next to him so that they were at eye-level before smiled slightly as he assured him, "Don't worry – I'm pretty sure you'll get a chance."
"Well, not down here. We've been walking around for hours, and all we've been able to find is some stupid snake sculpture on the wall." Liam responded humourlessly with a snort as he stood up from the ground with a smirk, dusting his hand on his jeans and Scott frowned in confusion as he followed the younger boy's actions. My eyebrows furrowed slightly as I looked around, annoyed that I had been so distracted that I had missed something obvious on the wall.
I pushed myself off the wall as I walked towards them with an intrigued expression, the sound of my footsteps disrupting the silence that had fallen and caused Liam to jump slightly at the sudden noise as he whipped around to face me with wide eyes. I cast him an amused look as I strolled past him, moving over to where my brother was studying the ouroboros sculpted on the wall and he looked at me briefly when I came to a stop next to him with my arms crossed over my chest.
"You think it's important?" Liam asked in a whisper like he didn't want to be the one who disturbed the quiet engulfing us and I pursed my lips unsurely with a shrug of my shoulders as I ran a finger across the length of one of the snakes in the symbol. My breath caught in my throat out of surprise when Scott suddenly placed both of his hands on the duel snakes and turned the signal like a large doorknob. My eyes widened in shock when the action caused a mechanical grinding noise to be heard moments before a hidden door revealed itself several feet down the tunnel.
I quirked an impressed eyebrow at my brother with a smirk on my lips as the three of us shared a confused but intrigued look before we walked down towards the newly opened door. Scott placed his hand on the handle, hesitating a moment as he looked back at us to make sure we were ready and I positioned my gun in front of me as Liam lengthened his claws. I nodded once to give my brother the go-ahead and he returned the gesture before he pulled the sliding door open.
The sound of a gun cocking on the other side caused me to do the same and I stepped to the side so that I had a better angle but relaxed when I saw that Chris was the one who was aiming at us, probably expecting us to be the Dread Doctors. All of us gasped in surprise at the sudden situation before Chris sighed heavily and lowered his weapon, putting it back in its holster as Scott and Liam both sighed in relief. I flashed the older man a fleeting smile as I lowered my own gun to my side, pleased to see him despite the circumstance but froze in my spot when I caught a familiar scent in the air and I narrowed my eyes at Chris in disbelief as I exclaimed incredulously, "You didn't."
By the look on my brother's face it was clear that he had come to the same conclusion that I had moments ago and he was staring at Chris in complete horror as the older man sighed heavily in defeat, like he had no other choice in the matter. I gritted my teeth to keep from swear as I watched Gerard Argent saunter into the room with a smug smirk on his face, like he had won some sort of long running standoff between the two sides.
"Hello, Scott. Hello, Sophie." Gerard greeted us in his low raspy voice that never ceased to remind me of a snake and I glowered at him in loathing as my brother immediately flashed red in warning, causing the old man to tilt his head in surprise. "I haven't seen that colour on you. It suits you."
A scowl spread across my lips as I stepped further into the room, unwilling to let him deter me from doing what needed to be done and I cocked my gun threateningly before aiming it straight at the older man's forehead with a deadly glint in my eyes, "Tell me why I shouldn't put a bullet between your eyes?"
Gerard regarded me with a probing gaze, assessing whether or not I had the capacity to shoot him in cold blood but I knew that the other were staring at my back with differing expressions. Chris had spent his entire life surrounded by violence in a family where women were the most violent creatures and so he was used to shocking death threats. Liam was unsure how to react because he didn't want to watch me shoot a man but he also realised that I wouldn't do something so final on a whim and since he didn't know the story behind our past relationship with the man. It was Scott's immediate reaction that was the most expected; he inhaled sharply as he stared at me in horror, taking me completely at my word that I would shoot him and he was holding himself back from stopping me because he didn't want to give Gerard any inkling to a weakness within our ranks that he could take advantage of if the opportunity presented itself to him.
Liam shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, glancing around at the older members of the pack before turning back to the yet unidentified man that we all seemed to hold animosity towards and asked warily, "Who's the old guy?"
"Uh, at the moment... they would call me a 'necessary evil.' But you can call me Gerard." The older Argent introduced himself with an almost supernatural calmness despite the barrel of a gun aimed at his forehead.
I rolled my eyes at his glib comment but kept my gaze locked on him so that he couldn't make any sudden movements because I knew that he was still a deadly enemy that could hold his own in a fight despite his advanced age. Gerard smirked in amusement when he caught the motion from the corner of his eye and I narrowed my eyes in return with a sarcastic twist of my lips.
"What were you thinking?" Scott asked Chris in a mixture of incredulous and exasperation, his dark brown eyes moving from one Argent to the other like he was unsure which one was going to answer his question.
"That we need him." Chris admitted reluctantly with a sigh as he shrugged his shoulders, an obvious apology in his eyes and I noticed how exhausted he looked with such a weight burdening him.
Gerard continued to smirk smugly as he watched the drama his return to the fold had caused, clearly enjoying himself as he rocked back on his feet and he hummed in the back of his throat before adding unhelpfully, "He's right. If you want to catch a werewolf like the Beast of Gévaudan, you're going to need more than one Argent."
"He knows all the stories. All the folklore. Everything written, and everything passed down."
"And you're sure about this?" I asked him sceptically with a quirked eyebrow, keeping my voice modulated so that the loathing in my voice wasn't so obvious and Chris walked over to where I was standing with an exasperated sigh. He placed a hand on the barrel of the gun, slowly lowering it to my side so that it wasn't aimed at his father and I huffed in annoyance as I tossed my hair that had fallen out of my ponytail over my shoulder.
"You remind me of my daughter." Gerard told me with a sickening grin as he pointed a finger in my direction, as though that was supposed to be a compliment and I scowled at him in disgust as I strolled away from him without a backwards glance.
"Scott, what happened to your leg? You're bleeding." Chris asked in concern as he approached my brother with a frown on his lips and I looked at them over my shoulder as I clicked the safety on my gun so that I didn't accidently fire.
"Oh, Sophie shot me." he replied nonchalantly with a shrug of his shoulders like it was an everyday occurrence for me to shoot him in the leg and Chris shot me a perplexed look but I just innocently turned my gaze away without explaining any further.
I heard Gerard chuckle quietly to himself somewhere behind me as I followed Chris further into the darkened room and had to stop myself from physically flinching when he murmured in amusement, "Yep, just like my Kate."
Those words were a bittersweet poison. For a small amount of time when I first meet her Kate had been someone to look up to, a strong and confident leader, but in no time at all the truth was harshly and brutally revealed to us all. Peter tore her throat out in front of us in a sick and twisted form of justice, and in an even more fitting form of justice happened naturally when she was transformed into the very supernatural creature she swore her life to eradicate. Instead of feeling humbled or guilty for how she'd acted in the past, she turned into the worse possible version of herself.
I took a breath so that I didn't react, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing me affected by his twisted version of a compliment and Liam looked at me curiously as he walked past but I shook my head slightly to dissuade him from asking any more questions. I threaded my arm through his as we followed the other three into what looked like an abandoned operating theatre and I shiver ran through me as I looked around with wide eyes, recognising the steel tables in the centre, the now empty tube to the side of the room.
Panic caused tears to prickle at the corner of my eyes as I remembered the agonising pain I experienced, the heartbreaking pleas of Liam as he was forced to watch and the Darth Vader-like voices of the Dread Doctors. My hands started shaking uncontrollably as I came to a stop in the centre of the room, the familiar clang, clang, clang of metal echoed faintly in my mind and my breath caught in my throat as I tried to breathe evenly but it felt like something was physically stopping the oxygen from reaching my lungs.
Something warm encompassed my shaking hand, causing me to snap my gaze downwards as I blinked to clear my blurred vision and saw Liam holding my hand tightly as though he knew what was going through my mind. I focused my attention on the warmth, on the rhythmic thumping of his pulse underneath my fingertips and I slowly breathed in and out, in and out, until I was no longer hyperventilating. I squeezed his hand gratefully as I lifted my head to meet his concerned but supportive gaze, smiling slightly as I brought his hand up to my lips to press a kiss to the back of it and then brushed my fingertips beneath my eye to make sure that there were no tears for anyone to see.
I cleared my throat gently as I tossed my hair back over my shoulder, looking around subtly to make sure that no one saw my mini-breakdown and froze when I noticed that Scott was looking directly at me with a concerned frown. A blush spread across my cheeks as I ducked my head to avoid his gaze, uncommonly embarrassed after being caught so vulnerable. In any other circumstance, at any other time, I wouldn't have cared if my brother saw me at my weakest but at the moment we weren't siblings like we were, we weren't partners like we were, we weren't friends like we were. We were basically strangers.
In that moment a thought occurred to me: I had been tortured by the Dread Doctors and other than the day directly after the fact it was never mentioned again by anyone except Liam, who had been forced to witness the torture, and Lydia, who was my other half. No one thought about the long-term repercussions that went along with hours of torture. No one cared.
Tears flooded my eyes once more but forced them back with a deep breath as I lifted my head up proudly and sauntered towards the back wall where the men had gathered in a loose half-circle. I came to a stop next to Chris with my arms crossed over my chest, my head tilted to the side as I surveyed the broken wall that hid a painted fresco. One figure was a large wolf-humanoid creature with a black body and crimson red eyes, while the other was a human whose body was engulfed in flames with orange eyes. The painting depicted the two creatures battling in a fight to the death, claws and fangs at the ready; a shocking and horrifying sight to witness, even in picture form.
"The one on the right is the Beast of Gévaudan. Do you know what the other one is?" Chris asked us solemnly as he turned his body slightly to look at us with a patient tilt of his head and Liam immediately glanced at the Alpha for an answer but Scott shook his head with a wary expression like he was not looking forward to finding out what the fiery creature was.
"The Hellhound." I murmured quietly under my breath as I kept my gaze on the painting, concern for Jordan leaking into my voice and I shook my head slowly as I closed my eyes for a moment in sadness.
"That's right. The guardian of supernatural places. They're both creatures of the night, but you may know them as ordinary people during the day. And, most likely, neither of them know what they are." he continued in the same informative tone as he crossed his arms over his chest and he raised an eyebrow when he noticed Scott and Liam share a wide-eyed knowing look as he asked them, "What is it?"
"We found a message in Latin. Damnatio memoriae." Scott informed them reluctantly in butchered Latin with a heavy sigh as he put his hands on his hips and Chris appeared stunned by the revelation as he turned to Gerard, who looked intrigued by the new information.
"They want it to remember itself. That might give us time." The elder Argent said with a smirk on his lips as he raised both of his eyebrows, satisfaction radiating from his chemo-signals and I scowled at him disgust as I fought the urge to shoot him just because.
"Time for what?" Liam inquired impatiently as he clenched his hands into fists, obviously fighting against his own urge to resort to violence and I couldn't help but feel proud of how far he had come with his Intermittent Explosive Disorder.
"To prevent this." Chris declared strongly as he walked towards the fresco purposely and I watched with inquisitively as he pressed his palms against the wall before kicking at the tiles that still covered the base of the painting with his boots. The sound of tiles breaking echoed throughout the otherwise silent room as they crumbled onto the floor and I stifled a shocked gasp when the rest of the fresco was exposed, revealing that the Beast ad the Hellhound were fighting over a huge pile of deceased bodies.
A chill ran up my spine as my gaze drifted over the features of each person, tears flooding my eyes as the realisation that this was a prediction of the future, one possible outcome of the events happening. There was very good chance that something exactly like what was depicted could come into fruition; countless innocents could be slaughtered, many bystanders injured or maimed in the destruction of the town. A distraught sound escaped my throat before I could contain it as I covered my mouth with my hand in horror and I looked over at my brother, who was staring at the painting with wide eyes.
"Who are they?" I heard Liam ask from somewhere behind me, sounding a million miles away in the distance as his voice blurred together with the loud thumping of my heartbeat. I opened my mouth to answer him, to provide some kind of reassurance to the youngest member of the pack because I knew that that was the role I had somehow fallen into but words had completely escaped me.
"Us." Scott answered softly in a horrified tone of voice as he turned around to look at us, his dark brown eyes wide in shock and there was a hint of sadness on his face as he clarified, "It's all of us."