The championship game was a huge deal for my school. Myself I couldn't care less, but I was still there, waiting for a bloodbath to begin. I sat next to Lydia who was beside Melissa, Scott's mom, and Sheriff Stilinski next to her. So far? The game sucked. No one had scored and Stiles, although doing his best, was not going to be winning any trophies anytime soon. Every time he got the ball he'd get tackled or tripped and then boom, opposing team scores. I don't think I've ever seen a game this bad, and even with Jackson on the field nothing was going our way because Jackson, currently in his kanima state of mind, didn't care about winning or losing.
"He's probably just warming up." Melissa suggested, trying to maintain confidence and optimism as the ball rolled towards Stiles only for him to be struck side on with a full body tackle. That had to be painful.
"He's just a little nervous." Lydia agreed, looking on at the slaughter fest our team was suffering. "Plenty of time to turn it around." No sooner were the words out of her mouth, the ball came flying back towards Stiles only for it to hit him on the guard of his helmet and bounce off. The sheriff could barely bring himself to watch and I too was considering burying my head in my hands. This was not going well, and since we couldn't provide Derek to Gerard before the end of the game, it seemed unlikely that anything was going to go well tonight.
A few minutes later, I noticed somebody take the bench next to Scott and when I saw him turn his head, I recognised Isaac. I thought he'd skipped town? He talked with Scott briefly, picking up his helmet signalling his intention to play. Guess he changed his mind. I'm a little relieved, now our numbers didn't feel so thin on the ground. Just then Isaac turned and looked at me directly, as if feeling me looking at the back of his head. He cracked a grin, one that brought an unintended smile to my own face in reply.
Feeling a little more confident that we might all make it through the night, I continued to watch the game. Isaac went out and started to tackle his own players, sending them off the pitch one after the other in order to go through the bench sitters, aiming to get Scott on the field as well, however when Gerard caught onto what he was doing, he had Jackson take him out personally. I jumped to my feet, watching him hit the ground hard then fail to get back up. What happened? Did Jackson cut him? "Oh god, I don't think I've ever seen a game this violent before." Melissa said with a hiss of sympathetic pain, watching as Isaac was carried off the pitch on a stretcher.
She then seemed to realise something, getting to her feet before excusing herself, running onto the pitch in order to talk to Scott. "Cordy, is something going on here?" Lydia lowered her voice to talk to me as I lowered myself back down. "You'd tell me, wouldn't you?"
"All I'm going to say is…just stay close to me. And stay away from Jackson for the time being." I answered back, reaching out to hold her hand. "And pray that we start scoring some goals soon." Thankfully we did score a few more times, but so did the other team meaning we were way behind. I scanned the field, then I scanned the crowds in search of Gerard but when I realised he was missing, I hastily moved closer to the field in order to talk, knowing that Scott would be able to hear me. "Scott, Gerard's gone. Isaac is alone right now and he's part of Derek's pack. They'll be after him, they'll kill him. Go do something!"
His head jerked up as he listened to me, looking my way before streaking off the field without hesitation, tossing aside his helmet and stick in order to go after Gerard and find Isaac. I stayed on the side of the field, watching and waiting, keeping as close an eye on Jackson as I could. Suddenly I became aware of the fact that Stiles had the ball and an open shot towards the goal. No way. No way! "Run Stiles!" I yelled to him as he scooped up the ball and started bolting for the enemy's goal, yelling in terror as both teams cam thundering after him.
He stopped a few paces out, turning around in panicked confusion like a deer in headlights. "Stilinski! Shoot it. Shoot the ball! Shoot it, you idiot!" Coach was yelling along with everyone else in the stands supporting the Cyclones, but when Lydia shouted for Stiles to shoot, he quickly turned and flung the ball into the back of the net, scoring for the team. He was shocked, staring at his achievement as I laughed aloud and clapped, giving a whistle of support as Stiles shouted in celebration.
From then on, it was like there was no stopping him. He figured out how to dodge the bigger players, using his smaller frame to his advantage by darting around them before scoring one goal after another like a totally different person. At the last thirty seconds I held my breath, watching Jackson as he lurked at the opposite side of the field far away from everyone else as the team were at the opposing side celebrating with Stiles for scoring the winning goal. The whistle blew, signalling the end of the match and as the crowds leaped up with raucous cheers and shouts, I still waited for something to happen.
It didn't, but as I cast my attention towards Gerard who lingered in the shadows, I allowed myself to focus upon him, concentrating on what thoughts and intentions he held within his heart. What was his goal? He had to have some kind of contingency plan for when he didn't get what he wanted, so what was it? Pushing aside the dark grossness which encumbered his soul, I began to see an image rise up in my head, conjuring itself as his heart reflected through me, showing me exactly who he was after. Stiles. He was going to take Stiles.
Even before the lights on the pitch cut out, I was already running towards him, raven hair flying behind me as darkness plunged everyone into chaos, screaming and panicking ensuing. The team split off, confused at what was happening however my eyes naturally adjusted to the darkness, suddenly becoming alive with the ability to see everything before me as clear as day. I dodged the mass of bodies, slipping through until I reached a bewildered Stiles just as two strange men approached him, intending to take him away. I flung my arm around his neck, causing him to scream as I dragged him forwards and away from the men, pulling him out of their reach even though he fought against me. "Quit it Stiles! I'm saving your ass!"
"Cordy?" He relaxed when he realised it was me, allowing me to pull him to the centre of the pitch towards Scott and his mom, my eyes glowing slightly as they continually adjusted to the blackness. My hand was firmly wrapped around Stiles', keeping him from getting taken until the lights flooded the field again. At first they blinded me, forcing me to shut my eyes against them until my vision settled once more.
"Get out of the way. Move. Back off! Move." Hearing the coach yell, I turned towards where the teams had gathered in a circle around someone's body, causing the breath to hitch in my throat, oh god, had Jackson killed someone? We all moved closer only to find that it was Jackson himself who was down.
"Jackson? What's happened to Jackson?" Lydia screeched as she came flying over, sobbing when she saw Jackson unresponsive on the ground. "Jackson, what's happening?" Melissa quickly knelt down when coach called for a medic, pressing her ear over his chest only to discover that there was no pulse and he wasn't breathing either. Lifting up his shirt, we all saw deep punctures in his torso which had overflowed with blood. Deep, scarlet blood. "Oh, my God. There's blood. There's blood."
"Look." Scott whispered, gesturing to Jackson's fingers as I gripped onto Stiles' shoulder, hand covering my mouth as I had to look away. This was awful, how could we let this happen? Gerard had said he'd have Jackson kill someone on the field, we never thought Jackson himself would be a target. Melissa took control of the situation, beginning chest compression and ordering Lydia to help by tilting Jackson's head and giving him CPR when directed, though she was crying all the while and soon enough completely broke down, sobbing over him.
"Here, Lydia. Lydia let me, just hold his hand." Shaking off my rattled nerves, I quickly got down on the ground and moved Lydia aside, letting her sit beside Jackson and cling onto his hand as Melissa continued with the chest compressions. I tilted back Jackson's head and pinched his nose, holding his mouth open by his chin and waited until Melissa gave me the nod. Quickly lowering my mouth to his, I passed air into Jackson's lungs twice before drawing back, watching as Melissa continued with the compressions.
Nothing helped and even by the time the paramedics had arrived with the ambulance, Jackson was pronounced dead on arrival. I sank back, completely overcome with shock as Lydia howled. I couldn't even bring myself to comfort her, just staring at Jackson as the cold touch of his lips lingered on my own, reiterating the fact that he was dead and we had not saved him like we should have. He can't be dead. This is…this just isn't right. He's Jackson Whittemore, swim captain and co-captain of the lacrosse team, the high achiever, the guy who was going to go places and have a successful life. He can't be dead.
"Cordy. Cordy. You gotta get up." Someone touched my arm gently before sliding their hands under my shoulders, lifting me to my feet but I couldn't stand, my knees just gave out. "Whoa, okay, okay I got you. I got you." Dimly I realised it was Isaac, his arms pulling me into his chest to help me stand until I'd found my balance. "It's not your fault."
"No, it's not. It's Gerard's fault. It's all his fault god damn it." Shaking my head I hugged myself as I began to regain my senses, looking over to Lydia who was already following Jackson to the hospital. I tried calling out to her but she was gone, ignoring everyone else. I didn't know what to do or where I should go, so I somehow ended up being pulled into the boy's locker room and sat down on one of the benches as the others took showers and got changed. I just sat there with my head in my hands, hair falling over my face as I fought back tears of anger and frustration.
"Powell? What the hell are you doing here? This is the locker room, you're not meant to be in here." Coach said to me after he walked past then realised I wasn't one of the boys so I lifted my head, giving him a weak smile.
"Just eating up the man candy, coach." My voice cracked in the middle before I had to press my eyes shut in order to keep from crying. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry…"
"No, no it's okay. You uh…you just sit tight there." Coach hastily backtracked, clearly unequipped to deal with a crying girl. "Everyone else! Walk around decent, we're in the presence of a lady. Special circumstances pending." He left me to go talk to Scott, leaving me alone again but when I felt someone sit down next to me and put their arm around my shoulders, I instantly leaned in and cuddled up to Danny.
"Do you know what happened?" He asked me but I shook my head. "I just…I still can't believe it." Danny had his arms around me and was rubbing my arm, feeling the goose-bumps from the chill which wouldn't leave me. "I didn't think you'd get all worked up, you always seemed like you hated him."
"I never hated him. Couldn't stand him, but I never hated him." Nodding his head in understanding, Danny let me cry quietly against him. "Sorry, I'm getting snot all over you. I'm sorry…"
"Oh it's nothing. I've had worse." Danny comforted me, still keeping me wrapped up in his arms before looking to his left. "Here, put this on. You'll warm up better this way. It's not like you to be dressed unprepared for the elements." Pulling out his sweater, Danny put it around my shoulders and coaxed my arm through as I turned my head to smell it. "Armani."
"Armani." I agreed, somehow feeling a little better. Danny asked if I wanted a ride home but I declined, telling him I was going to stay a little longer and talk to Scott about some stuff. Giving me a smile, Danny offered me a shoulder to cry on or a person to talk to any time so I gratefully leaned in and kissed his cheek, thanking him quietly before he left. Snuggling into his sweater I stood up and walked over to Stiles, Scott and Isaac in order to figure out what we should do next, however before we could even start talking, all three boys started staring over my shoulder. "What?" I turned to find Derek standing there, stoic and rather imposing as usual.
"We need to talk." It was when Peter stepped into view that my stomach did a backflip of concern, immediately stepping backwards the same time Isaac and Scott both stepped forwards in order to shield me, Stile also grabbing hold of my arms ready to pull me out of the way. The natural instinct to protect me was touching and as I looked at the three of them, I wondered when it became evident that we were all part of the same team.
"All of us."
"What the hell is this?" Scott demanded suspiciously, shifting his stance slightly into a more defensive position.
"You know, I thought the same thing when I saw you talking to Gerard at the sheriff's station." Derek announced accusingly at Scott, all of us on edge though Isaac looked a little confused as to why.
"Okay, hold on. He threatened to kill my mom, and I had to get close to him. What was I supposed to do?" Defending his actions, I grit my teeth as Peter elected to pipe up, inappropriate as the next comment was.
"I'm gonna go with Scott on this one. Have you seen his mom? She's gorgeous." I growled slightly.
"You guys want me to scream? I can scream real loud and it will hurt. Hopefully it'll even make your ears bleed, you car thief." I directed the last part at Peter who grinned at me. "I'm gonna want that back by the way. I worked hard to earn that car and I don't want you malting your wolf hair all over it."
"Ouch. Feisty little thing, aren't you?" I scowled at him in reply.
"Actually that doesn't seem like a bad idea right now." Stiles gulped, now clutching onto my shoulders and standing behind me like I were a shield. So much for being a gentleman. Jeez. "Maybe try and make his head explode while you're at it, because clearly last time we didn't kill him enough."
"Who is he?" Leaning over to Scott, Isaac watched Peter warily as Scott then explained exactly who this guy was. Although I'd only met him once during the time he was a psycho alpha wolf, it had been enough to not want to repeat the experience and that wish had carried onto his resurrection. I swear, I am never going to get the image of him naked out of my head because it was both impressive and disturbing. Plus, his bare backside has been sitting in my car. I am so bleaching the crap out of it when I get it back.
"That's Peter, Derek's uncle. Little while back, he tried to kill us all, and then we set him on fire and Derek slashed his throat." Lifting his hand to wave, Peter said hello to Isaac who was now healthily wary of Psycho Peter. "How is he alive?"
"Look, the short version is he knows how to stop Jackson." Derek interrupted, steering the conversation in a direction which did not focus on the fact that his uncle was a serial killer and somebody not to be trusted. Even now I could feel the sense that Peter had his own plan in mind, that he was out for himself and himself alone. "And maybe how to save him."
"Well, that's very helpful except Jackson's dead."
"What?" Not expecting such news, Derek balked in confusion.
"Yeah, Jackson's dead. It just happened on the field." Derek and Peter shared looks and both of them did not seem happy about the news, in fact they looked even more concerned than before.
"Okay, why is no one taking this as good news?"
"Because if Jackson is dead, it didn't just happen. Gerard wanted it to happen." Oh that's just perfect. Now I guess we have to figure out what that particular psycho is after. I swear, this town has a surplus of psychopaths, as if they all just purposefully gathered here to prey on everyone else.
"But why?"
"Well, that's exactly what we need to figure out, and something tells me the window of opportunity is closing. Quickly."