Chapter 10: Headaches and Hunting

I guess the good news was that we were all conscious by the time the ambulances arrived. Agent McCall, Sheriff Stilinski, and myself were all in the back of two ambulances, being looked over. Sheriff Stilinski suffered nothing more than a couple scrapes and bruises, while Scott's dad had a minor concussion as well as multiple lacerations along the torso. I wouldn't find out any of this until later, because when I was in the ambulance, I was still unable to hear anything.

My vision for the most part had cleared up, and I could see things up close. The ringing was still so sharp in my ears that I started to wonder if it would be permanent. My head was throbbing, and the paramedic who was assessing me seemed to be having a little bit of trouble. The sheriff was by my side in the ambulance, dealing with a paramedic himself. He kept shooting me worried glances and explaining to the paramedic what I assume was a cover story.

The EMT shone a flashlight into each of my eyes and gestured for me to follow the light with my gaze. I did so with slight difficulty, but once the light was out of my eyes, I glanced back at the overturned car. Garrett's body was hauled away in a body bag out of my sight and I shuddered. The paramedic turned around to see me shuddering before following my gaze. She sighed when she saw I was only reacting to seeing Garrett and not another medical issue.

"... June... shoes, and see if... and toes..." I tried to read her lips but it wasn't working well for me, as my headache impeded a lot of my abilities. I saw the paramedic lean down and take off my shoes and socks before she came back to my eye line and held her hands out in front of her. She wiggled her fingers and I mirrored her actions. She pointed at my feet and I wiggled my toes. The EMT smiled at me and nodded, before grabbing an ice pack for me. I reached out my hand to take it, but was overcome with a rolling sensation in my gut. I quickly stood up, swaying in dizziness before hopping out of the ambulance.

I moved to the side of the vehicle and emptied the contents of my stomach. When I was finished, I felt a gentle hand on my back and I looked back up. Sheriff Stilinski calmly guided me back to the ambulance and helped me steadily get in. The paramedics were quick to check my eyes again and started speaking to each other. Stilinski sat me down on a bench and sat next to me while the EMT's shut the doors. I breathed a sigh of relief when I could vaguely hear the doors close. On the way to the hospital, the ringing in my ears died down gradually. I could vaguely hear the Sheriff speaking on his radio and I fumbled for my phone.

There was no word from Stiles, Lydia, or Argent. I sighed, and sat quietly in the ambulance and waited to get to the hospital. I was also waiting for the healing potion Argent was supposed to bring me.

Thankfully, Melissa McCall was a nurse on call. She was quick to take the sheriff and I to a room on the side and let us explain what happened. I told her I was waiting on Scott and Argent to pick me up.

"June, you've suffered significant head trauma," Melissa argued.

I shook my head, "It's mild to moderate, my pupils are only slightly dilated, I can still move everything willingly, I'm fine. It's probably just a little worse than your ex-husband."

"Right and my ex-husband is staying the night. You should too," She said and I shook my head yet again.

"I can't. Argent and your son need my help. Besides, Argent's bringing me a healing potion, so this'll all be over in a bit."

Melissa pursed her lips and sighed, "Fine. But I want the sheriff with you until Scott gets here. And I want Scott to come get me after you've taken that potion. I'll need to clear you out of this hospital and you better have a clean bill of health."

I shrugged, "Fine."

Scott came in about twenty minutes later with Argent. Stilinski asked him the usual making sure he was okay. Of course, being a werewolf, he was perfectly healed and ready for action. Argent handed me the vial of healing potion that was in my car. I quickly downed the bottle, and puckered my face at the usual lemony taste. I quickly felt more awake and less sluggish than I had previously. The throbbing in my head dulled down to a manageable ache. I hopped off the bed I had been sitting on and Scott and I went to find Melissa.

Melissa reluctantly let me leave the hospital, and Scott, Argent, and I headed to Argent's vehicle. Scott hopped into the front seat, and I was in the back. When I buckled my seatbelt, I realized I was seated next to a very large automatic weapon. I swallowed and looked ahead to the two men.

"So, what now?"

"We're trying to track down Kate," Scott explained, "I've been trying to find a scent using this." He handed me a berserker claw coated in blood.

"Is this your blood?"

"Yeah," Scott explained, "But I'm fine, I healed. Anyway, turn left, it's going this way," He instructed Argent, and Argent turned accordingly. Scott asked him to pull over so he could follow the scent better, and I took Scott's place at manning shotgun. We followed Scott a few blocks before Argent tensed in his seat.

"What's wrong?"

"I know where we're going."

"'Argent Arms International?'" I read aloud, as we pulled up close to it.

"Yes," Was all that Argent replied with before he cut the car's engine and hopped out. Scott leapt over a fence and landed next to the SUV. I jumped out of the car as well and rounded to where Chris and Scott were.

"You've been here before?" Scott asked.

"I worked here. We used to own the building, it was part of our business," He scrunched his nose up at the large industrial building, thinking about what was inside.

"I've fought these things before. They're strong," Scott looked over at me and I recalled the time that the berserkers nearly broke through my shield. "Really strong," Argent walked back to his car. He pulled out the large gun from his back seat and cocked it.

"That's why I brought this."

Scott raised his eyebrows as he glanced at the gun, "I'm okay with that." We all made our way to the doors, and I felt a buzz from my phone. Quickly glancing at the screen, I saw a text from Derek:

Still no Satomi. Found Braeden, going to hospital now.

I was quick to type out a reply, saying I would meet him there as soon as I possibly could. I quickly stuffed my phone back into my pocket and walked through the door that Scott was holding open for me.

The building certainly hadn't had any inhabitants in recent times. An oddly green glow emitted around the large room encasing the plastic tarps that were hung about. Our footsteps, though quiet, still made a considerable echo, soon to let Kate know we were here.

"You shouldn't have come," Kate's voice surrounded us, not giving away her position.

"Kate," Scott tried. "I'm here for Violet, I need to talk to her."

Kate ignored him and Argent continued forward. It seemed she would only talk to her brother as she spoke again, "I knew you would find me." Her shadow appeared in front of us and Argent readied his gun.

"But I was hoping we could do this later. I just needed a little more time," As her shadow appeared so did two berserkers on either side of her. I tensed, still slightly shaken up after our last encounter with them.

"For what?" Argent asked.

"To learn control," She rounded the tarp so there was no barrier between her and us. "Lower the gun, we walk away, and you don't have to get hurt."

"Where's Violet?" I asked calmly, only to have no one answer me. The berserkers flexed their fingers and growled.

"Put the gun down, Chris," Kate calmly spoke again, and my knees started to shake.

"Mr. Argent, maybe we should listen to her-"

"Where is she?" Scott asked. Nobody was backing down. Kate snarled and bared her teeth at us, eyes glowing green. Argent didn't relinquish his tight grip on his gun. The berserkers were inhaling deeply, like they could smell the fight that was about to happen. I guess Scott could smell it too.

"No, no," He muttered, and I took that as my cue to start chanting a spell in my head. I lowly started to vocalize it, and chaos erupted in the room.

The berserkers charged at the same time Chris opened fire. Scott was yelling for him to stop but I don't think he was heard over the loud gunfire and Argent yelling himself. Kate moved to the side and swiped the gun out of his hand and punched him in the face.

The berserkers rounded on Scott, and I took it as an opportunity to distract at least one of them. I let my fear leave my body and like I had practiced before with Ginny, I let my magic take over me. It was like I was in the backseat of a car, letting someone else drive as the chants I spoke grew louder. Loud enough for one of the berserkers to turn to me and advance. I (or should I say my magic) finished the spell, and I was quickly followed by a loud bang and a flying berserker. Everyone watched as he soared through the air and landed with a sickening crunch.

I was quick to advance on it, and as the berserker stood up, several pieces of its bone armor fell to the floor, broken. I hit it with spell after spell, and the force of my magic was sending it further into the floor. I started to panic when I felt my conscious mind slipping further and further away from my magic. I was slowly losing control over it, and I tried to gain it back. In my hesitation, the berserker swiped at my feet and sent me falling to the floor. It then hoisted my up and threw me into another room, where I slid. Groaning, I realized the berserker rejoined the fight outside, and I rolled over.

I got to my feet, fully at the helm of my own magic once again. I was preparing to run back out when I saw something out of the corner of my eye that stopped me in my tracks.

At the other end of the room sat Violet, with her hands tied behind her back. Her eyes were glazed over, seeing nothing. I didn't need to ask why, her throat was practically gone because of the slash marks that decorated it. I slowly walked toward her, and in a useless gesture, I put my fingers to the side of her neck where one would usually find an artery. I found nothing, no pulse, and also no skin. I quickly rescinded my hand and wiped the blood off on her pants. I sighed, thinking about how we were supposed to find Liam without the help of Garrett or Violet.

As I finished cleaning the blood off of my hand, a loud crash from behind me made me jump. I spun around and saw Scott slide in from a newly made hole in the wall. He shook his head clear of dizziness and looked around. His gaze fell on me hovering over Violet.

"Well," I said, "Violet's dead."

As soon as I said it, we heard Kate in the other room yell, "No!" She then let out a tremendous roar, and as Scott and I climbed through the hole, we saw Kate and her berserkers walk away. Looking around, we tried to find Argent. My eyes landed on him as he lay in a heap on the floor. I pointed him out to Scott, and the two of us walked over to him. Scott held out his hand for Chris to take, and Argent gladly accepted.

"You look like you could use one of my healing potions," I tried to joke, and Argent's lips twitched upward before he winced in pain once more.

"I'm sorry," He spoke, looking at Scott.

Scott quietly replied, "I'm not gonna find him."

"There's still time, Scott," I reminded him, and Argent nodded along with me. "There's still time."

We walked Argent out to the car, and by the time he got there, he could walk on his own. He limped along and fished his keys out of his pocket.

"You need a ride back to your car?" Argent asked me and I shook my head.

"No, it's just clear across that part of the reserve," I gestured out across the street to the stretch of trees. "I've sadly gotten far more acquainted with the preserve than I wanted to."

Argent gave me my keys back, smiled at me, and gave one last look over at Scott, who was looking a little downcast. He nodded and hopped into his car before driving away. I pat Scott on the shoulder and motioned my head in the direction of the preserve.

Together, we crossed the typically busy street and headed into the woods. I pulled out my phone and began to use it as a flashlight to give us a direction. I looked up at Scott once again, and he had the same defeated look on his face.

"You're awfully quiet, Scott," I spoke to fill the silence.

He shrugged and sighed, "I have no idea how we're gonna find him."

"Well that's why you and I are out here, buddy. We're looking for him," Scott glanced down at me and smiled appreciatively.

"Just let me know if you catch his scent or something."

"Will do," We walked for about ten more minutes.

"Hey June?" Scott asked as he helped me across a stream.

"What's up, buttercup?"

"Back in the Argents' building, when we were fighting the berserkers...?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, when we went against the berserkers, you sort of - well..."

"Well...?" I hopped over a tree stump that was about to trip me.

"Your eyes were glowing purple, and you had this really scary look on your face. It was - it was like you weren't you."

I shrugged, "So that's what I look like."

"What?"

I smiled, "Ginny never told me I looked like that when I did it."

"You mean you meant to do that?" Scott asked in disbelief.

"Of course," I said, "It's an ability. My spell casting."

"What do you mean?"

"When witches perform spells correctly, it sort of opens up a part of them that allows magic to escape through."

"Escape?"

"No, I worded that wrong. Picture a witch driving a car. When they cast a spell, a part of their mind opens up to my magic and if the witch is strong enough, the magic takes the wheel."

"So you're at the control of your own magic?"

"If you can't reel it back in, yes. It's very dangerous, and most witches don't even attempt that level of magic."

"But you did?"

"Control and I go way back. I've had very few slip-ups in my magical career. That's why I tried so many dangerous things. They were all done under supervision and in a controlled environment. But I will admit, I've nearly lost control a few times."

"Are you ever scared you will?"

I thought about it for a little bit as we walked through the woods, "Not initially. I know how smart I am, it's not something that escapes my attention. I've always known my limits, and I've always pushed them extensively in the safest ways imaginable."

"But...?" Scott pushed.

"But when I developed my new abilities, it was like I suddenly didn't know myself anymore. It was then when I started having more slip-ups and this constant feeling like I was losing control of my situation."

"What did you do then?"

"I sat down with Ginny, and she talked me through new options. She gave me help when I thought I didn't need it. I've let my intelligence get to my head on more than one occasion-" Scott snorted, "- and there were moments where I thought I was above what every other witch needed: a way to control it."

"Sorry you had to stoop to normal people's level," Scott said sarcastically and I shoved him playfully.

"Anyway, if you think about it, I needed to find my own anchor. To keep myself driving that car, and not my magic."

"What was it?"

I smiled, "Not a person," Scott shot me a weathered look, "I'm sorry! It's been instilled in me since birth to be reliant on yourself before you rely on other people."

"Okay so if it wasn't a person, what was it?"

"A lot of witches used meditation as a means of control, their mantras tied them to the control they needed. That's actually what Satomi's done with her werewolves, so I suppose meditation works on quite a few platforms."

"What's your mantra?"

"Quite nosy tonight aren't we, Scott?" I grinned at him and he laughed breathily.

"Just trying to distract myself, I guess," He answered and I nodded. "So, what's your mantra?"

"Elvis Presley," I admitted and Scott stopped walking. I turned to face him. He was looking at me disbelievingly.

"Elvis, seriously?"

"Dead serious, Ginny hated boring mantras, so she would always put on an Elvis record while we meditated. It worked marvelously."

"So you kind of did anchor yourself to a person," Scott pointed out and I thought about it.

"Touche, Scott."

"June can I ask you something else?"

"Well I'm not talking to anyone else out here," I said and we trudged through some thick tree roots and onto the road where my car was.

"What would happen if you couldn't keep driving that car, if your magic were to stay at the wheel?"

I unlocked my car, "You mean if I lose control of my magic entirely?" Scott nodded sheepishly and I sighed. "Most likely something I hope no one is around to see."

Scott's expression was inquisitive, but he couldn't ask anymore questions. In the not-far-off distance, we heard a roar that turned into a yell as it echoed around us. My eyes widened and I looked to Scott.

"Where did that come from?"

But Scott was already off. I sprinted after him, which was not an easy feat in the dark in the middle of the woods. I could barely keep up with him as he bounded towards a clearing. When I got to it, Scott was doubled over what looked like a well. Scott straightened up, pulling a soaking wet Liam up with him. I rushed over and helped Scott get Liam out of harm's way.

Liam sat down on the edge of the well and gazed into Scott's eyes. I could see his whole body trembling in fear and relief.

"You're okay, Liam," Scott assured him before pulling him into a hug, "You're okay." Liam clung onto Scott for dear life, as he let what he just went through stew. Sensing that this could turn ugly quickly, I grabbed onto Liam's hand, and empathetically transferred reassurances to Liam, and a sense of calm. He was okay, and he needed to know that. I brushed my thumb over his knuckles gently when I felt the scrapes. I inspected his hand to find the same yellow substance oozing from one of the cuts.

I stood up and leaned over Liam. "Liam," I spoke, and he glanced up at me, "My car's not too far back, let's get you some help with that cut, okay?" I gestured to the cut on his chest and he nodded slowly at me, and with Scott's help, stood to his feet. His knees were quaking, so Scott threw Liam's arm over his shoulder and we quickly walked back to my car. Liam sat down in the backseat while Scott hopped in the passenger's seat and I drove us off to Deaton's.

Fortunately, Liam was not seizing by the time we got him to the clinic. Unfortunately, he did pass out, which meant we had to hustle. I helped Scott get Liam onto the table and remove his shirt. Scott stood behind Liam's head and I stood opposite Deaton while he made an incision along Liam's sternum. The cut released a familiar puff of yellow smoke, and Liam sighed. I watched the cuts begin to heal themselves, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"I don't want to keep watching people die," Scott said, wiping sweat off of Liam's forehead with his sleeve.

"I'm not sure you have much choice about that," I argued quietly.

"Maybe I do."

"That's a lot of burden to carry, Scott," Deaton warned him, yet a glint of pride shone in his eyes.

"I don't care. No one else dies," Scott stated simply. "Everyone on that list, everyone on that dead pool. It doesn't matter if they're wendigos, or werewolves, or whatever. I'm gonna save everyone."

"Can we save everyone tomorrow, you think?" I jested, and Scott looked up at me. "You've had a long day, I've had a long day along with a tremendous headache, you should get home." Scott nodded and looked down at Liam.

"I need to go to the hospital, Derek said to meet him there," I said, remembering the text he sent me. Scott looked up at me curiously.

"Why does Derek need you?"

"I'm not entirely sure, something to do with Satomi I hope. Last I checked he was going to go and look for her pack. Are you okay to get home?"

"I can drive him home," Deaton offered, "Thank you for your help."

I gave him a mock salute before leaving the clinic. It was pouring rain when I walked outside, so I hustled to my car. I was quick to drive down to Beacon Memorial and rush inside to where Derek said he would meet me. While I was driving, Stiles texted me, saying that he cracked the last bit of the list and that Meredith Walker was dead.

"What took you so long?" Derek asked me and I rolled my eyes.

"Ran into a berserker or two while hunting an ex-hunter," I shrugged, "Stiles texted, he said they cracked the last bit of the dead pool."

"Him and Lydia?"

"Yes, why?"

"Aren't you worried? I mean he used to be in love with Lydia."

I gave an eye roll worthy of Tony Stark before replying, "First of all, I cannot believe your mind is that childish enough to really think that he's still in love with Lydia. Second, I'm not the type to be clingy and forbid my significant other to be friends or associate with other girls. It's feeding in to the patriarchy that we call modern-"

"And I clearly unleashed something you've built up for years that I am not interested in," Derek said.

"So what happened then?"

Derek walked me down the hall and into a room with Braeden inside, "She kept saying something, it didn't make much sense."

"Well what was it then?"

"I should probably tell you that we found her out in the preserve with all of Satomi's pack. But everyone out there was dead."

"All of them?"

"Except Braeden."

"Okay aside from the fact that they were all dead in the woods, what else was weird about this?"

"You know when a werewolf is poisoned with regular wolfsbane, and starts to try and heal itself?"

"You mean how a werewolf secretes that nasty black tar-looking stuff for lack of a better word?"

"Yeah. Every single werewolf was covered in it, in one form or another."

"But you don't think it's wolfsbane?" I guessed.

"Stuff like that can't kill of an entire pack like that. Someone would've gotten away, but none of them did."

"Satomi did, Satomi got away," I argued.

"I still don't know where she is, but that's not what concerns me right now."

"Then what does?"

"Braeden."

"What because you're crushing on her, or what?"

"Now who's got the immature mind," Derek accused, and I scoffed.

"What did she say?"

"Before she went into surgery, she kept saying the same word over and over again."

"What word?" I asked Derek.

"Infected."