Authors Note:
This is another longer chapter and I'm quite happy with it, it's going to play a crucial role in my plot development. Originally I was going to have the Venator family showdown in the chapter but I think I'm saving it for a later on.
Looking forward to some new reviews so if you could leave a message my creative spirit would be greatly satisfied!
Chapter Nineteen: Tortured Wolves and Other Creatures
It was darker now. The sun had just set. Erica, Boyd and Isaac were sitting inside the train discussing their feelings under their first full moon. They could feel a tingle on the tips of their fingers and toes. As the moon rose, so did the creature inside.
"I don't understand why he told them to go." Erica said in a hushed voice.
"He said something about them getting too involved. He didn't want to be dependent on them." Isaac crouched low and whispered.
"What's wrong with them being involved. I'd think after last night they're pretty deep." Erica frowned, "Besides I don't mind them hanging around anyway."
"You're just saying that because Avery helped you take down Derek once." Boyd scoffed, but there was a spark of jealousy in his eyes.
"You'd like her too if she'd taught you." Erica replied with a smirk. Boyd merely rolled his eyes.
"I think he's worried." Isaac stated, sitting up tall.
"Derek?" Erica asked, as if the mere thought of a cowardly Derek was preposterous.
"Yeah." Isaac nodded, "All he told us was that there'd been a big fight between their families when they were younger and that they were once hunters. What if that's not the whole story?"
"Of course it's not." Boyd frowned, "It's the watered down version, the one that he'll tell us so he doesn't have to drudge up the past... Personally, I think there's nothing wrong with that."
"Got something you want to share with the class?" Erica snapped.
Boyd swallowed angrily, continuing,"All I'm saying is maybe he didn't bring it up for a reason. Maybe what happened will only send everyone backwards." he held his tongue and looked away.
"Yeah well maybe it's also the reason he won't move forward." Isaac said openly. There was no reply as the three Beta's dwelled on Isaac's words.
"Are you all done psycho-analyzing me or are you going to stage an intervention?" Derek's voice echoed as he took a step onto the old cart. They all stared up at him, doe-eyed, and shook their heads.
"Good." He dumped a heavy duffle bag. It made a loud thud and instantly he unzipped it showing an array of chains and holding devices. Although the metal spiked circle drew Erica's attention the most.
"What in the world is that…?" she asked, eyes bulging as Derek lifted it from the bag.
"Aside from the chains." He tilted his head with an inkling of a smile, "It's for you."
Derek began unloading the rest of the chains and locks, their metal clicking against one another. Erica took the metal circle from Derek and inspected it, pricking her finger as she did.
"What does it do?" she dared to ask, sucking the blood from where she had cut her finger.
"The females tend to be a bit more uncontrollable during the full moon." Derek said, "You need something else to distract you from turning." Derek took it from her once more and sat it on top of her head.
"Next time." Erica frowned as Boyd and Isaac came to hold her, "We let the hunter friends stay. So next time I don't need to have a medieval torture device screwed into my brain."
"Sure thing." Derek nodded as he twisted the first screw on the circle into place. Erica let out a piercing scream that made the other wolves wince. Derek let out an exhausted sigh. This was going to be a long night.
xxxx
Avery sat biting her fingernails as the final half hour of 'Batman: The Dark Knight Rises' played out before her. Previously there had been a slight argument when Sam and Avery made their way into the local cinema. There wasn't really much on. Sam had complained he wasn't in the mood for a superhero film in the light of recent events but Avery argued it was that or Ice Age: Continental Drift. Neither of them had the patience to sit through an hour and a half of Sid the Sloth making a fool of himself or the poor squirrel loosing his nuts. So Batman it was.
Afterwards it was time for the long awaited McDonalds trip. Sam refused to go inside so Avery held up the drive through instead trying to put together an overly large and unnecessarily large order.
"Here's your meal, have a nice night." Said a perky teenage girl working in the McDonald's drive through before she handed over the goodies. Sam gave her a wink and then drove on. Avery on the other hand, had already begun to stuff her face with food.
"Oh sweet Jesus!" she proclaimed as she chewed on a mouthful of fries.
"Slow down." Sam slapped her hands as she went for more food, "You're going to die via fried potatoes and it's not going to be pretty."
"It will be a glorious death." She insisted, swallowing the food in her mouth.
"Don't forget you made me buy three cheeseburgers. So you're downing them before your demise." Sam waved one in the air, other hand on the wheel.
"Actually, I'm only eating two." She snatched it and began shoving it under Sam's chair, "This one I'm hiding under your chair so that in a weeks time Derek can find a mouldy and diseased specimen of my revenge."
"You realise he'll smell it the moment he opens the car door." Sam frowned.
"I didn't think of that..." She trailed off, looking out the window in hope of remedying her plan, "I'll just squish it into his carpet then. Even better."
"Nope you're not doing that." Sam shook his head, reaching back and pulling out the burger. With a spiteful grin he unwrapped it and took one huge bite out of it. Avery pouted and crossed her arms.
"Buzzkill."
After a few more minutes of silence while they ate and took in the scenery of Beacon Hills, Sam pulled over to the side of the road. The engine was lightly purring until he pulled the keys out and got out into the fresh air. Avery manoeuvred to get herself out and pushed herself to her feet opposite him.
"You know I could have sworn last time I got hurt like this it wasn't such a pain in the ass." She said.
"That's because you've never been stabbed in the leg."
"Don't you remember that time when your crossbow misfired when I was seventeen?" she said. Sam stopped for a moment and let out a little chuckle.
"Oh yeah. That was funny." He continued to snicker, but Avery wasn't impressed.
"It certainly was not." She hobbled over to his side, "I had to go to school the next day and was limping everywhere. Remember when Meg Daniels told everyone it was because I had had rough sex the night before with–."
"Peter Whiles!" Sam lost it with laughter, "The dork that drooled every time he saw you!"
"Yes. Exactly! Pervert Pete. I never lived that one down." She was keeping in her laughter through a scowl at the ground.
"I wonder who's going to be Pervert Pete this time around." Sam questioned playfully.
"No way, this is nothing like last time." She nudged him in the shoulder. He nevertheless continued.
"I think maybe Isaac?" he teased, she hit him again, "Or I think maybe Erica has a little girl crush."
"Stop it." Avery was laughing alongside him.
"Or maybe… Derek?" Sam proposed.
"Yeah, yeah. Very funny." Her laughter died down. The two siblings leant back onto the hood of the car and closed their eyes. There were no cars around them, no noise, just the gentle hum of the forest beside them. It was soothing and almost made them forget everything around them.
"I would never believed that we'd be here doing this on your first full moon." Avery said quietly, "But for everything it's worth, I'm glad it ended up like this."
"Surprisingly, I am too." Sam responded, "I didn't think that I'd be alright living as a supernatural creature, but it's not so bad. I think it might wouldn't been if I didn't have you here. You've kept me going through everything."
"But I'm not the only person you're glad to be around." Avery smiled, "As much as I enjoy toying with Derek, and trust me I really enjoy it, he's been kind of incredible. Side note, if you tell him I said this I will destroy you."
Sam held out his pinky finger, "I swear." Avery took it in her own finger and they shook. She glanced off into the night sky. The moon was full and there was a select array of stars placed around it. The majesty of the universe around her picked her brain for one poignant question. Why? Why were they here? But more importantly, what was it about Sam's past that caused him to turn into this? She knew, and she knew that she knew. But how could she say anything? Could she bombard him with the torment of losing the love of his life? It had to still be with him. But if she didn't say anything then it would continue to haunt him. So taking in a deep breath she turned to him,
"Sam?"
"Yeah."
"Why do you think this had to happen to us?" she asked ambiguously.
"What do you mean?" he faced her, confused as to where this conversation was leading.
"I mean… There are things we already knew about the Kanima. Something in it's past distorts it ability to–," she waffled on.
"Stop." Sam commanded sternly, "We're not talking about this."
"Why not?" she sat up, losing her cool ever so slightly.
"Because maybe I like being this." He sat up quickly, "I don't want to be uncontrollable like Derek's new wolves. I like not having to turn on a full moon and I like being connected to you, because I trust you."
"You don't trust yourself?" she said quietly.
"Maybe all of this is punishment for my past actions. Maybe I just have to wait it out until I deserve redemption." Sam said. It was almost like he was trying to convince himself instead of Avery when he spoke. Avery clasped his hands in her own.
"You haven't done anything to deserve this." She reassured him.
"You weren't there in Tallahassee. You didn't see the things that I did." He hung his head in shame, "I was a monster and now I'm physically one." Avery only shook her head and tried to convince him otherwise.
"Sam, I'm going to tell things to you straight. Whatever you did was probably horrible. I know when you were hunting you were cruel. But ever since we left Florida all I've seen you do is try to make up for that. You tried to save Ilena, you tried to save Kali's pack and now you're here in Beacon Hills working with Derek to try and save this confused kid who's trapped as a Kanima just like you. That's not the acts of a bad person, it's the acts of a good one who made mistakes." Avery bit her lip, reaching her hand up to her brother's chin. There was pain washing over his eyes.
"What if no matter what I do, it won't make up for my sins?" he brushed her hand away and got to his feet, "What if this pain I feel inside of me, every waking hour, is there for a reason?"
"I don't believe that for one second." She tried to get to her own feet, stumbling as she did.
"Well, I can't amend what I've done yet. I can't just reconcile with that." His voice raised in annoyance as he paced back and forth, "Besides why are trying to dig this out of me when you're just as screwed?"
"Don't turn this on me!" she pointed her finger at him.
"Why? You're going to bring up the facts about the Kanima on me, well how about the facts about it's master." He spat, "The Kanima is a weapon of vengeance, so what is it that you're so vengeful about?"
"Nothing. I'm not–."
"Oh! Give it up!" he shouted, "I can't break the rules, as much as you can. So what do you want to avenge?"
"You!" she shouted in return, frowning that he had pried it out of her, "I want to get revenge for you."
"Who?" Sam replied in confusion.
"I don't know. Mum, Dad, Kali. Heck, if Ilena were still alive–."
"How dare you!" Sam slammed his fist hard into the bonnet of Derek's car, not enough to dent it though.
"Well you wanted the truth, and it's because of her that we're here in the first place! If you had have just done what you were supposed to and eliminate the threat of Kali's pack without getting yourself romantically involved none of this would have happened. I'd still be working on getting my art studio running. I could be out partying with people my age instead of going to raves to be stabbed in the leg trying to protect some stupid kid that everyone else thinks should be dead."
"Well if that's how you've felt all along why don't you just leave. No one's after you!" Sam threw his arms wide open and gestured for her to leave.
"Maybe I will!" She shouted back and stormed off towards the forest's edge. Sam didn't move as she struggled through the rocky terrain, over a small mound and out of his sight. She on the other hand was cursing. She knew he would take things bad, but she didn't think he'd be delusional about it. She'd tried the comforting way and when he started to attack her about why she was in the same boat of him, she'd had enough. Sure, she wanted revenge; there was no denying that. But she would never have the balls to do it. To kill her parents, or even to go after Kali. As she trudged along, the pain of their conversation mixed with the splitting pain that was coming from her leg forced tears to well in her eyes. This had to end.
No longer was there a serene silence in the night. Between her sobs, the snapping of twigs under her feet and the sudden ruckus that the animals of the dark were making, the calmness of the night was long gone. This wouldn't be it though, Avery never gave up that easily. She was going to fix this. She had to make Sam see reason; that his past didn't have to seal his future. It was profoundly aggravating that he somehow thought that he was being punished. She didn't know if he had suddenly found God in the past month or had just cracked under the pressure, but she needed to assure him that things were going to work out and for the better. Things weren't entirely broken and despite her sarcastic pessimism even she could see that. All she had to do now was convince Sam of that. She was just wondering what was taking him so long to come after her.
Meanwhile Sam was trying to process everything that Avery had said. He should have gone after her the moment she left his sight, but he couldn't force himself. He was really infuriated at her. This whole time he had been enthralled to have her by his side but after her recent comments he wasn't so sure. Everything that had happened was a result of the terrible things he had done in his past. He had to believe that, otherwise what sense did this situation make at all? This ordeal couldn't just happen at random because the universe decided to 'change things up'. No, the people he had killed needed to be avenged. This was karma at it's finest.
Now, more than ever, he wished that he had never pulled his sister into the thick of things. She had been great to him. She'd stuck by him through the worst. She'd provided him with insight that he never could have thought up on his own. He would likely be dead if he hadn't been with her. But it had alarmed him that she would ever speak up about it all. Although, she'd never been one for secrets. So he was left with an empty pit in his stomach. Torn between the past and the future, between redemption and retribution. Why could there never be an easy fix to the mess that the supernatural world created? For now he was at war; with himself and the people he held most dear. Each one of the Venator's had literally 'stepped in it'.
Sam had to go after Avery. If he didn't it would only make things between them worse. So he had to put his pinning to the side and jump back in Derek's car. He had no idea where his little sister could be, but something was drawing him towards Beacon Hills highschool, so he would start there.
xxxx
When Avery finally made it out of the forest she found herself on the outskirts of Beacon Hills highschool. At least she was back near civilisation. If she could remember her directions properly, the abandoned depot was only ten minutes away, fifteen because of her leg. Her leg was actually killing her at the moment. In all her attempts to create dramatic immediacy she had forgotten that she was in no shape whatsoever to be taking half an hour hikes through Beacon Hill reserve. That said, she sat down on the nearest bench taking a minute to relax. Her feet began to ache as soon as there was pressure taken off them as well. It would have been better off for everyone if she had just kept walking.
There was a sound of laughter behind her, as a group of four guys lit cigarettes up on the nearby foot path. As soon as she saw them she got to her feet instantly, they were not the kind of people that spent their nights at the soup kitchen helping the poor and homeless. They were your stereotypical late-night muggers or worse in Avery's case. As she got up to move on, there was a holler.
"Hey sweet thing. Where are you running off to?" One of them shouted. Avery ignored the comment and picked up her pace, which only managed to display her unexaggerated limp.
"Oooh. She's hurt, we better make sure she gets home alright." Another shouted. They broke into a like jog to catch up to her.
"What's your name?" a tall, dark haired guy asked slinging his arm over her shoulder.
"It's not important." She brushed him off and walked a little faster, cursing under her breath as she could feel her stitches pulling.
"Haha!" he laughed and then ran in front of her, blocking her path, "Got somewhere to be?"
"Yes. As a matter of fact I was on my way to my boyfriend's who lives just around the corner." She lied trying to get past the man in front of her, but he wouldn't budge.
"Why don't you just stay a little bit with us!" said one from behind, he was dark skinned and wore a way too clichéd wife beater. If he had a bandanna on she may have even laughed. That was until he stepped a little closer and was pressed against her body, "We can show you a real good time, all you gotta do is say so." He whispered.
"Get off of me." She grabbed his arm that was encroaching on her hip and twisted it back until she heard a crack. Instantly he fell to the ground and yelped in pain.
"Bitch!" he shouted. Avery ran through the opening he had made, off the footpath and down the middle of the road. Her stitches were definitely ripped now as she let the adrenaline kick in and ran for her life. It was quite a noble attempted, until she felt a pair of arms secure themselves around her torso and throw her back onto the ground. She hit the concrete hard and grazed the palms of her hands. As she looked back up one of the guys was coming at her with a knife, a very painful looking knife.
"Why'd you have to go and do that?" he taunted, as a guy behind her pulled her to her feet by her hair. She tried to scream but a hand quickly covered her mouth. The guy with the knife toyed with it in front of her, gliding it near her throat, lips and arms. She wasn't afraid, she was infuriated and fought against the man holding her. There was no way in hell that she was getting stabbed two nights in a row. No bloody way.
"You know what we do to girls that play rough?" the knife wielding one spoke again. Avery bit the man who was holding her in the hand until she felt her teeth puncture skin. He shouted and let go.
"Rot in hell!" She screamed and elbowed him in the gut. But he didn't let go and she was stuck in a life or death tug of war situation. They were dragging her towards a car, with the door wide open. All she knew was that if she got in that car she wouldn't be getting out again. Finally the forth guy helped his friend and tried to load her in, that was when a shiny black Camaro pulled up.
It's driver stepped out and ran at the attackers. Throwing them aside like they weighed nothing at all. He helped Avery to her feet as they muggers got back to their feet ready to take him on again. Then with perfect timing, Avery's saviour began to shift into something terrifying, but something she had grown accustomed to.
"So what was it that you do to girls that play rough?" she said calmly, there was nothing to be afraid of anymore. There was no response, except for the scrambling of feet into their car and the screech of tires peeling away from the scene. Avery let out a sigh of relief as she looked up to see a human-like jaguar shift back into its normal form.
"Let's get back." Sam said with a weak smile and helped her over to the passenger seat. As soon as she could stand on her own she shook his hold off her.
"This doesn't mean you're forgiven." She stated.
"Just get in." Sam replied coldly and walked away from her to get into the drivers side. She did as he said and buckled up.
"We need to drop by Deaton's again. My stitches are broken." She muttered as the engine purred to life.
"Fine." Sam said and turned in the direction of the veterinarians. An eerie silence filled the car and both of them knew that it wasn't going to go away soon. This feud's fire wasn't about to fizzle out, not yet.