Authors Note:

So that little film I mentioned before has finally been shot and is the process of editing/post-production which is awesome! I'm getting started on another short film again to shoot mid-november but I'll have to share all the release details later. It's been amazing and I'm quite glad with the product so far. ERMAAGAD I LURV FILM MAKINGG!

Little bit of a short chapter, but I very much hope you do enjoy. Two more chapters left of the season final of S2 now! I've just gotta keep chipping away. Don't forget to leave a review if you have the time, always manages to brighten my day!

Chapter Twenty-Six: The World Is Spinning

There was something strange about Beacon Hills. Its name leant a lot to the reason. But the most chilling part of Beacon Hills was in fact the woods that lined the borders. The way the trees creaked and brushed against one another on the stillest of nights was a sight that many had not had the luck of experiencing.

Avery had been running. Running physically and mentally. But no matter how much she kept moving everything would find a way of catching back up to her. When she finally stopped to rest the thoughts that had been swimming around inside her head came to one resounding conclusion. She had made her brother into a killer when he had strived to get away from that past.

She could kick herself. The signs had been there. Her leg and the healing! Derek was skeptical at best when she had showed it to him. Perhaps he had guessed this outcome before she had. Maybe it was simply coincidental. The words from the bestiary played like a broken record, over and over. But the thing that infuriated her most was her naïve belief that she could do right by Sam. From the moment the Venator siblings knew what Sam was they knew that the Kanima was a weapon of vengeance. Yet, neither of them said anything and when one did the other would shut down the idea of it. There was so much regret and guilt filling Avery's mind she found it hard to stand; Until she couldn't.

With distain she slid down the back of a tree and buried her face in her hands. Her throat ached as she fought back tears. She couldn't cry. She wouldn't let herself. After everything was said and done her actions were irrevocable. Avery had killed before in her life. She rarely brought it up or dwelled on it, but now everything she had ever done wrong was pulling her deeper into regret. The first time Avery had killed it had been an odd sensation. She was sixteen and her training had reached a peak. She knew the tricks and the ways to catch the creatures they went after and Brian took her on a hunting trip to get real life experience. The whole thing went unimaginably wrong.

The Venator's all met up with a visiting hunting family from Romania, promising to help track down a den of Wendigos. Armed with every weapon in the book they seized an abandoned farmhouse, just on the outskirts of Louisiana, but what awaited them was something unimaginable. They thought they were going in to take out four Wendigos but instead were met with a several. She shot an elderly female Wendigo right through the forehead; the wolfsbane laced silver bullet ensured it never got back up again. Somehow, despite the atrocity of the situation Avery had never felt remorse for that woman. Wendigos were far worse than Werewolves, at least that's what she had believed all this time. Against the tree, the wet leaves soaking into her pants, she couldn't help but second-guess her judgment.

But since then her gun, or whatever weapon she had at her disposal, had only been used to aid other hunters. She hadn't killed, only trapped or 'slowed down' the prey. She was never a bloodthirsty person, although she couldn't say the same for the rest of her family. These four murders changed everything.

Suddenly her phone began to violently vibrate in her pocket. She pulled it out, cleared her throat and answered.

"Hello?" he voice was croaky, she coughed again.

"Avery, it's Derek." Derek replied on the other end rather quickly, "We've worked out what's going on with Jackson. He's -,"

"Becoming an Alpha. I know." Avery cut him off.

"You need to get down to the Warehouse district. We're meeting Scott and Isaac with the body and going from there." He explained.

"I'll get there as soon as I can." She pulled the phone away and hung up before Derek could say anything else. But she was lying.

Avery had no intention of meeting Derek, Scott or her brother. Instead she got to her feet and started in the direction of the Hale house. She couldn't stay in Beacon Hills any longer. She couldn't stay near Sam. From the little knowledge she had of the Kanima she knew the events that would unfold in the next month would not be good. Sam had pretty much said it himself, he didn't need Avery around. All she'd done was get him nearly killed time and again ever since they got here. She was the one with the problem. She was the one that set him back on the wrong path.

There was a reason why Sam had killed those men so easily and it had to do with the bond between them. Avery reached a painful conclusion, stomping forward. There was no way she could fix things with Sam. If she wanted to do what was best for him she needed to leave and sever all ties. She couldn't even bare the think about what was going to happen when she started to physically change. Could she even have a master, when her transformation was complete, or would she turn into something viler?

"No." she thought. She had to be out of Beacon Hills before anything like that could happen. She'd travel across the other side of the globe and hide away so that no one had to know about the creature she'd become.

When she finally arrived at the Hale house everything went back into autopilot. She dropped the phone and began packing what she could into one backpack. Then finally, she felt the water seeping down her cheeks. She was carrying a weight on her that nobody should have to bare. She shoved as many clothes as possible into the bag, trying to ignore the water falling onto them. Her throat was constricting, causing her to choke on air. For a moment she thought she might go back into another panic attack but the feeling passed. She was so infuriated, her fists clenching until they cramped, but she felt strong. This was the right thing to do for everyone. Strangely enough she kept imagining what one particular individual would say to her about all this. Not her mother, brother or even her dead grandfather. No, it was in fact Derek Hale that she couldn't stop thinking about.

And for the life of her she couldn't work out why.

xxxx

Avery wasn't the only one feeling the weight of past actions. The car ride between Brian and Chris was quiet as their thoughts swirled inside their heads.

Brian couldn't fathom the way Andrea had said the things she did. She was a mother, she had loved and protected their children their entire lives. She would take a bullet for them. At least that was what Brian had believed, clearly it wasn't the case anymore. He was no psychiatrist. He didn't know he she had a mental break or was suffering something more serious, but he did know that it wasn't like her.

The guilt was growing stronger. Flashes of the night Sam had been bitten were stuck on a constant repeat. At the time Brian had been cold, firm, driven. He thought he knew what he was going and that it would be best for Sam in the long run. What a massive mistake. With the blinders off, he couldn't help but clasp his stomach. He couldn't stop the terribly sick feeling in his gut knowing he was responsible for taking away the Sam's happiness. Everything, even this car ride was because Andrea and himself were too cowardly, too narrow-minded to believe that perhaps a hunter and a werewolf could in fact have a relationship beyond shooting and killing. They were too blinded to see that a hunter and a werewolf could love.

"I let Derek's betas go." Chris said when they came to a set of lights on red, snapping Brian back into reality. He nodded, still silent, "You're not having second thoughts are you?"

Brian cleared his throat, shaking his head again, "No. Never. I was just wondering how I could ever let things get to this. Why we came to Beacon Hills to hunt our children."

"That's a question only you can answer." Chris said flatly, taking off again as the light went green, "For now we need to find the McCall kid and if I know Scott, he'll be right in the crosshairs."

"Which is where exactly?" Brian asked. Chris' foot pressed hard to the accelerator.

"To Jackson's body."

"Then what?"

"Then we fix this mess up. We do what's right." Chris continued, "And if we play our cards right, we can both win our children back."

xxxx

Scott and Isaac somehow managed to get Jackson's body out of the hospital without being caught, a feat that either of them barely understood themselves. Scott had the top and Isaac the bottom as they waddled through the hospital parking lot. They'd crossed half the distance when Scott's hands slipped and Jackson's head thumped into the pavement. They stopped in disbelief, until the sound of an incoming car jumped them back into action. Scott pulled at the bag's materials, but when a pair of headlights beamed brightly onto the scene, he turned back. Met with the highbeams he steadied his hand in front of his eyes until he could make out two figures stepping from the car. Chris Argent and another man vaguely familiar, that he recognized from the night in the police station when Matt Daehler went nuts.

The lights were off as quickly as they arrived. Still the two men approached. Scott and Isaac feared the worst. Scott squared his shoulders and stared Argent straight on.

"What do you want?"

"We don't have much in common Scott, but at the moment we have a common enemy." Chris replied vaguely. Scott glanced quickly back at Jackson before continuing.

"That's why I'm trying to get him out of here."

"I didn't mean Jackson." Chris explained, "It's Gerard. He's twisted his way into Allison's head. It's the same thing he did with Kate. And I'm losing her."

"Anyone who comes into contact with him is at risk." Brian interrupted.

"Who's he?" Isaac spoke up.

"I believe you know my children." Brian replied. Chris shook his head in frustration, trying to get back to the point.

"Scott, I know you're losing her too."

"You're right. So can you trust me to fix this?" Scott kept his strong gaze, "Can you let us go?"

"No." Chris replied coldly, a smile slowly forming. Scott and Isaac's worry returned to their face with a mixture of confusion before Chris spoke again.

"My car's faster."