Eric is happy about Alex coming home, and tries to make everything perfect for his return. Allison realizes what she's done, but she gets no time for regrets. Chris put her and Alex to work to clean up the place. Chris gets frustrated by Alex' behavior. Lydia gets a notion that something is not right, and she calls Allison. As soon as she and Stiles learn where the others are heading, they leave the house to meet them. Allison drives recklessly through the night, hoping she can save her friends.
Eric was excited. He'd changed the linens on Alex' bed and lit some scented candles to give the room a relaxed atmosphere. A bottle of white wine was sitting in a bucket of ice on the table. He'd made a plate of Petits fours that he'd covered with saran-wrap. It was almost like he was expecting a date, but he knew that Alex would understand.
There was a chance that Alex wouldn't be using his room tonight. Hester would possibly put him in the cage, but Eric would try to convince her to let him be this one night.
He'd also made sure to decant Hester's favorite wine. If she for some reason needed a punching bag when they arrived, Eric would offer himself up. He knew that Alex would be guarded and possibly chained up for an extended period of time, but tonight, Eric wanted him to feel welcomed. He wanted him to be excited about coming home.
It shouldn't be long now before he'd be able to hear the car, and he did a last minute assessment of the premises. He didn't want Hester to find anything to bitch about when she came back. Satisfied with his own work, Eric poured himself a glass of wine and slumped down on the couch.
The sound from outside was slightly disturbing. It wasn't like Hester to speed up the driveway like that. Eric jumped up from his seat and rushed towards the door. Something must have gone wrong.
Joy came crashing in. She was crying uncontrollably as she sunk down on the floor in the hall. "They killed her! I ran. I'm a fucking coward, I didn't even try to save them." Eric didn't know what to do. He crouched down and reached his hand out towards her. "Killed who? You don't mean..." He didn't get to finish before Joy grabbed him and clung to him for dear life. "Yes, yes. Hester is dead. Troy is... I don't know."
Eric was seriously conflicted. He wanted to ask all sorts of questions, but he decided to let Joy set the pace. It took several minutes before the sobbing subsided. She rubbed her face against his chest in an attempt to wipe the tears away.
"What happened?" He had to ask. "What about Jade and, and, uh, Alex?" Joy sniffled a little against his chest. "I don't know. Alex... he, I couldn't do it. He... begged me and I..." She emitted a sore cry. "We have to save my sister. We have to get her."
-o-o-o-o-o-
It was like a veil suddenly had been lifted from her face and she could see clearly. Allison was sitting on top of Troy's almost lifeless body. The guy was still breathing, but she didn't think he was fully conscious. At the treeline, next to a rusted chain-link fence, Isaac was on the ground. His head was in Alex' lap, and Allison could hear sobbing from over there.
The young girl – obviously Jade – was lying still next to them. Allison wondered if she was dead, but then she saw her roll over to her stomach and crawl towards Alex and Isaac. She knew she had to stop her, but a whimper next to her made her turn. Scott had his hands pressed to his side as he slowly sunk down on the ground. Blood was seeping out between his fingers and Allison wondered why he didn't heal. She got up and barely managed to catch him before he fell over. "It's wolfsbane, I think it's wolfsbane in the bullet." He huffed the words out. "Get it, uh, out of me."
Allison didn't know what to do and wondered why nobody came to her assistance. She threw a peek over her shoulder. Hester was lying there with her throat ripped to shreds. The arrow was still sticking up from her tummy, and she was practically covered in blood. Derek was also on the ground, and Allison couldn't spot any movement from him either.
She threw her head back and howled towards the night sky. Her friends were dead or dying and there was nothing she could do. She knew it was her fault. When she released that arrow, she'd started something that had escalated into a bloodbath. Her own egotistical urge for revenge, had put everybody in jeopardy.
-o-o-o-o-o-
"Allison! ALLISON!" Chris could see that his daughter got a little startled when she heard him. He ran towards her. "We have to get out of here. We have to get them out of here." He stopped next to Derek, and crouched down before he shook him violently. He sighed in relief when Derek reacted and tried to sit up. "Get to the car, I have to take care of the rest of them." Chris pointed towards where the SUV was parked. Derek had a hard time getting to his feet, and he gestured for Chris to help him, but there was no time. "Derek! If you can't walk, you have to crawl. Come on."
As soon as he was at Allison's side, he helped her get Scott to his feet. "Get him, uh, get them," He nodded towards Derek. "Help them to the car and come back." He pointed to the guy on the ground. "I'll take care of this." Troy was slowly starting to heal, but being mauled by two Alphas, it would probably take a while before he was completely back to normal.
Chris could see that the young girl was closing in on Isaac and Alex, and wondered who to take care of first. He was surprised that she wasn't dead. He could have sworn that he'd hit her in the head with the bullet.
Suddenly, Alex let go of Isaac and got up. He looked fierce as he growled loudly and grabbed the girl by her hair. "Don't you dare touching him." He hissed out, before he wrapped his other hand around her neck. Chris could hear her cry out in pain, and he could see the blood seeping from a small hole in her forehead. So he'd been correct. She did get a bullet through her brain. Chris could not understand why she was still alive.
There was no time to ponder. He hoped that Alex was in control and with a well placed kick, he managed to get Troy to turn over. He cuffed him and forced him up on his feet. If it was true that a wound from an Alpha took longer to heal, this guy could possibly die from blood-loss before long. Chris couldn't care less. He just wanted to make sure that he couldn't do any damage.
In the meantime, Alex had let go of the girl, but he was holding her down with one foot on her chest. He kept an eye on Isaac and as soon as Chris was at his side, he ran back to the boy and cradled him in his arms. "Why doesn't he heal? I mean... it is just a flesh-wound." Alex looked up at Chris. Isaac was awake, but he was clearly in a lot of pain. "Wolfsbane in the bullet. We can fix it." Chris threw Troy on the ground next to the girl. He'd no idea which one of the twins this was, but it didn't really matter.
"We have to get him to Beacon Hills." Chris didn't avert his gaze from the two werewolves on the ground. "And you will have to help me with this." Alex didn't answer at first, but Chris could hear him struggling to get Isaac up. "I don't want to leave him." Alex barely managed to get the words out without crying. "He can't die."
Chris moved so he could see the field while still keeping the guys on the ground in view. Allison came running towards them. She'd obviously managed to get Scott and Derek into the car. "He's not going to die. Do as I say. Allison will take him to the doctor."
"The doctor? What doctor can fix this. There will be questions." Alex was sobbing now, and Chris shook his head. This wimpy little werewolf was starting to annoy him. "Dr Deaton. He can fix this. I just wished we had an unused bullet. It's easier if he has the same wolfsbane."
Allison was at Isaac's side now and helped Alex holding him up. Alex wiped his eyes. "I, uh, Joy threw the gun at me. I don't know where it is, but... it's around here. Will that help?" Chris smiled at him. "Yes! Find it!" He gestured for Alex to let go of Isaac. "Allison! Call Deaton and take them there. Alex and I will take clean up this mess."
Both of them reacted and Chris was happy to not have to repeat himself. As Allison partially carried and partially dragged Isaac with her, Chris suddenly remembered that he didn't know where the other car was. "Isaac, wait. Where's your car, we need to borrow it."
With great effort, Isaac dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. When he was unable to lift his hand to throw them, he just let them fall to the ground. "It's behind a shed, next to that burnt out building. It's a little bit of a walk." He panted heavily as if talking took all his strength.
Alex found the gun and handed it to Allison. "Take care of him, will you?" He stroke Isaac's cheek before he kissed him gently on the lips. Chris had to turn away; it was a little embarrassing to watch. "Oh, come on. He'll be fine."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
They were going to meet Hester at ten. If everything went according to plan, it should be a quick rendezvous. Stiles had expected to hear from Derek shortly after. When it was almost eleven, he started to worry. Lydia had been the epitome of cool all evening, but Stiles could see in her eyes that she too was a little distressed at the moment.
His dad was clearly a little nervous also. The contents of the whiskey bottle on the table had decreased significantly over the last hour, and he was unable to focus on the paperwork in front of him.
Stiles wanted to call, but he didn't dare. He was afraid that if they were in any kind of trouble, the sound of a cellphone could throw them off. He could see that Lydia threw a sneak peek at her phone ever so often, and he was pretty sure she had the same thoughts.
"Eh, Lydia, I, eh... shouldn't we do something? We should have heard from them by now." He couldn't take the silence anymore. Lydia took a couple of deep breaths before she turned to him. "I don't really know how my abilities work, but I can't feel anything right now." She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. "I can't be sure, but I think I would have felt it if any of them were dead."
That had to be a good thing. Stiles felt a little better, but then he saw Lydia scrunch her face as if she was in pain. "What? Did you... uh, can you sense anything?" She shook her head and sighed. "I don't know. Something is not right, but I don't know what it is."
Stiles grabbed her hand and Lydia reacted as if she'd been electrocuted. She pulled away and stared at him. "Derek!" She seemed to hold her breath for a second. Stiles reached out for her hand again. "Derek? Why did you say his his name?" He noticed that Lydia scooted away as if she was scared of him. A shiver went down his spine. He was pretty sure Lydia had felt that there was something wrong with Derek.
"You have a bond with him, I guess." She took a deep breath. "It was like I could feel his pain when I touched you." Her words made Stiles choke up. "What do you mean? Physical pain?" He needed to know what this was all about and without warning, he grabbed her forearm. Lydia emitted a faint whimper before she ripped herself loose and jumped out of the couch. "He is at ease. Derek is relaxed, but he is in pain. Do not touch me again."
She started pacing. The sheriff looked up at her but didn't say anything. He shifted his gaze towards Stiles and lifted a brow. Stiles was out of the couch now and tried to approach Lydia as he addressed his father. "Something went wrong. Derek is hurt. Lydia could feel that he is in pain."
His dad shook his head and twirled the tumbler in his hand. "Oh my God. I'm trying to get used to that werewolves exist, and now you're telling me we have a psychic in our midst. Come on." Under any other circumstances, Stiles would have found it funny, but now he just got annoyed. "She's not a psychic, she's a... oh fuck. I, does it matter?"
Lydia was fumbling with her phone. She kept an eye on Stiles as she walked backwards. "I'm calling Allison. Stay away from me." Stiles wanted to know more, but he braced himself waiting for Lydia to make the call.
He could see that she was worried. She pressed the phone to her ear and held her breath. Suddenly tears welled up in her eyes as she stared at Stiles. "Voice-mail. She didn't pick up." She was breathing heavily now. Stiles was about to reach out for her again when a ping from the phone startled them both. Lydia looked at it before she lifted her hand and turned the screen towards Stiles. "DR DEATON."
-o-o-o-o-o-
Chris didn't know Alex very well, but he'd accepted him. Not that he was in any position to decide who Derek wanted to have in his pack, but Alex had not given him any cause for concern. At the moment, he regretted that he didn't send him to Beacon Hills and Doctor Deaton. Allison would have handled this task much better.
Alex was constantly wiping his eyes, and Chris could hear him sniffle as he cuffed the girl and tied both her and the other werewolf to a tree. That guy was a disgrace to his species. Not that Chris had so many warm feelings for werewolves in general, but he'd learned to respect them.
Werewolves that wanted to live in peace had never been much of a concern for him, but he'd always kept a watchful eyes on the ones he knew about. He never trusted them fully. After getting to know Derek and Scott, he managed to treat them as humans and the trust had started to build up. When Allison got turned, his view on them had changed even more.
In his life as a hunter, he'd always looked at the enemy as strong and unyielding. The members of a pack were committed to one another and the bond between them was based on the same values as the hunters'.
Both hunters and werewolves were trained to control themselves, and they also needed to be able to detach themselves from sentimental feelings when they were in a fight. Hunters were looked upon as weak if they allowed themselves to crack under pressure. Chris expected the same from his former enemies.
Not so with Alex. He was just a sobbing mess. His delicate features and his scrawny body didn't really fit the picture of a werwolf either. Chris hadn't really noticed before, but Alex moved like a girl and he almost looked like a girl.
He didn't have anything against homosexuals, but he couldn't understand why they had to flaunt it. Alex was still a man, and should be perfectly capable of behaving like one.
-o-o-o-o-o-
Stiles didn't hesitate for a second. His foot was practically back to normal as long as he didn't put too much pressure on it. He knew he couldn't outrun Lydia regardless, and his dad could possibly try to stop him, but it didn't matter. He needed to go to Dr Deaton's clinic instantly.
"I'm going. I don't care what you say." He scooted towards the door and bent down to put on his shoes. His dad looked a little puzzled, and Stiles realized that he hadn't seen the text, and couldn't possibly know what was going on.
"Sorry, I..." He turned to Lydia. "Show him, I'm going." Lydia walked over to the table and put her phone down in front of the sheriff. "Allison sent this text. I don't know what it means, but I think we can all guess." She looked at Stiles. "Wait. I'm coming with, if you don't mind?"
His father tried to get up from his chair, but after downing a good portion of whiskey, he seemed a little unsteady. "Hang in there, kids. Shouldn't we try to find out more. This could be a con. What if someone is just trying to lure you outside." He reached for his own phone. "We have to try to call them all."
Stiles sighed heavily. He had his hand on the doorknob already, but knew that what his dad said made sense. "I'll try Derek. Lydia. You have Scott's number, right?"
Derek didn't pick up, and Stiles could see on her face that Lydia didn't get an answer from Scott either. Chills went down his spine. He had to take a couple of deep breaths in order to stay calm. "Try Allison again. I'll find Isaac's number."
"Ahem!" Stiles flipped his head around when his dad cleared his throat. The sheriff was holding his phone to his ear. Stiles hadn't payed attention to him at all and wondered who he had called. "Okay, good." He raised his thumb towards Stiles and Lydia. "Yeah. No, I don't need more information." He put down the phone and poured himself another drink. Stiles stared at him. "Are you gonna share? Who'd you talk with?"
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Allison drove as fast as she dared. She worried that she wouldn't get to Beacon Hills fast enough. She'd managed to get a hold of Dr Deaton, and he'd told her he'd meet them at the clinic. She slipped her phone into the cup-holder between the seats before she maneuvered Isaac into the back seat with Derek.
Then she jumped into the car and looked at the three guys. Scott was sitting next to her clenching his side. Blood was seeping out between his fingers, but he seemed to be somewhat alert. Allison had to wipe her eyes. She didn't want to cry. Isaac's moans from the back was somewhat disturbing, but she knew she had to block it out. Derek seemed to be drifting in and out of consciousness, and he was bleeding heavily from a wound in his chest.
The feeling of victory as she killed Hester had completely vanished. This was not a victory. This was disaster. Scott seemed to be doing alright, but he didn't heal the way he should. Isaac was still somewhat conscious, but he was clearly in a lot of pain. Allison knew that if the wolfsbane in the bullet traveled to his heart he could die, and he was hit only inches away.
Derek was pretty much out cold. Allison didn't even know if he was breathing and she feared the worst. She couldn't really check on him either. She had to concentrate on the driving. The road leading to the field was in bad condition. When her dad drove there, the sun was still up, but now it was practically pitch black. Allison had a hard time avoiding the cracks and holes in tarmac. The headlights didn't help much because the road had multiple curves, so she didn't get a very good view ahead of her.
In the corner of her eye, she could see the phone light up when she got an incoming call. She couldn't pick up and threw a quick peek at Scott. "Please, can you..." Scott nodded and reached for the phone, but with his hand covered in blood, the phone slipped and landed on the floor between his feet.
With great effort, he managed to pick it up, but it was too late. "It, uh, uh, was Lydia. I can call...her." He panted heavily as fiddled with the phone. Allison shook her head. She wouldn't know what to say. She had no idea about the prognoses and didn't want to have to lie. "No. Can you text her? Just tell her where we're heading."
Allison sighed in relief when she finally got out of the woods. The rest of the trip would be significantly smoother. She dared to turn to check on Derek. He looked dead, but when she saw a small tremble in his eyelids, she almost got blinded by tears. She hurried to wipe her eyes as she increased the speed. Derek was still alive, but she didn't know for how long.
That's it before my vacation. I will be writing, and if I don't post anything the next couple of weeks, I'll promise to have at least two more chapters done for when I come back.