Chapter 42

Scott held Melanie tightly around the waist, keeping her right arm against her side. Her heart raced as Chris held her left arm perpendicular to the floor. The three of them were all that was left in their cell. Sam wouldn't put anybody in there with them, in hopes that they would turn on each other. He was an idiot Melanie decided.

"Ready?" Chris asked, looking from her arm up to her hardened eyes and back down.

Melanie nodded. Chris pulled then pushed her arm in one fast movement, putting it back in the right place. She groaned through gritted teeth. Her eyes watered as the dismal cell turned blurry then rolled backward. She blinked until her eyes uncrossed from the jolting aches. Bits of hair stuck to her cracked lips. Chris rubbed her shoulder over tenderly with his thumbs. He moved when Scott went to put his hand on it, taking some of the pain away. He left a numbing sensation over the spot. Calm spread from her shoulder over her entirety, making her slump.

"Scott?" Melanie croaked. "I'm going to die down here."

Scott looked up, a sharp pain shot down his spine as he did. The fights were getting more difficult, and Sam wasn't feeding them very much anymore.

"No you're not. We'll make it through this," Scott said.

"I'm not like you. I can only do so much. I'm trying so hard," she choked out a sob, "I'm trying so hard so I can get back to him."

"And we'll find a way."

"I don't know."

"It'll be okay. Sam can't take what we don't give, and we aren't giving him shit," he said. Sam got more and more furious that they weren't losing. Chris had been here the longest and was still alive. Melanie was reigning champ, but when not in the ring she was just a blob of black and purple.

"I don't have anything to give to anyone," she mumbled.

"Wait what? What are you talking about?" Scott asked confused. She met his eyes. The corners of her lips fell into a frown. Her eyes glistened and small tears trickled down over her cheeks. She didn't wipe them away. They dripped from her jawline.

"When I went for that check-up Melissa said that there's so much tissue damage and I-I am damaged. I can't get pregnant. I don't have any abilities. I'm just a stupid girl. It was my fault that my parents died and Laura would still be alive if..."

Melanie clenched her eyes shut and hugged her knees to her chest. The bones of her spine poked out down the length of her back.

"Melanie, you're one of the most intelligent people I've ever met. You've learned to do things ordinary people can't do. You should be dead and you're not."

"Your point?"

"You are stronger than you realize. You can't just give up. There are ways to fix this kind of thing. You just have to hold on."

"Scott, you don't understand..." she sighed heavily, struggling to breathe. Her stomach stopped aching for food a while ago, but every breath took a lot of effort to get in and out.

Melanie was tired, tired of everything. She faced away from Scott.

"We'll get out of this."

"Scott, there's something else I should tell you. You know, since we'll probably never get out of here?" She paused. "The dream you had, the one you told us about. The one where you were never bitten. It was my fault. I did it."

"Mel, stop. It was a bad dream. Don't take the blame for my bad sleeping habits."

"But it was my fault. I had it put into your head by a dreamwalker."

Scott looked over at her. His blank confusion turned to rage as he realized she was being serious. It was too difficult to imagine such a thing but she wasn't lying. She cringed.

"What?" He gritted out through a tens jaw. "How could you do that? How could you invade my head like that? I died in that dream. I saw Allison in love with..." He stopped himself for a second. "I saw Isaac die in my dream. Why would you do that, Melanie!?"

"You were giving up and I was trying to help. You weren't in any real danger. You just needed to believe that everything was okay and accept what you are."

"So you mess with my head?!"

Chris watched them carefully at seeing Scott's eyes, but remained quiet.

"I was only trying to help! Don't be mad," she said.

"I'm not mad. I'm furious."

Scott turned away from her, fuming.

"Scott," she said.

He didn't respond.

"Scott," she cried quietly. "I did what I had to."

Still, he said nothing, leaving her with her dreadful hopes to leave this place the easy way.

Allison swung the electrically charged baton once more on Deaton's order. The lanky man fell into an oily puddle on the ground. Deaton refused to let Isaac come along. He would've kill the guy and he was the only physical lead. The man groaned, holding his side.

Aiden had caught him after he snuck into Lydia's house and tried to kidnap her. He nearly killed him by throwing him so hard into a wall.

"Don't make this difficult," Deaton said, crouching next to the bleeding mass. "What is happening to those who have been kidnapped?"

"Screw you." Blood was painted across the guy's crooked teeth and dribbled over his bottom lip.

Cora kicked him across the face. He flew back and landed on his back, coughing and wheezing.

"Speak, street rat," she growled. "Or I'm going to rip you apart with my bar hands."

She flashed him her claws, bearing a deadly smirk. The street rat still didn't give up any information.

"He's our only lead," Allison said with a desperate look to Deaton.

"We'll find out what he knows," he assured her.

Murderous screaming ensued, piercing their ears as Cora took it upon herself to torture the street rat by jamming her claws into his side and wiggling it around. None of them had seen this side of her. A grin pulled at her lips, filled with joy. This was fun to her. Deaton stopped Allison from hurrying forward to stop Cora. She looked at him deranged.

"Just wait," he told her.

Cora leaned down to the grotesque form of the street rat and dug her hands into his throat. Some of his body parts looked like they'd been shoved through a meat grinder. She crouched down to his level, a leg on either side of him and her eyes blazing a fiery blue.

"You know, if I bite you, you could die," she said. She ran her tongue across her teeth. The street rat shuddered. "I'm not an alpha like my brother. You'll bleed out within seconds and if that doesn't kill you, the infection ill. It'll puss and ooze and you will die very slowly."

She growled at him. He flinched and cowered. Cora dug her claws deeper into his flesh. A small pool of blood formed around her feet and grew.

"Cora," Deaton said, his tone holding a warning.

She eyed the hunter and vet then looked back down at the mess in her hand.

"Just help us out. We'll make sure you get to a hospital," Cora whispered into the street rat's ear.

His mangy hair stuck to his forehead and cheeks as he whimpered and shook helplessly.

"Fine! I'll-I'll help."

Cora looked up at Deaton, trying to hide her triumph but failed. A grin crept across her face, and she retracted her claws and stood. Deaton let out a soft sigh.

"Let's get him to the hospital," he said.

The girls each grabbed an arm and helped drag him to Derek's SUV. Cora drove quickly without regard to stoplights and any other law. After dropping him off at the ER entrance the three of them headed to the loft. Derek and Stiles was waiting for them. Dark circles clung to his eyes from lack of sleep. He looked back over his shoulder when the loft door slid open loudly.

"So?" he asked.

Stiles's eyes widened at the blood spattered on the fem-wolf. He hurried to her side. She brushed him off, lightly slapping his hands away. There were no wounds on her.

"I'm okay," she assured him.

Stiles huffed, aggravated. He had every right to be with all of the kidnappings. He didn't want her to be next. It was cute, kind of. Every other night Cora would sneak through his window and slip into his bed. It put him at ease how she spooned against him. She wouldn't admit it aloud, but she was nervous that he could 'disappear' too. Lydia had nearly been next. It wasn't hard to mistake him for a werewolf. He smelled like one, though half the time he just forgot to shower.

"There's an underground fighting ring," Cora told Derek.

"Where?" he asked. His arms were tightly crossed over his chest. He glared heavily, though it wasn't at Cora.

"He didn't know. He said that he just helps find them then delivers them to whatever undisclosed location he's told."

"Then he needs to help us find it or I'm going to rip out his throat." Derek's eyes glowed menacingly.

Melissa recognized the claw marks on the man instantly. This wasn't a normal animal attack. She didn't do anything to stop them. There was nothing to be done. They were trying to find Scott. That's what she kept telling herself. She let out a long, shaky breath. Her hands shook as she pressed gauze over the man's side. He was bony like he hadn't eaten in days.

"Melissa?"

She turned to see Isaac in the doorway.

"Everything alright?"

"Uh, yeah," she replied. "What are you doing here? You should be trying to sleep. You have school tomorrow."

"I haven't slept for two the last days," he replied. He gave a tired shrug and leaned against the doorway.

Melissa nodded. She hadn't done much sleeping either. Whenever she tried she had nightmares. Each one was of Scott dying in some horrific manner, and she couldn't stop it. It left her restless.

"Have you heard anything," she asked.

"No," he replied. "They've stopped telling me anything. They're afraid that I'll kill whatever lead we get."

"Would you?" Melissa turned her stool, the wheels squeaking, and faced him. "Stiles tried explaining whatever it is this thing is between you and Melanie. So, would you?"

"Yes."

Melissa sighed heavily.

"Isaac-"

"I've been waking up more tired than when I went to be, and I'm unable to see straight. There have been times that I'm struck awake by some invisible force. I've had a black eye. My ribs have been blackened, purple and cracked. Something is killing her so bad that I'm getting the blowback."

Melissa turned away and continued to clean the wounds on the man's stomach if only to keep him from seeing the fright that shook in her eyes. Isaac remained there for a little while longer until his phone buzzed against his leg in his pocket. They had a lead, but they needed the guy they dropped off. Isaac eyed the brutally wounded man who stared at him tensely. He looked ready to bolt at any second. Melissa didn't pay attention to his jumpiness.

Isaac hung up and put his phone in his pocket, not taking his eyes of him. Derek called him the street rat. The street rat shivered as Isaac stepped into the room, his eyes glimmering gold. He touched Melissa's shoulder, making her jump.

"Isaac?" her voice shook uneasily.

He guided her to the door then went and grabbed the street rat by the throat. The street rat's face reddened from Isaac's hard grip. Isaac pulled him from the hospital bed, lifting him high enough that his feet barely scraped the floor.

"We need one more thing from you," Isaac growled.

"Isaac, don't kill him," Melissa said. She grabbed his arm.

Isaac looked at Melissa and his eyes softened to their young blues.

"He knows where Scott is," he croaked. "We can finally find them."

He walked around her and dragged the street rat out of the hospital. Two security guards tried to stop him, but were knocked unconscious easily. Like before at the motel and in Derek's loft, Isaac felt rage coursing down through his hands and feet. It wasn't going to go away until Melanie was in his arms again. The feeling burned in his chest. It was similar to being drunk, but he'd never been drunk. He only assumed so from seeing his father drink and get in a furious rage from it.

Once at the loft, he tossed the street rat to Derek's feet.

"I need you tonight," Derek told Isaac. "But you have to have a level head."

Derek looked at everyone else.

"It's a full moon. Anybody who can't do this doesn't have to. If you can't handle it then don't do it. The twins don't have the same control they once had. Lydia and Danny are staying behind to make sure they don't get loose tonight. I won't blame for staying, but I am getting them the fuck out of that place," Derek said. His fists clenched at his sides. His shoulders rose and fell fast with each breath. Isaac hadn't seen him like this before.

"I'm going," Isaac said, stepping forward.

"Me too," Cora said.

Stiles stepped up beside her as did Allison. Derek's eyebrow twitched as seeing Stiles step up next to her. There hadn't been enough time for him to dissect how he came to date his little sister. Nobody saw it coming, least of all Derek. Everyone was waiting for him to blow up and for Stiles to mysteriously go 'missing'.

Derek looked down at the street rat who was trying to army crawl away. He stepped on his leg. The street rat whimpered and punched Derek's calf weakly. Stiles stifled a scoff.

"You're going to take us to this fighting ring, now," Derek growled. "And I won't kill you."

The street rat whimpered. He was already bleeding through the gauze.