Chapter 43: Operation Silent Scream
As he stared at the circle of ash at the center of the floor, Scott almost thought it couldn't be real. But when he reached his hand out to the edge of the circle, his fingers hit against the barrier and were thrust back. His nostrils dilated as he smelled Stiles' scent permeating from that spot. He really had been trapped behind the ash, and he had gotten out. Stiles had gotten passed the ash.
His theory had been right. Both of them had been able to pass through the mountain ash before so they were potentially capable of doing it whenever they needed to. They just needed practice. Scott, he admitted was skeptical, given his failed attempts on the night of the Supermoon, but Stiles just got through being trapped. Without the help of the full moon no less. And, if Stiles had gotten through, then why couldn't he? He had before, just like him. So had the Oni when they attacked his house. Stiles believed that both of them were capable of doing it whenever they wanted, it just took practice.
Once is an accident. Twice is a coincidence. Three is a pattern.
And Scott was a part of the pattern so it should work with him too, he just needed practice, right? Scott remembered seeing Stiles push against the edge of the barrier back at his house, holding his ground against the force of it. He remembered that he done something like that the night of the lunar eclipse against Ms. Blake. And, at his house, the Oni had done something similar before they all had broken through the mountain ash barrier to attack them. The night of the Supermoon, he was frantic and desperate so he just kept running and throwing himself against the barrier. Maybe that's why it hadn't worked. Was that the secret behind getting through?
"Only one way to find out," he muttered to himself.
Scott took a deep breath before he went and set his hands against the barrier and pushed. The barrier lit up as it tried to push him back. He let out a grunt as he put more force and power behind his arms as he kept up the effort to pass through. Scott could feel the mountain ash's power increasing so Scott leaned in and put more of his weight behind his arms. The friction building against his palms caused them to heat up and that heat traveled up his arms and went to his head, out of his eyes. That made them glow red as he suddenly saw a figure on the other side of the barrier. They were pushing against it in almost the same way he was. He almost thought it was a mirror before they came fully into focus and he saw that it was Stiles. He saw him grit his teeth as his blue eyes came out and he let out a roar as he pushed on through. The shock caused Scott to lose focus and he was thrown off his feet and slid down the floor, stopping just before he went out of the classroom. Scott let out a grunt in both pain and humiliation as he felt an ache come over his body. An ache that turned into a burn as it went to his chest. He grit his teeth as he lifted his shirt to see his Supermoon wound had reopened, again.
"Well, I'm no doctor but that looks pretty bad." he heard a voice say.
Scott froze in fear as he heard the sound of approaching footsteps. A moment later, he saw his AP Biology, well former AP Biology teacher looking down at him with a solemn look on her face.
"Ms. Ramsey?" The teacher/emissary reached out her hand and he took it. "What are you doing here?" he asked as she helped him get to his feet. "I didn't think there was anyone here right now."
"I came to read and grade the first quarter reports. The hard work behind them didn't disappear when you abandoned the class, Scott."
He shrank a bit as he felt the weight of her lecturing tone again. He then noticed that she had a small dustbin and brush. "What's that for?"
"For that," she said, gesturing over at the mountain ash. "No reason to let good mountain ash go to waste," she explained. "Your friend Stiles, he left without cleaning up after himself. Just left the chairs and desks in the room disorganized and the mountain ash just lying around for anyone to find. Granted, he was distracted and then excited with his recent successful endeavor so I didn't alert him to my presence when he bolted. But, that doesn't excuse him. Rest assured, I will be having words with him first thing on Monday."
Ms. Ramsey had that stern look in her eye and Scott suddenly felt great sympathy for Stiles and wouldn't want to be him when they came back to school. Well, if they did.
"I'll help" he offered.
But she shook her head and set her things down. "The only thing you'll do is sit so we can try to clean that."
Her tone made it clear that it was a matter not up for debate so he went to sit down as she went to the first aid kit bolted on the far wall. Ramsey took out the small bottle of rubbing alcohol and some cloth before asking Scott to take off his shirt.
"This wound is not fresh," she said as she analyzed it more closely.
"It's from...that night."
She widened her eyes. "It hasn't healed yet?"
He let out a small hiss of pain when he felt the alcohol dampened wipe make contact with his wound. "It's better than it was when it first happened but it's just not really getting much better."
"Hmm, even an alpha made wound would've healed by now. That delusional boy Theo is as much an alpha as this wipe. Well, that wouldn't be fair. After all, at least this wipe has the right color." She then lifted it to show the stain of red it now bore.
That made Scott let out a small chuckle before he noticed that Ms. Ramsey wasn't laughing. He could pick up a faint mix of anxiety and grief coming off her now and his face fell flat. "Uh Ms. Ramsey?" he said softly, grabbing her direct gaze. "I'm sorry about what happened to Wilson."
"Yes, you've already told me that Scott."
"I know, but I didn't really understand why you were so upset. I didn't know what Wilson really meant to you, and for that, I'm sorry."
She stared at him for a moment before she let out a small sigh. "You've been talking with Alan, haven't you?" He kept his gaze on her and she went and took in a small sniffle. "Thank you," she said in a semi normal voice. She then went to stare at the circle of ash on the floor. "And may I ask why both you and Stiles have developed a sudden interest in passing through mountain ash?"
By the time the blood was all cleaned, Scott explained their plan to rescue Lydia from Eichen and Stiles' theory that both he and Scott could get through mountain ash even without the full moon.
"Well, I must say that his theory is plausible. If I've learned anything in the last year is that even in the supernatural world, there are exceptions known to exist here and there. If you need to pass through the mountain ash to get to Ms. Martin then why weren't you trying to get through the ash together?"
"Well, honestly I just found out. Stiles made this plan back when...he was on his own," he said a little awkwardly, pointing out their time apart in the last two weeks. "I just managed to get him back."
Ramsey widened her eyes, exposing her surprise. "Get him back? You got Stiles back in your pack? So, he stopped feeling pain whenever he sees you and the rest of the pack? They've stopped feeling pain at the first sight of him and you are not feeling void of emotion with him?"
"What? No, that's still happening." He could see the familiar condescending doubt forming on her face. "Okay, fine. He agreed to work with me and the others again. It's a first step. I thought it would help in really getting him back. But, once Virgil gets to him, he'll talk trash about me to him about what happened back at my house. After that, I'm afraid he's never going to come back."
Ms. Ramsey was silent for a moment as she went and finished taping a fresh bit of gauze over the wound. When she was done, she moved to pull a chair to sit directly in front of Scott as he put his shirt back on. "Scott, I'm going to ask three simple questions. I hope that after I do, you'll finally have what you need to get a handle on the situation. Is that okay?"
He nodded. "Okay," he muttered.
"Good. First question then. Do you trust Stiles?"
He rapidly blinked his eyes at that. "What? He's my best friend. Of course, I do," he answered very quickly.
Ramsey tilted her head a bit. "Clearly you don't if you think he's going to abandon and turn on you and the others based on the word of someone he just recently met. He must not be a very good and loyal friend to go and do something like that."
"He's not like-" he started to argue when he stopped and let the double meaning of her words sink in. "We're not talking about Stiles anymore, are we?"
She shrugged. "I don't know, are we?"
Scott let out a small heated sigh as he sank into the chair. What best friend isn't willing to even fight for his friend? Those had been Theo's words to Stiles that he'd eavesdropped on after the Supermoon.
"Is that your second question?" he weakly asked.
"No," she said with a small shake of her head. "You believe you can get Stiles back and be like before. Even though everyone around you is telling you that is not going to be simple, let alone be possible. Yet, you're still going strong on that. The second question is this: Why?"
"Why?" Scott repeated. To him, it almost sounded like a trick question.
Ramsey smiled a bit. "Yes, perhaps 'why?' is a bit too simple and vague. The full version of the question is this. Why are you trying so hard? Is it because you don't want to lose him or because you were tricked and don't want to be stuck with the fallout?"
This time Scott's eyes widened. "Because I don't want to lose him," he answered quite defensively.
Ms. Ramsey quickly held up a finger to stop him from saying more. "Then Scott, my third question. If that's true, then why did you banish him from your pack to begin with?"
"I don't know."
"Stop saying, I don't know," she cut in, sternly. "You do know Scott and it's time to stop lying to both Stiles and to yourself."
After their pack's meeting at the high school, Liam decided to go home to try and get some rest before he had to meet the others over at Scott's house for the plan to start. However, when he made it back, he saw that Hayden was there waiting for him.
"Hi," she said as soon as her eyes locked.
"Hi," he said back.
He invited her inside and they went on to sit awkwardly side by side on his bed. They were quiet for a couple of minutes before Hayden decided to be the one to finally break it.
"Liam, you need to tell your Devenford friends to stop."
His eyes widened a bit. "What are you talking about?"
Hayden narrowed her eyes at him, annoyed. "You already know what I'm talking about. Lori and her brother Brett. I know they've been watching me whenever I'm at work at Sinema. They're not as sneaky as they like to think they are."
Liam snorted. "Yeah, well, actually they're pretty good. They were taught by someone pretty good. If you noticed them then that was the point. They want Theo to know that his days are numbered and they want you and the others to know that they will go through all of you to get him if they have to, literally."
"Well, whatever they and their pack are planning, they have to stop. I'm saying this for their own good."
He stiffened. "You're saying it? Or is that what Theo told you to say for him? And you're here to deliver his message like a good little lapdog."
That made Hayden sigh. "Liam, it's not like that."
"How?" Liam barked as he got to his feet and looked down at her. "How is it not like that, Hayden?!"
"It's complicated," she tried to argue.
"Complicated? The guy snaps his fingers and you, Corey, Tracy and Josh start running. What is complicated about that?"
Hayden angrily got up and stomped over to him. "That's not what I...he's our alpha, okay."
"Alpha?" Liam let himself lightly repeat. "Is he telling you to call him that too?" he asked a little angrily. "He's no alpha Hayden."
"Oh, and who is? Scott? The same guy that you tried to kill because he sucked at his job."
That made Liam deeply flinch. "It...it wasn't like that."
She rolled her eyes at him. "Gee, why does that sound familiar?"
"You can't stay with Theo, Hayden."
"He's trying to keep us alive. All of us alive."
"I can keep you alive!" he shouted at her.
"How? You couldn't last time!" she cried back.
Liam took a step back from that. "That's not fair Hayden."
"No, but it's the truth, isn't it? I died Liam. I was dead and if it wasn't for Theo, my sister would probably be crying over a gravestone right now. Now, there's some giant monster out there, killing people left and right, and its not going to stop. What if the next pile of bodies includes my sister? Or you?" Hayden started tearing up and shaking her head, getting beside herself. "I can't...I can't let that happen. I just can't. And if the way to stopping it is with Theo then I have to do it."
Liam moved over to pull Hayden into him and tightly wrapped his arms around her. Hayden began crying into his chest as she tightly took hold of him too. Liam could smell her fear and grief coming out in waves. She really wasn't one of the bad guys like Brett and Lori seemed ready to label her as. She was just a scared girl that didn't want to die (again), or see her sister dead. Or him. And he didn't want any of that either.
He started to pull away a bit which made Hayden pull her out away from his chest. She looked up at him and Liam moved his right thumb to wipe the remnant of a tear still on her cheek. His palm moved to caress her cheek before he found himself lowering his head in closer. Hayden moved her own head up to him and their lips softly met in a gentle kiss. It stayed gentle for a moment before it started to build up...hunger. Liam and Hayden started to paw for each other almost desperately. Releasing all the tension, fear and anxiety that had been building over the last couple of days right into one another. Liam moved to reach the bottom of Hayden's top and pull it up while Hayden moved to rip open Liam's shirt. Liam then maneuvered them so that they were directly in front of the bed and set her down onto it. He then moved to unbuckle his bet as she stated to take off her jeans. Liam was left in his boxers while Hayden was in her bra and panties and the two of them just stared, taking the other in.
Liam then moved to climb and be directly over her, lining himself with her so that he was staring directly into her eyes. Hayden moved to have her hands right over his bare back and pulled him down so that they could kiss again. Passion between the two built even more heatedly then before as there was barely any barriers left to stop their heated skin from touching each other. They rubbed against each other, kissing at any bare spot of skin they could reach, letting the other forget everything happening outside that room. All that existed for them now was each other. Pretty soon, there were no barriers left on either of them and let their primal urges take control from there.
After it was done, Liam found himself spent and barely able to keep his eyes open. He had the first dreamless sleep he'd had in weeks, until movement stirred him awake. He saw that his lamp was now on and Hayden was up and getting dressed. Liam sat up and grabbed his boxers from where he left them and yanked them on before he turned to give Hayden a bit of a pouty look.
"Stay," he muttered softly to her.
But Hayden sadly shook her head. "I have to go."
"Stay here."
"With you?" she asked a little playfully.
"Stay here, with us."
Hayden's face fell a bit. "I can't."
"Hayden, Theo might think he could stop the Beast. Stop it and take its power but he can't. The guy is crazy. Stiles turned into a beast too and he was barely able to hold on. If Theo tries going up against it, he's going to get his head ripped off."
"And what, you think Scott can stop it instead?" she asked him, full of doubt.
"Yeah, he can. Well not just him. Scott and Stiles. Together, I know they can beat it."
"I thought they weren't in the same pack anymore."
"It's...complicated." Liam moved to rub at Hayden's fingers. "Things feel different now. Something changed with Scott. I think that dying did something to him."
"It did something to me too. And it wasn't good."
"What if it happened again? You won't just get hurt Hayden, you could die again and won't come back. If you stay with Theo, it will happen again. If the Gevaudan doesn't kill all of you, then Satomi and her pack will. What do you want me to do when that happens?"
Hayden didn't answer. She just moved in to hug him as he moved to squeeze her back. They stayed that way for a little while, just not saying anything before Hayden told him that she had to go. She moved to get the rest of her clothes on and then moved to head out of his room without looking back. Liam stared after her before he let himself look at his clock to see that if was almost time to meet with the others. He nearly fell off his bed in his haste to get up out of it.
Sheriff Stilinski took a small bite of his sandwich as his son was guzzling down almost all of the water in his bottle in one go. The two of them were having a small bite together in his office before he had to go off with his friends to Eichen House. Stiles' dad's eyes widened seeing Stiles take two giant, consecutive bites of his sandwich, stuffing his mouth full to the brim.
"Take it easy there son," his dad said with a minor chuckle. "Even werewolves should take the time to taste and chew their food."
Stiles stopped his biting to let himself chew up and swallow what he had in his mouth before answering him. "Sorry dad, I'm just hungry. Passing through mountain ash, it really builds up an appetite."
At that, the Sheriff went to grab a curly fry from the large open box but Stiles quickly snatched it out of his fingers. "Hey," he pouted.
"Sorry dad, but those are all actually for me, not you." Stiles then went to go and throw it into his mouth with a satisfied moan.
"Oh, I should've guessed you getting such a large order of those was too good to be true," the Sheriff sighed out.
"Sorry," Stiles said through his chewing. "But I need my strength back up. Getting passed anti-supernatural barriers isn't easy, you know."
Noah leaned back in his chair. Most fathers would be celebrating with their sons on them getting a job or winning a big game. Passing through a magical shield made to keep out supernatural beings was definitely a new one.
"No, I guess not, but then again, I'm no expert. But Stiles, uh...what did it feel like? You know, passing through the mountain ash. Did it hurt?" he asked, unsure if he wanted to know or not.
That question made Stiles freeze up in thought. His mind played back what happened roughly an hour ago. He could remember pushing against the mountain ash barrier. Remember the force of it pushing back against him until he started to push his head through it little by little, until his whole body fell through it like it was water.
"No, it didn't hurt. It just felt...really exhausting," Stiles said finally, with a shrug. "And I just don't mean physically. It was also mentally exhausting. Kind of reminds me of how I was right after one of Mr. Harris' classes," he said, remembering his less than fond late teacher. "The mountain ash...its like it pushes back on you as hard as you push. Inside and out. It doesn't stop until you give."
"But this time, it did." Noah moved to lean back in his chair. "And the first time it did for you was when you saved me at the Supermoon, right?"
Stiles shook his head. "No. The first time was at the rave when we tried to catch the kanima. I didn't cross it but I was able to break the ash line so Derek and I could save Scott. This officially makes it three times. And what do you always tell me?"
"One's an accident. Two is a coincidence."
"Three is a pattern," the two of them finished together.
"So, does this mean you cracked it? Now, you can get passed mountain ash any time you want?" his father asked him.
Stiles let out a sigh. "I guess we'll all see for sure soon enough but I guess smart money is on yeah." He then went and took a sullen sip of his soda.
Noah narrowed his eyes at his son's reaction. "Stiles, I would think you'd be more excited and happier about this. I have to admit, I've got mixed feelings about this myself. I was kind of hoping I might be able to use some to escape proof your room. Try to keep you from getting into trouble so much."
That made Stiles give him a side grin. "Sorry dad, but I think it would've taken more than mountain ash to do that."
His dad returned the grin. "But I am relieved you won't be so restricted now. Especially with so many things still out there, you can't afford to be."
By which he meant Theo and his pack of chimeras, The Dread Doctors and the Beast of Gevaudan.
"Yeah, well, right now I'll settle for freeing Lydia before Valack gets his claws into her. Non-literal for a change."
The Sheriff leaned back into his chair. "You know, it might not be too late. I mean, Natalie is dropping in. We could still try to convince her to stop this crazy procedure and pull Lydia out of there."
But Stiles shook his head. "You already tried talking to her Dad. I tried. All of us tried."
"Well, then maybe we should try again," he huffed out before he shut his eyes and let out a deep, calming breath. "Sorry...it might help for her to better listen if she were to be shown some proof," he suggested, non-discreetly.
Stiles' jaw hardened a bit. "Dad...I don't think that's the problem. I mean, she had to have seen Tracy crawling on the ceiling during her attack at the station and Malia said she tried to talk to her before and shifted her eyes in front of her. When she yelled at me back at Eichen, I could see it in her eyes. It's not that Ms. Martin doesn't believe us-"
"She doesn't want to," his dad finished. "Yeah, I can understand that. I mean, I wasn't exactly receptive to all of this even after seeing your hand healing from when you cut it and you showed me your eyes." The two of them let their minds linger back to that time for a moment. "When your whole world turns upside down, seeing it is one thing, getting yourself to accept it is another."
"Wow, that's deep, dad," said Stiles, making his dad narrow his eyes at him in mild annoyance. "But I guess I get it. I mean, I got passed the mountain ash by accepting a truth I got from the last person I thought I would listen to."
"You mean Peter Hale? Son, can I just say that you are never allowed to go and meet with that man ever again?"
"Believe me, seeing Peter was the last thing I wanted to do dad," he grunted. "But he was the only semi-credible source that was available, so."
Noah moved to rub at his temples. He knew that man would always be a sore subject around here. "So," he mimicked. "Peter actually had something to say that was productive for someone other than himself?"
Stiles let himself fixate on his visit with Peter. What he had told him. And what he knew he couldn't keep to himself. "Yeah, probably why I'm not as happy about passing the ash like I should be. Doing it kind of needed me to do something I didn't want to do but Peter said needed to be done."
"What did Peter tell you to do?" he said, starting to feel some of his old anger rise up.
Stiles held his hand up to calm him. "It's okay dad. It was nothing like that. Just...I kind of had to admit something to myself. Something not good but it was still something I had to face."
"Well, the man isn't exactly the poster boy for sage or fatherly advice so I wouldn't be too bothered by it."
Stiles inwardly flinched at his dad's choice of words. "Yeah, right," he mumbled. "And Dad, there's something else. When I went to see Peter...his psycho words of wisdom weren't the only things he said to me."
"What? What else did he say?"
Stiles could feel his stomach start twisting in knots. Right now, he just might prefer facing the Dread Doctors and the Beast right now then telling his dad this. He was snapped out of it when his dad called his name to try and get him to continue.
"Uh, well, Peter, he said that, I-"
But he was cut off there by the ringing of his phone. He moved to quickly grab it and see the caller's id.
"Who is it?" his dad asked.
"Virgil," Stiles said, after glancing the screen. "Probably calling to check if I'm still stuck in the mountain ash. I forgot I was supposed to check in with him after I got out." He then moved to answer the phone. "Hey, Virgil, listen you don't have to worry. I got out of the mountain ash. I'm with my dad and I'll be in-"
He stopped when Virgil started talking rapidly back at him. His father saw his face go from excited to concerned and then go stone-faced. He didn't say a word for a few moments until he ended the call with "I'll be right there."
"What's wrong?"
"It's Zach."
"Did something happen?"
"Something always happens," he sighed as he threw himself out of his chair. "I gotta go."
"Wait, Stiles, what were you going to tell me?"
Stiles stopped mid-step on his way for the door and looked solemnly back at his dad. "I'll tell you after we get Lydia out. I promise."
He then left without another word. The Sheriff sighed at the sign of his son's retreating back before he moved to dunk his fingers into the box of curly fries and plucked two of them to shove in his mouth. A small moan escaping his lips at the heat and taste of them and that he had an over half full box of them. But his comfort was short-lived as Stiles popped back into the room and yanked away the box of fries, taking it with him.
Oscar was sitting at his desk with a hard look on his face as he stared at his computer screen that was displaying the news blog about a massive prison escape. His beta Dean was hovering over him as he read behind him. Oscar went and clicked the video attachment where a news anchorwoman started speaking.
"I am Emily Stern with the Evening News. Behind me, you could still see that some smoke has yet to dissipate from the doused out fires that had erupted here at this Arizona detention complex late this afternoon. Local, State and Federal authorities have blanketed the area to try and regain order from this abrupt chaos. From what we've been able to gather, about a little passed 5pm, there was an orchestrated attack on this facility which had resulted in a riot within the prison. Testimonies of gunfire have been taken from many witnesses and reports of over three dozen inmates have escaped and are now at large. We have also been able to confirm that at least 4 guards and 7 inmates are dead with 11 having critical injuries. We will provide you with more coverage of what could be the greatest prison break seen in the history of the state of Arizona as it develops."
At that, Oscar paused it as he leaned back in his chair. He closed his eyes as he took a deep breath and settled himself.
"Well, that was quite excessive even for my tastes," he muttered after he opened his eyes.
"Maybe we shouldn't be surprised. Arizona, that was where Araya Calavera's men were taken after the feds broke down their operations, right?"
"From what we could gather, yeah," Oscar muttered. "We couldn't find out which prison they were put in though. Believe me, there were plenty state facilities that could've been used by the feds to house them. Guess it must've that one."
"And now they're out. Just like with the other scattered breakouts through the country."
"But how could they know where to look, let alone pull something that big off? Transports and holding cells are easy to hit and intercept. This was a full on prison."
"Well, hunters do have their connections and resources. Especially hunters belonging to the Big Six."
Oscar moved to begin pacing about the room at that thought. The 'Big Six' as they were known referred to the six families that made the oldest factions of hunters. Six names, names like Argent, that passed secrets and traditions of hunting down generations as well as trained new hunters and brought them into their clan to serve them in seeking out and hunt down the supernatural. The Calaveras were one of those names and were known to be the most relentless with little regard for collateral damage.
"You'd think the so called 'Big Six' would be more subtle," said Dean as he eyed the screen's showing an image of a hole blasted into a prison's solid concrete wall. "All that for just four or five guys."
"Unless it wasn't meant just for them."
"What do you mean?" asked his Second.
"You didn't hear the report? Over 3 dozen escapees."
"Wait...Oscar, you don't think they recruited from prison do you? Taking on felons and lunatics as hunters?"
"Right because the people they usually take in are shelf stackers and baristas," he said condescendingly. "There is no way they could've pulled this off without major help. Both from outside and inside. They're getting bolder," Oscar said, standing up in place.
"Or desperate," suggested his beta. "Whoever it is, it looks like they're trying to counter this new crackdown that has emerged on the hunters lately. Any better idea on whose behind that?"
"No," said Oscar, shaking his head. "All I've been able to tell is that its a fed. The other alphas are working their own connections to see if any of them could learn more."
"What are you going to do when they do?"
"Well, first I'll send them a fruit basket. Then suggest a bullet to the brain of each hunter they find to be a much more effective method. Speaking of leaks, any leads on our weremole Dean?"
Dean's expression went hard. "Not right now but I do have my suspects. I'm sure it has to be one of those new military betas you recruited."
Immediately, Oscar narrowed his eyes. "Is that criticism I hear in your tone Dean?"
"No," he said quickly but calmly. "I'm just saying that your other betas from before, none of them would dare go behind your back. So, the best suspects have to be one of them."
"Hmm, sad part is I think you might be right there. Focus on them, but do it from afar. I chose them for a reason. They're not scared, stupid idiots that took a turn to the wrong dark alley on a full moon. They're trained to maintain their position and cover their tracks."
Dean narrowed his eyes in determination. "Maybe in their world Oscar, but not in ours."
After leaving the school, Scott let himself ride the long way to the station to let himself have time to get his head clear. There wasn't much to distract him though. The streets of Beacon Hills were practically desolate. There were hardly any people or cars around. Even though it was still early, there were quite a few stores and businesses that were closed or closing as well. The recent attacks done by Gevaudan had a lot of people scared and Scott couldn't blame them. He swung around by the Sheriff's station but saw that Stiles' jeep wasn't there so he guessed he might've already headed to Scott's house.
Pulling into his street, Scott immediately spotted Stiles' van parked right there in the driveway. When he made it to the front of his house, Scott saw that Malia and Kira were standing in front of his jeep, both of them looking worried.
"What's going on?" he asked them. "Where's Stiles?"
"Stiles is inside, talking with that Virgil guy," Malia answered.
"They both seemed pretty upset," said Kira. "What's going on?"
Scott let out a deep sigh. No doubt Virgil was filling Stiles in on Theo's little visit and Scott's blowout with both him and Zach.
"Stay here," he told them.
He went and walked in and heard their voices echoing off from the kitchen.
"What are we going to do now?" Virgil asked.
"What do you want me to do?" Scott heard Stiles ask back. "Zach made his choice."
"And what about the plan?"
"There's no more time, we'll have to go through Operation Silent Scream without him."
At that, Scott went and stepped into their view. Stiles quickly flinched at the sight of him while Scott felt himself go blank before it passed and his nerves shot back up a moment later.
Stiles let out a deep sigh as the pain numbed away. "Virgil, could you go and wait outside with the girls? Scott and I need to talk. If Liam and Parrish get here before we come out, tell them to give us a minute."
"Yeah, no problem," he muttered.
Virgil moved to head out but gave Scott a hard look as he passed, one that Scott returned, following after him as he went and left through the front door. Scott turned his gaze over to Stiles who was leaning back against his kitchen sink, just staring blankly at him. The tension in the air was so thick it was almost suffocating. Stiles then went to clear his throat but it was Scott that moved to speak first.
"You got the passed the mountain ash," he said.
"I did," said Stiles with a small nod.
"Are you okay?"
Stiles shrugged. "Well, I was a little tired after but I shared a big dinner with my dad so I'm pretty good. I think I got it down now."
"You mean the mountain ash? You can get passed it when you want?"
"Well, I'm hoping I can," he said with some optimism. "Let's all hope so, considering that our easy pass chimera is now gone."
Now they were getting to the part that Scott was dreading.
"Stiles, I don't want to fight with you. Not right now."
Stiles rose his eyebrows. "Really Scott? Because it kinda sounds like you're looking for one."
Scott held his hands up in a calming gesture. "If you give me a second, I can explain everything."
"Fine, explain. But a tip Scott, it might go better if you don't talk to me like I'm some bomb that's ready to go off."
Scott didn't need extra senses to know that Stiles was being sarcastic but he went and lowered his hands. Maybe he should just move this along and get it over with. "Look, I know this is going to be about Zach. But whatever Virgil just told you-"
"Actually, Virgil didn't say much. I was at the station with my dad when he called and said that Zach left and wasn't going to help us tonight. I quickly came over and he said I should thank The Fool for Zach flying the coop."
Scott's jaw tightened up. The tarot card's upside down picture coming back to him. And Zach showing his wings to them. "Well, that's witty," he said dryly.
"Yeah, you think so? Just wait. I then went and called Zach. He went and told me that Theo was here, in your house when the three of you got back after leaving me at the school, and he threatened him. When he did, my friend Scott Free McCall just let him get away with it and leave without batting an eye." He then went to cross his arms. "Now that's pretty witty, you gotta admit."
"Scott Free McCall?" Scott repeated. "I gotta admit, that's pretty, damn witty. Zach's a funny guy."
Stiles scoffed. "Yeah, well, I don't think funny is what he was going for. Zach told me he didn't feel like leaving his life in the hands of a werewolf who is fine with letting a psycho go and do whatever he wants in his own town. Now that he's finished with making that sonic cloak to shield him from the Dread Doctors, he's going to see if he could leave town, tonight."
"Look, Stiles, whatever they told you-" he tried to say quickly. "Let me explain."
"Then explain Scott. I was waiting for you to. I know how it feels for your friend ready to write you off before they get your part of the story."
As low as that blow was, Scott knew he deserved it. He then went and told him his version of events. Stiles didn't say a word or do anything until Scott was finished.
Stiles straightened himself up. "Scott, you just basically repeated everything they told me. Theo came to your house, knows what we plan to do, threatened Zach and Lydia, then you let him walk right out no fuss no muss. You want to blame them for how they reacted to Theo? Or for how you reacted to him?"
"What was I supposed to do?"
Stiles tilted his head and brought out his bottom lip in thought. "Beating Theo over the head with a bat wrapped in barbed wire comes to mind," he calmly suggested. Scott just narrowed his eyes at him. "What? Are you saying we have to be hugging it out with him instead?"
"No, of course not Stiles."
"Why not? That seems to be your answer for everything. Someone just comes along; threatens, hurts and/or even kills somebody that we care about and you brush it off. Then, you get all high and mighty when none of us can go along with it. Or when we have to fight back."
Scott noted the emphasis he made on that last part. "You mean when you had to fight back. Against Donovan."
Stiles blinked as he deflated. "That night, I was working late in the library, trying to find answers, and I ended up dozing off. My car wouldn't start so I got out my tool box."
"I don't need to know," Scott tried to say.
"Well, I need to say it," Stiles grunted. "Donovan came and snuck up behind me, biting into my shoulder with some freak jaws in his hand. He had me pinned down and I couldn't shake him off until I grabbed the wrench and swung it at his head to let me go. I fell down and was hurting because he actually had eaten a part of my shoulder. Donovan mentioned that he had already eaten another werewolf that night and I didn't know it then but he had been talking about Wilson. He tried to come at me so I went and stabbed the thing right into his leg. After that, I ran off back into the school and tried to hide in the library. He came after me and managed to follow me in, because he had Theo's school card. He said that after he killed me, he was then going to kill my dad. And I could sense it in his voice. The guy wasn't bluffing. We fought and he went and climbed the scaffold before he leapt for me. I hit him as hard as I could and he flew back into the scaffold and the building supplies and equipment at the top all fell down. I managed to get out of the way but a metal pipe went and impaled Donovan through the chest. He bled out and died right in front of me."
Scott kept his gaze on Stiles the whole time and didn't leave even after he was finished. That was a far cry from the story that Theo spun to him when he showed him the wrench. "You didn't kill him," he mumbled.
But Stiles shook his head. "No, I did. I threw him into that scaffold. That pipe only impaled him because of me."
"It was an accident Stiles."
"Yeah? But Donovan is still dead. That's why you kicked me out of your pack, isn't it?"
Scott bit the inside of his cheek. "No. Stiles, that night, the story that Theo told me was...different. He told that Donovan attacked you but that you took that wrench and kept beating him over the head and didn't stop even after he was dead."
Stiles' eyes widened. "And you actually believed him?"
"I didn't know he was lying. His heart was steady the whole time. And, when I brought out the wrench, the way you looked when you saw it."
"I was surprised," Stiles gasped out. "That wrench disappeared. I hadn't seen it again after I stabbed Donovan with it."
"Yeah, well, Theo also said that you had caught him seeing what you did and you threatened him. So, when you got scared at the sight of it-"
"You thought I was scared that I got caught," Stiles finished. "Well, just so know, Theo did confront me but it was only to blackmail me. He had just killed Josh. Right in front of me by the way. He claims he only did it to save me but he said that if I kept it quiet then he would keep quiet about Donovan."
"Theo was the one who killed Josh?"
"Yeah. Josh, Wilson, you, and that's just within the last month. Theo's been a pretty busy boy." Stiles let out a big puff of tired and frustrated air.
"Stiles...I'm sorry. I really do want you to come back."
That got him to look him square in the face. "Yeah? What if I told you that I was ready to kill Donovan that night? That if it hadn't been for that pole, I probably would've impaled Donovan with my own claws? Are you still sorry? And if I said that if I get the chance, I am going to take my new claws." He then brought out his new longer, sharper and seemingly thicker claws out. "And drive them into Theo's face and tear it off before I shove it down his throat. Do you still want me to come back?"
Stiles finished by shifting his blue wolf eyes out. He wasn't looking mad or upset. He was calm, both now and as he said all that to him. Calm and dead serious. He meant every word. But, Scott wasn't backing down. He wasn't averting his gaze or flinching at the sight of Stiles eyes like all the previous times. That was because, now, in that moment, he finally had the answer. The answer to Ms. Ramsey's final question. The question that everyone seems to keep throwing at him.
Why did he banish Stiles from the pack?
"If you still want to," he said back to him. "But Stiles, right now, we have something more important to worry about."
Stiles let out a small puff from his nose but he nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you're right. But after it's done. We really need to talk about where we both stand."
Scott nodded back. "Yeah." He then turned his gaze over towards the direction of the house's front door. "I think hear Parrish pulling up." He then tilted his head. "And I can pick up Liam's scent. He must've gotten here a while ago."
"Well, then it looks its time to get Operation Silent Scream started."
Scott rolled his eyes but led the way out the door without saying another word.
Natalie Martin was sitting in the station's interrogation room, glaring hard at the door. She had been taken from her home by Deputy Clarke and brought down to the station without explanation. But Natalie was no fool. She knew exactly who was behind this. As soon as the door opened, she stood up and immediately pounced for the Sheriff as he closed the door behind him.
"What is the meaning of this?!" she spat at him. "Don't you know that I'm supposed to be at my daughter's side right now? Her treatment begins in over an hour."
Noah's eyes narrowed into a hard glare. "Yes, I know. And treatment is not the word I would use for drilling a hole into someone's head."
That made Natalie roll her eyes. "Of course. Your son told you. Did he tell you that I caught him sneaking around that hospital."
"Actually yes, he did. I do know what goes on with my kid Natalie."
"Why does that sound like an accusation?"
"Because it is. You have no idea what you've done by taking Lydia and putting her into that hell hole. What you are putting her through."
"I'm trying to help my daughter. Correct me if I'm wrong but did you not put your son there to do the same? To be honest, when I heard that you admitted him there, I wasn't too surprised. I knew it was only a matter of time. He's always been a delusional and out of control wild child that thinks he can go and do whatever he wants. If you ask me, I think you pulled him out of there too soon."
"Well, I didn't ask you," he said, in a thinly controlled tone. "But I will say that you will not, say that about Stiles. You have no right, not when he's actually trying everything he can to save your daughter."
"Save her? He's the reason she got hurt in the first place. Him and those freak friends of his."
"You're going to try and blame my son for this? Or Scott? Or the others? It's not their fault Natalie."
Tears began to leak out of her angry eyes. "And it's mine? Is that what you're going to say?"
"No. It's not your fault any more than it is Lydia or her friends' fault."
"Yeah? Well...you're wrong. Because it is my fault." She then move to shrink a bit. "I let this happen."
"Natalie-" he tried, softening his tone a bit.
But Natalie shook her head and began to pace away from him. "You know, last year when my ex left Beacon Hills, he wanted us to go with him. He claimed this town only brought pain to our family. First everything that happened to his mother, then there was his younger cousin Janice and her husband dying in the Hale Fire after their wedding. And after Lydia's attack and disappearance, along with that false death diagnosis with Jackson Whittemore, he decided he couldn't stay in Beacon Hills anymore. He wanted us to come along but Lydia told him she wanted to stay here...because of them. And I went along with it." She stopped her pacing and stared over at the opposite wall, lost in regret and fear. "I shouldn't have let her stay. I should've thrown her into her father's car as he put this town in rear view mirror, but I didn't. When she was attacked by that crazy teacher or when her friend Allison was killed, I should've sent her away right then, but god help me, I didn't. I'm not going to make that same mistake again."
"No, you're just going to go and make a worse mistake by putting her in that mad doctor's hands," Noah sternly said back to her.
"You know, your crazy son said that same thing to me when I found him breaking into my daughter's room at Eichen. Maybe his behavior can't be helped. Seems it might be hereditary."
Noah's face hardened for a moment. But he quickly closed his eyes and let him take a deep, calming breath before he slowly released it. He then opened his eyes to stare square into Natalie's and, he saw it. The stubbornness on the surface that was masking what was building up from the inside. Fear. Not just any fear. Fear of a truth that she knew deep down but didn't want to admit to herself. A feeling he knew all too well because he was there himself last year.
"You're scared," he said softly to her. "You're trying to lash out at me and my son. Blame him and the rest of your daughter's friends. Say anything and cling on to anything you can to try to keep yourself from admitting what you don't want to admit."
"What's that?"
"You already know what that is Natalie. It's been what's been hovering over our kids, this whole town the last few months. The last few years. And playing dumb, trying to rationalize it, won't make it go away. Believe me, I've tried."
Natalie just shook her head and spitefully turned her back on him. "I'm not going to listen to this anymore."
"Fine. Then maybe you should see it with your own eyes then." He then went and pulled out a folder and slammed it onto the table. "See what not listening is going to do to your daughter."
He left the room on that note and Natalie let her eyes fall on the folder. She opened it and her eyes widened and mouth opened in shock at the images of people and shapeshifters, dead, with holes drilled into the sides of their heads. Her face paled on the photo of a dead woman, frozen in screaming.
Operation Silent Scream was now underway.
Malia and Kira were waiting with a few of the other night time visitors awaiting the start of the evening visiting hours. Learning from Stiles earlier visit, Malia would claim to be there to visit her father with Kira coming along for 'emotional support'. Thankfully, if the plan went perfectly, she wouldn't need to actually go along with it. Soon as the gate opened, Kira moved to send a text to Parrish to begin the next step in the plan as they walked in with the others.
Jordan Parrish began driving the station's cargo van up to Eichen's secured back gate where he was intercepted by the guard on duty. When asked why he was there, he spun the story they had prepared.
"The morgue over at Beacon Memorial is overrun. I'm here to store the extra bodies recovered from the water tunnels here at your morgue," he said calmly and professionally.
The guard narrowed his eyes at him. "Open it up. I have to check."
"Sure," Parrish said with a shrug.
He unlocked and then opened the back door to show near a dozen body bags stacked sloppily over one another. The guard shined his light inside as he regarded the bags with mild suspicion. The staff had been alerted to be on high alert tonight for anything unusual.
"Open em," he demanded.
"Well, if you really want me too."
Jordan then went and slightly zipped open the nearest one to show the guard the mauled cadaver inside. The sight, and especially the smell, made the man turn and puke out onto the pavement. Parrish then closed it back up and asked if he wanted to check the rest.
"No, no, you're good," the guard said out in a hoarse tone before he moved to spill out some more of his stomach.
Parrish couldn't resist the smirk on his face as he got back into the driver's seat and moved on inside. He didn't realize that he was being watched by four others from down the street. One of them, smirking even more widely than he had.
Parking the jeep into loading dock, Jordan went and wheeled in four of the body bags into the morgue and set three of them on the empty slabs while gently laying a fourth one on the ground. After seeing the coast was clear, gave the signal, tapping each one of the bags one after the other. Immediately, Scott, Stiles, Liam and Virgil started to pull open up their bags.
"Oh thank god," Virgil coughed out as he saw himself on the morgue's floor. "I didn't know how much longer I could stand that smell. How did you guys?"
"The trick is not to breathe through your nose so much," muttered Liam as he began to try and free himself.
While Scott, Liam and Virgil had no problems getting out of their bags, the zipper on Stiles' bag got stuck halfway and he was trapped. He tried to force it open but his movements sent him over the edge of the slab and crashing to the floor.
"Ouch," Virgil winced as he got up from the floor.
"Need some help?" Scott asked him.
Stiles grit his teeth in frustration before he went and brought out his claws to rip his way out. "Nope," he said as he tore through the body bag's fabric.
As Stiles freed himself, Scott felt his phone vibrate and looked to see that Kira sent him a text. "Kira and Malia are in and heading for electrical room," he said as he read her text.
Stiles got up and flung off a piece of torn fabric stuck to his shoulder. "Alright then, let's do this."
Scott, Stiles, Liam, Virgil and Jordan all knew this was the easy part. What came next wouldn't be. They each let out a deep breath as they prepared for the next step.
A/N: First, I want to say that I'm sorry for the long overdue update. With businesses now "officially" passed Covid, as well as some personal issues, I've not been in an inspired mood to write. But, with summer rolling in, things are starting to settle down and I can let myself drift back in. This in particular was a hard chapter to write. There was a lot of emotional baggage to unwind with some of these people. The Sheriff and Natalie, Liam and Hayden, along with Stiles and Scott. The scene with Scott getting advice was the hardest part and took over a week for me to write. It was actually inspired by a reader who suggested a scene between Scott and Derek. In the end, I felt Ms. Ramsey would give Scott the proverbial slap in the face that he needed to finally put his inner issues out there. So many versions I went through and I hope I didn't disappoint.
The next chapter will see the pack move in to try and grab Lydia and get out of there. They just got to get through mountain ash, a crazed doctor, a psycho chimera and his pack, and a rampaging hellhound. No problem, right?
