Chapter 31: The Runaway II
Joe knew she was not much to look at this early in the morning, but the way the Sheriff's face fell when she appeared in the door of his office kind of stung. He rubbed his forehead tiredly and waved her in.
"There is still no reason to suspect any foul play regarding Mr. Carter's so-called disappearance," Sheriff Stilinski said in a voice that indicated he had not slept in the last few days. "McCall, Joe, there's not much more I can do."
"Say I have the make of a car and its license plate number," Joe said undeterred by the Sheriff's displeasure, "what would be the easiest way to find it? As a civillian." For good measure, she added: "Legally."
The Sheriff leaned his elbow on his desk and sighed. "If Mr. Carter has left on his own volition, you have no legal grounds to pursue him."
"He owes me money." Her words came fast and hard, before she could overthink it and spoil her bluff. He did not seem believe her at all.
"Joe, I just lost my best, no, my only witness to the ongoing murder investigation. I have not had the best morning," the Sheriff grumbled, mostly to himself. He got up with slow movements, the shirt wrinkly from several days' wear. "Coffee."
Joe darted up from her chair and followed the Sheriff out to the coffee machine in the hallway. "Listen, Jimmy made his living by running this blog about weird things happening. He was almost fanatically dilligent in posting on social media and internet discussion boards." Joe danced around the Sheriff, trying to force him to look at her. "Even if he left Beacon Hills because of trauma or whatever, why would he give up what was essentially his whole life online? No posts, no comments, no trace of him anywhere on the internet."
The machine sputtered out some weak pre-made coffee while the Sheriff leaned against it with one arm.
"I've checked the hospitals in the whole Bay Area. Same with jails and morgues. I know he took his car, because it's missing as well." Joe stayed on the Sheriff's heel when he brought the coffee back to his office. "Look, Sheriff Stilinski, there's been a lot of stuff going on in the county lately. As in your still ongoing murder investigation. I'm just worried something happened to him!"
The Sheriff stopped in front of his door without letting her in. The sigh he let out seemed to rack his whole body. "If you have the license plate number, you can contact the DMV to see if there are any violations attached to it. Accidents, unpaid parking tickets, stuff like that. Claim you are in process of purchasing the vehicle as a private citizen."
"Thank you!" Joe exclaimed and did a small cheer inwardly. "Also, this is probably not the best time, but if you have room in your schedule for an interview for my paper, I'd be-"
The Sheriff just closed the door in her face.
"Okay, thank you!" Joe called through the door again and left the station. She wished she could say the visit to the local DMV-office was quick, but it was anything but. The clerk gave her a doubtful look when she listed not one, but two different vehicles to look up. They were two very different cars and very different price classes. Kate's KIA turned out to still be impounded as potential evidence as the Argents hadn't laid claim on it. Jimmy's Nissan turned out to be for sale in the neighboring town's used car dealership.
The clerk raised her eyebrow at that one, as Joe claimed she was trying to buy it from the original owner. "Must've gotten the numbers mixed up. Thanks though!" Joe said as she made her escape and jumped in her own car. Of course Jimmy would have changed vehicles. His default state was paranoia and the werewolf-stuff probably hadn't helped exactly.
Without a phone, she had no choice but to drive out to the dealership. Joe thought she saw an SUV, almost looking like the one Joe saw in Jimmy's parents' neighborhood, but when she turned off to the dealership, it continued. Paranoia, Joe thought, not a good look on you.
The dealership sat on the side of the I-5 with one of those generic inflatable arm flailing tube men. Mud squelched under her boots as she trawled the lines of used cars, most of them coming under the definition 'clunkers', looking for a murky green sedan. Unfortunately, the sleazy salesman who wore a clip-on tie located her first and spent several minutes trying to make her consider another and more expensive model.
In the end, he relented and took her to the only 2008 green Nissan Sentra in the lot, an oddly specific request as he called it. Joe's eyebrows raised at the state of it. Jimmy kept it pristine, like his apartment, but it had the definite look of being exposed to the elements for a prolonged period of time, even if the dealership had made an effort in cleaning it.
While the salesman rattled off specifics ("Less than 50,000 miles, automatic transmission and a decent 24 miles per gallon!"), Joe peered inside the car. Scratched seats, she noted, deep groves in the gray fabric interior. Her fingers trailed it. If you allowed for a slightly bigger hand, it looked like the result of claws. Werewolf or kanima?
"Ah, yes, uh, we reduced the price by a couple of hundreds. Shouldn't cost you more than fifty, maybe sixty bucks to replace."
Even Joe knew that was bullshit. Pine needles stuck in the door frame, rust spots on the roof...she circled the car and found moss growing on the bumper. "The guy who sold you this-"
"Oh, no, not a guy. We collected it as an abandoned vehicle."
Abandoned. Joe straightened up after noting vines still entwined in the hubcaps. "Okay, listen, I'm gonna need the exact location where you found this."
"Sorry, miss, but we're not allowed to give out that kind of information," Clip-On said with what he probably thought was a charming smile. It stiffened when Joe dug something out of her pocket.
"I'm gonna need the exact location where you found this," Joe repeated and held up the stolen and possibly fake police badge from the Argent-deputy. Heart hammered while she waited for the shoe to drop — she was screwed if he asked to see some more identification.
Finally some luck, the salesman deflated. "Look, miss, uh, ma'am, we have an arrangement with the county to collect abandoned vehicles. We ran the plates — it's not reported stolen or connected with any other violations, it's a fully legal procedure."
"I'm gonna need," Joe said again, keeping her face a hundred percent straight, "that location."
It took the salesman several phone calls, but he did produce the directions to a sideroad deep into the Preserve. She left him with a promise to contact him if she ever wanted to consider having dinner with him, and headed into the woods. No phone, no backup.
Not that she would need it. It was just Jimmy, right?
As she drove, her hand went down to under her seat to feel the comforting stock of the shotgun. Daylight dispersed through the tall foliage of the pine trees with the occasional interlude of birch this close to the mountains. The road got worse the farther she went and she was afraid the whole chassis would come apart with all the bumping around.
It wasn't hard to see where they'd picked up the car. A large rectangular grove still indicated where the car had been left and the wilderness had not had time to reclaim the territory. Joe got out of her car, but left the door open. Just in case. She span around, the sheer size of the area overwhelming. She had joked about Jimmy living in a secluded cave eating rabbits, but she hadn't in her wildest dreams thought it to be real!
"Jimmy!" she shouted, careful not to go too far from her car. Her voice echoed back to her. "Jimmy!"
Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy...
"I just want to talk!" Joe threw her hands up, adressing the forest as a whole. "I'm not mad at you!" The mocking edge of the echo came back and she huffed. "Okay, I was a little mad, but I'm over it! Jimmy!"
"Please! I just need to talk to you!"
The frustrating silence got the best of her and she threw her head back in angry, human roar. "AARGH!"
Not surprisingly, this did not warrant a response either. She kicked at the layers of leaves on the forest ground, but got no satisfaction from it. He'd been on foot from here, but how far could a werewolf travel on foot? He could be in Canada by now.
She stalked back to her car, pausing before getting in, in case Jimmy wanted to do a dramatic entrance. Nothing. The whole forest was quiet. No birds, no insects, nothing. Too quiet, almost like the time wh-
A rustle of fabric and her vision went black.
On instinct, Joe fought violently. Her assailant had covered her head with a dark hood, leaving her blind. Next thing she knew, her feet disappeared from under her and she landed on the soft bed of rotten leaves. She squirmed, but her arms were pulled back and locked together with a plastic noise she associated with zip ties.
"Hey!" she shouted through the hood. The thick dark fabric muffled her cry. Still on her stomach, she kicked her feet in hope of hitting something, anything! In seconds, the attacker — or attackers — had her feet locked together as well. Like an eel, Joe writhed on the ground, the wet leaves slithering over her exposed skin as her shirt rode up.
"Goddamn it, motherf-"
The air knocked out of her when someone hefted her into the air and onto a shoulder. She kicked, she screamed, she tried to knock her head into the person— not to hurt her attacker, but herself, so at least Derek would know something was amiss. She failed on all accounts.
Sputtering curse words, she calmed down only to reserve her strength. The hood across her face made it difficult to breathe. Whoever carried her did so with ease and the slight seesawing gait reminded her of horseback riding back at Alex' grandparents' ranch. The hood filled with her own emitted carbon dioxide and she felt herself become dizzy.
Her tailbone slammed against the ground when she was deposited like a sack of potatoes. Without being held in place, she flopped backwards. "Can't - breathe."
The hood lifted, but only enough to uncover her mouth and nose. She sucked in a deep breath of fresh mountain air, trying to find any reference points. Her bound hands made it hard to reach the ground, but it felt like sand and rock under the pads of her fingertips. A rustling sound meant her kidnapper was still nearby. She smelled burnt wood and-
"Jimmy?" she asked unseeing and turned her head in all directions. The rustling stopped, hesitated, before resuming. "Jimmy, I know it's you, okay? I can smell the chamomile." No answer, so she hopped around trying to get a comfortable seat while being bound both arms and legs. "Where are we? Are we in a cave?"
No answer this time either, but it felt like someone not wanting to answer instead of just ignoring her.
"God damn it, Jimmy!" she barked and tried to shake the hood off, but it was laying across her eyes completely stuck. "If you didn't want to talk to me, fine, but why go through the trouble of bringing me here blindfolded? I know it's you!"
A sigh. And then, a voice she hadn't heard in months. "I don't want you to see me like this."
"Like what?" Joe asked instantly while her mind tried to piece together if he would be able to talk so clearly if his mouth was filled with razor-sharp teeth. "Jimmy, come on!"
"I told you to leave me alone!" Jimmy snapped somewhere in front of her. His voice sounded different, deeper, but it was still just Jimmy. The sound of a long inhale and he whispered something like: "Relax, release, ease..." and let the last word stretch on. He cleared his throat. "Now, were you followed?"
"No," Joe said adamantly and shifted to get her feet more under her than to the side. She did not have core muscles strong enough to maintain balance. "No, no one followed me into the middle of the Preserve to your secluded literal man-cave!"
Jimmy sniffed. "It's not a cave, it's a cavern."
Joe's mouth dropped open. Here she sat, hogtied and blindfolded, and he wanted to discuss semantics?! She let out a howl of frustration and tried scooting towards his voice. "God damn it, Jimmy! Let me go!"
"No."
The sound of a kettle whistling made Jimmy get up, judging by more rustling, and Joe almost dislocated her neck trying to get the blindfold off. She ended up toppling over, but instead of her skull crashing against a rock, a hand stopped her fall abruptly. Long hard claws grazed her scalp.
"Oh no, no, no," said Jimmy and holding her head like a ball, he straightened her up. He manhandled her so she was propped up against something hard, most likely the cavern wall. "Wouldn't want you to get hurt, would we?"
"Can you sound any more like a supervillain?" Joe asked and shifted to stop a rock from digging into her calf. He never answered, but she heard him pour water into a cup, presumably making tea. "What the hell are you doing here, Jimmy? What do you mean you don't want me to see you 'like this'?"
'Are you a giant snake monster, Jimmy?' was what she wanted to ask, but it seemed tactless.
Jimmy slurped at his tea. "I am not presentable at the moment, let's just leave it at that. What can I do to make you stop harassing me and my family?"
"I was not harassing anyone!" Joe spat and tried to tilt her head back in case she could get a glimpse of him. Just a quick confirmation he didn't have scales would do. "I just talked to your dad, like, once. He really is very nice by the way and those toffees were amazing."
"Oh, the coffee-flavored ones from Christmas? Family recipe, they're delish."
"Just the right amount of gooey too, you know? Like it's a little resistance, but not like you break your teet- oh my GOD!" Joe interrupted herself and tried to focus on the anger and the suspicion. "You tried to shoot me, Jimmy!"
A spoon tinkled against a cup. "Yes. But if it's any consolation, I knew Derek would save you. It's his instinct, he wouldn't be able not to."
Joe bit in the instant reply she had poised on her lips. As if — as if! — Jimmy had considered Derek's reaction an inch when he pulled that trigger. Sure, now it was a handy excuse, but she had seen Jimmy's eyes. They had not been the ones belonging to a rational being. Instead of opening up that can of worms as she was tied up and blindfolded in the middle of nowhere and at Jimmy's mercy whether she liked it or not, she sighed deeply.
"Yeah, that's partially what I want to ask you about."
"About mates?" asked Jimmy and Joe couldn't help the shudder that passed through her. "How is that skepticism serving you lately, Delgado?"
"Is it really a thing?" Joe asked, not acknowledging Jimmy's question. "I know Derek thinks it's a thing, I can't see why else he would bother with it, I mean, bless the guy, but subterfuge is not his game. But is it actually a thing outside lycanthrope bedtime stories?"
"It's really rare," Jimmy said evenly and Joe strained to hear if there was a slithering sound to his movements. "I never thought I would witness it first-hand. Mathematically speaking-"
"Okay, I heard that one before. Once every hundred years or whatever," Joe muttered into the solid darkness of her blindfold. "But I also heard it only happens between two already turned..."
"Turned?" Jimmy prompted.
"Turned..." Joe said slowly and her face underwent a lot of different grimaces. "W-we-wolves."
"And you're not a werewolf." Jimmy guessed where she was going. "Hmm, yes, I can see how that's problematic. That's part of the old legend itself, that it can only be between two werewolves. The story goes about a girl and a boy being in love, blah blah blah, one is turned into a werewolf and the other eventually after a lot of plot twists, also chooses to become a werewolf and they discover their connection, their bond, stronger than ever, unbreakable, blessed by the moon, yadda yadda yadda."
At least Jimmy sounded as disgusted at the premise as Joe was.
"Anyway, I e-mailed with this old Chinese lycanthrope back in the day who claimed the real reason it only was between two turned werewolves, is because the turning should be a choice. Something about how a forced turn has greater potential in going wrong. If all werewolves go around and senses their mate in human form, they would presumably try to turn them given a chance and that could end badly."
"So...it's not supposed to be noticeable for or with humans because it could end in genocide?"
"The abridged version, yes. Based on your lack of physical strength and perception, I guess you are still human?"
"Through and through," Joe muttered in defeat, not bothering to care about the slight insult. Her arms strained from the awkward position. "This is ridiculous! Can't you let me go? The straps are digging into my wrists. Starting to hurt."
"I can tell you're bluffing, Delgado. Nevertheless, I'll take you back to your car shortly. I'm sorry, but as I have told you, I am very particular about my privacy!" Jimmy cut off Joe's growing protests. "Was that all for now?"
"No," said Joe and decided to jump right into it. "When are you coming back?" Shuffling around, trying to pinpoint the approximate direction so she was facing Jimmy head on. "Why are you hiding out here? Peter Hale is dead, you know that, right?"
"By my estimation, I should be done in a few months' time."
"Done with what?"
"Let's just say I have taken some steps to ensure my survival."
"Like killing Kate?" It slipped out before she could stop it. The silence that followed was torture in her blinded state. She wiggled around a bit. "Jimmy?"
His voice sounded guttural. "Kate died of her injuries at the hospital. Why would I need to kill her?"
Joe sighed and explained what she had found when checking the surveillance tapes. Jimmy sucked air in through his teeth, at least that's what it sounded like with her still being blindfolded!
"Derek," said Jimmy and Joe rolled her eyes behind the thick fabric.
"I already asked him and he said no."
"And you just believed his word?" Jimmy sounded surprised and Joe shifted around. It sounded a bit stupid when Jimmy said it like that. "Ah, well, of course, you would believe him instinctively I suppose."
"Stop talking about me like I'm some sort of..." Joe struggled to phrase it and settled for: "Some sort of dumb animal that's not capable of autonomous decisions! If anything, all my instincts are telling me to not believe a word Derek says-"
"I think you're confusing your instincts with-"
"-and anyway," Joe shouted to drown Jimmy out, "if we're being honest with ourselves, who's more likely to splice surveillance footage? Derek's not actually the definition of covert."
"The Argents!" said Jimmy in an 'eureka'-voice. "The closed casket at the funeral, it makes sense!"
"So you were at the funeral!" Joe hopped forward on her bound knees. Jimmy had at least reached the same conclusion she had, but given their joint level of paranoia it was probably to be expected. "I knew it!"
"Yes, with the arrival of Gerard Argent, how could I not? The man is a legend, or more applicably, infamous." His soft footsteps padded over the cavern ground. Barefoot most likely. "Oh, this is not good. Kate Argent alive, in any condition, is not good."
Joe kept quiet, not necessarily keen on reminding Jimmy exactly why Kate was alive.
"Hmm, hmm, I wonder how her mental state is? Scratches that deep by Alpha claws..." he muttered and his voice grew more distant, as if he moved deeper into the mountain. Joe used the opportunity to bend backwards, trying to blindly find the zip ties around her ankles with her bound hands. What kind of psycho brings zip ties with him to his secluded cavern in the wilderness? And a damn kettle?!
Keeping half an ear on Jimmy's distant mumbling, Joe bent so far back as she managed and put the edges of the zip ties against each other. When she was little, she abhorred the training sessions her dad put her through every time he came home after a new case that ended badly. Who knew she would appreciate them so much now after Scott turned into a werewolf?
The friction between the ragged edges of the zip ties and tension in the material as she strained her hands and feet as far apart as they went — snap. Joe kept quiet for half a second, in case Jimmy heard it, but he sounded fully enraptured by his own thoughts. Joe wrenched off the stupid hood and blinked against the harsh glare from several camping lanterns in the-
Okay, Jimmy was right, this was a cavern. So high under the ceiling they could probably fit the entire McCall house in here. Joe's mouth dropped open when she got up gingerly, rubbing her sore wrists. Guess where all that furniture from Jimmy's apartment had gone? The kettle she had heard before was propped up on a gas-powered stove and some thick wires went from a small generator up to the ceiling lights.
Spinning around, her eyes landed on Jimmy. She let out an involuntary gasp and put her hands over her mouth at the sight. It was not scales, but in so many ways, a lot worse.
"Are-"
Jimmy let out a harsh snarl and leapt to the side and out of sight.
"-you okay?" Joe finished and managed to pry her hands away from her mouth. Her legs tingled from being so awkwardly placed for so long and she wobbled a bit when she took a hesitant step forwards. "Jimmy?"
"I told you I wasn't presentable!" His disgruntled voice came from somewhere in the shadows. His voice echoed. "Don't laugh at me!"
Joe covered her mouth again to stop the panicked noise from escaping. "I'm not! I'm so sorry, I just- I wasn't expecting...that."
Jimmy was definitely a werewolf. From the brief second she had eyes on him, she saw both the fangs and the excessive side burns and the slight protruding at the nosebridge. It was just more advanced than what she had seen on any of the other werewolves. His neck had expanded to over his head, making him almost hunchback, while his whole face had elongated like he was closer to a snout than a mouth. He'd been skinny, but now muscles protruded at odd places, almost like large swellings. Not symmetric either, just wrong.
The beard still covered most of his face, but in the visible spots he had red angry hives on his skin, and almost blisters on his hands and exposed feet.
"What happened, Jimmy?" She remained standing in the outer part of the cavern, near the remains of her restraints. "Why are you..." Not knowing if he could see her, she gestured to her own body.
"I'm between states!"
Joe took a tentative step backwards. Jimmy sounded agitated, and when a werewolf sounded agitated it made an impression straight to a more primal part of her brain. Large predator bad, danger!
His voice changed to a frantic whisper. "Relax, release, ease. Relax, release, ease. Relax-"
Taking another step back, Joe stumbled over what happened to be a stack of CDs. Meditation tapes. Oh, this was getting weirder and weirder. She tip-toed towards the brief spot of daylight she hoped meant the cavern entrance. Or exit, in her case, very much an exit.
"Relax, release, ease. Relax, release, ease...ARGH!" The echo of something crashing and Joe saw Jimmy's shadows move around deeper in the cavern, illuminated by the lanterns. Was he...growing?
Blue eyes, she realized and her breath hitched. Jimmy had blue eyes. Frozen in spot, too terrified to move, the shadow of Jimmy hunched over and he made some choking and growling noises. Between states. What did that mean? What states?!
Dust rained from the ceiling as Jimmy shouted: "Get out!"
Eyes wide, hands trembling, Joe shook her head. "No. Jimmy, do you need help?"
A blistered and clawed hand came around the corner, gripping the cave wall so hard that it crumbled like dust. "You...can't help me."
"Let me try, Jimmy," Joe said and her voice was tight from tears threatening to fall. "Jimmy, pleas-"
Jimmy roared so the bedrock trembled. Before she turned to run, she saw the glowing blue eyes appearing out of the shadows. She stumbled out of the cave, hearing the heavy footsteps of what used to be Jimmy hot on her heels. The cavern opened up into a secluded part of the woods and any direction was as good as the other as long as it was away from Jimmy.
Her pulse drowned out her own breathing as it throbbed in her ears. Still daylight, although dwindling, and twigs snapped as Jimmy crashed after her. Her boots slid on the wet ground when he jumped ahead of her, roaring in her face. He looked sick! Instinct took over and she dashed off in another direction, not looking back. That's how the stupid chicks in horror flicks always got snuffed, when they turned to look back at their pursuer and stumbled and fell.
She was not stupid!
Pumping her arms, running for everything she had, she shrieked when Jimmy threw himself at a tree right by her side. The heavy trunk split with a loud crack. Joe jumped between the branches, wincing as they whipped her in the face, wondering in the back of her mind if Derek felt that.
By some miracle, she spotted a familiar shape through the trees. Her car!
Door still open as she'd left it, she threw herself in, gulping violently for air. Not thinking, only reacting, she slammed the door shut and locked it, like that would hold out a livid disfigured werewolf. At least the car started right away, like it always did now after Derek changed the engine. A sense of deja vu as her tires spat mud from reversing so fast, from when Jimmy took off from the Hale house, and she did a sharp turn to get back on the road.
Nothing followed her, at least not visible in the mirrors.
Halfway back to Beacon Hills, Joe could think straight again. Fingers gripping the steering wheel, sweat still running down her forehead, she realized that it was not a miracle she had found her car. He'd herded her there! The speed he possessed, she should not stand a change of outrunning him! As much as she cursed his name, she could not help but admire the deceit.
The pink skin around her wrists looked to be superficial damage at best. Just like the scratches on her stomach, they were already healing. Her clothes were in a worse state with thick mud caking her pants and her sweatshirt torn apart from branches. She picked a whole twig out of her hair, but gave up with all the pine needles and leaves. Home, shower, sleep. That order.
The McCall house was dark when she got there and the only car on the curb was Stiles' Jeep. She furrowed her brows a bit, but hurried up the steps and unlocked the door before the neighbors saw the state she was in. The lock clicked open, but the door didn't budge.
"Are you kidding meee?" Joe sang, not in the mood for anymore bullshit today, and rattled the handle. It sounded like something was holding the door in place, like if someone had shoved a chair under the doorknob. Swearing, she threw her shoulder against it and hissed at the sharp pain. Then she yelped as the curtains on the side of the door twitched open.
Stiles' wide innocent face stared at her through the window. "Joe?"
"Oh my God, Stiles, I get that we made you a key, but you can't lock us out!" Joe leaned against the window to stare at the idiot child. His wide eyes were more fearful than innocent she realized. They kept darting to something behind her, so much that she turned around. "Oh great."
Derek, of course, stood on the other side of the road accompanied by all three members of his troupe. They just stood their immobile as she raised her eyebrows at the sight. She sighed and turned back around to Stiles. "What the hell is going on?"
"Uhh...Derek's here to kill Lydia because he thinks she's the kanima-"
Joe did not bother to hear the rest. Enough bullshit for one day! She marched straight to her car, retrieved the shotgun and loaded it as she stalked up to the idiot band of werewolves.
"You're gonna shoot me, Joe?" Derek asked with a smug smirk when she was halfway across the road. "You know it's gonna hurt you as much as me."
"Worth it!" barked Joe and pulled the trigger.
The shot rang out in the empty night and missed Derek's head only because he dropped to a crouch. A split second of wide disbelieving eyes before his eyes glowed red and his mouth opened in a snarl.
"No!" he growled at the other three who were hovering around, ready to attack. Derek straightened up without taking his eyes off her. "Go. I got this!"
The betas rushed off. Locked in an impasse, she and Derek circled each other. His hands were out from his side, claws ready, and he twisted his head as if to hold back the full transformation.
"She's sixteen!" Joe bit out, wondering how many times she had to repeat that phrase.
"She's gonna get all of us killed!" Derek took a step to the side and Joe followed, keeping him at the end of her barrel at all times. "If she doesn't kill us herself."
"Then help her! Like you did with Scott."
Her breathing came rushed through her nose, but no amount of pheromones was going to bite at her now. Her anger clouded everything else. She hoped Scott would be able to handle the betas, as long as she kept the Alpha locked in place.
"If you hurt me-"
"I know, I'll hurt too," Joe spat, wondering how it felt to be shot close-range by a 20 gauge shotgun. "Same if you hurt me."
"The difference is," Derek rushed forwards and grabbed the barrel, "I heal!"
He forced the barrel upwards and her next three shots hit nothing but air. His breath struck her face as much as the blast of air from the shots exiting as he growled. Joe let out a snarl herself, but before she could get her foot up to kick him in the balls, he ripped the shotgun out of her hands.
Derek span her around with one arm over her chest and it was like fighting a goddamn wall as she clawed to get loose. Okay, self-defence class, go! Joe screamed and stomped her boot down over his instep. The pain came instantly and they both grunted. Solar plexus, Joe thought, and jabbed her elbow into Derek's rock hard abdomen.
"Ugh!" The impact made her lose her breath, but at least Derek's grip slackened enough for her to spin around and slam the heel of her hand into his face. It never reached its target — Derek grabbed her wrist and his nostrils flared as he applied pressure to force her arm down, obviously feeling the same bone crushing sensation that Joe did.
"Stop!" he ordered, even though Joe already tried to kick her knee up into his groin. He managed to get both her wrists in a lock and flipped her over again to hold her in a tight bearhug. His voice came breathlessly in her ear: "Fighting me is only hurting you!"
"Worth it," Joe bit out again and squirmed to slacken his hold. He was so freakishly stupid strong!
He sighed in frustration. "I wish it didn't have to come to this."
Something in his voice made Joe pause for a split second, long enough to feel a sharp sting on her arm. She looked down to see a mirror piece coated in something opaque and slimy. Her fingers were already going numb.
"Oh you sonnuvabitch." She swayed in his arms as her legs gave out. Not this again! "Asshole." While her torso was still working, she filled her lungs. "SCO-mmm!"
He covered her mouth with his hand and dragged her backwards. Where was Scott? Where was the cops? Did they not have neighbors?! She just fired off a shot in a populated area! Her body limp and useless, only her mouth was working except that Derek was covering it with his stupid big hand!
"Ah, are you kid-"
To his credit, Derek didn't drop her when she clomped down on his finger. He tore his hand away from her bloody mouth, but the wound was already closing up.
"Asshole," Joe hissed from her awkward position where he held her up. "You motherf-"
Derek licked the remaining blood of his finger. She heard a car door open and tried to shut down her nose when she realized he was putting her in the backseat of the Camaro. She tried, she really tried to get any muscles to listen, but the paralytic venom had already claimed her whole system.
Head flopping backwards, she still choked out: "Don't!"
Derek's face filled her vision, bright eyes wide with worry, but not remorse. "I'm sorry."
The car door slammed shut.
'Cause you're hot then you're cold...Also, everyone's favorite weirdo is back! Sort of :)
If anyone was confused about what was on the floor of the last chapter, it would be Jackson as Derek had just tested him with the kanima venom and Isaac threatened him to retract his statement. Just so everyone know where we are in the timeline as Joe is too busy with her own stuff to notice everything. And Joe's self-defence routine is definitely not from the movie Miss Congeniality...definitely.
3 months anniversary for this story (okay, 3 months and 1 day), but yay! We broke 200 reviews on the last chapter, which is so cool! Extra love to you guys who review on every single chapter, you da real MVP! Always a special sense of joy when I see your usernames in my inbox ^^
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this new chapter and I can't wait to hear what you guys think so don't hesitate in leaving a review!