The Breaking ➝ Isaac Lahey

Chapter Sixty-Four

Aspen rolled her eyes with gaped lips at her cousin's childish retort. "Oh my god, can't you just be serious for one second? Like ever?"

"Where's the fun in that? I mean, one of us has to be charming and entertaining, and you are not meeting the cut." she shrugged, thinking she cemented her point with a lazy wiggle of her finger. "How about you try to be the dependable one, huh?" Aspen asked with a light tone as if speaking to a five-year-old-- though it seemed that was the case anytime she argued with Charlie." That might actually help out."

"Hey! I'm dependable--"

Charlie's words were cut short when she came to a sudden halt, and her eyes flickered to the right. Aspen steadied herself, quickly becoming dizzy from walking and attempting to use her element simultaneously. "What is it? You hear something?"

"Feel," Charlie mumbled mindlessly, her brows pulled together in concentration with her lip entrapped between her teeth, "Water Elementalist feel things rather than hearing."

"Well, what do you feel?"

"I'm not sure." Charlie's words trailed off to a murmur as she made swift steps toward the double doors of the pool with Aspen was right on her heels. The metal doors were cold against Charles's hands as she pressed her palm firmly against them, taking another breath before she pushed them open.

They were met with humid air and the sound of sloshing water. The lights were dim except for the glass roof that revealed the silver sphere in the dark sky. The chlorine water beat against the edge of the pool as if someone were frantically splashing.

Or drowning.

Aspen took a step forward with determination to save Stiles when she felt Charlie shand shoot out and block her way.

"It's not just them," Charlie whispered so quietly that Aspen had to read her lips. Her tone was confused yet afraid of the other thing that was lurking in the pool area. "There's something else in here."

For a moment, Aspen ignored Charles's cold touch on her arm and more so on the unusual heat she felt. Supernatural energy from Scott was one thing. Derek's alpha energy was another thing entirely. But this? This was unlike anything she's felt. It was similar to a werewolf but something strange.

"Will you get me out of here before I drown?"

Irritated voice. Derek.

"You're worried about drowning? Did you notice the thing out there with multiple rows of razor-sharp teeth?"

Reason for warranted irritation, Stiles.

"Did you notice that I'm paralyzed from the neck down in eight feet of water!?" Derek vexed, his word sounding tight from the water reaching his chin.

"Okay. Okay." Stiles breathed, sputtering water from his mouth as he turned his head, trying to see above the edge of the pool. Aspen could see him trying to swim towards his phone until Derek urgently told him to stop.

Aspen's chest heaved, and she couldn't feel herself breathing once she saw a giant lizard-like creature scaling the perimeter of the pool. She could see Charlie slightly stagger back from her peripheral, her blue eyes never blinking once she took in the sight of the scaly reptile. And as Stiles described, he indeed had razor-sharp teeth, his slitted tongue peeking out with ever hiss.

"The fuck is that?" Charlie breathed quietly, thankful they were hiding in the shadows.

"Mini Godzilla," Aspen answered mindlessly before swallowing.