I N S T I N C T | Jackson Whittemore

02: rule breaker

Rule Breaker
Chapter Two

Annie watched as her father and Uncle Chris stepped out of their four-wheel-drive, black SUV, and walked towards the town hospital. Annie raised her eyebrows as she stepped out of her brother's truck, and eyed Allison's car across the parking lot. Annie shrugged it off, it was probably just a car that looked like her's.

A deputy walked up and began to talk to Annie's family, and then her family passed the information to their team. Slowly, but surely, Annie's father walked over to her, sighing.

"It's a fifteen year-old girl," Kyle started, "red hair, 5'3", and naked. She escaped the hospital in a delusional state. Her name is Lydia Martin."

Annie nodded her head, remembering the name and the tie to Allison. Maybe that was her car...

"Lydia Martin? That girl is friends with Allison. What is this, like a search party?"

Kyle shook his head, "More like a hunting party. The girl might be in transition, and I suggest that we find her before anyone else does."

Annie creased her eyebrows, but nodded. Her family didn't do resistance or rebellion, even though Annie was a rule breaker at heart. Kyle walked away and Sam looked over at his sister, "Whatever connection you have towards this girl, forget about it. None of it matters if she breaks the code."

Annie swallowed, "I know, but Sam... She's fifteen."

"And she's also a homicidal werewolf," Sam counter-argued, "keep your emotions clean, remember your training, and do what you're told," he said as he turned his back to his sister, walking towards his truck.

Annie's head burned with bite. She was not going to let her older brother boss her around. "I thought the women were the leaders of the family!" she called out to him.

Sam turned around, and shook his head, "You're not a woman yet, Annie."

* * *

Annie sprinted through the unfamiliar woods with her fingers laced over the butt of her arrow, ready to aim and fire whenever necessary. She was told the third location of where the last trip wire was located, and she made sure to get there first, so she could check it out before everyone else.

Annie knew what she was doing was dangerous... extremely dangerous, but she couldn't help herself. She thrived for adventure and thrill, and this was the best she could get.

As Annie strolled up to the location, she heard faint voices in the distance. She shook her head in shock, because one of them belonged to her cousin. Was Allison following her and her family everywhere they went? She was a hunter too, and Annie couldn't understand why Allison would disrespect her family by doing anything else. It's not like they were killing them, and if it came down to it, Annie would never allow her family to kill an innocent teenager.

Annie was in the fight to help, not to harm.

"Allison?" she called out, and then the next thing she knew... the trip wire was being deployed, letting loose the sound of a wire snapping, and someone grunting.

She rushed towards the site, only to see a young boy, about sixteen-or-so, dangling by his foot. Annie slowly approached him, and was about to say something, when headlights roared up behind her.

Her uncle Chris and her father stepped out of the SUV and made their way over to what they believed was Lydia Martin. Chris sighed when he saw the real catch, "Scott?"

Annie blinked her eyes... so that was Allison's voice, and that was Allison's car, and right here is Allison's werewolf boyfriend.

The boy nodded his head the best he could while hanging by one foot, "Mr. Argent," he struggled out, his face turning red from the blood rushing to his brain.

Chris looked Scott up and down, "How are you doing?"

"Good. You know, just hanging out," Scott said sarcastically, meaning it as a joke, but quickly moved on when no one laughed. "Is this one of your's? It's... uh... good. Nice design, very constricting..." Scott's eyes landed on the pretty girl from before, the one from Allison's bedroom, and realized that she was the one who found him first. He pondered on whether or not she would have saved him.

Chris sighed, "What are you doing out here, Scott?"

Scott shrugged, and it amused Annie to see someone shrug while being upside-down. "Looking for my friend," he admitted truthfully.

"Ahhhh, that's right," Annie's uncle said, and she watched with disapproval as Chris was turning mean... turning evil. "Lydia's in your group now, isn't she? Part of the clique? Is that the word you would use? Or is there another way to put it?" Chris paused, "Part of your pack?"

"Actually, clique sounds about right to me," Scott cleared his throat, feeling vulnerable in his position.

Chris nodded slowly, and Annie shook her head once more at the evil she's never absorbed from just talking to her uncle. "I hope so, because I know she's a friend of Allison's," Chris pointed out, "and one special circumstance, such as yourself—one, I can handle... not two."

Scott gulped hard, feeling the swelling of his toes, "Got it, buddy..."

Annie's father walked up to the young boy, smiling at him. Annie prayed that Kyle would let Scott go, she literally closed her eyes and wished on it. "Hello, Scott, my name's Kyle. Chris over there is my brother... making the connection?" Scott nodded, "Scott, have you ever heard of hemicorporectomy?"

Scott swallowed hard, and Annie inhaled sharply, seeing the head of a girl and boy hiding in the distance. She knew one of them to be Allison, but she wondered who the other misfit may be.

Scott shrugged, "I don't think I want to."

Kyle inhaled, "It is a medical term for amputating somebody at the waist," Annie watched as her father drew an imaginary line with his hand at Scott's waist. "Cutting them in half. It takes a tremendous amount of strength to cut through tissue and bone like that." Kyle backed up, smiling, "Let's hope a demonstration never becomes necessary."

Kyle turned around to his family and nodded for them to move on, which they all gladly did. Annie trailed near the back of the group, and when they were a good distance away stopped and bent down to her boots.

Sam stopped and looked back at his sister, "Are you coming?"

Annie nodded in assurance, "Go on without me, I'll catch up, these boots take some time to re-tie."

Sam nodded and left without another question, leaving Annie to herself in the woods. When Sam's head went out of her sight, she sprinted back to the scene to help the young boy hanging by one foot.

"Stiles, help me with this," Allison said, pulling at the wire that was connecting into the ground. Stiles, the other head Annie must have seen, rushed to help his friend.

Scott's eyes landed on Annie once more as she slowly approached the group. "Thanks," Scott announced, "but I think she's got it."

Annie smiled before pulling the slack of her arrow back, and firing. The arrow spun through the air until it broke through the wire holding Scott up, and Annie watched as he skillfully maneuvered his feet beneath him.

Allison shook her head at her cousin, learning to love her more and more. "Annie? What the—"

"As much as I love our family," Annie interrupted her, "they can be a little crazy. This is a new town, and a new place, and I want to make sure I'm on the good side."

Scott stuck his hand out to her, smiling, "My name's—"

"Scott," Annie nodded, turning to Allison, "I've heard a lot about you."

Scott's smile grew wider, "And this is Stiles," he raised his hand to the boy in the back who already had hearts as eyes for this tan girl in front of him.

"Hey, Annie, right?" Stiles smiled, and Annie nodded, "sweet name."

"Back 'atcha," Annie laughed, then turned to Scott. "Listen, I know I'm new, and you probably have some weird theory about me, but I promise I'm not psycho like my father. Like I said, I'm new, and I don't want to do the hunting stuff here... I just want friends." Scott sadly smiled, along with Stiles and Allison, "So if my cousin's, werewolf boyfriend and his friend with the kickass name are the only options at this time, I'll take 'em."