Invisible String {2} TW

Ch. 2 More Bad Than Good

"We're not adding you to our list of problems," Scott told her.

"How else are we going to find her? Derek won't answer," she reminded.

"Then we're gonna have to find someone else to help," Scott decided. He turned to best friend, who seemed lost in thought. "This is basically a crime scene, right? I think it might be a little out of my boss's league."

"And more in my dad's," Stiles realized.

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Cops surrounded the den while the three teenagers stood off to the side. The Sherriff exited the den and walked over to them, holding Malia's blanket.

"You sure it was her?" he asked them.

"We looked her right in the eyes. And they glowed just like ours," Scott told him.

"It makes sense, Dad," Stiles told the man.

"But it wasn't a girl. It was a four legged coyote, right?" the Sheriff asked.

"Well, okay. But yeah, see, that's the point that we don't exactly have figured out yet," Stiles admitted.

"Okay, but if it was a full moon and she did change while her mom was driving, then anything could've happened," Scott told him.

"Horrible things could've happened. Ripping, shredding, tearing things," Stiles added.

"Which is probably what caused the accident," Scott said.

"And while she would've been a little young, your first transformation can happen when you're only nine if you're a born wolf- or coyote, I guess. And even if she wasn't, she could've easily had been playing in the woods and gotten bitten," Ayla told them.

"Exactly. Think about it, Dad, all right. They're driving, Malia starts to change, doesn't know what's happening, she goes out of control, the mom crashes and everybody dies," Stiles began to explain.

"Except for Malia," Scott added.

"She blames herself, all right? Goes off running into the woods and eventually becomes trapped inside the body of a coyote," Stiles finished.

"Which wouldn't at all be surprising, given that shape-shifters who become full animal tend to have less control of shifting," Ayla put in.

"That makes sense," Sheriff Stilinski said, nodding. The teenagers looked at each other, surprised he was actually getting it. "In a Chinese folktale," he snapped. "Kids, this is... this is insane. I need this kept quiet. The three of you, not a word. I don't want anyone hearing about this. I especially don't want Mr. Tate hearing about this."

The Sheriff went on, but Ayla suddenly noticed that Scott's focus had shifted. He was staring off at a rock in the woods, and she could hear his heartbeat speed up. "Scott?" she asked, taking his hand.

Scott turned towards her and quickly snatched his hand from hers, as if afraid to touch her. Ayla stared at him in confusion as he took a step back from her. "Are you okay?" she asked.

He nodded, but kept the slight distance between them. "Yeah. Fine. Uh, what were you saying?" he wondered, turning back to the Sheriff.