Return ➵ McCall [DISC.]

12; Frequent Encounters

"Yeah, I'm not so confident about this anymore." Claire bounced on her toes and swallowed hard, twisting the crossbow in her hands as Hayden and Liam dragged a metal shelf in front of the door to the locker room, Parrish setting up a transmitter on top of the lockers.

"Hey." She looked up at Scott as he put his hands on her shoulders, giving them a quick squeeze. "We've got this." She nodded and gave him a small smile, trying to calm herself down. Lydia walked over to them, wringing her hands.

"Is it me, or is Liam not aware of the second part of the plan?" She whispered, glancing over her shoulder warily.

"I'm still not sure." He sighed, Claire biting down on her cheek. It was the one part of the plan she wasn't quite agreeing with. That, and the crossbow. "I don't know if there's going to be a second part."

"Or if it's going to work." She added quietly, Scott nodding.

"I hope it does." Claire muttered.

● ● ●

"What am I?" Hayden frowned in the mirror shaking her head.

"You're Hayden." She smiled at Liam's words, Claire watching sadly. If this went wrong, Liam could lose her, and she didn't think she could live with that. She turned away to see Scott sitting on the bench, hands clasped as he watched the two sophomores. His mind went back to something Derek had said his sophomore year, his words ringing in his ears.

"You're gonna lose her anyway."

He felt a hand slide into his and looked over to see Claire give him a supportive smile as his hand tightened around hers. Her head leaned against his shoulder, letting out a sigh.

"They're cute together." She said quietly, taking a deep breath. "I find it amazing, how through all of this, they can still fall in love. Be normal."

"Yeah." He whispered, looking down at her. But her attention was elsewhere, on a shadow by the door.

"Do you hear that?" She asked, getting up slowly. Scott followed, Lydia stopping both of them.

"Guys." She said, swallowing nervously. "I was just thinking since we can't use our phones, then we can't check in on Stiles and Theo."

"I didn't even think about that." Scott realized, Claire rubbing her face.

"Me neither." She paused, looking up at them. "So we're standing here, waiting for guys in masks and breathing tubes to show up, but who-or what-are Stiles and Theo waiting for?"

● ● ●

Claire balanced the crossbow on her knees as she rubbed her temples, her head pounding as she stressed out even more. She glanced over to see Hayden falling asleep on Liam's shoulder, filling with guilt. She sat up straighter when she saw him notice the black duffel bag with a curious expression. Before she could react he had gotten up and unzipped it, pulling out chains.

"Liam." She warned, standing up as he turned towards Scott.

"What are you gonna do with these?" he asked, holding up the metal links.

"Brought them just in case." He sighed, knowing he couldn't keep it from him anymore.

"In case of what?"

"In case we had a chance to catch on of them." Lydia answered, turning to face him.

"If we can't make the school a fortress," Scott explained, stepping closer. "Maybe we can make it a trap."

"They're coming for her." Liam realized angrily. "Does that mean she's the bait?"Scott looked over at now awake and very scared Hayden before facing him again as Liam threw the chains back angrily.

"Liam." Claire said softly, walking next to Scott. "We brought her here to protect her."

"And now she's bait." He shook his head.

"Am I?" Hayden asked, eyes wide.

"No one's bait." Scott assured, looking between the two. "But we can't be bodyguards to everyone every night."

"Then why aren't we talking to Stiles' dad?" He asked, holding out his arm. "Why aren't we doing something better than hiding in a school?"

"Because we don't know anything about them." Scott argued. "Or what they want. Okay? They're winning, and we don't even know what the game is."

"What if they come in here, and those things don't work?" He waved his finger at the transmitter as his voice raised. "What if you have an asthma attack? What are we gonna do?"

"I don't know."

"This plan sucks." He growled.

"You got a better one?" Scott asked, Claire flinched as he started yelling. "Kids are dying, and she's next. So somebody has to do something. Somebody has to save everybody. So somebody has to be the bait!"

"Scott." Liam said quietly, stepping forward. "Promise me, you'll do everything you can to save her. Scott. Promise."

"I'll do everything I can." He nodded, Claire biting down on her lip. "I promise."

"Guys." Everyone looked over to Hayden as she rifled through her bag. "I think I might need a little help right now. I forgot my pills, I have a bottle in my locker, I can get them but-"

"I'll get them." Scott said, nodding at Liam. "What's your combination?" She told him her combo and he went to move the shelf, looking back at Lydia and Claire.

"I'll stay here with them." The brunette offered, holding up the crossbow for emphasis. Scott just nodded and they walked out, shutting the door behind them.

Claire sighed and sat down, rubbing her face with one hand, the other clutching her weapon tightly. It was still hard for her to believe that in a few short weeks, she had been thrown into the supernatural world. Then again, she had been part of it since birth.

"Claire." Liam's voice made her look up, his eyes trained around the corner. "You hear that?"

"They're here." She sighed, standing up and tunring the corner, crossbow up and ready to shoot. "Scott? Lydia?" The door opened to reveal one of the dread doctors.

She turned around to face Liam and Hayden eyes wide. "You guys need to-" Her warning was cut short by a sharp gasp, the crossbow clattering onto the ground.

Claire looked up in time to see the masked black figure pull the sword out of her stomach before disappearing, her hands covering the wound in her stomach as she fell to her knees. The two younger teens watched as she gasped and choked in fear, not seeing what she saw.

The didn't see the blood pooling under her hands, or dripping down her chin. They never saw the black figure or the sword, only watching as she laid back, coughing and gagging on nothing.

But she believed she was dying, just like Allison had.

● ● ●

Scott and Mason burst through the doors, Malia and Lydia already there.

"They're gone." The strawberry blonde said quietly, pursing her lips.

"Hayden and Liam are gone." Malia gasped in disbelief, her voice shaky.

"You guys," Scott whispered, a lump growing in his throat as he looked down at the smashed crossbow.

"They have Claire."

___________________________

Not edited.

Do you like ruining lives? Because I know I do.

When I watched this episode, I knew right away what Claire was going to hallucinate.

How do you guys feel about them taking our bby?

And that itty bitty Sclaire I threw in there?

Vote and comment what you thought about this chapter and what you think they doctors are going to do to Claire.

Xx