battlefield
The brunette girl sat in the locker room beside Stiles, surrounded by lacrosse players gearing themselves up for the big game. But between the two, there was nothing but silence. Something that the two had become quite accustomed to, and even more so since their updated status of housemates. Most of the time, not a word needed to be spoken between them before them to know how the other felt. And tonight was no different, the two knew something wasn't right, it was in the air. Not the musty smell of sweaty jocks. But a tension that only ever happened when something bad happened to them. For Kinsey, that feeling in the air was accompanied by one in her stomach, it was unshiftable. It practically yelled at her, telling her that something was going to happen tonight. What? She wasn't sure. But it was coming.
It couldn't have been a coincidence that this feeling made itself known to her not long after she had found out that Jackson would be playing in tonight's game, it was as if the feeling inside of her was talking to her, telling her that he was the problem.
She'd entered the locker room with the intention of figuring out a plan with Scott and Stiles before she dared to let either of them on the field. She didn't care how many times Coach had told her to get out of the locker room, even before tonight. It wasn't as though she would ever listen to him, she was surprised he didn't know that by now. The man yelling at her to get out of his locker room had almost become the foundation of their banter-based relationship. Right now, figuring out what was going on with Scott and Stiles was much more important to her than listening to Coach, no matter how much she respected the man and his bizarre mind. Some may think the girl was being dramatic about the feeling she felt in her stomach, paranoid even. But if recent events had taught her anything it was not to ignore those feelings anymore. If Jackson was playing tonight it wasn't because he was a lacrosse enthusiast or one of the co-captains, things weren't that simple. He wasn't just a teenage boy with a love for supports anymore, he was a pawn in a game bigger than any of them could have ever imagined. They all were and nothing could change that now.
The brunette looked across the room at Scott as he sat alone, his elbows resting on his knees. Since sitting in the locker room she hadn't spoken to the wolf, she hadn't since Isaac had left them both stood in the animal clinic after dropping two bombs on them. The first; Jackson, and the second; that he would be leaving tonight.
Kinsey didn't know why she was expecting a goodbye, or why she even cared that she hadn't gotten one, but she did care. And she hated herself for caring. It was Isaac, just Isaac.
She noticed as Scott's face changed, his ears perking up as he turned his head to the side. She could tell he was listening to something or someone. He always had a distinctive expression whenever he was trying to eavesdrop, and this was that face. Kinsey watched and waited for his face to tell her something else, maybe he was just trying to get the latest gossip on the lacrosse team because she knew that between all of these jocks one of them had to at least have some good things to talk about. Her confidence hadn't been boosted when she had seen his face drop, a look of fear in his eyes as he turned to look at her. Whatever he had heard, it wasn't good.
Kinsey stood up from her seat, pulling Stiles up with her by the collar of his jersey prepared to rush over to the wolf and fit in some plan-making before the beginning of the game, especially after she had seen that face. But as soon as their rear ends had lifted from the metal benches Coach began making an announcement on his bullhorn turning everyone's attention to him.
"Good morning," Coach announced through his bullhorn, the room falling silent to listen to him, it wasn't their first rodeo, they all knew how this went by now. Even Kinsey. "In less than an hour, aircraft from here will be joining others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind. Mankind... that word should have a new meaning for all of us today."
The two teenagers looked at one another, shaking their heads. Even they could recite this speech after all the times they had heard Coach give it, who needed to watch the movie when the brunette girl was in the locker room before every big game hearing it. Or when he would give it to the track team too, though he didn't have the same enthusiasm for his track team that he did his lacrosse team. Not that she could blame them, it had been a while since they won before she had been tricked into joining it.
Stiles and Kinsey felt a tap on their shoulders, both looking to see Melissa McCall behind them. Clearly, she hadn't got the memo about no females in the boy's locker room either. The two were surprised to see the woman after hearing about her lack of communication with her son, neither had anticipated her appearance at the game tonight, but they should have known that Melissa wouldn't have let her son down, not even after what she had seen. Melissa seemed confused by Coach's speech and its lack of relevance to sport until the two teenagers had reassured her that he did it all the time, now, the two didn't even bat an eyelid at the speech. Kinsey could remember the first time she had sat in this locker room listening to it, how her brows had been furrowed the entire time as Scott and Stiles looked at her with a grin waiting to see if the pin dropped. They had purposely made her watch Independence Day the night before in preparation, emphasizing to her just how important the speech was. Until hearing it from Coach she hadn't quite understood why the two had been so adamant on her watching it.
"We're fighting for our right to live."
A loud cheer sounded through the entire locker room, right on schedule. Everyone on the team knew when they needed to play their part in the speech, frankly, Kinsey was convinced that in at least one of their practices they had been practicing this speech rather than actual lacrosse. Even Kinsey and Stiles joined in on their cheering, a small clap of the hands and even a whistle from the brunette girl, to make up for disobeying Coach again. Maybe she got away with sitting around in his locker room but if she didn't cheer for his big plagiarized speech she would never hear the end of it. It would be as if she had ripped his heart straight from his chest.
"Wait, is this..."
"The speech from Independence Day? Yeah." Stiles nodded, answering Melissa's question.
"But as the day the world declared in one voice..."
"Coach's favorite movie," Kinsey added
Melissa shook her head in disbelief, slightly amused that the man in front of them qualified to be a teacher, in all of the years that Scott had been at the school, she was yet to hear him mention that the Coach had taught him something valuable, now she could see why. The woman had to ask whether he knew any sports speeches that could have motivated his players, and from all of their interactions with the man, whether it was on the lacrosse or track team, neither had ever heard the man give a sports-related speech. It just wasn't in his nature. And as Stiles told her, he didn't seem to care that his speech was irrelevant, it came from his favorite movie and it had the oomph that he wanted, for him, it ticked all of the boxes. As soon as the man's speech had ended another cheer sounded through the locker room, this time Melissa tried to join in as she clapped, trying to show some team spirit for the sake of her son who hadn't even noticed her standing beside his two best friends yet.
Coach moved aside allowing someone to step out from the shadows of his office. Gerard came into the light with a smile across his face, acting as though anyone was happy to see him, which based on the sharp inhale Kinsey had heard come from Melissa, wasn't the case. Kinsey looked at the woman with a raised brow, she wasn't aware the two of them had ever met one another, let alone enough for the woman to have made an impression of him. Seemingly, the same impression that everyone else had of the man, she too seemed terrified by his presence alone, just like she was, and she shared blood and a last name with the man. Gerard idly praised the Coach's speech in the only way he knew possible, by pairing it with judgment, pointing out its lack of historical value, but at least he acknowledged its passion.
Gerard began making a speech of his own, expressing his pride in the school and all of its teams, but unlike the motivation and cheering the Coach's speech created, all he created was silence. Tensions arose in the locker room, the mood deflated. For those who knew Gerard as more than the principal, or even Melissa who barely knew him at all, an uncomfortable feeling began to grow inside of them all. Nobody was able to meet the man's eyes as he spoke, too scared that they may just turn to stone if they did. Kinsey looked at Stiles for reassurance, hoping that the feeling of dread in her stomach would ease, the one that had strengthened since seeing her grandfather, usually he always seemed to be able to give her even a slight bit of reassurance, but when she looked at him tonight and he faintly smiled at her she could see through him like glass. In the past week and a half since that night at the station, the girl had learned a crucial life skill, she had begun noticing when the ones she loved were lying to her, or at least when they were hiding something from her. And that was exactly what Stiles was doing now.
They could never look at her straight in the eyes. Their smiles would always be dimmer than they usually were. And they had a partial glimmer of guilty and pity in their eyes. Those were the signs of someone who was lying or hiding something, and it was how Stiles looked.
Her attention turned from his faint smile when Gerard announced that only one co-captain would be leading the team tonight, a smirk across his face as he spoke, looking straight to Scott. Clearly, he wasn't the one co-captain that would be leading. But Jackson. She should have known her grandfather would have something to do with all of this, he was maleficent. He knew that Jackson shouldn't be playing a game like lacrosse in his condition, who knew what would trigger that Kanima side of his. Kinsey stood there gluing the pieces of the puzzle together as her grandfather continued his speech, from the man announcing that Jackson would be leading the team to Stiles clearly hiding something and the sharp inhale Melissa had taken when she'd seen Gerard. Something else had happened at the station that night, or even since then. And if her assumptions were correct then the Kanima had a new master, and this one was a lot more evil than the first. Even worse, she was related to him, and he stood right before her.
"Get out there and murder them."
Those final words of Gerard's speech had been all she needed to get that confirmation. He looked straight across the room to his granddaughter as he said it, as she stood with a slack jaw, unable to speak. It was as if he knew she'd glued the pieces together as if he could read her mind he knew it was the perfect time to give her that message. She'd been paralyzed a few times in the past few weeks, but she felt more helpless and frozen now than she had any of those times, even combined. He had single-handedly confirmed the bad feeling that she had started to grow in her stomach since this afternoon.
Coach dismissed the team to the field, the entire team quickly dispersing from the locker room as they cheered again, even after Gerard's slightly concerning speech. Melissa and Stiles began walking out of the locker room prepared to join everyone on the field while Scott had rushed up to Coach to ask why he had been taken out of the game. Meanwhile, Kinsey remained where she had stood, still frozen in shock and fear as she stared down at the ground, that feeling of impending doom growing inside her, more and more by the second. Her grandfather had looked at her as he spoke those words as if he were warning her, maybe part of it was a warning to Scott too, but Gerard had looked at her, not him. His words were meant for her. He knew she wouldn't just stand back while her friends were in danger, she wouldn't just let him use the Kanima to murder people like Matt had. He knew if there was a fight tonight, she would be in the middle of it, and it seemed as though that was exactly what he wanted. Kinsey had only snapped out of her stare when she'd heard Stiles call her name from over by the door, gesturing for her to come out to the field. Despite that feeling in her stomach telling her that she should run for the hills and stay out of tonight, she followed him anyway.
For a while, Scott, Kinsey, and Stiles sat on the bench in silence. None of them could quite figure out what to say to one another. Even without words, there was a mutual understanding between the three of them, they all knew something was going to happen tonight, and that they would all be in the middle of it. As they always were. It had been too long since the three of them had been sat together like this, at least without a gun pointed at them. For friends who had once felt so close and unbreakable, it was hard to believe that they now sat in an awkward silence barely knowing how to talk to one another. Usually, none of them would have had a problem blurting out all of their concerns for what was going to happen, or even throwing a plan out in the open hoping that it might help them against whatever they were facing. But they had nothing.
Scott was the first to speak, though he had just spat out the first thing that had come to his mind; asking Stiles whether his dad would be coming to the game tonight. He hadn't even noticed that the man was already behind them sitting with his own mother until Stiles and the girl in between them had pointed him out. Sheriff Stilinski didn't intend to come to the game, not when his son never actually played, but Kinsey was quite the persuasive person, and who knew, maybe by some miracle Stiles would actually play tonight. They were lacking most of their players now that Matt and Isaac were of commission and Scott had been benched. The conversation quickly fell flat again as the three struggled to think of what else to say until Scott had thought of another question, this time directing it at Kinsey as he asked whether she had seen Allison. He wasn't aware of the extent of their "falling-out", all he knew was that Kinsey was temporarily living at the Stilinski house to give everyone some space. He thought maybe the two would still call or text, but as Kinsey told him, she had seen nothing or heard nothing of Allison since she packed up her bag that night. The two hadn't even shared a goodbye.
Even though she had given a short answer, causing the conversation to fall flat again, she tried her best to keep it going by asking if either of the boys had seen Lydia. Apparently, she had been just as much off the radar as the rest of them, nobody had seen the redhead since her birthday party after she had poisoned all of them. Kinsey hadn't spoken to Lydia either, she wasn't quite sure how to approach someone who had done that to them, or whether the redhead had even known that she had done it. Kinsey found it hard to believe that Lydia would purposely do something to cause all of her friends to hallucinate the things they did. She could have her moments, Kinsey couldn't deny that, but Lydia wouldn't knowingly put them through that, at least she hoped that she wouldn't.
The three still believed that Lydia would show her face tonight too, she had never missed one of Jackson's games, not even since their break-up. She still held out hope for the two of them rekindling their relationship, it was clear, so they could expect to see her here tonight eventually.
It took a while for Stiles to finally think of something to say. Unlike his two best friends he hadn't opted for small talk that would slowly edge them into talking to one another again, it was obvious that the three were out of touch with being able to just say anything they wanted after all of the non-speaking they had been doing. But he had a question that he needed to ask, he couldn't hold it in any longer than he already had been, and it was a fair question, one that the other two were, frankly, too scared to ask themselves or anyone else.
"It's going to be bad, isn't it?" He asked, Kinsey and Scott raised their heads to look at him. "I mean, like people screaming, running for their lives, blood, killing, maiming kind of bad?"
Scott sighed, bowing his head again. "Looks like it."
"Feels like it." Kinsey blurted out, confusing both of the boys as they looked at her. She hadn't planned on telling either of the boys or anyone for that matter about the feeling in her stomach. Part of her still wanted to believe it was just paranoia, maybe her being a tad bit dramatic after hanging out with Lydia. But as she knew, sometimes her paranoia wasn't just paranoia, maybe if she had believed she was more than just paranoid she could have stopped Matt before things had taken a turn for the worst. "I've had this feeling in my gut all day that I just can't get rid of. I know something bad is going to happen tonight and I don't know how to get rid of it."
The two boys listened and thought for a moment about what she was saying. They knew that something bad was going to happen but neither of them had had a feeling so strong in their stomach like the girl was describing, it was as if she somehow knew more than them.
"What does it feel like?" Scott asked curiously.
"Like people are going to die."
Silence returned between the three as they all sat looking forward at the field in front of them, a swarm of players warming up ready for the game, one that neither would be playing in by the looks of things. Jackson was in the middle of all of the players, talking casually to the people who stood around him as if he didn't have the potential of killing all of them tonight if he turned into the Kanima. When he turned into the Kanima. He was acting as though he hadn't been off the radar for weeks, barely at school because he was too busy murdering people. As Stiles stared off out onto the field he had another thought. Something about Kinsey coming clean and talking about her feelings must have stirred up some encouragement inside of him, if even she, a girl who never wanted to talk about how she felt, could tell them about that feeling inside of her then he could talk about he felt too.
"The other night seeing my dad get hit over the head by Matt, you know, while I'm just lying there and I can't even move, it just... I want to help, you know, but I can't do the things that you can do. I can't..." Stiles shook his head as he looked at the two of them with glossy eyes, trying to hold back the tears that came from the thought of losing his dad.
There was something familiar about this moment. A memory popped into Kinsey's head, though it was much different in terms of circumstances, it was familiar. She could remember the three of them sitting in one of Harris's detentions after getting Scott beaten up, back then the three hadn't known how to start a conversation either. Back then their biggest problem was whether Scott would be able to be around Allison as a werewolf, there was no real threatening danger back then. They were young, naive, and for Scott, in love. They hadn't had to worry about the Kanima ripping out the throats of lacrosse players and spectators, just whether he would blab Scott's secret out to anyone. It had taken them a while back then to confide in each other too, but they had done it, and they had all felt better after it too, like now. Even after all of the pain and torture the three had been through since then, all of the deaths they had witnessed they were still able to have these moments. Still able to show their vulnerabilities to their best friends in times of need. Whether their lives were on the line or not.
"We're losing, guys," Stiles admitted, he didn't need to say it. They both knew it already. If they weren't losing they wouldn't be sat on this bench worrying, wondering what was going to happen to all of them tonight. Kinsey wouldn't have the feeling inside of their stomach. Gerard wouldn't have given them that warning. Jackson wouldn't be on the field.
"The hell are you talking about?" Coach popped up from behind the three. "Game hasn't even started. Now put on your helmet and get out there. You're in for Greenberg."
"What?" The three mumbled in shock. "Greenberg? What happened to Greenberg?" Stiles asked, frantically looking between Coach and the field where Greenberg should have been. He couldn't believe that Coach had actually just told him to get out on the field, it had to be a fever dream.
"What happened to Greenberg? He sucks. You suck slightly less."
"I'm playing?" Stiles muttered.
"Your playing!" Kinsey cheered, shaking the boy by his shoulders. She seemed even more excited than he did. At least one miracle had been granted tonight, and thanks to her skills of persuasion his father would be here to see him play.
"On the field? With the team?"
"Yes." Coach laughed. "Unless you'd rather play with yourself."
"I already did that today, twice." Stiles deadpanned, looking at his two best friends. While Scott sat with a smirk across his face Kinsey's had dropped. She didn't need to know that information about him, not today, or ever. And especially not while she was living with him and there was just a single wall between their rooms. Stiles simply shrugged, giving her a tilt of the head, it was too late to take it back now.
Apparently, Coach didn't want to know that information either. He bellowed in their ears for Stiles to get out onto the field causing all three of them to jump in their seats. Stiles leaped on his feet, rushing to pick up his helmet and lacrosse stick before running onto the field as though his life depended on it. As he did, Kinsey and Scott cheered for him on the bench, both were still slightly in disbelief that Siles was actually playing for the team after all of this time. He had been on the team since the start of high school, and only now did he finally have his opportunity to play. It had been a moment he had been waiting for pretty much all of his life. Of course, it was a moment that was supposed to happen a long time ago, the night they found out that Peter was the Alpha. Back when Stiles was referred to as Bilinski, for reasons she still wasn't quite sure of. But what mattered was that he was finally getting his chance to play, and thanks to her skills of persuasion, his father would be here to see his first game.
Sheriff Stilinski sat beside Melissa, both of them had been looking out onto the field waiting for the game to begin, idly talking about their sons while they waited. As soon as he had seen his son run across the field in full gear an immediate groan escaped from him. Clearly, he had forgotten about what Kinsey had said to get him to come and sit out here in the cold for most of the night, that a miracle may just happen. He'd forgotten his son was a part of the team until Melissa had reminded him again, suggesting that maybe, just maybe, the miracle Kinsey had been talking about had happened. Then, he couldn't contain his pride. He jumped up from his seat cheering that his son was on the field. Everyone else around him looked at the man as if he were insane, but he looked a little less insane while Kinsey was still cheering from the bench when the game hadn't even begun.
"Scott, can you hear me?" A voice echoed in the boy's ears, he knew it was Gerard. He looked at the brunette girl sitting beside him, her eyes still on Stiles as he stood on the field she couldn't hear it. He looked around to find Gerard but couldn't find him in the midst of all the people, but the man continued to speak knowing that the wolf could hear him from where he was standing and that his granddaughter couldn't. "Ah, you can. Good. Then listen closely because the game is about to get interesting. Let's put a real clock on this game, Scott. I'll give you until the last 30 seconds. When that scoreboard clock begins counting down from 30, if you haven't given me Derek, then Jackson is gonna kill someone." Gerard threatened the wolf as he sat nervously on the bench. While Gerard continued to talk in his ear Kinsey had looked at him, he brushed it off with a smile, a big one, trying to show his pride in Stiles.
"So tell me, Scott, who's gonna die tonight?" Gerard asked. "Should it be your mother, who came out so bravely to support you? Or the Sheriff, your best friend's father? Or how about the pretty little redhead who managed to survive the bite of an Alpha? Or maybe one of these innocent teenagers with their whole life ahead of them? Or should I do everyone a favor and kill that ridiculous Coach? Or better yet, one of my own, my darling granddaughter?"
Scott looked at Kinsey again, her attention was behind her, looking at Lydia who had just sat down beside the Sheriff and Melissa, waving her to come over and sit by them. Kinsey felt as though she owed that to the redhead after not speaking to her for weeks, and she had dragged the Sheriff here, it was only right that she would sit with them. But she could wait a few minutes, she could give Scott a little more company before she left him to sit alone for the game.
"It's up to you, Scott. But you are going to help me take Derek down. Because if you don't... I'll have Jackson rip someone's head off right in the middle of the field and drench everyone you love and care about in blood."
The whistle blew, commencing the game, a cheer spreading throughout the crowd. It hadn't taken the best start, in the first two minutes of the game the opposing team had already scored two goals, and so far, Stiles hadn't caught the ball once. He'd barely moved from the spot he had taken when first running onto the field. Eventually, the ball landed in his net but he hadn't quite had the chance to make a move, or even process that it had ended up in his possession before he was tackled harshly to the ground. Kinsey tried to tell herself that he was just warming up, he was still new to all of this. He kept trying to pick up the ball from the ground, trying his hardest to succeed but he was tackled. Again. And then he was hit in the face with a ball.
From Kinsey who still sat on the bench beside Scott, to Sheriff Stilinski, Melissa, and Lydia who sat with the rest of the crowd the four shared the same expression on their face. Theirs heads buried into their hands while Scott still tried to hold out hope for his best friend, but it was hard, really, really hard. Scott had stood up, prepared to save the team and Stiles before Coach pulled him straight back down into his seat. He tried to argue that they were dying out on the field, which they were, but Coach knew that, still, he insisted for the wolf to remain in his seat beside Kinsey. Tonight seemed to be the night that their three-year run of champions would end.
Both of the teenagers buried their heads in their hands ready to give up, watching this game was more torture than being stuck as hostages in the sheriff's station with Matt Daehler the gun-happy, now dead, stalker. The two were prepared to sit like that for the entirety of the game so that they didn't have to see Stiles get hit with another thousand balls in the face, they had already lost count of how many times he had been hit already. Until Kinsey felt someone sit down beside her, then she couldn't help but raise her head to look up at who was there, and it may have just been the most shocking thing to happen tonight so far.
"What are you doing here?" Kinsey asked through a slight smile.
After hearing her question Scott looked up to see who she was talking to, he too was shocked to see the tall brunette wold beside her. "You came to help."
With a tilt of the head, Isaac smirked at the two of them. "I came to win." Isaac looked straight past Kinsey and to Gerard who stood in front of all of the benches, he was looking out onto the field, watching the game until he had felt three pairs of eyes looking at him. Then he turned to look at the two wolves and his grandaughter with that same maleficent look on his face. "Do either of you have a plan yet?" He asked, ready for either of them to tell him a plan. Anything was better than what they had all been doing so far, sitting, waiting, dreading.
"No, right now it's pretty much just keep Jackson from killing anyone." Scott shrugged.
"Well, that might be easier if you're actually in the game," Kinsey mumbled under her breath, she knew it wasn't a helpful comment, but she was too frustrated to think about what she was saying, she was watching the team lose and the feeling inside of her was slowly eating away at her with every minute that passed.
"We have to make it so Coach has no other choice but to play you," Isaac suggested.
"How do we do that?" The wolf asked hopelessly. "He's got a bench full of guys he can use before he ever puts me on the field. He'd put Kins on there before he put me on there." Scott said as he looked over to that very bench of people that Coach sat next to, all of the people that came before him, and Kinsey of course because Coach putting a five-foot-five brunette girl on a field full of roided-up six-foot-something jocks really wasn't that out of the question. He looked at Kinsey who shrugged, she knew it too that Coach would try, maybe she would be the one out there putting a stop to Jackson. Then it clicked for the two of them. Both realized what Isaac had been hitting at. They had to take out that bench of people one by one.
"Can you do it without putting anyone in the hospital?" Kinsey asked the tall wolf.
"I can try." He shrugged, pulling his helmet over his head.
Though it hadn't given her much of a confidence boost Kinsey let him go anyway, choosing to sit on the bench for a little longer than she expected. She and Scott decided that when the list of people in front of Scott began growing smaller then she would disappear back into the stands before Coach tried to put her on the field. It was bizarre that they even had to go to that measure but the man seemed to be prepared to do anything to not put Scott on the field tonight, it wouldn't have been the first time he picked the first person he laid his eyes on to go out on the field, he had done it with Boyd before. But Boyd was a lot more capable of playing lacrosse than Kinsey, she didn't have the ability to defend herself against all of the jocks that towered over her. One by one Isaac began tackling all of the players on the field, and he hadn't done it gently, each and every one of them ended up being injured, but he tried to keep his word to Kinsey, none of them had been rushed off in an ambulance yet. Though his tackles had been enough to make her cringe with everyone. After every player went down Coach would yell at Isaac, but he was similar to Kinsey in that way, he didn't listen, he continued to do what he shouldn't have done.
Eventually, the man had stood up asking what the hell the boy's problem was, to which he just raised his arms, shrugging off what had happened as though it were nothing. He looked to the two on the bench for approval, specifically, the brunette girl who clapped at him with a small smile across her face.
"He came because of you, you know," Scott said quietly, leaning closer to the clapping girl.
"Huh?" Kinsey asked, turning back to him.
"He wouldn't have come to help for anyone else. He's only here because you are."
Kinsey brushed off the comment, calling Scott stupid, insisting that Isaac was just here because he wanted it all to be over with like everyone else. No matter how much Scott raised his brows at her or looked at her through his eyelashes she insisted that that was all it was. There was no way Isaac would come and risk his life just for her, he wasn't that naive. He wasn't selfless. With only one player left on the bench before Scott would be called up Kinsey suggested that now was the time for her to go and sit with her redhead best friend, Melissa, and the Sheriff, plus, it would get her out of this conversation. Scott wouldn't have given up until Kinsey at least considered the possibility that Isaac was here for her, and she wasn't prepared to do that. The brunette girl stood up ready to move into the rest of the crowd where Coach wouldn't find her until she heard a sharp inhale from the entire crowd, all of them cringing over the sound of two bodies colliding. At first, she thought it had been Isaac taking out another player, but there was something different about this gasp from the crowd, it was much more dramatic than the rest. She turned to see Scott had stood up, he too was looking out to the field, his face dropped. When she had turned to look Jackson was removing his helmet, a large grin across his face as he stood over a player, one of their own players on the ground. As soon as she had noticed the number "14" on the jersey she had rushed over to Isaac with Scott following closely behind.
"It's not broken, but I can't move it." The wolf groaned as he lay flat on the floor looking up at them. "I think Jackson nicked me 'cause I can feel it spreading."
Coach rushed up behind the two of them with a helmet and lacrosse stick in his hand. Though he didn't want to do it, he gave them to Scott. "McCall. Either you're in or we forfeit."
As soon as the man walked away Melissa rushed up to his son and Kinsey before Scott had to go on the field and the game was resumed, she would have rather had the reassurance from both of them rather than just Kinsey alone when she eventually come to sit with them. Melissa couldn't help but ask whether something was going on, part of her didn't want to know out of fear that she couldn't handle the truth, but she needed to be prepared. Scott didn't quite answer his mother's question, instead, he warned the woman to go home, he knew that there was a chance Gerard would choose her as the one to be killed tonight. He had already taken Isaac away from them, making it clear he wasn't scared to have Jackson do what he wanted. Kinsey wasn't sure what Melissa had said to the wolf before, but whatever it had been, she took it back, she told her son to do whatever it will take to help. Whatever it took. Scott nodded in agreement telling her that he would before the woman began pulling Kinsey back to the benches with her before she had time to argue against it like they both knew she would.
Kinsey sat on the bench in between Lydia and Melissa as she watched the game begin again, as soon as the whistle had blown the largest player on the opposing team had rushed straight towards Scott who had possession of the ball before Scott had a chance to react and avoid being hit by the large player he had been tackled to the floor. Before Scott had even gotten off of the floor the player rushed to take down his next target, this time it was Stiles who went down much easier and quicker than Scott had. Kinsey's hands began shaking as she sat on the bench, that feeling that had been plaguing her all day now felt stronger than ever, it had grown from a pit in her stomach to a feeling that had taken over her own body, stuck in her throat. Her breaths became heavier as if she was running out of oxygen, even out in the open like this.
"Kinsey, are you okay?" Melissa asked in a whisper, carefully putting her hands on the girl's shoulder, watching as her hands shook violently.
"I- I'm fine." Kinsey nodded, lying through her teeth.
The brunette girl stood up, stumbling her way through the crowds of people sitting around her, desperate to get out of the crowd and to somewhere with more space, and hopefully more air for her to breathe. Melissa was going to follow the girl, but she didn't, she didn't know if this was part of some form of plan her son and the girl had created, she wasn't aware if Kinsey was going to go and do something that may just stop something from happening tonight. So although she wanted to go, on the off chance that the girl wasn't okay, that she was panicking and freaking out because of everything that was happening around her. Kinsey began walking behind the bleachers, holding onto her chest as she tried to steady her breathing. Her feet were caving beneath her, as the feeling grew inside of her it felt as though it took all of the energy in her body with it. She held onto the metal bleachers as she walked, the cheering of the crowd echoing in her ears. Eventually, the girl couldn't walk any further, she couldn't help but stop, leaning on her knees as she stood hunched over trying to catch her breath.
She heard her name being called from behind her, as she turned to see who it was.
Everything went dark.
Derek sat on the staircase of his crumbling childhood home, still remaining in the darkness that it had to offer, after the fire, that was all it had to offer. Peter stood a few feet away leaning against one of the more stable walls of the home, it seemed that after their fighting he had learned his lesson to keep even the slightest amount of distance between himself or his nephew. Or at least not to touch him again. Thanks to his lack of strength after being brought back from the dead the fight hadn't lasted longer than five minutes, but he had still been left with a few scratches on what he liked to refer to as a perfect complexion. His lack of strength was just another poor side effect of coming back from the grave, Derek knew that because the older wolf had spent at least half an hour listing all of those side effects. A select few being; watching everyone moving on with their lives while he suffered, nobody being able to see or hear him, which meant nobody could hear all of the insults he threw at Derek for being an incompetent Alpha. That was arguably the worst of them all, what would he have if not his insults? Derek had dealt with the torture of listening to his uncle talking about his death as if he hadn't been there to see it, and as if he hadn't been the one that ripped his throat open.
Peter had listed a lot more things that were wrong with his death and how people had coped, which for the majority, was forgetting that it had even happened. But Derek had zoned out about ten minutes into the list, who could blame him when it was Peter talking? Now, as he had been for the past half an hour, Peter had turned back to plead his case with his nephew expressing just how much he needed an Alpha and a pack, such as his nephew himself, though he was lacking on the whole packing now Erica and Boyd had run away. But the point remained, he needed him to regain his strength, coming back from the dead wasn't easy, as he'd stated. At least thirty times since walking into the old Hale house.
"You tried to build your pack. You tried to prepare for the worst. You weren't ready." Peter began to argue, stepping closer to his nephew, trying to compel him into trusting him once again. "Because of it, Gerard is winning. He's taking his time. He's toying with Scott. He's going after your wolves one by one. He's relishing in his victory."
"How about you tell me something I don't know?" Derek suggested. "Like how there is more than one of us? Who the other one is?"
"Oh, I'm going to. And it's gonna prove why you should trust me. Why you need to trust me." Peter continued, his little secret about another relative was one of the only things that he had to keep Derek listening, to keep him even the slightest bit willing to help his cause. But he knew to truly get him on board he would have to use something much more appealing to him, he would have to plead to Derek's cause too. "And I'm going to tell you how to stop Jackson."
"What do you mean? How to kill him?" Derek spat out, it wasn't much of a surprise he couldn't see any good in his uncle, after all, he had killed multiple people while he was an Alpha. He did keep secrets more than anyone he had ever known. And he had somehow gotten a teenage girl who he almost killed to resurrect him from the dead after poisoning his own nephew.
"Actually, how to save him."
With five minutes left of the game and the scores reading 5-9 to the opposing team morale was running low for the Beacon Hills Cyclones, their supporters out in the crowd had quietened and the team was struggling to remain hopeful. Though Scott being taken off the bench had helped even his assistance wasn't enough to pull them back so far into the game, and the abomination had almost taken out as many players as Isaac had, only they hadn't been so blessed as to be taken off the field. Coach had refused, he refused to forfeit. Losing he could handle, but forfeit was another kind of humiliation that he was never going to face, not as long as he could help it. Coach had been too caught up in avoiding looking at the scoreboard that for a while he hadn't even noticed that Scott had slipped off of the field without an explanation, he asked those around him if anyone had seen his co-captain, but nobody had. He looked over to the bench that Scott and Kinsey were sat on at the beginning of the game, both of them gone, he looked behind him into the crowd, scouring it for the brunette girl who had to have an idea where his co-captain was, but she was gone too. Both of them were nowhere to be seen.
Stiles had continued to try his best throughout the game but after being tackled himself as well as watching everyone else on the team, even Scott, be tackled by the abomination it was safe to say his confidence had been boosted. That small bit of confidence he did have. The ball rolled to his feet, the rest of the team trying to pull themselves off of the floor, he couldn't help but stare at it, wondering what to do with it. The last time he tried to pick it up he ended up being tackled, he had had enough of that for one night, he wasn't sure his fragile body could take it anymore. The boy took a deep breath before picking up the ball and running. He had seen plenty of people do it before, it couldn't be that hard. Could it?
He thought back to the pep-talk Kinsey had given him a few hours ago when they had been sitting at home, packing his sports bag for the game. He had tried to give himself a pep talk on the off chance that he would actually get a chance tonight. After hearing her express the possibility to his father and his conversation with Morrell in their session the other day he couldn't help but believe that the two of them may have been right. Maybe he did have a chance to play tonight and finally get that opportunity he had been waiting years for. Maybe he even had a chance to impress Kinsey, she was going to be at the game, and clearly, she had some faith that he could play and do well tonight.
Why else would she try to convince his dad to come and watch?
Kinsey stood leaning against the door frame of Stiles's bedroom, the boy sat on the edge of his bed looking down at his maroon jersey in his hands, consumed by the two bold white numbers of "24" that he hadn't even noticed the girl standing and looking at him. She had walked in the room to ask him whether he had a warm sweatshirt she could borrow, with all the rush of packing to get out of her home as quickly as possible she hadn't had the chance to pack winter-appropriate clothing. Frankly, until this afternoon the girl didn't intend on sitting on a cold metal bench on the field watching a lacrosse game in the freezing cold. So even if she had had the time to pack rather than rushing out of the house she couldn't have prepared herself for tonight's cold lacrosse game.
She could hear the slight mumbling of the boy as he looked down at his jersey, she could tell what he was saying, but considering the context, she assumed he was giving himself a small pep-talk before the big game. The boy couldn't help but wonder if tonight would be that night that he had his chance to play, after his conversation with Morrell during their session and overhearing Kinsey trying to convince his dad to attend the game tonight he began to think it was more and more likely that he had a chance. A million pep talks couldn't ease the nerves that he had begun to feel while packing his sports bag. The more that the girl stood at the door watching him the more she felt weird about what she was doing, she should have announced herself by now, but she hadn't wanted to interrupt his conversation with himself.
The brunette girl cleared her throat, startling the boy who quickly shoved his jersey into the sports bag resting on his bed beside him. "Ready for the big game?"
"I doubt I'll play." Stiles shook his head taking everything that he had thought back, it was stupid for him to have thought that he could play tonight, that he had a chance to make his father proud by scoring at least a single goal. It was stupid to think like that, even if Coach had lost two of his players it still remained highly unlikely he would choose him to play. He had blown that chance when the whole Bilinski incident had happened. "I haven't before, what makes tonight any different?" He asked in a mumble, losing more confidence by the second.
"Oh, I don't know. The fact that Coach has lost two of his players. The rest of the team sucks and unlike the other benchwarmers, you were actually supposed to play before. But then we, you know, got trapped in a long-time care facility by a psychopathic Alpha who wanted a pack. The usual teenage stuff, you know." Kinsey tried to joke, hoping to lift his spirits.
"None of that means anything. I suck too."
Kinsey rolled her eyes as she pulled herself off of the door frame, clearly, his own pep talk hadn't been successful, he needed a real pep talk from someone who wasn't a maroon-colored jersey. Maybe she didn't have experience in playing lacrosse, but she was on the track team, and the few small pep talks she had given them, 99% proved successful. She threw the sports bag he had been packing on the floor, taking its spot for a moment as she jumped beside him on the bed.
"Look." She began with a deep breath. "I think you really underestimate yourself, you're capable of so much and yet you keep acting like you are. These past few months we have been through some, well, bizarre things, and we're both still here. If you can survive that, I think you've got lacrosse covered."
"That still doesn't mean I don't suck Kins."
"Okay someone's a sour puss tonight." The girl teased. "Anyway, look at the night at the rave. You were the only one who could create that mountain ash barrier. You. Just think of lacrosse like that. The team is counting on you to win. You just have to believe in yourself. Believe that you are more than capable of scoring and playing tonight. Because you are."
"But-"
Kinsey shook her head as his warning to be quiet, she was trying to be serious, and she hated how soft she felt she sounded. She felt as though this was too sensitive, too mushy for the conversations that the two of them were used to. But he needed the pep-talk and nobody had to know that she was capable of being so soft sometimes, that wasn't how she wanted to look.
"You've got this. I believe in you."
As soon as the opposing team had seen him running towards the goal they began running after him, all of them, Stiles would have been lying if he said that sight hadn't scared him when he had peered over his shoulder. To the point where he had begun screaming. Loudly. And frankly, quite girly. But he continued to run with all of the faith that Kinsey had had in him. He stopped at the goal, the open goal just inches away from him, and looked behind him to see how close the opposing team was to tackling him once again.
"Stilinski!" Coach shouted at the top of his lungs. "Shoot it. Shoot the ball!"
The boy had frozen in panic as he looked between Coach, the goal, and the team that continued to get closer and closer to him, their sticks raised as they prepared to tackle him and steal the ball from his possession. There were no Cyclones left to defend him, they were all still struggling to handle the aftermath of the abomination.
"Shoot it, you idiot!" Coach yelled again.
"Shoot it!" Another voice came from behind him. Lydia's voice.
She had sat on the bench watching as the boy froze up, all she could think about was what would Kinsey do in this moment. She always seemed to have the best advice for people as she recalled from their little talk in the parking lot during a lacrosse game. But this was Stiles, Kinsey wouldn't give such sensitive advice to Stiles, she would tell him how it was, she would probably scare him into doing the right thing. So that was what she did. Yelled at him. Like Kinsey would. Because the girl still hadn't returned from wherever she had gone, but while watching a game like this everyone's focus had been taken off of the missing girl.
Stiles looked at the redhead girl who had screamed at him to shoot the ball, turning back to the goal once more, this time he hadn't hesitated, he threw the ball straight into the net scoring a goal for the team and his first goal, well, ever. Cheers broke out across the crowd, finally, they had gained a little more faith in the Cyclones winning again, all they had to do was score two more goals in the last few minutes of the game. If Stiles could score again, it was plausible. As the screams sounded through his ears Stiles stood in shock that he had actually scored a goal. He looked through the crowd of screaming people for a particular face, the one who had come to mind when he had been running, considering scoring the goal. But through it all, he couldn't see her. Not on the bench where she had been sat when he left her, or by Lydia and his dad where he also could have expected to see her.
The game began again with just over two minutes on the clock, Stiles had possession of the ball once again, he ran towards the goal as he had before. Even though he had a whole team ready to fight him for the ball again, it hadn't scared him this time, he kept repeating the words that Kinsey had said to him a few hours ago. 𝐘𝐨𝐮'𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝐈 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮. With her voice in his head he had all the confidence in the world, he felt undefeatable as he dodged the players, even the abomination. Like he remembered Scott doing he swiveled around all of them, getting through every small gap until he reached the goal, scoring another epic goal that the crowd cheered over. With every goal he looked out to the crowds hoping that he would see Kinsey's face, hoping that maybe she had been unfortunate enough to miss the first because of a small toilet break, but she still wasn't there. Though he still took pride in seeing his dad, Melissa and Lydia screaming and cheering for him, without Kinsey it just hadn't been the same. She was the one person he wanted to impress between them all. Where was she?
Peter began explaining to his nephew just how he intended to save Jackson, though he didn't quite care about the life of the Kanima, apparently, from what he had seen from beyond the grave, Scott did and if Scott did then so did Derek. He didn't quite understand what compelled the young Alpha to listen to the demands of a sixteen-year-old beta, but apparently, Scott was the one who made all of the decisions around here. Something he wished he had. He never thought he would be jealous of a sixteen-year-old high school lacrosse player, but that was what his life had come to now. Maybe death was the better option.
"There's a myth that you can cure a werewolf simply by calling out its Christian name."
"It's just a myth." Derek shook his head.
"Sometimes myths and legends bear a hint of truth." Peter tried to convince the Alpha. "Our name is a symbol of who we are. The Kanima has no identity. That's why it doesn't seek a pack."
"It seeks a master."
"And who else grows up with no pack?" Peter questioned with a raised brow. "No identity?"
"An orphan."
"Like Jackson." Peter nodded. Now, the Alpha was beginning to see the point that his uncle was making, he never thought he would ever agree with Peter but it felt like this would be the night that changed. It seemed like Peter was the only one who had come up with a plan to take down the Kanima, one that would be more successful than any attempts so far. "And right now, his identity is disappearing beneath the reptilian skin, and you need to bring him back."
"How?"
"Through his heart," Peter shouted at the wolf, as though it was obvious. At least he thought it was, and he thought if anyone were to know anything about that it would be Derek himself, it wasn't as if he was inexperienced with the word love, he had felt it himself. As a teenager just like Scott and Jackson do right now. "How else?"
"In case you haven't noticed, Jackson doesn't really have too much of a heart to begin with."
Peter shook his head, he knew that that wasn't true. There was one person who Jackson had, though he would never admit there was someone he had a soft spot for, a person who he shared a real bond with, maybe the only person he shared a real bond with. That one person could reach him, she could save him and take him from being the Kanima. She was their only hope in saving Jackson before something worse happened, worse than what already had.
Derek knew exactly who Peter was referring to, he liked to think he wasn't involved in the teenage drama that spread around Beacon Hills but after knowing the pack for so long he knew the ins and outs of things such as relationships. From Scott and Allison's relationship, to Stiles and Kinsey's whatever the two of them were, and even Jackson and Lydia's former relationship. Even someone as heartless as Jackson had a heart for someone, it was obvious to see, even Peter who had been buried underground for weeks could see that.
"Lydia."
Peter had somehow turned his plan to save Jackson into a lecture for his nephew, telling him while his ally had always been anger he lacked heart, that's why he knew he needed Scott more than anyone, that was why he has been willing to follow orders from a sixteen-year-old for the past few months. As Peter stated, even someone even as burned and dead on the inside as he knew better than to underestimate yet undeniable power of human love.
Stiles continued running through the field of players, curving past every single one of them, just one more goal until he could claim the win for his team and create history, not only for himself but for the team too when they'd win the title of four-year defending champions. Just one more goal and he would be able to go back to Kinsey, wherever she may be, and tell her all about how he had scored all of those goals tonight, how he had looked out to the crowd every time hoping to see a big proud smile across her face. Because she was the one who was in his mind when he had scored the goals, the one who encouraged him to try and believed in him. He wished that she could have been here to see it all, but he knew how proud she would be when she heard.
With that thought of telling Kinsey in mind Stiles shot another ball into the net scoring the winning goal, an eruption of cheers sounded through the crowd, all of the Cyclones gathering around the boy as they all cheered loudly. For some reason, even with all of the praise from his fellow teammates and with everyone in the crowd rooting for him as they chanted his name, he still looked out into the crowd hoping to see Kinsey being one of them. He looked straight to Lydia who she should have been beside, and while she clapped she shook her head, she had no idea where Kinsey was, but she knew that that was the person Stiles had been looking for with every goal he had scored tonight.
And just like that. The clock had entered the final thirty seconds.
Scott rushed through the crowd back onto the field just in time to see the number changer, counting down rapidly as his time thinned almost to a close. Jackson was still out on the field looking straight at him, knowing that in a matter of a few more seconds he would be ripping into someone, killing them without a single ounce of remorse. There was nothing Scott could do now, he had nothing. He didn't have Derek to give to Gerard, he didn't have enough time to save every single person he loved along with everyone else who was out here tonight.
The buzzer sounded, ending the game, another cheer through the air from everyone out there. And just when Scott had thought that nothing had happened, just when he was about to believe that he had been so lucky to escape it, one by one the lights on the field began shutting off leaving the entire field in complete darkness. Through it, all that could be heard was the sound of a blood-curdling scream. It had happened. Jackson had done it. He'd killed someone.
People began rushing off of the stands, screaming, desperate to get away from the scene. They trampled over one another, they didn't care who they hurt as long as they got out of here. Just like Stiles had said; it was bad. People screaming, running for their lives, blood, killing, maiming kids of bad. This was what Kinsey meant when she said about that feeling in her stomach, this is why it felt so strong inside of her, it was as if she could feel the death inside of her.
Scott looked around at all the people rushing for their lives, it felt as if time had slowed down as he searched the field for a dead body, hoping that it wasn't someone he loved who Gerard had put at the top of his list. He wanted to scream all of their names, but he couldn't find it in him to do it. People fell on the floor as he watched helplessly, fell as they tried to scramble off of the bleachers. Everyone was holding onto their loved ones, and he couldn't see him in the crowd.
"Scott!" Melissa bellowed through the crowd. "Scott, where are you?" Hearing his name, time resumed. He tried to look through the darkness without his bright golden-yellow eyes but it was useless without them. He dreaded the moment he saw that dead body, wherever it may be. There had to be one with all of the clamoring, nobody ran like this just because the field went dark, it wasn't right. "Scott!" Melissa continued to yell desperately as she pushed through the crowd in search of her son.
"Mom, mom, mom. Are you okay?" Scott asked, grabbing the woman tightly.
"Yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine. But somebody is hurt. Someone's down on the field."
One by one the floodlights came on illuminating the field again, revealing the dead body to those who hadn't quite made it off of the field yet. Already a group of players had formed a circle around the body, stunned by who it was. Coach rushed across the field shouting for everyone to move away from the person who was down until he was right by the body he hadn't known who had gotten hurt, but when he had his words had choked up in his throat. Nobody could have predicted it. Jackson had indeed followed through on Gerard's promise of killing someone on the field.
One by one the floodlights came on again illuminating the field, revealing the dead body to those who hadn't quite made it off of the field yet. Already a group of players had formed a circle around the dead body on the floor, standing helplessly as they looked down on them. Coach rushed across the field shouting for everyone to get out of the way, even he hadn't expected to see the body of that player on the floor. Nobody could have predicted to see it. Jackson had indeed followed through on Gerard's promise of killing someone tonight, but it wasn't just anyone that he killed. It was himself. A panicked Lydia ran around the field screaming for the co-captain, unaware of the fate that he had met tonight, she just needed to find someone. Anyone. She looked across the field, seeing the blonde boy laying on the floor, and just like that her heart had sunk as she screamed his name again, her voice breaking as she ran with all her might to be beside the boy on the ground laying as still as ever.
The girl frantically asked what had happened to him as she pushed her way into the circle of players that surrounded him, only feeling more overridden with panic when she had seen him on the floor, dead. She asked what was happening, hoping for an answer from anyone, but nobody could give her one. The only other person other than she wanted other than Jackson was Kinsey, she was supposed to be her, she was supposed to be here to comfort her.
Melissa dropped down beside the Kanima, placing an ear to his chest as everyone stopped their talking for a moment, allowing her to listen closely. She looked up at her son with a slight shake of the head, he wasn't breathing, he had no pulse. There was nothing. The nurse raised the boy's Jersey, revealing the blood on the shirt beneath, holes in his grey shirt, but they were no random holes they were clearly made by claws, anyone who was familiar with them could tell that. After seeing the blood Lydia had begun panicking more and more, she couldn't hold back the tears as she began hyperventilating. Scott nudged Isaac who had moved to stand beside him now that the paralysis had worn off, he pointed down at Jackson's hands, his claws were still extended, not only that, but they were tainted with blood, his own blood. He did it to himself. Melissa instructed Lydia to get down with her as she began compressions on the currently dead lacrosse player, only after yelling at the redhead did she begin to listen as Melissa instructed her to hold his head up. Sheriff Stilinski made his way to the crowd, for the past few minutes he had been searching for his son who he had last seen out on the field celebrating the win with his teammates, but when he had seen and heard all the commotion in the field he had had to temporarily stop his search to see what had happened. Never had he expected to be met with the dead body of a teenage boy. His face scanned all of the crowding players, expecting to see Stiles. He could see Scott, Isaac, Lydia on the floor with Melissa and Coach. But no Stiles.
"Where's Stiles? Where's my son?" The man asked in a mumble, partially talking to himself. He repeated the question, still under his breath as he frantically looked around the field until his voice slowly got loud. "Where's Stiles? Where is he? Where the hell is my son?"
"Scott..." Melissa said softly, continuing her compressions. The wolf looked down at her with a furrowed brow, there was something about her face. "Nobody has seen Kinsey either."
The wolf and Isaac looked at one another with panic written across their faces. They had no doubt who had taken her, they didn't understand why, but it had to be Gerard. Kinsey wouldn't have just wandered off alone. And certainly not with everything happening tonight. He had done something to her, taken her somewhere. He had threatened to harm his own, and apparently, he was following through on all of his promises tonight.