weaponized
A hot cup of coffee warmed up her shaking hands as they gathered around the breakfast bar, her hair still thrown up, she was barely awake after crawling out of bed all of five minutes ago, and a bomb had already been dropped into her lap. An undetonated bomb, a bomb nonetheless. Just because she knew it was coming, it didn't make hearing it any easier for her. It was too early for her to be thinking about such complex things, she needed all the brain power she had today, all the smarts she could get, it shouldn't have been wasted on this, something she hoped would be insignificant in the future. Perhaps one day she wouldn't even bat an eyelid at it.
For now, that wasn't the case. Four people gathered around the girl; her uncle, Scott, Stiles, and Malia, who had stayed at the apartment with her and Chris after quite the eventful night. For her father's safety and the sake of keeping him unbeknownst to what she was, it was best that Malia stayed here every time that she found herself wrapped up in more supernatural trouble. And the apartment had become quite the sanctuary for the Tate girl over past months, she felt safe here.
They all watched Kinsey, waiting for her to speak after she had been filled in on their individual nights, it appeared they'd all had an eventful night. From Malia finding almost an entire pack in the woods, dead, to cracking cipher keys and finding out that they might have just driven a girl to suicide. They'd all shared very different experiences last night, but it was safe to say that they were all left with a lot to think about today. Of course, amongst the five of them, secrets were as strife as ever. Scott and Stiles kept this secret, another one, this one was to do with the bag full of money hiding beneath the werewolf's bed. Five hundred thousand dollars. Garret and Violet's money, or if they were being technical about it, Peter's money, earned by killing people from the Deadpool. Neither of the boys quite knew what to do with the money, to give it back to the Hale, to keep it, or to even dump it and act as if they'd never seen it or the tape that accompanied it. It was something they wanted to talk to Kinsey about, eventually, but right now, it was triumphed by the return of Kate Argent. Her official return, and boy had she come back with a bang.
"So you... You saw her." The brunette mumbled as she looked at the liquid inside of her cup. Her uncle nodded as she looked up at him, her head bowing as soon as she had her answer. "Well, at least I know I'm not hallucinating again. She's really back this time." The girl said lowly, maybe it was obvious to the rest of them that she was back after she'd kidnapped Derek, but today Kinsey had still been holding out hope, a mix-up perhaps, someone who just resembled Kate and had a thirst for death like her mother did. But no, she had been fooling herself, too scared to admit the woman was back, and she was doing what she did best- wreak havoc on her daughter's life.
"Hey, don't worry about it for today." Chris tried to tell the girl, his hand on her shoulder. He had known it was a stupid idea to tell her today of all days, but he didn't want to keep secrets from a girl who already had almost everyone she loved hiding something from her. He knew she hated all of the lies and secrets, if she knew just how many were being told and kept, she would never talk to them again. "Focus on the PSATs. That's your future. Not Kate."
Kinsey nodded, though it was easier said than done, but she knew she had to try, she needed to at least try to get out of this town herself one day, when she felt ready, when she had something other than supernatural trouble filling up her spare time. It would happen one day, she hoped, it couldn't always be like this, could it? Her life wouldn't always be consumed by the misfortune of the woman she was born to. Despite hoping that, and wanting her life to not be about Kate, she had to ask.
"What did she say?" She asked as she looked between Scott and Chris, the two people who had seen her mother last night. "She- She doesn't doesn't know about me, right? What Araya said to me?" They could sense the panic in her voice, if Kate knew just how close she was to becoming one of the most powerful supernatural creatures the world had ever seen she would ensure the change that was needed to complete the transition was fulfilled. It wouldn't matter to Kate that it would take killing her daughter, Kate only cared about one thing- power. And Kinsey had it.
The two looked at one another, they both knew the answer to her question, but neither of them knew if they should tell her what she wanted to hear, or the truth.
Argent and Scott approached the warehouse, the hunter held his rifle in hand, prepared to meet his sister for the first time since her reprisal while Scott focused on the scent of the Beserker, this was where it had lead them. Unlike the hunter beside him, he didn't recognize this place. Scott's eyes were drawn to a faded sign as they approach the entrance, his eyes narrowed until he could make out the writing. Argent Arms International. Immediately, the wolf turned to look at Argent, the man admitted that he used to work here when their family owned the building, perhaps why Kate's beserkers were here. He warned the man that the creatures were strong, really strong, but the man simply clocked his gun, a simple reminder of what he was.
Wearily, they further into the warehouse, their heads turning from left to right, looking for one of the Beserkers lurking in the dark like they usually did, the warehouse was illuminated with green lights, sheets of plastic flying around, pushed by the cold breeze they'd let in. You shouldn't have come, her voice echoed through the building as both of them stopped in the middle of the room, pivoting as they searched for which direction her voice had came from. Kate, Scott called for the woman, telling her that he was here for Violet, he needed to speak to her.
I knew you'd find me, she told them. Her shadow passed them, like a projection on the sheets of plastic, Argent raised his gun at the shadow. Kate was hoping the reunion could have waited, she needed more time. As she spoke, she edged closer to them, her Beserekers shadows behind her, still, the hunter and werewolf walked closer, the space between them slimming by the second. A set of claws brushed against the sheets as Kate admitted she needed that time to learn control.
She stepped out of the shadows, barely, enough for them to see her as a silhouette, not just her projected shadow. She warned her brother to lower his gun, maybe then, they wouldn't have to get hurt. A warning, a threat, the same old Kate. Scott asked where Violet was, but he didn't get an answer, Kate once again warned her big brother to put the gun down, he kept it there, Scott asked again, Chris's finger on the trigger of his gun.
Just as he was about to shoot. "What? No Kinsey?" Kate asked, the mention of his niece stopped him, his finger raised slightly from the trigger. "Where is this all powerful daughter of mine?" She asked, the wolf and hunter taken by surprise, how did she know about it? She could see it across their faces as she laughed slightly. News travelled along the grapevine, she told them, especially when it came to rare supernaturals. "My daughter- the Angel." She scoffed slightly. Her daughter had always been the perfect one in the family, nothing like her mother, much more like her uncle than her. "Imagine it... Power like that." She hummed. "I can't wait to see it."
"You stay away from her." Chris spat out at her defensively.
"I'm her mother, Chris." She deadpanned. "A girl need's her mother, she needs me. When all that power washes over her do you think she's going to have any idea what to do with it? No. But I do. I didn't just come back for the triskellion, you know. I come back for Kinsey too."
Perhaps the wolf and the hunter didn't have a lot in common, they were supposed to hate each other, and at one point, they did, but things had changed since then, and one thing that they did have in common was Kinsey's safety, as a best friend and a niece. So they chose to lie to her. For her own safety. Kate never mentioned her, they told her. Any other child may have been stung by that, that their mother hadn't cared enough to mention them, but for Kinsey, it only brought her relief. She would rather be a forgotten child than a pawn in her mother's scheme.
Satisfied with the answer she had received, Kinsey gulped what remained of her hot drink before hastily leaving the room, conscious that she might just make everyone late to the PSATs, not that any of them particularly minded, they would have all liked the idea of delaying the tests even by half an hour, they didn't feel ready, and they weren't sure they ever would. But perhaps all teens felt that way, perhaps this was what it felt like to be a normal teenager.
As Kinsey passed by them, heading to the bedroom she had slept in last night for one night only, the remaining four in the kitchen looked at one another, Malia was slightly in the dark, she might not have known what Kate had said to Scott and Argent last night but she knew it wasn't close to the story they had just provided her with. She looked between the three of them, waiting for one of them to tell her the truth about Kate, it didn't take a single word, only a look. One that they all recognized because Kinsey could give the same look, the kind of look that got answers, and they were all victims to that look, no matter which sister it came from. Of course, Stiles caved first, on the premises that Malia didn't tell Kinsey, not yet, but they all knew it was only a matter of time.
Impatiently, the pack stood lined against the lockers, waiting for the PSATs to begin, they all felt strong nerves inside of them, perhaps more so for what awaited them after the test than the test itself. They were all on edge, unsure if tests like these were even worth it when their futures were so uncertain. Kinsey seemed the most nervous of them all as she tapped her foot anxiously, her nail polish barely existent from all of the picking at it she had done since waiting here. Malia had asked her why she was so nervous, Kinsey was great at tests, no matter what kind they were, she always passed, if there was anyone who didn't have to worry it was her and Lydia.
The mention of Lydia brought up the question of where she was, Kira had asked, she had never known the redhead to be late to school, she had always taken it so seriously. But it wasn't Lydia not taking school seriously that caused her absence, it was the complete opposite, as Stiles had told the Kitsune, it was because she had taken the PSATs in her freshman year, that didn't come as a surprise. Lydia was a literal genius.
"Does that mean I could have taken it some other time?" Malia asked, turning to the huntress at her side, the person she depended upon for all of her answers. With a weary look Kinsey nodded with a slight shrug, technically, she was right, but now was the best time for her to take it, with a history like hers the sooner she passed these tests, the better it would be for the coyote's future.
"Malia, you studied harder for this than any of us." Scott reassured her.
"Doesn't mean I'm gonna do good."
"Well..." Kinsey mumbled slightly, Stiles nudged her, now probably wasn't the most appropriate time to correct the girl, moments before she would sit and take a test for her literary abilities, it could still use some work if they were honest, and as her mentors, they should be honest. Malia had come so far in such a short amount of time, of course, there were going to be things that she still needed to improve, and as Kinsey saw it, she couldn't improve them if she didn't know that she was doing anything wrong. The coyote furrowed her brow at the girl, waiting for her to carry on speaking. "It's do well, not do good." She told her wearily.
"Oh, God!" The coyote threw her arms up in the air, hopeless.
Kinsey and Stiles tried to calm the girl down, reminding her of all the progress that she'd made in the past few months, but it wasn't quite enough. Scott stepped in, reminding her of why they were all doing this. Because why they were trying not to die, they still needed to live. Kinsey had nodded in agreement with the wolf, a small sigh escaping the coyote's mouth as she threw back her head against the locker. Scott admitted that if he did survive high school he would like to go to college, a good college. Three hours, Kira told them, each turning their head with confusion. It was three hours, they just needed to survive three hours. She was sure that they could do that. A feeling that wasn't entirely mutual throughout the pack.
One by one the students walked into the classroom, pressing their thumbs down on the ink pad, their fingerprints pressed onto the paper, just one of the security measures used for these tests. Kinsey stood in the line, watching her friends in front of her as they did it. She had considered it, cheating. She knew that she had the smarts to do it without getting caught, and enough fear for her to believe that there was no chance she would pass the test on her own. But for one day she chose to have the kind of faith in herself that everyone else seemed to have for her. She pressed her thumb down into the ink pad, pressing her print onto the paper as the male teacher smiled at her, almost deviously, as if he took joy in seeing squirmish teenagers who were about to take one of the biggest tests of their lives. He seemed to look straight into her as the brunette gave a weary smile, wiping off her hands as she turned to Natalie. The woman held out an envelope for the girl's phone, whispering as she wished the girl luck. Perhaps she was a little biased toward a girl like Kinsey, a girl who lived with her, who had become like a second daughter to her over the past few months. She wanted to see the girl succeed the way a mother would want her daughter to succeed. You've got this, Natalie reassured her as Kinsey nodded, grateful for the reassurance.
Once everyone was seated the man who had stared right through her stood up, announcing that the test would be two hours and ten minutes long, consisting of two twenty-five-minute critical reading sections, two twenty-five-minute math sections, and thirty minutes of essay writing. The huntress looked at Malia who sat beside her, giving her a reassuring smile. The disappearance of Coach Finstock brought them all a few more minutes while Natalie rushed out to find him, but in her return, she came back alone, unable to find the man, she offered to get Kira's father who was grading papers from upstairs, but as the man had told her, they had to begin.
He announced the beginning of the test, simutaneously the entire class opened their papers, the nerves as prevalent as ever. Kinsey was surprised at how she rushed through the test, somehow knowing the answers without a struggle, all the studying with Lydia seemed to pay off, the hours she had spent sitting up at night staring at her notepad. Scott seemed to be doing well too, Stiles hit by surprise every few questions, and Malia, who was completely stumped from the get-go. An unbearable heat washed over her as she pulled off her jacket, looking around the room at all the other people scribbling away while she was yet to finish reading the first question. Kinsey turned to look at the girl, nodding at Malia's paper, urging her to try. Malia nodded, sucking it up as she picked up her pencil, about to make an attempt at the first question. Her pencil barely managed to touch the paper before a thud came from behind her, the entire class turning towards it.
"Sydney!" Natalie called out as she rushed toward the girl who'd fainted, falling out of her chair. She helped the embarrassed girl up to her feet, as she did, she noticed a mark on her wrist, red and white welts. She asked Sydney how long they had been there, but she couldn't answer, she had no idea. The examiner asked if he should stop the test but Natalie insisted it was fine, sitting Sydney back in her chair, she picked up her phone from the desk, telling everyone to stay where they were, she would be back in a moment. Before leaving, she told the man not to let any of the students leave the room, a worried expression across her face.
The entire room sat in silence, each sharing weary looks, the ticking clock in their ears. After just a few minutes of silence, they heard the screaming of Natalie telling someone to get out, to stay outside of the building, her heels clicking down the hallway. Kinsey was the first to jump up from her seat, rushing toward the door, the rest of the class taking her lead as they piled into the hall.
"Back to your seats. Now." Natalie ordered them as she stood at the door, holding her phone to her chest. Scott, Stiles, and Kinsey looked at one another with furrowed brows, Kinsey stepped closer to the woman as she asked if everything was okay, but Natalie took a step back from the girl who lived beneath her roof, her back against the doors. "Please." She urged Kinsey, the girl nodded, stepping back as Scott guided her back into the classroom.
As they slowly returned their seats Scott eavesdropped on the woman they had left in the halls, only seconds after closing the door behind them did his hand reach for Kinsey's arm, he quickly stopped the girl as she turned to him, mumbling three letters. CDC. He wasn't sure what it meant but Kinsey was quick to inform the wolf- the center for disease control. Their eyes turned back to Sydney, she kept an eye on the welts that had formed on her wrist, a bead of golden sweat lining her forehead. It was clear Natalie suspected she had a disease but did they?
It felt like only a matter of minutes before they were all stood at the door again, watching a team of agents with the CDC enter the school, head-to-toe in yellow biohazard suits. They didn't waste a moment, setting up a quarantine area in one of the larger classrooms that the school offered, a plastic tent covering the two rows of beds.
Kinsey felt a lump grow in her throat as she watched the agents walk past, taking ahold of Stiles' hand as the nerves inside of her grew, now some tests that determined her future were the least of her worries, whatever the disease that riddled the school had quickly earned first place. Scott looked at the girl, the harbinger of death, wondering if she felt in this moment, his face had said it all, she knew what he was asking without him uttering a word, she wasn't sure what she felt, if it was an effect of her being an Angel or just someone with a strong sense of paranoia, but what she knew was that this wasn't good. For any of them.
She turned to the wolf, they needed to figure out what was going on, and there was only one girl who came to mind- Sydney, where all of this had started. Natalie was standing across the hall in a panicked state, her arms wrapped around herself, she felt dirty, violated by the diseases inside of the school that she worked in. Stiles could see that the girl was plotting something, she had a look across her face, the look, the devious one she often wore when she had an idea. Scott saw it too, and he could assume what she was planning, using the soft spot Natalie had for her. Kinsey felt guilty for using it against Natalie, but she couldn't sit and wait around, she needed to know if whatever was going on was dangerous to them, if her paranoia was justified.
Stiles stayed at the classroom door with Malia and Kira, watching as Kinsey approached Natalie, Scott at her side, it seemed as though the two were easing themselves into the topic before they asked to see Sydney, Malia was commentating, telling them everything that was being said, only a few minutes later the two of them were being guided down to the quarantined area, Scott took a quick glimpse over his shoulder, nodding at his best friend, they had it covered, for now.
Walking into the quarantined area was more intimidating than either of the teenagers imagined, every head turned to look at them as they looked for Sydney's bed, a few other people had been brought in since she had, more people growing sickly, just a single bead of sweat qualified them to be shoved into one of these quarantined spaces, a precaution as Natalie called it. Kinsey felt a heat wash over her own body as she walked through it, scared that one of the agents would take a single look at her and declare her as one of the infected people. They piled into Sydney's small confined space, the girl weakly smiling at her fellow classmates as they asked if she was okay, it was clear she wasn't, she looked terrified, ill.
"So what happens now?" Kinsey asked Natalie. "Do they just keep people in here all day?"
"We isolate the sick and wait for instructions," Natalie repeated what she had been told by one of the agents. "If I'm wrong, they'll be out of here pretty quickly, and then I'm the crazy biology teacher who panicked for nothing."
The woman placed a blanket on the feverish girl who continued looking down at her hands, the welts had spread, working their way up Sydney's arms, she dripped of sweat, staining the scarlet cardigan she wore. Scott reassured her that she would be okay, but it wasn't her welfare that she was worried about, it was the PSATs, the qualifying tests for the National Merit Scholarship. The brunette girl admitted that her parents couldn't afford to send her to college without it, the wolf nodded, he could understand where she was coming from, he had had similar worries. Kinsey's experience had been nothing of the sort, it wasn't until she stood in front of Sydney that she had realized that, she had been so worried about the PSATs just because it was a test, believing that a future for her depended on it, but she was lucky enough that she didn't need a scholarship, it was taken care of. She came from two wealthy families, money wasn't an issue, Chris had saved up for both her and Allison's college tuitions since they were little, knowing that his sister would fail to even think that far about her daughter. And since then, Peter had offered to pay when the time came around, that way she could use her uncle's money to have fun, to be a kid, hopefully, to make up for all of the teenage years she had spent just trying to survive.
Despite her lack of experience with what Sydney was going through, she tried her best to give a bit of reassurance, telling her that they will let her retake the test, at least she hoped that they'd allow them all to re-sit the test. With a faint smile the two left her tent, heading back to the class where Stiles, Malia, and Kira waited for them, only as they did Kinsey begin feeling unstable, her legs weak beneath her as she began to stumble. Some of the agents in the biohazard suits gave a concerned look, but she brushed it off, week knees, she told them with a slight laugh, Scott had agreed, stabilizing her as they quickly walked out of the area.
"Scott," Kinsey mumbled as she looked at the wolf, her eyes flickered between their usual hazel to a dim werewolf yellow. "Something's happening. I- I don't feel-" She couldn't finish speaking before she dropped to the floor with a pained groan. Scott quickly pulled her off of the floor, he took a glance around them, making sure nobody saw them before he rushed her into the locker room. Her legs could barely carry her those few steps into the room, immediately collapsing to the floor as Scott shut the door behind them. Her breaths were heavy as she sat on the floor, the wolf had a hand on her shoulder as he looked at her with concern, he didn't feel great either, nor did he look it. "What's happening to us?" The girl asked weakly, watching as Scott dissociated, a delirious look across his face, he couldn't concentrate, he felt dizzy.
He stood up, stumbling over to the sink, splashing some cold water over his face, using the sink to keep him upright, the room spinning around him. The door began knocking, Natalie. She had called for them both, asking if they were okay, she'd noticed they'd been in here a while. Kinsey wanted to speak, but she couldn't, she was too weak, barely able to hold her own head up. Scott was in the mirror, losing control over his shift as he bore his sharp canines, his claws gripping the porcelain sink as he looked at his reflection.
The two teenagers weren't sure how long they had been hiding in the locker room before they'd heard the door open, neither had it in them to move, to conceal that they felt like they were both dying. Mr. Yukimura entered the room, finding the brunette huntress curled up on the floor with her hair dripping with sweat, her hands shaking her skin like glass. He knelt down at her side as she looked up at him, her eyes still flickering, the man was taken by surprise. He looked around, seeing Scott leaning against a locker, shivering as he wrapped his arms around himself. The man stood up, leaving the girl for a moment, approaching the werewolf, Scott didn't even turn to look at him, he knew who was behind him. All he asked was that the man got Stiles.
Kira's father didn't hesitate, he exited the room as hastily as he had entered it, only leaving them alone for a matter of minutes before he burst through the door again, this time accompanied by three teenagers. Stiles immediately ran to the brunette girl curled up on the floor, Malia followed him while the Yukimura's headed straight to Scott.
Stiles helped the huntress sit up, wrapping her in his arms as she whimpered. As the coyote tried to comfort her, placing a hand on the girl's arms, she noticed it. Her claws extended. She alerted Stiles, holding up her hand, it was happening to her too.
"Can you stand up?" Stiles asked Kinsey, already trying to help her up. Though unsure, she gave him a nod, using his arms to strengthen her as she unsteadily climbed to her feet, and then, she noticed something else. She had claws too. Her eyes widened, a slightly horrified gasp escaped her as she held her clawed hand in front of her face. "That- That shouldn't be happening." Stiles insisted, turning to Kira's father, just in case he wasn't aware of her unique situation.
"Obviously the virus is affecting the three of you in a way it won't hit any human being." He had explained to them, looking between the three lycanthropes, or at least two and a half.
"I am one of those humans" Kinsey shouted slightly, freaking out, yet to take her eyes off the set of claws she had grown, disgusted by them, she had never been able to do that before. Glowing eyes were something that she could shrug off. Claws? Not so much. This only proved further that she was getting closer to becoming that rare creature Araya spoke of, closer to the death that she would have to go through to become a were-angel. Perhaps today would be that day.
"Half." Mr. Yukimura corrected her. "This infection is prying on the non-human side of you."
"You guys have to stay out of sight. We have to quarantine you from the quarantine." Stiles tried to explain his own special way, but it made sense, the only question was where they would find a place inside of the school to hide two and a half lycanthropes who, as Kira pointed out, might turn violent. Like on a full moon.
Scott wasn't sure where they could go, but he knew that they couldn't stay in the locker room, it was too out in the open. Malia agreed, adding a classroom to the places that they shouldn't hide in, if Kira was right, it wouldn't hold one of them, let alone three. Kira suggested the basement, a suggestion Scott shut down, there were too many ways out. They needed somewhere secure, he told her, somewhere that nobody would find them.
Kinsey's brows furrowed as she stared at her claws a little longer. "The vault." She mumbled. The group turned to her. "The Hale Vault." She repeated. Hale's always had another way out, just like the Hale house did, there had to be another way into the vault too.
Following along with Kinsey's suggestion Mr. Yukimura rushed out of the locker room to find one of the blueprints to the school, promising he would be as fast as possible, and he stuck to that, it felt like time had barely passed before he returned, calling them all into Coach's office where the blueprint could be looked at properly. Stiles pointed out the school sign, they knew it was one of the entrances to the vault, they had seen it for themselves. Mr. Yukimura suggested that if Kinsey was right and there was another entrance it would probably be accessible from the basement.
Stiles pointed at the blueprint, west corridor, the entrance had to be in that hallway. As he held a finger on the blueprint he suddenly collapsed, Kinsey and Kira's father barely managing to catch him, steadying him. It was happening to him too. The man pulled up Stiles's sleeve, he too had a growing series of welts spreading up his arm. They were all sick, he turned to his daughter, she'd quickly told him that she didn't feel sick, but he wasn't sure that meant she was fine. The illness was affecting her neurologically, he had glimpsed at her test papers, it seemed she had tried her best to fill in the bubbles but her markings were everywhere, spread out across the page. Maybe she looked and felt fine in herself, but her father was right. It was happening to all of them now.
With the help of Kira's father, the five teenagers quickly made their way to the basement, they'd all immediately began searching for the opening to the vault, trying the closed doors, looking at the walls, brushing their fingers against it in search of some kind of trap door. Stiles took a quick glance at a shelf, looking for some kind of book to pull, just as he was about to move away, he'd turned back to it, moving one of the pieces of clutter to the side. There it was. The triple spiral of a triskelion carved into the wall with a familiar metal grate in the center.
The two boys moved the shelf out of the way, staring at the large marking on the wall. Of course, it was the known Hale that had spoken first, pointing out that it took a set of Hale claws to open the doors of the vault, questioning how they were going to do that. Their initial thought was the coyote, the secret Hale, the girl who would be able to grant them access, but thanks to the effect that the illness had on Kinsey, that was a conversation they managed to avoid. Malia held up her hand, allowing the brunette huntress to see those set of claws attached to her fingernails again, she needed the reminder, but she didn't want it.
Scott and Stiles took a step back, gesturing towards the grate, Kinsey was about to step forward, but before she could the coyote with a grip on her wrist pulled her back. "Wait." Malia urged, the brunette confused as she looked at her. "Before you open it, they have to tell us what they have been hiding from us." Malia insisted, intrigued, Kinsey turned to the two boys. Neither sure what to say, they weren't sure if the coyote wanted them to tell her about Kate, or something else, had she caught on to something much worse?
Kinsey patiently waited for one of the boys to answer, both looking at the floor, struggling with the words to break it to them, assuming Malia had guessed that there was something related to her and Kinsey that they were hiding. "I know you think you're protecting us, but we can handle it." Malia continued, though the huntress wasn't so sure if she could handle whatever the secret they were keeping was. There was a pensiveness to the conversation as Malia looked between a pair of terrified boys, growing impatient with them. "So... How much?" She spat out, taking both Scott, Stiles, and even Kira who thought they had found out about it too by surprise.
"How much what?" Stiles asked.
"How much are we worth." Malia deadpanned. A slight relief washed over them, for a little while longer they had escaped that dreaded conversation that neither were ready for yet, even after all of this time, they just still couldn't bring themselves to do it. Kinsey began laughing nervously, a feeling of relief washing over her too as she admitted that she thought it would be a much bigger number, now she didn't know what she was so scared about.
Scott stopped the girl, correcting her. Malia was worth four million. The smile immediately faded from Kinsey's face as the feeling of fear returned. At that moment, Scott decided that it was time to say it, to tell her how much she was worth, a figure she had been avoiding with everything she had, but she couldn't hide from it forever. Certainly not when they'd been infected by some kind of deadly disease that was bringing out a side to her that was supposed to be suppressed by the necklace around her neck. She needed to know, her life depended on it, literally. He took a deep breath before he said the words. You're at the top of the list, he told her. Thirty million.
Kinsey felt her heart drop into her stomach, her face blank as she looked down at the floor, they all watched, waiting for a reaction, if they knew anything about her, they expected a large one at that, blaming her mother for making her half a Hale and half an Argent, destined for some kind of amazing future. But the girl didn't utter a word, she stepped forward, holding up the claws to the grate, placing them into it. Stiles asked if she was okay, the girl still silent, refusing to answer the question, mostly because she didn't know the answer. She twisted the grate in the wall, light coming from the door lock as the mechanism receded into the wall, a door opening. Wearily, the five of them walked into the vault, Kinsey leading them as they all looked around. The door shut behind them, officially beginning their quarantine.
·❥·
Time was unmeasurable down in the basement, between four cold cement walls where not even a shred of light could brush against their clammy skins as they all waited for the storm to pass. It may have been unmeasurable, but they felt as though it had been days since they had walked in here, taking their seats around the vault, somewhat of a divide. It felt like forever since they had seen an average human being, civilisation seemed like a thing of the past. Kira paced around the vault, worrying about her father upstairs who was around the rest of the infected people, he was open to catching it himself, and as she could see from the people around her who were affected physically, it wasn't easy. Scott sat quietly near her, his head bowed as he thought about the list, the dead pool, how his best friend was sitting at the top of it, and rather than comforting her, he had dropped it on her lap, the second bomb she had received in her lap today. The huntress lay in Stiles's arm, they hadn't gotten much out of her since he had told her that revelation, she had nothing to say about it, she couldn't change where she was positioned on the list, like the rest of her life, it was just another thing that she had no control over. Since hiding down here her claws had retracted, her eyes no longer flickering, now she just looked like the average pale and sickly human being which to her, sounded like a dream compared to the truth of what she was. Malia didn't stray far from Kinsey and Stiles, she sat with her knees pulled up to her chest just an inch or two away from them, giving them the space that they clearly needed, but not enough to make her feel alone in this cold and quiet vault.
With the girl he loved in his arms Stiles looked around the vault. It all started here, he spoke. This was where all of the money was, 117 million in bearer bonds. Kira too looked around the vault, a jar sat on one of the shelves, she picked it up as she asked how bearer bonds were changed into cash, Stiles wasn't sure of the answer, but he assumed the bank. He told the girl that that type of currency was almost obsolete, non-existent. For all of those years, the money had been sitting in a vault collecting dust. Kira didn't understand why that mattered, maybe it didn't, but Stiles told her how many problems that kind of money could solve for everyone. People like him. Before he spoke any further, he looked down at the girl sleeping in his lap, or at least the girl who seemed to be asleep. With Kinsey seemingly asleep, he continued. The Eichen House bills were crushing his father, not to mention the MRI the Nogitsune had cost him.
Scott spoke up, adding to the conversation, explaining what his mother does, she writes down a list of all the things in their budget, adds it all up, and then figures out how much longer it will be until they lose the house. Kira sat with guilt building up inside of her, money was never the kind of thing she had to worry about either, or at least her parents had never led her to believe that it was something they needed to be concerned about. She looked over at the curled-up coyote, all of the talks about money had helped her to drift into sleep too, they all looked between the two sisters, none of them spoke a word, but they all could see it, the two of them were so alike it was uncanny. Such different lives, such different upbringings but in most ways, differences between the two of them were slim.
Outside, nightfall had washed over Beacon Hills, crowds of people around the school, waiting to hear what was happening inside, amongst them was Lydia, concerned for her mom and friends as she squeezed her way past the police line. Scott and Stiles leaned against the door as the wolf tried to listen to what was going on, he heard as the redhead asked their fathers about them, she was worried, she had texted and called each of her friends, but there was nothing but voicemails from each of them. Scott pulled himself from against the door, insisting that one of them had to go out there. Both of their heads turned to the three girls huddled up on the floor, Kinsey sitting in the middle of Kira and Malia as they both tried to comfort her, she seemed to have it the worst of the group, she couldn't stop shivering, her hands shaking and her breath trembling.
Stiles bowed his head, he had glass eyes just looking at the girl, an unmeasurable guilt inside of him for keeping all of these things from her, Scott felt it too, he could see it across Stiles's face, it was playing on his mind too. In a whisper the wolf told his best friend that they had to tell them the truth about Peter soon, they would see the rest of the dead pool eventually. Stiles closed the space between him and his best friend, reminding him that there was only one name that wasn't on the dead pool, and that was Peter's. Either he was incredibly lucky, or he was the Benefactor. If Kinsey found out about that she would go to him, he knew she would, Scott knew it too. Stiles was worried that her father would twist his way into her head like he did with everyone, maybe she hadn't fallen for it before but she hadn't been this vulnerable before either. She trusted him a lot more than she used to. Stiles admitted that even they had been twisted by Peter, they had allowed him to walk around like he was one of the good guys like he had done nothing because he was Kinsey's father, but Peter certainly wasn't one of the good guys.
If Kinsey found out about him, she was gone. There was no doubt in his mind. There was part of her that had stayed in Beacon Hills for the sake of having a relationship with her father, another thing she was at risk of losing, and there was only so much one girl could lose before it became too much for her. And if he had to guess, they weren't so far from that edge.
"Kins," A voice sounded softly as her eyes flickered open, her vision blurry. "Kinsey..." Stiles said her name again, placing a hand on her forehead as she lay curled up on the ground, he nudged her slightly until she woke up properly, pulling herself upright. Her mouth was lined with a black liquid, the same liquid that seeped from her fingernails, the same thing happening to her as the other two lycanthropes in the vault who had taken a turn for the worse. With a faint smile, Stiles stoked the girl's face, moving the hair out of the way. "I gotta leave for a few, okay?"
The girl tried to focus her eyes, barely able to see his face. "Where are you going?" She asked.
"Whatever's happening, it's worse for you guys." He told her wearily. "That mean's it's not just people getting sick, it's another assassin."
Kinsey tried to process what he had just told her as she placed a hand on his arm, wanting to go with him, she just didn't quite have the words. With her hand on him Stiles could feel her shake, he pulled off his jacket, placing it around her as she sniffled. "You're coming back, right?" Kinsey asked him, holding onto his warm hand.
With a smile on his face, Stiles cupped her face in his hand, admiring her for a moment, even in a state of dying she was the most beautiful person he had ever laid his eyes on, he was sure that it would always be like that. "Yeah," He reassured her. "I'd never leave you behind." As Kinsey gave him a smile back he planted a kiss on her forehead, squeezing her hand tightly as he admired all of her beauty again, hoping that it wouldn't be the last time that he saw it.
As the boy began standing up, about to leave her, Kinsey clung onto his hand. At that moment, a chill crawled up her spine, a stinging in her heart. Something bad was going to happen. She felt it as clear as day. Someone inside of this school was going to die, she knew it. The only problem was that she didn't know who, but she had a strong assumption of who that would be. Her. After she had managed to grow claws and her eyes had managed to shift again it seemed possible, it was the closest she had ever become to being a werewolf, and Araya's words played on a loop in her head. It was for that reason, the belief that it was her in danger of dying, not him, that Kinsey released his hand, allowing him to leave her as she began sobbing softly.
Malia crawled across the floor to the girl, hugging Kinsey as the huntress rested her head on her, continuing to cry as they both watched the vault door close behind Stiles. Unsure whether that would be the last time they saw him before this infection killed them, or before Kinsey became her own worst nightmare.
The coyote had kept a close watch on Kinsey as she lay curled up beside her, fidgeting to find a comfortable position as she kept Stiles's jacket close to her body, as the girl moved again, they heard the crunch of paper. Kinsey ignored it at first as she dug her hands into the pockets of the jacket, desperate to feel some warmth, as she did, she felt a crumpled-up piece of paper in one of the pockets. Curious, she pulled it out, the girl began sitting up, prepared to read it, Malia did too as they both weakly rested against a chest sitting in the vault. The crunching paper sounded in Scott's ears, alerting him as he looked over at them. Scott quickly stood up, calling for Kinsey, but she had already opened up the piece of paper, the dead pool with Malia's name on it, it sat in front of the two girls as they both stared at it. Scott waited for a reaction, but there wasn't one.
Scott called Kinsey's name again with confusion lacing his tone. Their heads followed his voice, looking up at him, both panting heavily, Malia was the first to spit it out. She couldn't see. They couldn't see. Their heads scanned the room, but there was nothing. Complete blindness. Scott's hand reached out for the girls, as he looked at it, his vision began blurring, edging him into that same blindness. One by one it had hit them all, soon after Scott came Kira, none of them able to stand as they began crawling around the floor, trying to find something to stabilize themselves.
"Scott! Hey, Scott?" Stiles's voice echoed loudly through the vault along with the slamming of a hand on the vault door. "Scotty? In the vault, in there with you. It's called Reishi mushrooms!" Stiles continued to yell as the wolf crawled up against the door, he felt as though his lungs had been crushed, these were his last few breaths crawling their way out of them. "Scott! Open the door! It's in there with you. It's in a jar, it's on one of the shelves! Scott!"
Slowly the banging on the other side of the door slowed to a stop, complete silence through the vault for a moment as the four supernaturals inside lay on the ground. Kira lay in the middle of it after failing to keep herself up, Kinsey and Malia curled up by one another, hand in hand as they both accepted that this was going to be the end for the two of them, their weak bodies shivering as they began reaching their demise. Scott against the door, black veins stretching over his face like it did his fellow supernaturals. Weakly, Kira called for him, she saw them, the mushrooms on the shelf. She saw them. The Alpha placed his hand on the wall, trying to use it to pull himself up as he panted heavily, he took a deep breath, focusing himself until his eyes began glowing their shade of bright red, allowing him to see the mushrooms glowing brightly on the shelf.
Weakly, he stumbled and crawled towards the shelf, struggling to stay upright as he reached for the jar of reishi mushrooms, his hands were weakening, his legs giving up beneath him, his arm extended, reaching for it, the tips of his fingers barely touching the glass as he tried to get a grip of it from the floor. But they began to slip. As he began collapsing to the floor, he pulled the jar down with him, the collision with the cement broke the jar, shattering it as the spores began to fill the air, allowing the supernaturals to breathe as it reached them.
With heavy breaths Kinsey and Malia sat up, their vision returning as they looked at one another with a relieved smile across their faces. Laughing slightly. The irony of them sitting with the cure to this disease for hours without knowing. Kinsey wrapped the coyote in a hug, squeezing her, as she pulled back from it, her hand touched something, the piece of paper crinkling again. Kinsey reached for it again, blinking fast as she truly focused her vision, both her and Malia reading the paper that was in front of them. The dead pool. Their eyes scanned the list until they saw it. One name stood out against the rest. Their faces dropped as they looked at one another, and a wave of emotions washed over them. Sadness. Confusion. Most of all; anger.
Malia moved away from the girl slightly, trying to process what she had just read. Scott managed to open the door, allowing Stiles back in, after a quick reunion of their own, both relieved that it was over, they separated once more. Scott moved to help Kira, Stiles rushing to his girl as she sat alone with her head bowed, her face emotionless. He knelt down in front of her, asking if the girl was all right, but once again, it was a question that she didn't answer.
"Kinsey?" He mumbled as the girl stared blankly at the ground. "Kinsey?" He placed his hand on her shoulder, the girl finally looked at him as he tightly grabbed his wrist, shoving it off of her as her tearful eyes met the ones that had betrayed her, the ones that had cut her so deeply.
With disgust across her face, Kinsey stood up, Malia following her lead as they began walking out of the vault, neither turning back to look at the person they felt had betrayed them the most. He was supposed to be the person Kinsey was dating, the one person she was supposed to trust out of everyone, the person who would tell her things like her having a secret sister. He should have been the one who comforted her when she found out, not the one she couldn't bare to look at. It hurt too much to think of all the possibilities, how long he might have known about this, or if the rest of her friends knew about it, if they had all lied. He was supposed to be a friend to Malia, her mentor, a close confidant. The person who had given her so much support since she had turned human again, the person she had helped in Eichen House so that he could survive.
He betrayed them both. And things would never be the same again.