6 x 03 - Sundowning
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Leo's POV
There's that scent again, I thought, I came to a stop in the middle of the hallway, it was just after second period, so everyone should be in class, but I could still smell it,
I took a deep breath and found myself being drawn to a classroom at the end of the hallway. It was one of the labs, I walked closer and heard the faint coughing and murmurs from the class. I leaned against the walls and focuses my hearing.
"Mr. Douglas?" I heard Liam's voice, it was closer to the scent, there was a faint series of coughing, then it stopped,
That metallic scent mixed with something... chemical? I stepped away from the class even more confused. There's definitely something weird with Mr. Douglas.
I shook away the thought and made way to the library to find Scott and Lydia.
"Anything?" Scott asked as I got closer to the table, but I shook my head as I sat down,
"Nothing," I groaned, I looked down the library then leaned in closer to talk to them, "I've asked every one in our year, some of the teachers, even others on the lacrosse team, and none of them know what a Stiles is,"
"Even the internet isn't being help," Lydia muttered,
"Maybe, Malia found something?" Scott asked looking between us,
"No. She's been taking a make-up text all morning," Lydia told us,
It was maybe five minutes later when a loud howl echoed through the halls and drifted into the library and we all shared a knowing look.
"I guess the test isn't going well," Lydia said with a sigh and we all moved, it wasn't hard to figure out where Malia had gone,
We walked into the storage room and came across a blue-eyed coyote backed into the corner, growling and snapping at us.
"Malia. It's okay. You're safe," Scott tried to plea to her, Mrs. Martin and the Sheriff soon came in after us, which only made Malia snarl at us, "I'm not gonna hurt you. I think she's calming down,"
"Or she's getting ready to attack," I muttered as Malia growled at us louder,
"Maybe you should growl back?" The sheriff asked, we looked back at him in confusion, and Malia growled at us harder, "Scott, Leo, you two are Alphas. Can't one of you just make her a little more docile?"
"The last time did that we had to do that, we chase her across the preserve," I told the sheriff, then I glanced at Mrs. Martin, "I don't think you'd want two werewolves chasing down a very fast coyote through the school halls,"
Scott and I shared a look before turning back to Malia.
"She's not the problem. We are. This is her territory," Scott explained to them, "Maybe we need to get out of here,"
"Yeah, come on, come on," Scott said softly leading us away from her,
"Malia came here to get through the full moons. Then we started using the lake house," Lydia told them,
"I thought you said a wild animal got in the lake house," Mrs. Martin said throwing Lydia a shocked look, and Lydia looked away,
"Just be happy about all the things I don't tell you," Lydia said in a shushed tone,
"Yeah, like the bounty hunters that tried to get us," I muttered softly,
"Bounty hunters!?" She asked looking between us, Lydia threw in a punch at my shoulder, and I let out a nervous chuckle,
"Don't worry about it," I said dismissively, then the faint sound of growling and bones snapping made us all turn back to see a very, naked Malia standing before us,
"It's all right. I'm okay," Malia said to us, the sheriff turned away immediately and Scott looked at the floor,
"Um, Leo," Mrs. Martin said, I looked over at her and she gave me a look with wide eyes, nodding to Malia, I looked over at her then back to Mrs. Martin, before it clicked,
"Oh, please, nudity around werewolves is a very common thing," I told her,
"He's right, we had to chase down Liam one full moon, and all he had on were his boxer," Scott said with a low laugh,
"Plus, there's nothing on her that does anything for me," I told them as Mrs. Martin walked over with Malia's clothes, "I put the homo, in homosexual, okay? If she were a guy, with broad shoulders, a strong jawline and all the other features, then sure, but this a no for me,"
"At least he's bluntly honest," The sheriff muttered and Scott laughed, "Any idea what made her shift?"
"She's under a lot of pressure. School, her life after graduation," Scott told him,
"Her mom trying to kill her," Lydia added on,
"Her bio dad, is Peter fricking Hale," I said like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "I mean pick you're poison,"
"That shouldn't make her shift," Scott said shaking his head,
"Then what?" I asked,
"Could it be connected to Stiles?" Scott asked,
"Maybe, maybe not," I answered with a shrug,
"Hard to tell, since we don't know what a "Stiles" is," Lydia said to him,
"It's a "he." The sheriff said and we all looked up at him,
"Who?" Scott asked, as Malia came over to us,
"Stiles. It's a family nickname," he told us, "I never used it but, uh, my father did,"
Lydia and Scott went to the Sheriff's place to learn about Stiles, Malia had to re-retake her test, and I got different mission.
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"What do you mean she saw one?" I asked Hayden, she looked back at Liam then to me,
"After the ghost rider took her sister, she said she saw one on her front lawn," Hayden explained to me, I sighed as I looked around at the others,
"Which means she's next on their radar," I muttered, then I thought to myself, Until they find me,
"Okay? So what do we do?" Liam asked,
"Well, it's hard to protect someone from something we can't see," I sighed, I leaned against the lockers and tried to think of a plan,
"Corey can see them," Mason piped up, I looked over at the boy and he pushed Corey closer to me, "It's his chameleon powers, they allow him to see things that don't exist in this plan of reality,"
I blinked at that.
"Okay, camouflage is one thing, this is entire different," I said looking at him, then to Hayden and made connection, both of them were Chimeras, Hayden became a full-fledged werewolf after agreeing to and taking the bit from Scott, "Okay then let Corey protect her, if he can see them, he can keep her safe,"
"There's one problem with that," Hayden said biting her lips,
"Which is?" I asked,
"I tried to explain the ghost riders to her, and she snapped at me, she thinks it a joke," Hayden explained and I scoffed,
"That's where the problem arises," I said more to myself than them,
"Well, we need to do something, they'll be back, probably tonight, probably more than one," Liam said in hush and worried tone,
"Dial it down, Munchkins, you're stressing me out," I sighed, then I looked at Corey, "You'll have to shadow her, all of you, watch out for any signs, changes in the area around her, let Corey tell you guys if and when the ghost riders get here,"
"And then what?" Mason asked,
"Fight, run, survive," I told them, "Until we learn how to stop them, or how to kill them, just keep moving,"
"Okay," Liam said nodding to himself,
"Gecko," I said looking at Corey, who stood a little straighter, "You're our best and only option, don't mess up,"
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Scott and Lydia returned, with a plan.
"Stilinski said no, didn't he?" Malia asked, putting her stuff away,
"Yeah," Scott answered,
"But we're going anyway?" She asked again,
"Yep," Scott answered,
"Or you could stay here and help me convince Gwen she's in danger," Liam said pleading to the others,
"It's not your job to convince her. It's your job to keep her safe," Scott told him, we moved away from the lockers to the exit,
"Just kidnap her," Malia said and we all looked at the girl,
"Do not kidnap her. We'll be back tonight after we talk to Stilinski's dad," Scott told him,
"Do we really have to do this?" Malia asked,
"I'm with Malia on this one, the guy's in an old people home," I said softly,
"He's our only lead," Scott explained,
"Okay. What if the Ghost Riders show up?" Liam asked,
"Then you'll handle it, Liam. And look, you're not alone. You've got Mason and Corey and Hayden," Scott told him,
"Take Jack with you, his bite is way worse than his bark, which is weird, but you'll seen that for yourself, he can help," I told him and he nodded,
"Okay? Just find a safe place for Gwen and keep her there," Scott told him,
"Any suggestions?" Liam asked,
"It doesn't matter as long as she's safe," Scott said before turning for the exit, and I followed him,
"Kidnap her," I heard Malia say lowly to the boy,
"Do not kidnap her," Scott called back,
"Please don't," I called back with others,
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We drove across town to the nursing home. Lydia and Malia in her car, while Scott and I went in mine.
"I can't believe we're about to break into a nursing home," Lydia with a tired sigh,
"After the orderlies at Eichen House, pretty sure we can handle some nurses," Malia said before walking straight inside,
We watched Malia went up the nurse at the receptionist desk, and slammed his head into the desk. Then proceeded to drag the man's body out of the room
"Oh, we are so getting arrested after this," I said running my hand through my short curly hair,
"Probably," Lydia said softly,
"Definitely," Scott added on as we walked inside, we found Elias' room number and made our way towards it,
"Yes?" An elderly man asked as he turned to us, there was soft music playing and papers scattered around the room, "Oh. Is it time for my medicine?"
"We don't have your medicine," Malia snapped at him,
"Oh..." he said sounding very disappointed,
"Are you Elias Stilinski?" Lydia asked him,
"I am," he answered,
"I'm Lydia Martin. Do you know who I am?" Lydia asked stepping further into the room, I looked around and noticed how big and spacious it was, for an elderly man living so far from his son, he was well taken cared of,
"Should I?" He asked her, she looked back at me and I shrugged,
"Hey, Mr. Stilinski, we're looking for somebody who might be named Stiles. You went by that name in the Army, right?" Scott asked him,
"Yes. Best years of my life," he answered,
"Do you know any of us?" Malia asked him,
"Of course I do," he said and I was shocked to hear that, then he turned to Scott, "How could I forget my own son?"
"Your son?" Scott questioned, he turned to look at us,
"Mr. Stilinski. What year is it?" Lydia asked him,
"1976. It's my son's birthday next week," he answered, and silence fell over the room,
"There it is," I muttered softly,
"He has dementia," Lydia said turning to us and speaking softly, then Elias turned back to us,
"Is it time for my medicine?" He asked,
"Scott McCall? No, no, no, no, no, no. You're my son," Elias rattled out for more than a hour, it was getting later into the day as we tried and failed to convince him to talk to us,
"Keep it down, old guy. You'll wake the other old people," Malia snapped at him before stealing some of his food,
"I don't like her," Elias said throwing Malia a weary glance,
"She gets that a lot," I told him and Malia glared at me,
"Your son. He's the Sheriff of Beacon Hills," Lydia said taking a seat next to Elias,
"Sheriff? No, no, no, no, no. No, no," he stuttered out getting louder and louder, "I was in the Army,"
"Use your claws, Scott," Malia said to him, and we turned to her,
"It could kill him," Scott told her shaking his head,
"I get that, but we're running out of time," Malia said in rush,
"I can't," Scott told her, then Malia growled and popped her claws, but Scott stopped her.
"Hey! No. We're not hurting him," Scott snapped at her,
"Young lady, you need to clip those nails," Elias said to Malia, almost obviously to the snarling and growling,
Then things took a turn as the sun begun to set, and the night got darker.
"You shouldn't be here. If you don't leave, I'll have to report you," Elias said, he begun to shake and move around,
"What's wrong with him?" Scott asked,
"The sun went down," Lydia explained looking pass us to the window,
"So?" Scott asked and Elias begun to mutter,
"He's sundowning. It's when dementia patients lose their faculties after the sun goes down," Lydia explained to him, I heard the faint rumbling in the distance of other patients complaining about Elias' noise,
"I don't want to talk to you anymore!" Elias yelled, pushing the items off the table,
"Guys he's making too much noise," I told them as I eased towards the doors and slid them close,
"So what do we do?" Malia asked,
"We wait till the sun comes back up," Lydia suggested,
"We can't wait that long," Malia said,
"Someone would find us way before that," I told the others,
"No. No, no!" Elias chanting as he stood up and begun to walk around,
"There's gotta be something we could do to keep him quiet," Scott implored to us,
"And do it now, this old lady down the hall is getting, pretty pissed," I told them as I pressed by back to the door,
"Leave, leave, leave, leave," Elias said to us,
"I can calm him down," Malia said trying to rush him,
"No. No," Scott and Lydia to her,
"Elias. Look at the equations. Look. It's binomial probability. What's "P"?" Lydia asked shuffling around some papers that were on the desk,
"Um, probability of success?" he said timidly,
"Right. Uh... And that means N minus K is?" Lydia asked,
"Uh, number of trials minus the number of successes," he answered,
"He got that right?" I asked, easing myself away from the door, walking over to the others,
"What's with the math?" Scott asked,
"It helps dementia patients concentrate. And this one?" Lydia explained to us and before asking him another question,
"That's, um... Conditional probability," he answered, he took the paper and stood up, I walked over to check over the math work that Lydia had spread out,
"Let's find the moment of inertia. Elias," Lydia said looking through the papers,
"That's Mr. Stilinski," A voice said cutting through the room, we all turned to look at the elderly man who was now standing up straight, glaring at us with a look of disgust, "Just who the hell do you think you are?"
"Well that took a turn," I muttered,
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"You know Scott isn't your son?" Lydia asked,
"Of course I know that. Are brains getting smaller with the skirts?" He asked slowly walking around the table,
"Rude," I scoffed at the man, and Malia growled at him,
"Malia. It's okay," Scott said calming her down,
"So you're that McCall kid," Elias said looking at him,
"You know me?" Scott asked,
"I know your dad. Couldn't hold his liquor and he certainly couldn't keep that wedding ring on his finger. Pretty young thing would walk by and poof, that ring just disappeared like magic," He told him and I watched as Scott's demanour shifted, and Malia growled at the insult thrown at him,
"Do you know all of us?" Lydia asked,
"Oh... You're Natalie Martin's girl. Am I right?" he asked pointing at her Lydia, "You look like her. She was pretty once, too. And she also liked to talk like she was the smartest person in the room,"
"Which she most definitely was, unlike you," I said back, and that got his attention, he turned to me and paused, before smiling and nodding,
"You... you're Thomas Prince's boy," he said nodding to him, and I glared at him, "You got you're father's eyes, and his condescending tone. Quite the troublemaker that one, always running around town, causing mayhem and getting into fights,"
I bit the inside of my cheek as the old man just kept on talking.
"And he wasn't alone," he added, he closed his eyes and nodded before opening them, "Had that Hale boy trailing after him like a lost pup, Peter! Those two were always getting in trouble, and their fathers, John and Samuel Hale, always had to get them out,"
Malia let out a low growl. I clenched my fist as I looked at him. Scott reached over and grabbed my hand.
" Stop talking!" Malia said to him,
"You're lying," I said through gritted teeth,
"Oh, I'm right," he said with a smug grin, before turning to Malia who was ready to pounce, "I told their fathers to set them straight, but they didn't listen to me, and look at what happened, what should have been two strong, decent young men, were nothing more than two, weak, pansy, little fa-"
Malia popped her claws and rushed him.
"Enough!" Someone yelled, we all froze, we turned to see the Sheriff and the Nurse from the front desk looking at us,
"Sheriff, we..." Scott tried to tell him, as we all stood up,
"I explicitly told you not to come here. And who attacked a staff member?" he said looking between us,
"That's her," the guy said pointing to Malia, to which she growl,
"What the hell were you thinking?" he asked us, sounding more disappointed than angry,
"Noah. We were just having a nice conversation," Elias said as he begun to move over to the Sheriff,
"The four of you. Out. Now," The sheriff said, leaving no room for question,
Scott took my hand and pulled me along as the girls grabbed their stuff and left.
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Jack's POV
I know I agreed to help Liam and his friends protect Gwen but this was beyond me. There was a scream, followed by footsteps running down the stairs. I turned and watched as Gwen ran to Liam.
"What's wrong?" he asked,
"I saw him," I heard her say, a gust of wind rattle down the stairs, as we all turned following her eyes, "He's right there. Don't you see him?"
I tried to look but I couldn't see anything. Gwen ran pass me, with Hayden chasing her.
"Help me please!" She yelled pushing through the party,
"Wait. Slow down," Hayden called out,
"Liam, it's a Ghost Rider," Someone called out,
"Where?" Liam asked the voice, I stepped forward but could see anything, just the people partying,
"Headed for the kitchen. Right there," the voice said again, I looked around and blinked,
Then I saw him, he grabbed Corey by the neck and slammed him into the wall, I reached into my pocket and grabbed my phone, I looked up as the man turned and scanned the room, before locking eyes on Gwen.
"Everybody out. Now!" Corey yelled,
Panic ensued as the other kids left the party, Mason moved and placed down Mountain ash and it stopped the man. His plan was working. The ghost rider pushed again the barrier before stepping back. He pulled out a whip and slashed it against the barrier.
"We can't let him get through," Liam said looking at Corey then to me, I looked down at my phone and found the number,
I stepped away as Liam grabbed a lamp and threw it.
The phone rang once. Twice. Three times.
"This is Parrish," he answered and I sighed,
"Jordan!" I said into the phone, there was a pause before he spoke again,
"Jack? Did Leo give you my number?" He asked me, the ghost rider stumbled from the blow, recovered and slammed Liam into the wall "Is everything okay?"
"Get to the McCall house," I said as the ghost rider begun to whip the barrier, which was now cracking,
"Guys, he's breaking through," Mason told us, I watched as another slash from the whip, rippled against the barrier, leaving a green streak in its wake, Corey jumped and tried to stop him, but was thrown off,
"Jack? What's that noise?" he asked, "What's happen-"
"If you love my brother, get to the McCall now!" I yelled into the phone, I barely hung up when the sound of sirens blaring came through line,
Liam and Corey moved together, each grabbed one arm and pulling him back, but he threw them both off.
"Okay. We're leaving right now," I heard Mason say,
I threw down my phone and snarled, it came out higher than most werewolves but that caught his attention. I popped my claws and felt the scales growing on my hands as they morphed. He turned and cracked his whip at me, but I rolled out of the way and tackled him into a wall. He stumbled back and I clawed at his chest, hoping my poison would hurt him.
But it didn't do much. He bucked his knee up, knocking me back before punching me away.
I rolled over and saw the ghost rider, whip wrapped around Gwen's leg, pulling her towards him, with Mason and Hayden trying to pull her back.
Then sirens and tires screeching came from outside the house. The front door flew open and in walked Parrish.
"Freeze!" he yelled, "Let her go!"
But the ghost rider didn't listen.
"Shoot him, Parrish," Liam told him,
"Everyone down, now," Parrish told us, I rolled over and covered my head, as six guns shots echoed through the room, I looked back to see the rider turning to Parrish, "On your knees,"
The rider slowly walked towards him, wrapping up his whip. Getting very close to Parrish's gun which was now aimed at his head.
"On your knees," he said again, a gust of wind and leaves filled the room and the Ghost rider just... left,
With thunder crackling in the distance.
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Leo's POV
"We know this looks bad," Scott tried to tell Mrs. Martin,
"It doesn't look bad, Scott. It is bad. You broke into a nursing home, you harassed a dementia patient, and you beat up a nurse. This could affect the rest of your lives. Especially you, Malia. They're talking felony assault," she yelled at us,
"I didn't beat him up. I could have. But I chose not to," Malia told her,
"That's an improvement," Lydia muttered,
"Also, he was harassing us," I told her and she turned her glare on me, "Look, the things he said about our dads, about you, anyone else would think the same,"
"He's in his seventies, with dementia," She said to me, and I sighed,
"By some miracle the nurse decided to drop the charges. They're free to go," The sheriff said to us with an annoyed gruff tone,
"Just because you're not going to jail, doesn't mean you're not grounded for eternity," Mrs. Martin said to Lydia.
By the time I got home, I found Jordan's truck parked in our driveway. I got out and made my way inside.
"Mom?" I called out,
"In here," she called back, I walked into the kitchen and saw her sitting across from Jordan and Jack, both of whom looking very upset and tired respectively,
"Everything okay?" I asked as I stepped closer to the island,
"A ghost rider attacked the party," Jack said softly with a shrug, I frowned at that and stepped closer to the boy, "We saved Gwen though,"
I opened my mouth to speak but Jordan spoke first.
"You said it was nothing," Jordan said angrily, I looked over at him, he was staring straight ahead, eyes away from me, glaring a hole into nothingness, his arms were folded over his chest and I could smell the anxiety and anger on him, "I asked you, why did Mason and Corey think something was wrong, and you said it was nothing,"
"Because it is nothing," I tried to say, but my voice quivered,
"Then why did Jack call me, panicked and freaked, telling me that if I lo-" he cut himself off, he bit his lip and looked down at the floor, before looking back up at me, glaring at me, "Telling me to get to the McCall house, only to get there, just in time to save a high schooler from being abducted by a Ghost Rider!? That doesn't sound like nothing, Leo,"
"I didn't want to get you involved," I tried to tell him,
"Oh, well you failed," He said with a smirk, but there was nothing good about it, "Just like you failed to mention, why they were here!"
I looked over at Jack, who nodded over to my mother. I looked at her and see looked away from me.
"He was concerned and confused, I thought it was best, for him to know the reason why these creatures are here," she explained,
"Mom," I whined softly,
"Why didn't you tell me?" Jordan asked, I turned back to him and saw the anger on his face, now change to disappointment,
"People got hurt because of me, people will get hurt because of me, and I didn't want you to be one of those people," I told him,
"It's a little too late for that," Jordan said standing up, and begun to move,
I closed my eyes and waited, expecting to hear the front door open and slam shut. But what I didn't expect was for him to hug me, tightly.
"Why are you hugging me?" I asked him,
"Because I care about you," he said, and I could have swore I heard something in the tone of his voice, but I chose to push it aside and hugging him back,
Then another pair of arms circled around my back.
"I care about you, too," I heard Jack said loudly as he hugged us, and I let out an airy chuckle, I worked my arms around Jordan and hugged him back,
"Oh, hugging party and I wasn't inviting?" Someone asked, I turned in the hug and saw Aunt Marcy standing in the entrance smiling at us,
"Aunt Marcy!" I exclaimed as the boys pulled back,
"Hello my little lion," she said and I moved over to hug her,
"You're here," I said with a smile,
"I am, and I brought a gift," she told me, I pulled back to look her, she turned and stepped aside and I watched as my father walked into the house,
For the first time in about two days, and he looked torn up. Like beat up, with cutting and bruises which were currently mid heal.
"What in the snick snack happened to you?" I asked him,
"Be thankful you're an only child," he said gritting his teeth and shuffling into the room, I stepped aside and nothing he had a slight limp to his step, he walked over to mom and slowly fell to his knees before her, "I'm sorry,"
"Louder!" Aunt Marcy called out,
"I'm sorry!" he exclaimed, I blinked as I looked over at Jack who just shrugged and watched the scene unfold,
"For," She added on,
"For being rude, and insensitive, and an idiot," he told my mom, like he had rehearsed it several times, his shoulder lowered and I saw the way my mom looked down at him that his words were coming from a sincere place, "I'm sorry Tsubaki, I didn't mean it, I was... I don't lose our son again,"
"Its okay," Mom said stepping forward, she pulled him against her and ran her hand through his hair, he leaned into her touch and I swore I heard him sob,
"What did you do to him, exactly?" I asked Aunt Marcy in a low voice,
"Growing up human, in a house full of werewolves has it disadvantages, but one man's weakness, is another gain, so I learned a few tricks over the years," she told me vaguely,
"Woman's got a mean right hook," Dad called out, and Mom laughed,
"That explains the black eye," I muttered
Mom pulled him upright and he leaned down to kiss her, and I turned away from watching them suck each others faces, because ew.
"Better?" I heard mom ask, I turned back to see dad, was now fully healed, every cut, bruise and even the limp he had was now gone, he nodded,
"Much," he said softly before turning to us, "Now, why are all these depressed supernatural creatures in my kitchen?"
I looked over at Jordan, then to Jack, before looking back at my dad. He leaned into mom's side and gave us all a look.
"Somebody start talking," he said to us,
"So..." I begun to say, "Um, here's a funny story..."