Walking through the hospital's halls, she found everyone moving so quickly. Jennifer's body had yet to be found, a missing person report had been filed for her, as she couldn't be contacted nor has she shown up for work. Out of everyone who worked in the hospital, she was the only one who knew.
19:23
She figured with the time it took for the small speeches and for them to crawl out of the hall and run to the jeep, it would have likely been 19:21. An instant death.
It was odd, other than dying in your sleep most people wished for an instant death. One without panic or pain, but when watching it happen it looked no less painful than that of one that went on, and on, and on.
Feeling a weight on her shoulders, she stumbled forward before turning around, "hey stranger," Joe said, a large smile on his face, "I got to assist on a cholecystectomy!" He cheered.
"Oh...wow, wow, that's wonderful," she droned, no smile nor delight on her face. He looked at her oddly as the pair continued walking.
"What's with you?"
"oh- wait, what?"
"You're acting like you've just seen someone kill a puppy in front of you," Joe mused, and she looked at him confused but said nothing, "oh come on, Jules, what's going on? I've not seen you in days, did I say something wrong?"
"What? No," she countered, stopping so that he'd stop with her, "it's just been a hectic few days... everything seems to be going wrong at the moment but it's not... well, it's definitely not anything to do with you," she promised.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Shaking her head, she thought on it. She wanted to. She really wanted to. To speak to someone normal who wasn't involved and didn't have to worry about any of the things she had witnessed or would probably witness in the near future.
"I can't."
"Are you sure?"
"I really can't."
______
Walking into the dining room, Stiles looked between both his sister and father confused. One was lying with her head on the table and yet he could see from the corners of her eyes that they were wide open, and his father was staring at his files confused.
"Whatcha doing?" Stiles asked.
"Work."
"Moping."
The two said respectively, "anything I can help with?" Stiles asked.
"You know, if you poured me an ounce of whiskey, that would be awfully nice," he said, and Stiles went to grab the whiskey.
"I want a double!" Jules called out.
"Should you be drinking? You're working tomorrow..." Noah said, as he glanced at his daughter. Huffing, she rose from her state of depression and leaned back in her seat.
"One won't hurt, I'll go to bed afterwards," she assured.
"Any leads?" Stiles asked as he began to pour the alcohol.
"You know I can't discuss that with you.... not too much," he urged, and Stiles looked at his dad sheepishly.
"Okay. There you go, Dad."
"Stiles then pushed another glass in front of his sister who took it in her hands nursing it like a hot chocolate, "thanks," they both muttered.
"Bottoms up," Stiles urged, and Noah downed his - which was much more than an ounce.
Julie glanced at her own before downing that as well, "You know, Derek Hale would be a whole hale of a lot--" Jules looked at her dad who was already slurring her words. Such a lightweight, she thought. Especially for a man of his size, "Hale of a lot...?"
"Hell of a lot?" Stiles offered.
"Hell... Yes... He would be a hell of a lot easier to catch if we could get an actual picture of him."
"How do you not have a picture of him?" Stiles asked, and even Julie was confused on the matter.
"It's the weirdest thing... It's like every time we tried to get a mug shot, it's like two laser-beams were pointing at the camera," he explained before showing them the photos. The pair peered over at it.
"Nice," Stiles commented.
"Like a bloody x-men," Julie scoffed.
"Oh, my God... Ohhh! God, that ounce hit me like a brick. And I have said way too much, and if you two repeat any of that-"
"Dad, it's me! I'm not gonna say anything. Come on!" Stiles urged.
"See, the thing is, they're all connected... I mean, the bus driver that got killed? He was an insurance investigator assigned to the Hale House Fire..."
""Terminated under suspicion of fraud."" Stiles read.
"Exactly."
"So who else is it? Are they all connected?" Julie asked, revenge? It had to be.
"The video store clerk who got his throat slashed? He's a convicted felon-- history of arson."
"What about the other two guys, the guys who got killed in the woods?"
"Priors all over their records, including-"
"Arson," Stiles sighed, "So, maybe they all had something to do with the fire..." noticing Noah was about to zone out he cleared his throat, "another shot?"
"No, no, no. No more."
"Dad, come on! You work really hard, all right? You deserve it," Stiles urged.
"Oh, my god..." Noah sighed before he began laughing, "I'm gonna have such a hangover..."
Stiles moved to pour another drink, "you mean you're gonna have such a good night's sleep! I'm gonna have an eternity in the lowest circle of hell..."
"Oh, you're going lower than that," Julie muttered, crossing her arms as she stared at the kid who was feeding their father alcohol to get answers.
It was a short while after, Stiles had gotten their father even more drunk and he was more spewing rubbish than giving them any useful information.
"There's just so many questions..." Noah slurred.
"Like what, dad?" Jules asked, her voice soft as she watched him. It was painful watching them struggle whilst knowing
"Like, if Derek wanted to kill everyone involved with the fire, then why start with his sister? I mean, she had nothing to do with it. Why make it look like some kind of animal did it?" Both Julie and Stiles thought on it, why would Peter do that? "When that cougar ended up in the parking lot, I checked with animal control-- you know the instances of wild animal reports were up seventy percent over the past few months? It's like they're going crazy, running out of the woods... I don't know..."
"Or something's scaring them out..." Stiles realised.
"You know, I miss talking to you both... It's like we never have time--" Noah said, but Stiles was already reaching for his phone.
"Dad, you know, I have to make a phone call. I'm sorry, I'll be right back," Stiles urged, moving to get out of his seat.
"I do... I miss it... and I miss your mom..." he said, and both Julie and Stiles stared at him not knowing what to say.
"What'd you say?" Stiles asked, but Julie shook her head at him.
"Nothing..."
"Hey dad, you've done enough work tonight. Why don't we all go to sleep and look at it fresh in the morning?" Julie suggested, and she looked back at Stiles who was still staring at their father. She raised her brow at him suggesting he leave with her eyes and he did so. She would be sure to check on him later.
"That's... that's a good idea."
"Okay, come on then..."
______
"He what?" Julie asked, as she looked across both Scott and Stiles, "and then what..."
"The hunters got there, they were shooting bullets... he stayed behind so that I could run," Scott explained.
"Oh, how very chivalrous after he went to try and kill a sixteen year old little boy just for being annoying!" she snapped, crossing her arms as she did so.
"To be fair, he's more than a little annoying," Stiles said and she tilted her head as she looked at him incredulously.
"I am going to wipe that vile excuse for murder out of my mind, and if you ever make a comment like that i'll make sure you're grounded for a whole year," she growled. "We. Don't. Kill."
"We'll I'd like to think not with the career line you're in," a voice sounded, and all three of them jumped as they turned to look at the intruder. It was Melissa who was stood holding a few clipboards waiting to see what the three were doing.
"Oh, Melissa..."
"Mom," Scott greeted, his eyes wide with panic.
"Someone want to explain? Now?" She asked, her motherly gaze jumping between all three of them.
"We were just discussing, what happened to the plan," Julie lied, and Melissa narrowed her eyes out of suspicion and confusion, "and how to rectify it."
"What plan?"
Both Scott and Stiles looked to the blonde waiting to hear what she was going to come up with, "you know, the whole you getting with my dad. But nooo, instead you went and got with some new dirty little person."
"Dirty?" Scott asked.
"Every man's dirty, they're crusty and riddled with diseases," Julie huffed, and both the two boys looked offended whilst Melissa rolled her eyes.
"I'm not getting with your dad," she urged, before walking off.
Julie turned with a huff glancing between both Scott and Stiles, "this isn't over."
______
Ditching her bag at the front door, Julie wondered in to see Stiles all dressed up in his suit. It had been a couple of days since the shooting and Stiles was convinced that Derek was dead. Both Scott and Julie were unsure, he had a habit of cheating death.
"Oh my god... look at you..." she mused, a smile forming on her face as she saw him.
"I know, doesn't he look cute," Noah mused, crossing his own arms. The term used made Stiles' smile drop.
"Cute?!"
"Awww, come here, dad, quick, we need photos!" She urged, and Stiles groaned out of annoyance but allowed everyone to take turns in grabbing photos before they had a selfie with Noah holding out his camera as far as he could, Stiles glowering at the camera looking bored and Julie with a large smile her face pressed against Stiles' as she'd crouched to be closer to his height. He was catching up, but he hadn't made it yet. He had a few of just himself, although with every photo his smile got smaller and turned into annoyance.
"Alright, alright, I've got to go now! I'm picking up a date," he said, giggling as he did so and both Julie and Noah continued to smile.
"A date?" Noah asked.
"A date." He confirmed.
"With who?" Julie asked.
"I'm not telling, you'll find out once we get engaged."
Julie began to laugh at the words, "and you call me the delusional one..."
"Well I had to learn it from somewhere," Stiles bit back, "see you both later."
Julie's smile faded as he left the house. Derek couldn't really be dead, but she also didn't understand. He seemed perfectly normal, capable of so much, and then 19:23... then he almost added another time.
"Right, I've got to get to work, I'm doing some overtime," Noah said, and she plastered the smile back on as she looked at him.
"Alright, good night... I'll probably see you tomorrow. It's my day off," she explained, and he nodded before grabbing onto his coat and keys.
She watched him go before sighing. This was a stupid idea, but it was something she needed to do.
______
Tracing her hands up the wooden bannister, she kept her touch light enough to prevent any splinters. She couldn't believe someone would live in a place like this, but then she supposed if you didn't think you were staying long. Reaching the door, she found it left ajar and she pushed it open slowly.
"Derek?" She called out, "you here?"
Looking around, she could see that someone had been living there. There was a mattress on the floor in the joining room, pillows and a duvet all across it. A few pieces of clothes dotted around, although the dust coating them told her that he hadn't been here in a while.
"Derek?" She called out, louder than before.
Noticing a small trail in the dust, she slowly followed after it until she found herself in front of a door. Glancing around, she took in a deep breath for her own encouragement before she pushed the door open. Taking one last look around, she slowly walked through the door, heading down the stairs in front of her.
She could see a light at the end, so she found some comfort in not being trapped in the darkness.
As she walked around the corner, her brows furrowed her whole body running cold. Derek was chained up to the fence, a machine attached so that electric currents would be sent through whenever the person so chose to do so.
"You shouldn't be here," he grit out, not willing to look up.
"What the hell is this..." she said as she looked over him again.
"This is what hunters do," he growled, "untie me."
She thought on it for a second before shaking her head, "no."
"What? What do you mean no?"
"You tried to kill a sixteen year old."
"Didn't you take an oath?" He scoffed.
"You should be rotting in prison," she countered.
"Look, I was manipulated-"
"don't you dare," she cut in, "don't you dare excuse the murder of a sixteen year old boy. That doesn't make you some victim who was being brain-washed, Derek. You were not brain-washed, you were given a choice and you chose murder. You, Derek, are a coward. You are a coward, and you are just like your uncle and you are everything the hunters tell you to fear."
"I am nothing like them," Derek growled.
"Well," she mused, chuckling as she did so, "you could have fooled me."
He glanced up at the door and she looked at him confused, "hide."
"What?"
"Someone is here, hide. The corner behind me," he urged, and she glanced over at the door herself before she headed over to the corner he had suggested. Finding a stack of crates, she crouched behind them. She couldn't see the door or who would come down, only the back of Derek through the slits in the crate.
"Unfortunately Derek, if you're not gonna talk... I'm just gonna have to kill you. So, say "hi" to your sister for me..." Derek glared at Kate, and at the words Julie clutched at the fabric of her coat, tears beginning to form in her eyes. She couldn't witness another murder.
"You did tell her about me, didn't you? The truth about the fire?...Or did you? Did you tell anybody?" Kate mused, seeing the shame on the werewolves face, "oh, sweetie... That's just a lot of guilt to keep buried. It's not all your fault. You got tricked by a pretty face! It happens. Handsome young Werewolf mistakenly falls in love with a super-hot girl who comes from a family that kills the Werewolves. Is that ironic? Is it ironic that you're inadvertently helping me track down the rest of the pack-- again? Or, is it just a little bit of history repeating? History repeating...It's not Jackson, is it? Oh, no, no, no... he's got a little scratch on the back of his neck, but... he's not in love with Allison...Not like Scott."
At the discovery Kate rushed off and Julie quickly climbed out of the crates.
"They know," she said, "they know about Scott, we have to go help him..." she added on. She went to untie Derek but the electric current began tingling as she got close. "Oh...woah...er... that's not going to work," she said, holding her hands together in front of her chest as if she'd actually been electrocuted.
"Phone Scott!"
She tried to phone Scott, however, each time she received no response, "can't you do some wolfy thing or something?"
"Scott won't know what it-"
"It doesn't matter, try it!" She urged, "look, Scott is a child and he is like a brother to me. You are going to help him. So do what ever you can do to get his attention," she ordered.
He thought on it for a moment before he released a howl, one that would beg a pack to go and find him.
She stared at him in awe, she'd never heard a werewolf howl before. She could feel the power from the mere sound of it, it wasn't natural. But then, she supposed nothing about the whole ordeal had been natural.