Chapter Three
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I sat in the corner of the cold room we were thrown into, my knees pulled into my chest as the anxiety flowed through my veins. Not only were we being trapped in this small room with no way out, but I had no idea what was happening to my sister. I didn't know what they wanted with her,or why they wouldn't take me too.
"Babe.." Stiles sat down next to me, grasping onto my shaking hand tightly. "We're gonna get Lydia back. Okay, I–"
The door opening cut off his words and before I knew it one of the larger men were stomping inside, "You, you're coming with me." His finger pointed in my direction before his hand grasped around my small arm, pain shooting through it due to his strong grip.
"You're not taking her!" Stiles argued, still holding onto me.
The man just smirked and let out a chuckle before shoving him across the room with no problem, "Let's go." I was jerked up off of the ground and shoved out the door, my name being screamed from behind the door.
"Where are you taking me?!" I yelled, attempting to break free from his grip.
"Outside, I'm sure you want to see your sister." The man responded, tightening his grip.
At the mention of Lydia I stopped trying to break free, not saying a word while he continued to lead me through the building until we made it to a door that lead outside. The bright sun hit me hard in the face, my eyes burning terribly due to being in the dark for so long. None of us had realized how long we'd been here until, well...now.
As we turned the corner my sisters strawberry blonde hair came into view, allowing me to let out a breath of relief knowing she was alright. She was seated in front of the woman from earlier who put a grin on her face the moment she saw me. "Ahh, there she is."
Lydia's eyes widened when she saw me, and she immediately jumped up to grasp me in a hug. "Oh thank God you're okay." I muttered into her shoulder, finally being released from the man's grip.
"Take a seat, girls. Time for us to have a chat." There were three coffee cups placed on the table as Lydia and I both took a seat.
"What do you want with us? Can't you just let us go?"
The woman just sighed, "You know I have to admit, I don't have much experience with Banshee's." She admitted, obviously ignoring my question.
"That makes three of us–" Lydia responded, "–since we don't really have that much experience being Banshee's."
"I have a feeling you girls really underestimate your abilities, especially you...Autumn."
"Trust me, you'd have better luck with tarot cards." I said, as she just stared towards me while she took a sip of her coffee.
Her smirk sent a bad feeling surging through me, "Well, let's find out. Tell me, which of these men is about to die?" She asked, gesturing to two guards that were standing next to our table. "How does it work? Do you need to touch them? Maybe I give you something they own. Or is it just a...a feeling?"
"We don't know." Lydia said.
"Well, each of you felt it when your best friend was about to die, am I right? Just how close to death do they have to be?" Her hand gripped around a knife that was on the table, and just seconds later we watched as it flew through the air hitting the guard on the right directly in the chest.
My body jolted up from the seat as a gasp fell from my lips, "What'd you do that for?!"
"He stole from me." The woman shrugged, a stern look on her face.
Lydia rushed to my side, "What do you want?!"
"Right now? I want to know about Scott McCall. I want to know what kind of Alpha he really is." Her eyes moved directly to mine, "Now, here's the problem. I would love to make such a spectacular Banshee as yourself a part of this fun, but I've seemed to forgotten you're a lot closer to Scott than your sister. I'm afraid that if I allow you to be a part of this, you'll mess it up somehow. So, change of plans. I'm gonna have a guard take you back to that room for the time being, and you're gonna keep your pretty little mouth shut and go without a fight. If you do fight, well...I think you'll be able to feel what'll happen."
"I'll be okay...." Lydia mouthed, "Just do what they say."
My lips pursed together as I fought the urge to retaliate, but instead of doing so I let the guard grab ahold of my arm again and we began walking back to the room I had just been taken from not long ago. The walk seemed shorter this time, the large rusty door making a horrendous shrieking noise as it slid open. The guard said nothing as he tossed me back inside, causing me to skid across the floor before falling forward.
"Autumn!" Stiles rushed over to my side, pulling me up off of the ground. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" He asked, brushing my hair behind my ear and examining me for any kind of injury.
I shook my head ignoring the pain from the collision with the floor, "No, no I'm fine. One of the guards not so much, and I don't have a good feeling about Scott." I looked around the grey room noticing that not only Scott was missing, but also Kira.
Stiles noticed me looking around, "They came in and took him and Kira...do you know what's going on?"
"No." I shook my head, "But I'm sure it's not good. She kept Lydia instead of me because of how close I am to Scott...We need to find out what's going on, and we need to get out of this room!" I stressed, running my fingers through my hair. "I mean, is any of this ever going to stop?!"
"Is she always like this?" Malia asked from beside Stiles, "She wasn't like this when we were younger."
Stiles let out a sigh, "Yeah, well...she's been through a lot, Malia."
"So? Get over it."
Malia definitely wasn't one to keep what she was thinking inside, I had learned that much in these past few months. But, we just kind of had to let it happen considering she wasn't really used to being, well, human.
"Malia, please...How about I talk to Autumn, and you try to see if you can hear anything, okay? Literally anything, anybody."
She gave me a glance before nodding, "Yeah...sure..."
I walked backwards until my back came in contact with the wall, and I let gravity take over and drag my body towards the ground. Thinking about all of the things that could happen wherever the others were, I could feel my heart rate accelerating.
Everything was starting to consume me.
Everything was throwing me into a panic.
I began rocking my body back and forth, clinging onto my legs once again. "I can't fix it...I can't help them...I'm stuck...I can't–I...." My heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest, it was beginning to get harder and harder to breathe, and I could literally feel the walls closing in on me.
Panic attack.
As my body began to tremble I felt Stiles' body land in front of me, "Autumn...babe–"
"I can't breathe." I panicked, clawing at my chest. "I-I can't–the walls." My eyes widened as I looked around the room to find the walls still closing in, and aside from that it felt like bricks were being placed on my chest one by one.
"Yes you can!!! You need to calm down, okay? You're fine, babe. I promise. Focus on my voice–" He grabbed onto my hand, placing it on his chest. "Focus on my chest rising, my heartbeat, my steady breathing." I swallowed hard, attempting to focus but I just couldn't, the panic attack was winning this time. I just shook my head in response, not being able to find the words to say, really not sure if I could say anything at all. At this point I was gasping for air, the heaviness on my chest and the feeling of my throat closing up restricting the air supply going into and out of my lungs. "Autumn...." His hands found their way to the sides of my face, "Baby, look at me...look at me." My eyes locked with his, and within seconds his face got closer to mine until our lips crashed into each other. The instinct to close my eyes took over, and I could feel myself relax into him. His thumbs gently caressed my cheek as he hesitantly pulled away, my breathing now matching his steady breaths.
My eyes locked with his, "I–How did you...?"
He pecked my lips one more time before his hands found their way to mine, "Well...this one time I was having a panic attack, and someone told me that holding your breath could stop it. I guess I take your breath away just as much as you do mine..."
I couldn't help but smile before pulling myself into his chest, him immediately wrapped his arms around me. As we both just sat there for a moment I could still feel the anxiety melting away, but of course we could only sit there like that for a short amount of time. "Guys...I hate to ruin the moment but...." We both turned towards Malia, "Do you know someone by the name of Kate?"
"Kate?" I asked, pulling away from Stiles. "Why are you bringing her up?"
"I did what you asked me to do and I listened in on what's going on. They were electrocuting Scott, and then all of the sudden it stopped...they asked who has Derek, and he responded with Kate."
Stiles head jerked from Malia back to me, "It's impossible. That can't be what he said."
"Why?" Malia looked between the two of us, "Who...who's Kate?"
"She's a hunter..."
"She's supposed to be dead."
****
"So you're just letting us go?" Scott asked as we all walked out to where the jeep was located. Not long after my panic attack the doors opened and we were all reunited. Thankfully everyone okay and in one piece.
"I sent for men out to where Kate was rumored to have been seen. None of them came back. Let's see if you can do better."
Scott shook his head, "You could've just told me she was alive."
I nodded in agreement, "Yeah, that would have made things a lot easier."
"None of you would have believed me." She turned back towards Scott, "Now I know what kind of Alpha you are and where your next step lies."
"What next step?"
Her eyes narrowed, "When you take the bite of an innocent, when you make a wolf of your own, when you do that, then, I will cross your border and come knocking at your door." And with that she was gone, all of her guards following her like lost puppies.
Stiles dug his hands in his pockets, "So what now?"
"She thinks she knows where we can find Derek."
"Is she gonna tell us where?" Malia asked.
Scott shook his head, "Uh, actually, she's giving us a guide."
On perfect cue a woman on a motorcycle pulled up right into the middle of our group, spreading us all apart. "You know her?" Scott asked as the girl took her helmet off, scars of claw marks running down her neck.
"Braeden."
"Who's Braeden?" Kira asked.
Lydia kept her eyes focused towards her, "She's a mercenary."
"Right now, I'm the only one who's gonna take you to la Iglesia."
My eyebrows furrowed, "The church?"
"What's the church?" Stiles asked.
"Oh...you'll find out."
****
"Stiles, maybe you should invest in a bigger car." Lydia complained as she was stuffed in the back of the jeep that was following Braeden's bike through the dusty roads.
I chuckled from the front seat, "Lydia, you know that Stiles won't get rid of this jeep until it literally falls completely apart, actually...he'll probably still try to fix it then."
"Talking about getting a new car isn't what's important right now." Malia stated, "Here's what I think is important, who's Kate Argent?!"
Kira awkwardly raised her hand, "Uh, I'd like to know too."
"Well, Scott, Otto and I were at her funeral. So, I'd like to know how she got out of a casket that was buried six feet underground."
"She was never in it." Scott responded with narrowed eyes.
I turned around in the seat so I could see both the backseat and Stiles, "Guess she wasn't..." Kira and Malia were both looking towards me for the explanation they were looking for. "She was Allison's aunt."
"And a total sociopath." Lydia added from her crammed spot next to the window.
Silence took over the car for a moment before Kira spoke up, "You don't have to talk about it now if you don't want to." Her statement was directed towards all of us.
"Um, yes, they do." Malia argued.
Scott nodded, "Yeah, she's right. You guys should know. You need to know."
Stiles gave me a quick glance, I guess realizing I was still trying to gather words together. "Alright, Kate was the one who set the fire that killed most of Derek's family."
"Some of them survived, like Cora, and Peter."
"A very angry Peter." Lydia added.
"Yeah..." Scott nodded, "He's the one who bit and turned me, then he bit Lydia at the Winter Formal."
"And the one who finally caught up to Kate and killed her." She quickly added, obviously not wanting to talk about that night in any more detail.
I shook my head, "Well, we thought he killed her."
"We saw her buried."
"No. We saw a casket, remember?" Scott turned towards Stiles, "She wasn't in it. The Calaveras heard that Kate had been killed by an Alpha's claws. They wanted to make sure she was really dead. Her body was healing. More and more, as she got closer to a full moon. She was coming back. So they switched out the bodies. They took her. If a hunter is bit, they have to take their own life before they change. The Calaveras...they treat the code like law. They make it their responsibility to enforce it. She obviously didn't take her life."
Malia nodded, "Good for her. I wouldn't do it either."
"Would you kill half a dozen people to get out?" Scott asked, "Because that's what she did."
Kira sat a little straighter in her seat, "So Kate's a werewolf now?"
Scott shrugged, "I don't know. You know, there's a saying...sometimes the shape you take reflects the person you are."
"So what shape–"
Lydia's words were cut off when a huge bang sounded outside followed by a shake of the jeep, so Stiles quickly pulled over. As we all clambered outside Braeden turned her bike around. "What happened?!"
"I don't know!" Stiles replied, "It felt like we hit something."
"Scott, we need to get there by night." She stressed, "It's too dangerous otherwise."
We all looked around at each other, Scott was obviously unsure of what to do. "Go." I said, gesturing to the bike.
"Not without you guys."
Stiles walked over to where we were standing, "I agree. Dude, someone needs to find Derek. We'll figure something out, we always do. Just go."
The rest of us gave him nods of confirmation as he looked our way, "Okay...Just, be careful. Please." We all once again nodded echoing 'You too's', and he made his way over to the bike. I walked back over to the jeep with Stiles, checking it over to see if we could find any clue to what had happened, or what we had hit.
"I didn't see anything, did you?" He asked.
I shook my head, "Nope, nothing." My eyes wandered around our surroundings, "But I definitely see that." I said gesturing to Scott and Kira who were embraced in a hug.
Stiles stared at me for a few second before saying anything, "Babe, he's happy...that's important."
I nodded in agreement, "Yeah...I know..." I watched as Kira kept her eyes on the bike, the dust soon clouding to where we couldn't see it any longer. "He'll be fine..." I called out, grabbing her attention. "Just trust him..." She gave me a small nod and smile before walking over to where we were.
"Guys...I don't think we hit something." Malia said, pulling something from above the tire. "I think something hit us."
In her hand she held something that looked like a claw, possibly a bone, all I knew was that it was large and could really cause some pain.
My hand gripped onto the hood as I pulled it up, releasing the smoke from underneath. "Something got knocked loose, or....I don't even know, who knows what's wrong this time." I fanned away some of the smoke as Stiles walked to the back of the jeep grabbing a wrench, before walking back to me.
"I'll fix it, don't worry."
Lydia leaned her body against the jeep, "Maybe we should just walk."
"Hey! I would never abandon this jeep! You understand me? Ever!"
I chuckled at his serious tone, the love for his jeep as strong as it always has been. I can remember the day he got it, Scott, Stiles and myself literally drove around for hours. If Sheriff wouldn't have forced him inside he would have slept in it.
"Work faster, Stiles."
The tone in Malia's voice grabbed my attention, "Why?"
"There's something out here with us..."
I nodded, folding my arms across my chest as I looked around noticing the sun setting quickly. "Well that's great, maybe it's the thing that, that bone...claw...whatever it is came off of. I bet it wants it back."
****
It seemed like we had been standing here forever, and still no sign of the jeep being fixed any time soon. Darkness was now surrounding us, and the sounds that kept creeping up around us were definitely anything but pleasant.
"Come on, babe..." It was already getting cold, but the wind was making it a lot colder which was causing my hands to slightly shake.
"Autumn, could you please hold the light still for a second? It's really hard to see anything if you keep shaking like that."
My eyes narrowed towards him, "I'm shaking it like this because we're in the middle of nowhere with your broken down jeep, which I love very much, and we're being attacked by yet another razor clawed monster who is probably waiting any minute to pounce. Oh, and the temperature is literally dropping by the second, so excuse me for being cold and slightly terrified."
"Well, just be slightly less terrified, please. I won't let anything happen to you." He hopped down off of the jeep, and quickly took his jacket off to place it around my shoulders. "Here..." His soft warm lips brushed against my cheek before going back to working on getting us moving again. "Hold this for me."
I grabbed the object from his hand, "And what's this?"
"I don't know...I'm hoping it's not important."
I nodded, "Oh, God."
Stiles and I were paying no attention to what everyone else was doing before Malia's roar echoed all around us. My head jerked to the left to find her running off into the darkness, "Malia! You've got to be kidding me, I told her not to run off!"
"Malia! Kira!" Lydia yelled as Kira ran off following wherever she had went. She noticed Stiles and I both debating whether to run or not, "Oh, no. You two stay here, Stiles fix the jeep! Both of you, focus!"
"Lydia, they just ran off in the middle of nowhere, it's pitch black, and there's a creature somewhere out there watching us. Did you see the size of that claw?!"
She looked me right in the eyes, "Yes, and they're gonna be fine. Okay? We just have to believe that because this problem needs to be fixed, would you like me to go join them?"
"No! Stay here." I shook my head, looking back into the darkness to try to see past where the headlights stopped illuminating the area. "But if you hear something that I don't you better tell us. Now hold this." I placed the part into her hand that Stiles had handed me, "Let's just get this fixed and get out of here."
"Got it! Autumn, get behind the wheel and give it some gas."
I handed over the flashlight to Lydia before hopping into the drivers seat, and sure enough Stiles had fixed the jeep. "Yes!"
Right on time both Kira and Malia ran back our way, breathlessly trying to explain what happened but none of us could really understand what they were saying, especially me because I was still inside of the jeep. "What happened?" I asked as I hopped out to join the others again.
"it's big, it's fast...let's just get out of here."
****
"Malia, you can't just run off like that!" I exclaimed as we drove down the dark dirt road once again.
She just let out a small sigh, "I'm fine!"
"Yeah, the cut on your side looks just peachy!"
"It's okay..."
Lydia took a look at it also, "You sure? It looks pretty deep."
"I can feel it healing."
"So, you didn't really see anything?" I asked, turning back towards the road.
She shook her head, "Barely. It had a strong scent, though."
Stiles was intrigued, "Like what?"
"Like death."
As much as I would have love to continue the conversation about the creature, I realized we had finally entered the area where Kate was supposedly seen. "Here it is!" I exclaimed, pointing at the church. The jeep was quickly put into park and I didn't hesitate to jump out when I saw Scott walking out, looking as if he was carrying someone which I'm assuming to be Derek. They were hard to see at first, but when they showed up in front of the jeep headlights everyone just stood there in shock, especially Stiles, Lydia and I.
"Is that him?" Malia asked, "Is that Derek?"
Stiles slightly cocked his head to the side, "Uh, sort of."
It was indeed Derek, but it wasn't the Derek we were used to...
He was a teenager.
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Hope you guys enjoyed! Vote and comment if you wanna, let me know what you thought of the chapter!
xx