The bestiary lays open flat on the kitchen counter of my dad's apartment. My pointer finger and thumb turn the page and I lazily reach for my coffee next to it. I take a small sip as I read down the page, thankful that my parents had me learn Archaic Latin at a young age.
At the sound of a knife being thrown in the air, my right hand flies up to latch my fingers around the handle of the knife before it can stab me. Dad walks out of the hallway when sees that it's me in his kitchen and not a stranger that broke in.
"You could have called if you were coming over." Dad announces and walks further into the kitchen. He walks up to the kitchen island that I've been leaning up against for the past hour.
I place the knife on the counter by the book. "Sorry." I apologize and flick my eyes over to the other side of the page.
Dad raises an eyebrow at the bestiary between us. "What are you doing?"
I heave a sigh and turn the page again. "Trying to figure out what I am." I rest my cheek in the palm of my hand. "So far, I haven't found anything."
Dad reaches across the counter for the book, flipping through a couple pages, like he is searching for something. "Well, you know you're a shapeshifter."
I nod my head. "Yeah, but I don't know what kind." I pick up my coffee and pour more into the cup from the coffee pot. With one hand, I open the fridge and then reach for the creamer. "Most were-animals can shape shift, but there lies the problems." I pour a decent amount of creamer in my coffee before adding more sugar. "They transform into animals. not humans."
Dad continues to flip through the book. "I've never heard of anything of your kind before."
"And you've seen a lot of supernatural creatures." I groan and contemplate banging my head into the kitchen counter. I grab the bestiary back, sliding it across the counter top. I hide my head between both of my arms as I stare down at my feet.
"What's else is going on?" Dad questions and I can feel his intense glare on my skin. I tense up, realizing he knows how to read body language as well as me. "Clara?"
I exhale out of my mouth and lift my head up with my forearms resting on top of the book. I open my mouth to tell him, yet I find myself closing it seconds later. My right hand pushes my hair back out of my face. "The deadpool is over. I-I think I'm going to go back to France."
Dad's face turns into stone to keep me from reading his facial expressions. "For how long?"
"Just a month or two." I shake my head and straighten up. "I have some friends over there that might be able to help me figure out what I am and, after the Derek thing, I just need to find who I am again. France helped me do that last time."
"Who knows?"
I bite down on my bottom lip. "Just you now." I lower my eyes to my coffee that is probably turning cold. "I haven't told anyone else yet. There hasn't been a good time to do so."
Dad waves a hand towards me. "You can't go like that, can you?" He refers to my normal appearance.
"About that..." I scratch the back of my neck. A nervous habit that I've picked up from being friends with Stiles for so long. I drum my fingers on the counter. "Would it be possible to say I faked my death because my sister's death hurt me so much? You know, like I needed time to myself, so I went through a rough patch and faked my death?"
"That would take a lot of strings to pull." A contorted expression takes place on his face. He gives me a look. Dad pats the counter with a sigh. "I'll see what I can do."
I break out in a small smile. "Thank you. I know it's going to be hard to pull off, but I know you have connections to make something like that work. I just don't want to look like Claire Silver. I want to look like Clara Argent and making myself look like Allison, gives me the chance to do that. I don't want to hide."
Dad nods, understanding. "I'll work on that while you're in France. When do you leave?"
"A week."
"And you haven't told anyone yet?"
"No."
"You need to."
"I know."
"Before you go, I need your help with something." Dad turns on his heels and leads the way to his office.
Ditching my lukewarm coffee and the bestiary, I trail behind dad all the way to his office that brings a smile to my face. This place brings back memories of Allison. We pass by a small mirror on the wall and I smile back at my reflection. Being able to look like myself and Allison again is all I've ever wanted. I feel as if I can do anything now.
"First, I need you to make a promise to me." Dad rests his hand on top of his desk on the opposite side of me.
I slowly walk to the front of his desk, not liking the way his voice changed to completely serious. "You're going after Kate, aren't you?" I guess.
Dad nods his head. "I've been tracking Kate ever since I found out she was still alive. I have reason to believe she's working with Peter."
"So, what do you need me for?" I ask him, curiously.
"I know where she keeps going and I'm going there today. If you don't hear from me within four hours," Dad slides a piece of paper across his desk. "I need you to come looking for me."
I attempt to flip the paper over to read what's written on the other side until dad slams his hand down over it. "What does that mean?"
"I don't know what I'm going to find down there."
"Then let me come with you."
"No." Dad defiantly shakes his head in response. "I have an idea of what's down there and I don't want you to come with me. I need you to keep an eye on your friends. I'm no banshee, but I feel like something bad is coming."
Dread sinks into my bones. "So, you're not the only one with that feeling."
He turns his head from side to side. "The computers that dealt with the deadpool may be off, but I don't trust Kate and if she's working with Peter-"
"Trouble is coming." I finish for him.
"Exactly." Dad opens up one of the cabinets in his office and grabs an assault rifle out of it. "Four hours."
X
One foot in front of the other, I lurk in the shadows of the sewage with a arrow drawn back in my bow. I made sure to grab my bow instead of Allison's this time. Dad said to go looking for him after four hours and it's been well over that.
The school does not appreciate me leaving so early, but this is family. Family is more important than school. Not to mention that I was tired of looking like Claire. No one outside of my dad and friends know that I'm actually Clara and until my dad is able to convince everyone that I faked my death because I'm a distraught teenager, I have to keep pretending to be my alternate ego in front of others.
I press my back against the dirty wall at the sound of footsteps on the other side of the walkway a few feet away. I hold my breath and wait for the other person to make their arrival. Around the bend of the sewage, a flashlight shines on the ground. I squint my eyes in the dark and lower my bow slightly when i see it's Parrish.
A gun is held tightly in his hand with the flashlight right below it in his other hand. He creeps along the walkway of the sewage, carefully avoiding stepping into the mucky water in the middle.
I step out of the shadows to reveal myself. "Parrish."
His gun swiftly changes its direction to land on me. The barrel of the gun is pointed to the ground when he sees me walking towards him. "What the hell are you doing here?"
I tilt my head to the side. "I could ask you the same question."
Parrish moves to stand beside me with his voice low. "I'm searching for Peter."
"I'm searching for my dad."
The two of us fall into sync once more as we creep around a new bend and continue to move deeper with the sewage tunnels. Without even trying, we have turned into the perfect partners basically knowing what the other is going to do and trusting each other with our lives.
Parrish moves like a cop throughout the tunnels and I walk beside him, like a hunter. Both of us was taught a different way to protect lives, but it's easy for us to come together. He prefers a gun, whereas, I have a bow and several daggers hidden in the inside of my leather jacket.
The flashlight shines down the tunnel to another way. I tap his shoulder with my own and nod my head to go that way. According to dad's directions, we needed to go this way. The light sweeps across the tunnel as we head down the new direction. A shape is leaning up against the way and it isn't until Parrish points the flashlight at them that I realize it's my dad.
I strive forward, stopping when I reach him and step in a puddle. "Dad?" I lower my bow at the sight of some kind of bone sticking out of his abdomen. I loop my bow over my back as I take in the situation. The puddle that I stepped in was actually his blood. "Oh my god."
Dad's eyes are heavy from all of the blood he lost. "They're gone." He gasps in pain.
Parrish stands by my side and points the flashlight at my dad's chest. "How long have you been like this?"
There's so much blood on his clothes and around his shoes. He must have been like this for a while. If only I had come sooner, I could have probably stopped this from happening. I suck in a deep breath and push my feelings to the side. Emotions will only cause me to overthink about the situation. I need to keep a level head.
Dad weakly shakes his head. "I don't know. Might have blacked out a few times."
"Peter Hale did this?" Parrish questions.
"You were following him?" I turn my attention on Parrish.
"Every day since Meredith Walker." He responds.
Dad struggles to catch his breath. "Listen to me, Clara. Kate's going after Scott. Peter and Kate. You've got to warn them."
I take in the new information and silently groan at the thought of the team of them heading for my friends.
"We can't. There's no service down here."
"Then just go."
"If we leave right now, you'll be dead by the time we get back." Parrish tells him.
Dad's eyes glide over to land on me. "Clara, go."
I glance between Parrish and my dad torn between what I should do. "Okay," I clear my head and take charge. "Parrish, you stay with my dad. I'm going to go warn Scott."
Dad's hand weakly grabs onto mine. "Be safe."
I bob my head up and down. "Take care of him, please." I plead before sharply spinning on my heels and racing in the direction that we had come from.
Truth be told, I didn't want to leave my dad, but he's with Parrish and I know he will do everything he can to make sure my dad is okay. I trust Parrish with every bone in my body. I race through the tunnels of the sewage until I find my way back on level ground.
I fumble for my cell phone and swear under my breath when it goes straight to voicemail. I understand that Scott planned a date with Kira and didn't want to be interrupted, but his life depends on this. I call him several more times and they all go to voicemail.
"Shit, shit, shit." I run to my car and slam the door once I'm in the driver's seat. I've never been one to drive while on the phone, but my friend's life is danger.
The lacrosse game is going on right now, but I call Stiles anyways. Thankfully, he answers right away.
"Clara! We have a problem."
"What do you mean?" I demand.
"Scott isn't at the game and he's not answering his phone."
I turn the wheel and drift my car on the road as I drive in the opposite direction of what I had planned. Scott's not at the game, which means he's either at Derek's loft or Kate and Peter already have him.
"We have a bigger problem than that." I press down harder on the gas. "Kate and Peter are after him. I don't know why, but they are."
Several swear words come from Stiles' mouth on the other side of the phone. "I'm on the way to the loft right now. I just left the school."
"I'm closer than you are." I weave in and out of cars, praying that I don't get pulled over because I honestly won't stop. "I'll see you there."
I run inside Derek's loft, silently hoping that I'll find Scott and Kira inside. I draw to a stop when I see Derek and Braeden standing in the middle of the loft. Broken furniture is scattered everywhere and several light bulbs hanging from the ceiling are off.
"No." I whisper as I walk deeper into his loft.
They got to him first.
"What the hell happened?" Stiles' voice comes from behind me.
I don't bother spinning around to face him. Stiles and his father walk up to stand beside me and stare at the mess of the loft.
"It was supposed to be a date." I speak up, frustrated. My fists ball up by my sides. Once again, I'm too late.
"They were both here?" Mr. Stilinski asks out loud.
Braeden crosses her arms over her chest. "And they're both gone."
My phone goes off in my pocket and I fish it out to see Lydia's name. "Hey."
"Scott's been taken."
"Scott and Kira." I correct her. "We just don't know where."
"Mexico." Deaton's voice comes from the phone. "And if you want to save his life, you'll go there, too."
XXXX
Things are really getting intense. I was able to put a whole episode into one chapter. I'm kind of proud of myself for that. One episode left!
So, recap. Clara leaves for France in a week. She wants to figure out what she is and find herself again. France really helped her last time and it will help her again.
It's kind of crazy that this story is almost finished. I can't believe it.
While Clara is gone, her dad is in charge of convincing everyone that she went through a rough time after the death of Allison and faked her own death to get away for a while.
Question: What did you think?
So, yeah!