Derek awoke to a low clang from down stairs, sitting up as he listened. He heard the noise again, the sound quiet and dull. He figured that if he didn't have werewolf senses, he wouldn't have been able to hear it.
He stood up slowly, throwing his tee shirt on. Quietly, he crept out of his room, looking down both sides of the hallway from where his door was located. He tried to see if anyone else had woken up, but as always, everyone else was still fast asleep.
Derek sniffed the air, not smelling anything unusual. Step by step, he made his way down stairs, the noise was becoming louder. When his feet touched the cool surface of the hard wood floor, he looked around. Besides the faint moon light that shone through the windows, the room was dark.
He surveyed the living room before deciding the noise was coming from the kitchen. He took a deep breath before pushing through the door, turning the light switch on when a loud shriek rang out.
"Jesus christ Derek! You scared the shit out of me!" Emma gasped, a small laugh escaping Derek. His laughter died as he sensed something was off. Emma wore her hair in a messy bun, her eyes red with exhaustion. Her oversized teeshirt hung loosely on her thinner than normal frame, her baggy sweatpants looking heavy.
She stood in front of the sink, washing all the dishes. Derek looked over at the clock which read two in the morning. "What are you doing?" Derek asked, sitting down at the table.
Emma sighed as she continued to dry off the mug she had finished cleaning. "Just doing the dishes" Emma answered shortly, scrubbing furiously at one spot on the cup.
Derek winced, hating to see her like this. "At one in the morning?" he asked, trying to get her to talk to him. Emma nodded furiously, loose strands of hair falling into her face.
"They're not going to clean themselves" she snapped, Derek watching the frustration build on her tensed face as she scrubbed the mug harder and harder. "Damn it!" she yelled as she crushed it in her hands, the mug shattering onto the floor.
Emma threw the cloth down on the counter, leaning over the sink as she took deep breaths. Emma had a tendency of forgetting her strength, blood covering her hands where the mug had cut her.
Derek stood up, placing his hands gently on her back before guiding her over to a chair where he forced her to sit down. "What's going on?" he asked, setting her with his serious stare. She rested her head in her hands as she let out a tired sigh.
When she looked up at Derek again, tears pooled in her eyes. "Everything's falling apart" she breathed, Derek's heart growing heavy at the sight of her distress. "Stiles is not okay, Derek. Something is seriously wrong with him. And I can't even take care of him! I can't protect him!" her voice cracked before she dropped her head back into her hands.
"Emma" Derek sighed, placing his hand on her back. He tried to find words to comfort her, but he knew she was right. Something was happening with Stiles, something they couldn't understand.
"I didn't even figure anything out at dinner! Kira didn't know anything!" Emma groaned in frustration, her body shaking as she cried into her arms. Derek winced as an aching sensation ran through his chest. Last night at diner, Emma had been able to establish contact with Kira and see her mind, but nothing useful had come out of it.
"Is that why you are up in the middle of the night doing dishes?" Derek asked, Emma nodding softly.
"I couldn't sleep and I figured the one thing I could do was clean but apparently I can't even do that!" she groaned, looking to the shattered mug that lay on the floor. Derek rubbed his temples as a headache began to break. He didn't have any answers for her at the moment, which seemed to make him feel worse.
"Emma, you need to get some sleep. Go upstairs and go to bed and I'll clean this up, okay?" Derek asked, Emma staring at him with sad eyes. "Go ahead" Derek nudged her, Emma sighing hesitantly with a nod.
She lumbered up from where she sat, slowly trudging up the stairs. Derek watched her sadly as she disappeared into the darkness. He had noticed the change in Stiles too, they all had. Something was wrong, but none of them could place a finger on what exactly it was. He hoped someone would figure out what it was, and soon.
Emma made her way down the hall until she reached her room. She wiped away the rest of the tears that stained her face, taking a deep breath before entering her room. Stiles lay fast asleep, his hands wrapped up in the sheets, clenched into fists. His face was tensed in fear, soft cries escaping him.
Emma crawled under the sheets next to him, a tired sigh escaping her. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into her chest. She rubbed circles on his back as she held him against her tightly. Slowly, he released the sheets, his face returning to a peaceful expression. When his heart rate slowed and his breathing returned to normal, Emma was finally able to fall back asleep.
+
"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Emma asked, grabbing Stiles' arm as they stood outside his next class. "Stiles" she squeezed softly, searching his eyes for reassurance. He smiled at her, doing his best to hide his fears.
"Emma, I'll be okay. Promise. You have an important test to take, so go. Go ahead" he told her, nodding furiously. She studied his face as she tried to make up her mind. "Love you" he said as he leaned down and kissed her. Emma wrapped her arms around him, holding him longer than usual. Stiles pulled away, cupping her face in his hands. "Go. Don't worry about me" he told her, Emma finally offering a hesitant nod. She squeezed his hand before dropping it.
Stiles let out a deep breath as he watched her disappear down the hall. Things hadn't been going well for him lately. And he had this enormous sense of guilt as it was hurting Emma almost more than it was hurting him. He couldn't stand it.
When he could no longer see her down the hall, he entered the class room. Scott waved to him, patting the desk in front of him. Stiles plopped down in the desk, exhausted from a night full of bad dreams.
Something caught his eye in the hallway, right outside of their door. His father stood there talking to someone, Stiles' stomach churning. He turned around to Scott who was seeing the same thing. "Can you hear what they're saying?" he asked, Scott nodding.
He closed his eyes, tilting his head as he listened. His eyes went wide as he swallowed down a sudden sense of fear. "William Barrow, the mass murderer, escaped from the hospital where he was having a surgery" Scott whispered, Stiles going sick with panic.
"How-"
"Stiles, would you like to come read for the class?" the teacher, who happened to be Kira's dad, asked. Stiles swallowed, shutting his mouth immediately. He shook his head no, Scott inhaling his sudden sense of panic.
"No thanks" he mumbled, Mr. Yukimura shaking his head.
"You have to" he replied, setting him with a hard stare. Stiles looked to Scott with worried eyes before he nodded, slowly standing up. He trudged to the front of the class room where the book lay on top of a podium. He took a deep breath as he look down at the paper, his stomach churning with fear as the words began to run, trickling off the page.
His hands gripped the sides of the podium as he could no longer support himself, his knees going weak with confusion. "Um" he muttered as he felt his breathing pick up. His body began shaking profusely, sweat beading on his forehead.
Scott stood up, noticing his friend's distress. Mr. Yukimura stood back up, a concerned look taking over his face as he noticed Stiles struggle for breath. "Stiles" Scott spoke slowly, walking towards his friend.
Stiles looked around in confusion as his vision began to spin. "I'm going to take him to the nurse" Scott said, grabbing his friend's shoulders before he guided him out of the room, to the bathroom.
Stiles got in, looking around the room as his vision spun. He stumbled to the sink, nearly falling over. He grabbed the rims, leaning on it as he stared at himself in the mirror. "Is this a panic attack man?" Scott asked, worried from where he stood behind his friend.
Stiles stared at himself in confusion, his eyes wide with panic. "Is this a dream?" he whispered, Scott slowly shaking his head.
"No, it's not. This is real" he told Stiles who's eyes went wide. He stumbled backwards until his back hit the wall. He slid to the floor, dropping his head in his hands as he felt like he couldn't do this anymore.
'Stiles! Emma screamed in his head, and as quickly as the voice came in his head, it was gone. Stiles looked up, silent now as he held his breath, listening for the voice.
"Stiles?" Scott asked, sitting across from his friend. "Your breathing and heart rate are back to normal. What happened?" Scott questioned, his eyebrows drawn together in confusion as to why why his friend's panic attack came to such a sudden end.
Stiles looked up at his friend's worried face, his eyes narrowed in thought. "It was weird. Emma just screamed my name in my mind. But now she's quiet" Stiles whispered, a feeling of worry coursing through his body. Scott scrunched his eyebrows together as he thought, the two of them silent.
Both of them turned as the door swung open, Lydia stepping into the room. "Lydia, what are you doing? This is the boys bathroom" Scott said, Lydia's eyes wide with panic. Scott and Stiles exchanged a panicked look before turning back to Lydia. "Lydia, what's wrong?" Scott asked as he rose to his feet, taking in Lydia's breathless appearance and teary eyes.
"It's Barrow" she whispered, cracking her knuckles as she shifted nervously on her feet.
"Yeah, we know. The lunatic electrical engineer who tried to kill thirteen kids four years ago escaped" Stiles interrupted, Lydia bitting her lip as she shook her head. Her eyebrows arched up in panic, Stiles' stomach dropping. "Lydia, what is it?"
"He took them" she whispered with wide eyes. Stiles stood up, placing himself next to Scott where they stood in front of Lydia. She looked up at them, her stare sending chills down their spines. "He took Emma and Kira"
Stiles fell backwards, leaning against the wall. "No, that's not possible" he whispered, wondering how a human managed to take Emma. Lydia nodded, proving Stiles wrong. "Where are they? Where did he take them?" Stiles asked as he tried to stop his hands from shaking.
"I don't know. The cops say he left the school, but I'm not so sure. It's the weirdest thing, because all today I have been hearing bugs buzzing" Lydia said, Scott pressing his hand against his forehead as he was suddenly overwhelmed.
"What does that mean?" Stiles asked, a numb feeling spreading from his heart. Not only was Emma missing, her presence in his mind was missing as well, which only worried him more. He knew Emma was a werewolf and would be able to fend for herself, but something about the way she screamed told him otherwise.
"I don't know" Lydia answered, bringing Stiles back into reality. "But we have to go tell your Dad" Lydia told him, Stiles nodding gravely.
As they all knew, if Barrow had Emma and Kira, he planned to kill them.
+
Scott, Stiles, Lydia and Derek searched the town for the Sheriff, finally finding him at Kira's house. They hopped out of the jeep before running towards him where he stood in the yard. Sheriff's eyebrows pulled together in worry as he watched their panicked expressions as they approached him.
"Dad" Stiles breathed as he reached his father, worry creases on his previously youthful face.
"I know, son. They took Kira. We're doing the best we can to find her" his father interrupted him, Stiles looking past his father to see two other police officers talking to Kira's parents. Stiles' attention returned to his father as he shook his head.
"No. He has Emma too. He took both of them" Stiles said, Sheriff's eyes going wide in confusion. Stiles nodded as he leaned closer to his Dad. "If he was able to take Emma, he has more power than we thought. We underestimated him, Dad. And now he has both of them" Stiles whispered in a rushed voice, pausing for a moment to catch his breath.
Sheriff rubbed his temples, a sudden overwhelming feeling of defeat overcoming him. "Alright son. We'll find them. Emma can fend for herself and Kira. They'll be okay" his father comforted him, Stiles nodding as he took another deep breath in hopes to prevent another panic attack.
A crackly voice came from Sheriff's walky talky, Sheriff pulling it up to his ear. "Someone says they spotted Barrow a few blocks away. We're going to go check it out. You guys stay safe, okay?" he asked, everyone nodding except Stiles who was lost in thought. "Don't worry son. We'll find her" he said, laying a hand on Stiles' shoulder.
Stiles nodded, not meeting his father's stare. Sheriff gave a small nod to the others before joining the other two police officers before they got into the squad car, speeding away with sirens wailing.
Stiles looked up with wide eyes as something occurred to him. "Lydia, you said you've been hearing weird noises all day. Maybe you can figure it out!" Stiles exclaimed, a defeated sigh escaping Lydia.
"Stiles, I tried that. All we found was the code that said to take Kira and Emma in the chemistry room. I had you guys searching the whole school. I mean, I had everyone evacuate the school because I thought he was in the boiler room. And he wasn't. I was wrong" Lydia sighed, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Lydia, you have to try" Scott said, Lydia rolling her eyes in response as she threw her arms down in frustration.
"It's like, I feel like I can do it. It's on the tip of my tongue! It just-just makes me want to scream!" Lydia shouted, everyone going silent for a moment as it hit them. Stiles let a small grin creep onto his face as he put a hand on Lydia's shoulder.
"Lydia scream" Stiles told her, her eyes going wide as it all made sense. She took a deep breath, the three backing up as they plugged their ears. She opened her mouth, releasing an ear shattering scream. Everyone pressed their hands against their ears, wincing in pain as Lydia's scream rang through the air.
As Lydia's scream died down to a faint echo, her ears were greeted with the same buzzing noise that she had heard earlier. She looked up the street lamp that stood above her, a smile coming across her face as suddenly, she understood.
She turned around excitedly towards the other, all of them flinching, still in shock from the scream. "It's not the sound of a bug! It's electricity!" she announced, excited that she had finally figured it out. "I know where we have to go!" she said suddenly, running for the Jeep. The three followed after her, figuring that she meant the Electrical Center where Barrow had worked.
+
As soon as the jeep rocked to a stop, they all jumped out of the car. Scott stopped, sensing danger right around the corner. "You guys wait here. I'll go check to make sure they're here. I'll howl if I need back up" he instructed them, Stiles hesitantly agreeing. Scott gave them a small nod before running off into the building.
Stiles leaned against the Jeep as they waited, a sigh escaping him. "Hey, where are Allison and Isaac? And the twins?" Stiles asked, Lydia tucking her hair behind her ears.
"Isaac and Allison are trying to research what you saw in your dream to see if it has any real connection to what's been going on here" Lydia informed them, Stiles shivering slightly at the thought of his nightmare. "And as for the twins, I don't know. Probably at cross country or something" she shrugged, a sarcastic laugh escaping Stiles.
"They want to be in our pack so bad and yet they-" Stiles paused as he grasped his chest. His eyes went wide before his whole body began to shake as he fell backwards. Derek caught him in his arms, bringing him back to his feet. Stiles shook violently, his eyes wide with fear.
"Stiles! Stiles, what's happening?" Derek asked in panic, grasping Stiles face, turning it towards him. Stiles' eyes moved back and forth, Derek's panicked eyes meeting Lydia's.
Stiles' whole body shook for a few moments longer before it stilled, a long breath of relief escaping Stiles as he shakily stood on his own. He looked around in confusion, pressing his hand to his forehead. "What the hell was that?" Lydia asked, looking at Stiles with worried eyes.
"I-I don't know. It's like-like I-I was being...shocked" Stiles stuttered. As the words came out of his mouth, they saw an explosion of light come from the inside of the warehouse.
Before
Kira shivered as Barrow finished his speech about the children with glowing eyes. "Let us take a picture to remember this moment" Barrow smirked as he took Kira's phone, snapping a picture of where she was tied up. Kira pulled back as Barrow had a creepy appearance to him, skinny to the point that skin hung off of him. His eyes bulged out of his head which added to his look of insanity.
Emma and Kira sat up, tied against a fence in an electrical plant, fear coursing through them. "Kira. I need to do something. Just don't freak out when I do" Emma warned, Kira nodding in confusion. Whatever it was, Kira decided it couldn't be worse than dying at the hands of Barrow.
Emma closed her eyes as her breathing picked up, her eyes opening except now they shone bright green. Kira jumped as a loud snarl ripped through the air, her eyes wide as she watched white fur began to appear instead of skin.
Barrow stood back, equally as surprised as Kira. The wolf bit into the ropes, tearing them away with her jaw. She jumped up on all fours, placing herself in front of Kira as she snarled. She growled as she scratched the ground with her claws, raising her lips as she showed him her massive teeth.
"Emma don't!" Scott said as he ran into the room, Emma turning to him in confusion. But the wire that carried high voltage was still in Barrow's hands, sparks jumping from the end. He turned, throwing it where it connected with Emma before erupting into a mass amount of sparks. Scott screamed as Emma's body flew backwards hitting a wall, and falling to the floor. "Emma!" Scott called, unable to see through the smoke.
"Now it's your turn" Barrow smirked as he moved near Kira, picking the wire back up. Scott went to jump in front of Kira but was shot down by a gun Barrow had been carrying. Scott lay weak on the ground, looking at his new friend.
"Don't! She's not the one you want! I am!" he shouted, but Barrow didn't listen. He moved the wire until it touched Kira. A scream ripped through Scott, but then all at once, everything blew out. Power went out everywhere, in the plant and around the town, as sparks flew through the air.
Scott raised his hand to cover his eyes as he tried to see what had happened. Barrow lay on the ground, smoking and dead. Kira stood above him with wide eyes, watching as the sparks seemingly flowing into her hands. Scott watched in awe as she absorbed the electricity, his mind spinning with confusion.
After it was all gone Scott stared at Kira who took deep, shaky breaths. "What just happened?" she breathed with panicked eyes, Scott at a loss for words. But then their eyes went wide as they turned to Emma who lay across the building, still and human.
"Oh no" Scott breathed as his heart sunk.