Araya is on my list of least favorite people. First, she locks up up, tortures Scott, tells us that Kate Argent, whoever that is, is still alive, and, now, she set us free to go to this place called The Church because she believes Derek is there. She believes. It's not a definite yes or anything. I'm really worried about Derek. Kate Argent must be a hunter and was related to Allison. I don't like the idea of Derek being with her.
Malia's elbow jab into my rib cage to propel herself between the two boy's in the front seats. "Okay, I'll ask. Who's Kate Argent?"
I rub my side, glaring at the back of her head. This backseat is tight and uncomfortable enough without her elbows digging into me. Us four girls have to squish together, like sardines, in the backseat of the jeep. I'm sandwiched between Kira and Malia. Lydia is on the other side of Malia. Pretty sure my leg has fallen asleep.
Kira raises her hand in the air. "Uh, I'd like to know, too."
I must say I am pretty curious to know why Kate Argent seems like such a big deal. Kate Argent's name has never been brought up before, so why is everyone freaking out over her still being alive?
"Well, we were at her funeral." Stiles glances back at us. "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 stares off.
I frown. "So, what's the deal with her?"
Lydia turns her head away from the window. "She was Allison's aunt and a total sociopath."
So, I was right about her being related to Allison.
"You don't have to talk about it now if you don't want to." Kira sighs. We all know, except maybe Malia, of how Allison is a really touchy subject for Scott. She died in his arms.
I pick at the slightly chipped nail polish on my thumbnail. Her death is kind of a touchy subject with me, too. She did die to save me. I should have tried to save her before the Oni stabbed the sword through her.
Malia gives Kira a pointed look. "Um, yes, he does."
"Yeah, she's right. You guys should know. You need to know." Scott sighs, not looking too thrilled about having to talk about this.
Silence fills the car until Stiles decides to be the one to tell the story. "Alright, Kate was the one who set the fire that killed most of Derek's family."
I lean forward with Malia. "Wait, I think Derek told me a little about this. Some of them survived, right? Like how Cora and Peter survived it."
"A very angry Peter." Lydia corrects me.
"Yeah, he's the one who bit and turned me." Scott says.
"And the one who finally caught up to Kate and killed her."
"And we saw her buried."
The last part makes Scott shake his head while looking at Stiles. "No. We saw a casket, remember? 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. 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."
"Kate didn't kill herself." I realize, leaning backwards.
"Good for her. I wouldn't do it either." Malia rests her arms between the two seats.
"Would you kill half a dozen people to get out? Because that's what she did."
Wow. This girl really is a sociopath.
"So, Kate's a werewolf now?" Kira asks.
"I don't know." Scott's eyes squint together a little as he thinks it over. "You know, there's a saying, sometimes the shape you take reflects the person you are."
Derek said something about that during our first training. Werewolves aren't the only shapeshifters out there. He said that he once bit a kid named Jackson and he turned into this scaly lizard called the kanima.
"What shape is a sociopathic bitch?" Lydia snickers.
The jeep suddenly veers to the side, like we hit something. My head jerks forward from the impact it has on the jeep. Stiles tries to regain control of the wheel and slams on the brakes. Up ahead, through a cloud of sand, Braeden, who has been given the job to take us to The Church, drives her motorcycle back to us.
Scott and Stiles scramble out of the jeep, immediately checking to see what we hit. I nudge Kira in the side for her to climb out faster. Once we're all out, I rush to the front of the jeep. There's nothing there. It definitely felt like we hit something.
Braeden marches up to the jeep with her arms spread out. "What happened?"
"I don't know. It felt like we hit something." Stiles yells to her, checking over his beloved jeep.
"Scott, we need to get there by night. It's too dangerous otherwise." Braeden motions to her bike behind her.
Stiles waves his hand at Scott. He knows how important this is. "Go."
"Not without you."
I walk over to Scott, pushing on his side. "Scott, go. Someone needs to find Derek."
"We'll figure something out. We always do." Stiles nods along with what I said. He runs his hands over his jeep for any kind of indentation. "Just go."
Scott stares at Stiles, not understanding that he doesn't really have a choice in the matter. Derek is supposedly at The Church. If he doesn't do like Braeden says, we could be too late in saving Derek. Stiles pats Scott's arm.
"Okay."
Kira rushes forward, calling Scott's name.
I ignore the two lovebirds and go back to examining the jeep. I walk to the backside, thinking that maybe whatever we hit would have ended up behind us. There's nothing there. I wander back to where Stiles is standing. Kira and Scott have departed and Scott is riding off with Braeden.
Malia crouches down by the front tire.
I peer at the smoking engine that Stiles is trying to fix. He better get it fixed before the sun goes completely down.
"Stiles." Malia stands up with some kind of tooth in her hand. A very large tooth about the length of my hand. "I don't think we hit something. I think something hit us."
The sun has officially set and we are stuck in the middle of nowhere. Stiles has been working on the jeep's engine this entire time. Malia swears that there's something out there with us. We have no idea if Scott and Braeden got to The Church or not. I pace in front of the jeep, worry flowing through my veins. What if the jeep doesn't start working again? What if whatever is out there with us, comes after us?
Kira passes by me with her katana in her hand. Oh, great. She must be worried, too. I stop pacing and lean against the front of Stiles' jeep. I feel so useless here. I wish I had been able to go with Braeden and Scott.
"Lydia, could you please hold the light still for a second?" Stiles works on tightening something on the engine. "It's really hard to see anything if you keep shaking it like that."
Lydia gapes. "I'm shaking it like this because we're in the middle of nowhere with your broken down jeep and we're being attacked by yet another razor-clawed monster. And I'm terrified."
I hold my hand out for the flashlight. "It will give me something to do."
Lydia glady hands over the flashlight. I shine the light down on the area Stiles is working on.
Stiles pulls something out of the engie and hands it to Lydia. "Hold this."
"What's this?" She holds the metal object in her hand.
Stiles waves one hand, unsure. "I don't know. I'm hoping it's not important."
"Oh, god." Lydia whispers to herself, terrified.
I keep a tight grip on the flashlight. "Can you just hurry up already?"
Stiles snaps his head up, eyes squinted in annoyance. "What do you think I'm trying to do?"
"Well, Derek is still out there somewhere and I don't- we don't know if he's okay." I whisper yell, shining the light in his face.
Stiles holds up a hand to block the light. "Are you forgetting Scott is out there with Braeden? We don't know if he is okay." He lowers his hand when I point the flashlight back on the engine. "And, since when do you care so much about Derek?"
"Sorry if I'm not cold and heartless towards Derek. He's actually not a bad guy as much as you would like to think so." I rest my other arm against the jeep, careful to avoid getting grease on my jacket. "I didn't forget about Scott. He can hold his own."
Kira walks over to us and places her katana in the headlight's light. She angles the katana to shine the light all over the area. I glance over my shoulder to see if anything shows up, but Stiles grabs my hand and forces me to focus back on the engine. The flashlight had accidentally moved when I had looked over my shoulder. I mumble an apology.
"Did you see that?" Kira asks.
I grab the flashlight with both of my hands. "Kira, can you please try not to sound so scared when you talk? I don't like having to have my back facing that way and not know what is behind me."
Malia growls. I spin around, not caring if Stiles yells at me. Malia takes off running towards a bunch of rocks. Oh, no.
"Malia, wait!" Kira chases after her.
"Hey, Malia!" Stiles starts to climb off of the jeep.
Lydia grabs Stiles' arm, forcing him back to the jeep. "Kira, go!" Her hand tugs him back. "You, fix the jeep." He makes a move to go after her. "Stiles, focus!"
Stiles groans, but contiues to work on the jeep, sending worried glances in the direction Malia went. What did Malia see? Stiles makes a noise of triumph.
"Arden, Arden, try to start the engine." Stiles points to the front seat through the window.
I quickly hand over the flashlight to Lydia. I run around to the front seat and hop inside. The keys are still in the ignition and all it takes is one twist. The jeep turns on with no trouble. I exhale in relief. "Yes! Thank you, Stiles!"
I hurry out of the jeep in time to see Kira and Malia rushing over to us. Malia has one hand pressed to her side. None of us say a word as Lydia, Kira, and I climb in the backseat. Finally! Now, we can go save Derek. I buckle in my seatbelt, hitting the back of Stiles' seat for him to start driving.
Stiles presses down on the gas. "You- You please don't do that ever again!" He yells at Malia in a spazzing manner, his finger moving around in the air. My heart hurts a little at how worried Stiles looks.
"Do what?" Malia frowns, not understanding why he is freaking out so much.
"I-I thought you just took off. I thought you were running." Stiles calms down a little bit.
"I was running."
Stiles sighs, rolling his neck. "No, i mean, like, I thought you were leaving."
Some kind of emotion flashes across Malia's face. "I wouldn't leave without you."
"Really?" Stiles asks, rather surprised.
I rest my head back with a sad smile on my face. They are cute together and I hate it. With Malia being a wild animal in a way, it's sweet to see how she has started to care so much for Stiles. Kira rubs my arm, comfortingly. I may have let it slip once that I sort of had a crush on Stiles.
Malia watches Stiles drive, her facial features softening. "No, I would never leave without you." Malia peers back at the three of us. "Them I would leave."
Yep, still don't like her.
"Yeah." Stiles agrees before glimpsing at us. "Uh, it's progress."
Lydia purses her lips, sending an annoyed look towards Malia. Her eyes fall to the side of her stomach sliced open. "That doesn't look so good."
"It's okay." Malia says with one look towards her wound.
"Are you sure? It looks deep."
Malia tugs on her shirt to look at it better. "Yeah, I can feel it healing."
I cross my arms over my chest. "You didn't see anything?"
Her head moves from side to side. "Barely. It had a strong scent, though."
"Like what?" Stiles asks.
"Like death."
"Oh, how lovely." I sarcastically say, clapping my hands together once. A weird shape up ahead captures my attention. I push myself between the two front seats. "Is that a building?"
Stiles drives closer to the building. As we get closer, we see more and more buildings behind it. Stiles weaves around the destroyed buildings for wherever The Church may be. All of the buildings here are destroyed and falling apart. Everything except one building. A large church sits in the middle of the town. The jeep comes to a stop in front of it when a flashlight shines through the oddly shaped doorway.
That must be Scott.
A third person has joined them. I rush towards them, automatically assuming that the person they are helping walk is Derek. "Derek!" I shout, relief flooding through me. I abruptly stop. "What the-"
In between Braeden and Scott is a much younger looking Derek. If Derek had a younger brother, this is what he would look like. This can't be Derek, though. Derek is in his twenties. This could looks like he is sixteen.
"Is that him? Is that Derek?" Malia questions me as I stare at the young boy.
"Uh, sort of." Stiles answers for me.
The boy lifts his head up. How is this even possible?
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Derek is back...sort of. I'm glad he's back, though. I miss writing about him.
I'll give you a hint for the next chapter. Derek will take a liking to Arden. I'm excited to write it.
Tomorrow is Thanksgivinig, so I wish all of you a happy Thanksgiving! Eat lots of food for me, especially pumpkin and pecan pie. Those are my favorites. Can't say I will update tomorrow because I will awefully busy and then I have Black Friday.
Anyways, for my Darden shippers, you will probably like the next two chapters. Little Derek might get a little flirty. That's all I shall say.
Question: Do you think Stiles will get a little jealous when Derek get a little flirty with Arden?
So, yeah!