♡ 𝙩𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 ♡
𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 twenty-eight
cold water.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
DALLAS SWALLOWED HARSHLY. SHE COULD FEEL THE ROUGH BUMPS OF HER SCALES SLOWLY SPREAD DOWN HER ARM.
She pushed her sleeves further down and ignored the curious look from Stiles Stilinski beside her. They were driving in the jarring rain, the swiping of the windshield wipers and the static radio echoing in her fragile ears.
"So, Deaton has a plan." Stiles clutched the steering wheel tightly. Dallas gave him a worried look and tilted her head to the side.
"Why are you saying it like that?" She watched as his face contorted with confusion and continued. "Like you're in pain."
"Cause you're not gonna like it, but its the only shot I have at finding my father, Dallie." He sunk in his seat. "Do you not trust me?"
The Siren huffed slightly and flickered her eyes to the road. "Quite frankly, no." She paused, dropping her head. "But if it'll help find your dad, then you know I'm here to help."
Stiles side-glanced the girl beside him, the side of his lips curling into a smile. "Good." He dropped his hands to his lap. "Cause we're here."
⊱ ──────ஓ๑♡๑ஓ ────── ⊰
James Garcia clenched his jaw and let his knuckles brush against the door of the Hale residence. He waited a few moments, hearing the odd shuffle and muttering of the werewolves on the other side before the door flew open.
Stood in front of it, with the coldest look he could muster, Derek Hale narrowed his eyes. "James." he stepped aside. "What'd you want?"
Peter Hale stood at the top of the stairs inside the loft, his eyebrows furrowed as he listened to the pair.
"Your help." The Garcia deadpanned as he stepped inside. His hands rested in his suit pockets and strands of hair fell onto his forehead as he turned back to the Lycan. "What you said, it's true. She's not like me. I can't help her like your.. kind can."
"I thought you didn't want my help." He crossed his arms defensively. "I mean, you've been pretty clear about it so far."
James scoffed dryly and rolled his eyes. "That was before she grew scales." he watched as Derek's face fell. "If I can't stop her transformation, I have to control it and you know more about that than anyone."
He stepped forward. "Don't do it for me, Derek." he knew he was a hitting sensitive spot. "Do it for your goddaughter."
⊱ ──────ஓ๑♡๑ஓ ────── ⊰
Dallas watched the ice slide into the freezing water, splashing droplets onto the dusted floor. Lydia stood beside her, giving her a side glance every so often. "That's a cute skirt." Dallas mumbled to her, breaking the ice. Metaphorically and literally.
Her face perked up and a small smile spread across it. "Thanks." she dropped her gaze back to the ice. "I'm sorry, you know." she nudged her complicated-best friend. "We used to be so close before.. all this. I'm sorry I acted the way I did."
Dallas opened her mouth to say something, but Deaton caught her attention, "Okay, we're ready." he stood before Stiles, Scott and Allison while her, Lydia and Isaac stood on the sidelines. "Each of you will hold you down until you're essentially.." he paused. "Well, dead."
"But it's not someone to just hold you under," Deaton spoke again. "It needs to be someone who can pull you back. Someone that has a strong connection to you. An emotional tether."
"Lydia," he called out to the strawberry-blonde. "You go with Allison."
Scott and Isaac shared a look, at Allison seemed to notice as the Martin approached her. "Dallas." Deaton glanced at the siren. "You're with Stiles."
Stiles gave the girl a warm smile as she nodded along. "Isaac, you're with Scott."
The two werewolves shot each other another look. Scott understood why, though. He was the first to truly relate to Isaac - to help him and become the brother he never had. Although, now, they both lusted after the same girl.
As each one stepped inside the bath, Dallas mumbled under her breath which caught the Stilinski's attention. "Look who got stuck with the siren."
He snickered slightly. Even with everything in his life being pretty dim, Dallas seemed to be the one keeping everything afloat. "As long as you don't eat me afterwards, I'll forgive you." he whispered to her as everybody else prepared.
"I'll try my best." her care-free attitude softened as she gave him a sympathetic look. "I'll be here the whole time, okay?"
Stiles gripped his dad's badge in his hand as he lowered himself in the cold water, the goosebumps quickly arising on his arms. He turned to Scott, who was in the bathtub beside him. "By the way," he swallowed. "If I don't make it back and you do, you should probably know something. Your dad's in town."
Scott widened his eyes and sunk into the bathtub, watching as Isaac gave him a supportive nod. The trio shared a look from their bathtubs as each emotional tether stood at the back of them, awaiting the next comment from Deaton. Dallas delicately lay her hands on the human's shoulder. She could feel his heartbeat pound underneath her touch and while the temperature of the water didn't bother her personally, she could see the goosebumps rise on the back of his neck. They all took a deep breath moments before the vet spoke one last time.
"Now."
In a millisecond, each teenager sank underneath the cold water - taking their last breath. Water coated Lydia's hand which made her shiver. She stared down at Allison underneath the water and felt anxiety seep into her gut. Meanwhile, Isaac chewed on his bottom lip as he watched the closest thing he had to family slowly lose consciousness.
Stiles remained still, something that made Dallas feel uneasy inside. She wondered if she'd ever do something like that on purpose. If one day, she'd end up doing the same thing she was now - but with much crueller intentions. The thoughts quickly faded away as she felt Stiles grab her wrist from underneath the water, squeezing it reassuringly.
Her head shot to Isaac as Scott seemed to thrash around in the water next to them. His eyes gleamed golden before they fizzled back to their original brown colour and he eventually lost all state of consciousness, sinking back into the water.
⊱ ──────ஓ๑♡๑ஓ ────── ⊰
Derek dumped a set of chains onto his coffee-table, watching as Peter glanced up from his cup of chamomile tea and gave him a wince. "I don't think James is gonna be psyched about you chaining up his kid."
The younger Hale gave him an amused look. "There's no point in chaining her when she's in the water. These are for the doors." he deadpanned. "You could help me. Saying as you, you know, caused it with your stupid little Alpha plan."
Peter shook his head simply and lay back into his sofa. "So I activated a curse, big whoop." he hissed. "Now leave me and my chamomile be. It's apparently great for the skin - and for stress, which you're givin' me bucketloads of."
He tried to speak again, but instead of his calm voice, a petrifying roar left his mouth. Pain overwhelmed his body and seeped into his bones as Peter watched in horror. His teeth retracted from his mouth and his claws extended. Sweeping over his blood-red eyes was a mist of beta blue, taking away his title within seconds.
⊱ ──────ஓ๑♡๑ஓ ────── ⊰
Dallas lay her head on her hand as she listened to Isaac speak. "Do you have a tail?" He squinted his eyes, his tone serious and intrigued.
"Not that I know of, no." she furrowed her eyebrows and gave him a sceptical look. "I don't have a talking crab either before you ask."
"You should try out for the school's swim team." The Lahey continued to keep a serious face, while his tone turned mocking and humorous.
Rolling her eyes, Dallas lay on them on Lydia who stood beside her nervously. "Is it just me, or have they been out way too long?" She swallowed hard. Dallas flickered her eyes to the bathtubs and breathed heavily, agreeing in her head.
"Deaton knows what he's doing," she spoke confidently. "I hope." she added on a few moments later, her voice barely above a whisper.
Before another word could be spoken, Allison jumped up from the tub and splashed water everywhere - taking a deep inhale. Like clockwork, the two boys jumped up afterwards. The group jumped up and helped them out of the tubs.
"I saw it." Scott could barely speak between his shallow breaths. "I know where it is."
Stiles nodded along, steadying himself as he stood up and speaking erratically. "Yeah, we passed it. There was this stump - this.. this huge tree. Well, it's not huge anymore, it was cut down. But it's still big. Very big."
The McCall gave his best friend a wide-eyed look."It was the night we were looking for the body."
Stiles didn't even let the boy finish before he spoke again. "Yeah, the same night you were bit by Peter."
Lydia and Dallas shared a look. They didn't understand any of it, which seemed to be the case for Isaac too. "I was there, too." Allison inhaled sharply. "I was the car with my mother. We almost hit someone."
"It was me." Scott snapped his head in her direction, the water droplets dripping from his hair onto his shirt. "You almost hit me." he then turned to Deaton who had his lips downturned into a frown. "We can find it."
Everyone in the room was silent, which they seemed to notice. "What?" The Stilinski looked between his friends, wondering why they all looked so glum.
Isaac glanced between Dallas and Lydia, then at Deaton, before deciding to speak up. "You guys were out a long time."
Stiles dropped his hands to his sides. "How long is a long time?"
"Sixteen hours." Deaton placed his hands on his hips before taking a gruff breath. Their faces dropped while Scott shook his head in dismay.
Scott brushed the wet hair from his forehead and stuttered his sentences"We were in the water for sixteen hours?" he asked in disbelief. Deaton nodded his head, taking a long glance out the window and at the slow sunset.
"And the full moon rises in less than four."
⊱ ──────ஓ๑♡๑ஓ ────── ⊰
James passed Derek a bottle of water, who accepted it with a thankful nod. "What the hell just happened?" The Garcia spoke with wide eyes. Peter leant against the wobbly wooden table and clenched his jaw.
"I don't know." The Lycan swallowed the water and winced. "But I'm fine. It was probably nothing."
"I certainly hope so." Peter seethed. "The moon is rising, Derek. You drained your battery all the way to the red bar and there is a fully charged Alpha on her way to rip you limb from limb."
"I'll be fine in a few hours." he spoke weakly.
Peter glanced at James who seemed to be just as uneasy as him. "I hope you're right, cause a few hours is all you have."
⊱ ──────ஓ๑♡๑ஓ ────── ⊰
"No, dude. You're not going with them." Stiles sat on the edge of the bathtub with his best friend, desperately trying to convince him not to fraternize with the enemy.
Scott shook his head and kept his stare to the floor. "I made a deal with Deaculion."
The Stilinski scoffed and glanced to Dallas. "Is it just me that thinks that sounds a lot like a deal with the devil?"
The Siren didn't bother replying, as she was slightly distracted. With each minute that passed, her scales seemed to grow. Only the sound of the smooth swaying of the water inside the bathtub seemed to catch her attention.
"Why does it matter anyway?" Isaac sent him a bored look.
Scott clenched his jaw and finally met his eyes. "Because I still don't think that we can beat Jennifer without their help."
The creaking of the door caught everyone's attention, but Lydia stepped forward before everybody else. Intrigued, Dallas followed her along with Deaton. Covered in small rain droplets and shame, Aiden stood in the doorway.
"I'm looking for Lydia." His voice was low and if it wasn't for the eerie silence that surrounded them, Dallie doubted they would've even heard him.
"What do you want?" The redhead narrowed her eyes into small slits.
It felt like an eternity before Aiden finally spoke again. "I need your help."
"With what?" Dallas spoke coldly, which made Lydia smile slightly.
"Stopping my brother and Kali from killing Derek."
⊱ ──────ஓ๑♡๑ஓ ────── ⊰
As everyone slowly poured out of the animal clinic, Dallas felt Deaton pull at her sore arm. Wincing, the siren gave him a questionable look. "You can't go out there. It's too dangerous."
"I'm not scared of werewolves." Dallas tried to pull her arm away but his grip was strong.
Deaton gave her an uneasy glance. "No, It's dangerous for them to be around you." he slid her sleeve up to reveal the growing mossy scales that lay atop her skin. "You're too far into the change. You shouldn't even be walking around at this point."
"It's fine." the brunette commented, but he spoke over again with his persistence. "I said I'm fine." she finally snapped, her eyes gleaming white. Deaton took a quick step back as fear flashed in his eyes. "I.." the girl felt immediate regret as he stared at her with terror. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"
Her jaw clenched hard as the look of horror didn't leave his face. Out of everything he had seen, he was afraid of her. The siren spun around and fled the animal clinic, all of her friends already on their way to find their parents.
Truth be told, there was nowhere the girl could go without bringing her trail of terror with her. Her father was nowhere to be seen, Derek was busy with Deaculion and Deaton had finally looked at her what she had felt like all along - a monster.
Branches snapped underneath her feet as she walked through the empty forests on the outskirts of Beacon Hills. Her mind was running rampant with troublesome thoughts and she didn't notice how long she had walked until her foot stomped in a puddle of water. Glancing up, the siren gawked at the tall lake spread out in front of her. Sat on the small docks was a middle-aged man, his fishing rod dropped into the stygian water that seemed to deflect the lights of the nearby streetlights. His dog was sat next to him, fluffy and barking at the natural swishing of the water.
Dallas ignored him and took a seat on the docks herself, just a few planks down from the man. Kicking off her shoes, the brunette swayed her legs in the water and tried to calm her growing anxiety. The storm above seemed to worsen with time, but neither she or the fisherman seemed to mind. That was until he pulled her from her thoughts.
"You look like you're gonna catch a cold out here, missy." He stood up, taking a seat beside her. "I heard this storm's gonna be the worst one yet."
Dallas ignored him and continued her reign of silence. Thunder pounded in the sky and lightning lit up the clouds with branches of bright-white bolts. Wind swept through the air and the crashing of the water became increasingly violent by the second. The nearby streetlights flickered and shut off, leaving the moonlight as the only direct light source.
"I think it's best if we get out of here." he grabbed ahold of her wrist and tried to pull her up with him, but she budged. "You can't fish in this, honey." he yelled over the strong wind and thunder.
She gazed up at him, but still didn't say a word. It wasn't until the flash of lightning lit up her face did the fisherman realise what he was truly looking at. Instead of her honey-brown eyes, devious white ones stared back - ones that held hunger and malice. Green scales had slithered up to her neck and sharp teeth peeked out from her cold-blue lips.
A scream shrieked from his throat as he jumped back. With harsh splashes of rain pounding down on the mossy wood, his shoe slipped against the planks and he gradually tumbled into the water.
Lightning lit up the sky again and Dallas was already in the water, her fingernails long and fingers webbed as the man thrashed and fought against her. Water entered his lungs while her claws and teeth dug into his warm skin.
Sounds of barking and splashing water were overruled by the treacherous noise of the storm until everything was doused in darkness once more.
Bolts of electricity had their final blow as the lake filled with light one last time, but there was no thrashing or splashing, just the eerie sound of swaying water. The barking of the dog had long gone, as the animal had already escaped deep within the trees and away from the dreaded lake that now had a deep crimson hinge to it.
But underneath it, lit up by the branches of electricity that raged on in the sky, was a long, thick fishtail that seemed to dive deep into the abyss below.
☆ word count: 2,992. ☆
a/n: yes i changed the emotional tethers n what about it