Odette's outfit
(During flashbacks ⬆️)
Chapter Five
⊚ Frayed ⊚
"Yo, Scotty! Hey, yo! Scotty? Still with me?" Stiles said making Scott start paying attention to Stiles again, "Yeah, sorry. Uh, what's the word?" He asked and Stiles Stiles looks down at a vocabulary app on his tablet, "Anachronism."
"Something that exists our of its normal time."
"Nice! Okay, next word-- "incongruous."
"Uh, can you use it in a sentence?"
"Yes. Yes, I can! It's completely incongruous that we're sitting on a bus right now, on our way to some stupid cross-country meet, after what just happened. Incongruous." Stiles says as he looks over the seat to momentarily glanced over the seat at Odette, who sat in front of them reading. "Out of place, ridiculous, absurd." Scott said making Stiles nod.
"Perfect. Okay, next word. Um... Darach. Darach. It's a noun?" Stiles says slowly making Scott give him a look, "We have to talk about it sometime, okay? And we're gonna be stuck in this thing for, like, five hours, so why not?" Stiles said and Scott just turns to the window and the passing landscape. "Next word... Intransigent."
"Stubborn, obstinate." Scott says and then the bus hits a bump making him sits up with a gasp, catching Odette's attention making her turn to them. "Oh, buddy, you okay?" Stiles asked and Scott nods, but with a pained expression.
"We shouldn't have come. I knew it- we shouldn't have come." Stiles said while shaking his head, "We had to. There's safety in numbers." Scott said making Stiles scoff slightly, "Yeah, well, there's also death in numbers, okay? It's called a massacre.. or bloodbath...Carnage... Slaughter...Butchery... Wow, that's..." He trails off when he notices Scott barely listening, chest rising with labored breaths. "All right, I'm telling Coach that-"
"No, no, no, no, I'm all right." Scott said making Odette raise her brows, "Well, you don't look all right! Would you just let me see it?" Stiles asked and Scott shook his head, "I'm okay.." he said. "Just let us see it." Stiles said and a reluctant nod, Scott lifts his shirt to reveal slash marks crusted in blood over his torso. Dark bruises surround each painful-looking wound.
"Oh, dude..."
"Why didn't you say something? I could have healed you." Odette said and Scott nodded slightly, "I know it's bad, but it's because they're from an Alpha- it'll take longer to heal." Scott said making Stiles scoff. "How come Boyd, Isaac and Odette are fine, then?" He asked.
With no answer, Scott returns his weary gaze to the window and the world blurring past, "I can't believe he's dead... I can't believe Derek's dead."
Odette sighed softly, looking over at Stiles who looked back at her for a moment before standing up and moving to sit next to her. "What are you doing?" She asked as he sat down, "Well we need to talk about the Darach and since Scott doesn't want to walk about it, we'll talk about it." He said and she nodded before sitting back down.
"Find anything yet?" He asked, glancing down at her book that she has been reading about druids and she sighed, "Mostly just stuff we already know. Although, I am finally finding out that the man who raised me after my dad died was a Druid and I had no idea."
About half an hour later Coach points an angry finger at a couple of team members in the aisle, "The two of you-- back in your seats! Jared, again? Carsick? Every ti-- How do you even get on the bus? Look at me! No, don't look at me! Look at the horizon. Keep your eyes-keep your eyes on the horizon. McCall, not you, too?" Coach yelled making Scott lift up his head, "No Coach, I'm good."
As Coach turns away, Stiles moved back to sit next to Scott and spots the dark blood stains on Scott's shirt underneath his jacket. "Hey, Scott, you're bleeding again. And don't tell me that it's just taking longer to heal, okay? Because I'm pretty sure that "still bleeding" means "not healing," like, at all." Stiles said but Scott gazes past him, attention focused down the aisle.
"He's listening." Scott said nodding towards Ethan who sat next to Danny. Odette looked over to see Ethan with his head turned a little, obviously listening. "Is he gonna do something?" Odette asked and Scott shook his head, "Not in front of this many people." Scott's tone comes off like a warning directed at Ethan. Slowly, the twin pulls back out of sight. "Okay, well, what about the two ticking time-bombs sitting right near him?"
"No, they won't- not here."
"Okay, well, what if they do? Are you gonna stop 'em?"
"If I have to."
⊚
All of the sudden Scott started to stand up making Stiles and Odette look at him confused. "Scott? Where are you going?" Stiles said, 'Boyd-- he's gonna do something."
"Okay, what? How do you know?"
"Look at his hands." Scott said and they turned to see Boyd opens his fist, claws out. As Scott got up and walked down aisle, Odette turned to Stiles with a sigh. "We really shouldn't have come." She said and he nodded in agreement.
"Crisis averted?" Stiles asked as Scott came back and sat back down, "Mmhmm." He hummed while nodding. "Okay, good, 'cause we got another problem. Ethan keeps checking his phone, like, every five minutes. It's like, he's waiting for someone, you know? Like, a message or a signal of some kind. I don't know, something evil though, I can tell. I have a very perceptive eye for evil, you know that."
"I don't like him sitting with Danny." Scott said and Stiles and Odette nodded in agreement. "Yeah, neither do I." Stiles said as he pulled out his phone, "What are you doing?" Odette asked as Stiles started typing, "I'm gonna ask." He said. Him and Danny texted back and forth for a moment until Danny put his phone away causing Stiles to aggressively spam text him.
Peering over their seat, Stiles and Scott watch them. Ethan glances back and they both boys drop down out of sight while Odette just awkwardly smiled and waved. "That was impressively smooth." Odette said sarcastically making Stiles playfully glare at her as his phone vibrates with a new message: "Someone close to him is sick. Might not make it through the night"
"Ennis?" Scott asked, "Okay, so, does that mean, uh..." Stiles trailed off.
"He's not dead."
"Not yet."
⊚
"Jared, I'm warning you, I'm an empathetic vomiter-- you throw up, I'm gonna throw up right back on you, and it will be profoundly disgusting."
"Please don't talk about throwing up... It's not good..."
"I might throw up on you just to make a point, Jared."
'It's not good... It's not good..."
"Now, the rest of you, don't think we're gonna miss this meet because of a slight traffic jam... a minor tornado warning... Jared... We're gonna make this thing. Nothing is gonna stop us. Stilinski, put your hand down." Coach said and Stiles lowered his hand down a bit. "You know, there's, like, a food exit about a half mile up. I don't know, if we stop, and then maybe-"
"We're not gonna stop."
"Okay, but if we stop-"
"Stilinski! Shut it! Seriously! It's a little bus! Stop asking me questions!"
"I hate him. Did you call Deaton?" Stiles asked looking at School, who shook his head, "I keep getting his voicemail." Scott said making Odette sigh and pull out her phone. "This isn't going anywhere so I'm gonna call Lydia and Allison." She said as she started to dial Lydia's number. "How are they gonna help, back in Beacon Hills?" Scott asked making Odette chuckle.
"They've been following us since we left the school." She said right before Lydia answered the phone, "Hey, Odie! Yeah, we're just about to walk into a movie! Uh, you know, the popcorn, and-"
"Lydia, I know you guys are right behind us. Put me on speaker."
"Okay..."
"Scott's still hurt."
"What do you mean, "still?" He's not healing?"
"No, he's not healing. He's actually getting worse. The blood is starting to black, my blood isn't even that dark. And he won't let me heal him."
"W-what's wrong with him?"
"I dont know. Last time I've seen wolf with black blood, he died soon after."
"We need to get him off the bus."
"And take him where, a hospital?"
"If he's dying, yeah. Odie, there's a rest area about a mile up. Tell the coach to pull over."
"Yeah, Stiles has been trying..."
"Well, reason with him."
"Reason? I haven't even known the guy that long and I already know he is impossible to reason with."
"Just try something!"
Whistle hanging from his lips, Coach stares blankly at Stiles as he makes a second attempt at convincing him to stop. "Coach, it's five minutes for a bathroom break, okay? We've been on this thing for, like, three hours-" Coach blows a short burst of the whistle. "It's sixty miles to the next rest stop-" Another whistle burst.
"Being cooped up for hours is not good-" Whistle.
"You know, our bladders aren't exactly-" Whistle.
"Coach, this-" Whistle.
"Can you please-" Whistle.
"Let me talk!-" Whistle.
"I'm-" Whistle.
"Every time-" Coach blows the whistle for as long as he can in Stiles's face. While everyone around covers their ears, Stiles takes the full blast until the whistle drops from Coach's lips. "Get back to your seat, Stilinski!"
"OKAY!" Apoplectic with rage, Stiles turns back down the aisle in jaw- clenched silence. "Jared, keep your eyes on the horizon." Coach said and Jared responds with a moan, a sound which stops Stiles short. Thinking, he slowly turns back, then slips into the seat next to him. "Hey, Jared... How you doing?" Stiles says and his lips spread into a malevolent smile
⊚
Stiles and Allison hurry Scott into the rest stop men's room while Lydia shuts and locks the door behind them. Scott slumps down against the stained tile wall and his jacket falls open to reveal this bloody torso. Kneeling to him, Allison lifts his shirt and looks over the wounds.
"Oh, my God..."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Allison asked and Scott gave her a weak smile, "Sorry..." He said weakly. "Okay, just give us a second, okay?" Allison says then pulls Odette, Stiles and Lydia aside to whisper. "This shouldn't be happening- I've seen him heal from worse than this. Can you heal him?" Allison asked looking at Odette sighed and shook her head.
"Maybe if it had been two hours ago. I can heal anything with humans but once a Werewolf's blood goes black, I can only heal them so much." Odette said with a slight shrug, "Okay, what do we do, then? Do we just call an ambulance?" Stiles asked and Allison sighed worriedly. "What if it's too late? What if they can't help?" She said, "We gotta do something."
"You know, it could be psychological." Lydia making them all look at her confused, "What do you mean? Like, psychosomatic?" Stiles asked.
"Somatoformic."
"Som-"
"A physical illness from a psychogenic cause?" Lydia said and Allison and Stiles still looked incredibly confused making Odette sigh softly, "She's saying it's all in his head." She said and Lydia nodded in agreement. "Because of Derek. He's not letting himself heal 'cause Derek died." Stiles said and Allison nodded, "So, what do we do?"
Lydia opens her purse and pulls out a travel sewing kit, "Stitch him up." She said and Allison and Stiles raise their eyebrows. "I'm serious! Maybe all he needs to do is just believe it's healing." They glance back to Scott. Breathing becoming more and more labored, he holds his hand tighter over his shirt, blood seeping between his fingers.
A few seconds later a lighter flame licks the tip of a sewing needle, sanitizing its point. Clicking the lighter off, Allison tosses it back to her cousin. Stiles pulls out every paper towel from the dispenser, surrounding Scott with them as Allison cleans the blood from the wounds. "He's gonna need another shirt. Where's his bag?" Allison said and Stiles nodded.
"Um, I'm gonna get it. I hate needles anyway, so...Uh, do you know what you're doing?" Stiles asked and Allison nodded, "Yeah, my father taught me." She said. "I mean, how fast are you gonna...? I mean, the bus, like... the bus could leave."
"Well, you just make sure it doesn't leave." Allison said and Odette nodded, "We got it." She said before her, Stiles and Lydia walked out of the bathroom.
** As bodies hit the floor, limbs crack and blood flies Ennis wraps his powerful arms around Isaac, Kali shoves Cora to the floor with a foot over her neck while the Twins drag a struggling Scott into a vise-like hold. Spitting blood, Boyd tries to push himself up from the cement floor as Derek turns to find him lying at his feet.
"Kill him. The others can go." Deucalion says making all eyes look to Derek. Boyd peers up at him while still trying to find the strength to rise. "You're beaten. Do it, Derek. Take the first step." Held by the Alphas, Scott and the others look on Derek and the choice presented to him.
"Are we serious with this kid? Look at him. He's an Alpha? To what? A couple of useless teenagers?" Kali snarled. "Some have more promise than others." Deucalion says, he turns slightly, almost as if he's looking at Scott. But the others keep their eyes on Derek.
"Let him rise to the occasion then. What'll it be, Derek? Pack or family?" Kali asked as her eyes glow a fierce red as she pushes her foot down on Cora's neck, threatening to break it before smirking.
Derek looks from his sister to Boyd, an impossible decision. Until, all of the sudden Kali is yanked backed by her hair before forcefully shoved into the wall. Now, stood where Kali was standing was Odette who looked at Derek with her vibrant blue eyes. She nodded at him before looking off in a direction and that's when he heard it.
The drawing of a bow string.
Derek ducks down as a flashbolt arrow whistles past and strikes the Twins, exploding against them in a blinding flash. Scott slips free as Ethan and Aiden break apart, bodies tumbling back.
"Your eyes- cover your eyes!" Deucalion yells and Odette quickly ducked down to grab Cora, covering both their eyes in the process. **
** A lamp clicks on in Argent's office illuminating a detailed map of Beacon Hills covering the desk while Allison and Odette stand in front of the desk. "Someone needs to help them." Allison said and Argent sighed and shook his head, "Not us. I'm getting the consulting business back up and running again, and you need to graduate. That's a normal life, and it's what we agreed to."
Allison's and Odette's gaze falls on the map but Argent places an open book
down, partially covering it. There's an oddly concerted effort to make it look like an absentminded gesture. "So, we just ignore it? Last I checked the only thing I agreed with was moving with you." Odette said and he sighed.
"We stay out of it. And ever everything that happened to you in London, I would think you'd prefer to stay out of it." He said making Odette suck in a deep breath and look away from her uncle while Allison looked at him incredulously. "If you want to bring up agreements then hold your end of an agreement we made with Odette about not talking about that. There's a pack of Alphas trying to kill my friends! How do I stay out of that?" She asked and Argent sent Odette an apologetic look for a moment.
"There's a saying for these kinds of situations- the kind you have to navigate carefully. It's called "threading the needle." It's finding a safe path between two opposing forces." He said making Odette look at him with squinted eyes,
"Sounds like saving your own ass." She said and he sighed.
"They're not your family." He said looking at his daughter who nodded slightly, "With all the family that I've lost, I could use a few friends." She said. As she turned to leave, Argent looked at Odette, "After everything that happen in London, I could use a few friends as well." She said before following her cousin. **
A whistle blowing over a crowd outside the bus where a fight has broken out as Coach desperately tries to pull the teenagers apart. Odette and Stiles turns to Scott who arrives helped by Allison and Lydia. "What's happening?" Scott asked, "They went after him. We told 'em what was happening with you, and they just went after him!"
"Who, Boyd?" Scott asked and Odette shook her head, "No, Isaac."
"Isaac! Isaac! Isaac! Back off! Stop!" Coach yelled trying to break up the fight but still swinging his fists even as Danny struggles with him, Isaac tries to get another hit at Ethan. The twin takes the beating with a disturbing smile until suddenly Scott pushes through the crowd.
"Isaac!" Scott's voice thunders through the crowd, turning every head and shutting every mouth. Whistle hanging off his lip, even Coach falls silent under the young man's commanding presence. Lowering his fist, Isaac looks at the healed Scott with relief. And finally, backs off.
** As Derek pulls Boyd to his feet, Ennis drops Isaac and charges like a battering ram toward Scott. But astonishingly, Scott drops his shoulder and rushes in to meet the Alpha.
As they claw with brutal force, for the briefest second, Scott's eyes glow red-the eyes of an Alpha. Deucalion turns his head as if sensing it, breath taken away by this significant moment. Odette noticed the color change and looked at him in shocked before looking up at her cousin who seemed to have noticed it as well.
But Scott tumbles back to the floor, eyes returned to yellow and not recovering nearly fast enough when he sees Derek getting pulled to his feet by Ennis. Scrambling forward, Scott swipes at Ennis's ankle, catching him right in the Achilles' heel.
Ennis staggers forward. Derek's feet hit the floor, but he stumbles as well, Ennis's hands still locked on him. Both werewolves tumble backwards making Scott's eyes widen, "Derek!" Scott said as he ran forward but Ennis and Derek both go off the side of the escalator platform.
Their bodies fall, slamming to the pavement with a terrible cracking sound.**
The bus rumbles toward ever darkening skies while Stiles turns to Odette in their seat, Lydia sitting in the seat next to them. "All right, let's go over this one more time... So, it's the sacrifices, right? Everything has to do with them and someone who thinks he's, like, a dark Druid of some kind."
"Or actually is a dark Druid." Lydia said and Stiles nodded, "A Darach." He said and Odette pursed her lips in thought. "You know... Some ancient cultures sacrificed people in preparation for battle." She said making Stiles raise his eyebrows at her.
"So, we've got Alpha Werewolves against a dark Druid?" He said and the girls nodded, "Yep. Hopefully the next threat is someone easy like a Battle droid. Those thing were poor shots." Odette muttered making Lydia look at her confused while Stiles look at her in a mix of shock and awe.