Twenty-Eight
Blood clung to my hands as I scrubbed the floor of the McCall kitchen.
It had seeped into the hardwood, staining the planks a muddy crimson. The body of the chimera that Kira had allegedly left here to rot on the island, her katana planted in its abdomen, created quite a mess. I had experience with cleaning up aspects of murder, but my usual solution had been to burn the evidence after burying the bodies, not go through tedious acts like this.
"It couldn't have been her," Lydia says, watching my movements with blank eyes.
Theo, Malia, and Stiles all sit beside her at the kitchen table, the three of them doing the same. They had offered their help, but I refused. I didn't want them to get blood on their hands in any sense of the words, and I truthfully needed the distraction from my thoughts of Liam and Hayden.
"It was her sword," Malia counters.
"Anyone could have stolen that," Stiles cuts in.
I do nothing but listen, focusing on wiping the floor and then wringing the gathered blood out into a bowl of cleaning solution. I wouldn't be able to completely clean the now-tainted grains, but I didn't want Melissa and Scott to come home to a bloodied kitchen.
They were at the station now.
Melissa needed to give her statement to the police as she had been the one to discover the body. Upon our earlier arrival, she only stayed long enough to check Stiles and I's conditions before leaving, deeming that I wasn't concussed and he wouldn't die from smoke inhalation. Scott went with his mother, wanting to give his mother his support, as well as be with Kira as she remained in custody for possible homicide.
Another reason I remained silent was that I didn't want to believe Kira was capable of such a thing. I had always resented the idea of my friends becoming killers; becoming like me, and now it seemed as though my worst nightmare might be a reality.
I couldn't even imagine Kira hating someone, let alone taking their life. It didn't matter who they were. Kira had the same affinity for peace that Scott did, it's part of the reason why they loved each other so much, and why they could occasionally be annoyingly optimistic.
"But she has been losing control of her powers lately," Malia replies.
"That doesn't mean she's become a psycho katana-killer," Lydia snaps lightly.
"What if it was self-defense?" Stiles suggests in a low voice. "The chimera could have attacked her."
"Then why would she leave the body like that?" Malia says. Her tone lacks superiority, she's merely curious. That does nothing to ease growing tensions, though.
"Malia," Stiles says slowly. "This is Kira you're talking about. She wouldn't do this."
"Not willingly," the coyote agrees, making her boyfriend fall silent.
Theo clears his throat, saving us from the awkwardness that had begun to settle in.
"Did Mason text any new updates?" he asks.
"He should be here soon," Stiles replies. "We have to get a book ready for Corey."
"Scott's should still be in his room," Lydia says.
Corey was a fellow sophomore at Beacon Hills High and also happened to be another chimera.
Mason discovered him when they ran into each other yesterday. They bonded over their near-death experiences with Lucas, both of them facing off with the spiky-armed teen. Though, it had only been Corey who actually felt the sting of his venom. That made it all the more daunting when he bore no signs of damage from the attack. He was fully healed.
That's why Mason came to the school last night. He wanted to help Corey find the answers he was desperate for. Unfortunately, all they did find were more problems.
Corey was kind and offered to help look for Liam and Hayden, even though he didn't fully understand what was happening. He and Mason had driven to the edge of town to search and were only on their way back now. We had hopes that Corey could remember something from when the Dread Doctors took him that would lead us to Liam and Hayden, but that would require him to finish Valack's lengthy book.
I felt bad for putting so much onto Corey's shoulder, as we were all literal strangers, but he was the only other chimera we knew of. We might be able to find more soon, but that would take time.
Before it seemed like everything had begun to fall apart, Stilinski and Melissa made a huge revelation last night. They found a commonality between each of the teenagers the Dread Doctors mutated. They weren't only a mix of supernatural DNA, but human as well. They were all already genetic chimeras. Tracy had a skin graft, while Hayden and Lucas both had transplants. The Doctors needed them to have those shared factors because they couldn't pull genetic material out of thin air.
I was relieved to have some sort of upper hand now, but it did make me wonder why Liam was taken. He wasn't a genetic chimera. There was nothing about him they could manipulate. I couldn't help but think they only took him for the sole purpose of additional torture to us.
The thought makes me force the rag in my hands deeper into the floor, harder than necessary.
"Once they get here, we just have to sit tight until Scott gets back so we can get news on Kira," Stiles says, finally making me stop my movements to look up at him.
"You're kidding, right?" I ask with more spite than necessary.
The others tense at my tone while Stiles sighs, ready to defend himself.
"Jac-"
"We can't just 'sit tight', Liam and Hayden are out there," I cut him off, not willing to hear his reasoning. I could already tell it would only make me more heated.
My frustrations made me think unfairly. Scott and Kira were perfectly fine as they were surrounded by the sheriff and his deputies, why should we have to wait? Stilinski may have been out of line arresting her, but he wouldn't let anything happen under his watch. Liam and Hayden, on the other hand, were in an undisclosed location with three psychopaths who were more than willing to torture and kill them.
The fact that our search had yet to resume now felt more like we had defaulted to doing nothing, and I couldn't allow that.
I stand, tossing the rag in my hands into the adjacent sink.
"I'm gonna go around town again, try and see if I can find something," I say, moving toward the door.
Stiles stands, getting in my way.
"You've been doing that all night, if you haven't found anything by now..." he trails off with sympathetic eyes. I no longer find comfort in the action, but rather feel offended by it.
"What do you want me to do, Stiles? Wait for them to show up? Wait for Corey to finish reading a damn book that might not give us any answers? They're out there and they need us," I argue, glaring at him.
If this were Scott or Malia out there, he would stop at nothing to find them. The urge to throw it in his face that he also wouldn't rest if it were Lydia tempts me, knowing that would be a surefire way to get him to move. I suppress it, also knowing that would cause more harm than good.
"You can't help them if you're freaking out," he immediately counters, not backing down. "You're hurt and you haven't even slept since we found out about Hayden, it's not safe for you to be out there on your own."
I begin to debate simply pushing Stiles out of my way and walking out of here, when another voice speaks up to join our conversation.
"I'll go with her," Theo suggests.
Stiles and I both turn to him, surprised.
"What?" I ask for clarity.
Theo stands, coming to wait at my side. His behavior is nonchalant, as if what he's offering is nothing more than a simple errand.
"Stiles is right, none of us should be on our own, but you're right, too. We can't stop looking. So, we can take my truck, that way you don't have to drive and I can help."
I look to Stiles, waiting for his approval. He seems reluctant, but he's also aware that if he didn't agree to this, I'd only slip out eventually and go off on my own. His decision now only rests between picking the lesser of two evils.
"You come back before the sun goes down," Stiles insists, confirming his choice.
"Fine," I agree
I nod to Theo, signaling it was time for us to go. The two of us walk at a swift pace as we exit the house and head toward his Tundra that was parked on the street. Stiles watches us from the bay window in the McCall kitchen, obviously still hesitant, but unable to vocalize it without causing another argument.
Theo quickly starts up his truck and we're pulling out of Scott's lane in no time. There's silence between us, but it's not entirely uncomfortable.
"Thank you," I whisper as we drive, knowing he heard it.
"Don't mention it," he replies, wearing that same smirk he always does.
---
We combed the town for hours, retracing our steps, going through the preserve, checking abandoned buildings, even asking random strangers on the street if they'd seen anything. None of them had, and we could only do so much as to not draw attention to ourselves. The last thing we needed was to seem unsavory and make people call the police department. I couldn't bear having to tell Valerie what happened to her sister, or worse, lie to her.
Our search had brought us to the high school for the millionth time. I stood in the middle of the locker room, staring at the last place I had seen Liam and Hayden. I had hoped maybe there was something here that we missed, but it was clear we hadn't. The only thing left in the room was broken splinters of plaster from the wall and smudges of my blood on the floor.
I find myself reaching behind my back, my muscle memory almost searching for a phantom limb. My body remembers the gun that used to be attached to my hip, and the comfort I found in a trigger. It's tempting, wanting to have one within my grasp again.
It was naive not to carry one last night. I should have been properly prepared and not relied solely on the frequency jammers and useless blades. I placed my own selfish needs and hopes over the lives of the people that inspired me to be better.
Without them, what was even the point of trying?
Theo enters the locker room, concluding his sweep of the halls. He looks down at my dried blood and then back up at me, eyeing me cautiously.
"We should head back," he says simply. "The sun's about to set."
I nod in agreement and move to follow him outside, knowing I can't argue. He's already done me a great favor by volunteering to aid my search. The least I could do in return was save him from missing our given curfew and throw him into scalding water with Stiles. The current temperature was hot enough.
The two of us climb into his truck and begin the journey back to the McCall house.
I keep looking out of the windows as we drive, urgently analyzing everything we pass. Theo glances my way, watching me, but I ignore him as I only care about catching a glimpse of what I'd lost. There has to be something out there that could lead us to them. I couldn't allow myself to believe that there wasn't.
Theo's speed decreases as we reach the bridge over Beacon River, the same one Parrish caught us racing at. I don't allow my thoughts to linger on the deputy for long, admittedly peeved with him. I considered Parrish a friend, but his actions last night were frustrating. He left without any explanation, and we needed him. It also didn't help that when Scott went to the station today, he texted that Parrish was there working, perfectly fine.
I soon notice that Theo's not only slowing down, but stopping. He pulls over on the side of the road, then goes so far as to shut off his truck.
"What are you doing?" I ask.
"You need a break," he says as he gets out of the vehicle.
"C'mon," he adds, shutting the door behind him, not bothering to wait for my response.
I stare at him incredulously as he walks off, unsure of how he thought now was the proper time for this. He ignores me and goes over to the railing of the bridge, sitting in the exact same place he had the last time. Reluctantly, I unbuckle myself and go to join him.
He watches as I approach him, an amused glint in his eyes at the subtle glare I send his way.
"This is ridiculous," I grunt.
His amusement fades and his expression softens.
"We've been looking for them for hours, Jac. We can spare five minutes," he says.
I shake my head and force myself to look away from him. I don't want Theo to see how I'm slowly cracking, unable to keep myself whole.
"I can't," I reply softly, cringing at how weak my voice sounds.
"Yes, you can," he insists.
Theo reaches out, tapping the wide railing across from him. I'm still hesitant, but I make my way over eventually, taking the same spot I had the other night. Theo wasn't going to budge, so the sooner I got this over with, the sooner we could go back to Scott's, and the sooner we could find Liam.
I settle in against the metal railing and pillar behind me, peeking out at the wilderness that surrounds us. I had always found comfort in the woods, reminded of my childhood, but now it felt like a distraction as my true home was now somewhere beyond my knowledge.
"Are you okay?" Theo asks after a while.
I give him a judgmental side eye, suppressing the urge to scoff in his face.
"No offense, Raeken, that's the dumbest question I've ever heard," I mutter.
Theo simply laughs in return, not at all offended.
"Why do you do that?" he asks as his laughter dies down.
"Do what?" I press.
"Call me by my last name. I don't mind it, I'm just curious." He shrugs.
I hesitate before answering, images of my dad; my papa, coming to me. His bright smile that could challenge the sun, his brown eyes that were the color of soil natural life grew from, and his deep laugh that my mother used to say he gave to me. My father had always been my hero growing up, but our reality wasn't a fairytale he could survive. Theo was a constant reminder that I'd lost him, and would never get him back until the next life. But that wasn't his fault.
"You have the same name as my father," I say lowly.
I settle for staring at the rushing river below us instead of the boy across from me, unsure of what his reaction would be. The setting sun makes the water seem as though it's flowing with lava.
"He died when I was a kid, and it didn't exactly end pretty, so whenever I hear your name or see you, all I think about is him," I admit.
"If it bothers you-"
"Like I said, I don't mind," he cuts me off, making me look back at him. His usual smirk is gone, replaced with a friendly smile. It's a much more comforting sight, and I find myself returning the gesture.
"My sister's name was Tara," he tells me.
I listen intently to his words, despite already knowing what happened to his sister, extending him the same kindness he had me. He's offering me these truths of himself in exchange for what I had given him, and I was grateful. It was rare to meet someone who understood how painful it could be to speak of what was lost to us.
"She died when I was a kid, too. I didn't understand death then. I kept waiting for her to come back, but that never happens, does it?" His question is clearly rhetorical, but I find myself nodding anyway.
"I'm tired of losing people," I whisper in admission. I'm not sure why I do it, whether it's the lack of sleep or the fact that Theo's grown on me over the last month, I can't tell.
"And if I lose Liam and Hayden..." I trail off, unable to vocalize the possibilities that lay ahead. They were too disastrous to even mention.
"We'll find them. I promise," Theo says, his words thick with conviction.
I laugh dryly in response, growing to hate promises.
"Don't do that," I say with a bitter smile.
"What?" he asks.
"Make a promise you can't keep. Trust me, it's not worth it."
Theo pauses, observing me closely.
"To me it is," he says simply, not a single doubt in his mind.
Theo felt almost like a mirror of my grief. We had both been faced with death and knew how obsessive it could be. It would stalk those who had cared for its victims, greedy for another to take. Neither of us had willingly succumbed to it, yet it still feasted upon us all these years, eager to eat away at our ambitions and hope.
But, somehow, that only assured me of Theo's words.
He wasn't being needlessly optimistic or attempting to assure me with meaningless claims. His words went beyond that. It was as if he was pleading himself to my cause, understanding how I couldn't let Death now come for all that I cared for with its selfish appetite.
Slowly, because of that, I find that I believe him; I find that I trust him.
~
||| A/N |||
happy holidays to everyone who celebrates! see ya on the next update.
also, s/o theo raeken for being toxic, we love that for him
vote and or comment if ya want!
<3
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