Chapter Fourteen

Detention had lasted an extra half an hour because I was talking too much trying to get myself out of it. I swear, Harris loves to stay after school for no reason.

By the time I exited the school, it had grown dark. I just realised that Stiles had picked me up this morning, meaning, he was my ride back. I guess I had just grown so used to the fact that Stiles was my ride, that I had completely forgotten that I can drive perfectly by myself, I just choose not too. Maybe I should start using my car again if I'm going to end up in situations like this.

"God, damn it." I cursed under my breath as I brought out my cellphone to try and call Stiles, but my battery was dead. "Well, this is just great!"

Suddenly, lights in the distance from a certain Jeep roars into the lot. I frowned deeply. What is Stiles doing here? Is he picking me up?

"This is a terrible idea." I heard Stiles come out of the Jeep once they had parked up.

"I know." Scott's voice followed.

"And we're still going to do it." Stiles continued as he grabs a pair of bolt cutters from his Jeep.

"Can you think of something better?" Scott questioned him.

"Personally, I'm a big fan of ignoring a problem and hoping it goes away." Stiles tells him and I pursed my lips together.

"Just make sure we can get inside."

"Guys!" They both screamed and turned to me, their eyes widening.

"Paige?" Stiles questioned, walking towards me. "What are you still doing here?"

"Funny story," I laughed sarcastically. "Harris kept me in longer, you were my ride this morning, and I was stuck here. What are you doing here?"

"Oh, crap, I'm sorry, I forgot." Stiles sighed. "We're here because Derek thinks Scott's boss, Deaton, is the Alpha. We're here to prove that he's not."

In a Camaro, parks in a nearby space. The engine kills and Derek steps out from behind the wheel. We walked out way over to him. "Paige? What the hell is she doing here?" Derek snapped.

"She was here in detention and only just got out." I point to myself. "Where's Scott's boss?"

"In the back." Derek nods towards the back of his car.

"Wait, who have him tied up?" I asked, my eyes widening. "That's kidnapping!"

"It'll be better for us when we find out he's the Alpha." Derek defended himself and I rolled my eyes but said nothing.

I peeked inside the Camaro to see Deaton bound, gagged and blindfolded. "That's a bit much, isn't it?" He ignores me.

"He looks comfortable." Stiles sarcastically added. 

Scott and Stiles start for the school building. "Where are you going?" Derek called out to them and I slowly followed.

"You said I'm linked with the Alpha. I'm going to see if you're right." Scott informed him.

We had successfully broken into the school, which I'm sure is ilegal. We stumbled into the priciapl's office. "One question: What are you going to do if the Alpha doesn't show up?" Stiles asked him and I nodded.

"I don't know." Scott spoke.

"What are you going to do if the Alpha does show up?" I then followed up Stiles' question.

"I don't know." Scott repeated.

"Good plan." Stiles rolled his eyes.

"I can see you've really thought this one through." I mumbled nervously.

Scott turned to Stiles. "You told me a wolf howls to signal its position to the rest of the pack. Right?"

"But if you bring him here, does that make you part of his pack?" Stiles asked him.

"I hope not." Scott truthfully said.

Scott pulls the PA Microphone over to his mouth. As he presses the button on the base of the mic, Stiles gives him an encouraging nod. I stand behind the desk impaintely. Scott takes a deep breath, clears his throat, leans into the microphone... A pathetic howl rings over the PA system. I raised an eyebrow.

"What the hell was that? It sounded like a dying cat." I blurted out before I could stop myself and Scott looked panicked.

"But that was a howl, right?" Scott asked, turning to us.

"Technically." Stiles squints a little.

"What did it sound like to you?" Scott asked Stiles.

"Paige is right, like a cat being choked to death." Stiles voiced and I nodded.

"Well, what do I do? How am I supposed to do this?" Scott panicked quickly.

Crossing behind the desk, Stiles takes Scott's shoulders in his hands and leans in close, eye-to-eye, full trainer mode. "You're calling the Alpha. Be a man. Be a werewolf. Not a teen wolf. A werewolf!"

Scott nods, grabbing the microphone. He takes a deep breath once again and this time, a real howl came out of his mouth which surprised me.

With smug grins, we bang through the doors of the school and out into the parking lot to meet up with Derek. "I'm going to kill the three of you myself. Are you trying to attract the entire state to this school?"

"I didn't know it would be that loud." Scott admitted with a grin.

"It was loud. And it was awesome." Stiles added.

"Hell yeah." I breathed out, feeling the wind whip around my hair. My gaze travels over at Derek's black Camaro. The door is opened. Ripped bindings lying on the pavement and my stomach twists with nerves.

Derek steps forward, surprised. "What did you do with him?" Scott asked, noticing it as well.

"I didn't do anything..." Derek frowns.

Derek jerks forward. Blood spurts from his mouth as he rises up into the air, held aloft by something dark and large behind him. Screaming, we all staggered back. Derek's body goes flying, slamming into the brick wall of the school and dropping down.

Tripping over our own feet, Scott, Stiles, and I run for it, racing for the school. My heart thumping loudly in my chest as to what I've just witnessed. Holy shit. Scott and Stiles yank the double doors of the school shut. Holding them closed, they look up at each other in breathless terror before their eyes dart to me.

My eyes looked over at the double door glazed windows, and approaching from the shadows is a huge and terrifying black shape with glowing red eyes.

⇉

The school doors slam shut, shaking on their hinges as Scott and Stiles grip the handlebars with everything they've got. I stand in between them, my own hands shakily beside me.

"Lock it, lock it!" Scott snapped.

"Do I look like I have a key?" Stiles snapped back.

"Grab something—" My voice trembled.

"What?" Stiles glanced at me.

"Anything." Scott stresses.

While Scott clutches the handlebars, I watched Stiles looks out the doors to the bolt cutters leaning against the wall outside. My heart turns some more. "No." I turned to Stiles pleadingly.

Stiles looked at me. "Yes." 

"No, Stiles, don't—" Scott tried to protest. But, he pushes past Scott, stepping out into the cold air. Holding still, Stiles glances into the darkness. Then feet moving, he races to the side of the building where the bolt cutters lie. Grabbing them, he turns back to see us staring at the glass doors.

"Stiles!" I yelped out, fearing for him. Stiles slowly turns his head as something lopes out of the darkness, coming right for him. Stiles charges back in with the bolt cutters. Scott grabs the other handle, the two of them fumbling to get both sides of the tool down into the bars, a makeshift lock.

When we look up again the walkway leading to the doors lies empty. A few leaves tumble across the pavement. We slowly retreat back, taking each step faster and faster until we're running.

Scott, Stiles, and I hurtle into a classroom. "The desk—the desk." Stiles stumbled over his words. I stood frozen in shock while They slip around the teacher's desk and start pushing it toward the door only to flinch at the loud squeal of metal against tile. "Stop, stop!"

Stiles teps back in line with, glancing at me quickly. We all hold still, but the boys speak fast. "The door's not going to keep it out." I whispered to them harshly.

"I know—"

"It's your boss." Stiles blurted out to Scott.

Scott gives him a sharp. "What?"

"Deaton. The Alpha. Your boss." Stiles pointed out and my mind was racing with this new information trying to squeeze through my tiny brain.

"W—what?" I mumbled.

"No—"

"Yes. Murdering, psycho werewolf." Stiles hisses.

Scott shakes his head. "It can't be."

"He disappears and that thing shows up ten seconds later to toss Derek twenty feet through the air. That's not convenient timing?" Stiles almost raised his voice, but stopped himself.

"It's not him." Scott denied.

"Scott... He killed Derek." I trembled out, daring to look over at Scott.

He glared at me. "It's not him."

"He killed Derek." Stiles repeated after me.

"Derek's not dead. He can't be dead." Scott shakes his head.

"Blood spurted out of his mouth. That doesn't exactly qualify as a minor injury. He's dead. We're next." Stiles snapped.

"Okay—just—what do we do?" Scott panicked.

"We get to my Jeep. We get out of here. You seriously think about quitting your job. Good?" Stiles looked at Scott for confirmation.

Scott nods. We turn to the windows to view the parking lot. Quietly stepping to the furthest window, we spot Stiles's Jeep sitting in the lot about twenty yards away. Scott puts his hands on the window sill.

"They don't open. The school's climate controlled." I pointed out.

"Then we break it." Scott suggested.

"Which will make a lot of noise." Stiles denied.

"So then we run really fast." Scott finalised and I agreed. I glance back to the Jeep. Now seeming much further away. My heart sinks again. "Really fast."

While Stiles starts looking for something to break one of the windows, I came closer to the glass. "Stiles, what's wrong with the hood of your Jeep?" I whispered.

"What do you mean? Nothing's wrong." Stiles shrugs it off.

Scott came to get a closer look, too. "It's bent." Scott pointed out.

"You mean dented?" Stiles continued.

"He means bent." I harshly said. Stiles cups his eyes to the window. Oddly, the Jeep's hood twists up toward the windshield like the top of a tin can.

"What the hell happened to my—"

An explosion of glass by their heads sends us screaming to the floor. Ducked under the window, we look past raised arms to see something skidding across the tile and slamming to a stop on the opposite side of the room amid a shower of broke glass.

"Jesus!" I squealed, my hands clutching onto the nearest thing next to me. I looked and it was Stiles t-shirt, who surprisingly enough had already wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into his chest, breathing heavily. He had one arm around me and one over my head.

I quickly tore my gaze away from him and turned to look at what had given me a near heart attack. My eyes widen as it was the jeeps battery, wires hanging off it.

The three of us sat frozen underneath the classroom window, staring at the Jeep's battery in front of us. "That's my battery." Stiles murmured.

Scott nods. All of us gazing at it, stunned. Stiles starts to get up but I grabbed him, pulling back into my arms. "Don't." I whispered.

Stiles locks eyes with my terrfied ones. "We have to move." He spoke softly.

"He could be right outside." Scott pointed out.

"He is right outside." Stiles grumbled. I kept him down, hand gripping on his shoulder.

"Just let me take a look." Scott tells us. I watched as he crained his next to look.

"Anything?" I asked, looking up Scott. Scott shakes his head and I turned to look at Stiles. "Move now?"

"Move now." The boys agreed. We slowly got up, my hand clutching onto Stiles' before we scramled across the title floor.

The classroom door cracks open. Scott, Stiles, and I slip into the hallway. We glance down the opposite ends of the corridor, nervously drifting forward.

"This way." Scott ushered as I stayed right beside Stiles, feeling the most safest near him.

"No, no—somewhere without windows." Stiles smartly suggested.

"Every single room in this building has windows." Scott looked at his friend.

"Somewhere with less windows?" I suggested.

"The locker room."

⇉

The doors to the boys' locker room opens. Stiles, Scott, and I piled in, panting from running. "Ew." I scrunched up my nose at the smell of the boys' locker room.

"It's the boy's locker room, what did you expect?" Stiles asked, rolling his eyes.

"I dunno... Less sweaty?" I shrugged.

"Call your Dad." Scott turned to Stiles instantly.

Stiles' eyes widen. "What?"

"Call. Your. Dad." Scott repeated.

"And tell him what?" Stiles narrowed his eyes at him.

"Anything. There's a gas leak, a fire, whatever. If that thing sees the parking lot fill with police cars it'll take off." Scott pointed out.

"What if it doesn't? What if it goes completely Terminator and kills every cop in sight including my Dad? And Paige's?" Stiles gestured towards me.

My own eyes widen. "We can't call them."

"They have guns." Scott reminds us.

"And Derek had to be shot with a wolfsbane-laced bullet to even slow him down. Remember that?" Stiles argued back.

"Then we have to... We have to find a way out and run for it." Scott informed us, panicking.

"There's nothing near the school for half a mile." I reminded them.

Scott looked at us. "What about Derek's car?"

Stiles nodded. "That could work. We go out. Grab the keys from his body. Take his car."

"And him." Scott added.

"Fine, whatever." Stiles rolled his eyes. But as Stiles reaches for the door, Scott stops him. "What?"

"I think I heard something." Scott lowly spoke and my heart pounds.

"Like what?" Stiles hisses.

"Quiet." Scott shushed us. I gripped onto Stiles' arm and Stiles glances down at me quickly. Scott is listening, but all I could hear was my own heart pounding. Stiles moves to take his hand off the doorknob, but Scott clenches down on his arm, telling him to stop.

A shadow passes by the mottled glass window of the door. Mere centimeters from us. My eyes widened. Scott eases off Stiles's arm, slowly stepping back. I still stayed latched onto his arm, Stiles making quiet movement to step in front of me.

"Hide." Scott whispered. We all glanced around desparetdly, trying to find any place to us. Stiles had grabbed my hand and dragged me with him to an open locker, he pushes me in first and squeezed in next to me.

How could a locker possibly fit two people? It is rather tight, though, not going to lie. My chest was pressed up right against Stiles nad my breathing began to get louder. Stiles cupped a hand over my mouth and pulled me into him, another arm wrapped aound my shoulder, bringing me closer to him if possible.

I squeezed my eyes shut, listening to the sound of Stiles' rapidly beating heart.

A human yell screams out. It wasn't Scott's, but it was someone. I snapped my eyes opened and looked at Stiles, our eyes connecting. Stiles opened the locker, the two of us having a hard time getting out. We struggled a little bit, and Scott yanked Stiles' out. I stumbled, falling into Stiles as I came out.

He helped me balanced to my feet, his eyes searching for mine as it looked like he was making sure I was okay. I nodded. He lets go of my arms slowly, turning to the Janitor who looked super pissed off at us.

"Son of a bitch!" The janitor yelled out. Scott grabs him, trying to keep the terrified man on his feet.

"Quiet—quiet!" Scott hisses.

"Quiet, my ass. Are you two trying to kill me?" The Janitor snapped. Gasping, the Janitor leans against the locker looking like he's on the verge of a heart attack. "All three of you, get out."

"Just listen for half a second, okay?" Stiles tried.

"No, not okay. Get the hell out of here. Right now!" He snaps, glaring at all three of us.

The door slams open into the hallway, and we're getting pushed out by the furious Janitor. "Just one second to explain—"

"Shut up and go." He tells us sternly.

Then, hand still on the door, the Janitor suddenly whips back into the locker room, swinging the door shut with him. My heart pounds. I stared in confusion, it had all too quickly.

The Janitor's face comes slamming back to the door's window. We all staggered away in shock, as the body of the Janitor slams forward again, rattling the door in its frame. Scott grabs at the door, trying to get it open, trying to help the man as Stiles pulls him back.

Both of them screaming, with Scott and Stiles we finally run for it, racing down the corridor. I turned my head to look as I'm running. The locker room door wrenches off its hinges, bursting into the corridor and falling to the floor. The Janitor's dead body collapses down onto the door and then in one swift motion is dragged back into the darkness of the locker room.

We continue to not look back, my feet burning as we run down the hallway. We finally reached for the fire door handles, and at the same time, we all push down on it. The doors open, but only an inch, clanging against something behind the doors. The boys tried again, my hands slipping from the handles and I took a stepped back.

As they tried again, we hear the same metalic clang. Something is on the other side, blocking the doors. "What the hell?" Stiles breathes out.

Scott peers out the open inch of the door. "It's a dumpster. A garbage dumpster." Scott informed us and they slowly retreat back to me.

"He pushed it in front of the doors—" Stiles figured out.

"To keep us in." I finished the sentence, my eyes wide. Stiles turns, backing into the door, trying to push off from his feet and move the dumpster behind it.

"Help me." Stiles looked at Scott. The door clangs against the dumpster again and again as he keeps trying to muscle it open.

I shake my head. "Stiles, stop."

"I'm not dying here. I'm especially not dying in school." Stiles snapped.

"We're not going to die." Scott tells him.

"Then what's it doing? What does it want?" Stiles complained.

"Me. Derek says it's stronger with a pack." Scott realised.

"Great. A psychotic werewolf who's into teamwork. That's beautiful." Stiles rolled his eyes.

"Oh, for fuck sake." I muttered under my breath, hearing nothing but the sound of my beating heart. We retreat from the doors again, looking down the other end of the hall. But our cautious progression comes to a halt when Scott pauses. He turns to the wall of windows at the side of the corridor looking out on the courtyard and opposite side of the school.

On the roof—a figure crouches in the darkness, red eyes gazing directly at us. Stiles grabbed my arm as we began to run again, stumbling over our feet as the Alpha  bounds from one level of the roof to the next, landing and leaping in the same instant as we race ahead.

Behind us glass explodes into the hallway, the Alpha crashing back into the school. Scott grabbed us, pulling us to the adjacent stairwell. "Down, down!" Scott quickly hisses.

We race to the lower level, trying to get to some sort of safety.

For the past ten minutes we had been running, we had somehow stumbled our way into the basement. My legs were burning. "I seriously need to take track or something." I wheezed out as we slipped around corners.

Florescent lights flicker above us with an electric crackling. "We have to do something." Stiles spoke.

"Like what?" I asked.

"Kill it. Hurt it. Inflict mental anguish on it. Something." Stiles stresses.

Stiles glances at the doors with mesh cage windows in them, old and dirty lockers lying open inside. Trying to think fast, eyes darting as a door slams open behind us.

The three of us pull back into the darkness. Holding still, we hear a strange clicking on the floor, claws tapping against the tile. Stiles's eyes move from the thin corridor to where several old administrative desk lie stacked against the wall.

Scott and I catch his look, seeing an idea come to fruition. Stiles slowly—very slowly—moves his hand into his coat pocket to pull out his car keys. He brings them up. They jangle softly, causing both boys to flinch.

Scott glares at Stiles, eyes nearly coming out of his head. Especially when his friend rears back and throws the keys. They land right in one of the cage rooms, clattering against the wall.

Something blurs past, a massive shape in the darkness, soaring in after the keys. Without hesitating, Stiles jumps out of the shadows and slams the door shut behind it.

"Scott—get the desk—the desk!" Stiles pants out. 

With barely a second to comprehend the plan, Scott rushes to one of the steel desks and rams it against the closed door. Stiles slips out of the way as the door jerks forward hitting the side of the desk.

The Alpha roars from inside the cage room, slamming into the door. But the desk wedges between it and the opposite wall. We all turn to each other in a moment of pure triumph. The Alpha can't get out. We trapped it. Well, the boys did I just watched.

Stiles was on the opposite side of the desk of Scott and I, the desk now wedged between the cage door and the wall. Stiles slowly motions with his hand for Scott and I to climb over. But Scott looks too scared to move.

I take my chance and slide over the desk easily, Stiles helping me. He takes my two hands and helped me climbed over the desk and I staggered into him. "You okay?" Stiles asked me, his eyes searching my face again. I've noticed he does this a lot.

"I'm fine." I murmur, turning to Scott.

A breath comes from inside the cage room. We turn back. We can't see it in the darkness, but the Alpha is there, trapped inside. With a far more emphatic look, Stiles twists his head at Scott, trying to get him to climb over the desk to him.

Finally, Scott moves, awkwardly sliding over the desk as the Alpha's hand slams up against the mesh wire window of the door sending all of us to flinch back. We stare at the massive hand, clawed fingers like talons fitting through the openings. It slowly pulls back, disappearing again into the shadows.

Shivers goes down my spine as I witnessed that. Incredibly, Stiles starts toward the cage room. "What are you doing?" Scott asked in a harsh whisper.

"I want a look." Stiles tells us.

"Are you crazy?" I hissed out.

"It's trapped. It can't get out." Stiles assured us. The cage rattles as if in response. "That's right. We got you."

"Shut up." Scott glares at him.

"No. I'm not scared of this thing." Stiles looked at the Alpha. "I'm not scared of you. Because you're not going any—"

Suddenly the Alpha leaps up, shooting right into the ceiling. The panels burst away, crashing and clattering to the floor. We gaze up in horror as the ceiling panels above them shake, bending and popping up under the weight of the creature. No longer trapped at all. We turn to watch the panels rumble and shake above as the Alpha makes its retreat.

"Do you hear that?" Scott turned to Stiles and I. Stiles and I both looked at each other, before looking at Scott.

"No." I replied.

"Hear what?" Stiles asked.

"A phone ringing." Scott frowned before he had a look on his face in relisation.

"What?" Stiles questioned. "I know that ring. It's Allison's phone..."