Chapter Twenty-Five

        Under the Water

        "It's the Nemeton." Stiles explained while the three of us walked down the hallway after leaving Morell's office, "That's where she's keeping them. It has to be..."

        "Stilinski! Marshall!" A voice boomed from the other end of the hallway. Of course, it was Agent McCall.

        Stiles sighed before turning to Lydia, "Agh. All right, look, go to Derek, okay? He and Peter, they've been there before, so they'll know where it is. Tell them it's the root cellar, all right? They'll know."

        Lydia nodded before hesitantly leaving. Stiles and I turned around to see Agent McCall standing in front of us, his eyes on Stiles, "Did you know your dad's car is in the school parking lot and has been since last night?"

        "No. What does that mean?"

        "It means he's officially missing"

        Agent McCall had dragged us to one of the empty classrooms to talk about the Sheriff's disappearance. So currently, Agent McCall sat on the teacher's desk while Stiles and I were right across from him, sitting on desk as well.

        "Stiles, why am I getting the feeling you know something that could help us find your dad?" He asked and by his tone it was like he was accusing Stiles.

        Stiles looked up at him, annoyed, "If I did, why would I not tell you?"

        "If it meant helping your dad, why wouldn't you?" Agent McCall responded coolly.

        "So you're asking me to tell you what I wouldn't not tell you?" Stiles questioned him and I knew exactly what he was doing considering he always does it to get himself out of a situation.

        It took the Agent a minute to process that, "First, I have no idea what you just said. Second, how about you just help me help you?"

        "Well, I don't know how to help you help me tell you something that would help you if I don't know it." Stiles remarked, twisting his words to sound confusing. The only reason it wasn't confusing to me was because I've been friends with him for so long, how could I not learn his tricks.

        Agent McCall narrowed his eyes, "Are you doing this on purpose?"

        I huffed, butting into the conversation, "Neither of us know anything, okay? Can we just go?"

        He ignored my plead, "Where are your other friends?"

        "You mean Scott?" I questioned him, my voice hard and tense.

        "I mean Scott. I mean Isaac Lahey, Allison Argent, these twins Ethan and Aiden. I've been told your whole little clique didn't show up at school today." Agent McCall went on, looking through his little detective notebook.

        Stiles scoffed, "We don't have a clique."

        "Stiles, Shay, come on. There's been a pretty disturbing amount of violent activity in this county in the last few months, several murders tied to this school. I don't know what's going on here, but it's serious. And... hey. Your dad is missing." Agent McCall said slowly, making sure Stiles and me were hearing every single word.

        But we both stayed silent so he huffed and stood up, "Fine. But, Stiles, I don't want you going home alone. You have someone you can stay with tonight besides your little girlfriend, Shay?"

        Stiles opened his mouth, ready to defend that fact that Agent McCall said "little girlfriend" as if he was mocking him. But before he could, Deaton walked, "They're both with me."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

        "It has to be on a telluric current, or maybe even at the axis of two or where they all intersect. I just know it's where Derek took Paige to die." Stiles explained. Stiles, Allison, Lydia, Isaac, Deaton and me were all in the animal clinic, trying to figure out where the root cellar was at. On the way, Stiles explained to me about this girl named Paige, Derek's first love, and how Derek had killed her in the same root cell.

        "My dad and Gerard were there once. But Gerard said it was years ago, and he couldn't remember where it was. And my dad obviously isn't here to tell us now." Allison muttered, glancing at the floor below.

        "Yeah, mine either." Stiles added.

        "Then how do we find this place?" Isaac spoke up.

        Everyone looked at Deaton for answers, "There might be a way. But it's dangerous. We're gonna need Scott."

        Scott walked over to us, sighing, "How did you guys find out?"

        Stiles, Deaton, and I walked towards him, "Lydia. You?"

        "Morrell. None of the other alphas know where it is either." Scott answered.

        "So if this works, are you gonna tell them?" Stiles uneasily questioned him.

        Scott shrugged slightly, "I can't stop Jennifer without them."

        I glanced down and cleared my throat, "How's my aunt?"

        "She's okay. None of the alphas had hurt her or even touched her." Scott reassured me. I let out a breath of relief, thankful that Jenna was hurt or even killed.

        "How about we concentrate on finding your parents first?" Deaton intervened while the rest of us nodded in agreement.

        "What's the plan?"

        "Essentially, you, Allison, and Stiles need to be surrogate sacrifices for your parents." Deaton explained.

        I rose an eyebrow at him, "So...you're killing them?"

        "Not quite."

        "We die for them?" Scott questioned, not grasping the entire concept. To be honest neither was I.

        "But he can bring us back. You can... you can bring us back, right?" My boyfriend asked.

        Deaton looked over at him, "You remember the part where I said it was dangerous? If it goes right, the three of you will be dead for a few seconds, but there's something else you need to think about. This is a dangerous thing for more reasons than one. You'll be giving power back to the Nemeton, a place that hasn't had power for a long time. This kind of power is like a magnet. It attracts the supernatural, the kind of things that a family like the Argents can fill the pages of a bestiary with. It will draw them here, like a beacon."

        "Doesn't sound any worse than anything we've already seen." Stiles remarked. I, on the other hand, was not very fond of this plan. But we needed to do anything in order to save their parents.

        "You'd be surprised at what you have yet to see."

        "Is that it?"

        "No. It'll also have an effect on the three of you. You won't be able to see it, but you'll feel it every day for the rest of your lives. It'll be a kind of a darkness around your heart, and permanent, like a scar." Deaton continued to explain. I didin't like this, at all. Stiles could sense my discomfort and worry because he intertwined our hands and held onto my tightly.

        "Like a tattoo." Scott whispered.

        Deaton then faced me, hesitant for a moment, "Shay, this is critical for you."

        "Critical for me? How?" I asked as I felt Stiles squeezed my hand.

        "Remember how I said that your abilities can play tricks on you? Well, while this is happening, your emotions and abilities may take control. You could connect to Allison, Scott, or Stiles. If that happens, then you could go in between a life and death state."

        I gulped, "What happens then?"

        "Well...there is a possibility that you may never come back."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

        I stood beside Allison, tapping my thumb on my arms which were crossed. I watched Lydia and Deaton pour the bags of ice into the metal tubs of water. I had no idea how this thing was going to turn out. And just the idea that I could accidentally connect myself to one of them was not helping the anxiety that was filling inside of me.

        "What did you bring?" Deaton asked the three. Stiles, Allison, and Scott were all suppose to bring sentimental items from their parents.

        "Um, I got my dad's badge. Jennifer kind of crushed it in her hand, so I tried hammering it out a bit. Still doesn't look great." Stilesawkwardly explained, twirling the badge in his hand.

        "Well, it doesn't need to look good if it has meaning." Deaton reassured him.

        Isaac glanced over at the item Allison had in her hand, "If that an actual silver bullet?"

        "My dad made it. It's kind of a ceremonial thing. When one of us finishes learning all the skills to be a hunter, we forge a silver bullet as a testament to the code." Allison explained.

        "Scott?"

        Scott looked up, "My dad got my mom this watch when she first got hired at the hospital. She used to say it was the only thing in their marriage that ever worked."

        "Okay, the three of you will get in. Each of us will hold you down until you're essentially... Well, dead. But it's not just someone to hold you under. It needs to be someone who can pull you back, someone that has a strong connection to you, a kind of emotional tether." Deaton explained. For some reason, my thoughts when to Scott. He was my best friend, of course. But when I took one step closer to him, Deaton's voice stopped me.

        "Shay, you go with Stiles."

        I froze before slowly adverting my eyes to meet Stiles's. He walked closer to me, "Don't let your abilities take, okay? You'll be fine."

        I nodded, blinking back tears before he leaned down to give me a short kiss. It scared the living hell out of me that, that could be our last kiss. Allison, Scott, and Stiles then took of their jackets and shoes and stood behind each tub. I stood behind Stiles while Deaton stood behind Scott and Isaac stood behind Allison. I wondered for a moment why Isaac was taking the place of Lydia but didn't ponder on it too much.

        The three stepped into the freezing water, trembling and shivering as they got deeper into the water. Once they were all done, Stiles glanced over at Scott, "By the way, if I don't make it back and you do, you should probably know something. Your dad's in town."

        Confusion swept over Scott but he didn't question it. I gripped onto Stiles's shoulders, trying to control my shaking. Stiles glanced up at me with a ghost of a smile on his lips. Finally, Deaton gave us the signal to start pushing them down. Taking in a trembling breath, I pushed down.

        I watched Stiles hold onto his breath as he went under the icy water. Harsh breaths left my lips as I realized what I've done.

        I drowned Stiles.

Holy shit, I am almost done with this book! Only two or three more chapters before this entire book is done. Makes me sad :( The final will be epic and shocking and heartbreaking. I'll be putting Shay through a lot of crap

~ ~ ~ Monrox (Katie)