Hoping for Heroes

Chapter 28

Upon arriving at home, Harley receives a call from Stiles. He told her he was on his way to pick her up and meet Lydia. Both her and Stiles jump out of the car right as he parks it.

"Are you okay?" Stiles calls as her runs to her. 

"I'm okay," Lydia says, shaking. "That, over there--not okay." Harley recoils at the sight of the body. 

"Yeah, all right. I'm gonna call my dad."

"I already called 911."

"You called the police before you called me?" Harley looks at him in disbelief.

"I'm supposed to call you first when I find a dead body?"

"YES!" 

"Okay," Harley says, stepping between the two of them. "I think we should all take a nice, deep breath and calm down." She shrugs off her coat and hands it to Lydia, who wraps the extra layer around her to try and stop her shivering. "Stiles, call Scott. Lydia, you and I will wait for the cops."

As Stiles talks with Scott, Harley further inspects the body to see who actually killed him. "Doesn't this seem morbid? Even for wolves?"

"They're teenage murders, Harley," Stiles sighs, exasperated. "It's all morbid."

"But why is the body still sitting up? I mean, come on, it looks like it could've been posed."

"Harley's right," Lydia nods. "This is weird." Harley's brows furrow as she notices the Purity ring on his hand. She knows it likely doesn't mean anything, but what if it does?

Harley later finds herself inspecting the body with Mrs. McCall and Stiles at the hospital. 

"Why would a werewolf kill someone with a rope?" Harley asks as Mrs. McCall shows them the wounds.

"That's not very werewolf-y," Stiles agrees.

"My thoughts exactly," Mrs. McCall nods. "And then there's this." She tilts his head slightly to show an indentation in the back of his head. "He was hit in the back of the head, hard enough to kill him. Any one of these things could have killed him. Someone seriously wanted this poor kid dead."

"This couldn't have been Body or Cora, you know?" Stiles says to Harley, who nods.

"They wouldn't have done all that," Harley says. "Maybe this is just one murder?"

"I don't think it was just one," Mrs. McCall sighs. She brings them to a different table where another girl is lying with matching injuries. Harley watches Stiles' face fall as Mrs. McCall explains the situation.

"Stiles?" She watches tears fill his eyes. "Stiles, is this Heather?" He nods softly.

"I didn't even think," Mrs. McCall apologizes, covering back up the body.

"I was at her party," Stiles explains. "It was her birthday." Harley grabs his hand and squeezes tightly, which he reciprocates. Harley tunes out the two talking, feeling something itching at her brain that she doesn't quite know. Her face falls when she realizes.

"Mrs. McCall, have they brought any other bodies in tonight?" Harley asks. 

"No bodies, just two girls coming in," Mrs. McCall says. "Why?"

"Stiles, I think I know what's going on."

As they walk, Harley fills him in. "You said Heather wanted to lose her virginity that night, right? That means she was a virgin. The guy who was killed at the pool, he was wearing a Purity ring. If these two were on a date out in the woods, they were probably gonna have an--intimate moment. But if they got interrupted--"

"At least one of them was a virgin," Stiles realizes. "These aren't murders, these are sacrifices."

"The question is why." Before they can reach the room where the girl is staying, Harley gets a call from Isaac. She excuses herself and steps out to take it.

"Yeah?" she asks.

"We could use you at the school," he says. 

"Why?" 

"Please just come."

"I--Fine. I'm on my way." Shooting Stiles a quick text, she jogs out of the hospital and drives off to the school.

Upon arrival, Isaac is waiting for her at the front doors. She grabs her weapons out of the back, then follows him through the doors, falling into step beside him. "What're we dealing with?" She asks him.

"We trapped Boyd and Cora. Problem is, someone else is in there."

"A non-werewolf?"

"Someone who doesn't even know about supernatural." At a loud growl, Isaac perks up, grabbing Harley's arm and running toward it. She shakes out of his grasp once he eventually starts running too fast for her. She stops in the hall, calling out to him. 

"The sun's coming up!" She yells. "Get Scott!" They both reach the doorway just as Scott shoves his way into a new room. "What is that?" She asks as they go quickly down the stairs.

"It's where they're keeping Cora and Boyd," he says. Harley sighs deeply before grabbing out her knives, following him into the room. She stops short at the bottom of the stairs when Isaac throws his arm out and pushes her behind him. She peeks around him to see Derek kneeling on the ground with bodies lying on either side of him.

"There's a teacher," Derek pants. "I'll take care of her. Get them out of here."

Rather than going back to Stiles with Scott, Harley decides to hang out with Isaac. They're sitting in silence on either end of the couch in Derek's loft. 

"How are you feeling?" He asks her, softly.

"Hm?" she murmurs.

"With Erica. You guys were, like, I don't know-"

"I think I should be asking you that." She smiles softly at him. "She was your pack." He shrugs. 

"We weren't close. Closest we ever were was because of you." 

Harley shakes her head. "It's really not fair." 

Isaac nods. "I know." She bites her lip to hold back the tears, but he notices them anyway. "Hey-"

"I shouldn't be so upset over this," she scoffs, wiping at her eyes. "We weren't anything-"

"You almost were," he says, resituating so he's sitting next to her. He hesitates before wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "And that's enough." She leans her head on his shoulder, sniffling.

"How do you handle it?"

"Handle what?"

"Losing people like this."

He sighs before answering. "You never really do." She turns and buries her head in his chest, fully crying. He wraps his other arm around her, drawing her closer. As she cries, he lets out a few tears of his own. He knows he should be sadder, but he wasn't that close with her, or anyone. His blood runs cold when he realizes one of the people who would hurt most to lose is currently resting between his arms, sobbing her heart out over someone else.

**A/N double update cause I missed Harley