Hollow ▪️ S. Stilinski

iii.

EDITED

Jackson Whittemore busts in the door of the Hale House, only to be met with guns drawn. "Holy..." Jackson stood face to face with the machinery in fear and shock. "Wait." Chris demanded as he recognized the teenager as the boyfriend of Lydia Martin. Guns were withdrawn and Chris stepped out into the light. "What happened to him?" Jackson looked at the mauled hunter whose head was laid in Johanna's lap in the room behind the shattered windows. 

Johanna glared up at the teenage boy, tears in her eyes as she clutched onto one of her only friends. "That's the question, I got one for you. What are you doing here, Jackson?" Chris stopped in front of the teenage boy. "Uh, nothing, I was-I was just-nothing." the teenager stuttered out, turning to leave. "Jackson, I hope you're not still pursuing something that you shouldn't be. Because I don't want to be forced to pursue you." Chris put his arm around the young boy and he turned him away from Johanna. "Stay out of this, you got so much good in you're life. You're smart, good-looking, and you're the captain of the lacrosse team." Chris listed off his capabilities. "Co-captain." Jackson objected nervously before Chris shoved him out of the door.

"You forgot he's good-looking." Johanna called out, sarcastic even in grief. "Josie." Chris looked over at his niece with a mix of warning and concern. "I'll be fine." Johanna slid away from Bennett's body, wiping away the remaining tears. "Why was he looking for Derek?" Johanna turned her attention to the new situation. "He's jealous of Scott's supernaturally enhance abilities, I've caught him seeking some for himself lately." Chris looked at the door that he pushed the teenager out. "How dumb are the teenagers of Beacon Hills? I mean really, how dumb do you have to be to see being a werewolf as a good thing?" Johanna scoffed at the idea of the number of teenage werewolves running around Beacon Hills. 

Chris smiles lightly at his niece as he walks over and wraps his arm around her shoulder. "Come on, kid. I think it's time you take a break from all this." Chris began to steer the girl out of the house as the hunters came forward to wrap Bennett's body. "Not now, after this. I want to catch whatever killed Bennett. He didn't deserve this." Johanna confessed as she glanced back at the body of another loved one. 

Johanna sat beside Chris as the Veterinary Clinic alarm was finally disarmed. Deaton's cautious footsteps make their way into the exam room. Deaton looked alarmed at the body that was laid out on the exam table. "I was wondering if you could give me a medical opinion on what killed this man." Chris stepped out from the shadows to talk to the man. "I don't know if you saw the sign out there, but this is just an animal clinic." Deaton tried to play off his innocence. "I'm aware of that, I'm also aware you're not just a vet." Chris played his hand. 

Johanna pulled into the Veterinary Clinic with her uncle again the next day. "I'm starting to think I need to buy a more prominent 'closed' sign." Deaton was annoyed by the hunters' presence as he worked on the body of Bennet. Chris sighed at the man's annoyance, guiding Johanna out of the way for Gerard to enter. "Hello, Alan. It's been awhile." Gerard steps closer to the man in an attempt to present himself as threatening. Alan Deaton takes a step back as he looks at the older man with hesitation and at Chris with betrayal. "Last I heard you retired." Gerard didn't back down as he stared Deaton down. "Last I heard you followed a code of conduct." Deaton spit back at the older man.

"If you haven't noticed, this body is one of ours." Chris tried to lower the tension in the room. "I did, I also noticed the gunpowder residue on his fingertips. So don't assume I'll be swayed by your philosophy just because I'll answer a few questions." Deaton glanced between the men with judgement. "He was only 21." Johanna looked at Deaton in anger as she defended the deceased. "Killers come in all ages." Deaton refused to see the hunter's life as of good morals. "All ages, sizes, shapes. It's the last one that concerns us." Gerard cut Johanna's angry rebuttal off, drawing the attention back to himself.