Courageous

48

At the sheriff station, Parrish looked at the redhead and said, "Kinsey, I know this is hard."

Kinsey slouched in her seat and said, "I already told you. Those guys just came out of nowhere. They jumped us and tried to steal our car. It looked like one of them had a knife and I think they might've been wearing masks, but I'm not sure. It all happened so fast. As soon as he could, Scott called Argent."

He sighed. "Okay, that's enough. Thank you, Kinsey."

Kinsey two left the office and leaned against the back wall. She let out a sigh and composed herself a moment before leaving.

---

As she was making her way home, she suddenly saw the Animal Clinic.

She stumbled, feeling a strange rush, and ran to the clinic.

When she got there, she noticed that Stiles had arrived and ran to help him. Her aching legs, sore feet and heaving chest as she gasped for air seemed little comparison when she saw the state Stiles was in.

Kira and Maggie walked in, both supporting Stiles, and Lydia stumbled slightly, so Scott and Carter rushed to support her.

Lydia looked up at them. "Something's happening. I had this sudden rushing feeling, like we're running out of time."

Kinsey nodded. "I got that same feeling." She saw a flash of the school and grabbed the wall for support.

They made their way into the operating room and Stiles said, "Yeah. Yeah, I kind of got that feeling, too."

After a moment of trying to catch her breath, Kinsey asked in a lightly sharp tone, "Where to?"

"The school," Scott answered, frowning at his friend. "What's going on with you?"

Kinsey shook her head. "Just stress and fear I think. Let's go."

Once again, they climbed into the Jeep and drove to the school. Stiles climbed out and stumbled to a railing and Kinsey ran towards him. Stiles turned slowly to face his friends and said, "Scott, hold on. I know what you're all thinking. If this works, it might kill me too. But even if it does, you have to go through with it. Stick with the plan, okay?"

Kinsey frowned. "Yeah, and it's a stupid plan."

Scott nodded. "The plan is to save you. That's the plan I'm going with."

They walked to the front door and Scott opened it. Carter exhaled, preparing to see the lockers and instead, saw snow. "What the hell?"

Scott frowned. "Oh, this is definitely not part of the plan."

They stood near each other as they observed their surroundings. A bandaged soldier wearing an old bomber jacket appeared. Carter moved to stand in front of Stiles, Kinsey and Lydia, the former reaching her hand back to take Stiles' hand while Carter took Lydia's.

The Oni materialized before them.

One Oni came close to Carter and he kicked at it, causing it to move back. The Nogitsune stepped closer to them. "Like I promised, Stiles, we're going to kill all of them. One by one."

Scott's voice took on an angry tone. "What the hell is this? Where are we?"

"Between life and death."

"Bardo," Lydia and Kinsey stated.

Carter's eyes narrowed further as the Nogitsune continued. "But there are no peaceful deities here, Lydia, Kinsey. You're dying, Stiles. And now everyone you care about is dying, too."

Stiles frowned. "What? What do you mean?"

A smirk grew on the Nogitsune's face. "I've captured almost all the territories on the board, Stiles. The hospital. The sheriff's station. And now the Animal Clinic."