Teen She-Wolf

Chapter 9 - I'm Waiting For Someone To Count Me In

***STILES***

By the time we get back to Derek's place, he, Scott, and Skylar are racing out the door. Hunter attempts to hug his sister, but she brushes him off. "Sorry, but they're chasing us," she says. "No time for that!"

"Who's chasing..." I begin. Then I hear rumbling echoing from upstairs. "Oh. Oh, that's..."

"Not good, I know," Scott says. He grabs my wrist and turns me around. "Come on, we're leaving!"

"And going where?" I ask.

"The cabin," says Derek.

"Really?"

"It's the best place for us to make our final stand!" He stays behind to make sure we're all running, then follows closely behind me and Lydia. Man, we really are the slowest ones here. Maybe Lydia's got a good excuse because she's the shortest in our group, but me? Not so much. I mean, I'm not tall like Derek or Hunter, but I've got pretty long legs - which are probably the only reason I'm the same height as Scott. I mean, seriously, though. I'm better than this. I'm not just some gangly kid with zero athletic ability. Even a wacky assbite of a coach like Finstock wouldn't keep me on the lacrosse team if I didn't show some level of potential.

Suddenly, I realize Lydia's falling behind a bit. That means either I'm subconsciously making myself accelerate, or she's slowing down. Unsure which is worse, I fall back into step with her and ask, "Something wrong?"

She shakes her head. "No. Why would there be?"

"You're looking a little pale," I say. I'm not kidding - even her always-lipsticked lips aren't as bright and shiny as they usually are. Is this some kind of banshee thing?

"I've barely had anything to eat all day," Lydia says, "but..."

I wonder if Scott could smell a...what was it he called me this morning? Oh yeah - "a sugar crash waiting to happen." Well, maybe he can't smell it, but...I fall even further behind Lydia so I can ask Derek.

He focuses his glowing eyes on Lydia for a second, then says, "No, I don't really see anything wrong. Maybe you're just reading too much into things."

"But just say-"

"Don't worry about it," Derek says. "As soon as we deal with these guys, I'll get us all fueled up. I know a really good pizza place in Hill Valley."

He's got that "Don't argue" look on his face, and I'm not going to push it. My favorite sour wolf needs to be allowed to keep his single-minded focus. I run on ahead, catching up to Lydia as we get back into the woods.

By the time we return to the cabin, Jackson's also caught on to Lydia's not-so-healthy appearance, and like me, he's expressed his his concerns. "I dunno," Lydia says. "I just...I think I'm getting a vibe."

"A banshee vibe?" I ask, dreading the answer.

"I hope not," she says.

"You'd scream for anyone who dies, right?" Jackson asks.

I raise my eyebrows. "Dude. Let's please not go there, okay?"

"Anyone, yeah," Lydia says. "Whether they're on our side or not. I think."

"You've not had much practice with this, we know," I say. I look around and see everyone else rushing through the cabin's front door. "Come on, let's get inside." Derek and I stay behind to watch Lydia and Jackson go in, then we follow them, closing the door behind us. "Now what?" I ask. "I hope we don't let them surround us before we make our move."

"Of course not," Derek says, doing a facepalm. "However could we be so stupid?" He leads us down into the basement, where he opens a hatch in the floor.