demonic ▸ teen wolf

8

            After much arguing, and a sad act of bribing Isaac with a tub of strawberry cream cheese to spice up his bread obsession, Allison Argent finally got the pack into the Beacon Hills Preserve.

            They walked along slowly, weapons at the ready. The air was frigid; She could feel the tip of her nose numb into a dark fuchsia color and her body erupt into a field of goosebumps.

            Isaac grumbled loudly beside her, pulling his wool hat farther down on his honey colored curls. "Why are we out here again?"

            She didn't respond, instead pushing her index finger against her lips.

            He didn't catch the signal and continued. "I knew you were insane, Allison, but I didn't know you were this insane."

            She did it again, more forcefully than the first time, finding residue of saliva on her finger when she pulled it away.

            But Isaac, like the blabber mouth he is, went on. "You know, I could be deep into season two of Pretty Little Liars with Liam right about now, but nooo. Allison and her wacko mentality decided to drag me out of my comfy position on the couch and into the forest - which I might add, is cold as balls - to hunt down a missing boy that I DON'T EVEN CARE ABOUT."

            It was the other's turns to step in and worsen the signals Allison was sending. Lydia jabbed Isaac in the ribcage with her elbow, earning a muffled - because Scott had placed his palm tightly over his mouth - "ow" from him. Scott pulled Isaac down so that his ear was level with his mouth. He spoke in a harsh whisper, "If you say one more word when I remove my hand, you will never be able to have kids."

            Isaac's eyes widened and he drew a line across his mouth, pretending to throw away the key and wholeheartedly promising his silence until they were home safe with Stiles.

            Malia, who was paying absolutely no attention to the dumbasses she calls friends, pulled Kira up beside her. "Sniff." Kira tilted her nose in the air, obeying as best she could with her fox senses. Her face contorted in disgust as a whiff of blood, potent enough to be nearby, flooded her senses.

            "Oh my god!"

            Malia shushed her. "Listen, I think Stiles is somewhere in these caves. I used to live out here when I was a coyote, meaning I'll be able to navigate them the best."

            "Mal, you can't go in there alone."

            "I can and I will." Malia smiled apologetically. "I'll be okay. Distract them while I'm gone?"

            Kira nodded, watching as Malia took off into the nearest cave opening. She swallowed hard, thinking of all of the possible things that could be lurking in the shadows. She had to resist the urge to chase after her; She had to resist the urge to protect her best friend. Instead, Kira headed back to the group and watched, amused, as Scott continued to mess with a terrified Isaac.

            Inside the oversized rocks, Malia moved with such a grace that only a natural born coyote could possess. Her eyes lit up an electric blue, allowing for better sight in the dark.

            "Stiles?" She whispered, keeping her voice so low that even she herself could barely hear it. "You in here?"

            Silence.

            She moved deeper into the cave, a small opening in the ceiling that let in a sliver of moonlight. "Stiles? Hello?"

            Still silence.

            "Stiles Stilinski? It's Malia Tate." She raised her voice a little, but not too much, for fear that someone would hear and her rescue mission would be cancelled.

            This time, a faint groan sounded in the distance.

            "Stiles? Was that you?"

            Another groan. It sounded close, maybe ten feet away. She moved towards it, taking slow and steady steps over the frozen ground.

            "One more time."

            No answer.

            "C'mon Stiles. One more time," She paused, placing her hand on the cold stone and biting her bottom lip. "For me."

            Still no answer.

            She rolled her eyes, frustrated. Taking a few more steps, the toe of her boot connected with something soft.

            She reared back and kicked it again. It was squishy, flesh-like. She looked down, catching sight of a pair of plaid pajama pants. She squatted down, squinting to get a better look. "Stiles?"

            A hand reached out and weakly gripped her knee. Normally, she would have jumped away in fear, but the touch felt all to familiar against her bare leg. It was Stiles, she had found him.

            Instinct kicked in and she pointed her nose in the air, howling to notify the rest of the pack of her location. Scott picked up the sound almost instantly and began running in her direction, eyes lighting up an electric red. Kira, Lydia, Allison, Liam and Isaac followed behind, confused but alert.

            It wasn't long before Scott found the cave, racing inside to help Malia carry the hurt human outside. "Grab his legs." She instructed, grabbing Stiles under the arms. He was heavier than expected, Scott huffing loudly by the time they made it out.

            Scott set Stiles in a pile of frosty leaves, inspecting him with the flashlight Allison had just pulled from her coat pocket. There was a gash on his thigh, it looked like large bite marks. His pants were ripped and soaked with a red-violet liquid. Blood.

            Liam shuddered, claws retracting back into his finger tips. "You know what they say; the woods are much scarier at night."