✓ | battle wounds, scott m.

chapter eight.

Ella used her hand to brush her hair to the other side of her head, her hair falling to just above her shoulders. Her blue eyes held a bored look as they dropped, Daniella trying to stay awake. "All right, since inertia is a subject of which you all know plenty, why don't we start with 'momentum'?" Harris asked the class. "They're here for a reason," Ella heard Scott whisper from beside her. Ella turned her head to see Scott whispering to Isaac, "Give me a chance to figure it out before you do anything. Okay? Isaac." "Danny," Harris called, "What do we know about momentum?"

"It's the product of mass and velocity. The more massive something is, the faster it's going," Danny answered, Ella sending him a smile to which he returned. "Mr. Harris, can I use the bathroom, please?" Isaac asked, Harris gesturing for him to leave. Scott glanced at Ella who shook her head. Scot looked back straight, "I have to go to the bathroom too." Ella rolled her eyes. "One at a time," said Harris. "But I really have to go. Like, medical emergency have to go," Scott said urgently, causing Ella to raise her brows. "Mr. McCall, if your bladder suddenly exploded and urine began to pour from every orifice, I would still respond, 'one at a time.' Is that enough hyperbole for you, or would you like me to come up with something more vivid?" Harris asked, Ella making a disgusted expression.

"No. No. That's pretty good," Scott said as he sat back down, embarrassed. Ella sighed and raised her hand. "No," Harris replied to Ella. "You didn't even know what I was going to ask," Ella rolled her eyes at her chemistry teacher. "You were going to ask if you could go to the bathroom. So, no, not until Mr Lahey gets back," Harris states firmly. Ella squinted her eyes and grabbed her backpack, "Well, excuse me, Mr Harris, but I just started my period. Do I need to come up with a vivid vision for you?" Harris choked on his own spit and gestured for her to leave.

Ella nodded and walked out of the classroom, finding a bloody and bruised Ethan laying at Isaac's feet. Ella let out a yelp of surprise, causing Mr. Harris And the rest of the class to come rushing out.

"What is this? What's going on?" Harris asked as he walked out of the classroom. Danny ran to Ethan, "You all right?" "Uh, he just— he just came at me," Ethan stuttered. "Isaac, what the hell did you do?" Harris asked Isaac once again. Isaac didn't respond. Scott placed a hand on Ella's forearm, "Are you alright?" Ella pulled away, "I wasn't involved. And, I don't think Isaac was either."

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Ella followed her brother who followed Lydia, Ella holding her books to her chest, blowing her hair out of her face frustratedly. "You know that there's a temple in Calcutta where they used to sacrifice a child everyday! That's every day a dead baby, Lydia, every day! Hey, you want to know what today is? It's dead baby day. Oh, no, wait that's everyday because every day is dead baby day!" Stiles exclaimed. "Why are you telling me this?" Lydia asked. "Because Scott's dealing with the alpha twins," Stiles said. When Ella realized the confused expression on Lydia's face, she asked, "You don't know about the alpha twins?"

"Alphas?" Lydia asked as she came to a stop. "Ethan and Aiden," Stiles replied. "Oh, yeah. Yeah, I knew about them," Lydia said as she began to walk again. "Okay, okay, good. So look, here's what I'm thinking: I'm—" Ella cleared her throat, Stiles rolling his eyes, "–we're thinking that the murders come in threes. Ancient people love things in threes, right? So maybe first it's three virgins, and then, I don't know. Maybe it's three people who own little dogs." Stiles's suggestion made Lydia stop, "I own a little dog." Ella and Stiles sighed. "I am not getting rid of my dog!" Lydia exclaimed as she kept walking.

"Would you just think about getting rid of your little dog?" Stiles asked. "No. And by the way, you cannot discern a pattern by a single data point. So, stop trying," Lydia informed. "Wha– Okay, So what, I'm just supposed to wait around for someone else to die, then?" Stiles asked. "We're just supposed to sit there and watch them die? Just wait for them to wither up and die right in front of us?" Ella asked. Lydia stopped to look at the girl she considered a younger sister, "Wither?"

"Die, in just a hideously awful, strangulating, Head-bashing, throat-cutting kinda way!" Daniella exclaimed, pushing her books to Stiles's chest, causing him to stumble back. Lydia pursed her lips, "Maybe it's not y'alls job," she looked at Stiles, "You said it yourself, they were strangled with a garrote. That's a human thing to do so. . . maybe just leave the figuring it out part to someone human."

"You mean someone like our dad?" Stiles asked, motioning between him and Ella. "No, I mean your dad. The sheriff!" Lydia called as she walked away. Ella looked at her brother, "Yeah, that's not going to happen." "Nope, no way," Stiles said.

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Ella opened the door to the animal clinic, her twin right behind her. "You two are out of school early," Deaton said once he saw the two teenagers. "Yeah, free period, actually," Ella smiled softly. "Um, we were just headed home to see our dad. He's, uh, you know, I guess you probably heard people are kind of getting murdered again. It's his job to figure it out," Stiles said. "I gathered as much from the sheriff title," Deaton responded. "Yeah, um, You know, but it gets kind of hard for him to do his job when he doesn't have all the information. And we all know he's missing pretty much half the story here, right? So then I–" Ella cleared her throat, "– we started thinking, and we remembered someone who does have a lot of information. Someone who always seems to know more than anyone else around here." Ella met Deaton's eyes, "You."

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"All these symbols and things the triskeles, the bank logo, the Mountain ash all of it is from the Celtic druids," Stiles began as he, Ella, and Deaton walked into the back room, "And anyone who has ever looked up human sacrifice before knows that the druids had a pretty big hard-on when it came to giving one up to the gods. You ever hear of the lindow man? found in England? He was found strangled, head bashed in, throat cut. Threefold death." "They also found pollen grains in his stomach. Guess what favorite druid plant that was," Ella raised her brows.

Deaton took a jar from his multi-selection and pulled out a plant, "Mistletoe." "We're just telling you everything you already know, aren't we? Then why aren't you telling us?" Stiles asked. "Maybe because we've spent every moment of the last ten years trying to push something away. Denying it. Lying about it. Becomes a pretty powerful habit," Derek answered. "All right, so this guy is he a druid?" Ella asked softly.

"No. It's someone copying a centuries-old practice of a people who should have known better. Do either of you know what the word 'druid' means in Gaelic?" Deaton asked. "No," the twins said simultaneously. "'Wise oak,' The Celtic druids were close to nature. They believed they kept it in balance. They were philosophers and scholars. They weren't serial killers," Deaton explained. "Yeah, well, this one is," Ella said as her brothers phone started vibrating. "Hey, I can't talk right now. . . Wait, what? Yeah, are you sure he's missing?" Ella furrowed her brows, confused because she was only able to hear part of Stiles's conversation. "Lydia found something."

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"Can we get a copy of this?" Deaton asked after handing the phone back to Lydia. "Hey, doc, any help would be, you know, helpful," Stiles said as he looked through papers in the music teacher's desk. "Each grouping of three would have its own purpose, its own type of power. Virgins, healers, philosophers, warriors," Deaton said. "Wait, wait, wait, wait. Warrior, could that also be like a soldier?" Stiles asked. "Absolutely," Deaton answered. "Kyle was in R. O. T. C. with Boyd," Stiles said, laying a picture of Kyle and his girlfriend onto the desk. "That's got to be it. That's the pattern. Where's Boyd?" Deaton asked.

"He's probably home by now. I'm gonna try and get him on the phone," Stiles said as he got his phone out of his pocket and walking away. Ella looked at Lydia to see a expression of realization, "Lydia? Something wrong?" "No, it was, I mean, I just thought of someone else with a military connection," Lydia said.

"Who?"