Dark Side of the World // S.S. [Book Two]

Chapter 25

I smell something from my spot behind the passenger's seat. I want to be as far away as I can from Stiles, which is hard in a car. Scott sighs. "Man, I think the Jeep's overheating again. Should we pull over and put more antifreeze in it?"

Stiles sighs and says, "No, we can just turn the heat on." The air begins blowing and after a moment, he asks, "You find anything yet?"

Scott nods and says, "The stuff I found, was mostly the same stuff you already knew." He reads something off a book. ""Damnatio memoriae was a Roman practice, a government decree to destroy the images of the damned. And they would scratch their names from inscriptions, chisel their face off of statues. The Romans believed it was a punishment worse than death.""

"Being forgotten." I state.

Scott nods. "Listen to this. "Damnatio Memoriae, was later used on a serial killer in 1598, known as the Demon Tailor. He lured children into his shop in Paris where he would kill them and boil the flesh off their bones to eat. The courts believed the crimes so horrible, they ordered all the documents destroyed. To this day, no one knows his real name.""

"So the Dread Doctors resurrected a killer who was so bad that he had to literally be erased from history." Stiles reasons.

"A killer that became a werewolf. Which probably made him a better killer."

"That's great."

Scott, now driving, asks, "What happened between the two of you?"

"Stíles sárose epáno." I retort, giving Stiles my wolf stare.

(Translation: Stiles f--ed up.)

Stiles lets out a sigh. "I messed up big time. I said some things and accused her of some things."

Scott frowns. "Is that why Meg was crying?"

"She was crying?" Stiles asks in a cracked voice.

I lay down and turn my back to the boys and hear Stiles ask, "What chemosignals are you getting from her?"

"Hurt. Anger. She still smells like vanilla and the sea. What did you say, Stiles? I've never seen her this mad. Or even this sad."

"My whole thing of not trusting people. I love her so freaking much, Scott, but I--I don't know if she'll forgive me, Scott."

"She will. Give her time. She's loyal, right? She'll forgive you."

Stiles pulls up to a gas station and I listen to Stiles explain how he killed Dominic. I feel my eyes closing and my breaths become even, but I'm still aware of everything going on.

They get back in the car and we drive to Shiprock. There's a storm brewing over the mountain, complete with lightning and rolling clouds. Stiles presses on the gas and we arrive. "Hey, Scott. Scott. Take a look at this."

Scott sees a girl and asks, "What the hell do you think's happening to her out there?"

"Hey, Stiles, Meg, do you see that?" Scott asks, causing us to look closer.

"It's Kira." I realize.

Scott immediately rolls out of the still moving Jeep and lands on his feet. He growls at one of the creatures. Skinwalkers.

"Get in." Stiles calls. "Come on. Come on, come on. Let's go. Come on, come on, come on."

A spear is thrown at the Jeep, but Mrs. Yukimura splits the spear, causing it to fall harmlessly into the ground. Mrs. Yukimura gets into the Jeep and Stiles asks, "Everyone okay?"

I scoot closer to the window, feeling Stiles' touch awkward, but familiar.

Scott smiles at Kira. "You came back."

"I love you." She replies. "I love you so much."

Later, Stiles and I are alone. After a moment of silence, Siles says, "Meg, I'm sorry. I really messed up. The words kept coming and I couldn't stop them. I hope you know I didn't mean them. And it breaks my heart knowing that I made you cry. I love you so much, Meg. Can you forgive me?"

I press my lips to his and say softly, "I forgive you, Stiles. And I love you too."

I see a text from both Scott and Kira and frown. "Apparently Deucalion is alive and kicking. Misó aftón ton týpo."

(Translation: I hate that guy.)

Stiles nods. "Yeah, me too."