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The Night is Still Young ~ Nicki Minaj

You're Next ~ Adrian von Ziegler

TRISH

Melissa wouldn't even look at me. Reinforcements had arrived and the EMTs were treating the muzzle burn on the back of my neck.

"We had been called to the sheriff's station because the sheriff had a tip that this teenager was the one that was killing people. Melissa and I had seen him the night Jessica was murdered. We were supposed to look at some photos to see if we could identify him. Next thing I know, I have a hot muzzle at the back of my neck and the same kid threatening to blow my head off if Melissa didn't do what he said. The rest just happened so fast."

The deputy took my statement. "Is that what happened Mrs. McCall?"

Melissa looked like she was still in shock and slowly nodded her head. "Yeah. The sheriff was able to break free and tried to free us but Matt surprised him. I thought he was going to kill us. Then he just took off."

"Thank you, ladies."

Noah came towards us. "You guys okay?" he asked.

"In a matter of speaking," I replied. "We're alive."

"They found Matt dead in the creek. They think he may have fallen in and knocked himself unconscious. They're saying the cause of death is drowning."

I nodded, managing to hide the worry. If Matt was dead, who was the Kanima's master now? None of this should have happened. Derek had taken off. I was pretty sure I just lost a good friend. Peter was running around Beacon Hills somewhere, probably planning his next move. It was only a matter of time before Anna found out and thought that I lied to her. I had no idea how I was going to explain that one to her. I put the phone to my ear.

Trish? Anna answered.

"Anna, are you at home?"

Yes.

"I need you to come pick me up at the sheriff's station."

Why are you at the sheriff's station? I thought you were with Derek.

"I was with Derek. I'll explain when you come pick me up."

~~~

I just looked at Anna. "What do you mean you knew?" 

"He was in my room when I came home from the party. He also told me I needed to stop being so angry with Derek for killing him."

"Anna, I just went through a few hours of thinking I was going to be paralyzed and killed by a Kanima and I had a gun to the back of my neck with the kid handling it threatening to kill me. I'm really not in the mood for any kind of joke right now."

"It's not. We went to the sheriff's station looking for Scott and Stiles."

"Anna!"

"I know who killed Matt." I didn't like the sound of that. "And Gerard is the new Kanima master."

I dropped an f-bomb right then and there. We were screwed. Big time. "Just what we freaking need. Gerard to have a Kanima." I picked up my phone just as it rang. "Just the person I was about to call," I answered.

I was calling to check on you. Derek said on the other end.

"You and the rest of the pack need to go into hiding now. Find somewhere else but the depot."

What happened?

"Gerard killed Matt and took the Kanima."

Derek let loose a string of curses. Thank you. If he knows you —

"Don't worry about me, Derek. Just take your Betas and go into hiding. I'll be fine." I hung up. "I'll need you and Peter to help me keep an eye out for him."

I was just going to have to accept that Peter was in her life again. But that didn't give him a free pass for me to trust him again.

~~~

I hadn't spoken to Derek, the rest of the pack, Scott, or Stiles since the incident at the sheriff's station and Melissa was avoiding me like I had the plague. I was really starting to think I had lost a real good friend, the closest friend I'd had since Laura died. All over Beacon Hills' secret. I sighed as my phone rang and I was surprised to see it was Scott.

"Scott? Is everything okay?"

You need to get here now.

"What happened?"

Just get here as fast as you can. Please. My house.

"On my way."

I didn't even tell Anna where I was going, just ran out of the house. I was pretty sure I was speeding and I didn't even knock when I got to the house. Just burst through the door like I lived there. Much like I used to do with the Hales.

"Scott!"

"In here," he called.

I went into the living room to find a very freaked-out Melissa sitting on the couch.

"What happened?"

"Gerard has the Kanima now."

"I know. Anna told me. She was at the sheriff's station and saw him kill Matt."

"What was she doing there?"

"Are you okay, Melissa?" I purposely didn't answer the question.

"I just want to know what's going on," she laminated. "I was just dangling from Scott's ceiling by that lizard thing's tail."

"You haven't explained anything to her yet?" I asked Scott.

"This is the first time she's talked to me all week. Gerard is using the Kanima to get vengeance for Kate."

"Shit," I breathed. This wasn't any better than Matt having control of the Kanima. Innocent people were going to be killed. I sat next to Melissa and took her hand. "We should start from the beginning."

~~~

Scott walked me out of the house. "Thanks for helping me explain to Mom."

"I owed her an explanation, too," I responded.

"I didn't know about Laura and Derek's cousin. I'm sorry."

I gave him a smile. "Derek, Laura, and Peter weren't the only ones that Kate hurt when she set the fire." I sighed. "If what Gerard said was true, I'm in his crosshairs just for being connected to the Hales."

"Just watch your back."

"I will."

~~~

I didn't mention to Scott that Peter was alive again. Scott had enough on his mind without worrying about the wolf that bit him. He had filled me in on Gerard threatening Melissa if Scott didn't do what he asked, which pissed me off. Gerard wanted Derek for some reason and I assumed it was because he blamed Kate's death on him. Or because he wanted to cut a loose end from the fire. As far as Gerard knew, Derek was the only one who knew who set the fire. Unless Chris had filled him in with the fact that he, myself, and three teenagers knew. Derek was losing his pack, Scott told me Isaac had asked his advice and then said all three were leaving during the lacrosse game. Peter was wandering around Beacon Hills. I suspected he was spending a lot of time at my house. In my sister's room. Which I wasn't very keen on. Tonight was the big lacrosse championship game. With everything that was weighing on me and that was going on, a meaningless game was the last thing I wanted to be at. But I promised both Melissa and Scott I would be there. Melissa startled me by grabbing my arm.

"You scared the crap out of me," I said.

"Sorry. I wanna see Scott before the game but I kinda don't want to go alone."

I smiled, understanding that she was afraid she'd be ambushed by the Kanima. "He should be in the locker room with the rest of the team. Come on."

~~~

I hadn't been in the boys' locker since high school. Josh had played basketball with Derek and had also been on the swim and lacrosse teams. I'll let your deviant little minds run wild on that. The locker room was full of the lacrosse team. Melissa hesitated at the door as I just walked in, passing Jackson on the way out. I turned around to see Melissa giving me an odd look.

"What?" I asked.

"You just strolled in there like it means nothing that this is a boys' locker room," she said.

"Not my first time in a boys' locker room."

"What?" she paused. "Oh..."

I chuckled and we looked for Scott.

"Good morning," Coach said over a megaphone speaker. "In less than an hour, aircraft from here will be joining others from around the world."

Melissa and I looked at each other, confused.

"And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind."

"What?" Melissa asked.

"Mankind. That word should have new meaning for all of us today."

I looked amused and shook my head, recognizing the speech. Melissa realized she was standing next to Stiles and patted his shoulder. He looked over it at her.

"What the hell is he talking about?" she asked.

"He does this every year," Stiles sighed.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"We are fighting for our right to live."

I was trying not to laugh. The team started cheering.

"Wait," Melissa seemed to recognize the speech as well. "Is this..."

"Yep," I said.

"Yeah, it's the speech from Independence Day," Stiles confirmed.

"Mmm-hmm."

"But as the day the world declared in one voice..."

"Coach's favorite movie," Stiles explained to a now amused Melissa.

"We will not go quietly into the night!"

"He doesn't know any sports speeches?"

"This is Coach we're talking about," I reminded her with a grin.

"I don't think he cares," Stiles agreed.

"Today we celebrate our independence day!"

The grin disappeared as I saw Gerard come out of Coach's office as Coach finished his speech. The team cheered, fired up.

"Well spoken, Coach," Gerard said, putting his hands on the coach's shoulders. I saw Melissa stiffen and she grasped my hand tightly. I squeezed it to let her know I was there. "I might have chosen something with a little more historical value but there's no denying your passion. And while I haven't been here long, there's no denying my pride in having a winning team for this school. I know you'll all be brilliant tonight, even with only one co-captain leading you."

I glanced over at Scott, who was just looking at Gerard.

"Now, I'm your principal, but I'm also a fan. So don't think I'll be content to watch you merely beat this team. Get out there and murder them."

Stiles and I glanced at one another. If that wasn't code for something, I didn't know what was. I had a bad feeling that someone was going to die tonight.

"Oh, shit," I whispered.

"You heard the man!" Coach took back over as Gerard made eye contact with me before turning away. "Asses on the field!" The team cheered again and Scott darted over towards Coach.

I pulled Melissa towards the door.

"What did he mean by that?" Melissa asked as I quickly lead her out of the locker room before the team exited.

"I don't think he meant to inspire the lacrosse team," I responded. "Are you sure you want to stay and watch the game?"

"Are you?"

"Yes," I said without hesitation. "If I can do something to prevent Gerard from killing someone with his new toy, I have to do it."

"Then I'm staying."

I looked at her.

"If you and Scott and Stiles and Anna can do this, so can I."

I smiled at her. And prayed her bravery didn't get her killed.

~~~

Anna and I sat behind Stilinski and Melissa. I kept glancing over at Scott and Stiles. Scott had been benched and I had no doubt Gerard had arranged it so that Scott couldn't interfere in whatever Gerard was planning.

"Trish," Anna brought my attention to the fact that Stiles was clumsily running onto the field.

"Oh, dear," I muttered.

"Oh, no," Stilinski said at the same time. "Why is my son running on the field?"

"Because he's on the team?" Melissa suggested. It took Stilinski a minute to let that sink in before he looked at Melissa.

"He is."

"Mmm-hmm."

"He's on the team. He's on the field," Stilinski stood. "My son is on the field!"

Anna and I busted out laughing while everyone else just looked at him like he'd gone insane. Stilinski looked around him before sitting down and Melissa started giggling. I put my hand on his shoulder.

"Amazing, ain't it?" I said with a grin and Stilinski chuckled.

"Sorry. He just never plays."

Anna giggled as Lydia sat down next to Melissa. Anna leaned forward.

"Hey, Lydia," she greeted.

"Hey, Anna. I'm sorry if I've been a little weird lately," Lydia apologized.

"No, I'm the one that needs to apologize. Come over later maybe? So we can talk."

Lydia nodded. "I'd like that."

The whistle blew and the game started. Stiles was the first to catch the ball before being instantly tackled.

"He's probably just warming up," Melissa sounded hopeful. Lydia nodded.

Stiles went after the ball again. And was tackled again. That hurt me just watching.

"Oh, he's just a little nervous," Lydia said.

"First game, after all," Anna added. I nodded.

"Plenty of time to turn it around."

Stiles tried to catch a ball and it bounced off his helmet. The crowd booed and Stilinski buried his face in his hands. I saw Scott jump up and Coach pushed him back down.

"We need a miracle," Anna said.

I saw Isaac sit down next to Scott. I smiled, glad that Isaac had changed his mind and decided to stay, and leaned closer to Anna.

"We need a werewolf," I whispered.

Anna glanced over towards Scott and saw Derek's original Beta. "Yes, we do," she agreed with a smile.

They conversed a minute before Isaac looked past Scott with a smug look and Scott looked in the same direction. I glanced in that direction and saw Gerard. The look on his face said that his plan had just been ruined. Isaac and Scott conversed some more before he ran out onto the field. And then proceeded to knock a fellow player out of the game.

"Lahey!" Coach yelled. Coach sent another player onto the field. When Isaac knocked him out of the game, I realized what he was doing. He was making it so that Coach would have no choice but to put Scott into the game. After about the fifth player, Coach was getting upset.

"Lahey! Seriously, what the hell is your problem?"

Isaac only shrugged and grinned. During the next play, five players, including Isaac, collided and four of them collapsed. Isaac didn't get back up.

"Oh, crap," I ran out onto the field, followed by Scott.

"Isaac!" I cried.

"It's not broken but I can't move it," he said quickly. EMTs rushed out to collect Isaac. "I think Jackson nicked me 'cause I can feel it spreading."

"One, two, three." The EMTs loaded Isaac on a stretcher.

I leaned down close to Isaac's ear. "Make your healing process kick in," I whispered. "It'll expel the toxin faster."

The EMTs left with Isaac and I sighed.

"Either you're in or we forfeit," Coach swung the lacrosse stick towards him and Scott took it.

"Okay."

Melissa joined us. "Something's happening, isn't it?" she asked. "Something more than a lacrosse game?"

I nodded.

"You should go," Scott said.

"Oh, I'm not going anywhere. But everything I said before, forget it. All of it. Okay? If you can do something to help, then you do it. You have to." She looked at me as she said that last sentence.

"I will." He looked at me. "Trish?"

"It's what I do, sweetheart," I said. "I'll do what I can to protect as many as I can. You just don't give in to Gerard's demands."

He nodded and Melissa and I returned to the stands.

~~~

With Scott on the field, the crowd was wildly cheering. Number 42 on the other team slammed into Scott and I gasped. He then slammed into Stiles. Scott took a moment to regain his feet. And I then had the feeling in the pit of my stomach that something bad was about to happen. I glanced over to where Gerard had been standing only to find him gone. I looked around for him but I couldn't find him. A moment later, I noticed that Scott was gone and I really hoped that Gerard wasn't attempting to kill another innocent wolf. The players lost the ball and everyone was looking around for it. Stiles bent over and scooped it up before taking off towards the other team's goal.

"Stiles! Go!" Anna screamed, jumping up. A stampede of players gave chase.

"Oh, crap," Stilinski muttered.

Stiles got to the goal and then stopped and turned around.

"Ah, crap," I said. "Shoot it!"

"Stilinski!" Coach yelled. "Shoot it! Shoot the ball!" Stiles still hesitated. "Shoot it, you idiot!"

"Shoot it!" Lydia screamed.

Stiles shot. And scored! I jumped up screaming, Stilinski doing the same. Anna and Lydia screamed.

"Whoo-hoo!" Stilinski cheered.

Stiles celebrated, no doubt excited that he'd actually scored a goal, which brought the score 9-8. Stiles got the ball again and raced towards the goal, dodging the player on the other team, and scored again, tying the game. Stilinski was excited, screaming and jumping up and down as much as I was. Stiles once again got the ball and raced towards the goal.

Lydia stood. "Come on! Come on! Come on!" she cheered him on.

He scored. We screamed and cheered wildly. The Beacon Hills Cyclones were once again lacrosse champions. The team was on the field celebrating, dancing around Stiles. The buzzer sounded, ending the game. The crowd went wild. Stilinski hugged Melissa and Anna hugged Lydia. I still had that feeling, despite my acting like a lacrosse fan for a bit. I saw Scott, who was looking around. And then the lights went out.

~~~

The cheering turned to screaming and panic. I changed my eyes so I could see better, another advantage to the eye color-changing ability.

"Anna, stay with Lydia," I ordered. There was just enough moonlight to see and I hopped off the stands.

"Scott!" Melissa called. "Scott, where are you?" I saw that someone was down on the field. Oh crap. I literally ran into Melissa, more focused on the fallen. "Scott?"

"No, Trish," I responded.

"Mom. Are you okay?" Scott said, joining us.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine. But somebody is hurt. Somebody is down on the field."

I rushed forward as the lights came back on. I immediately changed my eyes back before someone noticed.

"Get out of the way!" Coach was yelling. "Move! Back off!"

I was right behind him with Scott and Melissa behind me. Coach pushed his way through the gathered crowd and we saw that Jackson was the one down.

"What the hell?" I said.

"Jackson?" Lydia called. "What's happened to Jackson? Jackson!" She pushed her way past the players as I knelt down and took his pulse as Coach called for a medic. "Jackson! What's happening?"

"I don't have a pulse," Melissa went down to her knees next to him as I pulled his jersey up. "Oh, my God!"

Lydia started freaking out when we saw the blood. I immediately started chest compressions and Melissa did mouth-to-mouth.

"Lydia, hold his head. Tilt it up," she ordered. Lydia did as she was told.

"Come on, Jackson," I whispered.

"Where's Stiles?" Stilinski asked.

I continued to focus on performing CPR on Jackson.

"Where's Stiles? Where the hell is my son?"

I then noticed the blood on Jackson's fingers and I realized that he'd done this to himself. What reason did Gerard have to make his tool of vengeance kill himself? What was his plan?