The Hunters

Chapter 2

An hour later, they were all waiting in a clearing in the Preserve waiting for whatever was about to happen. Corey had gone invisible after giving Mason a quick kiss and they had all watched the leaves shuffle as he walked away.

Those with superhuman hearing listened as he climbed a tree and settled down in its branches, all of them tensing when he slipped and cursed under his breath.

"Sorry," they heard him whisper. "I almost stepped on a squirrel."

Scott caught sight of Theo rolling his eyes fondly with the ghost of a smile gracing his features. As for everyone else, Mason was pacing while Liam watched, eventually grabbing his friend's arm and making him stop. Argent was checking his many guns and weapons and Scott made a mental note that he had found a new hiding place for a switchblade. 

Lydia looked bored, checking her hair while Malia and Derek aided Scott and Theo in keeping an ear out for the Gladers. Scott was starting to think the Gladers weren't going to show that night when he picked up the sound of someone whispering.

"Minho, stop walking so close behind me," a girl said. Scott saw the others perk up at the sound while Argent, Lydia, and Mason froze in case they or the Gladers heard something. They were pretty close to the Alpha's cave in case Corey needed them.

"Then tell Thomas to stop walking so close behind me," another voice, presumably Minho whispered back.

"Knock it off, you two," a voice that sounded British whispered in an annoyed tone. "We're almost there."

The Gladers were right next to the tree where Corey was hiding, right outside of the Alpha's cave, when a deep growl echoed from the depths of the cave. 

"Be quiet," the girl said, the friendly, joking tone gone from her voice. 

The Gladers were silent for a few moments before a loud roar sounded and someone, it sounded like Minho, yelled, "Now!"

There was the sound of a large. . . something barreling out of the cave and a gunshot rang throughout the Preserve at the same time an arrow sliced through the air. The Alpha roared angrily and fought back. 

The sounds of battle were so loud, even Argent, Lydia, and Mason could hear parts of it. At some point, there was a yell of surprise moments before something hit a tree and the girl shouted, "Newt!"

"Thomas," Minho yelled as the battle raged on. "There's a cliff over that way a bit. You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?'"

Scott assumed Thomas nodded in agreement or something because he heard the sound of two of the Gladers running off into the forest, followed by the Alpha. Another Glader hurried to the base of Corey's tree where he heard another heartbeat.

"Newt? The girl asked, concerned. "You okay?"

Newt groaned and the leaves crunched, sounding like he was rolling over, "I'm fine."

"You're arm's bleeding," Teresa said, opening a box. "Let me see."

"Ugh, that was embarrassing," Newt huffed. "That was such an easy dodge-hey!"

"Well, do you want it to get infected?" Teresa asked, apparently cleaning his arm. "Just shut up an-"

She cut herself off.

"Teresa?" Newt asked. "What's wrong?"

Teresa was silent for a minute before answering, "I thought I heard something."

Scott and the others got ready in case that something was Corey. The two were quiet for a moment. Scott had to admit, she was good. Not even he had heard anything from Corey. 

But then he heard it. The sound of several somethings barreling through the trees. A few seconds later, the Gladers could hear it, too.

"Get down!" Teresa yelled, and Scott could hear her firing an arrow towards the sounds right as the first one broke through into the clearing.

"He's turned more!" He heard Newt exclaim as Teresa let another arrow fly. "Where's my-"

There was a grunt as Newt was cut off and Teresa shouted his name again, with no response this time. She shot one last arrow before a beacon, similar to Argent's, was activated and she led the Omegas away from the clearing.

Scott waited a few moments before whispering, "Corey, what's going on?"

"Three of them led the Alpha and the Omegas off towards the cliff. The fourth one got knocked out by the Omegas."

"Come on," Scott said and led the way towards the clearing. As they came into the clearing, Corey jumped down out of the tree beside Newt. He was young, definitely not older than any of them. He was tall and lanky with reddish-blonde hair. 

There was a machete laying off to the side along with a couple of backpacks filled with water bottles, granola bars, and a few clothes. There was also an open first aid kit next to Newt where Teresa had been cleaning the long cut on his arm. 

"So. . . what now?" Mason asked.

Scott hadn't really thought this far ahead. The plan was to see if the Gladers were dangerous, but they really hadn't learned much. 

"We could take him back to my place," Derek suggested. "Talk to him about what they're doing in Beacon Hills."

"I fully endorse that plan," Malia said. Scott gave her a look. "What?"

"We can't just kidnap him," Scott reasoned. "The others will be back any minute."

"I think they're a little preoccupied," Lydia said. "Besides, we're not kidnapping. We're not going to hold him against his will, or anything. We just want to talk."

*****

And so that's how they ended up at Derek's loft twenty minutes later with a random teenage boy handcuffed to a pole on a support beam having his wound treated by Lydia and Argent.

"I didn't expect them to be so young," Scott muttered to Malia as they sat on the couch, watching Argent and Lydia finish cleaning and bandaging the boy's arm.

"You heard what Argent said," Malia whispered back. "The youngest was twelve."

"I know, but I thought that they might have grown up by now. He can't be any older than us."

Argent and Lydia finished bandaging Newt's arm and put away the first aid things. Scott was about to talk to Corey about what he had seen during the fight when, suddenly, the room was filled with a bright light. 

Scott brought his hands up to his eyes and squinted as his vision was impaired for a few seconds.

"Flash bombs," Argent said.

"The Gladers," Derek called out.

"Why didn't the alarm go off?" Liam asked.

"They must have come in through the balcony."

Scott blinked the last of the white spots out of his vision and saw two figures standing in front of Newt, creating a small, protective wall. Teresa was aiming a crossbow at them and an Asian boy, who he assumed was Minho, was holding a spear threateningly. Before he had time to wonder where the last Glader was, he heard a small gasp from Corey, who was standing near the back of the group.

They turned around and saw the last Glader, Thomas, had pulled Corey away from the group and was holding a gun to his head. Corey, who was arguably the jumpiest one of the pack, didn't look scared, however. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as confusion radiated off him.

"Let him go," Thomas said, his voice dripping with hatred, and Scott felt his breath hitch in his throat as he looked a little closer at the hunter's face.

"S-Stiles?"