VESTIGE ↬ D. HALE [3]

06 ; berserker

06 ↬ BERSERKER

"So, let me get this straight," Peter said slowly, pacing back and forth in front of the loft window. Shortly after Elise had shaken off the shock of the intruder in the loft and deemed that the only thing the thief had taken was her mother's journal, Scott had called her asking if she could bring Peter to the loft for his help with Derek's situation. "Derek went to the house thinking it was still there, right? So if he doesn't know that the fire happened, he doesn't know that Kate was the one that started it, right?"

Elise's eyes widened slightly as she comprehended what Peter was saying. "You think that she did this so he would trust her again?" she asked. Malia, Kira, Stiles, and Lydia were supposed to be waiting for the siblings at the McCall residence with Derek. Elise simply hoped that nothing would go horribly wrong while they were trying to get to the bottom of what had happened.

"You mean that he trusted her before?" Scott questioned.

"Far too much," Peter said with a slight sneer.

"Scott, call Stiles. Tell him we know why Kate did it- at least some of it. They need to keep their eyes open," Elise instructed her brother. The teen nodded and pulled his phone free from his jacket pocket as he stepped away from the group. Elise turned back to Peter, her brows furrowed in concentration.

"Do you have any idea where-"

"Guys!" Scott exclaimed, looking down at his phone as he rushed back to the group. "I have bad news." The two older members of their group looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to elaborate. "Kate's got Derek." Both Elise and Peter let panic creep across their faces, forcing him to continue. "That's not all, though. The girls never made it to our house. Lydia found a body at a gas station on the edge of town." Scott tilted his phone forward so the other two could see the image of a mutilated corpse plastered onto the walls and floor of the gas station bathroom.

"Why would she kill a gas station employee?" Elise inquired, forcing herself to stifle her panic. They couldn't just go chasing off after Derek and Kate- not only did they have no idea where Kate was taking Derek, but the pair already had a head start. They needed to find out where they were going and meet them there.

"I don't think she could help it," Peter breathed. "It looks like it was done in a frenzy. This wasn't a murder, it was a symptom?"

"Of what?" Elise frowned, "Crazy-bitch-syndrome?"

"It's a sign that she can't control the shift," the Hale continued, ignoring Elise's snide remark.

Scott nodded, "Derek said that he was having issues controlling the shift on the full moon, too."

"So, she wants to learn how to control it? Does she think Derek can teach her?" Elise asked.

Peter shook his head. "No, she wants the triskelion."

↬

Why is it always here? Elise thought as she and Scott quickly followed Peter Hale to the foot of the stairs that lead to Beacon Hills high school. Apparently, the triskelion was more than just a tattoo- it was a carved talisman that the Hale family used to teach each generation to control their shift.

Elise skidded to a stop as a deep, familiar growl echoed through the air. The two men in front of her halted as well. Looks of horror flashed across their faces as they turned to the brunette.

"I know that sound," she gasped. "Whatever it is attacked Braeden and I in the church."

"And it tried to get us on the road," Scott added. "What the hell is it doing here? Did it follow us?"