Sawyer's outfit:

- Minus jacket ⬆️

▪︎ 🖤 🏳️‍🌈🕯▪︎

Chapter Twenty-Eight
⊚ Unleashed ⊚

Amid the rush of boys changing into sweats and shorts, Scott, Stiles and Sawyer talked by the boys' lockers, with Anakin standing next to Sawyer. "I looked everywhere. It's like he just walked away- left his car, his dog." Scott said and Stiles nodded slightly, "Okay, was he, like... could he have been a virgin, maybe? Did he look like a virgin? Was he, you know, virginal?" Stiles asked. 

"No, definitely not- Deaton makes me have sex with all of his clients. It's a new policy." Scott said, then smiles, proud of his joke but the twins just stares at him making him sigh, "And why are you talking like he's already dead? He's just missing." 

"Missing and presumed dead because he's probably a virgin, Scott! And you know who else is a virgin? Us. We're virgins, okay? I'm literally asexual." Sawyer said and Stiles nodded in agreement. "And you know what that means? It means that our lack of sexual experience is now literally a threat to our lives! Okay, I need to have sex, like, right now. Someone needs to have sex with me, like, today. Like, someone needs to sex me right now!" Stiles said hysterically. 

Suddenly a locker next to him shut and Danny turned to face them, "Alright I'll do it." Danny said, making Stiles jump slightly and spin around, "What???" Stiles asked. "Come to my place at nine. Plan to stay the night. I like to cuddle." Danny said, "Oh, that is so sweet. Are you kidding?" Stiles said earnestly. 

"Yes! I'm kidding." Danny said exasperatedly before walking away, "Okay, you know, you don't toy with a guy's emotions like that, Danny! It's not attractive, all right?" Stiles called out while Sawyer laughed before Coach walked out of his office. 

"Mr. Lahey, happy to have you back! Not happy that you're late." Coach said as Isaac walked into the locker room. "I'll remind you all, cross-country is not optional for lacrosse players! I don't need you turning into a bunch of fat-asses in the off season." Coach said and then saw Isaac and Danny pull off their shirts to display a ripped physique, "So, work on that..." 

⊚ 

The cross country team gathered beyond the start of a trail that led into the outlying woods as Isaac kneeled to tighten his shoelaces before pausing, holding still. Gripping the laces, his hands curl into fist as he slowly turns to find Aiden standing on his right in between him and Ethan steps in at his left. 

Coach blows the whistle and the twins race forward. Isaac bolted forward when Scott grabbed him, yanking him back making Isaac look at them with eyes glowing yellow. "It's them!" Isaac said before running off, "Isaac, wait!" Scott yelled, running after him. 

"You think we should run after them?" Stiles as and Sawyer shrugged slightly, "Probably, but I'm not bringing Anakin around any evil Alphas. So I'm gonna just take Anakin on a run while the werewolves have a masculinity battle." Sawyer said, making Stiles chuckle before she and Anakin started running. 

After a moment, Sawyer slowed to a stop as her eyes suddenly clouded over but she didn't see anything, but she heard the distant sound of some kind of chanting as she started walking. The further she walked, the louder the chanting got until it sounded like it was right next to her ear and she stopped. 

Sawyer's eyes went back to normal and she broke out of her little trance before furrowing her brows as she glanced around. "Where did we go?" She mumbled as she looked down at Anakin as he was looking at something behind her as he sniffed the air. 

Sawyer turned around only to find she was inches away from a dead body leaning against a tree. She let out a slight scream of shock, stumbling back onto the ground. The track team quickly ran into the area and Stiles pushed forward and grabbed his sister's arm, pulling her up as Scott and Isaac stepped in beside them. 

"It's him, isn't it?" Stiles asked looking at Scott who doesn't have to see the face to know who it was. Because this time the garrote used to crush the young man's larynx is not made from wire. 

But instead, a dog leash. 

⊚ 

Tearing through the woods, hands pushing aside errant branches, Deputies try to keep up with Stilinski who leads the charge. They breach the clearing where a cluster of teenagers surround the body. "Hey, get out of the way! Get back! Get this area cordoned off before they trample every piece of evidence." Stilinski said and a couple Deputies started trying to push the crowd back. 

"Back up! Everyone back!" 

"Get these kids out of here!" Stilinski yelled and Stiles and Sawyer stepped forward, "Dad, just come here. Look, look! Look at it- it's the same as the others, you see?" Stiles said, pointing at the body and his father sighed and nodded tiredly. "Yeah, I see that. Wanna tell me how you managed to find two bodies?" Stilinski asked, looking at Sawyer who sighed softly, "I'll tell you when I understand it myself." She said and Stilinski sighed. 

"Do me a favor? Go back to school, yeah?" He asked, making the twins frown slightly as Stilinski turned to Coach, "Coach, can you give us a hand, here?" He asked, making Coach turn to the track team. 

"You heard the man! Nothing to see here! Probably just some homeless kid." Coach called out and Scott stepped forward this time, "Coach? He was a senior." He said, making Coach's eyes widen. "Oh... He wasn't on the team, was he?" He asked, making Sawyer chuckle under her breath. 

Suddenly, a panicked voice cries out from behind them. Heads turn to a girl named Ashley frantically pushing her way through. "Kyle! Oh, God, Kyle! Oh, God!" She screamed as Deputy Graeme grabbed her before she could get to the body. She struggles, but then finally relents, falling into Graeme's arms in grief-stricken defeat. "Go on! Go." Stilinski yelled and the team started walking away. 

"You see the way the twins looked at him?" Isaac asked when they were out of ears shot from other students and Sawyer raised her eyebrows. "Yeah, you mean, like, they had no idea what happened?" She asked and Isaac shook his head, "No. No, they knew." He said, making Stiles squint at him. 

"The kid was strangled with a garrote, all right? Is Sawyer and I the only one recognizing the lack of Werewolf-itude in these murders?" Stiles asked and Isaac raised his eyebrows at him, "Oh, you think it's a coincidence they turn up and then people start dying?" He asked and Sawyer shook her head slightly. 

"No, but I still don't think it's them... Maybe whoever is killing these kids followed them here." She said and Stiles dramatically gestured to her, "Thank you!" He said before turning to Scott. "Scott?" Isaac asked, making Scott look up at them alarmed. 

"How 'bout you?" Isaac asked and Scott glanced between them awkwardly, "...I don't know yet." He said, making Sawyer squint at him. "You don't know yet?" She asked and Scott shrugged slightly, "Well, he's got a point... Seriously, guys? Human sacrifices?" Scott asked and Stiles looked at him appalled. 

"Scott, your eyes turn into yellow glow-sticks, okay? Hair literally grows from your cheeks and then will immediately disappear, and if I were to stab you right now, it would just magically heal. My sister can literally see the future and people's memories and can hear their thoughts. But you're telling me that you're having trouble grasping human sacrifices???" Stiles asked incredulously and Scott nodded slightly. 

"That's a good point, too..." Scott said and Isaac shook his head slightly, "I don't care. They killed that kid. They killed the girl that saved me. I'm gonna kill them, too." 

⊚ 

Stiles, Sawyer and Anakin sat outside the office right before the door opens and Ashley walks out, escorted by a Deputy, making the twins stand up. "Um, hi, Ashley. Hi. Can I talk to you for just one sec?" Stiles asked nervously and she nodded slowly, "Sorry, I just need to ask you something really quick, and it's gonna sound really unbelievably insensitive, so I apologize in advance... Um... Was Kyle a virgin?" Stiles asked, making Sawyer sigh and pinch the bridge of her nose. 

"What?" 

"Your boyfriend- was he a virgin, or did you guys... You know what I mean-" Stiles tries to ask but was cut off when she slapped him. Hard. Stiles's hand comes up to his cheek, but he's more stunned than stung. "No. He wasn't a virgin." Ashley said before a Deputy pulled her away as Stilinski walked up to them. 

"Have you two completely lost your minds? I've got four murders, guy. You see those men in there? That's the FBI- they're pulling together a task force to help, because it looks like we've got a full-blown serial killer on our hands. You get that?" Stilinski asked and Stiles nodded, "Yes, Dad. I get that." 

"Then what are you doing?" Stilinski asked and Sawyer sighed, "We're trying to find a pattern." He said before he, Sawyer and Anakin walked away. "That's how you asked? Really? You just straight up asked like that?" Sawyer asked incredulously, making Stiles give her a look. 

"What else was I supposed to do?" He asked and she sighed and shrugged, "I don't know, ask questions that could give us enough subtle hints. You don't just ask a girl if her dead boyfriend was a virgin." She said as they walked up to Kyle's locker. 

Photos of Kyle with Ashley, a perfect looking couple, a picture of Kyle on a skateboard, one in a Raiders jersey, another with his dog, Bullet. The twins started to walk away before they nearly walked right into Boyd, "Whoa! Hey, Boyd! I didn't know you were back at school!" Sawyer said and Boyd shrugged slightly. 

"Yeah, I would have told you, but we're not actually friends." He said, making them purse their lips and nod slightly, "Oh, yeah... Hey, so, did you, uh... so, did you know Kyle?" Stiles asked and Boyd nodded. 

"Yeah, we were in junior ROTC together." He said as he placed an air force ROTC patch with the words "Crossed Into the Blue" hand written below it. "So, you two were friends, then?" Stiles asked making Body look at him, "I only had one friend... She's dead, too." He said before walking away, making Sawyer sigh softly and look down at Anakin.

"And here I thought being forced to watch a grandpa beat me up was a bonding experience." 

⊚ 

Trying to whisper but rarely succeeding, Stiles, Sawyer and Anakin followed Lydia down the corridor. "You know that there's a temple in Calcutta where they used to sacrifice a child every day? 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 every day, because every day is Dead Baby Day, yay!" Stiles said, making Lydia look at him confused. 

"Why are you guys telling me this?" Lydia asked exasperatedly, "Because Scott is dealing with the Alpha twins." Sawyer said, making Lydia stop, turning to her with a look of alarm. "Do you not know about the Alpha twins?" Stiles asked 

"Alphas...?" 

"Ethan and Aiden?" Sawyer said and Lydia sucked in a deep breath before nodding, "Oh, yeah. Yeah, I knew about them." Lydia lied but the twins apparently didn't catch the lie or didn't care. "Okay. Okay, good. So, look, he's what I'm thinking- I'm thinking that the murders maybe 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?" Sawyer 

"I own a little dog." Lydia said then noticed the look on Sawyer's face, "I am not getting rid of my dog!" She said and Sawyer groaned. "I know, I would never ask you to get rid of your dog! But could you just- maybe- possibly think about making your dad or something dog sit him for a while?" Sawyer asked. 

"No! And, by the way, you guys cannot discern a pattern by a single data point, so stop trying." She said, making Stiles look at her worth exasperation, "So, what? We're just supposed to wait around for someone else to die, then? We're just supposed to sit there and watch them die? Just wait around for them to wither up and die right in front of us?" Stiles said, making Lydia look at him confused again, "Wither?" She asked. "You know what I mean! Die, in just a hideously awful, strangulating, head-bashing, throat-cutting kind of way!" 

"Maybe it's not your job. 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?" Lydia said. 

"You mean someone like our dad?" Sawyer asked and Lydia looked at her like it was obvious, "No. I mean your dad! The Sheriff!" 

⊚ 

Stiles, Sawyer and Anakin walked into the animal clinic as Deaton looked up at them. "You're out of school early." Deaton said and they nodded, "Yeah, free period, actually." Sawyer said. 

"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 rambled making Deaton nod, "I gathered as much from the 'Sheriff' title." He said and Sawyer chuckled slightly. 

"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, we started thinking, and we remembered someone else who does have a lot of information. Someone who always seems to know more than anyone else around here. You." Sawyer rambled and Deaton nodded. 

"Come on in." He said before walking into the examination room and Stiles and Sawyer glanced at each other before following. 

"All these symbols and things- the triskeles, the bank logo, the mountain ash- all of it is from the Celtic Druids. 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." Stiles explained as they walked into the back where Deaton had a bunch of jars and more on one of the metal tables. 

"You ever heard of the Lindow man? Two-thousand-year-old body found in England? He was found strangled, head bashed in, throat cut- three-fold death. They also found pollen grains in his stomach... Guess what favorite Druid plant that was?" Sawyer asked and Deaton picked up a jar and pulled out a small branch of the plant. White berries stuck amid dark green leaves. 

"Mistletoe." 

"We're just telling you everything you already know, aren't we?" Stiles asked and Deaton didn't answer, "Then why aren't you telling us?" Sawyer asked and Deaton sighed softly. "Maybe because when you've spent every moment of the last ten years trying to push something away- denying it, lying about it- becomes a pretty powerful habit." He said and Sawyer raised her eyebrows, "So this person, are they a Druid?" She asked and Deaton shook his head. 

"No. It's someone copying a centuries-old practice of a people who should have known better. Do you know what the word 'Druid' means in Gaelic?" He asked and Stiles shook his head, "No." He said and before Deaton could say anything Sawyer spoke up. 

"Wise oak." She said, making them look at her and Deaton nodded, "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 and Stiles sighed. "Yeah, well, this one is." He said and before anyone could say anything Sawyer's phone started ringing making her pull it out to see Lydia calling her. 

"Hey-" She said when she answered it but Lydia quickly spoke up, "The music teacher is gone." She said making Sawyer furrow her brows. "Wait, what?" She asked, "The music teacher is missing. Gone. Not here." Lydia said, completely freaked out making Sawyer look at Stiles and Deaton with wide eyes. 

"Are you sure he's missing?" She asked making Stiles park up slightly, "Not just missing- taken." 

⊚ 

Deaton hit stop on the recording on the tablet, a disconcerted look in his eyes. "Can we get a copy of this?" He asked and Lydia nodded and took the tablet and opened a browser on it to upload the music file to a cloud storage server while Stiles and Sawyer searched the teacher's desk for clues while Anakin laid on the ground. 

"Hey, Doc...? Any help would be, you know... helpful." Stiles said, "Each grouping of three would have its own purpose, its own type of power. Virgins, healers, philosophers, warriors..." Deaton said, making Sawyer's head shoot up. "Wait, warrior, could that also be, like, a soldier?" She asked, making realization cross over Stiles's face. 

"Absolutely." Deaton said and Stiles pulled out a photo of the Music Teacher from an open desk drawer. It's a wedding picture, arms around his wife, he wears the military dress of an Army Officer. "Kyle was in ROTC with Boyd. That's got to be it. That's the pattern." Stiles said and Deaton raised his eyebrows, "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 pulls out his phone while Deaton notices Lydia's expression. "Lydia...? Something wrong?" Deaton said and Lydia shook her head, "No, it was...I mean... I just thought of someone else with a military connection." 

"Who?" 

"It's sitting right on his desk... the West Point honor code." Lydia said, making realization cross over Sawyer's features, "Harris." She said, making them all look at her as she grabbed Anakin's leash. 

They quickly run out of the room and over to Harris' class to see Harris nowhere in sight. Deaton glances up from the West Point plaque on Harris's desk to Stiles, Sawyer and Lydia in the otherwise empty room. "This is just one of many possibilities. He could have simply left for the day." Deaton said, trying to stay optimistic. 

"Yeah, well, not without this..." Stiles said, holding up Harris's briefcase before his eyes wandered to the uncapped red marker atop the tests Harris was grading. One is marked F, one an A, the next a D, but Stiles picks up another paper with a curious look. "What?" Sawyer noticed the look on his face, "This test is graded R." Stiles said and she and Lydia stood next to him, looking at all the tests. 

"This one's H." Lydia said and Sawyer's eyes clouded over. She subconsciously grabbed the papers, making everyone look at her before she started organizing them in what seemed like a specific order. A moment later Sawyer set the last paper down, before her eyes went back to normal. 

She stepped back slightly, her eyes blinking rapidly for a moment as Lydia gently grabbed her hand, making Sawyer look at her while Deaton sighed. "You guys remember I told you 'Druid' is the Gaelic word for 'wise oak'? Deaton asked and they nodded, "Yeah..." 

"If a Druid went down the wrong path, the 'wise oak' was sometimes said to have become a 'dark oak'. There's a Gaelic word for that, as well." Deaton said and they all looked down at the lines up tests that spelt a word 

"Darach."