Chapter Twenty-Seven: Uncertainty

(The Belly Of The Beast, Part 6)

***

Allison looked around at the doomsday supply room, seeing nothing that screamed either Hackett or werewolf. Just a lot of supplies on the shelves and nothing else, the sound of water dripping filling the silence as Allison, Ryan and Laura walked further into the room, trying to find anything that told them that.

That was the moment the door swung closed behind them.

Allison, Ryan and Laura turned to the door, before turning back. Allison felt disappointed that the door had closed—and probably locked itself—with them still inside, but there was nothing they could do about it. And it wasn't as if they could escape the way they'd come in.

Instead, they decided to keep investigating. Allison looked around the room, just as she heard muffled voices above.

"Keep it down," Laura hissed.

"You keep it down," Ryan retorted.

"Shh!"

"You both keep it down, or we're screwed," Allison scolded as she took out an arrow, readying it against her bow just in case.

The muffled voices kept speaking as she, Allison and Laura investigated, Laura whispering, "This way. Come on."

Allison and Ryan listened, before Ryan grabbed her arm and pointed. Following his line of vision, she saw three large tanks, the type that seemed to hold alcohol brewing inside them.

"This is an old still," Laura realised as she also saw them.

"I guess business was booming," Ryan mused.

"Yeah, back during the Prohibition," Allison observed, looking at the cobwebs and the rust and how abandoned the stills looked and that they were underground.

They looked at each other before continuing on searching, before Allison noticed a red light.

"Over there," she whispered, pointing with her arrow.

Ryan and Laura, noticing, headed over her way. They looked at each other before Ryan walked forward, only to slip in a patch of water. Allison lunged, dropping the arrow to grab Ryan and steady him as Laura hissed, "Careful!"

"I'm okay," Ryan assured as he straightened while Allison picked up her arrow, nocking it against her bow again as they walked up to the red-lit room.

When they were about to enter, Allison heard growling and she knew, deep in her bones, this was the source of the roar they'd heard earlier in the cave.

Standing just in front of it as the growling continued, Laura lowered her gun and whispered, "It's coming from up ahead."

Swallowing back her fear and replacing it with steely determination, Allison readjusted her grip, making sure she held the arrow firmly, as they entered the room.

The first thing she saw was a cage. And inside it...

"Oh God..." Allison whispered, staring in shock as Ryan exclaimed, "Jacob!", rushing up to the cage—and to the friend in it.

Allison followed, standing beside Ryan as she stared at Jacob and asked, "Are you okay? Did anything scratch you or... bite you?"

Ryan shot her a look, which Allison returned. Given this night—given what happened to Nick and Sarah and what was happening to Laura—it seemed like a fair question to ask.

Instead of answering, Jacob just breathed shakily as he pointed across from him.

Following his line of vision, Allison went cold as she saw the source of the growling.

A werewolf, hunched over, dark fur lined crimson in the room's bloody light. The werewolf and Jacob were separated, but Allison could clearly see the two cages were connected. If a door slid open between them...

Allison swallowed, banishing the image from her mind the moment it flashed in there.

"Hey! Hey, it's Ryan and Allison," Ryan told Jacob, pulling Allison's focus back on their friend. "Jesus, what happened to you?"

"Did you find Emma? Is she okay?" Allison asked, concern for their only remaining unaccounted for friend rising.

Jacob didn't answer, and now she was close to the bars, Allison could hear and feel the hum of electricity.

"What kind of..." she breathed, before she remembered. Werewolves—werewolves which were really strong and could break this cage open like paper if it wasn't electrified. 

Still, who would put a human inside one of them? That seemed to be insanely cruel.

Looking at Ryan, they nodded before standing up and Ryan ran to the button on the cage, intending to open it, until Laura hissed, "Hey. Bad idea."

She looked at the werewolf and though she wanted Jacob free, Allison nodded and whispered, "She's right. It's electrified. And the cages are connected. If we let Jacob free..."

She trailed off, but Ryan got it. If they let Jacob go, that would let the werewolf go.

And all hell would break loose.

Ryan stepped away, frustrated at himself but understanding the bigger danger if the werewolf was freed. Allison also stepped away, trying to avoid that temptation.

That was when Jacob broke his silence.

"Holy shit," he breathed, before he rushed to the cage and begged, "Look, you gotta get me out of here guys. Seriously."

"How? It's electrified!" Ryan retorted.

"Not to mention, if we let you out, we let ol' Big Bad Wolf out as well," Allison reminded, arrow pointed to the werewolf growling and now pacing in the corner—probably agitated by the smells or the sight of Allison's silver arrow. Probably both.

"Okay, um... there's a box, in the corner of the room. I think that's how they're operated, okay?" Jacob told them, pointing. "I saw this old guy—hunter dude, from the woods? He used that."

Allison and Ryan turned, seeing the box Jacob mentioned.

"Okay. I think we can handle that," Allison said, before adding, "And not die in the process."

Looking at Jacob, she asked again, "Jacob, tell me. Were you scratched or bitten?"

"What?"

"Jacob, did you get bitten?" Ryan asked, urgency in his tone.

"Is she crazy?!" Jacob asked, talking about Laura and not answering the very important question.

"Jacob, this is really important, Ryan and I need to know if you were," Allison said, urgency making her stress the words.

"Okay. If you mean by one of those things, no. Me and Emma—she's fine, by the way. Said she got bit in the leg by one of those things on the island, but there was nothing I could see. It was probably too dark and she got lucky. Anyway, one of those things attacked us and we got away. But my foot got caught in a trap," Jacob answered, pointing to the foot in question.

Allison winced, before her eyes widened and she turned to Ryan. "Ryan... Max is on that island. If he bit Emma..."

"He probably turned her," Ryan finished, coming to the same conclusion.

"What? What are you talking about? And who's that crazy lady with the gun?" Jacob demanded.

"It's too much to explain right now. All you need to know is that we're getting you out of there," Allison told him, voice firm with determination.

That was when she noticed Laura in front of the other cage—and the gun pointed right at the werewolf inside it.

Immediately Allison ran up to her and raised her bow at Laura, arrow pointed right at her head, growling, "Don't you even think about it."

That was when Ryan noticed as well and ran to Laura, pushing down the gun and standing in front of her.

"Wait!" he yelled.

"It's him," Laura snarled.

"How do you know that?" Allison hissed. "You weren't right the first time—how can you be right about this now?"

"Exactly. Think about it. Why would they lock him in a cage?" Ryan asked pointedly.

"Then who the hell is it?" Laura demanded as she struggled to free her gun from Ryan's grip while avoiding being grazed by the tip of the silver arrow.

"Who the hell is she?" Jason demanded.

"Not now, Jacob," Allison growled.

Letting the gun go, Ryan turned to Jacob and said, "She's in charge. Well, she and Allison both are."

"Really? More like they're about to kill each other," Jacob noted sarcastically.

"Got that right, Custos," Allison muttered, glaring at Laura as she hissed, "The minute you fire that gun, this arrow is going straight through your fucking head."

"Allison," Ryan said, giving her a look and, reluctantly, Allison lowered the arrow as Ryan reasoned to Laura, "You've already got it wrong once. It might even be Nick or Sarah."

"Your friends?"

"Hey, listen, okay, they said they've already got two of us accounted for. Whatever that means," Jacob informed.

"Thanks, Jacob. That helps a lot," Allison deadpanned.

"Whoever this is, they're... they're not going anywhere. Remember, we've got to be sure. You promised," Ryan reminded her.

"And if you're not, you know where that arrow will land," Allison hissed.

"Yeah, Ryan! Allison! Guys! You gotta get me out of here. Okay, seriously guys," Jacob whispered.

"In a minute," Allison hissed—before voices sounded above their heads.

"It... it was mine. They took it—they took it!"

At hearing that, Allison looked at Laura and her gun—no points in guessing what that last part meant, and who it was about.

"You fuckin' idiot!" was roared back.

"Ma."

"God damn it! You fuckin' piece of shit! Get away! Get away from me!"

Allison eyed Ryan and Laura—whatever was going on, it sounded like a heated argument between mother and son. She looked away, back at the werewolf, as something about this one seemed familiar...

That was when she noticed the burn scar on its leg—almost concealed by fur, but still visible enough for her to see it. A burn scar in the shape of an arrowhead.

Allison froze, remembering before Nick fell into the pool, the arrow in her hand—the arrowhead that had touched Nick's leg, that had burned him because it was silver.

That meant the werewolf in the cage was... was...

"Nick?" she whispered.

The werewolf growled in response.

"Allison?" Ryan said.

"I know who that is—that's Nick," Allison said, turning to him and Laura.

"How can you be so sure?" Laura asked her.

Allison lifted her arrow and turned to Ryan. "Ryan, back at the pool, before Nick fell in, he let me go. He did it because my arrow touched him—my silver arrow. It burned him, and... that werewolf has that same burn."

Ryan looked in the direction she was pointing with the arrow and his eyes widened. "Shit. You're right."

Allison turned to Laura. "Now that we know that's definitely Nick in there, that means Chris is somewhere else. And that you cannot shoot him, or I'll gladly return the favour."

"I get it," Laura replied, before she looked at the ceiling and whispered, "They're close."

Then she was gone, off to hunt her werewolf.

Allison let her go—she felt much better with the trigger-happy woman away from Nick. She looked back at Nick, heart torn at seeing him in his transformed state, knowing that instead of recognising her, Jacob or Ryan, he would attack and kill them. And while the cage was the best option, rage filled her that the boy she loved, whether he was currently a monster or not, was trapped inside it and risked being electrocuted if he got too close.

At least Sarah isn't here, Allison thought. Which didn't surprise Allison. Injured or not, Sarah would be the type to avoid being captured.

But seeing Nick incited Allison further to kill Chris Hackett and end the curse on him and Sarah. And yet...

"We can't leave Jacob in here," she murmured.

Ryan looked at her, before nodding in agreement as he said to Jacob, "Okay. Okay. Okay. Help me and Allison through it."

"So we can avoid Nick biting or killing us," Allison added, putting the arrow back in the quiver and resting her bow on the floor.

"Okay. So. All I know is you have to open my door and that door," Jacob told them, pointing to said doors. He paused, before pointing to the closed door of Nick's cage and added, "And definitely not that door."

Allison rolled her eyes—that was literally the whole reason she didn't want to open the doors in the first place. Knowing that it was Nick in there incited her further, because if that door opened and he killed them instead of simply just biting them and was freed of the curse, then Allison could only imagine the guilt he'd feel. And she didn't want that door open for one other reason.

She didn't want to use her silver arrow on someone she loved, her life at stake or not.

"Oh cool, thanks Detective," Ryan deadpanned.

"Okay, fuck you man, I'm trying to help," Jason retorted.

"No, fuck you! I'm trying to help!" Ryan fired back.

"Boys, quit arguing right now or we're all dead. Got it?" Allison interjected, giving Ryan and Jacob a flinty look. Turning to Jacob she asked, "What else do me and Ryan need to know before we open the doors?"

"Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Uh—okay. There's a console on the wall over there. Like a box, or whatever. You should be able to use those switches to isolate each cage," Jacob informed them. 

Allison and Ryan turned, seeing the box.

"Okay. Hang tight," Ryan said.

"Okay," Jacob whispered.

With a nod, Ryan and Allison headed to the console box. Ryan opened it, revealing four sets of labelled breakers. Allison turned back, looking at the numbers on the cages.

"Okay, we have to open the doors marked in order from '1' to '3'. Avoid '4'," she told Ryan.

He nodded. "Thanks, Allison."

Reaching froward, he tried to flip a breaker only to flinch back as he got a static shock, smoke coming out of where he touched it. Stepping in, Allison pulled down the breaker under "1", using all her strength to do so. Once it was down, she nodded at Ryan and he pulled down the breaker for "2".

Once he did, a creak came and Allison turned to see the door of the cage connecting the two cages together swing open. So far, all doors to Nick's cage were still closed.

Now, they just had to not screw it up now.

"Okay. Well done. Now just the middle one. Don't fuck this up," Jacob told them.

"Thanks for the reminder, Jacob," Allison responded flatly. She gave a nod at Ryan, who looked unsure.

"I can do this, I can do this," he muttered.

Allison squeezed his arm as behind them Jacob said, "Focus, dude, focus."

"Jacob, say one more thing and I'll let Nick eat you," Allison threatened before turning back to Ryan. She squeezed his arm before stepping slightly back, full confidence in Ryan.

Ryan hesitated, before he pulled the breaker down underneath "3".

At that, the main door swung open, freeing Jacob. Jacob walked through as Nick growled, stepping close but the electrified bars kept him away as Jacob walked out, limping.

"Oh damn. You look awful," Ryan observed as Allison bent down, inspecting the damage.

"Yeah, this looks pretty fucked up. If I had any supplies with me or at least some water to clean it—" At the mention of water Nick growled— "Sorry, Nick. Anyway, it looks like the bleeding has stopped, which is good. But you're running the risk of infection with leaving it open and untreated like that, and even then it's gonna mess your foot up. Depending on how well it will heal and if the bones are set in proper alignment, you might be having a limp for the rest of your life, but that's only if the foot can be saved and there isn't any infection. And not the werewolf kind—the normal kind I'm used to and actually know how to treat. Sort of."

"Okay, okay," Jacob said, before he frowned and asked, "Wait, did you say werewolf? Wait, that's... that's what happened to Nick, what attacked you guys?"

"It happened to Sarah too," Allison divulged, before she looked at him and asked, "You didn't happen to see any medical supplies in here, right?"

"No."

"Okay. If I can't disinfect or clean it... then I'm gonna have to wrap it up and pray to God it doesn't get infected. Because if it does, you'll definitely have to lose your foot to save the rest of your leg and, well... not die from infection or gangrene," Allison informed, ignoring Jacob's face blanching as Allison tore off another strip of her shirt, muttering, "Good thing this isn't one of my favourites."

Resting it by her side, Allison prodded Jacob's foot, feeling splinters of crushed bone around the radius of the injury. Frowning, she said, "Jacob, when this shitstorm of a night is over, get prepared for a lot of surgery in your future. Your foot feels like it's gonna need it if those bones are to heal properly."

"Yeah, no... no kidding," he muttered, pain straining his voice.

Grabbing the torn strip of shirt, Allison wound it around Jacob's foot as tightly as she could, muttering, "Really wish this was a compression bandage or I had some actual medical supplies." Jacob hissed in pain, but stopped when Allison sent him a harsh glare.

Once the bandage was wrapped, Allison stood up and told him, "It's gonna be hard, but try to keep as much pressure off that foot as possible. Don't run or walk on it unless it's an emergency—and given tonight, that would be the emergency."

She gestured to Nick as an emphasis for what was really hunting them down all night.

"Thanks, Allison," Jacob thanked, lifting his injured foot off the ground. "Hell, where's everyone else?"

Allison and Ryan shared a look before Ryan revealed, "Um, Jake... Emma wasn't with them. We don't know where she is."

"You're the only who's not been in our group or wasn't bitten we've been able to find," Allison told him, voice soft. "And with what you said about Emma, she might not even been.."

Allison didn't finish, looking subconsciously at Nick.

"But you should go catch up with them," Ryan suggested. "Be careful. We came in through the mines. I don't... I don't know if there's a way back up."

"Especially with your foot," Allison murmured.

Jacob looked at them, processing what they said, before he limped past them and out of the room, making for his own exit out of there.

Ryan made to go after Laura when he noticed Allison wasn't following.

"Allison?" he asked.

"You go ahead," Allison told him, looking in the direction of Nick's cage. "I need to do something first."

By how Ryan didn't respond and she heard him walking away, he understood what he meant.

Looking at the cage, Allison let loose a breath and sat in front of Nick's cage, as close as she dared.

"Hey, Nick," she murmured as he paced around, growling before getting on all fours and staying in the corner, yellow eyes piercing her.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry. About your leg," Allison started, looking at it as Nick just growled, but she caught the way his leg twitched, as if the scar had just burned at the reminder. "I just wanted you to let me go and I know if you weren't bitten, you would have, and I didn't even know my arrow could burn you. Fuck, I didn't even know they were silver. But then again, we had no idea you and Sarah were turning into werewolves and it was screwing with your brains, but..."

Allison shrugged as Nick only snarled at her, stepping forward as he kept staring at her with yellow eyes. Eyes that made Allison think of his normal eyes, warm and dark brown, eyes she could get lost in. That, maybe, she could see the true Nick in them...

This isn't Nick—not right now. Don't let your guard down, Allison—not when you're so close, Allison told herself as she looked at Nick, now pacing around the cage before he ran into a bar, a pained whine leaving him as he stepped away, shaking before the fast healing took it away.

Allison's heart lurched. Nick didn't deserve this. So didn't Sarah, or Max. They deserved to be human, to not have their wills, their characters, their humanity, stolen away and never able to be fully human again until the motherfucker that did that to them was dead by silver on a full moon. Max deserved to be with Laura, and Sarah deserved to be with Nora, the both of them happy to be with their respective girlfriends. And Hayden deserved to have her brother back, to have her twin be with her again and know that he was okay, that he wouldn't become a monster again. And Allison and Nick...

They deserved more than those hours they had before the werewolf attacked them and bit Nick, more than those kisses they shared. They should have a lifetime together, of kisses and dates and moments of sweetness and arguing before resolving, of supporting each other. Of one day having a future together. Not this.

Not one when they were lovers one moment, and then hunters the next under the light of the full moon, only able to be close when one of them was in a cage and the other was armed with the only thing that could kill him.

No, they deserved a life together. A full one, where...

Where promises were kept. Where Nick showed her the ocean.

It was then Allison realised she was crying.

Wiping the tears away, she looked at Nick, still hunched in a corner away from the bars, as she whispered, "I'm going to cure you, Nick. I'm going to shoot that bastard who bit you dead and make you human again. I promise—just like you promised me the ocean."

Something sparked in Nick's eyes, something that was almost... recognition.

Despite herself, a spark of hope lighted in Allison's heart as she moved a fraction closer and—

Nick lunged forward, teeth and claws ready to bite and shred.

Allison moved back, a hand on her bow as Nick came in contact with the bars, whimpering in pain as he staggered back. Allison's heart pounded, but she didn't move as she cursed herself. Stupid. She was stupid for thinking Nick had fought through the infection raging inside his head and recognised her, that...

That she'd almost gotten him back without killing Chris Hackett.

As she stared at Nick, Allison heard the voices. Loud and angry.

Still crouched on the floor, Allison kept silent as she listened to them, heart pounding in her ears.

"Well, I just don't... I don't understand why you... you couldn't have just taken care of the problem when you had the chance."

Problem? What problem?

Allison held her breath as the male voice spoke up.

"'Taken care of the problem'? Do you hear yourself?"

"Yes I hear my goddamned self, I may be old but I ain't deaf!" the female voice roared as a scrape like a chair against floor sounded.

"I'm a police officer!" the male voice yelled back.

Allison froze. Police officer... that had to be the cop that detained Laura and Max for two months after Max was bitten. Sheriff Hackett. That meant... that meant it was his and Chris' mom he was arguing with.

Hiding the realisation, Allison listened in as the Hackett matriarch yelled, "Oooh, so now I'm blind! You motherfucker! Now I'm blind. Oh you just flashing that badge around like it's worth a million dollars. Only reason you got it is because Hank got killed in that fire."

Fire? Allison thought as Sheriff Hackett said, "Ma."

"Don't Ma. Don't Ma me," was snapped back.

"Would you sit down, please."

"Don't you tell me what to do—"

"Please."

"—and don't you go round—don't you go round like you better than everybody else, 'cause you ain't!"

Jesus, Mother of the Year right here.

"Would you please sit down?"

"Don't you tell me what to do, you piece of shit!"

That was when the arguing died down and the Hackett matriarch said, "Yes?"

Another pause, before she yelled, "Gotcha!"

Allison turned rigid—and then paralysed as she heard Laura yell from past the room, "Ryan, run!"

"Ma, send Bobby down," Sheriff Hackett said, before something heavy swung closed.

"Shit," Allison cursed as she scrambled to her feet, panicked now as she saw Ryan run past, not even noticing her still inside. "Shit, shit, shit!"

The Hacketts knew they were here, were sending someone after Ryan and had Laura. They didn't know she was here, but they would find her soon enough, and aside from the cages, there was nowhere else to hide unless she wanted to chance the tunnel—and Allison didn't want to chance it. And judging by what she overheard...

Then the Hacketts didn't sound like they wanted to keep them alive.

"Shit," Allison cursed again, grabbing her bow even as it wouldn't do much. They were trapped, with no feasible way out of here and with Nick and Sarah and Max still not cured and Chris still alive. And the night would be ending soon—time was slipping away, and Allison doubted they would bring them to Chris and let her or Laura kill him.

Fuck.

***

>:)

Yes, Ryan and Allison saved Jacob! And they stopped Laura from shooting Nick! (also, gotta love Allison immediately going protective girlfriend mode even though she didn't know whether that was Nick or Sarah or someone else) And yeah, Allison figured it out it was Nick due to the scar she left when her arrow accidentally burned before he fell into the pool

Also, I don't know how you can treat a bear trap injury?? I'd search, but I'm low-key terrified of what the pictures would be (I'm not like Allison in that regard) so I did the best I could. But I can imagine, without any werewolf healing, it's not a pretty thing to see (and that actual infection and gangrene would be SUPER high)

But yeah, Allison stayed behind and talked to Nick/had a little reflection and resolve of determination before overhearing the conversation between Travis and Ma Hackett—and, when Laura and Ryan are discovered, she wasn't with them so she's currently undiscovered so far, but still trapped. But will that last long? >:)

Next chapter should be soon and back with the scrapyard trio! So excited for that... and all the fun stuff with that and everything in the Hackett House >:)

Please read, comment and vote!

GhostWriterGirl out!