Chapter 35. Cold Case

Instead of sleeping like I should have been, I was sitting on my bed with my laptop doing some research on a few things that have been residing in my mind since yesterday's events transpired. I was googling Frontotemperal Dementia and how detrimental it is to teenage boys. I was googling Japanese legends about Oni and Kitsune's. I was looking up pretty much anything and everything in order to get some answers.

My phone started buzzing on my nightstand, my eyes traveled from my laptop over to the screen of my phone, Stiles picture and name were flashing on the screen. Why is he calling me so late?

I snatched my iPhone up and tapped the green phone on my screen and pressed it to my ear, "Hey, babe, what's up?"

The only sound on the other end was Stiles' nervous and heavy breathing. There was also a faint buzzing that sounded like electric currents passing through the air around him.

"Stiles? You there?" I asked quietly, my voice wavering.

There was a brief pause before he whispered, "Kasey?"

I sat up fully and pushed my laptop aside, "Yeah, I'm here. What's wrong? Where are you, the connection's weird."

"Kasey, I don't... I don't know where I am. I don't know how I got here. I think I was sleepwalking." he panicked, his voice was low and I was having a hard time hearing him.

I took a deep breath and stood from my bed, walking to my closet so I could change into some clothes. If I have to go and pick him up, I can't very well do that in the set of shorts and baggy shirt I'm wearing.

"Okay, it's fine. I'm gonna find you, I've done this plenty of times... can you see anything? Try to tell me what you can see so I can come and get you, I'm getting dressed right now." I assured him.

Flashbacks of when I was the one in this position, calling Scott, were hitting me like a ton of bricks in my chest. Scott handled it extremely well because he stayed calm, so therefore I need to remain calm.

"Ah, it's dark. It's hard to see. I think there's something wrong with my-" the call disconnected and I was left with my home screen staring back at me.

The panic was starting to settle in now. I took a deep breath as I redialed his number, his voicemail picked up, "Hey...this is Stiles and you missed me, leave a message-" I ended the call and tried again.

I need to keep myself under control and not let this set me off. I made a promise to myself after my breakdown in the records room that I was not going to let the situation beat me down into nothing but a ball of blood and tears. I need to get a grip and stay focussed on the finish line.

Just as I ended his voicemail, a call came through from his phone. My finger hit the screen with force, causing a thud to echo around my otherwise silent room. "Stiles?" I asked quickly.

"Kasey, I don't think I can get out of here. I can't move." he said quickly. He was panicking, I know from personal experience how his tone of voice changes when he is worried.

I snatched a jacket out of my closet and slipped it on, "Where are you? Come on baby, try to find something to help me find you."

"I don't know. I don't know, it's too dark. I can't see much and something's wrong with my leg. It's stuck on something. And it's... I think it's bleeding." he rambled, I was glad that he was actually giving me some helpful information this time.

What could his leg possibly be trapped on? Maybe... if he's in the woods, it could be one of the Tate's traps? Is that even possible?

"How bad is it bleeding, Stiles?" I asked softly, knowing how much he hates blood.

Silence ensued and more panic seeped in through my pores, "Stiles? Hey, are you there? Talk to me, please."

"Ah, there's some kind of smell down here. Something smells terrible. It's brutal, my eyes are watering." he said quickly, his voice was shaking and it made my chest burn.

I have no idea what to do right now. I'm trying to put some jeans on while talking to him and pinpointing locations in my mind and it's all too much for me at once. I let out a shaky breath as I zipped up my jeans, "Okay, listen. I'm calling your dad."

"No, no, no, no, don't. " he rushed out.

I swallowed thickly, "But your dad-"

"Just please don't call him. Promise you won't, Kasey promise me please. He already worries about me enough." he begged, he sounded as if he was on the verge of a breakdown.

"Stiles, I can't promise that I-I don't know if I can find you, what if I can't?" My voice cracked and I cleared my throat to prevent that from happening again.

"Please don't call him, he doesn't have to know. Just please come find me, you can do it Kasey. You and Scott can find me." he said quickly, he was sniffling and it was making my eyes water.

I let out a shaky breath, "I don't know if we can do this."

"Oh, I gotta call you back. I have to turn the phone off."

My eyes widened, "What- no! Stiles-"

"I'm gonna call you right back," he said before the line disconnected.

I slid my phone into my pocket and put my shoes on as I ran down the hall to Scott's room, I pushed the door open as I fell into his abysmal room. I let out a shriek of pain as my elbow collided with his dresser. Scott jumped up in his bed at the sound, his eyes wide instantly, "Kasey what the hell?"

"It's Stiles, you have to get dressed. ISAAC!" I screamed as I turned to head across the hall to wake him, but he was already standing in the doorway. I let out a scream at his sudden appearance and he clamped a hand over my mouth, "Shhh! You're gonna wake your mom up, what's wrong?"

"It's Stiles!" I snapped as I shoved his hand away from me.

He furrowed his brow, "What's wrong with Stiles?"

"I don't know! Just get dressed!" I shouted as I shoved him back into his room. Scott was slipping a jacket on as I ran down the stairs, my phone vibrated in my pocket once again.

"Stiles?" I said the moment that the phone was pressed to my ear.

"Did you call him," he asked, "did you call my dad?"

I shook my head from side to side even though he couldn't see me, "No. Just Scott and Isaac. We're coming to find you. Did you figure anything out about where you are? Try to think of something that you've seen or heard that could tell us where to start looking."

"It's a basement. I think... I think I'm in some kind-some kind of basement." he stammered. Well, there goes my theory about the woods.

My converse clad feet carried me down the rest of the stairs into the hall by the front door, "In a house?" I asked.

Stiles cleared his throat, "No. It looks bigger. Like, industrial. I think there's a furnace, but it's cold. It's freezing down here. I gotta turn the... I gotta turn the phone off, Kasey. It's going to die."

"Wait, wait, wait," I said quickly, "do you see any windows?"

"The phone's dying. I can't talk. I have to go... please." he was whispering so quietly that I could barely understand what he was saying.

I was struggling to find the car keys on the counter in the dark room as I tried to talk to him at the same time, "Stiles, why are you whispering? I can hardly hear you."

"Because... I think there's someone in here with me." he said before the phone cut off once again.

☾ ☾ ☽ ☽

I've gone on a few dead body hunts with Scott and Stiles, but this hunt was entirely different. For starters, Stiles wasn't here to lead us, and also... he was the one that we were searching for and his life could possibly be at risk. I had this nagging feeling telling me that we needed to go to the Stilinski household, and Scott and Isaac went with my gut because apparently they think I'm "psychic or something."

When I used my key that Stiles had made for me, I ignored the smirk that Isaac shot in my direction and the confused glance that Scott gave me. I mean, it's not weird that I have a key to his place when he has a key to mine. Granted, he had the key made long before we started dating, but that's just semantics.

I took the familiar route up to his room, and when I pushed his bedroom door open I was not expecting to find Lydia and Aiden standing at the foot of his bed.

"How did you know? Did he call you too?" Scott asked Lydia the moment that his eyes landed on our other residential "psychic or something" in Beacon Hills.

Lydia's eyes widened as she glanced at me, "I heard it."

"Don't ask," Aiden said.

I shot him an annoyed glance, "I wasn't going to."

"I was trying to tell you that it get's more confusing when you ask," Aiden snapped at me. Our hatred for each other was at an all time high right now. I don't care that he could have possibly helped me when I passed out at Danny's party. He's still an asshole who needs to get a massive reality check.

Lydia gestured to Stiles bed, "Not as confusing as this."

My eyes followed her hand and they widened when I saw the pair of scissors shoved into the mattress, all of the red yarn that had been attached to the unsolved events on the wall was tied to the handles.

I swallowed dryly, "He uses red for an unsolved case."

"Maybe he thinks he's part of an unsolved case." Aiden suggested, his eyes traveled to Scott.

Isaac glanced at me, "Or is an unsolved case."

"Okay," I said evenly, feeling my cheeks glow with anger, "now is really not the time for you negativity. My boyfriend is missing, so stop."

Lydia spun back around to face us, "Hold on. He's still out there? You don't know where he is?"

"He said he was in an industrial basement somewhere." I explained to her. If anyone could help me find him, it would be Lydia. We seem to be able to put things together faster when we're together. I think our abilities are meant to do that, work together to help figure things out.

Isaac looked at her, "We came here because Kasey wanted to see his board for some type of clue of an industrial basement, and plus to get a stronger scent."

"What else did he say?" Lydia asked me, her voice dropping an octave. She knew this was a sensitive subject and that I was a ticking time bomb.

My chest began to burn as I relayed the information, "Something's wrong with his leg. It's bleeding, badly. And he's freezing."

"Tonights the coldest night of the year," Aiden said, "it's going to drop into the 20's."

"Thank you, Aiden! I'm aware of that!" I snapped, absolutely fed up with his bullshit. "Why are you even here? You don't care about Stiles, you only want to kiss my brother's ass so you can join his pack, so do us all a favor and just get the hell out. You're not helping at all."

The room fell silent as Aiden glared daggers at me. Everything I had said was true and he knew it. That's the exact reason why he dislikes me so much, because I can see through his bullshit and I know that he's a terrible person all around.

"What did his dad say?" Lydia changed the subject quickly. I smiled slightly at the fact that she didn't stick up for Aiden in the slightest.

I sighed, "We didn't tell him yet."

"Stiles is bleeding and freezing and you didn't call his dad?" she asked in astonishment. Hearing her say it made me feel like the worst person on the planet, but the only reason I haven't told him is because Stiles doesn't want me to.

My eyes slowly met her own, "He made me promise not to. Scott and Isaac can find him by scent. If-if he was sleepwalking he couldn't have gotten far, right?"

"Kasey, you slept-walk halfway across town!" she shrieked. And she was right. I had gone through town and five miles into the woods.

Aiden glanced at Scott, "You didn't notice that his Jeep is gone, did you?"

"You promised that you wouldn't call his dad. I didn't." Lydia stated as she started dialing a number on her phone.

Scott stepped forward, "Wait, Lydia, hold on. I can get more help. I can call Derek, Allison..."

"Everyone except for the cops. Great idea." she said sarcastically.

I sighed, "Whenever the cops get involved it usually isn't much better."

"You guys remember she gets these feelings when someone's about to die, right?" Aiden snapped.

Lydia glanced at me, "Kasey, you feel it too right?"

I was silent as her words sunk in. We usually have a bond, when something is wrong or something bad is about to happen, I'm drawn to her. My head aches and my body hurts. I hear things and hallucinate and can't tell what's real and what's not.

Right now, I wasn't feeling any of it.

"No... I don't feel anything." I said quietly.

Scott blinked, "You don't have to call his dad. It's five minutes to the station."

"We'll catch up," Lydia said as Scott and Isaac started for the door.

I blinked, "Why?"

"There's something here." she stated.

Isaac snorted, "Yeah. Evidence of total insanity."

"Stop saying that!" I hissed. He keeps using the word insane and it's driving me crazy. Stiles isn't insane. None of us are, we're victims of circumstance and we're stuck dealing with this mess right now.

"We can figure out what's wrong with him, after we find out a way to keep him from freezing to death." Scott said.

Lydia nodded, "Go. We'll be right behind you."

☾ ☾ ☽ ☽

"Okay, is there anything the three of you need to tell me that I can't tell anybody else?" Sheriff Stilinski asked from the confines of his office. After we arrived at the station, and Scott informed him that Stiles was gone, he went into full on Sheriff mode and sent people to do a bunch of different things. I vaguely registered the phrase APB and something about finding industrial basements.

Scott nodded, "Lydia knew he was missing."

"Can she find him?" he asked quickly.

I sighed, "Well she's working on it... if I could just... connect to him, I could find him. I know I can do this, but there's this-this block and it's not letting me."

Sheriff Stilinski gently grabbed my shoulder, "Don't strain yourself, the last thing we need is you blacking out and then sleepwalking out of here into God knows where next."

"I appreciate the humor, but I still feel like shit." I mumbled quietly, I would be surprised if they even heard me.

On the drive over, I tried to do anything and everything under the sun to connect myself to Stiles. It's been easier in the past, when I didn't have this sort of wall around my mind. It's like there is something in there preventing me from doing it. I know if I can just break down that wall, I can find him.

"Anything else?" Sheriff Stilinski asked Scott.

My brother nodded, "I called Derek and Allison for help."

"Can you find him by scent?" he asked the two wolves. I figured he wasn't asking me because I have no way of even trying to sniff him out.

A knock on the door prevented them from answering, Deputy Parrish poked his head in, "We found it sir, we found the jeep."

☾ ☾ ☽ ☽

Scott made me stay at the Sheriff Station, even though I really didn't want to and every cell in my body was shouting at me to go with them, I had to do what he instructed. He told me that he would keep me updated, and plus he wanted me to be somewhere "safe" although I'm not sure why, I'm not really the one that needs to be safe right now.

I was walking around anxiously, busying myself looking at the vending machines and what shitty foods they had to offer. I wasn't hungry, but at the same time I was. I don't trust my stomach to hold anything down right now, so better safe than sorry.

As I walked back into the lobby, I let out a groan. My father was conversing with Deputy Parrish about something. His arm was in a sling, and even though there was a small part of me that was glad he didn't die, I didn't necessarily want to be around him right now.

My father seemed to sense my presence, because he turned his head and approached me. I wanted to turn around and walk away, possibly lock myself in Sheriff Stilinski's office, but I knew that would only cause more problems.

"Kasey? What are you doing here?" he asked in concern. Whether or not he really was concerned is beyond me.

I sighed, "Dad, now really isn't the time."

"You're here because of Stiles... right? Parrish just informed me that he's missing." he stated. I was surprised that he actually said Stiles rather than Stilinski.

My eyes were itchy and my throat was sore. I don't want to talk to him right now. All I want to do is find Stiles and help him. I don't want to talk to my dad about how my boyfriend is missing and how nobody has any freaking idea of what is going on with him.

"I'm going to help you find him, okay? It's my job... it's what I do, but I need your cooperation." he said before making his way into an office that wasn't his, but he was using for his temporary stay.

If it were under any other circumstance, I would refuse my father's help. I don't want to be associated with him at all. He's a gene donor, I got my hair color from him and that's it. He isn't a father, he isn't anything important. And normally I would be shoving that down his throat just to piss him off. But, this was for Stiles. And even though Rafael McCall was a shitty dad- he was an amazing Agent.

I swallowed my pride and sulked into the office, sitting down in the chair in front of his desk. He pulled out a paper and pen and slid it across the table to me, "Write down everything you know about the situation."

"He called me... twice." I said to him, praying to God that maybe there was something I could have missed in the phone call.

My dad held his hand that wasn't in the sling out, "Give me your phone. I have some people that can send me transcripts of the conversation in ten minutes."

I hastily pulled my phone out of my pocket and handed it to him. I then went to work writing down everything that I could on the sheet of paper. My hands were shaking and I had to take a few deep breaths to calm myself down.

Do not let this break you.

"I-I thought he had been in the woods, ya'know? Because he said that his leg was trapped in something and I thought it was a bear trap. Apparently I had been wrong." I mumbled as I slid the paper across the table.

He snatched it up and glanced over the words I had scrawled in the blue ink pen, "Wait- he said it smelled bad?"

I nodded, "Yeah, he said his eyes were watering. Is that important? Do you not need my phone records anymore?"

"Hi, I'm Melissa McCall... I was just wondering if I could see my daughter... she was supposed to be here." my mom's voice drifted through the open door.

I stood up, alongside my dad, and we both walked into the hallway. My dad was still gripping the paper I had written in his hands. When my mom saw the both of us, together and not arguing, her eyes widened.

"What are you doing here?" my dad asked.

She shrugged, "My shift ended an hour ago and I wanted to see if I could help."

"Actually," he said, "you and Kasey might be just the help I need to find him."

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This episode is one of my favorites from 3b, and I had forgotten how much I love it. As I was writing this, I found myself just watching Dylan and his amazing acting. Honestly, he is so talented and I am amazed at his work over and over again. That being said, let's talk about the chapter...

Kasey is going to get stronger, from this point on, there will be no more break downs. She isn't going to let this situation define her. Also, for most of this series, she has kind-of just tagged along with Scott and Stiles through a majority of the plots, her ability helped with something every once in awhile but she never really was a huge piece of the puzzle. This season though, Kasey is HUGE in the plot and I am so excited to share what I have come up with for her with all of you.

This season will honestly be my favorite for Kasey because I spent months preparing all of this. I've done so much background and foreshadowing and plot developments and plot twists to make for a great story for you all to read, and for myself to write.

Okay, enough about how proud I am for this season... this chapter was fun to write because of the parrallels I put between Stiles and Kasey (for each of their experiences when they called someone when they were stranded in the woods) I also enjoyed the ending scene with Kasey and Rafael. I'm not saying that they will make up, but after this episode they have a mutual understanding of the lengths that their relationship can and will go.

Be sure to fan, vote, and comment! It makes me really happy when you do, -Sasha xx