Chapter 4

"Allison?" Stiles stared at Allison in awe. How was she there? How was she alive? The Oni stabbed her and she died.

"Stiles?" Allison got up from her bed. "What are you doing here?"

"I don't know." He looked at his shaking hands. "I was about to ask you the same thing..." Stiles trailed off, staring at Allison. "You're supposed to be dead." He choked out.

"You remember." She breathed out, trembling. "How do you remember? No one else remembers. Why don't they remember?"

"I don't know." Stiles sighed. "They don't remember me at all."

"What do you mean?" Allison rose an eyebrow.

"Well, I only actually talked to Scott and the Sheriff, but neither of them had a clue who I was." He shuffled a foot on the floor anxiously.

"You mean your dad..." She drew her eyebrows together in confusion.

"I'm not allowed to call him that. Because apparently he's not my dad and it makes me sound crazy." Stiles scoffed. Allison looked at him, seeming frustrated. "Allison... How are you here?"

Allison drew in a breath. "You mean how am I alive?" She laughed, but it wasn't a real laugh. "I have no idea. I woke up today, and I have no clue why. I remember that sword going through my chest. I remember telling Scott that I love him. I remember trying to tell him to tell my dad that I love him, and there's a way to stop the Oni, but dying before I had a chance. I remember all of it, and I don't understand why I'm here, breathing, or why the hell everyone is acting so strange, or why people aren't remembering you. Maybe this is just my weird version of the afterlife and I'm imagining all of this. All of you." A few tears rolled down her cheek. "I don't know what's happening to me."

"This isn't the afterlife. That much I know." Stiles ran a hand through his hair. "Because I didn't die, and I'm feeling just as confused as you are."

She wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, trying to seem tough. "Wait..." Allison trailed off, narrowing her eyes at him. "Are you actually... You? Or are you the other person pretending to be you?"

Stiles pressed his lips together. "If I think I know what you're asking, it's actually Stiles, and not the Nogitsune, I swear. We killed the Nogitsune."

"You did?" Her eyes lit up. "What about the Oni?"

Stiles nodded. "Isaac and your dad figured out what you were trying to tell Scott before you died. They're all gone."

"So... Why do you remember all of this? No one else does." Allison questioned, folding her hands together.

"I... I don't know." He shook badly." I don't know why I'm here, what's happening to me, or why we're the only ones that remember what happened."

She gave him a concerned look. "Stiles, calm down." Allison made him sit on her bed. "Breathe. We'll be okay."

Stiles tried to control his breathing. "Will we?" He felt a panic attack coming soon. "My best friend and my father think I'm just another nutcase trying to find a cure for something that doesn't have one, and I'm starting to believe them."

"Stiles, you're not insane. Look at me." She turned his head toward her. "We'll figure this out. We always do."

Stiles took deep breaths until the world wasn't a blur anymore. For once, he'd been able to prevent a panic attack before it actually happened. "Okay." He looked into the eyes of the girl who was supposed to be dead. "Then lets start with the most important question..." Allison looked at him expectantly as he paused. Stiles stood back up, ready to start pacing. "If this isn't the afterlife... What is it?"

Stiles and Allison sat at a table together, picking at the food Eichen House provided as their dinner. It was more of a weird glob than food, actually. Stiles had no idea what was in it.

"Wait, so how many people have you seen today?" Stiles questioned, stuffing a spoonful of the glob into his mouth, then immediately spitting it out. "God, this is awful."

Allison didn't even try to eat it, just picked at it with her spoon. "Just my dad, Lydia, and Scott."

"And none of them mentioned me, either?" He already knew no one spoke to Allison about her death except him.

She shook her head. "No, but that doesn't mean they don't remember you."

Stiles scoffed. "If Scott and my Dad don't remember who I am, what are the chances that your dad or Lydia would?"

"You know, Stiles..." Allison looked up from the food on her tray at him, sighing. "Lydia would never admit it, but we both knew. She liked you. She liked you a lot."

"And now we're back to her not even knowing my name." He put his head in his hands, trying not to seem too flustered.

She pressed her lips together, thinking. "I just thought of something weird." Allison furrowed her brow. "None of them mentioned each other."

"What?" Stiles questioned, glancing at her from in between his fingers.

Allison tapped a finger against the table nervously. "Lydia, Scott, my dad. They didn't even say each others names. When I was talking to my dad, I asked him something about Lydia, and he said 'who?'. I figured he just didn't hear me or something, but I didn't ask him again. When he was leaving and Scott came in, he gave him this weird look. I thought it was just that look that he used to give him because of the whole hunter and werewolf thing, but, now that I know what you're going through, I realize that it was different. It's almost like he didn't know who Scott was, or why he was, or why he was visiting me." She was shaking pretty badly.

Stiles took his hands from his face and grabbed her hand to stop her from trembling. "So you think that they don't remember anyone but you?"

"No. I don't really know what I think..." Allison froze completely as she trailed off.

"Allison, what is it?" He gave her a curious look.

She hesitated. "Now that I think about it... All of them mentioned someone. I didn't really notice until now." Allison's voice shook.

Stiles rose an eyebrow. "Who?"

She bit her lip. "Aiden."

"Wait, what did they say?" He looked around, making sure no one else was listening.

Allison let out a shaky breath, visibly trying to calm herself down. "Um... Scott said something about Aiden having it out for him, Lydia was talking about their latest... Date..." She gave him an uncertain look, trying not to make him feel any worse. "And my dad said that Aiden was becoming a big problem for him and the hunters he's currently working with, because it seems like he's impossible to kill."

Stiles clamped his eyes shut, trying to believe that this was real. It was actually happening. "God..." He muttered, running a hand down his face.

"What?" Allison seemed so confused.

It occurred to Stiles that Allison didn't know as he looked her in the eye. She was already gone when it happened. He sighed. "Aiden's dead."