Keeping a secret word in the stones
Hiding decay of wills in the barrows
Winds which rustle in crowns of trees
Disturbing the Memory they will revive it.
Sun Shine Our Land - Alkonost
We called my dad and Scott and told them where Lydia thought Stiles was. I hoped to God she was right.
We drove there and jumped out. My dad hugged me even though I didn't want to be hugged. I didn't want anyone to touch me, not until I had Stiles in my arms, safe.
But I let my dad pull me against him anyway, so maybe he wouldn't feel so scared.
"Are you sure about this?" My dad asked Lydia.
"He's here," Lydia said confidently. "I swear to God he's here."
We looked up at the tall iron gates, the name Eichen House written in the metal at the top.
They seemed foreboding and cold.
We went inside, to the counter and for some reason I felt like I'd been there before. I shivered, even though I had a jacket on and I wasn't cold.
My dad demanded something but I couldn't listen. I looked around. The walls were blindingly white and bare. The only lights were situated along the pale walls, creating strange shadows that danced even though the lights were unmoving.
Scott grabbed my hand, giving me a worried look and I realised the rest of the group had moved on and were waiting for me. I gulped and gripped Scott's hand.
We raced down a corridor. Down steps. I counted them as we jogged. Fourteen steps later we turned down another corridor and Lydia stopped.
"Here," she said, looking at a door at the end of the hall. We went forward and my dad produced a set of keys which I assumed were from the front desk.
"Stiles!" Lydia called as they jogged down the steps. I stayed back as they rushed past me, knocking me slightly. For some reason I was frozen, refusing to go down there.
It felt so utterly terrible, like I would die if I stepped foot in that dreadful, dark basement. The stairs that led down there reminded me once more of the words that Jennifer used to start our first class, the last line to the book Heart of Darkness.
The offing was barred by a blank bank of clouds - the sickeningly white walls that crowded around me, - and a tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed somber under an overcast sky - I looked up at the shadowed ceiling above me and again wondered why the lights weren't placed on the ceiling, - seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness.
I looked at the shadowed staircase leading down and felt my heart stutter in my chest.
Stiles wasn't down there. I knew it before I heard my dad shout, "Where is he?"
Because Stiles could not be in a place so full of darkness. Not without being dead.
.
When my dad got the call from Melissa that they'd found him, not in a basement at all but rather outside the cave that Malia Tate had lived in whilst she was a coyote, I had closed my eyes and slumped. They had found it because my dad had sprayed a special disgusting smelling repellent to keep other animals away from the den. Stiles had mentioned over the phone to Scott a disgusting smell that made his eyes water. Agent McCall, who had been with Melissa, had figured it out.
We rushed to the hospital. My hands were shaking and as we hurried down the hallway I realised my whole body was trembling. I wondered briefly if I was cold, but I felt too numb to really know.
We walked into the room Melissa had told us he'd be in. Melissa was just beginning to coax my brother into bed.
A ragged breath of relief escaped my lips and there was this feeling throughout my whole body like I was finally safe.
My dad hugged him tightly before Melissa insisted that he lie down. He sat, reluctantly, before catching sight of me. I was still hovering just inside the doorway.
"Vi come here," he spoke softly. I walked forward and into his arms. I wanted to cry but I didn't because I wanted to be strong in front of my dad. Stiles felt kind of weird. He smelt like Stiles and looked like Stiles and sounded like Stiles but he didn't quite feel like Stiles.
"I was so scared," I said, too quiet for my dad to hear. "What's happening to you?"
"I don't know," Stiles murmured. He clutched me desperately and I thought about how it was kind of weird that my brother was my best friend. But then again, my whole life was kind of weird.
He slid down into bed and I curled into his side, not yet ready to let him go, still afraid he'd disappear again.
I lay with my head pressed against his chest for a long time, until his breath evened out and I knew he was asleep. My dad and Melissa had left long ago.
I let my eyes close but didn't dare sleep, for fear that Stiles would be gone when I woke.
.
My dad let me have the next day off school. Eventually I moved off of Stiles' bed and into one of the chairs but I didn't leave the room.
I saw my dad and Melissa talking outside the room and I walked to the doorway.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Vi," my dad faced me, curling one of his hands around my arm gently in a sign of support. "We need to run some tests on Stiles."
I closed my eyes for a few moments before opening them. "Do you-..Do you think he has what mum had?" I felt like a little girl again, not a strong woman. Not the woman I wanted to be.
"We're not sure," dad said. I nodded, but couldn't answer. I walked back into the room and sat back down, staring at the sleeping form of my brother.
.
"I don't actually know how to pronounce this or if it's a misspelling," the doctor said, looking at Stiles' report and referring to the monstrosity that was his name. Usually I would have smiled at that but I just couldn't.
"Just could him Stiles," my dad instructed.
"Ok," the doctor muttered. We were all in an MRI room. Stiles was sitting on the bed to the MRI in one of those ridiculous blue gowns. Again, generally I would have laughed at that but I just didn't have it in me. I stood close beside him, Scott on his other side. "Stiles just to warn you, you're going to hear a lot of noise during the MRI. It's due to pulses of electricity going through the metal coils inside the machine. If you want we can get you some earplugs or headphones."
"Oh no, I don't need anything," Stiles said softly, scratching the side of his head. Suddenly I had the urge to cry and my bottom lip wobbled. I looked to the ground. Stiles glanced at me. I felt his hand slip into mine reassuringly.
"Hey, we're just on the other side of that window ok?" Dad said, slipping an arm around me. His touch didn't comfort me though.
Stiles nodded. My dad, Melissa and the doctor walked out of the room.
The three of us stood in silence for a few moments. I glanced up. Scott was fiddling with his hands. He looked nervous and I didn't want him to be. I needed him - someone - to be strong for me.
I remembered how it used to be - the three of us. How Scott and Stiles were my only and best friends. I used to even sit with them at lunch at school half the time. It was the three of us. They never treated me like I was an idiot, although they always treated me like I was a kid.
"You know what they're looking for?" Stiles said. His tone was still so soft and I didn't want it to be. I wanted him to be loud. I wanted him to make a joke, do something normal. "It's called frontotemporal dementia. Areas of your brain start to shrink. It's what our mother had."
His hand still in mine gripped tighter. "It's the only form of dementia that can hit teenagers and there's no cure," his hand slid out of mine. I looked up in time to see a tear almost slide out of Scott's eye but he quickly wiped it away.
I felt like I was shattering slowly.
"Stiles if you have it," Scott said, his voice sounding not like his own. "We'll do something." He looked at me, his eyes promising, then at Stiles. "I'll do something."
I knew what that meant. If it came down to it, he'd turn Stiles. And then everything would be ok.
Scott grabbed me and Stiles grabbed Scott and it was a slightly awkward, three way hug but it worked. One of Scott's arms were around me, the other around my brother. My head was against Stiles' chest and my hands fisted in Scott's shirt. Scott's head was on Stiles shoulder and Stiles' head on his.
All in all, it worked. But it didn't really make me feel better, rather a little sadder.
Dad said we could stay in the room looking into the MRI room but I said no and Scott and I went to wait outside. We sat in the chairs outside. I pulled my knees up to my chest and rested my forehead on them. After awhile I heard footsteps and I looked up to see Derek walking toward us.
His expression was grim but I was very glad to see him. He'd be strong for me when no one else could. I sprang to my feet, Scott standing slower behind me.
"Hey baby," Derek murmured quietly as I sprang into his arms. God he was so warm and strong, his arms wrapping themselves around me and holding me firmly to his chest. Finally I let myself go a little and I sobbed once against his neck. I felt pathetic though so with a deep breath in I pulled back.
Derek cupped my head, rubbing his thumb against the soft skin of my cheek and his eyes darting over my face for a few moments before he looked to Scott. He gave him a small smile and took my hand.
Scott sat back down and Derek sat opposite him. I sat on the chair beside him, his hand still in mine and rubbing soothing circles on the top of my hand. I wished that the arm rest of the chairs wasn't separating us.
Derek told us that he thought at the power substation when Barrow had kidnapped Kira that when Barrow had touched the electricity to Kira it had jump started the power of the Nogitsune to take over Stiles, using fox fire because Kira was a kitsune.
"You think he's the Nogitsune?" I asked, my voice trembling. Derek wanted to kiss me, I could tell, but he didn't dare with Scott right there.
"Don't you?" Derek pointed out. I slumped back in my chair and we were quiet for awhile.
"The stuff that you were telling me about chemo signals earlier," Scott said. I didn't know what he was referring to because obviously I hadn't been there, however I did know what chemo signals were; animals were able to transmit chemo signals to each other, communicating how they were feeling or other information. I adjusted my head against Derek's shoulder to look at Scott. "It reminded me the time you tried to teach me to use anger to control the shift."
"I think you ended up teaching me more about that," Derek pointed out. I smiled slightly. Scott did too.
"You teaching me again?" Scott asked.
"Think of it more like..sharing a few trade secrets," Derek offered. Scott nodded slightly. "You know I took Cora back to South America right?" Derek said. I sat up properly, looking at him indignantly.
"No actually," I said. "You said I couldn't know because it wasn't safe," I pointed out sharply.
"Well I think it is safe now," Derek said patiently, sliding his hand soothingly over my thigh.
"Safe from what?" I asked. He gave me a look that either said 'I'll tell you later' or 'I'm not going to tell you.' Either way, I wasn't getting an answer right then.
I let out a slightly annoyed breath and slumped back. I didn't miss Derek's little smirk and refrained from hitting it off his stupidly handsome face.
"Anyway," Derek said, turning back to Scott who looked slightly amused. "It was where she spent most of her time after the fire. But that's..not the only reason I left. I needed to talk to my mother."
My eyebrows furrowed and for one sickly moment my stomach dropped. Please don't tell me my boyfriend is going absolutely psycho now. Not now. I thought.
"Your..dead mother?" Scott questioned and we exchanged a look.
"She told me something that..changed my perspective, on a lot of things," Derek said. "She said my family didn't just live in Beacon Hills, they protected it. This town needs someone to protect it. Someone like you."
Scott paused and said quietly, "And someone like you to teach me a few trade secrets."
Derek smiled slightly.
"I'm sorry can we go back to the fact that you were talking to your mother," I said. "Derek your mother died in the fire," my voice was soft and gentle like Derek could break at any moment. Derek gave me a deadpanned look and pinched my side gently, making me squeal in protest.
"I know that," he said. "But I have my ways." When I still looked worried he added, "Supernatural ways."
I let out a relieved breath and nodded. "So she said that you protected-…" I stopped, thinking and looked over at Scott. Our gazes met and locked. Scott suddenly stood up.
"He was protecting us," Scott said. "Stiles was protecting us."
"From himself," Derek added. That was why he had slept walked away, because he was trying to protect us.
Derek and Scott took off and I quickly followed.
"Where are we going?" I demanded.
"The roof," Scott replied. "We caught his scent there before we found him. He smelt like he'd been struggling with someone. Himself."
When we got to the roof Derek asked, "What are we looking for?"
"I'm not sure," Scott answered. "But I don't think Stiles was just up here struggling with himself."
"He was struggling not to do something," I finished for Scott, looking wide eyed. We looked around, spinning in circles. Scott jumped up on top of a metal box and peered above a small fenced area where the power generator for the whole hospital was, feeling around on the roof of it. He pushed a white bag onto the ground. The contents of the bag; wires, tape measures, tools - scattered across the floor.
"What the…?" I trailed off. I looked up and my mouth fell open. There was a large cable that was almost completely cut, sparking dangerously. "Get back," I said, grabbing Scott's sleeve.
"What? Why?" He asked, jumping off the box.
"The power generator, it's sabotaged," I said. We began backing away, looking around for any more evidence of tampering when suddenly the generator exploded in a spark of light. We stumbled back, Derek pulling me behind him.
The cable that I had spotted cut completely broke away, whipping around madly. It fell off the roof as the power to the hospital went out.
We raced down the steps and back outside. We ran out the doors to see the chaos the cable had caused. Somehow a water pipe had burst, covering the road in water. Two - no three people were lying in the water, electrocuted - dead.
We spotted Kira. She was standing in the water, the electrical cable swiping around her. She caught it, putting her hand over the end of the wire and seemingly absorbing all of the electricity. Her eyes glowed a bright orange like flames, so unlike the wolves'. It was amazing.
There were screams as people raced out of the hospital. I spotted a figure, lying on the ground and my eyes widened.
"Isaac," I gasped, racing forward. I dropped to my knees into the water and splayed my fingers against his neck. Derek appeared beside me, distress obvious in his eyes. My heart fluttered in panic. Isaac wasn't dead. No. He couldn't be. "He's not breathing."
.
Isaac was alive. Thank god. I swear my own heart had stopped for a few moments when I thought he was dead.
Stiles was gone. An eye witness had said they saw his Jeep leaving the hospital. It practically confirmed that he was the Nogitsune.
I was cleaning up his room, putting the string in the bin when I felt Derek behind me.
"You weren't in your room," he murmured. I nodded and licked my lips. His hand slid from my shoulder down my back, to my hip. He moved closer to me and pressed his lips to my neck. "Where's your dad?" He mouthed against my skin.
"Still at the station," I replied, my knees feeling a bit weak. "Stiles texted, or-or whatever it is from Stiles' phone. It said he was ok. Not to look for him." I turned around to face Derek. He looked down at me. "What if my brother dies?" I questioned and my voice shook. I was scared. Knee buckling, hand shakingly, heart stuttering terrified. If my brother died, my best friend, my fucking brother, I wasn't sure if I could get past that.
For the first time in my life I thought about how strong Stiles was, to get past my mother dying. How on Earth did he survive through losing someone he'd known, loved? I didn't ever want to experience that, especially not starting with Stiles. I didn't even want to start to think about what it would be like if Derek-
I cut the thought off.
"He won't," Derek promised. I wondered if he really believed that. He searched my face. "Isaac'll be ok too - we all will. We always are."
"What are you talking about? Erica, Boyd - they're dead," I said. "That's not ok. We're not always ok. We're never ok. I'm never-….I'm sick of feeling like this. Of feeling weak and scared-"
"Violet," Derek interrupted me. "Stop," he said, resting his forehead against mine. "You are so strong. You're stronger than this," he pointed out. "Get it together."
I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. I opened my eyes and nodded. "Together," I said.
"Let's go into your room and talk about something else," he suggested. I nodded again and we walked over to my own room.
We sat on my bed, leaning against the wall, our legs and hands intwined. I leaned over and kissed him, softly. Our lips moved together slowly and I felt like I never wanted to pull back, never wanted to move away from him, from that moment. Derek made me feel like that often.
For some reason I thought about how I'd kissed Isaac, what felt like a lifetime ago. I wasn't sure why I'd done it, but I had. Now, I couldn't even entertain the possibility of kissing someone else.
I slowly pulled back. He dragged his lips across my cheek. His hand slipped from mine and slid under my shirt, caressing my bare skin. He wrapped his arm further around me and gently pulled me against him. I rested my head on his chest before pulling back once again. His eyebrows furrowed as I pulled his shirt off. I slipped mine over my head and lay back against him, our bare skin hot against each other.
I pressed open mouth kisses against his chest as he ran light fingertips down my spine.
I stilled, closing my eyes and drinking in everything Derek.
God I was so ridiculously in love.
I lay back on my bed and he slid beside me. I stared up at the ceiling and wished it was the sky.
"When I was seven I had amnesia," I said after a few moments silence. His hand came to rest against my stomach, his thumb brushing over my hip bone. "We were at the beach. I remember the smell of salt, the crystal blue water, sand in my hair." I licked my lips. "Stiles and I were climbing on the rocks. I slipped and hit my head. He carried me back to my dad and I had to go to the hospital. When I woke up I only remembered three things; my first name, my mothers face and a storm. My mum was dead by then but when I saw a picture I said I knew her, even though I didn't know my father or brother or Scott. The storm that I remembered - it was terrible. Fierce lightning and thunder, not unlike the storm we got that night at the hospital with Jennifer and the Alpha Pack. I told my dad about it and he said that the only storm he can remember like that was the day I was born. There was a ferocious storm - more like a hurricane - and my parents only just made it to the hospital in time for me to be born. But of course that couldn't have been the storm I remembered, I mean it's not like I could remember something from the day I was born."
Derek looked at me and I looked at him. He spoke the words I was unwilling to say. "Unless you're something supernatural."
I looked back up to the roof and shifted a bit, pursing my lips, uncertainty swirling in my chest. "Would you still love me if I was?"
Derek was silent for a moment and then he was hovering above me, his body shielding mine, his hands pinned either side of me.
"I'd love you no matter what," he said. "I always will. There is nothing you could do to make me not want you."
I gulped and looked away. Sometimes, I didn't think I deserved Derek.
"I got my memories back after a couple of days, about five," I finished. I turned around onto my stomach. Derek rubbed his hand up and down my back. He unclipped my bra and swept my long brown hair to the side, kissing down the back of my neck.
He sighed, stilling, his warm breath feathering over my back. "Your dad's home. I should go," he said, right before I heard the front door open. Derek sat up.
"Violet! I'm home!" My dad called.
I let out a breath. "Hey dad!" I called back, although my gaze didn't break from Derek's.
"I'll see you soon," Derek said. I sat up as well, holding my bra so it didn't fall off. I nodded.
"Ok," I said softly. He leaned in and kissed me as I heard my dad walking up the steps. I closed my eyes, counted to five then opened my eyes. Derek was gone. I pulled my blanket up over me. My dad opened my door, his head poking in. He looked ridiculously tired. I was really worried about him.
"Hey kiddo. You alright?" He asked. I nodded.
"Going to bed," I said.
"Ok. I'll see you in the morning," he said and closed the door.
I lay back in bed, but didn't sleep for hours.
~O~
A/N: Hey! I know, i know haven't updated in forever blah blah I'm sorry blah. I'll spare you the details of my apologies. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Plenty of Verek! (Diolet?)
HAS ANYONE FIGURED OUT WHAT SHE IS YET?! OMG I'M SO EXCITED YOU SHOULD TRY AND FIGURE IT OUT!
There's lots of clues, I promise. The lyrics I'm getting from these songs, the songs are terrible but the songs are one of the biggest clues! I believe in you guys, you can figure it out before I reveal it!
PLEASE REVIEW IT WOULD MAKE MY DAY!
Thank you all, I love you all, until next time x
