Beacon Hills, sometime in 2015
It had been about three months since Theo and the Beast had been defeated. Since then it had been peaceful for Marlow and her friends. Well, there was Stiles and his constant insisting that something else was lurking around the corner. But Marlow let him and Scott handle that.
Marlow and Riley were studying at her house. They both had to do a lot of catch-up work, considering Ms. Martin barely let them stay in school after missing hours of classes as it was. The door was violently opened and Stiles rushed into the room. Marlow let out a deep sigh, not ready to be recruited for another mission that would lead nowhere. "Marlow, I need to talk-"
He stopped upon spotting the girls sitting on Marlow's bed. "Oh, hey Riley." he greeted. Riley acknowledged his presence with a simple wave, too wrapped up in her work to say anything. "Can we talk in the hallway?" he asked Marlow.
Marlow raised her eyebrows. Stiles nodded at the door. Marlow sighed and rolled off the bed. "Back in a sec," she told Riley. Riley hummed. Marlow walked out of her room and closed the door. She looked up at Stiles. "So, what is it?"
"Okay, so, there is this guy and he might do some illegal stuff right now. Scott and I are heading out to check it out. Wanna come along?" he asked.
Marlow looked at him, her eyes narrowed. "Seriously?" she finally asked.
"What?" Stiles asked back.
"Okay, is it possible that at this point you are just looking for trouble so you don't have to worry about graduating?" Marlow asked.
Stiles looked back at her playfully shocked. "Why would I?" he asked.
"Why wouldn't you? Graduating is a scary thing. Moving on to College..." she replied.
"I just wanted to spend some time with you before I go," he said.
"Naw," she said. She put her hand on his shoulder. "Come on, we still have some time together. And it's not like I'm never gonna see you again after you graduate," she added.
"Yeah, but..." he trailed off.
"Look, Stiles...I would love to do this with you guys but Riley and I have a giant exam tomorrow and because of our latest big 'adventure' I need a good grade on this or else I'll get held back. And I'm not repeating my Sophomore year while my friends move on."
Stiles sighed "Okay, fine. I get it. There's one more thing though..." he said. "I wanted to give this to you when I graduate but, looking at recent events, I decided to do this right now," he added as he fumbled around in his pocket. He finally pulled out a necklace with a locket. He handed it to Marlow. She opened it and there were two pictures inside. One was of their mom and dad and one was of Stiles. Marlow smiled to herself. "You like it?"
"I love it. Thank you." she gushed. She wrapped her arms around him. Truth be told, she was getting sad thinking about Stiles leaving for College. But she also knew that they were growing up. And saying goodbye was part of that. The two pulled apart and Marlow lightly slapped him on the shoulder. "Okay, now go catch the criminal mastermind. But don't get hurt. And don't break anything."
He smiled at her excitedly and turned around. "Got it. See ya later," he shouted as he ran off.
Marlow chuckled looking after him. She used to be annoyed with her brother's antics, but she would miss them once he left. She walked back into her room and walked over to her bed. "So, where were we?"
"Lost," Riley replied. She dropped onto the bed with a sigh.
Marlow shot her best friend and empathetic look. She understood her struggles. After all, she was in the same boat. She barely got by in school. And that was without the Pack having to fight against supernatural foes. She sat on the edge of her bed and sighed, looking at everything they would need to remember by the next day.
Riley sat up once more. She looked over at Marlow, her chin resting in her palm. "How did Malia come this far after not being in school for eight years?"
"I mean it was tough, but maybe look at it from this side: you don't have to learn everything we did in the past few months. Most stuff is in your brain anyway and you only really need to learn what we're doing right now." Marlow replied.
Riley squinted her eyes, trying to piece together what Marlow had just said. But her brain was fried. They had been studying for hours and she just wanted to take a break. "That doesn't make any sense."
Marlow sighed defeatedly. She decided it was time to take a break. So she closed all the books and swiped them off her bed. She lay down on her bed. Riley dropped down next to her. Marlow looked over at her. For months, she had kept the secret about Riley's parents being alive somewhere. Presumably so.
She just didn't know how to even start that conversation. She had kept in contact with Deucalion but he could only ever repeat to her what he'd told her in the hospital. Sophie and Jonah Stevens were dealing with a powerful demon and they had come to him with a plan. He couldn't remember exactly what the plan was but he had his theories as to why everyone's memories about Riley and her parents were so wonky.
"I have this weird feeling that something terrible is happening again." Riley suddenly said.
Marlow sighed. Stiles' constant paranoia must have rubbed up on Riley. "What's wrong with you guys? Why is everyone looking for trouble again?"
"I'm not looking for trouble, I'm just saying. I don't think this year will end as peacefully as we had hoped," Riley explained.
Marlow looked over at her best friend. She just wanted to finish Sophomore year in peace. But she knew Riley and her vibes. If she felt as though something was off, something might have been off. She sighed. "I just hope you're wrong this time."
Marlow and Riley walked into school the next day. They had studied all night and still felt like it wasn't enough. Both of them had barely gotten a wink of sleep but decided to power through nonetheless. The two of them met up with Mason and Corey in the hall. "Hey, guys." Marlow greeted, a giant smile forming on her face. She was still overjoyed to have Mason back. Mason and Corey turned, waving at the girls. "What's up?"
"Not much," Mason replied. "Ready for your big exam?"
Riley let out an annoyed groan. Corey's made a face. "I guess not."
"At least we get to have fun with Mr. Hottie over there," Marlow said nodding towards their new Physics teacher, Mr. Douglas. He was a real mystery. Marlow had never seen him in Beacon Hills until he started teaching at the High School. Mason rolled his eyes. He wasn't a fan of Mr. Douglas or the looks Corey gave him. Marlow chuckled. She lightly hit Mason in the shoulder. "I'm kidding."
"I see another hottie coming our way," Riley said as she saw a thin and lanky boy with glasses coming their way.
"Who? Me?" the boy asked. He smirked as he pulled Riley in for a kiss. Marlow smiled at the two. Riley had met Cooper Harris, Coop as he liked to be called, a bit after the whole Theo debacle. It was a real meet-cute. Coop had moved to town a week or so before Riley met him. Marlow was skeptical at first but eventually grew to like him a lot.
Marlow looked them playfully disgusted. "Get a room, you guys," Hayden said. Liam stood next to her. He chuckled.
"I could say the same thing about you," Riley said as she pulled away from Coop. Hayden shook her head and grinned. Marlow avoided looking at Liam and Hayden as much as possible. She also knew Riley was only playing nice with them because Marlow had asked her to.
"Okay, okay. Let's go. Algebra starts in a few." Coop chimed in.
"I'll be there in a bit," Marlow told them. They gave her a look. She waved them off. "I'm fine. Just gotta discuss some things with the others," she said, shooting Riley a look. Riley opened her mouth and nodded. She knew what that tone of voice meant. She hadn't told Coop about her inner witch yet after all.
Riley nodded. "Right. Well, I'll see you in a bit," she said. Riley and Coop left.
"They're cute," Mason said as he looked after them.
Marlow nodded. "They sure are," she said. She turned back to Liam and Hayden. "So, what happened last night?" she asked. She noticed something was up the second they walked up to them. The fact that Stiles left for school way before the girls and their dad never even made it home from work only made it more evident.
Liam raised an eyebrow. "Didn't Stiles tell you already?" he asked.
Marlow closed her eyes and sighed annoyedly. "No."
"There was this boy in a car. His parents are missing. Scott said he saw some guy with a gun. He was on a horse and shot the car. Then he took the parents." Liam explained.
"Why not the boy?" Marlow asked. Liam shrugged.
Marlow sighed as the bell rang. "I gotta go. See you guys later," she said and rushed off to her Algebra class. She knew Riley's vibe wouldn't let them down. Even if it was a bad one. She would have to talk to Scott and Stiles later.
Marlow went to find the boys in her first break. She knew the group would be taking their yearbook photos. Marlow walked in on Stiles ruining Malia's photo several times. "Stiles!" Marlow yelled as she pulled him out of Malia's shot.
Malia groaned annoyedly and hopped off the stool "You ruined it."
The three walked over to Scott and Lydia. "Why would I want to ruin your yearbook photo?" Stiles asked Malia.
Malia sat down on the table. "Maybe because you haven't signed up for your own photo yet?"
"Yes, I did," Stiles said and pulled a piece of paper out his back pocket. He showed it to Malia.
"It's blank," Malia noted.
Stiles' eyes narrowed as he looked at the blank form. "Uh..."
"Or maybe you're sublimating the stress of graduating by avoiding key milestones." Scott chimed in. Everyone stared at him confusedly. He turned around to face them. "Psych paper."
"You," Marlow said, hitting Stiles in the chest. He winced. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Tell you what?" he asked, rubbing his chest.
"About that boy. Liam told me," Marlow replied.
"You were busy studying. And when I came home you two were already asleep." Stiles explained.
"Yeah, well if it's about something supernatural you can and should wake us up," Marlow reminded.
"We don't even know if it's something supernatural yet." Scott chimed in. "Oh, we do," Stiles said. The others gave him a look. No one in the Pack was particularly happy about Stiles' affinity to actively go looking for trouble. "A Deputy searched the car. No slugs, no exit hole. And the address Alex gave my dad, it's an abandoned house." Stiles explained. The others still wouldn't budge. "Come on! Missing parents, suspicious guy on horseback, magic bullet. Who's comin' with?"
"I've got to retake my photos," Malia told him.
"Yeah, not interested," Lydia replied.
Stiles turned to Scott. "I cannot miss any more classes," Scott told him.
"Scott." Stiles chimed in.
"I missed 38 last semester."
"Scott."
"And Lydia's mom is the only reason I'm still in school." Scott finally concluded. "I can go after school."
"You know what? Forget it. I'll take Liam." Stiles said. The group looked over at a kissing Liam and Hayden. Marlow sighed annoyedly. She couldn't watch them be together any longer. Maybe that's why she wanted to join Stiles on his mission this time around. Stiles sighed. "Yeah, I'm not taking Liam."
"Mmm-mmm." Scott hummed.
Marlow hit her brother in the arm. He winced out again. "Why do you keep abusing me?"
"Maybe because I'm standing right here and I used to be your guys' best research assistant and you haven't even considered asking me."
Stiles opened his mouth to say something but smiled instead. "Would you like to come to investigate with me?"
Marlow sarcastically smiled back. "Why yes, brother dearest."
Sydney walked up to the group, camera in hand. "Hey, can I get a candid?"
"Uh, no," Stiles said. Scott pulled Stiles next to him. Stiles sighed. "Yeah, sure."
Marlow stepped back. "Marlow, get in here," Scott told her.
She shook her head. "I'm not a Senior."
"Doesn't really matter," Sydney assured her.
Marlow sighed but Scott pulled her into the shot anyways. She sat down on the table as Sydney readied her camera. Marlow looked down as Stiles pulled a glass shard from his pocket and discreetly showed it to Scott. "Okay, fine. If you can explain to me why this is blue, I'll let it go." Stiles told Scott.
Marlow looked down at the shard as Scott inspected it. It was shining blue indeed. "Everyone smile," Sydney said. Marlow put on her biggest smile and Sydney took the picture. She looked at her viewfinder. "Looks great. Thanks, guys!" she told them as she went back to the yearbook photos.
"You do know you've missed a ton of classes as well don't you?" Scott reminded Marlow.
Marlow sighed. "I know, but I wanna help. I don't wanna just stand on the side like last time. I finally got my anxiety in check." she explained as she hopped off the table. Scott shot her a look. "Mostly."
"I can't believe Stiles is your brother, yet Scott needs to lecture you about right and wrong," Malia said.
"Hey, great minds think alike," Stiles told Malia as he wrapped Marlow into a side hug. Marlow chuckled.
"Listen, let me ask Mrs. Finch about this first and then we can decide if we should go or not." Scott offered.
Marlow nodded. "Okay, fine."
"Riley's coming too?" Stiles asked.
"Don't think so. She's still trying to not let Coop know she's a witch." Marlow replied.
"She can tell him." Scott reminded her.
"I know. And so does she. But she wants to wait until she's sure she can tell him." Marlow said as Riley came out of the building. She waved Marlow over.
"Okay guys, I gotta go. I have Mr. Hottie next period." Marlow said as she grabbed her bag.
"I don't like it when you call him that," Stiles told her. Marlow pinched his cheek with a smirk on her face and waved her friend's goodbye.
"Let's go, the others are waiting," Riley said as Marlow rushed over to her.
"Did you decide yet?" Marlow asked.
"No. I need time to think about it." Riley reminded her.
"He'll find out sooner or later. This is Beacon Hills." Marlow said as the bell rang and both girls disappeared into the classroom.
Marlow couldn't concentrate on anything Mr. Douglas said. She knew he was talking about Schrödinger's cat and she noticed every girl and Corey staring at him, but something about this kid and his vanished parents was off. Two people don't just simply disappear leaving their belongings and not to mention their son behind.
"Yes. Excellent answer, very impressive." Mr. Douglas said to Hayden as Marlow snapped back into reality. "Does observing something change its behavior? Or alter its outcome? That's the question of today's lab on page 117. Break into groups of four. Marlow, Riley and Cooper, you stay in that group of three." he announced.
Marlow nodded and walked over to her friends. They got to work. Marlow glanced over to Liam, Mason, Corey, and Hayden and noticed Corey going invisible against a nearby wall. She narrowed her eyes and snuck over to her friends. "What's going on?"
"Phone's can't geolocate. Corey's getting Mr. Douglas' compass." Mason explained. Marlow looked over to the cabinet in the front of the class and saw the door opening and closing before Corey and the compass reappeared next to Mason.
Mason opened it. "What are you gonna do with it?" Hayden asked. Follow it. Seriously? - Where do you think it goes? I have no idea. But we won't find out till we open the box. Hayden: Schrodinger's cat? I... I still don't get it.
"What are you gonna do with it?" Hayden asked.
"Follow it," Mason replied.
"Seriously?" she asked.
"Where do you think it goes?" Corey asked excitedly.
"I have no idea. But we won't know until we open the box." Mason told them. Marlow shook her head and smirked. Corey didn't seem to get it.
"Shrödinger's cat, Corey. Mr. Douglas just talked about it." Marlow reminded him.
"I still don't get it," he said.
Marlow sighed. "Oh, sweetie."
"Marlow. Get to work." Mr. Douglas said.
It was three-thirty and Marlow hadn't heard from Stiles or Scott. She decided to go with Liam and Mason instead. Riley and Coop were on a date, so she was out. "Should we be doing this?" she asked the boys.
"It's where the compass is leading us," Mason said. They were steering straight into an abandoned house.
"This compass is leading us straight into our doom," Marlow said.
"When did you lose your fearlessness?" Liam asked.
Marlow stopped. "What is that supposed to mean?" she asked, her eyes narrowed.
For months they had been passive-aggressively fighting over who was going to be the leader once Scott was gone. Both wanted the position, neither would ever admit it. Marlow didn't like fighting but it was better than being heartbroken and awkward around Liam. "Nothing. Just asking." Liam replied defensively.
"Guys, stop it." Mason chided.
Marlow sighed and walked ahead to the backdoor of the house. She quietly twisted the doorknob to see if it would open. It did. She sighed. The three went inside and walked towards the living room when Marlow stopped the boys.
"Shh, did you hear that?" she whispered. She held a finger up to her mouth as the three snuck towards the noise. Marlow jumped as they ran into Scott.
"What are you doing here?" Liam asked.
"This is Alex's house," Scott replied. "What are you doing here?"
"This is where the compass led us," Liam replied.
"What compass?" Scott asked. Mason showed him Mr. Douglas' compass. It was going crazy at that point.
Scott narrowed his eyes. "Why is it doing that?"
"They're all doing it," Liam said as he and Marlow showed Scott the compasses on their phones. The glass of the compass broke just as the group heard a commotion upstairs.
"Stiles," Marlow said as she ran for the stairs. The boys followed her. Stiles got up off the floor just as they got to the hallway.
"What? What happened?" Scott asked.
"He was here. He shot at me." Stiles stammered. He looked at Scott. "It was one of the guys you saw in Alex's memory."
"The guy who took his parents?" Mason asked.
"No, no, no. They weren't just taken." Stiles replied. Marlow narrowed her eyes at her brother. He was upset and she didn't know how much of what he was saying could be taken at face value. "They were, they were made to disappear. That's why there's no furniture, that's why they weren't in any of the photos. They were erased."
Stiles turned and opened the door to the room at the end of the hall. They all burst inside. It was empty, now matching the rest of the house. Everyone was silent. Marlow didn't like the feeling she was getting from the house. "Guys, let's just go. This place is creeping me out."
"What do you mean? Who do you think did it?" Riley asked Marlow. The two had met up in school. She wanted to get the thoughts of a witch on this. Maybe she some ideas about it.
"I think the Ghost Riders are doing this," Marlow said.
Riley narrowed her eyes. "The who?"
Marlow sighed. "It's a legend. It's a bunch of dead guys and they're riding on horses and taking people and erasing them from basically everything. Mr. Yukimura told me about it once." she explained.
"And you think they took Alex's parents?" Riley asked.
"And maybe more people. A lot more." Marlow said.
"Oh God," Riley mumbled.
"And I think... I think Stiles might be next," Marlow said.
Riley tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. "Who?" she finally asked.
Marlow chuckled. "Stiles. My brother," she replied.
Riley shot her a confused glance. "Marlow, what are you talking about?" she asked. Now Marlow looked at her confusedly. "You're an only child."
Marlow raised an eyebrow. She was willing to go along with the joke but now she was getting scared. "Riley. I am not an only child. Don't you remember? I have a brother. His name is Stiles. You know, the one who keeps finding all the trouble?" she told Riley. Marlow grabbed her best friend by the shoulders. "Don't you remember?"
"Marlow, are you okay?" Riley asked shaking her best friends off of her. She was worried and the Ghost Riders' influence was already taking hold of her.
"Crap!" Marlow cursed. She turned and ran. Riley had already forgotten Stiles. She needed to find him before anyone else did, She instead found Mason, Liam, and Hayden in the hallway at some point. They were talking about Mr. Douglas' compass.
"Where are you going so fast?" Mason asked.
The girl stood still as she tried remembering what she was doing at school this late in the first place. She shook her head, amused at the situation. "I don't remember. I think I was looking for you," she replied. She chuckled. "Did you get the compass fixed?"
"Oh yeah, I did," he said as he fumbled in his pocket to reveal the still splintered screen of the compass.
"Uh, perfect! Looks brand new." Liam immediately said.
"Oh lord," Marlow said.
Hayden chuckled. "He's gonna notice."
"Nah, he'll never notice. We'll just put the compass back and figure out a way to help Scott." Mason said.
"Or just put the compass back," Hayden suggested.
"We can't just leave it all to Scott," Liam said.
"Why not? He's the Alpha." Hayden said.
"Not for long," Liam said.
"Exactly." Marlow quickly added.
"Who's gonna take his place?" Hayden asked.
"Me," Marlow replied.
"Why you?" Liam asked her.
"Why not me? I'm his Beta." she reminded him.
"Well, he bit me and not you." Liam reminded her in turn.
"Well, I was here first," Marlow said. She would win the argument one way or another.
"That doesn't mean you can be the Alpha," Liam said.
"Guys, stop it. We can decide on who will be the Alpha soon enough." Hayden chimed in.
Marlow looked off to the side. She could smell blood coming from somewhere. Liam and Hayden seemed to notice as well. "What is it?" Mason asked, noticing the looks on their faces.
"It's blood," Liam replied.
The group broke apart and started going after the scent. Marlow ran into Riley a few minutes later. "Marlow, where were you? Are you okay?" Riley asked concernedly.
Marlow had forgotten what they were talking about earlier. "Yeah, I'm good," she replied. "Why?"
"You were rambling on and on about a non-existing brother earlier," Riley explained.
Marlow raised an eyebrow. She smirked at Riley. "Okay, weird."
Riley nodded. "Yeah, pretty much."
Marlow remembered why she was looking around the school in the first place. "We gotta go. It's close."
"What's close?" Riley asked confusedly.
"That smell of blood," Marlow said as she took off. Riley ran after her.
The smell led Marlow to the school's boiler room. The door was locked. "Riley?" Marlow asked.
The girl nodded, a smirk crossing her lips. She raised her hand and closed her eyes for a second. When she opened them a set of keys appeared in her hands. She grinned at Marlow, jiggling the keys. Marlow smirked at her. "I love your new power."
Riley nodded. "Same here."
Marlow took the keys and opened the door. Just then, Liam, Mason, and Hayden arrived. "Good, you're here," Marlow said.
Liam shushed her as he prepared to break down the door. "Liam, the door-" Riley began.
"Shh, no time." Liam chimed in as he ran for the door with a scream.
Marlow rolled her eyes and opened the door before he could hit it. He flew through and into a bunch of empty buckets.
Mason saw the keys in Marlow's hand. "It was open."
"Exactly," Marlow said as she raised the keys. The group followed Liam inside. The stench of blood got more evident as they walked towards an air conditioning unit.
Liam looked back at the group, looking for approval as he wanted to open the door. Marlow nodded. Liam slowly opened the door. Tucked inside the vent was a body with a caved-in head. Marlow jumped back as the body slouched forward. "Oh, God." she gasped. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed her dad's number.
Marlow and Riley stood in the hallway as the crime scene unit looked through the boiler. "Marlow, what is going on?" Riley asked. "First, you tell me something about a brother and horse riding maniacs that are erasing people from everything and then we find a dead body. Are we caught in another supernatural drama?"
Marlow noticed that Riley was about to freak out. She had to put a stop to that before the remaining people in school got suspicious. "Are we ever not? Now calm down. We can handle this as always."
"Riley!" Coop yelled as he rushed towards the girls. "I heard about the dead body. Are you guys okay?" he asked. He pulled Riley into a hug.
"Yeah, we're good. Let's talk," she said as she took him to the side.
Marlow sighed as a boy approached her. "Marlow, oh my God. Thank God you're okay," he said and pulled her into a hug.
She tensed up, he noticed. "Excuse me, who are you?" she asked as he let go of her.
"Come on, Marlow stop playing games," he said. "I'm Stiles. I'm your brother," he added.
Marlow raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, I don't think so. I'm an only child."
Stiles looked at her with a blank expression. It seemed as if he tried to remember something. Marlow was getting creeped out. "Okay, Marlow, I know you don't remember me. Or that I'm your brother. Soon you won't even know I existed, but..." he seemed to think again when suddenly he grabbed the locket around the girl's neck.
"Hey!" she yelled.
"Here, you can remember me by the pict..." he said. As he looked at the picture in the locket he only found one of his mom and dad. His picture was gone.
Marlow swatted his hands off her. "Get your hands off me!"
He grabbed her by the shoulders, a little too forceful. "Marlow! You have to remember me!"
"Hey!" Noah yelled. He walked up to the two. "Son, you okay?"
"Oh, thank God. Thank God. Okay." Stiles mumbled. He started panting. "Everyone's forgetting. Everyone is forgetting everything..."
"Okay, okay, slow down, slow down. We'll figure this out together."
"Okay." Stiles nodded. He loosened up. Marlow narrowed her eyes at the scene. She had never seen the boy before in her life but something about him was familiar.
"Now, why don't you tell me your name?" Noah asked.
Stiles tensed up once more. He grew quiet and then he ran off. Marlow looked after him confusedly. Noah turned to her. "Did you know that boy? What did he want?"
The young werecoyote shrugged. She couldn't remember anything about him, even if he did look familiar.
The next morning as Marlow was walking downstairs, she noticed a weird empty-looking space on the wall. Something about it felt off. She shook her head, convinced she was losing her mind.
She left the house and climbed into her newly-repaired car. Marlow picked up Riley on her way. At school, she parked next to a blue jeep. She had never seen it at school. But it made her feel weird as well.
Marlow, Riley, and Coop joined Mason, Liam, Hayden, and Corey in front of their first class. Marlow left them as soon as she saw Lydia coming in. The two looked at each other. "Do you feel it too?" Lydia asked. Marlow nodded.
"Feel what?" Scott asked.
"What's wrong?" Malia asked.
"I have a feeling that I was supposed to remember something," Lydia explained.
"Me too." Marlow nodded.
"What is it?" Scott asked.
Marlow sighed. Something was off. She had felt that way ever since the previous night. "I have no idea."