"Sit still." Isaac commanded and gingerly lifted Bianca's arm up. She winced when he grazed her finger just underneath the wound and flinched back. "Sorry."
"It's fine." Bianca said and looked at the blood dripping from the open area, soaking her white sweater that she stole from her mom. She wasn't going to be happy.
"The sweater needs to come off." Isaac said, his tone wasn't harsh, but it wasn't the usual softness he always reserved for her. Bianca was never one to be shy about herself, but somehow being under Isaac's watchful gaze was different. She lifted her arms and Isaac lightly pulled the sweater over her head, gently placing it in the McCall's sink. Bianca watched Isaac turn sharply and rifle through the cabinets and emerge with a first aid kit and a needle.
"You are not going to give me stitches." Bianca deadpanned and crossed her arms.
"Relax, Doll." Isaac reassured her and flashed her a charming boyish smile. "I know what I'm doing."
"Hmm, did you have a rebellious stage too?" Bianca whispered and held his chin between her thumb and index finger. Isaac's eyes grew dark and he didn't say anything. Bianca knew not to question it. After they'd started dating, neither of them really spoke about their feelings. They mostly communicated through touches, like how Isaac would brush his fingers along Bianca's hand, her cheek, her waist. She was the same way, clutching his shirt in her fist, leaving a small wrinkle, tapping his cheek affectionately, or holding onto his arm. It seemed touch was something they'd relied on because words could never be the same.
The McCall house was filled to the brim that night. Scott was worried how much worse the effects were going to get on Stiles, Allison, and himself, and after Isaac's warning about Bianca. He decided it was easier to have everyone stay together to keep an eye on each other, which led to the overcrowded living room.
Scott, Stiles, Allison and Isaac were setting up masses of pillows, blankets, and anything else needed, while Bianca and Lydia were on their way to the store to buy copious amounts of junk food.
"What're we gonna do?" Lydia asked Bianca, her tone was weary, but stern.
Bianca shrugged. "About them or us?"
"Allison shot an arrow at our heads, Scott can't control his transformation, and Stiles is wracked with night terrors." Lydia deadpanned, ignoring Bianca's last comment. "Our only solution can't be mass sleepovers all the time."
"The boys already asked Deaton about it." Bianca pointed out. "What else can we do?"
"We can't let them die." Lydia said in an unusually even tone. The two girls let silence fill the rest of the car ride, both completely riddled with thoughts. When had their lives turned into a shit show, they were sixteen, they weren't supposed to worry about death or hold the power to kill someone.
It was nearing two in the morning at the McCall house and it was void of all noise except for the TV playing some random movie and everyone's uneven breathing. They were all too afraid to actually fall asleep, so they settled for an uneasy silence.
Allison was laying across the couch, her feet hung over one side and her head was against the other armrest, she was staring blankly at the ceiling and it made the others think she was slipping into another trance. Scott was laying on the floor beside her, one arm tucked underneath his head and the other laying at his side. As the unofficial leader, he kept darting his eyes from side to side, if not to keep an eye on everyone else, but to ease his mind.
Isaac was sitting in the loveseat, his head tilted back while Bianca was sitting half on top of him and the other half tucked between the small opening on the couch. Her head was resting against his chest and he absentmindedly played with her hair. A habit he picked up recently from when Bianca would have nightmares, but he would manage to calm her down before she woke up.
The last pair was Lydia and Stiles, he was laying in the middle of the floor, and Lydia was laying on the floor as well, facing Stiles. They had their hands in the position to be almost touching, but not quite there. They were an odd sort of pair, before they didn't even talk, now they were friends, and sometimes they were more.
Around four in the morning the six teenagers finally fell asleep, albeit a restless one. Bianca felt the cool air run over her skin and she turned to tuck herself further into Isaac's body to gain some of his werewolf heat. But instead of finding Isaac she kept turning till she hit the floor.
Bianca groaned and pushed herself off the floor, which was a shiny while linoleum, conversely different than the hardwood of her house. The whole room was white in fact, from the ceiling, to the walls, and the pillars.
"Bianca?" The brunette turned at the sound of her name and spotted Lydia standing a little ways away from her. She was looking around as well, just as confused and dazed. She had probably just woken up as well.
"Lydia." She answered. The two of them walked closer to each other and on instinct grabbed each other's hands. "Where are we?"
"I don't know." Lydia answered in an uneven tone. Lydia scanned the room once again and came face to face with what she could only describe as the nemeton. "Bianca look." She said and pushed the siren's head.
Bianca gasped slightly and narrowed her eyes. "Is that…?
"I think so." Lydia whispered back. She kept staring at the large roots until it was almost as if whispers were floating off of it. She focused harder and the whispers were growing louder. "Do you hear anything?"
Bianca nodded her head, but instead of whispers, she was hearing song lyrics. They were getting louder and louder the longer she looked at the large truck. She took a step forward and so did Lydia. The noises were beginning to pound against their heads. It was trying to tell them something, but at the same time, they felt the instinctive need to run.
"What do you hear?" Bianca asked quietly, holding tighter onto Lydia.
"Noises, voices." Lydia said cryptically, she tilted her head to the side and winced. "Warnings."
"Something's coming for us." Bianca stated, they both knew it now. There wasn't a doubt in mind. Now that they had reopened the beacon, it was a one way door for trouble.
"What are they telling you?" Lydia asked her friend. The two of them were still clutching each other, hands turning white.
"They're telling me to run." Bianca answered. "We're all going to die."
Lydia felt Bianca's skin run cold, colder than ice and she yanked her hand back from the intense feeling. "Bianca?"
"We have to run, Lydia." Bianca whispered blankly. Lydia knew she was right, that's what they were telling her too.
Suddenly the noise stopped, there wasn't any screaming, warnings, or music. It was silent, cautiously the two girls walked closer to the nemeton, finally stopping when their bare feet hit the growing roots. They slowly peered over the edge and sucked in a harsh breath, because in the next second a sharp piercing scream ripped through the air and both girls were thrown backwards.
Lydia woke up first, she was clutching her chest and breathing heavily. She turned to her side and started coughing, trying to get air back in her lungs. It felt like something had thrown her back and landed on her chest. It was tightening by the second and she nearly made herself sick.
Bianca was next and was awakened just as harshly, she doubled over and sucked in air, trying to make sense of her surroundings. She was clutching the side of the loveseat to ground herself, clawing at the side and gasping. She still felt cold, like ice was covering her whole body, like she'd seen a ghost. The two of them had tears gathering in their eyes, and Lydia's were beginning to fall.
Their other four friends were jolted awake by the sudden panic and flew into a frenzy.
"What happened?" Stiles demanded as she grabbed Lydia and pulled her into his chest. She wandered her hands around for a moment before settling to hold onto Stiles' arms. He winced at how tight she was grabbing him and felt her nails draw blood, but he didn't have the heart to push her away.
Allison had moved to turn on the light and Scott was upright as soon as he saw both girls. Isaac, who had been next to Bianca, grabbed her tightly and was stroking her hair, she was still freezing and Isaac flinched when she accidentally brushed her ice cold fingers on his neck.
"You're bleeding." Allison cut in. She walked over slowly and moved Lydia's hair to the side, blood leaking from her ears. Then she turned, alarmed and nodded towards Bianca. "You both are."
Isaac flinched and moved Bianca's hair to the side, showing the blood dripping down the side of her face as well.
Lydia gingerly touched her ear and winced. "We're running out of time."
Lydia hopped up onto the McCall's bathroom sink and slipped off her sweater she'd fallen asleep in that night. Stiles was sure to follow after her and closed the door a little too harshly behind them. Lydia, still a little shaken by her dreams, flinched at the sharp noise.
"Stiles." Lydia said softly in a warning tone, although she wasn't warning him.
Stiles paced back and forth in the small space for a second and then leaned his head against the bathroom door. "Sorry, Lyds."
"Haven't heard that in a long time." Lydia laughed lightly. Stiles smiled sweetly at her, although he still managed to look sarcastic.
Stiles then moved to take a towel out of one of the drawers and ran it under the faucet. "Come here."
Lydia looked up at him and he reached out to turn her head lightly. He brushed his index finger along her jaw and she sucked in a sharp breath. He then tucked her strawberry blond hair behind her ear and dabbed softly at the blood running down her neck.
"You don't have to do this, Stiles." Lydia opposed, but she made no motion to turn him away.
"Shush." Stiles said and continued his soft ministrations on her ear. "What happened in your dream, Lydia, well shared dream I guess."
Lydia went still and shrugged unevenly. "We saw the nemeton. It was whispering things, telling us things."
"Like what? Instructions?" Stiles asked sarcastically.
"Almost." Lydia answered cryptically. "Warnings, it kept telling us to run."
"So what woke you up, what caused the bleeding?" Stiles asked. "That only happens to Bianca when…"
"When I scream?" Lydia stated, it was less of a question than anything. "The nemeton released this energy with a scream, pushing us back harshly." Lydia explained. "I didn't notice the blood till Allison pointed it out."
"Are you okay?" Stiles asked, she looked far away when she was speaking about it.
"I'm fine." Lydia answered blankly.
Stiles dropped the towel onto the counter and placed his hands on either side of her, leaning slightly forward and dropping his head. "Lydia…"
"I'm fine. " Lydia stressed, she put her hands on his chest lightly and forced him to look up at her. "I promise I'm fine."
"None of this is okay." Stiles snapped, slamming his left hand down on the counter. She flinched and forcefully grabbed his arms, gathering them in front of her.
"Stop it." Lydia snapped. "You cannot fall apart on me, Stiles."
"Why not?" Stiles said harshly. "I'm already halfway to crazy town."
"Remember when I thought I was crazy?" Lydia asked him. She looked into his eyes and all she saw was fear, panic, and hopelessness. "You wouldn't let me fall apart and I won't let you."
Their faces were centimeters apart and Stiles was basically standing between her knees. Stiles couldn't help but remember a time when Lydia didn't even know his name and here he was now, caressing her waist and holding onto her for dear life.
Lydia and Stiles were staring at each other, one breath away from a kiss. All she had to do was lean forward and those sarcastic lips would be hers.
"Hey, Lydia?" Bianca said, barging into the bathroom, she was half dressed and holding Lydia's pinky nude lipstick. "Can I borrow this…" She trailed off awkwardly, looking between the two. "I'll come back later."
Bianca fled out of the bathroom, giggling like a schoolgirl, and ran right into Isaac's arms.
"Woah, where are you going, Doll?" Isaac laughed, enjoying the sight of her happy instead of panicked and cold.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Bianca teased and laughed even harder when Stiles and Lydia both walked awkwardly out of the bathroom. Stiles shuffled towards Scott's room to get dressed and Lydia narrowed her eyes at Bianca.
She grabbed the siren's arm and pulled her towards the bedroom. "Not a word, Bianca."
As of lately, the six teens were inseparable, so here they were sitting in the school courtyard talking about their latest problems. It was an unusually calm day, well despite their mental problems. It was almost ironic that the sun was shining down on them and the birds were singing.
"Okay, so what happens to a person who has a near-death experience and comes out of it seeing things?" Scott blatantly asked the group. They all looked a little helpless and Stiles was gnawing at the end of his eraser.
"And is unable to tell what's real or not?" Stiles added. Lydia, who was sitting next to him, placed her hand near his, almost touching, but just barely.
"And is being haunted by demonic visions of dead relatives?" Allison finished, chewing on her nails.
"They're all locked up because they're insane." Isaac said unhelpfully. Bianca, who was sitting in his lap despite the extra room, slapped him upside the head and glared. He winked at her placatingly.
"Can you at least try to be helpful, please?" Stiles snapped at the werewolf, an annoyed expression gracing his features.
"For half my childhood, I was locked in a freezer. So, being helpful is kind of a new thing for me." Isaac retorted in the same tone. Bianca tensed up in his arms.
"Repeat that again?" Bianca interrupted. No one answered her, not because it was an awkward tension, but because it seemed like a statement they'd been used to hearing.
Stiles threw his hands down lightly. "Hey, dude, are you still milking that?"
Scott dropped his head to the table at their antics and groaned.
"Yeah, maybe I am still milking that." Isaac retorted.
"Wait, go back to the freezer part." Bianca said again. Although no one answered her again because Stile and Isaac were going at it again. Lydia and Allison were trying to interrupt, but neither girl could get a word in.
Not long after, an Asian girl walked up to their table and cut in, effectively shutting up the boys. "Hi, sorry. I couldn't help overhearing what you guys were talking about." She apologized. "And I think I actually might know what you're talking about." She hesitated, then cautiously continued. "There's a Tibetan word for it. It's called "Bardo." It literally means "in-between state." The state between life and death."
Lydia tilted her head up and looked curiously at her, and in her usual biting tone she asked. "And what do they call you?"
Scott beat her to the answer. "Kira. She's in our History class."
The two of them smiled sweetly at each other and the others looked oddly between them. Bianca sent a look to Isaac, asking if there was something going on. He simply shrugged at her and motioned towards Allison, silently telling her he thought they were still a thing. Bianca blinked at Lydia, and the strawberry blond shrugged at her.
There was something odd with the girl, that much was obvious. No one in their school bothered to socialise outside of their group, and the ones that did, didn't actively try to interact with the pack. They all had individual rumors that followed them and kept people away.
Lydia was the crazy former beauty queen who went missing for days in the woods and is now considered "psychic" in the eyes of the high school students. Stiles always had the reputation for being the awkward boy who knew too much and was always on the strange side. Allison had her own reputation as the scary new girl whose family members died and disappeared without plausible reason. Then there was Isaac, and there were enough rumors about his dad's death and where he ended up after his dad died. Scott was pretty self explanatory, he was the kid everyone thought was on steroids, but no one questioned it. Bianca was a mystery all on her own, she appeared one day and immediately fell in the odd crowd. People tended to stay away from the unexplainable.
Lydia then turned her head back to Kira. "So are you talking Bardo in Tibetan Buddhism or Indian?" She wanted to test if this new girl knew what she was saying.
Kira squinted her eyes and moved to sit down next to Allison, which said girl then moved closer to Bianca. Both a little jealous and put out. "Either, I guess. But all the stuff you guys were just saying? All that happens in Bardo. There are different progressive states where you can have hallucinations. Some you see, some you just hear. And you can be visited by peaceful and wrathful deities." She explained, smiling, trying to look friendly.
"Wrathful deities?" Isaac asked, unconsciously tightening his grip on Bianca's waist. "And what are those?"
Kira pursed her lips. "Like demons."
"Demons." Stiles said in a surprised tone, annoyance seeping in. "Why not?"
"Hold on, if there are different progressive states, then what's the last one?" Allison asked cautiously. They were all tensing and scared to hear the answer.
"Death." Kira said simply. "You die."
Lydia and Bianca who had already been pretty aware of this answer exchanged dark looks, while the other all dropped their mouths open and stared at Kira.
Bianca dropped her head back onto Isaac's shoulder. "I never thought I would miss that crap boarding school."
"It sounds like your subconscious is trying to communicate with you." Deaton said to the boys. They had thought going to Deaton would be a good idea. After all he had most of the answers.
"Well, how do I tell my subconscious to use a language that I actually know?" Stiles asked, half sarcastic and half serious.
Deaton walked further into the back room. "Do you remember what the sign language looked like? The placement and movement of the hands?"
"You know sign language?" Scott asked in surprise.
"I know a little." Deaton shrugged. "Let me give it a shot."
Stiles nodded, and showed Deaton the first symbol. "Okay, the first one was like this."
Deaton observed the hand motions and nodded. "That's when."
Stiles then showed him the next one. "Then there was this, twice."
Deaton looked confused. "That's door."
Stiles showed him the last movement. "And this in between it."
"That's it?" Deaton clarified, Stiles nodded. Deaton looked thoughtful for a moment. "When is a door not a door?"
"When is a door not a door?" Stiles repeated, annoyed.
"When it's ajar." Scott murmured.
"You're kidding me. A riddle? My subconscious wants to tell me a riddle?" Stiles snapped at no one in particular.
Deaton shook his head. "Not necessarily. When the three of you went under the water, when you crossed from unconsciousness to a kind of super-consciousness. You essentially opened a door in your minds." Deaton explained.
Scott stepped closer. "So what does that mean? The door's still open?"
"Ajar." Deaton corrected.
"A door into our minds?" Stiles muttered in annoyance and disbelief.
Deaton winced. "I did tell you it was risky."
"What do we do about it?" Scott asked automatically.
"Well, that's difficult to answer." Deaton hesitated, making a face.
Stiles interrupted him and shook his head. "Oh, no, wait a second, I know that look. That's the, we know exactly what's wrong with you, but we have no idea how to fix it look."
"One thing I do know is that having an opening like that into your mind, it's not good." Deaton paused. "You each need to close that door. And you need to do it as soon as possible."
The two boys walked out of the animal clinic, slightly defeated and saw Stiles' father driving up. "Dad, what are you doing here?"
The Sheriff got out of his car and stood before the two. "I'm here because I could use some help." He then pointed at Scott. "Actually your help."
Scott looked confused. "Why me?"
"Because eight years ago, almost an entire family died in a car accident. One of the bodies, a young girl named Malia, was never found. There's enough evidence to have me thinking that a werewolf could have caused the accident, and then dragged her body away." The sheriff explained. "If you could somehow get a lock on her scent if you could somehow help me find her body, it might provide the missing clue."
Stiles looked indifferent. "But what if it was a werewolf?"
"Well, there's somebody out there who murdered an entire family. Someone who still needs to be caught." His father determined.
Scott had swung by Allison's to pick up his sister, flaring with anger the whole way home. Stiles had just told him that his father was trying to get the sheriff fired and he was determined to get a real answer.
The second his bike stopped, Scott stormed into the house where his father was waiting and started shouting. "What the hell are you trying to accomplish!"
"What's going on?" The agent asked, looking between his furious kids.
"Why are you trying to get the sheriff fired?" Bianca snapped angrily.
He sighed and rubbed his face. "I'm trying to help."
"That doesn't make any sense, Dad!" Scott screamed and slammed his helmet down on the table. "Who are you helping? Just get out!"
"Scott." He tried to placate.
"Don't give us that condescending tone." Bianca hissed, she knew that one all too well. "What makes you think any part of this is okay?"
"Bianca, please, I have my reasons." He said, looking sternly at her. His persona switched quickly between his two kids, with Scott he didn't know how to approach, and with Bianca it was always a fifty-fifty chance.
"What? I can't believe that you'd do this to my best friend." Scott demanded, pointing to himself and emphasizing every word.
"I'm not doing anything to your friend." The agent argued. "I'm doing my job."
"Your job sucks." The twins snapped in unison.
Agent McCall pursed his lips. "Some days I can't argue that."
Melissa had just walked into her house and by the short context, she already knew this wasn't going to end well. "Can somebody tell me what the hell is going on?"
"He's trying to get Stiles' dad fired." Bianca said in an annoyed tone and glared at her father.
"No. That's not true." He tried to defend himself.
Melissa rounded on her ex-husband. "What are you doing?"
"Conducting a case for impeachment." He corrected.
"That sounds a lot like getting him fired." Melissa snapped.
"The lack of resolution and ability to close cases is what's going to get him fired." He explained. "My job is just to collect the information. And it's the job my superiors have given me."
"Your job sucks." Melissa said.
"Why don't you just go back to wherever the hell you're living now?" Bianca hissed. "Isn't that why you sent me to boarding school? So you wouldn't have to have conversations like this one?"
"That's not fair, B." Her father said automatically.
"You can't keep saying that it isn't fair!" Bianca screamed, nearly pulling on her hair. She rounded on him and poked him hard in the chest. "If you're here trying to make amends with Scott, then you have another thing coming. Maybe you and Mom struggled on how to be parents, but at least Mom got the basics down. You just threw me into a boarding school because you had more money than time."
"You know that's not true." He snapped. "I don't understand where all this anger you have for me comes from, Bianca. Sure I sent you to boarding school, but I did that for you, I did that so you-"
"Cut the bullshit." Bianca hissed. "I've heard this argument so many goddamn times."
"You can't speak to me this way!" He yelled at his daughter. Bianca simply rolled her eyes, then turned on her heels to grab a coat, stalking towards the door. "Bianca Meredith McCall, don't you dare walk away from me!"
"Watch me." She hissed and slammed the door shut behind her.
"Nice one." Scott murmured in a patronizing tone.
"Scott." His father warned.
Melissa finally decided to step in. "Scott, please go find your sister and take her to Stiles' or Lydia's."
Scott looked between his parents, his mother looked furious and his father looked beyond exhausted. It seemed like the argument he had with Bianca was a rehearsed statement. Scott slowly nodded and backed out of the room, he set out to find his sister, but it didn't escape him that he could hear the sound of his parents fighting long after the house had disappeared from sight.