Thanks for the reviews! How did everyone like the finale? I didn't get to watch it, but I got to see some scenes on youtube and read the recap. I feel like I can properly plan out the rest of this story now that the show's over, like who needs to make an earlier appearance and how I can do that without messing with the show too much. If that makes sense.

I do not own anything in this story, besides my oc, everything else belongs to their rightful owners.

Chapter 8

!# $$%$&

Laci closed her laptop, wiping her eyes dry. She wished that would be the hardest conversation she knew was coming, but she knew it wasn't going to get easier. Telling her dad she was alive, lying to him about what had happened and how she was still here, it was hard on her. They'd been just reconnecting when she'd died, but she knew he had a right to know she was alive. She couldn't be cruel and let him think his only daughter was buried in the ground, or worse that they had burned someone else's body thinking it was hers.

"How'd it go face timing dad?" Scott said out, crossing his arms as he leaned against the door frame.

Laci took a shaky breath as she stood. She was finally able to stand without wincing and walk normally again. Grabbing her backpack, she checked her reflection in case she had puffy eyes after talking to her dad. "As expected. I talked him out of coming to see us. I figured that was the last thing we needed right now." She said, brushing back her hair. It was hard to believe the girl looking back at her was her. It felt like she was looking at someone else sometimes.

Laci had gone and gotten a haircut once she was strong enough. With all the dead weight gone, it felt a lot better. Her curls had returned, for which was happy about. Her eyes didn't hold the same light they once had, but given the circumstances that was normal. At least she hoped so. "Come on. I'll give you a ride on my bike to school. Stiles promised to make a coffee run with Malia after they talk to his dad at the station." Scott said, ushering his sister out of the room.

Even coming back from the dead couldn't make her get ready faster in the morning.

Laci tensed at the mention of Malia. She hadn't mentioned Malia's break down to her brother yet, and she didn't plan on doing it any time soon. That was Malia's story to tell, not hers. Still, it didn't sit right with her. She had no idea who this desert wolf was or if Scott needed to be warned about it. As of right now, it was just a memory of Malia's, but if it turned out to be more she might need to tell her brother.

"You alright?" Scott asked as he led the way down the stairs.

Laci followed behind him, giving him a weak smile when he glanced back. "As I'll ever be."

^&*&*(&

When Scott and Laci arrived at Beacon Hill's high, they weren't sure what to expect. Laci got off the bike first, taking her helmet away from her head as she did. It didn't feel like it was that long ago she was riding with Isaac to school on his bike. What felt like months to her, was over a year for everyone else. She wasn't sure when that was ever going to make sense for her. "Laci, you coming?" Scott asked, nodding his head toward the school.

Taking a deep breath, Laci nodded and put on her forced smile before walking with him. It didn't take long for Theo to find them, and Laci, again, found herself tensing. He had been there for Malia's panic attack. The question was, was he going to out Malia's secret to Scott, or keep it to himself like she hoped he did? Thankfully, he chose the latter.

Instead, the conversation went to looking for other chimeras. From Stiles' text, they were looking for eight total and so far they'd found two. Laci walked a few steps behind the two boys, letting her brother fill Theo in. She wasn't sure what to think of him, but he'd saved her life and helped Malia through a panic attack. He wasn't shooting up any red flags in her book yet, but she something inside her was screaming 'don't trust him' to her and she knew better than not to listen to it.

The trio stopped at the railing overlooking the courtyard below them. Laci scanned the faces, some familiar and more than few not. "So, basically, we're looking for abnormal behavior?" Theo asked, his eyes searching for anyone who fit the description.

"Anyone looking a little off or a little weird." Scott said, nodding as he did the same.

Laci knew from experience that that wasn't always as easy as it should be. Isaac was being beat up by his dad, locked in a freezer, yet no one knew. Matt was psychopath who killed one of her friends and nearly killed more when he had control over Jackson. Scott was a freaking werewolf, but no one knew. On the outside, they were normal people. Even their teachers. Everyone had another side though, and sometimes it was a monster they kept hidden from the world.

Laci sighed heavily, knowing this was a lost cause. They'd have to be psychic to spot someone out this way. "Scotty, we're the school where half the lacrosse team are werewolves, the smartest girl in school is a banshee, and a weird unexplainable phenomenon happens weekly. The only weird kids you're gonna find are the normal ones." She said, turning her head to look over at him.

"She's got a point, Scott. Besides, isn't everyone a little weird in high school?" Theo added in, nodding his head in agreement.

"Good points."

He glanced at the papers in his hands and hoped this would help them. Laci had tried to read some of it last night with Malia, but it wasn't going to be on any best seller lists. "You remember Tracy went on a killing spree after reading that, right?" Theo asked nervously as he and Laci followed Scott down the steps.

"You think it's a bad idea? Laci and Malia already read most of it and neither of them have gone on any killing sprees." Scott said, glancing back to his sister for confirmation.

"No, no murder sprees from us." Only near-death car accidents, she thought to herself.

Theo shot her a curious look, but said nothing. "I think Malia almost getting run down by a car could've been bad." He spoke up, looking between them as they walked. "Well, that's why you guys haven't finished it, right?"

"We're going to."

Laci's eyes shifted between them, wondering what Theo's angle was. Stiles hadn't budged when it came to letting the old friend in. Even if he did find her in the woods and helped her. He'd helped all of them. She trusted Stiles more than anyone else though, there was no debating that.

Theo either was ignoring her curious glance or didn't notice it as the trio walked. "Scott, I came here hoping to find a pack. I wasn't planning on watching one fall apart."

"The book's all we got." Scott, his aggravation getting the best of him.

"Then I'll read it too."

Laci saw the look of relief on her twin's face and wasn't sure if she should be grateful or wary of Theo being so eager to help. Still, another pair of eyes reading this thing couldn't be anything but helpful at this point. They were desperate.

#^%%^%^$&

Laci had free period, something they gave her so she could work on some make up work from the months she missed. As stressful as it was, she was grateful for it. Usually at least. She couldn't seem to focus today. Rubbing her temple, she tried to ignore the voices in her head. It was muffled, making it hard to know what was being said, but it was loud too. The volume made it hard to ignore the sounds.

Closing her eyes, she tried to think of something else. Maybe staring at the same sentence repeatedly probably wasn't helping either.

When her eyes opened again, she was no longer in the library. Darkness, all she could see was darkness. She could hear muffled voices, they sounded so far away. "Help! Help me!" She screamed, banging her fists against whatever she was locked inside up. "Please, let me out! I'm in here! Scott! Scott, help me!" She continued to scream until it hurt.

It was hard to breath. The space seemed to be getting tighter, like it was shrinking. Turning her head side to side, she tried to find an opening. She pushed at the walls, the cover over her, nothing budged. She screamed until her throat felt raw.

Relief was short lived when the lid on top of her finally was lifted away. Above stood those . . . monsters, from her nightmares. "Subject has potential." The man, thing, said.

Her eyes took a moment to adjust before she realized there was three of them. "No, no, please. Please, don't hurt me. Scott! Derek? Where are you? Derek! Scott! No!" She screamed, thrashing around as she was lifted. "Let me go! Stop! Wh-where are you taking me? Stop! Scott! Scott, where are you? Scott!" She continued to scream as she was dragged out of the room.

"Laci! Laci, hey!"

Laci's head snapped up, her eyes wild and frightened. "Scott!" She cried out, flinching away from the worried hands trying to hold her.

The grip around her tightened and for a moment she was terrified it was those . . . things coming to get her. "It's alright, Lace. I got you. It's Stiles. I have you. It's alright."

Her body seemed to relax upon hearing his voice. It was just Stiles, she was safe. She was safe, alive and safe. "I saw them, Stiles. I saw them." She sobbed, turning her head into him as her body shook.

Stiles looked stunned, but didn't question her more as he smoothed down her hair. He kissed her head as he adjusted his embrace around her. He knew she had a free period and he'd wanted to check in on her. She'd been sleeping at the table when he found her. He would have left her, but he'd heard her whimper in her sleep. She was twitching, calling for her brother, for someone to help her.

He'd been worried. They still didn't know what'd happened to her while she was gone. They'd burned her body, spread her ashes. She was dead, and suddenly she was here. He knew it couldn't be as simple as they wanted it to be. No one walked away from death untouched. He knew that better than anyone.

"Come on, let's get you home." With a silent nod, Stiles helped Laci to her feet and the two left.

He sent a quick text to Scott telling him he was taking Laci home before they got into his jeep and took off.

#$%^*&%^%*

When Scott, Theo, and the girls made it back to the McCall home, Laci and Stiles were sitting at the dining room table talking over some hot chocolate. Malia paused at the sight, not knowing what to think of it, but ignored the feeling in the pit of her stomach. When Laci heard them come in, she stood up quick and hurried to her brother. He welcomed her embrace, holding her close as he whispered soothing words into her ear. He could practically smell the fear coming off her.

Whatever had happened to her really freaked her out. When she pulled back from her twin, her eyes shifted to Malia. A look of understanding pasted from one brunette to the other. "I had a nightmare . . . a memory, I don't know. I don't remember what happened to me after . . . after I died that night, Scott. The next thing I remember is waking up in the graveyard and running into Theo in the woods. It could have been a memory or a very realistic dream, I don't know. I'm sorry, I know that doesn't help at all." She explained, looking between the others.

Scott, Stiles, and Lydia all looked sympathetic. That entire night had been one big nightmare. It wasn't bad enough they'd lost Allison, but Laci as well. Isaac left after their funerals, and Derek left not much longer after that. They'd lost a lot, and it was a like a miracle they had Laci back. It didn't make them feel any less mournful for the others they lost, just grateful for who they still had left and who they'd gained since.

"It's alright. We'll figure it out. For right now, we need to see what else we can find out from these books. You up for it?" He asked, his eyes questioning his twin.

He needed to know if she was stable enough for this. Laci hesitated, the idea of having another nightmare, memory, like before making her pause. Glancing between him and Stiles, she took a deep breath and nodded. "I'm up for it."

Scott hesitated, not fully believing her, but nodded before he dropped the photo-copied books on the table. There was one for each of them, and no one seemed to be particularly excited to dive into it. "My mom's book club usually has more wine." Lydia said, trying to break the tension that had settled around the room.

"Well, they also probably didn't read books that cause violent hallucinations." He winced at the carelessness of his comment, his eyes shifting to Laci quickly. "Sorry, Laci. That came out harsher than I meant it to."

Malia tried not to take offense to the fact Stiles hadn't apologized to her too, but then again, they didn't know what she'd seen. She hadn't told them. Still, she hadn't figured out why this girl had such an effect over her boyfriend. "That's why Malia's here. Laci too." Scott spoke up, looking between the two girls.

"So none of us go running into traffic?" Kira asked.

Scott nodded, his eyes trained on the books. "Or worse."

"Like what happened to Judy." Malia blurted out. Laci's eyes widened at the mention, knowing exactly what she was talking about.

Unfortunately, the others didn't.

"Chapter 14." She said, as if it would make more sense.

Lydia let out a heavy sigh as she leaned down and picked the book up. "Maybe I should have my mother read it. She might remember a girl with a tail leaping off the ceiling and attacking everyone."

"Yeah, if it works." Stiles said, still not convinced this was going to end well or how they're hoping it will.

"It has to." Lydia spoke up

"What's that mean?" Scott asked, looking over at her puzzled.

"I think I saw them when Laci was going through surgery." Stiles straightened upon seeing the nervous expression on her face. "When I look at the cover of the book . . . it's almost like . . ."

"A memory trying to surface. Like Laci's did." Theo spoke up, causing them all to look in his direction.

"Yeah."

"Isn't that what Valack wanted when he wrote it?" Kira asked, looking around the circle of teens on either side of her. Malia nodded in agreement.

"If they did something to me, I want to know what it is." Lydia said, determination in her voice as she made her choice about reading this book.

Grabbing her copy, she took it and went to get settled. Laci crossed her arms, watching as the others grabbed their own copy of the book. Something didn't feel right. Looking at the cover of the book, she knew what Lydia felt. She could feel it too. If her nightmare had been an actual memory, did she want to know what happened when they dragged her out of that room? Did she want to know how she was even alive in the first place? She had a feeling both questions were connected to the dread doctors, and she wasn't sure she wanted the answers just yet. If at all.

Sighing, she went into the kitchen to make some more drinks for everyone. They were in for a long night.

"Anyone feel anything yet?" Scott asked after some time had passed.

"Tired." Kira said, frustration and exhaustion getting the best of her.

"Hungry." Lydia spoke up, annoyed with the lack of progress as well.

"I think he meant the book." Theo said, motioning to the pages in front of him

Laci yawned, getting up from her spot on the other side of Scott. He glanced up upon feeling the movement beside him. She smiled weakly, hoping to reassure him. "I'm fine, Scotty. Just tired. It's been a long day, that's all." She said, waving him off.

His eyes followed her as she moved to the kitchen where Malia and Stiles were sitting. She slipped past Malia and went in search of something sugary. If it was something chocolate, she'd like that even more. "What did you do to your shoulder?" Malia said, catching Laci's attention as she turned to see she was directing her question to Stiles who was rubbing his sore shoulder.

He looked up, unaware he was doing anything. "What are you talking about?"

His eyes flickered to Laci, almost panicked. It was the same shoulder that'd been bothering him the other night, she realized. He'd brushed off the questions she and Lydia had before, but now Malia had noticed too. "I can smell the blood. What happened?" She said quietly, confusion in her eyes as she looked between him and Laci.

"Jeep died on me again. I went to check the engine, the hood fell on me." Well, that certainly wasn't what he'd told her and Lydia, Laci thought to herself.

He shot her a quick glance, wondering if she'd call him out. She wanted to ask what really happened, but she could see he wanted to keep it to himself. He'd kept plenty of secrets for her over the years, she could give him this one. For now.

"Wait, how much . . . how much do you remember, anyway? With the accident, did it play like a movie in your head, or was it like being completely in it again? What about with yours? What did it feel like?" He asked, turning the conversation in another direction as he looked between them.

Laci tensed at the reminder of her nightmare memory. Hopping up onto the counter, she fidgeted with her sleeves. "It felt like I was there. I could feel how closed in the box was and how little air there was. My lungs were screaming, and it only got worse the more I yelled. My hands and legs hurt from hitting the box. When they . . . when they opened the box I was in, it was like I was breaking through water to the surface and taking that first really deep breath of air." Laci explained, keeping her eyes lowered as she did. If she closed her eyes, she could feel the nightmare play out again.

Stiles looked guilty, like he wished there was something he could have done to keep that from happening to her. There wasn't anything any of them could have done, they all thought she was dead, but it didn't make the guilt feel any better. "Lace, I-I'm sorry." He said, not knowing what more he could say.

She gave him a sad smile in return, nodding her head in understanding. "I know you are. It wasn't your fault, or Scott's. Neither of you knew."

"It was like that for me too. Feeling like I was there." Malia spoke up, glancing between them warily.

Stiles cleared his throat, straightening in his seat. "Was it just the crash? Nothing else?"

"Nothing." Malia said after a moment.

Laci wasn't sure how much she believed that, but who was she to question it? She was there, but she couldn't know what was going on in Malia's head. She couldn't see what she saw. Clearing her throat, she slipped off the counter with her snack. "I'm gonna get in a shower. I think it'll wake me up a little bit. Don't eat all my snowballs, Stiles." She said, shooting a look to the thief in question. He held up his hands in peace, giving her a mock insulted look as she left the room. With a heavy sigh, she headed upstairs. This day was never going to end.