As they arrived, Sam looked up at the large window that glared with bright lights and blasted with loud, muffled music.
"We're so dead.", she says, and Stiles pulls her inside.
"If we clean up fast after everyone leaves, he probably wouldn't know the difference...", Sam offers, looking at Stiles as he shrugged at her.
She looked around in awe as right before her eyes, Derek's rustic, undecorated loft was an extraordinary black-light rave. There were at least a hundred underdressed teenagers dancing around to the DJ's music with their bodies bright with glowing neon painted designs. Black lights were hanging from the ceilings and walls, giving the room a blue-ish glow and illuminating everyone's white clothing.
"We're so dead.", she yelled over the music. They looked around and spotted Ethan getting his body painted by a girl in a studded bra and shorts.
"You did this?", Sam called as they walked up, making Ethan look at her with a smirk. "Yes, ma'am." Ethan nodded.
"Derek's gonna kill you if he finds out."
"Good thing he's on vacation!", he yelled, nodding his head to the beat of the music.
"All done." The girl told Ethan with a smile.
"Paint these two up.", he told her, nodding over to the two next to him and walked away.
"Face or body?", she asked Sam with a smile.
"Body.", Stiles said before Sam could refuse, and the two both got their arms and hands painted.
"Huh." Sam smiled, admiring the paint as it brightened.
"Shots?", the girl asked, holding up a bottle of Grey Goose. Stiles and Sam looked at each other. He knew she rarely ever drank.
"It's Halloween, why not?", Sam shrugged. The girl poured the vodka into two glasses and handed them to the two.
"Cheers.", she yelled. Stiles and Sam smiled before throwing back the burning liquid down their throats.
Eventually, Stiles and Sam met up with Scott and Kira at the front of the loft. Stiles was talking to Scott, and Sam stood along a wall.
"Do you want to leave so we can figure it out?" She heard Scott say as she paused to wait for them.
"Uhhh." Stiles kept walking and finally stopped in his place as a girl with a pink wig came over and kissed him on the cheek, leaving a trace of her hot pink lipstick. Sam turned to Scott and Kira with a surprised smile spread across her face and started laughing. The girl winked at Stiles as she disappeared into the crowd of intoxicated, dancing teens.
"It can wait! It can wait.", Stiles patted Scott on the shoulder and ran off after the mystery girl. Sam smiled, glad that her friends were having fun. Though, she felt off. With all these people here, it was kinda hard to tell what was actually happening.
She winced as she felt a pricking pain where her bite originally was. She pulled up her white tank top and frowned as the pain bursted once more before subsiding.
The hell was that…?
Sam looked up to hearing the twins calling her name over the crowd. Sam caught Danny holding Lydia in his arms. She thought she was just wasted, but Lydia looked terrified.
Before she could even get to her, a loud crash came from the back of the loft. Sam spun on her heel as everyone gasped in shock to see the DJ's station in pieces. Derek stood in the debris or what was left.
They were definitely dead now.
"GET! OUT!", he bellowed, making the room quake. There was a quick silence as the teens looked at him in fear and people began pushing and rushing their way out of the loft.
He caught Sam's eyes and she stood straight, giving him a weak wave. He narrowed his eyes at her as he stormed up to her. He only paused as Aiden ran up to Sam nervously.
"What the hell are those?", he asked, pointing at five black shadowy figures that suddenly appeared and formed into a human shape.
They looked like Japanese warriors. Their golden-green eyes made them take a step back.
Sam glanced over to see Scott and Kira rushing into the room along with Isaac, Allison, and Ethan who came out of a nearby hallway.
"Holy shit.", Sam whispered, looking back at the figures. Their movements synced as they turned to face Aiden and Sam. Black smoke flickered off of their bodies as they stared at them. "Why are they staring at us?", Sam asked, getting defensive.
"Guys," Aiden said, "they're all looking at me." The creatures took a step forward. Sam grabbed Aiden's arm and pulled him back with her. "Why are they looking at me?", Aiden said, nervously. They took another step forward and another. "Guys?", Aiden cried.
Sam stomped her foot, thinking that'd pause their movements but they continued moving. Her eyes widened. "They don't have shadows…", Sam muttered in fear.
Scott and Derek ran after the monsters and fought them. She could hear roars coming from Derek while Scott was throwing the monsters across the room. One of the creatures came towards them as she pulled Aiden away, dodging the monster's attacks.
She swung at the monster's face, making its head whip to the side and whip back as if nothing happened.
Her heart dropped. "Oh shit.", she says as the monster knocked her back against a pillar. Sam groaned and grabbed at her shoulder in pain once she hit the floor.
Derek was also thrown across the room and rolled in pain onto the floor with a groan. Scott was chucked across the room and landed on the floor.
As they turned towards Aiden and I once more, Isaac stepped forward to help but stopped in fear as one of the warriors he faced pulled out a sword from inside its chest and spun it around, readying itself to kill. Isaac immediately backed off.
"Somebody, do something!", Allison cried. Two of the warriors took Aiden back and one of them held Sam still. One stood in front of each of us and its beady eyes stared into hers. She struggled under its hold as the creature put a hand behind her head and kept it there.
She grits her teeth, waiting for something to happen and nothing did for a moment as she stared into the beady glowing eyes. Suddenly, she felt a pounding headache burst through her head as her eyes fluttered back. The only thing she could feel was a small burn below her ear before passing out.
Sam opened her eyes to see darkness. She couldn't see much, but she could feel how cold it was. It was freezing. Her nose burned from a rancid smell, and she instantly pinched her nose. The hell is that smell...? It was horrible. She looked around, trying to get her eyes to adjust to the darkness like she practiced.
It was definitely a room. Sam walked around only to stop as she saw black smoke arise from below her.
She heard a shuffle and moved as quietly as her feet would let her.
"The more you take, the more you leave behind… What am I?", she hears a familiar voice.
A riddle…? "Who is this? Where are you?", Sam yelled, looking around the best she could. She heard a chuckle then a gut-tensing laugh.
"This is as light as a feather, yet no man can hold it for long. What am I?"
"What?"
"What am I?", the voice pressed.
"I don't know!" Sam shouted.
"What am I, Samantha?" Sam huffed, trying to calm her racing heart.
"The more there is, the less you see. What am I?"
She covered her ears to muffle the voice. "Stop!", Sam yelled.
"What disappears as soon as you say its name?"
"Stop it!"
"What gets broken without being held?" She felt her eyes watering as she dropped to her knees. The room felt like it was spinning as she heard the voice circle her. She couldn't see a thing. Whoever this person was definitely had better experience in the dark than she did, and it terrified her.
"What do you want from me!?", Sam yelled, feeling nauseous.
"When is a door not a door?", she heard a voice growl beside her.
She woke up, erupting in a scream, flinching as she heard someone's footsteps run over to her. "Hey, hey! It's okay!", she sees Derek in front of her with a concerned expression.
Sam looked around to see that she was at his loft. Huffing as she calmed down, she dryly swallowed. "I'm–"
"You're here with me. You're okay.", Derek reassured her me after rubbing her back and letting go of her slowly.
Sam sighed as she looked around, taking in that she was in his bed.
She saw him walk back over to a black trash bag that seemed to be filling with the mess that was left behind. The party…
"Is everyone okay?", Sam asked, and he looked at her. "Yeah, pretty much."
"You're back.", Sam says, and Derek nods.
"Do you remember what happened?", he asked.
"What were those things?", Sam asked, sitting on the edge of his bed.
"That's what Scott's trying to find out. He talked to Argent this morning and he's working on it. Something about Japanese Oni is what he said.", Derek mutters as he picks up more trash.
"Where'd you go?", Sam asked.
"Went to look for something of my mother's. Wasn't expecting to come back to a Halloween party in my own home, though.", Derek grumbled.
"Sorry…", Sam shrank and winced as she felt a twinge behind her ear. She winced again once she touched whatever was causing the sensitivity.
"Here." Derek rummaged into a drawer on the table and pulled out a small mirror, walking over to give it to her. Sam took it and pulled her ear forward, seeing a backwards number five branded into her skin.
"What the hell…?", Sam muttered.
"I have it too.", Derek says, crossing his arms.
"What about Aiden?", she asked.
"He's okay. Isaac, Lydia, and him all have one."
"So, we just got branded…?", Sam sat the mirror down, frowning. What the hell.
"So do you want to talk about that party?", he asked suddenly. "I do not, considering it wasn't my fault.", she confessed, quickly.
"Yeah, but you seemed to have had your fun.", he says, raising an eyebrow and nodding at her once painted arms. Sam grimaced a weak smile. "I guess I should help clean up, huh?"
He nodded with raised eyebrows, amused at her defeat.
"So, Scott's new friend.", he starts off as they cleaned.
"She's definitely not normal. Someone left a note in the school telling William Barrow to kill her. He tried, but... she ended up absorbing hundreds of gigawatts of electricity instead.", Sam says, picking up streamers.
"Kitsune.", Derek said. Kitsune…
"A Japanese fox?", Sam asked, and he smiled in confirmation. "I've seen them before. They don't come around but yeah.", he says.
Derek picked up another black bag. "She's not like us. She can't shape shift, but she can use foxfire."
"Is foxfire the reason why she didn't get electrocuted?", Sam asked. He nodded. "She can control electricity and create fire."
Sam smiled. "That's pretty cool. I got an elemental manipulation buddy now."
He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "That's what you're excited for?"
Sam shrugged. "Why not?"
After an hour of finally getting the loft cleaned and disinfected, Scott called Sam to the school.
Scott had said it involved Stiles, so of course she was in a hurry after getting properly dressed. After arriving, she ended up in an English classroom to see Scott leaning against the teacher's desk.
"Hey.", he sighed in relief.
"What happened to Stiles?", Sam asked. "I told him to take a sick day. He looked exhausted.", he replied.
"He hasn't slept?", Sam asked with furrowed eyebrows.
"I guess, I don't know. He was saying all these really weird things about having a dream or whatever right before he left. He's been really paranoid."
Sam's eyes widened as she remembered last night. Stiles wasn't there when those things came to attack them. In fact, she hadn't seen him since he took off after that girl.
"Something definitely happened. What was he saying?", Sam pressed.
"I went to catch him up about what he missed, and he told me he thinks he's the one that told Barrow to kill Kira.", Scott said, running a hand through his hair.
I looked at him in confusion. "How… how could he have told Barrow to kill Kira… if your mom was supposed to do an operation on Barrow…?"
"Exactly, but when we got to the party, he was telling me about this extra key he found and he thinks he's the one who let Barrow into the Chem closet and wrote the message on the board.", he informed.
"An extra key…?" She thought back to when they got to the chem lab. He got in the closet even though it was supposed to be locked.
"Then Stiles being Stiles, he started doing research, found some old story on Barrow's school bus attack. The bomb was wrapped as a birthday present. And the shrapnel…it was nuts, bolts, and screws."
"The prank you guys pulled on Coach?", Sam asked.
"That was Stiles' idea.", Scott told her. Sam shook her head, dismissing his paranoia. "This is our Stiles we're talking about. Skinny, hyperactive, blabbermouth Stiles. Non supernatural Stiles. You really think he could kill anybody?", Sam scoffed.
"That's the thing, I don't. But he's pretty convinced himself.", Scott sighed.
Sam took a deep breath and sighed through her nose. "I wanna go check up on him. Let's go."
Scott paused. "I… can't."
Sam looked at him in confusion. "The hell you mean, you can't? Since when have you ever not wanted to see Stiles?"
"I'm working on a history project.", Scott rushed. Sam closed her eyes in disappointment. "Y'know, you really gotta stop lying to me. You suck at it. You going to Kira's house?"
Scott nervously scoffed. "Why would you ask–" Sam raised an eyebrow as he looked down in shame. "Yes."
Sam sighed. "I'll fill you in on Stiles. Hurry up.", she says and walk out.
Before she completely left the school, shegot a text from Melissa:
Something happened with Stiles. He's not getting enough sleep. He said he's experiencing sleep walking, panic attacks, and blackouts? Do u know anything about this? He didn't tell Scott about this so I assume he already told you. He's definitely sleep deprived but if there's anything else going on tell me pls. Keeping him to rest for a bit.
Sleep walking...? The panic attacks, she could believe. But blackouts??? Since when has Stiles had blackouts??
Sam sighed and rushed into her car. At least she was watching him. Better let him sleep for now. How bad were his nightmares…?
Sam headed straight home to do her own research. William Barrow. Mass murderer… school bus bomber.
Committed to Eichen house, etc. He even graduated from Beacon Hills high… did he have a vendetta against the school or something…?
Her eyes stopped on the birthday present bomb information. Barrow had put nails, nuts, bolts, and screws into a small box and wrapped it to look like a birthday present.
Stiles had done the exact same thing for Coach's birthday prank. Why did she ignore that? Why didn't she think of that…?
If what Stiles said was true and only if… how and why would Stiles do that?
How could Stiles have gotten William Barrow out of the hospital and sent him into the school… only to specifically kill Kira…?
She got up as she saw the sun was almost setting and drove to Scott's house to talk about this some more.
Sam walked up to hear yelling and walked inside to see his dad fussing at him and Kira.
They turned around to see her and she gave a wave. "Yo.", Sam greeted.
"Yo yourself. You're gonna tell me the real reason why you three were in my office.", his dad ordered, showing a picture of Scott and Kira looking for her phone.
Sam raised her eyebrows. "There's an explanation, but you're not exactly ready for that."
"You were breaking and entering, and I want an answer!"
"Dad, let me help you out. You need to leave.", Scott said, stepping up.
"I will, with a satisfactory explanation."
"Go get a warrant.", Scott stated.
"I don't need a warrant, I'm your father!", his dad bellowed.
"No, you're a gene donor. I got my hair color from you and that's all I got. So, you're not allowed to play tough dad with me.", Scott challenged.
"Hey…" Melissa finally walked in through the side door and set her bag down on the table, "What's going on?"
"Maybe one of you should explain." Sam looked out the window as the night sky quickly poured over the house.
Shit.
"S-Scott." Kira stammered as she glared out the window. Scott's eyes widened as he looked at Sam. She shook her head at him, giving confirmation that it wasn't her.
"Who the hell is this?" His dad suddenly asked as he stared behind the teens into the living room. Scott and Sam turned around to see one of the demonic warriors standing there.
Shit.
"Dad! No!", Scott warned. His dad continued to walk towards him. "Dad, wait!", Scott cried. In one swift movement, the warrior shoved a sword through McCall's shoulder. Kira let out a piercing scream as Sam stood defensively.
"Dad!", Scott yelled as his father fell to the ground. The teens rushed over to the man as the warrior readied himself.
His dad's white shirt pooled with dark red blood that continued to seep into the fabric.
Sam glared back at the warrior and whispered to Melissa. "Melissa, take him out of here."
The woman dragged her injured husband away as Scott and Sam readied themselves against the warrior.
They jumped as the front door slammed open and Derek slid into the house, a loud growl erupting from his bared fangs.
The warrior aimed his sword at Derek, who growled once more. Scott joined Derek in the fight.
"The ash!", Scott yelled at his mother as Sam took Melissa's place to put pressure on his dad's wound. The older woman ran to get the substance.
Glancing at Kira, Sam saw another warrior appear behind her. "Kira, get down!" Sam yelled. Just as she turned around, the living room window shattered as the twins busted in the house. They growled and began fighting the warrior, finally throwing it out the window with Scott's help.
"Mom, now! Do it now!", Scott screamed at his mother once Derek managed to finally throw out the warrior from the home. Melissa threw down a glass jar of mountain ash across the threshold.
They all panted, watching as the warriors stood outside the barrier, not able to come in. The twins stood by the doorframe, lowly growling at the warriors as Melissa came back to take Sam's place. Sam ran and got a towel, so Scott's dad didn't bleed out everywhere.
Kira walked over to the door and nervously looked into their yellow eyes. She looked down to the Mountain Ash barrier and back up to the creatures.
She brought her hand up to the invisible wall but quickly retracted it as if it burned her.
They all looked at her in shock as she just gave confirmation that she was indeed something supernatural. They peered at her with curiosity. Sam walked over to Scott. "It's working, I guess."
She made a mental note to thank Deaton as he had installed a mountain ash security system into the home after the situation with Jennifer. He replaced the floors and lined the outside of the home with mountain ash.
"Are you okay?", Scott asked, looking at Sam's bloodied hands. "It's not my blood.", Sam said, glancing at Scott's dad.
Sam walked over to the kitchen sink, hurriedly washing her hands from the blood that stained them.
"All the baseboards are ash wood?", Derek asked.
"Yeah, it was Deaton's idea…where the hell did you come from?", Scott finally asked.
Wait… that's right. Derek had just burst into the house out of nowhere. But although... appearing out of nowhere was Derek Hale's specialty.
"I've been following you.", Derek casually answered. He'd been following Scott? How long was that?
"For how long?", Scott and Sam asked simultaneously.
"All day.", Derek answered. He walked away, leaving Scott and Sam to look at each other in shock.
"I'm so done with today.", Sam muttered to Scott, shaking her head and finally drying her hands.
"Scott, this isn't good!", Melissa yelled from where she had moved his father. Scott ran over and kneeled by his mom.
Sam walked up to Derek. "We need to get Scott's dad out of here."
"If we go outside, we're dead. Our best bet is whatever we can do in here.", he said.
"Melissa doesn't have shit for these types of situations.", Sam hissed. Sam let out a heavy sigh, feeling her heart race as she looked at the scene. Sam didn't wanna put another person to rest because of their issues. It wasn't right.
Those things want one of them. If it wasn't Derek, the twins or her, it had to be Scott or Kira. They couldn't let them get either of them, but they couldn't let Scott's dad die.
He's pretty irritating, but Scott would never want that as much as he can't stand his dad.
"Sam, calm down.", Derek whispers. Sam shook her head. "We can't let him die.", she whispers.
"You can't save everyone.", Derek said.
"I can't– I don't wanna keep letting this happen. It's happening right in front us and we're not doing a thing.", Sam rushed, gravelly.
He grabbed her shoulders. "Look, we're gonna get him some help. Right now, we can only survive here."
"See! She can't go through it either. So, what are you?", Aiden's voice grabs them.
"She's a Kitsune, idiot.", Derek stated, making the twins look at him in confusion. "Use your eyes.", he shrugged as he let go of her. "You can see it all around her. The younger ones give off an aura. She just hasn't learned how to conceal it yet. She probably doesn't know what kind she is either."
Sam turned to Kira. "Are they after you, yes or no?"
"I-I don't know.", she stuttered.
"Don't play with me, Kira. I'm giving you a chance, speak now.", Sam says, and look at Aiden. "Next time, don't threaten her."
"I wasn't going to hurt her.", he defended.
"Not yet.", Derek muttered.
"Why do you think we're here, Derek? For a study group? We're here to protect Scott.", Aiden declared.
"We're trying to fight for him.", Ethan added.
"I'm sure you are. I'm sure you'd kill for him. But are you willing to die for him?", Derek asked, unimpressed. The twins looked at each other. Seeing as they weren't going to answer, Derek let out a sarcastic huff and walked away.
Sam knelt on the floor and sighed as she placed her hands on the floor. She closed her eyes.
"What're you doing?", Ethan asked, and she hushed him. She used her senses to feel the perimeter of the house and nearby houses on the street since it was night.
It was just them. Only the few warriors that stood outside were around them. It settled her, but not entirely. They may not have shadows, but they're not hidden from the moonlight.
Her eyes shot open as she felt the floor shake. She looked at the door to see a blue light rippling as the warrior banged on the mountain ash barrier with its sword.
Sam frowned and stood up.
"What are they doing?", Scott asked Ethan. "Testing for weakness.", the twin answered.
Her eyes narrowed at the two figures as she took a step forward, jumping as their swords continuously banged on the barrier as it shook the house.
"You're shitting…", she mutters, watching the warrior jab the tip of its sword into the barrier, only pushing it enough to see the blue light that appeared from the force.
They're really trying to get in. The blue light began to weaken as they continued to push forcefully against the obstacle.
Sam lifted her hand, taking her own shadow and blocked the doorway as much as she could.
"Guys," Ethan started, stepping back, "we have a problem." One of the warriors began pushing with his hand and it turned into a small opening that was slowly growing bigger and bigger, closing in on my own barrier.
It was nighttime so Sam's powers shouldn't be weak. It could stop one from getting in, but the others…
Scott quickly pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
"Allison, please tell me that you have something.", he said into the phone. "They're here, they're trying to get in and it looks like they're gonna be able to do it."
"A Nogitsune.", Scott said, and Sam looked at him confused as Derek looked towards the back door seeing another one trying to get in. Sam looked at the back door and created another barrier, pushing it at the warrior.
"Just…tell me what else.", Scott said back into the phone
"I'm right, aren't I?", Kira asked Scott. "They're looking for me."
"They're looking for a dark spirit." Scott clarified, hanging up the phone. "And I know it's not you."
"Scott, we're going to have to do something.", Derek called as the Oni broke the barrier and stepped inside. Sam stepped back.
"Don't do anything.", Scott said, stepping up.
"Is he serious?", Aiden asked, incredulously. Sam backed away, reluctantly letting down the barrier in front her.
"I said, don't do anything.", Scott repeated, and Derek pulled Sam back as Scott walked over to Kira, holding his hand out to her. "Trust me."
They were in front of them now and two of the Oni grabbed both of them and stared into their eyes.
Suddenly both Scott and Kira fell, making the warriors finally leave.
When they left, we finally got Scott's dad to the hospital.
"We'll find Stiles.", Scott said to his mom, pulling Sam away as they ran down every hall to find our friend.
I heard a thud and led Scott over to a door, leading into a surgical room, we opened the door and saw Stiles standing there, his back to us.
"Stiles?", Sam called. "You okay?" Stiles turned to his friends, looking at both of them.
"Yeah, fine. What's been going on?", he asked, curious. She smiled in relief, pulling him in for a hug. "The hell are you doing in here? C'mon, kid.", Sam says, leading them out of the room.
After the whole issue with the Oni and looking for Stiles, Sam finally went home again and tried to get some sleep.
A buzzing sound came from her desk, and she got up to go over to it. She saw her phone lighting up with Stiles' picture and answered the phone.
"Yes, Stiles?", Sam answered, rubbing her eyes. He didn't say anything, but she could hear soft huffs. She swallowed, instantly feeling nervous. "Stiles?"
"Sam?", Stiles whispered, his voice cracking like he was trying to stifle his cry and settled his breath.
"Yeah, I'm here. What's the matter? Are you okay? Can you hear me?", Sam asked, getting up to put on some pants as she felt herself sweat with dread. Sam hasn't heard him sound like this. Ever.
"Sam, I don't– I don't know where I am. I don't know how I got here. I think I was sleepwalking.", she heard him say.
"Okay, um, can you see anything? Just tell me what you see.", Sam says, trying to ease him but she can hear him pant softly.
"Ah, it's dark. It's hard to see. I think there's something wrong with my–" The line clicked, and she looked at her phone screen to see the line disconnect. She took a deep breath as she speed dialed his number again but got his voicemail.
Sam sighed harshly as her eyes quickly blurred with tears once she dialed his number again.
"C'mon, Stiles." Voicemail again.
Sam tried to calm herself down as she kept calling his phone. "This better be a fucking prank.", she whimpers, shakily.
Her phone lit up and Stiles' face appeared again. She hurriedly answered it. "Stiles?"
"Sam, I don't think I can get out of here.", he sounded panicked.
Sam quickly put on shoes. "Where do you think you are, Sti? What do you see?"
He whimpered. "I can't move."
"Stiles, where are you?", Sam repeated.
"I don't know. I don't know, it's too dark. I can't see much and something's wrong with my leg. It's stuck on something. And it's. . . I think it's bleeding."
"How bad? Stiles, how bad is it?", Sam pressed, leaning on her desk as he wouldn't answer. "Stiles, are you there? Can you hear me?", Sam asked, trying to calm herself down for him.
"Ah, there's some kind of smell down here. Something smells terrible. It's brutal. My eyes are watering.", she hears him croak.
"Okay, listen. I'm gonna call your dad."
"No, no, no, no, don't."
"But your dad–"
"Don't. Just– please don't call him. Promise you won't. He already worries about me too much. Sam, please.", he whimpered.
"Stiles, I-I can't make a promise like that. You have to tell me where to find you.", she whimpered, standing straight and gripping the hem of her shirt as tears rolled down her face.
"No, no, no, just please," Stiles sniffled as he began sobbing, begging her. "Please don't call him. Just come find me. You can do it. You and Scott can do it. He doesn't have to know. Sam, you and Scott can find me."
"I don't know where you are, Stiles. Please.", Sam begged. Stiles sniffled again, sounding hurried. "I gotta call you back. I have to turn the phone off."
"Stiles, no."
"I'm gonna call you back."
"No, Stiles, no! Stiles!", Sam looked at her phone as he hung up. She ran out of the house, heading over to Scott's, calling him on her phone.
His groggy voice answered. "Hello?"
"Scott, it's Stiles! I don't know what's happening to him!", she cried and heard him quickly shuffling to get up. She parked outside his house, hurrying over to the door as he yelled for Isaac. They met up with her downstairs. Before she could even explain, she felt her phone vibrate again and quickly pulled out her phone as Stiles' face popped up. "Stiles?" She answered as Scott and Isaac crowded around her to listen to the conversation.
"Did you call him?", Stiles questioned her, rushed. "Did you call my dad?"
"No. Just Isaac and Scott. We're coming to find you. Can you figure out where you are? I need you to tell me.", Sam rushed.
"It's a basement. I think… I think I'm in some kind of basement."
"In a house?"
"No. It looks bigger. Like industrial. I think there's a furnace. But it's cold. It's freezing down here. I gotta turn the... I gotta turn the phone off. It's going to die."
"Stiles, no! Tell me what else do you see?"
"The phone's dying, Sam. I can't talk. I have to go. Please…", he sniffled, suddenly quieting his voice. Sam heart dropped at his sudden change in tone. She covered her mouth in fear. "Stiles, why are you whispering?", Sam whimpered.
"Because I think there's someone in here with me.", he said before hanging up.
Scott, Isaac and Sam rushed to Stiles' house to get a scent but when they opened the door to his bedroom, Lydia and Aiden were already standing in the middle of the room. They turned to the three when they heard them come in.
"How did you know?", Scott questioned Lydia. "Did he call you too?"
"I heard it.", Lydia said.
"Don't ask.", Aiden said. "It gets more confusing when you ask."
"Okay.", Isaac nodded.
"Not as confusing as this." Lydia turned back around, and Sam looked past her to see Stiles' back wall covered in crime scene photos and newspaper clippings. Each photo had a red string that was tied tightly to a pair of rings that had a pair of scissors stabbed into the middle of each and into Stiles' mattress. "He uses red for unsolved cases.", Sam says, looking at the bed.
"Maybe he thinks he's a part of an unsolved case?", Aiden suggested.
"Or is an unsolved case.", Isaac corrected.
"Hold on.", Lydia said as she turned back to them. "Is he still out there? You don't know where he is?"
"He said he was in an industrial basement somewhere.", Sam rushed, wiping her eyes.
"We came here to get a better scent.", Isaac said.
"What else did he say?", Lydia asked.
"Something's wrong with his leg.", Sam spoke. "It's bleeding."
"And he's freezing.", Scott said.
"Tonight's the coldest night of the year.", Aiden said. "It's going to drop into the twenties."
Sam covered her face, feeling her eyes water again. Her best friend was out there bleeding and cold. The only lead they had was a basement.
"What did his dad say?" Lydia's plump lips pursed in frustration.
"We kind of didn't tell him yet." Scott sheepishly admitted.
Her eyes widened. "Stiles is bleeding and freezing and you didn't call his dad?"
"He made me promise not to. We can find him by scent! If he was sleepwalking, he couldn't have gotten far. Right?", Sam asked, hopeful.
"You guys didn't notice his Jeep's gone, did you?", Aiden frowned looking at them.
"Did you check the garage?", Sam asked. He nodded.
"You promised you wouldn't call his dad. I didn't." Lydia shook her head.
"Lydia, you can't. His dad's under enough stress already.", Sam said, stepping up.
"I can get more help. I can call Derek, Allison—"
"Everyone except for the cops! Great idea!"
"He made me promise not to!", Sam yelled.
"You guys realize she only gets these feelings when someone's about to die, right?", Aiden recalled.
Sam felt nauseous. She didn't like breaking her promises to Stiles. They had to get help, though.
"You don't have to call his dad." Scott started.
Sam looked down. "She's right, Scott, we do." Scott shook his head. "It's five minutes to the station."
"I'll catch up.", Lydia whispered.
"What? Why?", Scott questioned.
"There is something here.", she said.
"Yeah, evidence of total insanity.", Isaac said, looking around.
"We can figure out what's wrong with him after we keep him from freezing to death. Call me if you find anything, please.", Sam told Lydia. Scott, Isaac, and Sam ran off and ran to their vehicles to get to the station as fast as they could.
Deputy Parrish called Sheriff Stilinski in along with the other supervisory deputy on duty. Scott explained what happened while Sam stayed beside him, watching as Sheriff was shaking while trying to stay as calm as possible.
He was worried for his son just as much as they were.
"If his jeep is gone, that's where we start. Parrish, let's get an APB out on a blue 1980 CJ5 Jeep. Cordova, I want a list of any kind of industrial basement or sublevel, any building he could have gotten in to while sleepwalking. It's the coldest night of the year so far so if he's out there, barefoot in just a t-shirt he could already be hypothermic. Let's move fast, let's think fast.", Sheriff ordered. He turned to Isaac and Scott and told the two of them to come with him. The two of them walked into an office together and shut the door.
Sam sat down as she buried her head in her hands, her leg bouncing with severe anxiousness.
"It's Sam, right?", Parrish quietly spoke up. Sam looked up at the deputy and nodded.
"Are you okay?", he kindly asked.
"Aside from being scared shitless at the fact that my best friend is on the brink of freezing and bleeding to death? Peachy.", she swallowed.
"I'm sorry. I can't reassure you more than that but we're going to find your friend. Stiles is gonna be okay.", he assured.
"Thanks, Parrish.", Sam sniffled.
"Jordan.", he introduced with a smile. "You can call me Jordan."
"Thanks, Jordan.", she gave a weak smile. The phone on his desk began ringing and his attention was taken from her to the line.
"Beacon Hills Sheriff Department.", he answered. After a few seconds he hung up. He got up from his desk and ran into the room where Sheriff, Scott, and Isaac were talking.
"We got it, sir. We found the Jeep.", he told the older Stilinski.
Stiles would never leave the jeep too far behind. It was something, but it wasn't enough.
The Jeep had been found in the hospital parking lot. Cops were rushing through the buildings in search of the missing boy.
Every floor was occupied even though the basement was the area that needed the most searching. When Sam arrived at the hospital in her car, Derek had texted her saying he was waiting on the roof. She rushed up there with Scott and Isaac.
"He's not here. Not anymore.", Derek stated, looking down to the parking lot.
"The whole building?", Sam asked.
"Gone.", he answered. Sam walked past Derek to the edge of the roof. She forced out a breath as she shook her head. They were losing time.
"Do you notice how strong the scent is up here? Have you ever heard of chemo-signals?", Derek asked Scott. "Chemical signals that communicate emotion. Just how our sweat can give off anger, fear, disgust. Take a deep breath and tell me what you feel."
"Stress.", Scott answered.
"Anxiety.", Derek added.
"We all know Stiles has anxiety issues but why would he come here to deal with them?", Sam pressed.
"I don't know. There was definitely some kind of struggle.", Derek said. "Who could be fighting with Stiles?", I asked.
"He was fighting himself.", Derek said.
"Fighting with himself?", Sam asked Derek in disbelief. What the hell was Stiles going through? Why didn't he say anything?
Derek headed to the school, Isaac was out in search of Allison, and Scott and Sam had stayed with the Sheriff to calm his nerves.
She wasn't much help at that.
They got a call from Lydia saying that he was at Eichen House. They had a basement. It made sense now. That was the mental institution Barrow was committed to.
Scott, Sheriff Stilinski, and Sam rushed over there to find Lydia and Aiden standing in front of the metal gates of the institution. They all barged into the asylum, the Sheriff demanding access to all basements in the facility.
They went through the eerie hallways until they found the basement access door. Sheriff switched his flashlight on and opened the door for all of them to rush down the stairs.
"Stiles?", Lydia called.
"Stiles, where are you?", Sam called, looking around the dark basement. It felt...frighteningly familiar. The basement was filled with a lot of things, but Stiles wasn't here. He said he was bleeding, and she couldn't even smell blood. He also said he was freezing, and this place was definitely cold. Her breath picked up. "Stiles?"
Sam turned to the red head. "Lydia, where is he? You said he was here!", she yelled. The red head was looking around in fear as they all swarmed in on her.
"Lydia?", Scott asked.
"I don't get it. This has to be it!", she whispered, looking around.
"Lydia.", Sheriff called. "Where is he? Where is he?", he screamed at her. Lydia flinched, holding back her own tears. "I'm sorry.", Sheriff Stilinski instantly apologized.
"I don't understand.", she murmured. "He should be here..."
Now that Sam thought about it, she didn't feel his shadow at all. Everyone's shadow holds a different energy or presence. Sam should've felt it from the beginning. She thought back to where she tested Stiles' shadow at school after he gave her the bag of candy.
She was testing his shadow, but she was also messing with him since Scott was so worried about Kira. Sam didn't think to sense his shadow at all before she ran in here.
Tears instantly bubbled in her eyes.
"He's not here.", Sam whimpered as she pushed out of the room, running out to the halls to the front door.
"Sam." Scott burst out of the front doors, trying to catch his breath as he stopped me. "My mom. She found Stiles."
Scott, Lydia, Melissa, Agent McCall, and Sam all sat beside the nurse's station waiting for Sheriff Stilinski to come back from talking with Stiles. He was in ICU, and they didn't know much but what Melissa told them shook Sam.
They found him in the coyote den Scott had found Malia Tate in. His leg was bleeding because he ended up getting himself caught onto a steel jaw trap. Sheriff Stilinski came walking up to them, causing Scott, Lydia, and Sam to stand up.
"He's sleeping now and he's fine. He doesn't remember much, it's been like a dream to him.", Sheriff's eyes shifted to the ground and then up to Mr. McCall who thought of where Stiles was. "Thank you.", he whispered.
"It was that repellent we sprayed in the coyote den to keep other animals out. I couldn't go near it without my eyes watering. It's a good thing he mentioned it on the phone.", McCall said. Repellent...?
"It was more than that. Thank you."
"It was a lucky connection.", Scott's dad disagreed. Sam frowned deeply at his attitude.
"McCall, will you shut up please and accept my sincerest gratitude?", Sheriff asked.
"Accepted."
McCall took his hand to the Sheriff, and they shook on it.
"Alright you three, you've got school in less than six hours. Go home and go to sleep.", Melissa rubbed Sam's back.
"Alright.", Scott sighed, pausing as he noticed Sam stared at Stiles.
She was scared. Scared to leave him. If she left him for a moment, he'd leave again. She was sure of it.
"I wanna wait here till he wakes up.", Sam said, looking at Scott. He looked at her worriedly. "You need sleep, though."
Sam shook her head. "I wanna stay." He walked over and gave her a tight hug. "He'll be okay. Just promise me you'll take care of yourself once he does, yeah?"
Sam nodded her head quietly.
Scott pulled away and she looked back at Stiles. He was asleep. He looked peaceful. If she stayed, he'd be safe. He'd be here. At least she hoped. She sat down outside on the cold linoleum tiled floor and wrapped her arms around her knees.
