The darkness within

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 34

TRIGGER WARNING: Implying of suicide/suicide note inclusion

Stiles blinked and realized his eyes were wet. He hadn't noticed up to that point, but he was crying; he had been crying the whole time he read that damned note. His tears had stained the letter here and there, making the paper even more fragile to touch. The teen sat gently on the bed as if trying not to ruin the carefully made sheets. He had returned and is now losing his best friend: the cruel payback of that demonic deal. He sat and wept with his cries echoing in the empty halls of the floor. He had to find him; he had to try. He couldn't be too late. Scott had to hold on a little longer.

<<I'll find you. Whatever it takes, I'll come to save you. You hang in there, Scotty. I'll get to you, no matter the cost, and I'll rescue you>>.

He was reading it, again quicker this time, trying to spot any clues on Scott's whereabouts. Flipping the paper backwards, he noticed some barely readable words. Running it under the desk's lamp, he made out a few letters, enough to understand where the werewolf had gone to execute his brutal act. When Stiles left the room, the letters written over spelt out the place where it all started: "Hale House".

He almost tripped, running down the stairs to the ground floor. Just then, a light flashed through the windows as car tires squeaked on the asphalt in front of the house. It looked like the Sheriff and the nurse had caught up. They realized he was nowhere in the hospital, and McCall's house was their next option.

"I'll check inside, wait here" he heard Melissa say, as she walked closer and closer to the door.

The boy panicked. He knew that, if they found him, they would drag him back to his house or lock him inside this one. Either way, they would prevent him from getting to Scott in time -and scold him to death. There'd be no way out and he certainly couldn't just tell Melissa that her son was about to unalive himself. In his panic, he remembered that he had a spare key on him. The locks were the same, front and back door. Melissa had brought it up a couple of weeks ago when he was over for lunch, because the police were after a gang responsible for multiple break-ins around the area. His father had suggested they changed their locks, but they never got to it. Under his breath, he thanked Melissa for that. Melissa was already inside the house now, so he tip-toed towards the door. He begged for it not to creak while opening. But luck was never his strong suit. The metal door hinge creaked, as he opened the door.

- Who's there?! The woman exclaimed as she heard the door creak.

Stiles rushed outside, running among bushes and lower plants, trying to get as far away from the house as possible. He scratched his legs and arms along the way, tearing his jacket to the side when it got caught on a low branch. Without looking back, he ran for the woods, leaving the house and the Sheriff's service vehicle behind him. He tried to ignore the voices shouting his name, demanding he turned back around and he kept running as fast as he could.

After some time -and a lot of running- the boy stood breathless infront of the Hale House. The big, burnt mansion towered over him, sending shivers crawling down his spine. His heavy breath formed small, thick clouds in front of his mouth that travelled throught the air and then dissolved in the cold air of the night. His jacket was not enough to keep him warm, but catching a cold was the last of his concerns. His fingers were numb from the low temperature, his teeth chattered and he was pretty sure his nise looked like Rudolf the red-nosed reindeer's. After his little time-out, he found his knee joints had almost frozen into place; they creaked like old chairs. With his palms under his armpits, he went for the door. For a moment, he hesitated. What if him being there right now made Scott finish his actions? What if he just made things worse, for both of them?
Things like these had been circling around in his head since he read that filthy piece of paper. Suddenly, the kite gained weight in his pocket, weighing him down.
He didn't have time to think any further. The screeching sound of metal rubbing on wood made him quiver on the spot, and ran inside the house moments later.