Calculatingly Wise

42

"Stiles?" Tessa called. "I can see you! Don't stop! Stiles?"

The light faded and the blonde kicked the walls in frustration.

"Tessa?" Scott called.

The light disappeared and the spot Tessa had seen Stiles was empty.

"Where is he?!" she yelled. "It was working. You all saw him, right?!"

They shook their heads and Scott said, "Tessa, we didn't see him."

Tessa pursed her lips. "He was there."

A figure walked up to them and Scott called, "Liam."

"There's something you need to see," Liam told them urgently.

Tessa's brow furrowed. "You're still here."

He nodded, meeting her eyes. "But everyone else is gone. All of them. They're all gone. Look, you need to come with me."

"What is it?" Scott wondered.

Liam shook his head. "I can't explain it. I have to show you."

Scott turned to his friends and cousin. "Uh, all right. You guys stay here. You too, Tessa. You know, just in case."

"In case Stiles comes back?" Malia wondered.

"If there's any hope, you need to keep trying."

Scott left and Tessa darted to the bunker door.

Lydia frowned at her. "What are you doing?"

The demigoddess grabbed the handle. "Leaving."

"Scott told us to stay in case he shows up here."

Tessa turned to face them. "Stiles isn't going to appear in the Argent bunker. He would already be here. So, we're going to find him out there."

Malia glanced to Lydia. "She's got a point."

The three left the bunker and made their way to the school.

Tessa knelt next to the tire tracks and looked at the school. "These are fresh."

Malia knelt next to her and nodded. "It's from Stiles' Jeep. It must have just left."

Lydia frowned. "Without his keys?"

Tessa smiled lightly. "Half the time he starts it with a screwdriver."

"Then he's here. We need to tell Scott."

Malia pointed to the railroad tracks. "We should probably tell Scott about that, too."

They followed the tracks into the library and saw a train station. Malia looked around. "Why is there a train station in the middle of the library?"

"There was also a train station in the Wild Hunt," Lydia remembered.

"Any chance they're connected?"

"I would say high. Like 100%."

Tessa thought for a moment. "If there's a train station, logically there'd be a train. If there's a train... It's the Wild Hunt."

"They're all gonna be taken," Malia said.

"Then we can't let them get on that train."

Malia nodded and walked around. "Um... Okay. Listen up, everybody. We've all got to get out of here. We gotta go right now. It's bad, we have to go!"

Lydia snapped her fingers in front of a woman. "Hello?"

Tessa clapped her hands in front of another woman. "Hey!"