. . .
Under a wall of sample designs including hearts, barbed roses, tribal symbols, and all manner of typography, a tattoo artist looks over a folded piece of paper.
"Good thing you drew me a picture."
On the paper are two simple bold black lines, one slightly thicker than the other. Scott gives the man a nervous smile. By the counter, Stiles holds up a book of sample tattoos.
"Sure you don't want something like this?" He points to an image of a green-scaled lizard with yellow eyes. Scott throws him a glare as Maya laughs.
"Too soon?"
Putting the book down, he approaches the chair where Scott begins rolling up his sleeve.
"I don't know, dude. These things are pretty permanent."
"I'm not changing my mind."
Maya looks at Scotts' design, confused about why he picked it. "Hey, Scott... why two bands?"
"I just like it."
"Wouldn't it be better if your first tattoo had some kind of meaning?" Stiles questions as Maya looks around at the designs, and the colors. Spacing out, daydreaming of her life before she moved back to Beacon Hills.
"He's right. Tattooing's been going on for thousands of years. The Tahitian word tatua means "to mark something." Like a rite of passage."
"See? He gets it." "He's covered in tattoos. Literally."
"Can we get started?" Scott nods. The Tattoo Artist slides his chair over to begin.
"You don't have any problem with needles, do you?"
"Nope."
Machine buzzing to life, the Tattoo Artist lowers the needle while, behind them, Stiles promptly keels over.
The noise from the tattoo gun snaps Maya out of her daze. She turns around to Stiles shifting before falling over and hitting the ground.
"I'm just gonna let him lay there" Maya sighs. Suddenly Maya's phone vibrates, It was Derek telling her to come home.
"I have to go. Tell Stiles him falling was funny" and just like that Maya walks out of the tattoo parlor without a trace.
-next morning-
It was the morning of the first day back to school. The sun peaked through my curtains as I slowly slipped out of bed. I check my phone to see no messages from Isaac.
It was unusual, I would always wake up to at least 2 messages from him. The first one would be him saying good morning, even though his room is next door to mine and the second one would be him asking if I would marry him.
But this morning I got absolutely nothing. I was confused and felt as if something wasn't right.
"Derek!" I call out, no response. I call out for Derek once more and still nothing. Not a single heartbeat.
"How lovely he left without even telling me" I turn to check the time on my alarm to see it was 6:42. "Oh shit!"
-𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐝:𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡-
Maya enters the class with Lydia and Allison following in behind with other students all quickly laying claim to desks for the semester. She quickly takes the seat in front of Stiles as Lydia takes the one beside him. Looking about, Allison finds only one empty seat remaining.
Right in front of Scott.
"Hey. Anyone sitting--"
"No, no one. It's all you. All yours. Totally... vacant."
She sits down and Scott glances over to Stiles and Maya who stares back in disbelief at their friend's profound awkwardness.
"That was beautiful. Mind blowing. Inspiring" Maya said sarcastically as Allison hid her face in embarrassment.
But then a vibration turns Maya to her cell phone on the desk. It's an incoming message. In fact, every phone in the room begins buzzing, beeping and vibrating with messages.
Scott raises his phone to look at the message when a confident female voice begins to read it aloud.
"The offing was barred by a black bank of clouds...", heels clicking across the floor as she enters the room, the beautiful Ms. Jennifer Blake reads from her own cell phone"...and the tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed somber under an overcast sky..."
Lowering her phone, she speaks the last line from memory.
"...seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness." She looks out to the class, rapt with attention.
"That is the last line to the first book we're going to read. It's also the last text you'll receive in this class. Phones off, everyone." While the others do as instructed, Scott and Maya hesitate, they look at each other, nodding before shutting their phone's off.
While Ms. Blake writes on the blackboard, Maya notices Allison lowering her hand to pass Scott a note.
Maya turns around, tapping Stiles on the head. "Allison just past Scott a note what do you think it's about?" She whispered. Stiles looks over at Scott as he pulled out a pen to write back. Stiles shrugs his shoulders and turns back to his work.
Scott grabs his pen to write a reply when the classroom door opens. The Principal steps in to speak with Ms. Blake.
"Mr. McCall? Ms. Hale?"
All eyes turn to Scott then to Maya in a smooth fashion as Ms. Blake motioned for them to approach. Maya grabs her bag and throws it over her shoulder, they steps into the hall with Ms. Blake.
"Maya, Right?" Ms. Blake questioned. Maya nodded. "Just wanted to get to know your name. You have the best test scores in the county so I think we'll get along well"
Maya nodded slowly. "So why am I out here?" "Your aunt called she said it's an emergence, she needed to meet her at the hospital."
Maya first thought was why Rebekah or Freya in Beacon Hills, then it clicked she was talking about Melissa. Melissa was the "aunt" that needed me at the hospital. Isaac was in trouble.
"Okay, bye" Without hesitation Maya walked away leaving Scott.
. . .
-𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥-
Maya rush down the corridor searching for Melissa. "Melissa...Melissa...Melissa!"
"Maya? What are you doing here?" "I called out of school by my "aunt" to come to the hospital" Melissa stared at Maya in complete confusion.
"You didn't call did you?" Melissa shakes her head, and terrified emotion floods over her body. "Where's Isaac?"
"He's in 215. If he's not already in surgery."
"Surgery?!" Maya growled. Melissa steps in terror. "I'm sorry... I-I- I'm gonna go.."
Maya runs to the elevator and quickly hits level 2. She looks down at her hands when she hears someone slip inside the elevator. "Scott... hold the door."
Glancing down, Scott and Maya see a red-tipped blind man's cane tap its way inside. Eyes hidden by dark glasses, the man raises a tentative hand, feeling his way into the elevator.
"Could you hit the button for the second floor?"
Scott and Maya look to the number 2 button already lit but Scott presses it again anyway. "Thank you." The doors closes and Maya stands there completely blank.
The doors open. Scott and Maya start forward only to be blocked by the Blind Man's cane.
"You wouldn't mind helping me out for a second, would you?", Maya and Scott glance at each other. "rock, paper, scissors, shoot"
Scott throws down paper as Maya throws down rock. Scott smirks at her creepily. "I'll walk you"
He takes Maya's arm and they begin a slow walk down the corridor. Agonizingly slow.
-𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫-
Quickly passing Nurses and other hospital personnel, Scott throws nervous glances down each end of the hall, no idea where to turn next. With Isaac now in the wheelchair, Ennis backs him into the open elevator. But then, as if sensing something, Ennis slowly looks up.
Scott stands at the other end of the corridor. He sees Isaac. Connects eyes with Ennis. And immediately knows. Scott's fist snaps open to reveal claws. The transformation instantaneous, fangs out, eyes glowing yellow, he launches forward to attack but Maya stops him. "Scott! On three... One..."
Maya eyes change from crystal blue to neon yellow. Grinning with anticipation, Ennis snarls a response. "Two..." Ennis clawed hands come up in defense.
"Three!".
The two hurtle down onto Ennis. But he easily grabs hold onto them and slams them into the wall of the elevator.
Still unconscious in the wheelchair, Isaac doesn't even stir as the doors close with a DING, werewolves grappling right beside him. But Scott and Maya were like a puppy attacking a Rottweiler. Ennis smashes them from one wall to the next, knocking the breath and nearly the life out of them.
"Go on kill me it'll just make me stronger" Maya groans.
As the elevator ascends to the next floor, Ennis picks them up by the throat, raising them until their heads nearly touches the ceiling.
The elevator dings again, signalling the doors about to open behind him.
"Don't you realize what you're dealing with? I'm an Alpha." But Ennis lurches forward in shock as claws jam into his back. His head twists around to face Derek.
"So am I." With his free hand, Derek smashes Ennis skull into the wall and then despite the larger Alpha's size -lifts Ennis off his feet and hurls him right out of the elevator.
Ennis tumbles down the corridor past several shocked Hospital Employees as the elevator doors clang shut and Derek turns to Scott and Maya with a look of concern. "Aren't you supposed to be in school?"
. . .
-𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞-
The door clatters open and Derek carries a blanket-covered Isaac inside. Scott follows, as Maya stays outside. Looking around the home she once knew to be her favourite place on earth.
She closes her eyes, hearing the voice of her family, her mother. "Maya! Maya Sweetheart, come outside!"
Maya open her eyes to see her mother. The life she used to have. "Maya, sweetie show them the thing you did with the butterfly"
Maya nodded walked over to the others and kneels down at a flower. There sat a butterfly, injured. Unable to fly. She gracefully cover the butterfly with her hand as she shuts her eyes.
She opens her eyes and hands in union. The butterfly was healed, it floated away as her family cheered. "My beautiful Maya, a powerful witch." Talia kisses Maya on the forehead, "The worlds first tribrid" Maya smiles as Talia held her hand firmly.
. . .
"Maya!"
"Maya!" A voice yelled snapping Maya out of her gaze. "Mom..."
"Maya! Are you okay?"
Maya turns around, Derek, Stiles all staring at her.
"Hmm?" "You've been standing there for 20 minutes..."
She slowly looks at the ground as she fidgets with her hands. "I was reliving a memory... you guys leaving?"
"Yeah. Just waiting for Scott" Slipping his shirt on, Scott prepares to leave with Stiles while Derek returns to the still-unconscious Isaac.
"Looks pretty damn permanent now." "I kind of needed something permanent. Everything that's happened to us--it just feels like everything changes so fast. Everything's so... ephemeral." The boys both nod, silent for a moment. "Studying for the PSATS?" Maya chuckles.
"Yep." "Nice." Scott opens the front door to leave but then pauses.
"You painted the door." Derek turns as Scott gently touches the surface of the door. "Why'd you paint it?"
"Go home, Scott."
"And why only one side?"
Derek starts toward them, but stops when he hears claws unsheathing. Stiles and Maya watch Scott raise his hand to the door, a clawed index finger pressed to the new paint.
"Scott--"
He scratches at the paint. There's something underneath. A black mark beneath the muted red. Derek gives a last look, urging him to not go any further. But Scott slashes at the door. Then slashes again.
First with one clawed hand, then both, red paint falling to the floor in thin ribbons. Until finally, breathless, he gazes on the pattern revealed...
Scott looks over the Alpha Triskele as he pieces it together.
"The birds at school and the deer last night. Just like the night I almost got trampled by deer. The night I got bit by an Alpha. How many are there?"
"A pack of them. An Alpha pack." Confused, Stiles looks to Derek. "All of them? How's that even work?"
"I've heard there's a kind of leader. He's called Deucalion." Derek approaches, continuing to explain.
"We know they took Erica and Boyd. Maya, Isaac, Peter and I have been trying to find them for the last four months."
"What if you do find them? How do you deal with an Alpha pack?"
"With all the help I can get."
"Where is she?"
"Isaac!" Maya rushes inside and straight to Isaac. As the boys all stare at Isaac, wide awake and sitting up on the table.
"Where's the girl?"
Derek, Maya, Scott, and Stiles all share confused glances.
"What girl?"