The first thing I remember is two hands lifting me from the ground. The next is their worried voices. They talk about me like I'm some sort of monster, like something they've never seen before. I should have known better too. Just as I was starting to get comfortable they turn on me. They don't want me around anymore.
I'm a monster.
Unknowingly my hand tightens around the one holding mine, my pale fingers intertwined with someone else's. My head is pounding and even the notion of opening my eyes is making me sick. Besides, I don't think they want me to wake up.
They're scared of me. Me. Terra Blake, is what they are scared of in a world of werewolves and who knows what else. Out of everything they are scared of me.
Even with my eyes closed I can feel the tears coming, my eyes burning with the sensation as I fight away the emotions.
"Terra, it's ok. We got you."
Holding back a sob at his words, my head rolls to the side. Only now realizing that I'm sitting up right do I wrench my eyes open. Gasping in shock, and pain, I bring my hand to my forehead. Bringing someone else's hand with me. Furrowing my eyebrows I follow the arm to meet the culprit.
The same person who was speaking those words, of comfort, and fear. Hesitantly I meet Stiles' gaze, my own watering slightly. "What happened?" I croak, my voice raw. Lightly shaking my hand out of Stiles' grasp I run my now free fingers through my dust covered hair.
Returning both hands to the steering wheel, Stiles directs his gaze to the dirt road, "I'm not sure, but all of a sudden you were freaking out, like you heard something, and then you were just gone. Poof, no Terra."
Growling under my breath when another wave of pain ripples through me, I clench my fists. "So what did happen?" Kira chimes in, poking her head in-between us.
Glancing at Malia through the rear view mirror, I answer, "You didn't hear it?" As she shakes her head my body tenses, "It was Scott, the alpha's roar."
"Terra, we didn't hear anything." Lydia states slowly, her lips pursed in thought.
"I'm not sure what happened after that." I mumble, glancing at the rest of the group in hopes they would tell me why they were calling me a monster. What did I do?
Nervously, Kira stutters, "What? After that? Nothing really. I mean, you fell out of the car, but it's good now cause we put the child safety on. Not that you're a child! I mean, if it was on before you wouldn't have fallen out-"
"Kira." Malia growls.
"What aren't you guys telling me?" I whisper, all eyes turning to me sadly at that moment.
"I'll tell you when we get back." Stiles states softly, his hand reaching out and squeezing my shoulder, "I promise. I'll tell you everything."
The conversation ends at that, a sunken city sitting before us. Driving around the deep crater, Stiles drives into the city through a hidden ramp. The mercenaries bike visible up ahead. A single flash light beam shines through a cracked open door in the church. Pulling the car to a stop we all jump out as three people emerge from the sunken ruins. And by all of us jumping out I mean, everyone except for me. Once Lydia is out, she helps me get to the rest of the group, my arm wrapped around her shoulder as I limp with her.
All standing in a line, Stiles moves forward as Scott and the tan girl approach with what I assume is Derek. "Is that him?" Malia asks the question on everyone's mind, because before us isn't a man but a teenager. And by the looks of it he's in worse shape than I am, and that's saying something.
I mean, I got electrocuted, drugged by hemlock, contracted a supernatural flu, and fell out of a moving vehicle all in the same day.
Stiles answers the question, his scent changing from what I can tell is worry to anxiety, "Well- Sort of."
❂
My fingers curl around the metal chair they stuck me in. They told me not to move while they moved Derek in. First they were going to find out whatever was happening to him and then it is my turn. My attention is pulled from my whitening knuckles when Stiles and Scott pull an unconscious Derek into the back room where all of us are situated.
Deaton clears the table, basically just brushing everything onto the ground, as Stiles and Scott lie Derek on the operating table. Lydia, Stiles, Scott, and Deaton all crowd around the table. I would join them but Scott and Stiles made it pretty clear that I was to not leave this chair until Deaton checked me.
"Wow." Deaton mutters under his breath, his eyes darting rapidly as he observes his patient.
"Wow? Wow as in, I've seen this before and I know exactly what to do?" Stiles rushes, his anxiety quickly getting the better of him. "That kind of wow? Because that's the kind of wow we're looking for."
"I think you might be over estimating my abilities."
"He's cold- really cold." Lydia cuts in, wrapping her hand around Derek's barely moving one.
Deaton grabs his other wrist, quickly checking for a pulse as Scott suddenly talks, "You think this is permanent?"
"I'm not sure a medical diagnoses is adequate." Deaton answers quaintly. "This is well beyond my experience."
"So what do we do?" Stiles' eyes dart to me for an instant, "You can do something for Terra though right?"
"Until he wakes up? Not much. It'll be best to leave him here, he'll be safe. Terra, however I have a few questions for you."
"What about Kate?" Scott chimes in, all eyes turning back to him for a moment.
"If she is what she says she is, she won't be able to get past that gate." I resist the urge to speak up, because at the moment Deaton, Isaac, and I are the only ones who know that I was able to get past his magical gate.
"Why would she want to do this to him?" Lydia questions, her eyes still scanning Derek.
"Knowing Kate it will probably be for a good reason that won't benefit anyone but her." Deaton pauses, his eyes switching between me and the rest of the group, "Maybe you guys should go home. Get some sleep. It is a school night. You all need to start taking care of your own lives again."
"Someone should stay with him." Scott says quietly.
"I'll stay." Lydia answers quickly.
I add onto her statement, "Me to."
"My grades are fine-"
"And I just don't want to go to school-"
"Despite missing a few classes."
Stiles glowers at me, "I'm so not okay with this."
"You guys go."
"Nooooo." Stiles drawled out, his stare still on me. "Terra."
"Actually, I think it would be best if Terra were to stay. For observation purposes." Deaton backs me up as Stiles goes to bring me with him.
"Text us if anything happens." Scott decides, moving to exit the clinic.
"Nope- Still not okay with it. Terra- have you even been to school? I'm not going anywhere till you come- you to Lydia." Scott grabs Stiles by the arm, pulling him out. "Ey- just because your stronger than me-" Stiles gives up, his eyes darting frantically to me, "What about Terra- wait- Scott- Call me!" His voice fades as the door shuts behind them.
Turning his attention to me, Deaton gestures to another room. Slowly rising from my seat, I reach out to stable myself as the room sways uncharacteristically. Deaton wraps an arm around me, helping me back up as he ushers me to the room. Once seated on a smaller medical table, Deaton stands before me, arms crossed.
"How are you feeling?"
"Like shit."
"Do you know what they gave you-"
"Poison Hemlock." I cut him off, my hands rubbing up and down my arms against my will.
Deaton's eyes widen as his mouth moves up and down. "Poison- H-h-hemlock?" He stutters, his eyes still wide.
Nodding slowly I continue my explanation, "He injected it into me, said that if I survived then I was the one he was looking for."
Turning away from me, Deaton leans against the counter across from me, "They injected you with concentrated poison hemlock- yet you're still here, healthier than physically possible."
"What do you mean?"
Suddenly turning towards me, Deaton grabs my wrists, stopping them from moving up my arms, "If say, Scott were to be injected with poison hemlock he would be dead within minutes. No wolf- ever- has survived such a concentrated amount of poison hemlock."
Yanking my arms out of his grasp, I back up on the table, "What are you saying."
"All these occurrences; being drawn to the nemeton, not being deterred by the mountain ash barrier, and now this." His eyes widen even more, "Who are you...." He murmurs, the room falling silent after those three words leave his mouth.
After several, long, agonizing minutes, I whisper one word, "Why?"
"Your mother- who was she?"
"My mother?" I choke, my eyes bulging from my head. Why would he want to know about her? What do my parents have to do with anything?
Before he can say anything else, I hunch forward, black blood pouring out of my mouth quickly. Deaton reacts in an instant, grabbing a nearby metal bucket and holding my hair back. I feel like my stomach is emptying all of its contents but that can't be possible. It feels like all the blood is draining from my veins.
I continue hacking the sticky substances until the world goes dark, my body shutting down in a feeble attempt to repair itself.
❂
Can I please stop passing out? Just for once, that would be really nice. Slowly turning my head my eyes flutter open as I observe my surroundings. Derek lays on the table across from me, Lydia hunched over, asleep in between the two of us.
Deaton glances at me as he goes to stand beside Derek. Holding his wrist up, he checks Derek's pulse. As he is doing this Lydia slowly awakens. Noticing her disoriented look, I reach out and grab her hand, trying to be reassuring. Lydia sends me a sideways glance, still half asleep, as she forces a smile.
"How's he doing?"
"His heart rate is alarmingly high."
Lydia gets up, pushing the rolly chair to the side as she grabs Derek's wrist, "He's a lot warmer now."
"Lydia, I'm going to try something. I want you to keep holding his hand it that's okay."
Feeling completely ignored, I roll my head to the other side, gathering my thoughts as I contemplate sitting up. It seems like a simple task, but right now my body is flooded with pain, even the simple motion of reaching out to Lydia caused me the cringe.
"That looked like it healed really fast."
Turning to face Lydia again, I watch as Derek's chest starts rising rapidly. Pushing myself up using my arms, I sit in a hunched position. My head spinning as I try to focus on one thing in particular.
"Unusually fast." Deaton's eyes rise to me, his stare blunt with accusation.
"What does it mean?"
"I'm not sure." Deaton's eyes light up suddenly, "Let's try something else, grab me a five millimeter syringe, in the top drawer. Terra- just focus on healing for right now. Your body is still fighting the hemlock evidently."
I send Deaton a forced smile, my eyes flashing their brilliant gold for an instant before another wave of nausea knocks me back. Bringing my hand up to my mouth, I resist the urge to throw up and kill everybody at the same time. It's strange really, what the hemlock is doing to me. It's literally making me feel extremely homicidal and sick. Obviously not a good combination.
My thoughts are cut short when all of sudden Derek begins to rise, his claws and bright blue eyes showing. "Uh- guys." I mutter, scooting backwards on my table as Derek stands.
"Derek-"
"Derek are you okay?"
Derek cringes, raising his hands to his ears as he wavers back and forth. Deaton reaches out for me as Derek starts to growl at all of us. "Derek- It's okay!" I try, keeping my distances as I try to talk Derek down.
Whipping his hand out, Derek catches me in the shoulder, sending me flying backwards. I land on the ground, my shoulder and head aching. Turning to the side I notice that Deaton is in a similar situation. I glance up at Lydia, releasing a breath when I notice that she is unharmed. We all turn our attention to the doors, Derek's rushed footsteps fading in the process.
Lydia raises, her hands still pressed to Deaton's arm as he continues to bleed. "Terra? You okay."
"Yeah, I'll heal."
Lydia nods, her stare than falls to the counter, her phone resting upon it. "Terra, call Scott."
Nodding I pick up her phone, and call Scott. I groan when the call cuts off suddenly, "He just rejected the call."
"Then call Stiles."
I nod, attempting to call him, which results in the same thing, "Lydia, I think there in class."
"They have history," Lydia pauses, her eyes lighting up as she help Deaton bandage his arm. "Text Mr. Yukimura."
"And say what? An time traveling werewolf just attacked Deaton?"
"No. Just say, Scott call Lydia."
"Fine." I groan, doing as she says. After the text is sent, a call comes just as quickly.
"Lydia? What happened?"
"It's Terra, but anyways, Derek is gone. He went crazy and attacked us than ran out." Lydia gestures to the room, "And Lydia thinks you should come here."
"Are you okay?"
Closing my eyes, I sigh, they're too good. They're such nice people and I'm- well- me. "Yeah, I'm fine Scott. It'll heal."
"Okay, see you soon."
Not even ten minutes later Scott and Stiles are pulling up to the clinic. I open the door for them, seeing as I'm fine and Lydia is tending to Deaton's injuries. Stiles' eyes instantly land on my injury, his mouth bobbing up and down as he searches for something to say.
"I'm fine Stiles."
He nods, a small smile forming before he directs his attention to Deaton. "I don't think he's just younger in body. I think he's younger in his mind too."
"He didn't recognize either of us. And he looked like he was scared out of his mind."
"Okay- so if you're a teenage werewolf and you're scared where would you go?" Stiles asks, scratching at his eyebrow in thought.
All eyes turn to me, everyone knowing about my runaway tendencies by now, "If you had a home, that's where you would go." I answer solemnly, my mind reeling as past memories mix with the present.
"The hale house." Lydia finishes for me, her hand resting on my shoulder in comfort.
"He wouldn't remember the fire. It wouldn't have happened yet." Deaton adds.
Everyone nods, Scott and Stiles turn to leave when Lydia interrupts them, "So what, you manage to catch up to him, then what. Are you going to tell him that his whole family is dead?"
"I guess I'm going to have to."
"Oh yeah, because that would turn out great. Trust me- just coming out with that would destroy him." Everyone falls silent at my words, "I'll tell him. I've had plenty practice."
"If he gets to the house first- you won't have to."
I rise ready to leave, my eye brimming with tears, "Terra." I stop as Stiles pulls me to the side. "You don't have to do this."
"I do- I know what to say. I know what it's like to lose your whole family."
"Stiles! The station, they have Derek at the station." Scott, yells, rounding the corner, nearly ramming into both of us.
"Go- I'll wait here." Lydia calls out.
Stiles grabs me by the arm gently, leading me out of the animal clinic as Scott trails behind us. Falling into the back of the jeep, I wait patiently for Stiles to get on the road. On the drive there I steel my emotions, preparing myself mentally for what I have to say to Derek.
It's never easy, but you can't lie about this stuff.
I've seen so many people try to explain this to kids. Each time it ends poorly because they don't know what it's like. It's not something you can just- bounce back from.
My thoughts are cut off when we pull into the parking lot of the station. The three of us practically fall out of the jeep as we rush to the entrance. Stiles reaches out to stable me as I begin to fall to the ground when I'm hit with another round of dizziness. Nodding in appreciation we round a desk, and practically fall into the back room where all the deputies are. Stiles waves at his dad, all of the deputies watching us expectantly.
"I'll handle this." The sheriff orders to the rest of the office. Mr.Stilinski waves us over, directing us to a closed off room. I take a seat in the corner, my stomach turning. I guess Deaton was right when he said my body was still fighting the hemlock.
Once the door is closed, Stiles' dad leans against a desk, "I want you to be honest with me. Absolutely, and completely honest." He pauses after each word, his eyes resting on the three of us. "Have you been time traveling?"
I hold in a snort, my hands raising to cover my face. "What!?" I splutter out.
"Because if time traveling is real, you know what- I'm done. I'm out, you're going to be driving me to Eichen house."
"We found him like that." Scott explains slowly.
"Where!? Swimming in the fountain of youth?"
"No. We found him buried in a tomb of wolfs bane...in an Aztec temple underneath Mexico. In a church in the middle of a town that was destroyed in an earthquake."
"Stiles!" I groan. He just admitted that we didn't go camping.
"You told me you were camping." The sheriff points to Stiles, speaking through clenched teeth in an attempt to remain calm.
"Yeah- we were....In M-m-Mexico."
"Derek's been aged backwards- he can't remember anything."
"We just need to talk to him."
"So far he's not talking to anybody."
"He'll talk to me." I put in. The sheriff turns to me, his eyes softening when he notices my state.
"Terra- are you okay?" He asks gently.
"Oh yeah- she's fine- just recovering from....poison?" Stiles cuts in, his explanation getting quieter and higher pitched as he talks.
"I'm fine." I cut him off, "Thank you Sheriff."
He nods solemnly as we all leave the room. I hesitate in front of the door that leads to where Derek is waiting, my hand hovering over the metal door knob. "You sure you can do this?" Stiles asks quietly, his hand grabbing mine in comfort.
I nod, sucking in my bottom lip as I push the door open, "I have to."
I go to sit next to Derek, however out of the corner of my eye I notice that his eyes are widening at the sight of me. Once seated next to Derek, I grab his hands, turning him towards me even though his eyes are already glued to me. I'm about to start my explanation when Derek cuts me off.
"I know you."
"What?" Everyone mutters, their gaze all turning to me.
Derek scrunches his eye brows, his eyes darting as he examines my face. Slowly he gasps, his hands tightening around mine, "Terra?"
♋
A/N: I can assure you that it is not what you think. It's definitely something else. And hopefully none of you will see it coming. And can I just say; season 5 of teen wolf is out of control. I think I had at least three heart attacks.
edited 10/9/16