riddled
—
Zoey was sound asleep when she kept hearing her phone buzz on the nightstand next to her bed. She groaned and sat up, on her elbows.
The light on her phone showed a picture of her and Lydia, smiling towards the camera. Her eyes squinted while picking up the phone, her thumb presses the green button. "Hey."
"Did I wake you?" Lydia's voice said through the phone. Zoey's shoulders dropped, about to make a sarcastic remark before she heard a little sniffle come from the other end. "Lydia? What's wrong? Where are you?"
"Stiles' house, please come quick." Lydia said. Zoey sat up fully, "Okay, okay. I'm coming. Wait right there, okay?" Zoey said as she threw the covers off her, getting up and finding some clothes.
As she was getting ready, she got another call. She didn't bother checking the caller I.D, because she thought it would be her sister. But it wasn't.
"Lydia, I will be right there, okay." She said, still a little bit tired. "What? It's Scott. Did you hear?"
"Oh, sorry. Uh, no. Why? What's wrong?" Zoey said, worry washing over her. "He's not at home, he's– I don't know, he's missing." He said while breathing heavily.
"Oh my god, okay. Um, calm down. I'll be at Stiles', okay?"
She hung up, frantically moving around as she was trying to find her new car keys. Zoey let out a few sighs, running towards the door quietly.
Zoey got into her car, quickly starting it and backing up to get to Stiles' house. Thoughts and voices kept running through her head and the best thing she could do was turn on the radio. So that's what she did.
A song she didn't know came on, her fingers tapping to the beat onto the steering wheel anyways. Then the song started fading out, the sound of static was being heard. Then more voices and static, then she heard a familiar voice say "Come find me."
Zoey's eyes widened, speeding a little quicker to get to Stiles' house. She pulled in and saw Scott's motorcycle right away.
Zoey got out and running into the house, up to Stiles' room. She saw Scott, Isaac, Lydia and Aiden in the room already. "What's wrong? What do you mean missing?"
"Did you hear it too?" Lydia asked right away. "What Stiles said? Come find me?" Zoey quoted what she heard from the radio.
Lydia nodded, looking at her in worry. "Wait you haven't found him?" Zoey turned to Scott.
"He said he's in an industrial basement somewhere." Scott said. "We came here to get a better scent." Isaac said.
"What else did he say?" Lydia asked. "Something's wrong with his leg. It's bleeding."
"And he's freezing."
"Tonight's the coldest night of the year. It's going to drop into the twenties." Aiden says. "What did his dad say?" Zoey asked right away, looking at Scott for his expression. "You didn't call his dad?" She half shouted.
"Stiles is bleeding and freezing and you didn't call his dad?" Lydia asked. "He made me promise not to. We can find him by scent. If he was sleepwalking, he couldn't have gotten far, right?"
"You guys didn't notice his jeep is gone, did you?" Aiden asked.
"You promised you wouldn't call his dad. I didn't." Lydia said as she pulled her phone out. "Wait, Lydia, hold on. I can get more help. Like Zoey, Derek, Allison.."
"Everyone except for the cops, great idea!" Lydia half shouted. "You guys remember she only gets these feelings when someone is about to die, right?" Aiden asked.
Scott stared at the three for a minute before speaking, "You don't have to call his dad. It's five minutes to the station."
All five were about to leave, but Lydia grabbed onto Aiden and Zoey's arms. "We'll catch up."
"What? No. She's safe with me– Us." Isaac corrected. "And she doesn't feel anything, right? You just heard the come find me part from the radio,"
"Yeah, I don't feel anything like you do." Zoey said, looking back at her sister. Lydia looked back at her, a worried expression on her face. "I get this feeling when someone's going to die, Zoe. Would if it isn't Stiles and it's you?"
"She's safe with us, Lydia. Trust me." Scott reassured Lydia, nodding her way. His gaze moved to Zoey, smiling slightly. Lydia let out a sigh, "Please.. Just please, be safe."
Zoey looked back at her sister, nodding and walking behind Scott and Isaac.
—
The three teens were just finished telling Sheriff Stilinski about what's happening with Stiles and they were all standing at Deputy Parrish's desk.
Sheriff Stilinski turned towards them, "If his jeep is gone, that's where we start."
They all nodded as he turned back to Parrish, "Parrish, let's get an APB out on a blue nineteen-eighty CJ-5 jeep. Cordova, I want a list of any kind of industrial basement or sub-level of any building that he could've gotten into 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. The three of you, come with me."
Zoey's eyebrows rose, knowing how much the Sheriff loved his son made her heart a little happy. It would be much happier if they had found Stiles. She nodded her head, turning on her heel as she followed Scott and Isaac to the Sheriff's office with Stilinski right behind her.
"Okay. Is there anything you need to tell me that I can't tell everybody out there?" Stilinski asked Scott right away.
"Lydia knew he was missing." Scott said right away. "What about this one? And could she help find him?" Stilinski asks.
"Hey, this one has a name." Zoey said a little offended. Isaac looked at her before back at the Sheriff, "She's working on it, and she can't because she doesn't have the same feeling."
"Okay. Anything else?"
"I called Derek and Allison for help."
Stilinski looked at the three, "Can you find him by scent?"
Before they could reply, Parrish knocked on the door and interrupted. "We got it, sir. We found the jeep."
—
Zoey found herself riding in the passenger seat of the Sheriff's car, not caring about what the deputies said. They arrived where Parrish said it was; at the hospital Melissa, Scott's mother, works at.
Sheriff and Zoey quickly got out, tuning towards the jeep and opening the drivers side door open.
"It's dead." Stilinski said after he checked. "He must have left the lights on."
"First of all, why would he come here?" Zoey asked. "Let's find out." Stilinski said as he shut the door closed. The Sheriff walked into the hospital with a few of his deputies behind.
Scott nodded towards Zoey and Isaac, "Roof."
She nodded back as they made their way up to the roof of the hospital. The three ran up to see Derek standing nearby as Zoey looked at Isaac in confusion.
"He's not here. Not anymore." Derek said. "You mean the whole building?"
"Gone."
Zoey let out a frustrated sigh, Scott looking down as Isaac stood behind them. "I'll go tell Stilinski."
Scott turned to look at him, "And see if you can find Allison. She's not answering her phone."
Isaac nodded before running down back to the hospitals main floor.
Zoey sighed, glancing between Scott and Derek. Her hands were shaking as she closed her eyes for a moment; praying that Stiles is okay.
Scott's hand grabbed hers gently, reassuring her that he'll be okay. "He's going to be okay. Okay?"
A tear ran down her cheek, her head nodding. "Okay."
His hand didn't let go of hers, turning his attention back to Derek as they took a few steps towards him.
Derek didn't bother asking on what just happened, he just left it. "Notice how strong the scent is up here? Every hear of chemo signals? Chemical signals that communicate emotion. And just our sweat can give off anger, fear or disgust."
Derek glanced at the two teens next to him, seeing their hands are still hold each other's. "Take a deep breath and tell me what you feel."
They both did what they were told, stress washing over them. "Stress." Scott said before she could. "And anxiety."
"What was he doing up here?" Zoey asked. "I don't know. But there was definitely some kind of struggle."
"With who?" Scott asked as the two teens looked at the older werewolf.
"Himself."
—
Zoey, Scott, Lydia and Aiden found theirselves standing in front of the gates of Eichen House.
"Didn't think I'd find myself coming here." Zoey mumbled as she heard the Sheriff and his deputies pull up.
"Lydia," Sheriff said. "I don't want to say "Are you sure about this" but.."
"No, he's here. I swear to God he's here." She protested. "I'd listen to her if I were you." Zoey spoke up, raising an eyebrow.
All of them ran in as the person sitting at the reception was startled to see Sheriff Stilinski.
"I need access to all basement rooms in the facility."
They were let in, making Lydia lead the way.
They all turned around a corner, Lydia leading. "It's here." She mumbled, stopping in her tracks. "It's right here."
She practically ran towards the door that wasn't seen in light, Sheriff Stilinski kicking it open.
Sheriff ran down a few steps as Lydia called out, "Stiles?"
Stilinski turned around in circles, holding a flashlight in his hands.
They all stood in silence, breathing heavily and looking in places that Stiles could be in.
Scott took a few steps, "Lydia?"
"I don't get it. This has to be it." Lydia said.
"Then where is he, huh?" Sheriff asked, frustrated. "Where is he? Where is he?" He shouted in Lydia's face.
"Hey, easy." Zoey growled, standing next to Lydia as Lydia cringed and shook her head.
"I'm sorry." Stilinski said after he saw the look on her face and glanced at Zoey.
"I don't understand."
Aiden grabbed ahold of her shoulder lightly, walking up the stairs first; along with the other four.
—
Scott, Lydia and Zoey were seated in the Beacon Hills Hospital when they seen Sheriff walk down the hallway towards them.
The three stood up, hoping to hear what's wrong with Stiles.
"He's sleeping now. And he's just fine." Sheriff said as the three let out a breath of relief. "He doesn't remember much. It's bit like a dream to him."
Zoey stood next to the both of them as Lydia's head rested on her shoulder. Her hand reached for Scott's, holding it in hers tightly as she glanced at him. Scott nodded in response, smiling slightly.
Sheriff looked at McCall, "Thank you."
"It was that repellent spray we sprayed in the coyote den to keep other animals out. I couldn't go near it without my eyes watering. It's just a good thing he mentioned it over the phone." McCall said. "No, it was more than that. Thank you." Sheriff said.
"It was a lucky connection." McCall shook his head.
"McCall, can you shut up please and accept my sincerest gratitude." Sheriff said in a annoyed tone. Zoey giggled a little as she watched the two.
"Accepted." McCall said after he let out a little huff, shaking Stilinski's hand.
"Alright, you three, you've got school in less than six hours. Go home, go to sleep." Melissa insisted. Lydia's head raised from her sisters, nodding slightly.
Scott turned to the two after he hugged his mom, then Lydia spoke. "I don't know what happened. I was so sure."
"Yeah, I wasn't much help either. Doesn't matter, if he's okay."
Then, Lydia abruptly stopped, looking around her, as if she heard something and Zoey, once again, didn't hear it herself.
"Lydia, do you hear something?" Scott asked right away. "No. I didn't hear anything." Lydia shook her head.
—
The next morning, Zoey was at school as she sat in a desk and in a class she didn't want to be in.
The teacher was talking as she sat in front of a blank piece of paper, not bothering to write anything down. Her thoughts were too busy thinking about Stiles.
What was wrong, if he was okay. But she couldn't figure out why. Sure he's her best friend, but she didn't really think of him when something bad happens. If he was okay, then why is she still worrying?
That's when she shot up from the chair, as soon as the bell went.
She stopped at Scott's locker, seeing Lydia and Scott.
A locker was slammed shut, making Zoey and Lydia jump in place. "You two okay?"
"Yeah. Just a little hyper-sensitive to loud sounds today." Lydia replied.
Another locker was slammed shut, making Lydia jump a little more. "They're doing tests on Stiles all afternoon. I was going to go over at around six o'clock to visit. Wanna come with?" Scott asked.
"I'm gonna go home." Lydia said, not looking at the two.
"Uh, yeah, I'll come." Zoey nodded, looking at Lydia and slowly looking over at Scott.
Lydia heard another sound of a locker being shut, making her go against the lockers softly.
"You sure you're okay?" Scott asked worriedly.
"Yeah. I'll text you two later." Lydia finally looking at the two as she walked away.
"You know what I find weird?" Zoey asked.
"What?" Scott asked curiously. "I had this weird feeling in my stomach, but as soon as I said yes to go see Stiles later, it was gone. Like after what happened last night made me closer to Stiles." Zoey explained, shaking her head slightly, then looking at Scott for a response.
"What do you mean, like a connection?" He asked as he began to walk, her along with him.
"Yeah, and it wasn't a good feeling. I'm not talking about a "banshee" feeling or anything, but something stronger."
Scott frowned as they made their way down the hallway; the thoughts never leaving his mind until they were at the hospital.
"I'm not sure I know how to pronounce this. Or if it's not actually a misspelling." The doctor said.
"Just call him Stiles." Stilinski replied.
"Okay," the doctor turned to the three teens. "Stiles, just to warn you, you're going to hear a lot of noise during the MRI. It's due to pulses of electricity going through the metal coils inside the machine. Uh, if you want, we can get you earplugs or headphones."
"Oh, no, no, I don't need anything." Stiles mumbled.
"Hey, we're just on the other side of that window. Okay?" Stilinski reassured.
"Okay." Stiles replied, smiling ever so slightly.
The adults nodded, smiling at him slightly as they all walked out except for the three remaining teens.
"You know what they're looking for, right?" Stiles asked the two.
He took the silence as a yes and no, but explained it anyways. "It's called frontotemporal dementia. Areas of your brain start to shrink. It's what my mother had. It's the only form of dementia that can hit teenagers. And there's no cure."
A tear slipped down Scott and Zoey's face, listening closely to what Stiles said.
"Stiles, if you have it, we'll do something. I'll do something." Scott said, looking at Stiles. Zoey shut her eyes for a brief moment, her breathing coming a little unsteady as a thin layer of glass was covering her eyes; same with Stiles' own.
Scott and Stiles brought each other into an embrace, tightly holding onto each other. Then they let go and Zoey let a few more tears slip and getting held by Stiles.
His arms were tightly wrapped around her, letting out a breath. "It's gonna be okay."
Zoey nodded slightly, trying to calm herself down. Then a hand was on the small of her back, leading her to the door. She leaned against Scott lightly, her head resting upon his shoulder.
Scott, Zoey and Derek were seated in a waiting area as they sat in silence.
"You know the stuff you were telling me about chemo signals earlier? It reminded me of that time you were teaching me to use anger to control the shift." Scott said.
"I think you ended up teaching me more about that." Derek protested, a slight smile across his face.
"Are you teaching me again?" Scott asked.
"Think of it more like sharing a few trade secrets. You know, I took Cora back to South America, right? It's where she spent most of her time after the fire. But that's not the only reason I left. I needed to talk to my mother." Derek said.
"Your dead mother?" Zoey asked as her eyebrows rose. "She told me something that changed my perspective on a lot of things. She said that my family didn't just live in Beacon Hills." Derek said, completely ignoring Zoey's question.
"They protected it. This town needs someone to protect it. Someone like you." Derek continued.
After a few moments of silence once more, Scott broke it again. "And someone like you to teach me a few trade secrets."
Zoey thought about what they just discussed, then it hit her. She glanced at the two before standing up. "What's wrong?" Scott asked right away, watching her walk past him a little then standing up to stand behind her.
"He was trying to protect us." Zoey stated, looking back at the two. Then it hit them too, realization expression hitting their faces.
"Stiles was protecting us." Scott said. Then Derek stood up, "From himself."
The three made their ways to the roof top, looking for something.
"What are we looking for?" Derek asked. "I'm not sure. But I think Stiles wasn't just up here struggling with himself. I think he was struggling not to do something."
Scott found something and threw it down to the ground, revealing wires, cables, anything that can give power.
Then sparks flew, making Zoey getting pushed back behind Scott and Derek. Both their arms were protecting her from them, walking backwards a few steps.
They all see the wire cut loose, going off the edge of the hospital.
And that's when they knew more trouble was gonna happen that night.
_____________________
ay! what's good.
sorry I haven't updated lolol
school got me rough asf.
but hey, we are a lot closer to void stiles and I am so excited
you'll see why soon ;)