"Stiles, I don't know if I can do this." I sighed as we got out of the car. Stiles put an arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer to him. "I know its hard, but we have too. In order to keep everyone safe."
I nodded as we approached the gates. 'Eichen House' was printed in bold letters. "I just feel like i'm betraying Scott for not telling him, or my mom." I glanced down at the ground. "If she found out I was doing this, she'd kill me."
Stiles sighed, "I know it feels wrong, but if Scott knew we were doing this, you'd know he'd try and stop us, especially you." I nodded. "Yeah, I know."
Sheriff patted our backs, slightly pushing us forward. "It's okay. You too will be okay." I nodded, taking another step towards the gate when I heard a motor coming from behind us. Glancing back, I saw Scott pull up to us.
Great.
Scott took of his helmet, getting off his bike. "No, no, no, no." He shook his head, narrowing his eyes at me. "Aubrey, don't even think about it."
I sighed, shaking my head at him. "Scott, it's too late. I've already decided on this." Scott crossed his arms. "And mom agrees with this?"
I bite my lip, shaking my head. "She doesn't need to know." Scott scoffed. "Then how are you supposed to get in." I glanced over at sheriff who stepped forward.
Scott shook his head. "Why didn't you tell me?" Sheriff sighed. "Because we wanted to avoid something like this." Stiles nodded. "It's only 72 hours."
"This is the same place where Barrow came from. The guy who had a tumor inside him filled with flies." He turned to Sheriff. "You don't know everything yet."
Sheriff shook his head. "I know enough. Nogitunes, Kitsunes, Oni, or whatever they're called." Stiles nodded, raising his eyebrows. "Wow, that was actually all surprisingly correct."
"Scott, I saw an MRI that looked exactly like my wife's. And it terrifies me. I'm headed down to L.A tomorrow to talk to a specialist." Scott furrowed his eyebrows. "Then why are you putting them both in here?"
I shook my head, stepping forward. "He's not. It was my decision." I turned towards Stiles. "Our decision." Scott placed his hands on my shoulders. "Aubrey, you know I can't help you if you're in here." I nodded, glancing at the ground. "And I can't hurt you."
"Deaton's got some ideas. Argent's calling people. We're gonna find something. And if we can't." I shook my head. "If you can't then you have to promise me something, okay?" I looked up at Scott as he nodded. "Make sure I never get out of here."
Backing away, the gate buzzed, allowing us to head into the nuthouse. "I love you Scott." I muttered, turning away from my brother.
"Mr and Mrs. Stilinski?" Stiles and I nodded as we approached the reception. "This way please." Something didn't seem right about this place, it gave me the shivers. We sat down in a sealed off room as the lady pulled out some items from her desk.
She placed a paper in front of the Sheriff. "First 72 hours there's no phone calls, no e-mails, no visitors. We will be taking you from here to a brief physical. In the morning, you'll be assessed by a staff psychologist. Also, you'll speak to a social worker and attend group therapy." Sheriff held a pen in his hand as he shook his head.
"I fell like we're forgetting something." The nurse placed a pair of shoes in front of Stiles and I. "You two will be wearing these. No laces allowed. Neither of you are wearing a belt are you?" We both shook our heads as the nurse nodded. "And please empty your pockets in here."
I reached into my pocket, placing my cellphone and keys inside the container. "Your pillow." Sheriff turned to Stiles. "We forgot your pillow." Stiles shook his head. "Dad, it's okay."
"No, no. You're never going to be able to fall asleep. We got to go back." Sheriff shook up as Stiles pushed on his shoulders. "It's fine Dad. I don't need it." Sheriff sighed, sitting back in his seat. "I can't believe I forgot it. I mean, every time that we've ever stayed in a hotel, the first thing you pack is your pillow." Stiles sighed. "You can bring it tomorrow. It's alright."
Stiles started emptying his pockets as his dad stared at him. His eyes widened for a split second before he shook his head, standing up. "Okay, you know what. Stop. Enough. Stiles, get your stuff. I'm not checking you in here if you're not gonna get one good night's sleep." Stiles sighed, taking a step towards his dad.
"Dad. I haven't had a good night's sleep in weeks." He pulled him into a hug, before walking towards the nurse, who was waiting silently at the door. Walking up to his dad, I gave him a hug. "Thank you." I mumbled before turning towards the nurse.
The nurse brought us through the hallway, leading up to a staircase. I started walking up the stairs, when I noticed Stiles was staring down the hall. "Stiles?" I questioned, glancing in his direction. "Stiles. This way please." The nurse said. Stiles shook his head, turning around to follow the nurse.
"I'm the part of the bird that's not in the sky." Glancing up, I saw a man, knotting a rope to the bar. "Do you see that?" I muttered, quickening my pace. "Aubrey, wait for me." I heard the nurse say, but ignored it. "I can swim in the ocean, yet still remain dry." I shook my head, now running up the stairs. "Stop! Somebody stop him!" We were almost to the top, when the man's feet dangled above me, earning a gasp from the nurse.
Multiple gasps came from below as I looked down. My eyes widened as Reese stood among the crowd, a devious smile planted on his face.
"Okay, listen. I know there's the whole 72 hour thing but I really need to use the phone." The nurse ignored Stiles' plead, opening the door. "Since you two are siblings, you can stay in the same room, and the accident that occurred is being taken care of."
My eyes widened as I scoffed. "You're serious referring to that as an accident? No one accidentally kills themselves." The nurse rolled her eyes. "Incident."
Stiles nodded. "Slightly better. Still need to use the phone. Just five minutes. Three minutes, please. A three minute call." The nurse shook her head. "Would you two like to get some sleep? Or would you like to be introduced to our five-point restraint system?"
"I would go with sleep." My head whipped around to see a boy basically tied to his bed. He lifted his hand up as the door closed behind us. "Hey wait, wait, wait,." Stiles sighed as the footsteps got distant.
I sat down on the bed, pulling my knees up to my chest. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. "I'm Oliver." The boy said as Stiles sat next to me. "I'm Stiles and this is Aubrey." I lightly smiled as he waved.
"There was a suicide, huh?" Stiles sighed, nodding."Yeah."
Oliver nodded. "Is it Monday? There's a much higher rate of suicide on Mondays." My eyes widened as I looked at Stiles. This guy was creepy. Stiles stood up, walking towards the door. "Hey, can someone. Just please let me out of here. Someone? Anyone?"
"I heard it by the way. It happened in the stairwell, right?" I turned towards Oliver, raising my eyebrows. "Yeah. How'd you know that?" Oliver shrugged. "I heard the echo."
Stiles turned around, facing Oliver. "What do you mean?"
"It's this place. Something about the way that it was built. Everything echoes. Eventually. That's why they call it Echo House." Oliver closed his eyes as Stiles sat back next to me.
I turned towards him. "Not gonna sleep?" He shook his head. "No, not without my pillow." I rested my head on his shoulder. "Don't worry, i'll stay up with you."
The doors buzzed as patients were let out for their morning duties or routines. To sum it up, Stiles and I didn't get a wink of sleep last night, but to be honest. Who does in this creepy house. Oliver opened his eyes, turning his head towards us. "Have you two been awake all night?" We nodded. "Can't sleep without my pillow."
Suddenly, Oliver started violently coughing, lifting his head up as much as the restraints would allow. "You okay?" Oliver nodded as he cough calmed down. "I swallowed a bug the other day. You ever do that? I keep coughing. Like it's still in my throat."
Stiles rolled his eyes. "That's disgusting Oliver. You don't have any idea when they unlock the doors, do you?" As if on que, the doors unlocked, letting us out of the small room. The nurse unchained Oliver, him joining Stiles and I on our walk.
"Now. Most of the people here are okay. The violent ones are in the closed unit." He pointed towards a girl with blonde hair. "That's Hilary. She has OCD. That's Gary." He pointed to a bald man. "He thinks he's Jesus Christ. Dan. Also Jesus." He pointed to a girl sitting on a bench. "That's Mary."
"Mary Magdalene?" Oliver shook his head. "NO, she also thinks she's Jesus. You'd be surprised how many Jesuses we get." Stiles nodded. "Not really."
We approached the phones, the only working one in use. "Hey, how come you want to use the phone already?" I asked Stiles causing him to shake his head. "'Cause after one night, I've changed my mind about this place being safe for me or you. Or anyone. Ever."
"No, No. I think you're wrong. I really think I should tell them. They're going to want to know the story. The whole story. I really think they should know. Yes, I do. Two of them are standing right behind me." The girl on the phone spoke, her back towards us. She hung up the phone, glancing back at us before running the opposite way.
"Who was that?" Stiles asked as we walked up to the phone. "That's Meredith. She's a little weird." Stiles chuckled. "You're a little weird. She's a lot weird." Stiles held the phone up to his hear before furrowing his eyebrows. "It's dead."
Oliver nodded. "Yeah. They turn off all the phones for 24 hours after a suicide." I crossed my arms turning to him. "Why didn't you tell us that before?" Oliver shrugged. "Why didn't you ask?" Stiles sighed, grabbing my hand, walking back the way we came. "What are you going to do now?"
"I'm getting us out of this nuthouse." Oliver scoffed. "That's not really the appropriate way to describe a facility like this." Stiles shook his head before stopping. "Malia?" Looking past him, I indeed saw Malia, in actual clothing.
Stiles let go of my hand. "Hey, it's Stiles. Do you remember me? I'm friends with Scott. Remember. We were the ones who helped you out with-" Stiles was cut off by Malia punching him square in the face. I narrowed my eyes, walking in front of Stiles. "Who do you think you are? We helped save your litt-" I was cut off by someone pinning me to the ground.
"Wait, I didn't do anything. Stop!" I yelled as they pulled me up, dragging me away. I stared down at the ground as I struggled to get out of their grip. "Enough." A voice yelled behind me, instantly being released. Looking around, I saw Stiles staring into the grate on the floor.
"Stiles, what is it?" I crawled over to him, glancing down the hole. It was very familiar. "Stiles you saw something didn't you?" Ms. Morrell appeared, grabbing Stiles and I by the wrist, pulling us away from the crowd. Stiles nodded. "That basement. We've been down there before." My eyes widened. That was the basement from the dream/nightmare Stiles and I were in. The one with Reese.
"I want to go back to the topic of guilt today." Ms. Morrell dragged Stiles and I to a group therapy session and boy, was it boring. "It might surprise you to hear me say that guilt is a good thing. It's a rather mature emotion. Malia, you said something about guilt the other day .You said it came with a visceral reaction."
Malia rolled her eyes. "I said it made me feel sick to my stomach." Morrell nodded. "Guilt often becomes physical. You feel it in your gut. It's not just psychological. How does guilt make you feel, Stiles?" Everyone turned to Stiles who snapped his head towards us. "I'm sorry what?"
"What does it make you feel?" Stiles nodded, biting his lip. "Nervous."
Morrell nodded. "Like a sense of urgency? You feel an urgent need to make up for something you've done. To apologize. These are healthy responses. Does anyone know what we call someone who doesn't experience guilt?"
"Sociopath." Oliver shouted as Morrell nodded. "That's right, Oliver." Something moved behind Oliver as he spoke. Glancing back, I saw Void Aubrey smiling. She waved as she walked around the circle, her smiling getting bigger as she passed each person.
"I'm sorry everyone, but we need to take a break. Stiles, Aubrey, come with me. I'd like to talk to the both of you for a minute." I nodded, keeping my eye on Void Aubrey until she was out of sight. "Are you guys seeing things?" We both glanced at eachother before nodding. "Specifically people figure." We nodded again.
She sighed. "It's called Lichtenberg figure. They appear on lightning strike victims. The fact that they're appearing on you after a shot of Wolf Lichen is both significant and strange."
I nodded. "By significant and strange do you mean hopeful and optimistic." She walked over to us, pointing at the marks from the poison. "When the marks fade, the Nogitsune's grip over you will return." She reached into her pocket, handing us each some pills.
"What are these? Sleeping pills?" She shook her head. "Amphetamines. Sleeping is exactly what you don't want to do. You're vulnerable when you're asleep." Stiles nodded. "So all we have to do is stay awake?"
"For now. If your friends haven't figured out something by the time those marks are gone. I'll come find you both." I crossed my arms, putting the pills in my pocket. "To tell us what to do?"
"She shook her head. "No, to give you an injection. Pancuronium Bromide. It causes respiratory paralysis." My eyes widened. "That's sounds a lot like death." She nodded. "It's used for lethal injection yes."
"So when the Nogitsune takes over, you're going to kill us?" She sighed. "I'm going to do what i've always done. Maintain the balance." We nodded as she opened the door. "Okay then. I've missed our talks. Thanks for the illicit drugs." I popped a pill into my mouth as we left the office. "Stay awake."
As Stiles and I exited the room, the hallways were empty. All the doors were shut, but one particularity caught my eye. A white door was at the end of the hallway, it was labeled basement. "Stiles." I nodded towards the door. He nodded as we walked towards it. Grabbing the door knob, he tried to open the door, having no luck. He huffed, banging his hand on the door.
"What are you doing?" I jumped as a voice erupted from behind us. Turning around, I saw Oliver eyeing us. "We need to get through here. To the basement." Oliver shook his head. "Doctors don't even have a key to this door. Only Brunski." I crossed my arms. "Is that the head orderly or something?"
He nodded. "He's got the keys to everything in here." Stiles nodded. "Does he keep them on his all the time." Oliver sighed. "If you want them, you'll probably have to figure out a way to trick him." Stiles sighed. "Well, part of me is getting very good at playing tricks."
Oliver went back to the room as Stiles and I went into the boys bathroom. He needed to clear his head. "Stiles, just take a pill." He sighed, taking out the pills from his pocket. "I did, they aren't working. "Okay, just got to stay awake, Stiles. You just gotta stay-" He paused, looking into the mirror. Turning around, I saw someone in the shower. Specifically Malia. Stiles covered his eyes, groaning as Malia chuckled. "Don't worry Stiles, you didn't just accidentally walk into the Girls' Room.
Stiles sighed. "Thank God." Malia turned off the water, wrapping a towel around her body as she walked up to us. Stiles cleared his throat. "Um okay. So what are you doing in the Boys' Room?" Malia rolled her eyes. "Showering?"
Stiles scoffed. "I can see that. I mean i saw that. Well, actually I didn't see anything really. I just. There was too much steam to uh, Not that I would prefer there to be less steam-" Malia cut him off, chuckling. "Stiles, I don't care. In the woods, there was no Boys' and Girls' Room. And if you really need to know, they keep the water temperature in the Girls' Room too low. It's much hotter in here. Ever since I turned back to human, I just can't seem to get warm."
Stiles nodded. "Maybe you just have a low core temp. You know you might just be sick or." I rolled my eyes. "Stiles, she used to have a fur coat." Stiles nodded. "Or, it could be that. Hey it might be that. It's probably that."
Stiles coughed. "Um, I was kind of wondering why you punched me today?" Malia rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. "Did you think I was going to thank you?" She looked between us as I scoffed. "Well, it would be the respectable thing to do, considering we basically saved your life."
Malia nodded. "You're right. You both are. Thank you. Thank you for invading my home. For putting me on the run. For turning me back into human so that I could look at my father every day and try to figure out how to explain to him that the reason my sister and mother are dead is because I almost ate them on a full moon. Thank you so very much." I glanced down at my shoes.
"We were just trying to help." Stiles muttered as Malia scoffed. "You want to help me? Find a way to change me back." Stiles' eyes widened. "You want to go back? To being a coyote?"
She nodded, narrowing her eyes. "What do you know?" Stiles glanced at me before turning back to Malia. "We might know somebody who could teach you. How to change." Malia sighed. "Okay. What do you want?"
"We need to get into the basement. Which means that I need to get the keys off of that orderly. The big one."
"Brunski." Stiles nodded. "You help me, and I'll help you." Malia nodded, walking out of the locker room. "This is a really bad plan."
Stiles shrugged. "it's not that bad."
"It's not that good." Stiles nodded as we walked out of the bathroom. "Probably true."
"You're lying, you're a liar!" Oliver shouted, walking towards Malia, backing her into a corner. The man who i assumed was Brunski came over towards us. "What the hell's going on?" He tried to hold back Oliver. "You're lying."
Malia groaned. "Get this nut-job off of me." She swiftly grabbed Bruski's keys, slipping them into her pocket as Oliver was pulled off of her. "No! She said that they drill holes in your head." Malia rolled her eyes, walking past us, giving Stiles the keys. Stiles and I quickly walked away from the scene, to the basement door.
Stiles put a key into the door, jiggling the knob. "Come on, I thought this guy had a key to everything." I reached out for the keys before someone placed a hand on my shoulder. "I do. But nobody has the key to that room."
He dragged us away from the door, taking the keys from Stiles. Stiles sighed as we got thrown into a white room. "Into the Quiet Room for you two devious siblings." He pulled out the pills from our pockets.
"Want to tell us where you got these?" He asked as 3 buff men entered the room, grabbing us. Stiles glared at him. "A vending machine."
He chuckled. "I always loved the sarcastic ones. Give them five of the Haldol." They nodded, taking out two needles. "Wait what is that? Is that a sedative?" Bruski smirked as the needles were jabbed into our arms. "No, we can't sleep." I muttered, falling to the ground.
My head spun as my eyes started to close, despite my protests to keep them open. "No." My whole vision went dark.
"Hello Aubrey." Void Aubrey said. I opened my eyes, trying to stand up. Looking down, I realized I was tied to a chair. "Let me in Aubrey." I shook my head, shaking it. "What do you mean?" She smirked. "You tried to stay awake, to keep me out." She waved a finger in front of my face.
"You know what I mean." I narrowed my eyes. "Screw you." She smirked, walking around me. "Let me in Aubrey." I shook my head, twisting my arms. "Let me out."
I tried to get out of the chair, but the ropes were too tight. "Let me out!" Void Aubrey came up to my face, eyes dark. "Let me in!"
I shook as arms wrapped around my body. "Aubrey it's okay. It's me." Glancing up, I saw Stiles looking down at me, Malia standing at the door. "Wh-" Stiles cut me off. "No time to explain, let's go." I nodded as he helped me up.
Malia led us to a steel door, breaking the lock. "There's another way to the basement. Through the Closed Unit. Where they keep the real psychos."
Stiles and I walked through the door, Malia going back to her cell. All the patients were leaning against the windows, watching our every move as we stalked down the hall. Finally reaching the basement, we descended down the stairs. It was pitch black as we got to the bottom, a tiny little lamp was flickering near the wall.
Walking towards it, I noticed something on the wall. It was the backwards 5. I tugged on Stiles' shirt, staring at the symbol. "Self." We both mumbled. I sighed, sitting down on the couch, placing my head in between my hands.
"Damn, this place definitely used to be a lot more fun eh?" Stiles sat next to me, glancing at all the outdated equipment. I chuckled, "Yeah if you consider Electroshock, ice baths, and Trepanation fun."
Stiles furrowed his eyebrows. "Is that where they drill holes into your head?" I nodded. "Yeah, that's what Oliver was talking about." Stiles smirked. "No wonder they don't want anyone down here."
Stiles sighed. "Looks like there's nothing else down here. "Hey can you check the lines on my back? I need to know if they're fading." I nodded as Stiles turned around. I pulled up his shirt, reveling very fading lines. I sighed. "They're almost gone."
Turning around, I pulled up the back of my shirt. "What about mine?" Stiles' hands trailed across my back , leaving shivers on my spine. "Same."
"You cold?" Stiles asked, grabbing my hands in his. I nodded. "It's a bit drafty down here." I felt a tear fall from my eye as Stiles looked at me concerned. "What's wrong Aubrey?"
I shook my head, wiping the tear out of my eye. "I'm scared. What if we don't get better. What if we're going to be stuck like this forever?" Stiles shook his head, wiping the tears away with his thumb. He tucked a piece of loose hair behind my ear. "We're going to be okay."
I glanced up at his eyes. No matter what we were going through, he always brought me comfort. His honey eyes always made my heart skip a beat for as long as I can remember, even before we were dating. There was a strange feeling in my stomach whenever I saw them, and I couldn't get it to go away. With slight hesitation, he pressed his lips to mine. The kiss was filled with passion, with a feeling i'd barley felt before, lust.
I grabbed the collar of Stiles' shirt, attempting to close the remaining space between us. His hand traced where the mark was on my back as he pulled away, smiling down at me. "What was that for? I muttered, the feeling of his lips still on mine. He shrugged. "I wanted to kiss you, plus I think we both deserve this.
He pressed his lips to mine again, placing a hand on my hip, lowering me down onto the couch so that he was above me. My hands flew to the back of his head as he kissed my neck, causing me to groan. "Stiles."
I bit my lip as his face hovered over mine. "Are you sure you're okay with this?" His eyes filled with lust as I nodded. He nodded before he grabbed my hands, holding them above my head, kissing me again.
We laid on the couch, his arms wrapped around my waist. A faint buzz hummed in the background. "Stiles, do you hear that?" I got up from his grip, walking towards the sound. The buzzing got louder as I approached the 'self' sign. I bent down, knocking on the wall. It was hollow. Glancing around, I saw a metal pipe on the floor. I picked it up, walking back to the symbol.
Using all the strength I had left, I rammed the pole into the wall, causing to shatter into pieces. Moving the rest of the chucks of concrete out of the way, I gasped, dropping the rod. "What is i-" Stiles paused, glancing at the body. It was Reese, very old and dusty Reese. Next to him was a picture.
I bent down, picking up the picture. It looked exactly like Kira. "What th-" I heard crumbling behind me as Stiles and I whipped around. Oliver stood there, a gun in his hand.
"You took Brunski's keys." He shot out two wires, hitting Stiles and I in the chest. I fell to the ground, electricity jolting throughout my body. "I took his stun gun." He came over to us, jabbing a needle into my arm. "I also got his Haldol."
I could feel the sleep trying to take over as Oliver walked over to me, holding out a screwdriver. "Like I was saying, I heard they used to do trepanation here." He turned on the screwdriver, bringing it closer to my head.
"Oliver, what are you doing?" Stiles asked, his voice very quiet. "I'm going to let the evil spirits out." He said, bringing it less than an inch away from my head. "Aubrey, let me in. Save your life." Void Aubrey's voice rang as I closed my eyes.
"Oliver stop!" I heard Stiles yell. "Let me in Aubrey." I shook my head. "All your friends will die. Let me in."
"Just let her go!"
"Do you want to leave here alive? Do you want us to leave . We can walk out of this place." A tear left my eye as the buzzing got louder.
"Let me in Aubrey and you'll both live. I'll let you both live." I sighed, shutting my eyes. Void Aubrey won. Darkness clouded my vision.
*Void Aubrey's P.O.V*
I smirked, opening my eyes. Reese stood up, grabbing Oliver's hand. "Stiles." He muttered as Reese threw his hand back, making him pass out. He came over to me, breaking the restraints.
"Nice work." He held out his hand. I smiled, grabbing it as he turned to me. "Now, let's go finish what we started."
I hate but love that episode so much. It's 1:30 in the morning, i'm tired, but I hope you enjoyed that chapter, damn it was a longer one.
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