Sometime in every person's life, they have a complete meltdown. They are pushed past their limit and through their breaking point, leaving them defenseless against the world. It didn't matter how perfect their life was, or how well they kept it in order: everyone has a breakdown. Some are just sooner than others.
After, they are left with the feeling of devastation and heartbreak, wanting to give up. It's ugly crying while trying to pull themselves together because they have to be strong and carry on. Because no matter what, giving up isn't an option. Eventually things would get better, and maybe they were lucky enough to not have to go through that pain twice.
Breaking down was worse than breaking up because it's a fight within. It's the stress from all around them and not being able to keep up. It's not knowing that their friends are there to back them up, or that they are even aware of everything. But deep down, they do, even if it's worrying from a distance or being right there by their side. Breakdowns were the lowest of lows.
And this was hers.
Addy spent her night in the bottom of her shower with her legs curled up to her chest and tears streaming down her face. With all the stress in her life at the moment, she deserved the time to have her own breakdown. It was shocking that it hadn't happened earlier.
Being brought back from the dead; then facing the same people that killed her and happened to give her the power to come back to life in the first place; her friend turning out to be the bad guy; and to top it all off, having her boyfriend try to kill her best friend, not to mention said bad guy also killed said best friend was more than enough stress for one week.
It was Addison Ryder's time for absolute self-destruction.
The water turned cold long ago, but all she could do was watch her tears mix with the water and swirl down the drain. Physically, she was fine. Emotionally, she was wrecked. Her life before was average, normal to say the least, boring – but she could use boring again. There were everyday hiccups, but now it was a whole new hill – mountain – to climb. If she managed to get out of all this crap alive, it was going to haunt her for the rest of her life. She was already having nightmares so bad she woke up gasping.
How Scott wasn't traumatized would always stump her. He had been through more than twice as much as her, and led his pack through it all. She envied his ability to do that.
Addison was unable to get up from the shower or make the tears stop. She felt like her chest was collapsing and her heart was going to jump straight through it. The water was starting to make her skin turn blue and leave a stinging sensation. She was overly exhausted from her heavy breathing and lack of oxygen getting to her. She was breaking down from the inside to out, and there was nothing, or no one, that could fix that.
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Addison sat at home with her cellphone in hand, debating who to call. After the whole thing last night, she just needed a few hours to herself, which she hadn't gotten in a long time. So after leaving the tunnels and learning that Stiles' dad would be okay for real this time, she got Scott to take her home.
The few hours of sleep she got were good for once. She was so exhausted that even nightmares couldn't wake her. Her sleep ended only when her mother came in and woke her up, saying that she was leaving for work. It was tough trying to explain why she disappeared for a few days, but Mrs. Ryder seemed okay with it when she was told that Addy was safe with Kira and her family.
Mrs. Ryder was so oblivious to everything that happened. Addy nor Brayden had told her about Addy's supernatural ability or those of their friends. She planned to keep it that way. Her mom worked so much that she barely saw her daughter anyway. It wasn't like the two were close.
Ever since Addy's father left when she was young, her mom buried herself in work and grew apart from her children. Most of the time Addy hated her for doing it, but at the moment, Addy couldn't be happier. Her mom was safe by being left out of everything, at least for now.
After her mom left for the day, Addy got up to eat and shower again, then went straight back to bed. She knew that she should really be out helping the pack, but she just needed a few hours to recharge. The house was dead silent and she didn't mind. It seemed to have been really loud lately.
Addy held her phone, her eyes lingering over her favourite contacts. She had three: Brayden, Scott, and Liam. Each of them she wanted to call, and each of them she wanted to ignore for weeks. She sighed and tossed the phone back on her bed.
It had been a total of three days since she was brought back from the dead. The whole thing still confused her, but she wasn't complaining. She was alive again, and that was all that mattered.
She never really felt the same, though. At first, she just assumed it was a side effect from her heart not beating for five days, but it was different. She felt odd all the time, except for when she used her powers. They hadn't been as strong the first day, but yesterday morning, when she threatened Theo, she noticed how the flame was a little bit taller and her sword was a little bit sharper.
Addy hadn't told Scott yet, and she didn't really want to. What was there that he could do? Worry? He didn't need that kind of stress. They didn't know much about chimeras, and the fact that she was different from all the others made her question why they chose her or what they did to her.
She spent the next hour just dozing off but waking up every few minutes. Addison perked up when she felt another presence in her house. As if he knew she was thinking of him, Scott McCall walked into her room. He sat down on the edge of her bed when he realized that she wasn't going to get up.
"I know you wanted a day to relax," he started, there was a sympathetic look on his face and this time Addy willing accepted it. She really did want the rest of the day to herself without having to worry about how everything in her life was going downhill. "It's only been a few days since you were brought back, and those days have been super hectic, but–"
"You need my help," she finished for him. Addison wasn't surprised that he showed up to her house to get some help with what was going on. They all felt a little safer with her out there with them. "I know that I'm not going to get a break, not while I'm a chimera and the Dread Doctors are still out there. I'm just..."
"Scared?" Scott offered. Addy nodded sadly, not wanting to admit it. She didn't want to look weak, especially not in front of him. Scott was the person she looked up to most in times of doubting herself and her abilities. He was always the one to assure her that everything would be okay. "It's okay to be scared. I'm scared."
"But you don't look it, and you always seem to know what you're doing, and I-I want to be more like you, Scott."
"In case you didn't notice, Ads, my own beta tried to kill me. I never know what I'm doing, but somehow we make it out. It's teamwork, and you're part of the pack," Scott promised. "I couldn't do anything without the help of all of you guys."
Addy got up from her bed and hugged Scott. She had thought the wound would have been fine, but apparently it wasn't when she heard him wince. "You haven't healed yet?" she asked, worry filling her voice. She lifted up the hem of his shirt to see blood soaking through his bandage.
"I will," he waved her off, pulling his shirt back down. "Come on. Stiles is waiting for us. He figured out something on the tape that we missed."
"What tape?"
"Parrish showed me this morning. There was a killing by something big: really big," Scott explained as they walked out of the house.
"So you think it's another chimera?" Addy asked as they walked down her driveway.
He nodded. "The last chimera."
"So they did it? They finally made what they wanted?" The true alpha looked down at her but didn't say anything. They hopped into the back of the car, Scott taking shotgun once again. The dynamic between the two best friends had changed from last night, and Addy couldn't help but smile at them.
Maybe being related to the sheriff had something to do with it, but Stiles had once again found something the others missed. Two people entered the building that day, and three came out. The Beast had to have come from somewhere in the building, which was what they were going to find out.
They arrived at the scene shortly after. Addy got out of the car and was quick to try and find Stiles, but Scott had stopped her. "Are you sure you're okay?" He noticed how she was acting differently on the way there and even back at her house. She sighed. Scott was still worrying about her even when she was trying to avoid just that. "And don't lie to me."
"You-you've got enough stress as it is. I don't want you worrying about my problems," Addy said. She didn't need others worrying about her. They had enough to worry about and trying not to get themselves killed. Her being in a bad mood was something that wasn't a priority. "It's nothing, Scott."
"Is this about Liam?" Scott questioned. She was still mad at him, yes, but that wasn't her main concern. Addison shook her head no. "Then what? Addy, you have to tell me, especially if it's something to do with all of this."
Addy was about to tell him when Stiles yelled at them to hurry up. She gave him a look before jogging to catch up. Stiles shone his flashlight around. The three walked around until finding the place where the technician died.
The whole floor was covered in blood. The floors would no doubt be stained red from this guy. Claw marks were slashed across a metal locker. The width of one was larger than her head. Addy grimaced at the sight.
"You see that?" Stiles pointed towards the crime scene.
"The blood? Yeah," Addy scoffed. "If you didn't notice, it covers the entire floor–" she was cut off by Stiles before she could finish her sarcastic remark. It probably wasn't the most appropriate time for it, but it just slipped out.
"Do you see where it leads?"
Getting a better look, the three saw that it was leading towards something beneath the fallen metal lockers. Scott nodded and attempted to lift the heavy metal. With several grunts and one concerned look later, the true alpha was unable to lift it up.
Stiles and Addy shared a look before going to opposite sides and helping him out. With Scott barely able to lift it and Stiles being Stiles, they had trouble. But Addy, without even trying at all, lifted it with so much ease that she nearly tipped it the other way. She looked shocked at her sudden change in strength.
The two boys looked at her with wide eyes.
"Uh, how about I go down first?" she changed the subject. They looked between each other before hesitantly nodding. Addy jumped down the last step of the ladder and wiped her hands on her pants. Scott was down next, with Stiles following.
"There's something wrong with me," she spoke up after a few completely silent minutes. The seniors stopped walking and looked back at her. If there was a time to tell them how she was feeling, it was now after they saw what she could do. "I thought it was because I died, but that's not it. I feel different now, almost like I'm more in control."
"But you were in control before, weren't you?" Scott raised an eyebrow.
"Not like this," Addy shook her head. She stuck her palm out, and with barely any concentration, lit it up. Normally, the flame would be no taller than four inches. She had tried to make it bigger before, but it never worked. But now, the flames were overpowering and engulfed her hand, going up nearly ten inches. The heat was so intense the boys had to take a step back. Addy closed her fist, bringing the flame down with it.
"That's new. That's definitely new." Stiles vigorously nodded.
"You said this happened after you were, uh, brought back?" Addy opened her mouth to answer when something on the floor caught her attention. Because of her new trick, Stiles dropped the light, and in its beam, she could see something almost like black smoke. She pushed past them and grabbed the light, following the trail.
It led to the end of the tunnel, where words were scribbled across the floor in the mercury – at least she assumed it was mercury since the Dread Doctors had a particular liking for the substance. "What does that say?"
"I don't know. Here, hold the light up so I can get a picture." Addy passed the flashlight over to Scott. As he grabbed it, she could have sworn she heard something. She ignored the alpha's mumbles of holding the light up, but her head snapped to the right when she heard a hiss.
Stiles had managed to get cut with kanima venom and laid helplessly on the cold ground. The only kanima Addy knew was Tracy. Liam had been right; the chimeras were being brought back. She just wasn't sure how they were or who was doing it but she had a pretty good suspicion who.
"Scott!" Addy panicked. She went to go help him, but yet another chimera jumped ahead of her. She took a step back, surprised by his sudden appearance. Addy shook off her shock and raised her sword. Even fighting, she felt stronger. It was like every fighting movie Brayden made her watch had downloaded into her brain. She had every trick, tip, and skill in the back of her brain.
The creature in front of her lit up with sparks, but she retaliated with fire. She didn't want to hurt him. Just because Theo weaseled his way into his head didn't mean he was bad. She glanced between him and her sword before letting it dissolve in her hand, but she still kept her shield close.
It didn't matter how many times she fought: she would never get over the fact that two fully functional weapons could be created with fire and used like regular pieces of metal. It was so mind blowing.
The teen in front of her showed off his teeth, which were super long and sharp. He charged at her, throwing punches left and right, but Addy managed to dodge all of them. Her new found skills came in handy. He seemed to be getting frustrated and tackled her to the ground. The fire didn't seem to bother him, or he just didn't care.
"Scott!" Addy shouted. She could see him over the guy's shoulder. He seemed to get the hint, and with pure luck, they managed to take both of them down. Addison pushed the guy off with her legs, right into Tracy's claws. While she was shocked from the electricity, he was paralyzed with her venom.
Addy composed herself, jumping up and pointing her sword at the two laying on the ground. Scott looked over at the wall and growled. Corey appeared, the look on his face being pure terror. He didn't want to be there, and it was no doubt the chimera's new 'alpha' was there too.
"Okay!" Of course Theo stepped out from the shadows. Addy glared at him. He noticed the writing on the floor, and with tremendous strength, stomped down on the segment and cracked it, destroying the one piece of evidence they had to figure out what that thing was. "So maybe they're not strong enough to take on Addy and an alpha, especially one that can smell fear." He looked over at Corey.
"He's got fangs, and she's literally on fire," he defended himself. Addy smirked and looked over at Theo, biting the air.
"Cute." Addy joked, making a snarly face at him. She hated him even more after their last encounter. He smirked back. "What did you do?"
"I found a new pack. I don't take rejection well," Theo explained. For some reason she wasn't fazed by the fact that they were brought back to life. Maybe it was because she went through the same thing once upon a time. Tracy and Corey helped the paralyzed kid up and out to where they came from.
"Hey Theo," Stiles feigned excitement from his spot on the ground.
"Stiles," he acknowledged. "You're gonna leave here thinking that you need to worry about me, but you're wrong. We're actually on the same side again. Because that thing: that's what we need to worry about, your pack and mine. We're gonna go back to school and pretend like everything's alright, but at night we're gonna be fighting for our lives."
"What is that thing?"
Theo shook his head. "It's not a chimera."
"But it's just a kid underneath," Addy said. She moved over when she noticed Theo looking down at Stiles, standing between them in case he tried something.
"Not anymore," Theo finished. He left to where the rest of his pack went off.
Addy furrowed her eyebrows. If they were brought back, couldn't Hayden be too? Liam would know by then. He had to. What would he do when he saw her? Addy knew he had feelings for her. She just didn't know if they were platonic or romantic or whatever. Scott clamped his hand on her shoulder when he heard her heart start to race. "You good?"
"I don't know anymore." She let out a shaky breath before helping sit Stiles up against the wall. With some mumbling and grumbling, she managed to get him up. The two sat beside him on either side.
"He knew what it meant and I can't remember the words."
"Damnatio memoraie," Addy answered. "It means condemnation of memory." She paused, realizing what she just stated. "Why do I know that? I don't know Latin."
The boys sitting down looked up at her weirdly. There was definitely something up with her. Addy pouted and thought about where she could have heard that. "I think it also means that whatever the Dread Doctors created – whatever the last chimera really is – it's not something new. It's something old, really old," Stiles continued on for her.
"So they didn't create a new creature. They resurrected one," Scott finished. He drew a little circle in the dirt while Addy was pacing around. "We need help. If Theo's got his own pack now, then we need ours. We have to get the others back."
"The others?" Stiles questioned. "You mean Kira, who's currently battling a homicidal fox spirt inside of her; Malia, who isn't even talking to either of us; Lydia, who's stuck in Eichen House; and Liam, who almost killed you?"
"Also known as our best friends." Scott half smiled.
"So what you're saying is we're all messed up? Because I couldn't agree more with that," Addy muttered, kicking up a pile of dust that was in front of her. She couldn't believe how much their lives had changed in a matter of days. They had lost all of their friends and a new deadly threat was hanging above their heads. "How do we get them back?"
"One by one," Scott answered. A beep from her phone distracted Addy. It was another text from Mason. She looked up at Scott, and then stood up and left them to see what it was.
'Liam's going to apologize to you and Scott. Just thought I'd give you a heads up'
'Thanks Mason. For everything'
She needed the warning. She needed to figure out what she was going to say to Liam. Or at least prepare for what he was going to say to her. It was going to be thoughts that kept her up all night once more. She had no doubt about that. Addy smiled when she saw the two best friends walking towards her. She wrapped her arm around Stiles' waist to help him walk, the effects of the venom just barely wearing off.
"I still hate that tattoo," Stiles muttered.
"I know."
"Hey, I like it." Addy chuckled. "It saved his life, you know."
"You mean I saved his life? Right after you were about to kill him?" Stiles looked down at her. She let her hand heat up, not enough to burn him, but it was more heat that she expected. "Ow! Stop that."
"Guys."
"Sorry."
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Word count: 3643
September 5, 2016
What up
I fucking watched the entire season of containment and it was wonderful and Jake Riley is my smol bean.