"I remember it so vividly. I mean, every time I close my eyes, even if I just blink, I see it all over again. I see them, and I feel the pain all over again. It's the worst pain anyone could ever imagine. Just, just imagine being burned alive, over and over again; that's how I felt. Just constant fire.
"I suppose that's what they were meaning to do: to get immune to the fire. They had to get me used to it, and I guess that's how they decided to do it. You know those frogs? The poisonous ones? They can withstand their own poison because they're immune to it. I think that's how they were thinking.
"And after all that was over, a whole different kind of pain was endured. There were needles after needles that were being poked and prodded into my skin. Each one giving me – I don't really know how to explain it – it was like an acid. Yeah, that's it, like a corrosive acid was spilt on your skin, but they were injecting it into my blood stream. It probably wasn't acid, but that's what it felt like.
"They had these restraints. I guess they were iron, otherwise I would have broken straight through them. I pulled and pulled on them trying to get away from them and out of the horrible place, but each time my skin touched them, they burned. I remember getting a glimpse at my arms, and they were red, and raw, and bleeding. They burned my skin so badly that I could physically see the bone because all the skin and muscles were burned away.
"It was the grossest thing that I had ever seen, and it took me a few moments to realize that that was me. It was just me, not me seeing a picture of someone else, I was the one in that situation. It wasn't a tv show or anything, no that was real. I cried even more as the pain registered in my mind. If I recall, I actually puked all over the one Dread Doctor. He – it, whatever the hell they are, they were – when it leaned over to inject me with something else, I couldn't stop myself, and I just vomited all over it.
"The surgeon – that was the one – it hovered right over me. The lifeless eyes that could barely been seen behind the mask stared right at me, right into my soul. It was like all the oxygen in my lungs was suddenly pulled out, and I felt like I was suffocating. I thought I was going to die, right then and there. I also thought that maybe that would be the better option anyway. But all it did was set down the syringe and it left the room, the other two following behind it.
"It gave me a few minutes to recover. I tried to assess all the damage they had done. My neck was raw and swollen. I couldn't count how many shots they gave me. Apparently none of them were right, because they kept injecting ones a little different each time.
"I screamed and screamed for help. My throat was dry from how much I was screaming, both from pain and in hopes someone would find me. And someone did: a boy named Theo. He was two years older than me. I was ten, almost eleven, and he was thirteen. He looked so innocent back then. I know he wasn't. He was old enough to understand what was going on.
"He came over to me, and he didn't say anything, but he stood by my side and just stared. I yelled and pleaded for him to help me out, but he just stared. And that's when they came back: the loud steps of their heavy black boots on the cement. Theo didn't run. He didn't hide. He just stepped back and watched them work. He left when my screams got too loud for him.
"I passed out after that. When I woke up, I was somewhere else, somewhere completely different. My head was pounding, and my legs were as wobbly as a new born. I could barely stand up, and even if I could get up, it wasn't much use. The room was pitch black in there. I almost had a heart attack when the florescent light flipped on.
"That same boy showed up. He was dressed differently, and I assumed it was a new day. He still didn't say anything, but he helped me walk to one of the benches pressed up against the wall. The shirt I wore was bloody, ripped, and drenched in sweat. It was barely being held together. But Theo, he unzipped his sweater and handed it over to me.
"I thanked him.
"'My name's Theo.' His voice was quiet, almost like he was afraid to speak. I guess I would have been too. Those guys, the Dread Doctors, they were scary. I can't count the amount of nights they invaded my dreams.
"I asked him why he was there. More importantly, I asked why he was helping them. He was watching them torture me, and of course, I had no idea why they were doing it. To me, it was just a bunch of psychopaths in creepy costumes. I had no idea they were hundred year old scientists that wanted to create the perfect monster.
"'They're making me my own pack,' Theo answered. I could barely understand him he was so quiet. There was no reason for me to trust him, or talk to him, but I wanted to hear what he had to say. 'They want to make people strong.'
"'I don't feel strong. I don't want to feel strong if I have to go through that.' Any sane person would deny the choice to be strong if they witnessed what I was going through. I didn't want it. I didn't want any of the powers they gave me. I didn't have a choice. I was taken in the night and tested on.
"'I promise I'll keep you safe after all this is over, okay?' And I believed him. I believed every word he said. I guess that's why I trusted him first when he came back to Beacon Hills. There was a small part of me that remembered him, and trusted him.
"I think that he developed feelings for me over the time that I was trapped there. I can remember him always peeking his head around the corner with a frown on his face, but there wasn't anything he could do to stop them. That is, if he even wanted to. Theo was a strange character, and I don't know if I should have felt special that a cute older guy had a crush on me or creeped out. Now I know that it was definitely the latter. Theo was a psychopath. He craved power and killed to get it.
"The Dread Doctors came back for me again. Theo told me it was going to be okay, that they were almost done. I still backed away. I tried running, but with every turn I made, one of them would appear in front of me. I was still weak and could barely run a hundred meters without almost collapsing, but they caught me. I was pushed down to my knees as the last and final injection was placed into my neck.
"Um, you know those dreams? They call them out of body experiences – lucid dreaming – and you can see yourself sleeping. Well, that's what this felt like. Getting my memories back, I could see everything happen from another point of view. There were flashes of being myself, but all the pain I felt before, I felt it again. Deaton said that I wouldn't feel the pain, but I did. Maybe not in literal time, but in the time the memory was.
"That doesn't really make any sense, but I can't think of any other way to explain it. I guess it was like an aftershock, the feeling after it happened.
"I woke up at home that night. Actually, I woke up from what felt like a nightmare. Everything that happened, I couldn't remember it, any of it. I woke up and went to the bathroom. As soon as I flicked the light on, the first thing I noticed were my eyes. They were this bright peach color. I thought I was just freaking out at first, but no they were peach, not brown.
"I didn't think much of it that night. The next day, me and my mom–mother, we fought. I was so mad, and I ran up to my room, and I was in such a rush I hit my door. I broke my arm, but I was so mad that I just sat there. Seconds turned into minutes, and soon enough, the pain was gone and my arm was healed. I was completely amazed.
"I researched for years, and nothing came up. I didn't learn anything until Scott McCall came into my life. Everything changed freshman year, but that's a story for another day. I started getting my powers that year. The more I fought against everything and anything that was trying to kill me, the stronger I got.
"I had no idea why they only started up so late. It was three years ago when I noticed my eyes, three years ago they experimented on me. Turns out, they thought I was going to be a failure. They kept an eye on me, but through the years, I didn't die like they expected. So rather than letting me go to waste, the Dread Doctors filled me up with more shots.
"It worked that time I guess. There was a night, a few days before second semester started, I didn't think much of it actually. In fact I forgot about it until tonight. I just thought it was something that I ate or whatever. But no, they took me into their lab one more time. I didn't remember it, any of it.
"Until I saw him. Theo was still with them. I couldn't remember his name or where I knew him from, but I knew he was familiar. He was older, much more grown up, but he watched me with so much curiosity. My wrists were bloody and blistered from those restraints again, and Theo had come and stood beside me.
"His hand was cold as it wrapped around my arm. All I can remember from him was that he took my pain away. He didn't say anything, just took it, smiled at me, and then left. The Dread Doctors came back in, the Surgeon with a needle. That was the second last shot I would ever get from them.
"I can remember screaming and crying and asking what they were doing to me, and they repeated one word.
"Unleash.
"I still don't know what they mean, and I guess that's why I'm here. Because I think you might know. I remember when you left. You took something from me, not anything physical, but something inside me or a part of me, didn't you? You have the rest of the answers I need, and you're going to give them to me, or I'm going to kill you."
)( * )(
"You're freezing."
Addy laid next to Liam in his bed. It was past the late night hours, nearing three in the morning. He was asleep when she arrived although he tried his hardest to keep his eyes open. A whole day had passed since they had seen each other. There were no calls or texts, but a part of Liam told him not to worry.
She showed up around midnight still wearing the clothes from the day before. Liam ushered her into the shower and with the hot water all the way up, Addy could have stayed in there for hours. Unfortunately, the water got cold quickly, and she was forced to get out. Pajamas were placed into her hands as soon as she stepped out of the bathroom. Everything she was wearing belonged to Liam.
"I know," Addison grumbled and snuggled closer into his chest. The sweater he supplied her with the night before was doing nothing for her coldness, and the foreign feeling was not pleasant. Was that what everyone else was like? It was terrible for her. Addy needed to be warm at all times. She felt weak without the heat. "Warm me up."
"That's new for us, huh?"
"Shut up," she muttered. Addy wrapped her arms tighter around herself. She was frozen, and she hated it. The cold was her worst enemy.
"When you were in the water, you called out for Theo," Liam announced after the girl in his arms was content with the temperature. He had been dying to ask about it since the name had passed her lips. The grip he had on Addy tightened as she turned to face him.
"He was there. He didn't tell me much," she lied. Addison prayed that Liam wasn't listening to her heartbeat because she knew that he would get suspicious if she lied. Then again, it wasn't a full lie. Theo didn't say much when she was there, just more than she was letting Liam know.
Liam nodded his head. The lie was good enough for him. Addy let out a relieved sigh. Thank god.
The clock ticked, and her eyes drooped closed. It was a long day for her, and the next would only be the same. But she wouldn't get her much needed – and wanted – sleep until Liam got enough answers that would suffice until she was ready to spill all her knowledge. Once she finally got every little detail in place and there were no holes in her story, she would tell the pack.
If they wanted to know, that was. Scott and Stiles were antsy to figure it out. Liam texted them while she was showering that she was back and safe, although a little distant. But that was to be expected after learning her whole past. Malia, Lydia, Hayden, and Mason were just concerned for their friend. Kira would be too if she ever came back to Beacon Hills.
"So you talked to him?"
"Yeah. I didn't say much. It was getting late and he promised to meet up with me tomorrow." Addy yawned. "I'll hunt him down if I have to. There's no way he's skipping town again before I get what's mine."
)( * )(
"Don't think I'm not serious. I don't care if you skip town, running way to god knows where again, because I will find you, and I won't hesitate to kill you. I won't feel guilty about it either, because you were gone. You may be my father, but I have no idea who you are.
"I don't know my mom either. I could give less than two fucks about what happened with you guys, because neither of you are my family. My family is my pack and Brayden, that's it. To everyone I know, I don't have parents anymore. I don't know you, and I quite frankly don't care about you.
"Don't, don't say anything. I'm talking, not you, got that? Good.
"You don't have a daughter. Maybe biologically, but I am not your daughter. You are just the man who created me, nothing more. Do you know how much trouble your son – well, not your son, because everyone in his messed up family has lied to him.
"I have my own fair share, maybe a life changing lie, but it was to protect him. I don't know if either of you were thinking in some sick and twisted way that you were protecting me, but you weren't. Nothing could have protected me from that. Not my abilities and powers. Nothing. I deserved to know. Brayden deserved to know. You raised him for six years. He still didn't believe me when I said you aren't his dad.
"I don't know if he's still at home, or if he hightailed it back to college to get away from this stupid family – can we even call it a family anymore? Mother lied, you left, Brayden's gone, and me? Well, I'm angry.
"So, you're going to tell me why you're here, what you took, and why you took it. Got that?"
)( * )(
"You would kill your own dad?"
"He's not my dad," Addy muttered. She reluctantly pulled away from Liam's warm body and sat up cross legged on his bed. There was so much that he didn't know and so much that he needed to learn. Maybe the next night she could explain everything to him and everyone else. She was almost done. Everything was almost back into place.
"It's different. I don't know. Maybe there's a small part of me that could forgive him and we could get that father-daughter relationship, but there's just this part of me that wants to hate him. I mean, I've hated him my whole life. Why would I stop just because he showed up in town?"
"There was a reason he showed up, though. That's why you talked to him." Liam intertwined their fingers and swung their hands back and forth. He brought her hand up to his lips and placed little kisses all over the top of it. Even her hands were cold, like she was still in that ice bath, even though it's been over twenty four hours since.
"Yeah, but like I said, he didn't say much." Addy sighed.
It had taken her forever to find him in the first place, but with the help of Sheriff Stilinski and the remembrance of what vehicle he was driving, she had managed to find where he was staying. It was some fancy hotel on the other side of town. After a little bit of begging and managing to avoid the question of what she was doing, Parrish had driven her over.
It wasn't hard to convince that lady at the front desk that she needed to find her dad and just happened to forget the room number. The worker obviously didn't want to be there and barely even glanced at Addy while mumbling out numbers on the computer screen. She was still drenched in water while knocking on the door.
Michael Ryder had opened the door instantly when he saw his daughter outside. Her attitude had done a one-eighty since the hours before and rather than hugging her father, she had pushed him against the wall with her arm at his throat.
"But you're really willing to kill a human being?"
"That's the thing, Li. He isn't human."
)( * )(
"I'm here because I have something for you.
"Yes, I took something from you, but I had every reason to. I couldn't stay with your mother anymore. I only learned that Brayden wasn't my boy years after it happened. You and him aren't the only victims here. I never lied to you about that, Addy. Your mother kept it from me for years, and I was devastated when I found out.
"It was pretty similar to how you found out actually. You and Brayden were at school, and your mom was at home sick. I came home at my lunch to check up on her, and I could hear her yelling from inside the house. They were so loud that I didn't even have to walk in through the door to hear them.
"'I just want to see my son!'
"'Brayden will never be your son, okay? Everything was a mistake, and you need to leave!'
"Both of us left. I never met that man and I don't think I ever will. It's probably a good thing too, because there's a high chance that I would accidently kill him. I guess there is a little bit of me in you. We're different, Addy, and it's something that I hoped we would never have to bring up. In fact, there was a small part of me that wished we would never see each other again because I knew I would have to explain.
"But I took something from you, because I knew if I didn't take it, then you would hurt someone. I didn't know when, or even if I was coming back, but I knew that I couldn't leave you without any help. There was so much energy in you, Addison, that if you bottled it up and didn't learn to control it, you would kill yourself and everyone you loved.
"As for what it is, that is going to have to be explained another day."
)( * )(
"So you left after that?" Liam sat across from his girlfriend – sort of girlfriend; they still hadn't discussed it yet. Neither of them really cared though, because as long as they were both safe and happy, it was okay.
"Basically," Addy shrugged. He gave her a look, and she sighed before explaining the rest. "I kind of threatened him again, then apologized, and threatened him again. But, I mean, come on, how was I not supposed to? He admitted that he took something from me. There's something about him, Li. I just, I don't trust him."
"Maybe it's because you missed your dad? He left you, Ads. I wouldn't be able to trust him either. But the real question is, do you not trust him because of the family issue, or because there's something supernatural?"
"I don't know." Addy shook her head. "I just, I wonder how different it would be if he stayed? Like, if there is something supernatural about him, would I have grown up like that? What am I supposed to do?"
"Do what you do best–"
"Run?" she joked. Liam glared at her. He pulled her under the sheets, and tightly wrapped his arms around her freezing frame. They faced each other, only inches apart.
"No, you face it." Liam leaned in and kissed her lips. "You face your fears like you've done so many times before, and you get all the answers you want. And then, maybe after that, you'll be able to see him the way you want to. Maybe he can be the father that missed out on your childhood."
"You'll come with me? Tomorrow, I mean."
"I'll go anywhere with you," he promised.
"Anywhere?" Liam nodded. "Even-even out of Beacon Hills? Like, if things go bad again? Would you leave with me?"
Addy saw the look on his face. The one that wanted to say yes, but couldn't. "We can't, no matter how much we want to. Scott, he would–what would he think of us if we left? We protect the people of Beacon Hills because they can't protect themselves. I'll protect you, Addy, with everything I've got, until the end of the line."
)( * )(
Word count: 3810
November 7, 2016
FIRST OFF
I hope you all got my captain American reference at the end
SECOND
lol rip America, good luck tomorrow
THIRD
Young Justice has renewed for a third season and none of you will understand how excited I am like this is my favourite show
FOURTH
THERES LIKE A WEEK UNTIL TEEN WOLF COMES BACK ON