The rest of the gang were marked with the self symbol, meaning that none of them were the dark kitsune. Apparently Riley learned from Allison who learned from her father that they only seek supernatural, so Olivia and Stiles weren't going to be targeted, thank God. It was a terrifying experience for Riley, and she still had the chills a week later.
Surprisingly, for once in her recent few months of life, Isaac actually invited her over to help her combat the trauma she received from the mark, knowing how to deal with it since he was the first to get it. She also had no protection from Emma either, so she was way more vulnerable than the rest of them. He just wanted to make sure that she was alright, after all that had happened. It was really brave of her to stand up to that thing after it went for Aiden, but it also confused him; as far as everyone knew, she hated Aiden for what he and his brother had done to Boyd and indirectly to Olivia. He didn't understand why she saved him.
By the time Riley had realized what the time was (her and Isaac had spent so much time cheering each other up and reminiscing about their lives), it was too late for her to go back home. She was too tired to drive, and Isaac was too.
"You're welcome to sleep here. I'll sleep on the sofa." Isaac smiled, giving her a hug goodnight and heading over to the small couch in the corner of the guest room in Scott's house. Riley felt bad, she had to admit, but after just acquiring the knowledge and that he and Allison are actually unofficially a thing, she didn't want her to get the wrong idea. Isaac and her have been best friends for ages anyway, so Allison couldn't assume anything was going on. Besides, everyone thought Riley and Stiles were a thing, which most certainly was not true.
During the night, Scott had called out across the hall in a panic, forcing Isaac and Riley out of the room and into his, as they stared at him angrily. Well, Riley was, Isaac just seemed worried.
"Something's wrong with Stiles." Scott hurriedly said, throwing on a long sleeved shirt over his singlet for extra warmth. Riley instantly perked up at his words; what's wrong with Stiles?
"What's wrong with him?" She asked, now wide awake. Scott looked panicked, checking his phone again before looking up at her.
"I don't know." He replied hastily, and Riley ran back to the room to put her bra on under her shirt and throw her jacket on. She hated to wear bras to bed, and being at Scott's house was no exception.
"We gotta find him." Scott rushed, as he stood by the door, fidgeting, while he waited for the two to get ready.
"He's lost? Where is he?" Isaac asked, pulling on his jeans over his boxers and grabbing a jumper as well. What a dumb question.
Scott shrugged his shoulders and turned down the hall, the other two following closely behind him as Riley struggled to slip her shoes on while walking. She decided to tie them in the car. They reached the bottom of the stairs and Scott's phone vibrated in his pocket. He dropped his bike helmet onto the ground and answered it, as Riley took a peak at the Caller ID. Stiles. Before he could say anything, Riley snatched it out of his hands and held it up to her ear, a million worried wrinkles forming on her face.
"Stiles? Stiles where are you?" She asked hurriedly, as the two boys crowded around her.
"Basement... Some kind of basement..." He whispered and God, he sounded mortified. Riley had never heard Stiles this scared before.
"What kind of basement? Like a house?" She asked again, wanting to squeeze every detail from him.
"No, it's bigger... Industrial. Please find me, it's so cold in here. I'm freezing." He whispered hoarsely, and Riley could practically hear his teeth chattering.
"We're coming to find you okay? Don't move." She stated, and heard him whimper.
"I gotta go, the phone's gonna die..." He whispered again, and Riley realized something off about him.
"Wait, Stiles... Why are you whispering?" She asked, staring at Scott worriedly. His breathing grew rapid and he cupped the phone with his other hand.
"Because I think there's someone else in here with me." He whispered, and the line went dead. Riley's eyes glazed over, the horror sinking in. They might not find him in time. Scott said that Stiles' leg was bleeding for some reason. What if he bled out before they could get to him? What if there really was someone else in there and they weren't friendly? What if something was playing with his mind... Something bad...
Something like the nogitsune.
"We're going to his house. That's where we start." Scott stated, and the three rushed outside and took Riley's car down to his house. Her hands were shaking on the wheel so much that she had to grip it tightly so they wouldn't notice. Her knuckles went as white as her face. Scott broke the door lock and the three climbed the steps in Stiles' house and were met with Lydia and Aiden in his room.
"Did he call you too?" Scott asked, and Lydia shook her head.
"I heard him." She replied ghostly, and it only made Riley feel worse. Lydia can foreshadow death, and if she can hear Stiles, then does that mean that Stiles was going to...? She couldn't think about it; it was too possible. Just as Riley took a breath in to speak, Aiden stopped her.
"Don't ask. It gets confusing when you ask." He interrupted, and Lydia rolled her eyes.
"Not as confusing as this." She replied, turning to Stiles's bed. It had a pair of scissors stabbed into it with hundreds of lines of red string tied to the handles, leading off to various parts of the walls that had numerous pictures all over them. "He uses red for unsolved cases." She informed, seeing that red was the only colour there.
"Maybe he thinks he's an unsolved case." Aiden suggested, and Isaac's eyes widened.
"Maybe he is an unsolved case." He said, and Lydia shook her head.
"Hold on, is he still out there?" She asked suddenly, and the two looked at each other while Riley stared at the scissors stuck in his bed. Why would he do something like that? "You don't know where he is?"
"He said that he's in an industrial basement. We came here to get a better scent so we can find him." Scott explained, as Riley continued to look around the room. She'd only been in there a few times, but every time she was in there it felt nice. She only thought about one thing, but it consumed her; she hardly listened to the conversation happening in front of her.
"What else did he say?" She asked worriedly, and Riley looked at her with her arms crossed.
"His leg is bleeding and he's freezing, which is why we need to act fast." She pushed, looking around the room for something that might have a strong scent. What would have a strong scent? T-shirts, socks, underwear... She doubted that any of them wanted to smell either of the last two options, so she quietly looked around for the first one.
"What did his dad say?" Lydia asked again, and Scott looked sheepish.
"We didn't tell him. Stiles promised me not to." Scott argued, and while Riley's hands were in one of Stiles's drawers, she continued for him.
"Scent is the way to go. He was sleepwalking, he couldn't have gone far, right?"
"Didn't you notice that his Jeep isn't the driveway?" Aiden recalled, and Riley stiffened. She turned towards him, fire burning in her eyes.
"You don't have to be so sarcastic, you know. I didn't have to save you back at that party." She snapped, feeling double the anger towards the werewolf as she recalled all of the petty things he had done. "I don't even know why I did that, I should have left that Oni to stab you to --"
"Riley." Scott warned, and she glared at him, her eyes gleaming a bright light silver. His expression softened, as he reached out and grabbed his shoulders. "We're here to find Stiles, not to fight. Please, calm down."
Riley slowly calmed down, feeling the effects of the immense hatred she felt towards Aiden wear off, and her dull brown eyes returned.
"Look, you promised Stiles not to call his dad, but I didn't." Lydia argued, taking her phone out and dialling his number,
"No Lydia, please. I can get help from Derek and Allison --"
"Everyone except for the cops, great idea!"
"You guys do remember that she only gets these feelings when someone's about to die, right?" Aiden said loudly, on the verge of snapping. Everyone tensed up as they realized the severity of the situation.
"Look. Don't call his dad. We're five minutes from the station." Scott muttered, and turned to leave the room.
"Go ahead, we'll stay. There is something here, I can feel it." Lydia urged, and Isaac and Scott slowly nodded. "Go."
"We'll call you if anything comes up." Scott replied, taking Riley and Isaac with him. Before they left however, Riley was sure to grab a shirt of Stiles's she found underneath the sheets of his bed.
The three arrived at the police station in under five minutes (due to Riley's intense speeding) and jumped out, rushing to the entrance where they were ready to tell Sheriff the news. The sheriff spotted them and immediately knew that something was off. The trio walked up to him and Scott told him the bad news.
Riley looked up at the officer standing next to Stilinski, and read his name tag; Parrish. Something overcame her, but she didn't know what it was. She continued to stare at him until Scott, Isaac and the sheriff excused themselves into his office. Just before Parrish could leave, she grabbed his arm and looked into his eyes.
She saw something alive in there, deep inside. It looked like fire.
"Sorry, can I help you?" He asked uneasily, carefully unhooking her grip from his arm. He frowned at her, in some sort of familiarity. He had an uneasy feeling too, but he didn't know why. After some more staring, Riley snapped out of her strange trance and blushed.
"Sorry, no. I thought... I thought you were someone I knew." She covered, rubbing her arm in embarrassment. He nodded and slowly walked away. The place where Riley touched him was burning as he rubbed it.
She quickly entered the office and shut the door behind her, still thinking of the fire in that man's eyes.
"You," He pointed at Riley, and she looked up in fear. She had no idea what he was going to say; did he know about her and Stiles? Did someone tell him? She suddenly felt very uncomfortable and embarrassed to be around him. "You found the Nemeton, didn't you?" He asked curiously, and she nodded; thank God.
"Emma did, not me." Riley corrected, not wanting to take the credit for doing something she didn't.
"Do you think Emma could..."
"Doesn't work like that, I'm sorry. He's not supernatural. If it did work like that, believe me I would try so hard." Riley interrupted, crossing her arms as she stood up from the desk. She turned to Scott, who looked like he was thinking about something worrying. Who wasn't?
"Did you call Derek and Allison?" She asked, and he nodded back to her.
"Can't you find him by scent?" Sheriff asked desperately. But before anyone could answer, and before Riley could pull the t-shirt out of her jacket pocket, Parrish knocked on the door and let himself in.
"Found it sir. Found the Jeep."