[eighteen]
riddled
ALEX'S EYEBROWS FURROWED, despite them being closed tightly. She was sitting down against a pole, her knees to her chest, and a rope tied around her torso tightly, her head hung low.
She was wearing only what she wore to bed. Shorts, and a grey, oversized tee shirt. She had goosebumps on her arms and legs and was slightly trembling, however, the girl didn't feel it, as she was unconscious.
"Alex?" Stiles whispered, his voice shaky and tears streaming down his face. He had just called Scott and told him, as best he could manage, about what was going on. Stiles had hardly any idea himself.
He was freezing too. He knew if him and Alex didn't get out of wherever they were soon, then they'd freeze to death.
It was the coldest night of the year, and being in some kind of industrial basement didn't help the fact that they could possibly get hypothermia. In fact, it made the chances worse.
"Alex?!" His voice rose as he became panicked. He glanced at his leg, wondering why it felt numb, and why there was a warm substance running down his ankle.
He shone his phone flashlight on it. Stiles yelled at the sight of an animal trap on his ankle. The warm substance was his own blood, which was coating his ankle and his foot. More tears streamed down his face at the pain.
He glanced at Alex again. She was a few meters away from him, so he couldn't get to her. He scanned her body, making sure she wasn't hurt. To Stiles' relief, she wasn't injured.
Before he could try to crawl over to her, despite the constricting trap on his leg, he heard a noise.
"Who's there?" Stiles asked shakily as he sniffled, shining his phone flashlight in the direction of the noise. "I know you're there, I can hear you."
More tears began to stream down his face as he released a shaky breath. Stiles heard another noise, the boy shining his phone flashlight in the direction of it.
A figure came into view. The figure was hunched over, its back facing Stiles. It finished writing the number five on the wall backwards, dropping the chalk on the floor. The figure's head was covered by mummy wrappings, as well as its hands. Suddenly it disappeared.
"Self." Stiles whispered as the number faded away. He then glanced at his phone. "No, come on."
He then placed his phone down, his hands trembling as he tried to pull the trap off his leg. Stiles yelled in pain at the attempt, the trap only digging into his ankle more.
The mummy wrapped figure began to pace around, revealing his mouth as it faced Stiles, still pacing around. It had metal teeth, all of them sharp as knives.
"Who's there?" Stiles asked in a normal tone. His voice rose as he became more panicked. "Who are you?!"
The figure began speaking in Japanese.
"What?" Stiles released a shaky breath.
The creature continued to speak in Japanese.
"I don't- I don't understand." Stiles spoke, releasing nervous breaths. "What did you do to Alex?"
"She's only unconscious." The creature's raspy voice replied as it crouched down beside Alex's body. It tucked some of her hair behind her ear, stroking her cheek with the back of its wrapped hand.
"Don't touch her!" Stiles yelled.
"She won't get physically hurt. She's on our team now." The creature spoke as it stood up again, beginning to pace around like it was doing before.
"Physically? Our?" Stiles sniffled, releasing small breaths, his voice quiet. His tone rose. "Who are you?!"
"Not who are you, Stiles. Who are we." The creature responded menacingly. "It's getting colder, Stiles. Did you notice that we've stopped shivering? We, including Alex."
Stiles glanced at Alex to find her goosebumps gone. She wasn't trembling either.
"Do you know why that's a bad sign?" The creature continued.
"It's the body trying to conserve energy." Stiles responded, his voice still shaky as he released breaths. "It was my fifth grade science report. Hypothermia."
"Our speech is starting to thicken." The creature spoke. "Then comes fatigue. Confusion. We're going to die if we don't get out of here. All of us." It whispered the last part.
"Stop saying that. Stop saying 'we'." Stiles spoke, glaring at the creature.
"We're trying to keep you and Alex from freezing to death." The creature replied. "You better get up Stiles. You better get up and save Alex."
"How, there's a freaking steel-jawed trap on my leg!" Stiles exclaimed loudly as tears stung his eyes once again.
"Is there?" The creature whispered as Stiles began to sob. "Notice something different?" Stiles noticed how the trap was now on his left leg, rather than his right. "It was on your right leg before, wasn't it?"
"No- no..." Stiles spoke quietly.
"Are you sure?" The creature asked in a whisper.
"What is this?" Stiles glared at the creature as he sniffled. "What are you doing?"
"We're trying to save you, Stiles. We're trying to save your life." The creature responded as it glanced at Alex. "Yours and Alex's."
••••
The creature finished drawing another backwards five on the wall. "You don't understand, do you? It's a riddle. Do you know any riddles, Stiles?"
"A few." Stiles responded weakly, the boy starting to lose energy. He glanced at Alex, making sure she was okay. She was still unconscious.
"What gets bigger, the more you take away?" The creature asked.
"A hole." Stiles replied quietly.
"What gets wetter, the more it dries?" The creature continued.
"A towel." Stiles sniffled.
"When is a door, not a door?" The creature spoke.
"When it's ajar." Stiles replied in a whisper as he exhaled a shaky breath.
"Everyone has it, but no one can lose it." The creature carried on. "What is it?"
"I don't..." Stiles whispered, not being able to finish his sentence.
The creature exhaled deeply, Stiles beginning to shiver. "Everyone has it, but no one can lose it. What is it, Stiles?"
"I don't- I don't know." Stiles replied as he shut his eyes tightly, tears slipping down his cheeks.
"Everyone has it, but no one can lose it." The creature whispered again.
Stiles' eyes were still tightly closed, the boy trembling. The creature walked closer to Stiles and started speaking in Japanese again.
"I don't know." Stiles replied, the creature growling in his face, Stiles shuddering and releasing a few breaths, turning to face Alex.
The creature grabbed the trap attached to Stiles' ankle, sliding Stiles across the floor. It untied Alex on the way, dragging her by the foot as it continued to drag Stiles, Alex's back dragging on the ground.
Stiles yelled. "No! No! No, wait!" He yelled again as he turned on his back. "Wait! Wait!"
••••
Melissa yelled over Stiles' yelling, trying to calm him down as he was thrashing in her arms.
Alex sniffled as she watched the scene, wrapping Rafe's oversized jacket around her body tighter.
Usually she wouldn't wear Rafe's jacket, let alone allow him to save her, but she was trembling and freezing her ass off, and the jacket was warming her up.
Alex woke up awhile ago. Melissa was comforting the girl until they found Stiles a few meters further in the woods.
"Wait! Wait!" Stiles continued to yell. "Alex! Alex!"
"Stiles!" Melissa exclaimed. "Stiles! You're safe! It's okay!"
Alex ran over to Stiles and helped Melissa calm him down as he was still thrashing around in her arms. "Stiles! I'm here! I'm here! You're okay! We're okay!"
Stiles slowly calmed down at the sound of Alex's voice as he glanced at her, inhaling deep breaths.
"Stiles, you're alright. You both are." Melissa spoke calmly as Stiles glanced from Melissa, Alex, and Rafe, still releasing breaths.
••••
Alex and Stiles were both in the hospital, sleeping in the same room, as Stiles had insisted he needed Alex with him after the event that just occurred.
Alex needed Stiles too, so she helped to convince the nurses the two needed to be together, although, Alex was sleeping in a wheel-in bed, while she let Stiles sleep in the more comfortable hospital bed.
Lydia had brought Alex one of her warm sweaters to wear, and had asked one of the nurses to give it to her. Melissa had also stopped by Alex's place to get her some spare clothes for when she woke up. The McCall's had a spare key to Alex's house, as did the Stilinski's.
"They're sleeping now." Noah spoke as he approached Lydia, Scott, Melissa, and Rafe. Noah handed Rafe his jacket back, as Alex was now wearing Lydia's sweater. "They convinced the nurses to let them sleep in the same room. Alex is on a wheel-in bed, she let Stiles sleep in the hospital bed."
Scott and Lydia slightly smiled at the words.
"They're just fine." Noah added, everyone releasing relieved breaths. "They don't remember much. It's a bit like a dream to them." He glanced at Rafe. "Thank you."
"It was that repellent we sprayed in the coyote den to keep other animals out." Rafe explained. "I couldn't go near it without my eyes watering. It's just a good thing Stiles mentioned it over the phone."
"No, it was more than that." Noah responded. "Thank you. For finding my son, and the daughter I never had." He glanced at Melissa, knowing she also classified Alex as the daughter she never had.
"It was a lucky connection." Rafe replied.
"McCall, can you shut up please, and accept my sincerest gratitude?" Noah asked with a frown.
Rafe paused before holding out his hand for Noah to shake. "Accepted." Noah shook his hand.
"Alright, you two, you've got school in less than six hours." Melissa spoke, changing the subject as she faced Lydia and Scott. "Go home, go to sleep."
••••
Alex crossed her arms as she nervously waited for the results for Stiles' brain scan to come in. She was on the other side of the window, along with the doctor, Noah, and Melissa.
Her head began to ache, and she whispered to herself. "Not now, fuck..."
She closed her eyes tightly, letting out a shaky breath as she tried not to let out a wince and alarm Melissa and Noah, or even the doctor.
Stiles and Alex both opened their eyes, being faced with a cloudy, more blurry version of the room Stiles was doing the brain scan in. They glanced at each other in confusion.
"Have you figured out my riddle yet?" The creature, known now as the Nogitsune, asked, Stiles and Alex whipping their heads around to face it. "If you answer correctly, we might consider letting them go."
"Letting who go?" Stiles released a shaky breath.
"Your friends." The creature whispered, gesturing to Noah and Melissa. "Your family."
"Everyone who ever meant something to you. Both of you We're going to destroy all of them, Stiles and Alex. One by one." The Nogitsune continued, tears slipping from both Alex and Stiles' eyes at the words.
"Why?" Alex whispered shakily.
"Everyone has it, but no one can lose it." The Nogitsune responded, glancing at Stiles. "What is it?"
"Everyone has it, but no one can lose it." The Nogitsune repeated. "What is it?"
Alex released a nervous breath, more tears slipping down her cheeks.
"I don't know." Stiles whispered.
Alex didn't know the answer either.
"Everyone has it, but no one can lose it!" The Nogitsune growled, unwrapping it's head wrappings, Stiles and Alex turning around and not facing it. "What is it?!"
Stiles covered his ears as him and Alex closed their eyes tightly.
"What is it?!" The Nogitsune growled louder.
"I don't know!" Stiles yelled. He slowly removed his hands from his ears as him and Alex opened their eyes in realisation.
"What is it?" The Nogitsune questioned.
"A shadow." Alex and Stiles spoke at the same time, turning to face the Nogitsune, only to find another version of Stiles. A void version.
Void Stiles smirked.
Alex and Stiles both opened their eyes slowly, the two fully void now.
The lights flashed on and off as Alex slipped out of the room when Melissa, Noah, and the doctor weren't watching.
Stiles used the brief power outage to leave the room quickly.
The lights flickered on again.
"What was that?" Melissa frowned.
"It sounded like a power surge." The doctor responded.
"Where's Alex?" Noah frowned as he glanced around the room, no sign of Alex anywhere. He then glanced in the window, Stiles not being found anywhere either. "Where's my son?"
••••
Stiles tied up his shoelaces, Alex shrugging on her jacket. The two smirked at each other as they walked out of a hospital room.
They noticed Kira's mother, Noshiko, in the elevator, and walked closer to her, stopping a fair distance away.
"You know me." Noshiko spoke. "Then you remember that I won't be deterred by your choice of hosts. Even if they are two innocent teenagers."
"Are you threatening us?" Stiles asked with a smirk.
"Bad idea, Noshiko." Alex added, the corners of her lips twisting upwards tauntingly.
Two Oni appeared behind Noshiko, Alex and Stiles raising their eyebrows in amusement.
"Now I'm threatening you." Noshiko responded confidently.
"We're not really afraid of your little fireflies." Stiles spoke as Alex smirked. Stiles began to walk away. "Come on, Alex." Alex began to follow him at the words.
"If the Oni can't defeat you, I know someone who will." Noshiko spoke, stopping the pair.
••••
a/n:
fuckkkk void stiles is so hot. like literally can he just- nvm, we're not gonna go into detail, although feel free to imagine if you really want to...
anyways...as always, thank you all for reading, voting, and commenting, I love youuu 💜💜
—voidelmslie 💌✨