I am not ready to write this episode
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I had taken Malia home after we found the book. There wasn't a lot we could do right now, since we didn't know what we were dealing with.
I had tried to call Stiles when we found the book, but he wasn't answering. I think by the time I had gotten to Malia's house, I had tried to call him at least three times.
When Malia saw how concerned I was, and told me to go to him. I was going to read it with her, but she told me not to worry, and that she would read it tonight and then we'd show the Pack tomorrow.
Thanking her, I got in my car and I drove directly to Stiles' house. I used the spare key Stiles had given me on our anniversary when I got there, not wanting to wake the Sheriff up if he was getting sleep in between shifts.
Walking to his bedroom, I could see the light on beneath the door. There was noise coming from the other side, rough wiping. Opening the door, I saw Stiles at his murder board trying to erase something he had written.
He looked like he had been crying, his hair tousled roughly like he had run his hand through it multiple times.
"Stiles?" I said quietly, not wanting to scare him.
He looked up from the ground, wide-eyed when he saw me standing there. His mouth fell slightly agape, words unable to form.
When he looked like he was going to cry again, I moved further into the room, pushing the murder board to the side so nothing was separating us. "Stiles, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, I just- I need to be alone," he mumbled, taking a step back.
"Stiles-"
"I said I need to be alone, Riley," he said angrily, moving further away.
I reached to him but dropped my hand when he moved further away. "What are you talking about? Did I do something?"
"No. I just- I don't want you here, okay," Stiles responded, his voice verging on shouting.
I bit back a snarky reply, knowing that that wouldn't help the situation.
Pursing my lips I shook my head. "Stiles, you don't have to tell me what's going on, but I'm not leaving you alone. Not like this. So yell at me all you like, but you've seen how stubborn I am, and I'm staying right here."
Stiles was biting his bottom lip in attempts to stop it from quivering, but it didn't help. Moving over to him, he finally didn't back away. I wrapped my arms around him tightly as his body began to tremble.
I don't think I'd ever seen him so shaken by something.
"I don't know what happened between now and when I saw you at the library, but remember that I love you, and I know you'll tell me when you're ready," I told him.
I was hoping that he'd say something, but his phone ringing halted any chance of that. He pulled away from me, taking a rattled breath as he answered his phone.
"Scott?"
I didn't think it was possible, but the expression on Stiles' face fell even more at whatever Scott had said to him. He ran a hand roughly through his already tousled hair, eyes narrowing.
"Yeah. Um. . . hang on, Riley's here. Let me put you on speaker."
Stiles lowered his phone, pressing the speaker button so that I was able to hear.
"Hey, Scott," I said so that he knew we could both hear him now.
"Guys, look. I'm at the Animal Clinic with Kira. Tracy's body is gone," Scott informed us. "The lock on the door was broken from the outside. And my mum just told me Lucas - the one who put that kid Corey in hospital - his body went missing from the morgue. They've been searching the whole hospital for it. Someone's stealing the bodies."
"This can't be good," I sighed.
♧♤♢♡
I did exactly what I said and stayed by Stiles' side for the rest of the night. Stiles tossed and turned the whole night; I wasn't sure he'd even gotten one whole hour of sleep.
Something was really eating away at him. I wished that I knew what it was, but I didn't want to push him. He kept reaching up and touching his shoulder, but I wasn't sure what that had to do with it yet.
When I woke up, he had managed to doze off. Leaving his room quietly, I went down into the kitchen to make him some breakfast. I was worried that in the state he was in he would neglect to eat.
"Good morning, Riley," A voice greeted as I walked into the kitchen.
Sheriff Stilinski was seated at his kitchen table drinking a coffee and reading the newspaper. Apparently, he wasn't doing the early shift today.
I gave him a small wave, "Good morning. Sorry, if you didn't know I was here. It was late when I got here and I just figured Stiles had told you."
The man shook his head. "Stiles was home pretty late too, but when he got here, he just went straight to his room. Did something happen?"
I wasn't sure what it was yet, so I figured it best not to worry the Sheriff. Stiles wouldn't want that.
"I don't think so, Noah. I think we both just lost track of time."
"Right. I'm surprised you kids don't do that more often," he chuckled.
I attempted to laugh, but it sounded rather tired. "Yeah, me too."
I went about making some coffees and toast for Stiles and me. He didn't seem like he'd want a lot to eat, so I figured this would do. The Sheriff had headed out while I was filling the mugs with hot water.
I was planning to bring the food and drinks to Stiles' room, but he was entering the kitchen before I got the chance.
"Hey, how are you?" I asked softly, being careful about how I approached any conversation. I still had no idea what had happened last night.
Stiles took a seat at the counter, nodding but still looking really out of it. "I'm fine."
I placed a plate of toast and a mug of coffee in front of him, my smile falling slightly. "Stiles, you don't have to tell me, but you don't have to pretend either."
He bit his lip as he ran a hand roughly through his hair. "I'll be okay. I'm just not feeling well, that's all. You should go to school."
I grabbed the other plate and mug and sat beside him. "I don't know. I was thinking maybe we could watch some Star Wars?" I suggested with a small shrug.
"Riley, you can't keep missing school. Please go. You mentioned you and Malia found something at Tracy's house. They're going to need your help with that."
"Stiles, you're the smart one," I reminded him.
He put an arm around me, and I could have sworn that he winced. I knew not to push the subject though. I just kept reminding myself that he'd tell me when he is ready.
"I saw your last test scores, so don't try to make out like you'd be no help."
I hesitated, before nodding. "Okay. Then we'll do our own research here."
Stiles seemed to be mauling over the idea, but we both knew he wasn't one to turn down a mystery. "Fine. But you need to stop asking me if I'm okay."
"Deal."
I watched as he picked up the mug of coffee in front of him, taking small sips. I just wished that I knew how to help him.
♧♤♢♡
We got to work trying to find things about the book. I didn't have a copy on me yet, since Scott and Kira were making copies at the school. For now, all Stiles and I had to go on was the name of the book and the author.
So far, all we knew was that T.R McCammon only ever wrote one book, and that was 'The Dread Doctors'. But we were also struggling to find anything at all about the man.
Stiles predicted that it was most likely a pen name, especially if this was based on real events. Maybe it was someone who had lived through this before; someone who was afraid of them. We made sure to text the rest of the Pack as we found things out, trying to keep them updated.
We were scouring the internet trying to find any possible lead on what T.R McCammons real name could be when there was a knock at the front door. I glanced over to Stiles, but he was fully immersed in whatever he was reading at that moment.
Getting up from my laptop, I went and opened the front door. I was shocked to come face to face with Lydia, who was standing with a rather worried look on her face.
"Riley. I tried calling but you didn't answer," she sighed, stepping forward and hugging me.
I welcomed her embrace, putting my arms around her. "Sorry, we were getting really stuck into finding things about this author. What's going on?"
Lydia pulled away, a concerned look on her face. "I asked Malia but she's already said she can't go back, and Scott and Kira are going to meet us there. We need to go to Eichen House."
My breathing slowed at her words, eyes narrowed in question. "Wh-what? You want to go back to Eichen? Why?"
"It's to do with the book," she explained.
"Okay," I nodded. "I need to tell Stiles first, come in."
I stepped back into the house, Lydia following me as we headed to Stiles' room. When I opened the door, the boy looked at me in confusion.
"Hey, who was at the door?"
I stepped aside so that Lydia could walk in. Stiles' brows pulled together in confusion as he saw the strawberry blonde. "Lydia, what's going on?"
"The book we found in Tracy's house was dedicated to Gabriel Valack, and he's in Eichen. I came to ask Riley to come with me."
The crazy guy with the third eye. Awesome.
Stiles shook his head, standing up from his laptop and grabbing his jacket. "No way are you guys going alone. I'm coming with you."
Lydia's eyes narrowed as her head tilted to the side. "I thought you said you were sick?" She questioned.
"Slightly under the weather," he replied.
I put a hand on his arm, getting him to stop. "Stiles, you don't have to come. We can manage."
Lydia nodded, "Malia's not coming either."
"Malia's not going because she knows that that place is a nightmare asylum of insanity and death, okay?" Stiles told us as he put his jacket on. "Let's go."
Stiles winced noticeably as he shrugged his jacket on, a small noise escaping him.
I knew there was something going on with his shoulder. He had been grabbing it; maybe because he had hurt it.
And apparently, Lydia had noticed too, "What was that?"
"What was what?" Stiles asked as he started to zip his jacket up.
"You winced."
"I have a bad elbow."
Lydia gave him a knowing look, crossing her arms. "It was your shoulder."
I wanted to say something, but I promised him I wouldn't keep asking. Plus, it might not have been something he wanted to discuss in front of Lydia.
"Pain radiates. It does that," Stiles responded as he started to walk. When Lydia stepped in his way, he sighed. "You are not going without me. You remember what happened to Deaton when he talked to Valack?"
"Scott and Kira are going to be there."
"Stiles, we'll be fine. You really don't have to come," I told him.
Stiles stepped forward, reinforcing the fact that he wasn't staying behind. "Okay. I'm not letting either of you go to a place where one of you got mind-controlled or whatever, and an orderly almost killed the other."
"Okay, you were literally possessed there, Stiles," I reminded him.
Lydia pointed to him, "And that orderly almost killed you, too."
"And we're all still alive," Stiles nodded. "See? Teamwork."
Stiles walked between Lydia and me and went straight out the door.
"He's so stubborn," I sighed.
Lydia smirked, "And to think, they say opposites attract."
I scoffed, laughing a little as I grabbed my bag and followed Stiles out the door.
♧♤♢♡
The three of us drove straight to Eichen in the Jeep. Scott and Kira were already there when we arrived, leaning against Kira's car waiting for us.
It was late by the time we got there, so we saw no point in stopping to have a group chat. We all knew what was going on anyway, we needed to get in there and speak to Valack.
Scott, Stiles and I stood off to the side while Lydia and Kira were at the gate pressing the buzzer and trying to get us let in. Stiles was leaning against the Jeep and I stood by his side with my head rested on his shoulder.
I made sure that I was on the side that didn't make him wince earlier. He was holding my hand, squeezing it gently. Standing out the front of Eichen was making him nervous, reasonably so.
Scott had noticed also, stepping to stand in front of him. "Are you going to be okay in there?"
"Yeah. Why?" Stiles asked. Apparently, he was the only one who hadn't noticed how different he was acting.
"You just seem a little off."
"I think we're all a little off," Stiles responded, shifting a bit on his feet. I gave his hand a gentle squeeze to remind him that I was right by his side.
"Maybe some of us more than others."
At first, I thought he may have been talking about Stiles until he looked over his shoulder.
"Kira?" I asked. "What happened to Kira?"
Scott turned back, stepping in closer so that she or Lydia wouldn't hear. "When the other Chimera, Lucas, when he came after us, I heard Kira say something in Japanese."
Stiles shrugged, his hand falling from mine as he looked at our friend confused, "Okay, but that doesn't sound too bad."
"She doesn't know any Japanese."
I bit my lip in thought, trying not to stare over at Kira. "That's. . . not normal. But it's not any weirder than anything else in this town."
Scott's eyes fell, "I also think I might have stopped her from killing Lucas."
This caught both of our attention. I looked up to Stiles, but he didn't look back. He just blinked a couple of times, nodding.
"Okay," he said slowly. "Wasn't he trying to kill you, though? I mean, that just sounds like self-defence."
I noticed Stiles reach his hand up to rub the shoulder which had made him wince back at his house. The same one he had been putting his hand to the night Malia and I found the book.
"It was more than that," Scott started to elaborate. "I mean, she nearly took off his head."
"Maybe she had no choice," Stiles defended.
At this, I felt my brow furrow. Sure, fighting back if someone is trying to kill you is reasonable, but taking off their head? Why was Stiles defending that?
"There's gotta be a point where self-defence is justified," Stiles continued. "Tracy killed her own father. And Lucas would have killed you."
"They're not the bad guys. They're the victims," Scott said.
Biting my lip, I met his eye, "Yes, they're victims, and I'm not saying that she should have taken his head off. But, in the end, he was trying to kill you, Scott."
"Riley, we shouldn't be killing the people we're supposed to save."
"I didn't say that," I clarified. I glanced up at Stiles, who was avoiding eye contact with both Scott and me.
I wanted to say something to him, but finally, the gate to Eichen buzzed open. None of us said anything as we walked through the gate.
Anxiety caught me for a moment, causing me to hesitate at the threshold. Stiles, as out of sorts as he seemed, noticed me freezing up.
He held his hand out to me, speaking softly, "Together, just like always."
I took a small breath, before nodding and reaching out to accept his hand. Eichen wasn't a place I ever thought I'd come back to. Not willingly, at least.
Stiles and I walked together behind our friends, heading up the steps. Neither of us was all too thrilled to be here, but it was important. We needed to know who these Dread Doctors were so that we could stop them before they kept turning teenagers into Chimeras.
We were halfway up the steps when the gate slammed behind us, making all of us turn back. Stiles and I were locked in here again.
Steadying my nerves, I started walking again, Stiles doing the same. We approached the door of Eichen cautiously, not sure of what to expect when we saw Doctor Valack.
All I knew at that moment, was that Valack was the only lead we had, so that left us with Eichen.