Amara's outfit:
Crime Scene / Station / Impound Lot -
School / Alex's House -
Chapter Eighty-One
â¡Memory Lostâ¡
At a crime scene, numerous police cruisers and an ambulance with flashing lights are parked as Sheriff's deputies mill around the scene. the radiator of a transport van that wrecked is hissing loudly as Stilinski walks over to it.
He runs his hands over the five long, parallel claw gashes in the paint of the van's hood and makes an exasperated face before walking over to the ambulance, where Makena is in the middle of putting a brace on Stiles' injured fingers and hand while Scott and Amara watches. Looking exasperated, Stilinski wastes no time in demanding to know what is going on.
"What in the hell were you three thinking?" He asked as Makena walked around the teens to stand next to him with her arms crossed. "We were just trying to help." Scott said making Stilinski nod slightly, "Why don't you try and help me understand- what the hell happened here?" He asked.
"Right. Well, we were trying to gently persuade him to pull over..." Stiles said and Scott nodded while Amara nodded slowly, "Oh yeah, that was definitely gently." She said, smiling with Stiles shot her a look. "He was getting away?" Scott asked sheepishly and Makena nodded, "He got away."
"Right! Because obviously he's some sort of criminal mastermind, Dad!" Stiles said and Stilinski started leading them to the back of the van. "You want to guess what the stolen merchandise is? Hmmm?" Stilinski asks as Makena opens the doors to reveal that the back is full of large gas tanks and Stiles pursed his lips, "Critical life-saving medical equipment?"
"No."
"...Poison gas?"
"Nope!"
"...Filled with drugs...?"
"Helium." Makena said making Amara raise her eyebrows, "Helium?" She asked and her mother nodded making her turn to Scott and Stiles. "I told you it wasnt something serious." She said and Stiles looked at her offended, "You encouraged this!" He said and she scoffed and flicked the side of his head. "You know better than to do the things I encourage." She said making him dramatically roll his eyes.
A few minutes later the three of them were back in the jeep, Amara driving while Stiles sat in the passenger seat and Scott in the back. "This could be a good thing." Scott said making Stiles look back at him and scoff, "That we saved helium?" Stiles asked and Scott chuckled.
"I mean... That... They don't need us anymore." Scott said and Stiles scoffed again, "Okay, well, they need us. They just don't know it." Stiles said and Amara glanced over at him. "We're all going off to college soon... so, Beacon Hills is gonna have to survive without us." She said and Stiles looked over at her, "Beacon Hills will burn to the ground without us." He said making her chuckle and nod slightly.
"Stiles... They don't need us." Scott sighed. Just then, Stiles' phone starts to vibrate, and when he sees who is calling, he becomes excited and holds the phone up so Amara and Scott can see a call from Stilinski.
"Oh, they need us!"
â¡
Stilinski and Makena stood in Stilinski's office with Alex, the young boy who was found in an otherwise-abandoned car. Scott, Amara and Stiles, in the door ways while they wait for what they will do next. After a moment, Stilinski hesitantly approaches Alex about what's going to happen.
"Alex... You know we're having trouble locating your parents. And, since you can't remember anything, we have a method- an unusual method- that might help you remember. But, I need you to be okay with it. I also need you to know that it's probably gonna hurt..." Stilinski explained. Alex looks both scared for a moment before he sets his jaw and looks at Stilinski with a determined expression, "I don't care. I just want to find my mom and dad." He said.
Stilinski nodded in understanding and turns back to look at the teenagers, who look unsure about this but are otherwise willing to help. They walk into the office as the Stilinski begins closing the blinds so no one can see what they're about to do. Scott kneels in front of Alex, who is still sitting on the couch, and pats him on the shoulder affectionately as he looks him in the eyes with a reassuring expression.
"You ready?" Scott asked and Alex nodded. Scott nods again before moving his hand to the back of Alex's neck so he can surreptitiously flick out his claws. After a moment, Scott firmly shoves his claws into the base of Alex's skull, and Alex gasps in pain as they both close their eyes.
A few minutes later both Scott's and Alex's eyes shot open with a gasp as Scott staggers backward. Stiles and Amara rushes over to help Scott while Stilinski and Makena checks on Alex, "I saw a guy on a horse..." Scott said making Stiles and Wren raise their eyebrows. "A horse?" They asked at the same time and Scott nodded, "He had a gun."
Sheriff looks both confused and concerned by this revelation, "Okay, a guy with a gun? That sounds like our department, not yours." He said and Makena shrugged slightly. "Maybe but then again there's been times where guys with guns have been their department." Makena said.
"What about his parents? What happened to them?" Stiles asked eagerly and Scott screws up his face in concentration for a moment in an attempt to jog his memory of what he saw before he frowns in disappointment. "I don't know. That's all I remember. But..." He trailed off before taking a deep breath and continuing, "I got this feeling..."
"What kind of feeling?" Amara asked and before Scott could answer, Alex spoke up, "They're coming back. They're coming for me."
â¡
Amara sat in the passenger side seat of the Turner family car with a bored look as Lydia climbed onto the driver seat. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath while holding onto the steering wheel before opening her eyes again and looking into the mirror with a hum.
Stiles flails awkwardly in the backseat before sitting up. He looks at her with an eager expression, clearly expecting a revelation of some kind. "What?" He asked but Lydia, still staring at her reflection, "This is a perfect shade for me. I forget the name." Lydia said making Amara look over at her girlfriend. "It looks amazing on you." She said making Lydia smile at her, "Thank you."
Stiles looks at two girls with a mix of incredulity and exasperation, "Can we please stay on topic?" He asked and Amara sighed before sitting back in the seat and looking at her best friend. "We've been at this for over ten minutes and no one is getting anything." She said and before anyone could say anything they heard a coyote howl making them all get out the car to see a coyote running over.
Amara pulled out some clothes out of her bag right as the coyote turned into Malia. "I don't think they're dead." Lydia said as Amara handed her sister the clothes, "They're dead. Probably torn apart. The only thing I don't get is why there's no blood." Malia said making Lydia shake her head. "They're not dead. If they were dead, I would sense it." Lydia said and Malia shrugged as she put on the clothes, "If they were alive, I'd smell it."
"Yeah, I'm not getting anything either." Amara said and Scott nodded in agreement making Stiles look at him exasperatedly. "Scott, what are you talkin' about? You were in his head for four minutes! I timed it." Stiles said and Scott shrugs, at a loss for options as to explain the evening's events, shrugs tiredly, "Well, it's not an exact science... And he's a kid. Maybe he's too freaked out to remember?"
"Why does it matter if they're dead?" Malia asked looking at Stiles confused, "Dead is dead, okay? If it's just a robbery, we can't help them. And, if it's something supernatural, my dad can't help them." Stiles said making Amara raise her eyebrows at him. "Sounds like you want it to be supernatural..." She said and he shrugged slightly.
"It's been, like, three months since anything's happened." He said and Lydia scoffed lightly, "Yeah, and once a week, you drag me out of bed like I'm some sort of supernatural metal detector." She said and Stiles looked at her in offense. "Okay, it is way more often than that." He said making her roll her eyes.
"You can't tell me that you think this is just some series of impossible coincidences?" Stiles asked and Lydia rolled her eyes, "What we're saying is maybe that wouldn't be so bad." She said before her and Malia walked away.
Stiles sighed and climbed into the driver side seat staring at the windshield, or lack of, as Amara climbed into the passenger seat and Scott leaned against the driver side door. "You're staring at a broken windshield." Amara said after a couple seconds of silence and Stiles sighed softly, "There's something wrong with it." He said and Scott shrugged.
"It's broken. And it wasn't a magic bullet. It was a regular bullet... that blew out a regular windshield." He said then gestured around at the other cars in the impound lot, "Just like that one... And that one..." He says then starts to tail off making Amara and Stiles glance around as well.
"...And that one..." Scott mumbled as they start to notice the large difference between Turner's windshield and the rest of the cars. The other car's windshields where all still intact with a bullet hole surrounded by cracks. But Turner's car looked like someone took a couple large rocks through it.
Stiles looks ahead and plucks one of the broken shards of glass from the frame and studies it, "Magic bullet..."
â¡
"Amara? What's this?" Makena asked, holding up an envelope as Amara walked down the stairs. "Oh, that's my acceptance letter for the college I wanted." Amara said as Makena read it before turning to Amara shocked. "You're going to Boston University for Criminal Justice?" Makena asked and Amara nodded, "That's the same school and major that I went to." Makena said and Amara smiled.
"I know. I wanna be a PI, like you used to be when I was a kid." Amara said and Makena smiled softly before walking over to Amara. She grabbed her daughters face and kissed the top of her head. "I love you so much, sweetheart." Makena said and Amara smiled, "Love you too, mom."
â¡
It's yearbook picture day at school and Malia was trying to get her picture taken. Key word, trying. Stiles being the impatient, ADHD filled spas, couldn't wait long enough for Sydney to snap a single picture. Off to the side, Lydia, Amara and Scott sat at a table, Lydia and Scott working on some school work while Amara was leaning her forehead against Lydia's shoulder out of boredom.
A moment later an annoyed Malia dragged Stiles over to the table. "You ruined it." Malia said as she sat down on the table next to Lydia and Stiles looked at her offended, "Why would I want to ruin your yearbook photo?" Stiles asked and Malia shot him a look. "Maybe because you haven't signed up for your own photo yet?" She said and Stiles smiles smugly as he digs into his pockets.
"Yes, I did!" He said, pulling out a folded up sheet of paper and unfolds it before showing it to Malia, though he doesn't look at it for himself. "It's blank!" She said making Stiles frown and look at the paper, and it's clear by his surprise that he thought he filled it out.
"Or maybe you're sublimating the stress of graduating by avoiding key milestones?" He said making Amara, Lydia and Malia share a confused look before turning to stare blankly at Scott, and when Scott notices the silence, he looks up at them and gestures toward them with the pen in his hand.
"Psych paper." He said and the girls nodded in understanding, "Ohh..." They all said and Stiles tries to redirect them to the task at hand, gestures wildly to get their attention. "Hey, the deputies searched the car. No slugs, no exit hole. And, the address Alex gave my dad? It's an abandoned house." He said and they all just raised their eyebrows.
"Come on! Missing parents? Suspicious guy on horseback? Magic bullet? Who's coming with?" He said excitedly and they all just shook their head while Amara quickly raised her hand. "I will!" She said making Stiles point at her and went high five but Lydia spoke up.
"No, you have a history test that's worth a large part of your grade." Lydia said making Amara frown, "Damn it." She muttered. "I have to retake my photos." Malia said and Lydia pursed her lips, "Yeah... not interested..." He said and Stiles turned to Scott. "I cannot miss any more classes." He said making Stiles looks very disappointed in his best friend and continues to protest as Scott tries to explain himself.
"Guys-"
"I missed thirty-eight last semester."
"Scott-"
"Lydia's mom is the only reason I'm still in school." Scott said before smiling at Stiles while shrugging, "We can go after school." He said. Stiles, offended by his friend declining his request to skip school and investigate immediately backtracks.
"You know what? Forget it. I'll take Liam." He said before turning to find Liam only to sigh when he finds Liam passionately making out with Hayden on a nearby park bench. After a moment, Scott, Lydia, Malia and Amara looked over and the only one who looks surprised and annoyed by this is Stiles.
"Yeah, I'm not taking Liam."
A second later Sydney walks up to them with her camera, "Can I get a candid?" She asked and Stiles shook his head. "Uh, no-" He started to say but Amara pulled him down to sit in in between her and Scott. Malia, who sat on the table, scooted over so they're all in the frame.
Stiles sighed before pulling the shard of glass he found in the windshield the night before out of his pocket and hands it to Scott. "Okay, fine- if you can explain to me why this is blue, I'll let it go." He said and Scott looked at the glass with furrowed as he notices the translucent greenish-blue color, but before he can ponder how this happened, Sydney snaps him out of his reverie.
"Everyone smile!" She said and Scott tucked the shard into his pocket and looks up at the camera as he, Lydia, Malia, Amara and the reluctant Stiles smile and Sydney to takes a photo of them.
â¡
"Thirty-nine?" Stiles asked as he, Amara and Scott walk up to the school doors. Scott and Amara nodded in agreement but just as the double doors have closed themselves, they're opened again by Amara. She walks in front of the boys who are shoved back into the school by Natalie, who is clutching their shoulders tightly and steering them through the doors with a stern expression.
"None you are going anywhere. Thirty-eight classes, Scott. I had to beg the superintendent!" Natalie says as she lets go of the boys' shoulders while they all stop in their tracks and try to reason with her, "Mrs. Martin, Scott is the sworn protector of Beacon Hills! And Amara is a Hale! Her family protects Beacon Hills!" Stiles said and Natalie just looks at him unimpressed.
"They can protect it at 3:30."
Stiles sighs as the three turn to walk back to their class. Natalie watches them as they walk away from her, and Stiles lowers his voice to whisper to Scott and Amara. "We're not waiting 'til 3:30."
A few minutes later they all sat in class they're watching a documentary that is clearly boring all of the students. Amara, Scott and Stiles are staring at the clock, and after a moment, Stiles squints strongly at the clock and gestures with his fingers, as though he was trying to use some kind of supernatural power to make the clock move until it read 3:30.
A little while later the bell rings making Scott and Stiles shoot up and run out the room. Amara quickly got up and kissed Lydia's cheek before running after her best friends.
â¡
Scott, Stiles and Amara pulled up to the Turner family's house in Stiles' Jeep and get out. They stare up at the house, which looks completely abandoned making them frown at the sight of it as they consider what they're dealing with. "That's not creepy at all." Stiles said and Amara nodded, "Ten bucks its haunted." She said before they walked inside and Scott shines a flashlight as they glanced around. The entire place was empty had everything was covered in dust and spider webs.
The floorboards creak under their feet as they walk into the dining room, where two plates, two water glasses, and two wine glasses are sitting on the table, which like the foyer and living room, is covered in dust, spider webs and bits of dried up leaves.
After glancing around the room Scott turns to Amara and Stiles. "You wanna split up?" He asked and Stiles looks at him as though he's lost his mind, "Uh, absolutely not." He said making Amara chuckle before they walked up the stares.
Like the rest of the house, the staircase is rickety and covered in cobwebs. Upstairs, they peek into every room they pass; while the rooms are completely free of furniture, decorations, or other personal belongings, they are at least clean and free of dust and cobwebs, unlike the downstairs.
"Maybe Alex got the address wrong?" Scott suggested and Stiles shrugged, "Or he lied." He said making Amara glance at him confused. "Why would he lie though?" She asked as they kept walking down the hall until they made it to a room at the end. Wren slowly walked up to the door and opened it to reveal a clean, bright, and full of furnished bedroom of a typical pre-teenage boy. It is clear by the photos on the wall that this is Alex's bedroom making them all glance around confused.
"He didn't lie..."
"Why didn't the cops say anything about this?" Scott asked and Stiles slightly shook his head, "They don't know its here. They can't come here without a warrant, and there's no owner of record to serve a warrant to... So, unless there's some kind of threat or imminent danger, they wouldn't come in." He explained.
Before anyone could say anything a noise from downstairs caught Amara and Scott's attention. "What?" Stiles asked, "I think I heard something." Scott said and Amara nodded in agreement. They both walked out the room, while Stiles stayed back.
Scott and Amara walked downstairs and into the dining room and glanced around for a moment before Amara glanced back at the table making her eyes widen. "Scott." She said making him look at her before following her line of sight. The dishes were no longer on the table, if it wasnt for the circles left behind in the thick layer of dust where the plates and glasses were just sitting, one would not know they had even been there.
They went to walk into the kitchen but the sound of floorboards creaking in a different direction made them stop and look back. They glanced at each other before quickly walking into the other room. But, as soon as they turn the corner toward the door, they runs straight into Liam and Mason, both of whom gasp in fright before realizing it was just Scott and Amara.
"What-what are you doing here?" Liam asked and Scott sighed, "This is Alex's house. What are you doing here?" He asked. "This is where the compass led us." Mason said making them look at him confused, "What compass?" Amara asked and Mason stepped forward, holding out a compass they stole from Mr. Douglas' cabinet at school.
Amara frowned slightly when she looked at the compass and saw that the needle is spinning around, seemingly of its own accord. "Why's it doing that?" Scott asked and Mason shrugged, "I have no idea." He said. Liam pulls his phone out of his pocket and looks at the screen before holding it out for them to see. The compass app has been pulled up, but the needle on it is also spinning around, with a "??" in the center where the direction should be indicated.
"They're all doing it." He said and Wren frowned slightly, "Compasses works by detecting the Earth's natural magnetic fields. Somethings interfering with it." Amara explained, suddenly, the compass in Mason's hand spins so hard that the glass face shatters.
Before anyone could say anything they hear a thumping noise upstairs, making them instantly run up the stairs to find Stiles recovering from shock. "What happened?" Amara asked worriedly as she gently grabbed Stiles's arms, "He was here. He shot at me!" Stiles said making them look at him worriedly and confused. "It was one of the guys you saw in Alex's memory."
"The guy who took his parents?"
"No, no, no... They weren't just taken- they were made to disappear. That's why there's no furniture, that's why they weren't in any of the photos... They were erased." Stiles said before turning around and opening the door to Alex's room. They quickly walked in only to find the room completely empty, no desk, no bed, nothing on the walls. It was empty.
â¡
Night has fallen, and Stiles, Amara and Lydia are walking together outside of the high school as they discuss what happened earlier. While they walk, Stiles flips through an old book as he skims the pages, "I keep feeling like it's familiar, you know? Like I've heard it before." Stiles said.
"Pensée a civage? It's French for "a lingering thought you can't reach." Amara said making him sigh, "Okay, well, is there a French word for "feeling an overwhelming sense of urgency and impending doom?"" Stiles asked and the girls thought for a moment.
"Féminine un fille phantom? It's French for "Banshee." Lydia said and Amara nodded and Stiles stops walking and gives Lydia an exasperated look. "Okay, what-what does your Banshee intuition say this is?" He asked and Lydia sighed, "That you don't have to figure it all out right this second." She said and Amara nodded again.
"She got a point." She said and Stiles' expression softens, and his voice gets quieter, "But this kid... this kid's got no one, you know? And... There's a reason why. There's gotta be." He said. Just then Lydia frowned slightly before mumbled something, "Give this man a ride, sweet family will die... Killer on the road..." She said making Stiles and Amara looked at her confused, "Riders on the Storm?"
Lydia jerks to attention as though she's just been broken out of a trance, "What?" She asked. "That's the song? Riders on the Storm?" Amara said and realization crossed over Lydia's features. "That's it!" She said and Stiles just looks at her confused, "What's it?" He asked.
"The Ghost Riders! The Wild Hunt. They come by storm, riding horses, and they take people." She said making Stiles eyes widen in excitement. "Lydia you are so smart!" Stiles said before running off making the girls glance at each other.
â¡
Lydia and Amara sat alone in a dark, empty classroom, deep in thought, when Malia walks through the door toward her, holding her cell phone in her hand. "Got your text. You said you guys needed my help?" She asked and when she walks up to them she sees that Lydia has pulled up a web page on the Wild Hunt on her laptop. When Malia realizes they're trying to figure out a Banshee premonition, she groans.
"Oh God- that kind of help." She said and Lydia looks at Malia with worry, "Something terrible is going to happen." She said and Malia sighed. "Okay... What is it?" She asked and Lydia slightly shook her head, "I don't know... That's why we need your guys' help."
A little while later they still sit in the empty history classroom, where they are researching the Wild Hunt on Lydia's MacBook. "When did you have the premonition?" Malia asked and Lydia sighed, "We were with Stiles. We realized it was the Wild Hunt. The Riders, the horses... Souls getting swept up..."
Lydia turns the laptop so Malia and Amara can see the page on the Wild Hunt and Malia leans over her shoulder and reads a sentence aloud, "Those who see the Wild Hunt, beware, for you are already lost."
As Malia reads realization crossed over Amara's features, "Horses- he saw them. He saw the Wild Hunt!" She jumps to her feet and looks at Lydia and Malia wide eye. "I need to find Stiles." Amara said and Malia and Lydia both frowns in confusion before she responds.
"Who's Stiles?" Malia asked and Amara could feel her heart drop as she shakes her head, "Stiles. My best friend, Stiles." Amara said and Lydia raised ber eyebrows. "I thought Scott was your best friend." She said and Amara only becomes more horrified as her eyes widened.
"Oh shit." She mumbled before running out of the class room.
She runs down the hall and outside where she finds Stiles running out to the parking lot, "Stiles." She yelled making him spin around before he rushes toward her and grabbed her shoulders. "Amara? You know me?" He asked and when he realizes that she does, he sighs in relief, "Oh, thank God! You know me!" He said and she nodded. "I know you, but everyone else is forgetting about you." She said but he doesn't answer as he glances over her shoulder.
"Hey, do you see him?" He asked and Amara turned to follow Stiles' line of sight, but saw nothing. "See what?" She asked, "The guy on the horse." He said making her heart drop as she realizes what Stiles is talking about, she turns back to face him.
"Stiles, if you can see them, they're gonna..." Amara trailed off slightly and Stiles nodded, "I know. I know. Okay, they're coming for me, so you have to get away from me right now, okay?" He said making her look at him crazy.
"I can't just leave you right now! Are you insane?" She asked and Stiles sighs in exasperation and gives her a look before grabbing her arm and pulling her in the opposite direction of the Ghost Rider. "All right, come on! Come on!" He said before pulling her through the parking lot.
"This way. This way. Come on!"
They're about to keep going when suddenly, another Ghost Rider on a horse appears, forcing them to change directions once again. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Okay, this way. Keep going." He says but when they turn to go another way, Stiles stops them once again upon seeing a third Ghost Rider on horseback blocking their path.
The three Ghost Riders trot closer and closer to Stiles and Amara, leaving Stiles at a loss for options as to how to get away. "Where are they?" Amara asked as she glanced around and Stiles sighed, "They're everywhere."
Realizing that they're close to his Jeep, Stiles grabbed Amara's arm and steers her away from the Riders before quickly pulling her in between two of them in order to make a bee-line for the vehicle. "Come on! Come on! Come on! Wren, don't look at them, okay? Just do not look at them."
"I dont plan on it!"
The two climb into Stiles' Jeep as fast as they can, slamming the doors behind them before Stiles fumbles with his keys in an attempt to start the engine so they can leave. But, when Stiles puts the keys in the ignition, he looks up and sees that the Wild Hunt has surrounded the Jeep, causing him to hesitate with turning the key in the ignition making Amara look at him with worry and incredulity.
"What are you doing? We need to go!"
Stiles hesitates for a moment and pulls the key out of the ignition before looking at Amara with a defeated expression, "There's no time." Stiles said and Amara shook her head, "Stiles if you didn't put that god damn key back in the ignition and fucking drive, I swear to god I will-" Amara said but Stiles cut her off.
"Amara, I'm going to be erased, okay? Just like Alex. You're gonna forget me." He said and she shook her head, "I'm not gonna just forget you like that." She said and Stiles just sighed and shook his head.
"Amara, you will. You all will. Just try to find some way to remember me, okay? Remember how we were each other's first kiss back when we were like thirteen and you were trying to make sure you're gay." Stiles said making her cringe and shake her head, "We made a deal never to talk about that." She said and he chuckled.
"Then remember that we're Star Wars buddies." Stiles said and Amara glanced away from him as she took a deep breath, her eyes tearing up. "That's all you have to do. You need to remember me and get the others to remember me. Just remember that you're my sister." He said making her look at him as a tear fell down her face
Before she could say anything, the Ghost Riders yank the door to the Jeep open and pull Stiles out as Amara's eyes widen and she tries to grab him but was too late
After a moment, Amara's face goes blank, and she mutters to herself in an effort to hold onto her memories of what just happened, "Remember..."
â¡
Amara walked through the doors of the school and slows to a stop, as if she was in a slight trance. Liam, Mason, Hayden, and Corey, who are standing next to the row of lockers as they talk see her and smile and wave at her, but it's clear by the confused look on Amara's face that something doesn't feel right to her as she watches the students walking and talking around her.
After a moment, Malia and Lydia walked into the hall and stops with a frown when they see her standing with a confused expression on her face. "You okay?" Lydia asked as she grabbed her girlfriend's hand and Amara doesn't look at them. "I have this feeling that I was supposed to do something..." She said as Scott walked into the hallway himself, joins the three of them in front of the double doors and looks confused himself. "Do what?" He asked and Amara looks almost concerned by her lack of memory.
"I can't remember..."