章 35: Motel California
Everyone steps out of the bus looking up at the old motel. "I've seen worse." Scott says.
"Where have you seen worse?" Stiles asks.
"Seriously, this place looks like the setting to a horror movie." Scarlett replies.
Coach blows his whistle before anyone can reply, "Listen up. The meet's been pushed to tomorrow morning. This is the closest motel with the most vacancies and least amount of good judgment in accepting a group of degenerates like yourselves. You'll be pairing up. Choose wisely."
Coach starts handing out the keys, he gives Allison and Lydia a confused look as they approach. Allison smiles brightly taking the key from him, "Thanks Coach."
Once all the keys are passed out Coach addresses the students once more, "And I'll have no sexual perversions perpetrated by you deviants. Got that? Keep your dirty little hands to your dirty little selves."
Once he finishes everyone disperses, trying to find their rooms. Lydia and Scarlett hang back, looking at the motel building with unease. "Lydia? Scar?" Allison's voice breaks them from their thoughts.
"I don't like this place." Lydia states.
"I don't either. I feel like something bad is going to happen." Scarlett says.
"It's just for one night." Allison replies, trying to reassure her friends.
"A lot can happen in a night." Lydia says. Scarlett nods in agreement then takes a breath, looping her arm through Lydia's, gently pulling the strawberry blonde with her towards the motel.
Once they make it to their door Allison and Scarlett pause to look at Stiles and Scott. The boys both smile then head into their room making Allison turn and walk through the motel door. She throws her bag on the closest bed then looks back at Lydia and Scarlett who still haven't entered the room.
"You're both really freaked out, aren't you?" Allison asks.
"I just have this feeling like coming here wasn't an accident." Lydia replies.
"What do you mean? Like we were supposed to come here? Like fate?"
"I don't know. Something." Lydia whispers. As the two girls talk, Scarlett's eyes scan the room and she strains her ears to listen to anything that screams 'danger'.
Allison takes Lydia and Scarlett's hands, tugging them into the room, "I don't believe in fate."
"Well, maybe you should start." Lydia turns towards Scarlett as the door swings shut, "Are you getting your danger sense?"
"I don't know. It doesn't feel like it has before. But I know something is... different about this place. And it definitely doesn't feel good." Scarlett answers.
"Well, I'm going to shower." Allison says. She pulls clothes out of her bag then heads into the bathroom. A few seconds later she comes back out, "Can one of you get towels? These all smell like smoke"
Lydia and Scarlett both nod, taking the towels from Allison's hand. "I'll go." Lydia says to Scar.
"I'll come with you. I need to get out of this room." Scar replies, standing up and following her out of the room.
*_*_*_*_*_*
Lydia and Scarlett step into the lobby. Lydia walks up to the front desk, placing the pile of towels onto the counter. Scar stands slightly behind her, trying to focus on her breathing. "Excuse me, but the card on the dresser says we have a non-smoking room. Yet somehow every one of our towels reeks of nicotine."
The desk clerk turns around revealing a permanent tracheostomy tube in her throat. "That would explain it." Scarlett mumbles.
At the same time the desk clerk addresses Lydia, "Sorry about that, sweetheart."
"What's that? That number." Lydia asks the clerk.
Scar's eyes flicker to the number '198' posted behind the desk. "Oh, that's kind of an inside thing for the motel. My husband insists of keeping it up." The woman replies.
"What does it mean?" Lydia asks once more.
The woman leans closer, "We're not going to make the top of anyone's list when it comes to customer satisfaction."
"Obviously." Lydia states as Scarlett rolls her eyes.
"But we are number one in California when it comes to one disturbing little detail. Since opening, more than any other motel in California, we've had the most guest suicides." She then points to the number.
"198." Lydia and Scarlett both say in disbelief.
The woman smiles, "And counting."
Grabbing the new towels, Lydia and Scar turn to leave the lobby. Scarlett sucks in a couple of deep breaths once the girls are outside. "Are you alright?"
"I'll be fine." Scar replies.
"That doesn't really answer the question. Are you fine right now?"
Scarlett looks at her best friend, "I feel a little sick. And I still have a feeling that we're in danger." She takes another deep breath, "I've dealt with this feeling enough to know not to ignore it."
"Too bad the danger sense doesn't tell you what the danger is."
"That would be too easy."
*_*_*_*_*_*
Back in the room Lydia and Scarlett tell Allison about the suicides. "198?" Allison gasps out in shock.
Scarlett lazily nods, leaning against the headboard, trying to relax. "Yes. And if we're talking forty years, on average that's only about four point nine five a year which is sort of expected." Lydia says. "But commemorating it with a framed number? Who does that?"
"All suicides?"
"That's what she said." Scarlett answers, closing her eyes to avoid the girls concerned looks.
Lydia continues, "Hanging, throat cutting, pill popping, both barrels of a shotgun in the mouth suicides. And I don't know about you but-" She cuts herself off then starts speaking in a whisper, "Did you hear that?"
Scarlett's eyes flutter open, she uses her heightened hearing to try and figure out what Lydia's talking about. "Hear what?" Allison asks.
Lydia stands up and looks towards the air vent. She quickly climbs onto the bed to try and get closer to it. "Lyds?" Scar questions.
Lydia stays silent, intently listening to something that neither Allison nor Scarlett can hear. "Oh my God..." She mumbles.
"What is it?" Allison asks.
"Lyds, what happened?" Scarlett asks at the same time.
"You guys didn't hear that?" Lydia questions.
"Hear what?" Allison asks once more.
"They shot each other. Two people in the other room- they just shot each other." Lydia stumbles off the bed and rushes through the door. She moves to the room next door, Allison and Scarlett following closely behind. She swings the door open, reaching for the light switch. The room is empty, plastic sheets cover the furniture and paint cans litter the floor. A heater is near the wall drying the paint. "I don't get it. It had to be here. You didn't hear them?"
Allison and Scarlett both shake their heads, "It was a guy and girl. They sounded young and... they were here. I'm not lying."
"Hey we believe you." Allison starts, "After everything we've been through, we believe you."
"It has to be because of what you are." Scarlett says watching as Lydia hurries out of the room.
"Have you figured it out yet?" Lydia asks.
The trio walk back into their room, Lydia starts packing up her bag, "No. I know it has to be a banshee or phoenix like I said before but from what I've found so far a lot of the information online is just stories and myths. Nothing explaining the powers which makes it hard to figure out what you are."
They all pause for a minute then Allison asks Lydia, "You want to leave? Like find another motel?"
"I'll sleep on a park bench if I have to. Something's seriously wrong with this place and we need to leave." Lydia replies.
"But they were suicides. Not murders. And it's not like the place is haunted, right?" Allison questions.
Scarlett bites her lip as Lydia replies, "Maybe it is. I bet that couple did their suicide pact right in that exact room. Maybe that's why they're renovating it. Maybe they've been scraping brain matter off the wood paneling."
"Maybe we should find out."
The girls all make their way to the lobby to ask the woman about the room next to them. A sign on the front desk reads 'back at 6am'. "There goes that." Lydia sighs.
Allison looks past the desk, "Didn't you both say that the number was 198?"
Lydia and Scarlett both look at the number which now says 201. "It was 198." Lydia replies looking at Scar for confirmation.
"Yeah, it definitely was 198." The brunette nods, wrapping her arms around herself.
"What's that mean? There have been three more suicides?" Allison questions.
"Or three more about to happen." Lydia replies.
*_*_*_*_*_*
Sitting in their room, Allison, Lydia, and Scarlett tell Stiles about the suicides and the feeling of doom lingering over Lydia and Scarlett. As Allison talks about something that happened between her and Scott earlier, Scarlett rests her head on Stiles shoulder and closes her eyes, "Last time I saw Scott act like that was on the full moon."
Stiles adjusts the way he sits, wrapping his arm around Scarlett so that they would be more comfortable. He then starts speaking, "He was definitely off with me too. But actually, Boyd was really off. I watched him put his fist through the vending machine."
"See? It's the motel." Lydia then gestures towards Scarlett, "Look at Scar-"
"I am not acting strange." The brunette in question defends herself, cracking an eye open.
"No but you're sick. I'm new to this werewolf thing but I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to get sick." She glares at her best friend.
Scarlett sighs, and closes her eyes once again, waiting for Lydia to continue. "We either need to get out of here right now..." She trails off. Lydia reaches over to yank open a drawer before continuing, "Or someone needs to learn how to do an exorcism ASAP before all the werewolves go crazy and kill us."
"Hold on. What if it's not just the motel? The number in the office went up by three, right?" Stiles asks.
"You mean like three sacrifices?" Allison questions.
"What if this time it's three werewolves?"
"Scott, Isaac and Boyd."
"Scott and Boyd maybe since we know they're acting weird but Isaac isn't the only other werewolf here. There's me and Ethan too." Scarlett says, opening her eyes once more.
Nobody replies as Stiles reaches out, "Let me see that." he says pointing at the bible in Lydia's hand. Lydia hands him the book then he opens it pulling out newspaper clippings.
"What is that?" Allison asks.
Stiles reads the piece of paper, "28 year-old man hangs himself at infamous Glen Capri." He turns a few more pages, finding more newspaper clippings.
Lydia grabs two, "Look at these two. They both mention room 217. These are probably all the suicides that happened in this room."
"So if there's a Bible in every room..." Allison starts, mind racing.
"There could be articles in all of the rooms."
"That's just beautiful. Most places leave a mint on the pillow. This one leaves a record of all of the horrible deaths that occurred." Stiles sarcastically states.
"What if the room next door has the one about the couple?" Lydia asks.
"Well, let's go check." Scarlett says, sitting up. The two other girls have already made their way to the door as Scarlett stands, though when she does, she stands quickly and almost looses her balance.
Stiles grabs her waist to steady her before she can fall, "You alright?"
Scarlett nods, "Yeah, just stood up too fast." He still looks concerned so Scarlett smiles, "Seriously, I'm fine."
Scarlett grabs his hand, pulling him out the door with her. Lydia and Allison stand in front of room 216, "It won't open. It wasn't locked before." Lydia says. Not getting the chance to reply, they all look at the door as they hear the sound of a saw. "I'm not the only one who heard that, am I?" Lydia asks.
"It sounds like someone turned the hand saw on." Allison states.
Scarlett gently elbows the two girls out of the way and reaches for the handle. She takes a breath and using all the strength she can gather in my weakened state, she snaps the handle. Opening the door the group sees Ethan raising the hand saw to his stomach.
"Ethan don't!" Stiles says, moving past Scarlett to grab the saw from the Alpha.
Lydia grabs the power cord from the wall just as Stiles wrestles the saw from Ethan. Scarlett rushes over to Stiles as he falls almost landing on the still moving saw. Scar quickly helps him stand and checks him over to make sure he's okay.
Before Scarlett can ask if he's alright, Stiles and Scarlett both turn their attention to Allison and Lydia who are trying to stop Ethan from putting his claws into his abdomen. Stiles and Scarlett join the girls but Ethan pushes them away. He falls back and hits the heater with his hand. "What the hell? What are you doing?" Ethan frantically asks them. He examines their out of breath and concerned looks then asks another question, "What just happened?"
*_*_*_*_*_*
Ethan shoves past the group, heading out the door, "You seriously don't remember?" Scarlett asks, rushing after him.
"Didn't you hear what I just said? I don't remember how I got there or what I was doing." Ethan snaps.
Scar glares as Stiles replies, "Hey, you could be a little more helpful, you know? We did just save your life."
"And you probably shouldn't have."
"Funny, I was thinking the same thing." Scarlett replies.
They watch as Ethan slams the door to his room shut. "What now?" Lydia asks.
"I'll find Scott. You three grab Isaac and Boyd. The best we can do is get them out of here." Allison answers.
"If you need us just shout. I'll hear you." Scarlett says. Allison nods in reply then quickly goes back up the stairs. Scar starts moving in the direction of Isaac and Boyd's room but stops when she hears Lydia's voice.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I wasn't-" Stiles starts.
"Stiles." Lydia warns the brunette.
"Okay," He sighs, "I didn't want to say it. But we've kind of been through something like this before. A lot like this."
"What do you mean? When?" Scarlett raises an eyebrow when Lydia asks, both girls confused.
Stiles quickly glances at Scarlett then looks back at Lydia, "Your birthday party. The night you poisoned everyone with wolfsbane."
"If it's wolfsbane then that would make sense why I'm not being affected the same way as the others." Scar says, turning back around to continue walking towards Boyd and Isaac's room.
The other two follow, "Lydia I didn't mean you're trying to kill people. I meant that maybe you're somehow involved in getting people to kill themselves." Stiles tries to explain.
"But last time she didn't really remember much of anything because Peter was controlling her. She's perfectly fine right now and-" Scarlett tries to defend her best friend.
Lydia cuts Scarlett off, "Do you hear that?"
Stiles and Scar both shake their heads, exchanging a look. "What do you hear?" Stiles asks.
"A baby crying. It's mother- she can't get it to stop crying. And I hear... I hear water running." She pauses as she listens, "Oh my God, she's drowning the baby." She then whirls around to face Scarlett and Stiles, "Someone's drowning."
The trio quickly rush to Boyd and Isaac's room. In the bathroom, Boyd has a safe on top of him, keeping him pinned under the water. "He blocked the drain with something. I can't get to it. Help me move the safe." Stiles says.
The two girls, along with Stiles, grab onto the safe to try and move it but it's too heavy. "Now would be a great time for the werewolf strength Scar." Lydia mumbles.
"I'm a Zeta. I'm not as strong as a Beta or Alpha. And with me being weak right now I'm probably just back to my normal weak human strength." Scarlett replies, grunting as she tries to lift the safe.
"You weren't when you broke that handle earlier."
"Fine, maybe only slightly stronger than you two. But that still doesn't mean I'm strong enough to move this."
"The heater- Ethan came out of it when he touched the heater." Stiles interrupts their arguing.
"Okay, but he's under water." Lydia says.
"Yes, I'm aware of that." Stiles snaps back.
"Wait, the bus, they'll be emergency road flares. They've got their own oxidizers. They can burn underwater."
Right after the words leave her mouth, Scarlett stands up and rushes out the door, "Scar!" She hears them both yell after her but she doesn't let them finish. She's the fastest out of all of them, even with her being weaker right now.
*_*_*_*_*_*
Running onto the bus, Scarlett quickly finds the emergency kit and pulls out three flares. She rushes back into the room, "Okay, here." She hands one to Stiles.
"What do I- how do I do this?" He asks.
"The cap. It's like a match- the cap lights it." Lydia quickly explains. He twists the cap, trying to light it. Lydia and Scarlett look on in worry waiting for it to take. After what felt like ages, the flare ignites. Stiles shoves it into the bathtub, burning Boyd's arm.
Boyd lurches forward, shoving the safe off of him and onto the bathroom floor. Boyd quickly stands up and starts breathing heavily, "She's gone." he whispers between deep breaths.
"What?" Stiles asks.
"My sister. She's gone." He leans against the wall with a sad look in his eyes. Scar takes a breath and turns around, going back into the bedroom. Stiles reaches for another flare so that he can ignite it.
Once it's ignited he kneels down to come face to face with Isaac who is hiding under the bed, "Hey, Isaac. Got something here for ya." He says as he places the ignited flare on Isaac's skin.
Once it touches he jumps and pushes himself away from Stiles, "What happened?"
"C'mon Isaac. You're okay now." Scarlett says as she reaches a hand out, helping him stand back up. "You and Boyd should pack your bags. As soon as we find Scott we'll probably spend the night on the bus. This motel is messing with all of us."
Isaac nods, "Are you alright?" Scar asks before she leaves. Lydia and Stiles already left to find Allison and Scott.
"Yeah, Boyd and I will meet you guys at the bus in a little bit." He leans down giving Scar a quick kiss and lightly pushes her towards the door.
She makes her way over to Allison, Lydia, and Stiles, taking note that Scott isn't with them. "We still can't find Scott." Allison says as she sees Scarlett. Scar doesn't answer her though, instead she quickly walks past her. Her connection with Scott starts kicking in and she knows that he is in danger. She lets her instinct take over and walks to where she knows Scott will be.
The others follow Scarlett as they all start smelling gasoline. Scott stands drenched in the gasoline, a wet puddle around him and a lit flare held tightly in his grip. He seems to be in an odd trance-like state as he looks at the group in front of him. "Scott?" Allison asks.
"There's no hope," he replies.
"What do you mean? There's always hope."
"Not for me. Not for Derek."
"But Derek wasn't your fault. You know it wasn't." She tries again. Tears rush to Scarlett's eyes as she looks at her brother.
"Every time I try to fight back, it just gets worse. People keep getting hurt. And the harder I try to protect everyone, the more people get hurt, the more people get killed."
Finally, Scarlett speaks up, no longer being able to listen. "Scott, you know that's not true." She takes a step closer. Lydia tries to stop her but Scarlett shakes her hand off. "Scott, we need you. I need you. I couldn't do half the shit I do without you. You always do the right thing, even if it doesn't seem like it at the time. Scott, I love you. I can't live without you." Tears slide down Scarlett's face as she slowly takes more and more steps towards her twin.
"You would be fine without me. You always have been."
Scarlett shakes her head, "No. No that's not true. You've always been my rock. I may pick on you sometimes and I may not say it enough or hell, this may even be my first time admitting it but I never cared what others thought about me. As long as you loved me and cared about me that's all I ever needed."
Scarlett takes one last step, now in the gasoline puddle with Scott. She slowly reaches for the flare, "You're my best friend, my brother, my other half. I wouldn't know how to survive without you. So if you really want to do this, you're going to have to take me with you."
She gently and slowly pulls the flare out of Scott's hand. He doesn't try to object. Scarlett throws the flare away from them and the puddle, instantly pulling Scott in for a tight hug. Behind her, she hears Lydia scream, "NO!"
Lydia tackles Scott and Scarlett away from the puddle. Landing on the ground, they turn to look at where they were just standing. The flare rolled back towards the puddle and a fireball erupts where they just were.
*_*_*_*_*_*
Scarlett's head rests on Isaac's chest, his arms wrapped tightly around her. They wake up to bright sunlight filtering in from the windows and Coach, along with the cross country team, entering the bus.
"I don't want to know. I really don't. But, in case you missed the announcement, the meet's canceled. We're headed home. Pack it in." Coach says, looking at all of the barely awake teens.
Scarlett gets out of Isaac's grasp to move her seat to share with Lydia. Ethan stops near them, "I don't know what happened last night, but I know you probably saved my life." He says to Scott.
"Actually, I saved your life. But it doesn't matter really. Minor detail." Stiles says causing Scar to smile and shake her head waiting for Ethan to continue. "So, I'm going to give you something... We're pretty sure Derek's still alive. But he killed one of ours. That means one of two things can happen. Either he joins our pack."
Scott interrupts, "And kills his own."
"Or Kali goes after him. And we kill him. That's the way it works."
"Your little code of ethics is kind of barbaric FYI." Stiles states.
After Ethan moves away but before the bus starts moving Lydia quickly stands up, "Coach, can I see your whistle for a second?"
Not giving him the chance to respond she quickly grabs his whistle pulling it off of his neck. "I want that back." He says, pointing at her.
Lydia cups her hand around the whistles vent and gives a short breath. She pulls her hand away to show her palm covered in purple dust, "Wolfsbane." She says.
"Every time Coach blew the whistle in the bus- Scott, Scar, Isaac, Boyd-"
"And Ethan." Lydia adds.
"We all inhaled it." Scott says.
"You were all poisoned by it." Allison continues.
"That's how the Darach got into their heads. That's how he-" Stiles starts.
"Or she." Scar pipes in. Stiles looks at her in disbelief. "What? I'm just saying not all killers are men."
"Yeah, you've said that before Scar. Thank you." Stiles then turns to Lydia and grabs the whistle out of her hand. Just as the bus starts driving away he tosses the whistle out the window. Coach glares and starts to scream but Stiles speaks before he gets the chance, "I'll buy you a new one."
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