Ch. 37 - ANCHORS

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School / Animal Clinic / Tate's Ranch / Woods -

Chapter Thirty-Seven
🦊 Anchors 🦊


Tossing and turning while he gripped his bed sheets, Stiles muttered something in his sleep. "No, no, no, no, no... Don't let them in... Don't let them in... No, don't let them in..." Suddenly he woke up only to discover he was no longer in bed. But was not inside a locker.

He glanced around, confused for a moment before banging his fist against the door a few times until he flew open and he stumbled out into the locker room. He walked out of the locker room, out into the hall to see one of the classroom doors wide open.

Slowly, he walked over and into the classroom. But all the desks and chairs had been pushed to the walls of the class instead of sitting in their normal spot. But what sat in the middle of the classroom was the weirdest part.

The Nemeton.

Stiles reached out to place his hand on top of the tree stump. But before he could it was like roots sprung out of the top of the stump, wrapping around his hand pulling him down.

Suddenly Stiles jumped up in bed with a gasp. It was just a dream. He breathed heavily when someone spoke up, "You okay?" Sitting up, Wren moved some of her hair out of her face before gently grabbing Stiles's hand, "Stiles?" She asked, rubbing his arm comfortingly as he sighed. "Yeah... I was just dreaming. It was weird- it was like a dream within a dream."

"A nightmare?" She asked worriedly and he nodded, "Yeah." He said grabbing her hand for a moment before looking down at it confused. He looked up at Wren completely confused, "Wait a second... Wren, what are you doing here?" He asked making her raise her eyebrows. "Why wouldn't I be here?" She asked.

"You're with Isaac." He said in a slight whisper and she chuckled, "Maybe you should go back to sleep, you're delirious." She said but he just shook his head. "No, no. You're definitely with Isaac." Stiles said while shaking his head making her sigh softly, "Stiles, you should just go back to bed."

All of the sudden, the door to his bedroom creaked open making them look over at it. "Hang on." Stiles whispered and started to get up making Wren grab his arm, "Stiles, where are you going?" She asked. "I'm just gonna close the door." Stiles said, not looking away from the door. Wren gently grabbed his shoulder and tried to pull him back down with her, "Just go back to sleep." She said and Stiles let go of her hand. "No, no, I should close it..." He said, getting up.

"Don't worry about it." Wren said, trying to get him to lay back down. "What if someone comes in?" Stiles asked as he stood up making her let go of him, "Like who?" She asked and he didnt answer her. "Just go back to sleep, Stiles." Wren said as Stiles slowly started to walk towards the door, "No... What if they get in?" Stiles whispered as he continued walking. "What if who gets in?" Wren asked in a slight whisper as Stiles got up to the door.

"Stiles, just leave it. Please." Wren said anxiously but Stiles didn't pay attention, "Stiles... Stiles, come back to bed." Wren said and Stiles reached for the door knob. "Stiles, please." She pleaded, "Don't, Stiles! Don't!" She yelled almost fearfully as he opened the door wide. "Don't go in there, please don't! Please, Stiles, don't!" She yelled but he wasn't listening and walked through the door, into the darkness behind it.

He found himself in the woods now, in front of him sat the Nemeton in its rightful place. He slowly started to walk towards it when all if the sudden, lights that you'd seen at the lacrosse field turned on making him stop for a moment but kept walking. "It's just a dream... This is just a dream...It's just a dream...Get it out of your head, Stiles." He told himself.

"You're dreaming, all right? So, wake up, Stiles. Wake up, Stiles." He said before grabbing his head, as if he was in pain. "WAKE UP!"

Stiles's eyes fluttered open as the sun shined through his room. "Hey, time to get up, kiddo. Get your butt to school!" Stilinski said as he opened Stiles's door.

"And you couldn't wake up?" Scott asked as him, Stiles and Wren walked downstairs, "Nope, and it was beyond terrifying. You ever hear of sleep paralysis?" Stiles asked and Scott shook his head. "Uh, no. Do I want to?" Scott asked and Wren sighed and nodded, "You're kinda in like a dream like state but you're awake, but you can't move. At all." She said and Stiles nodded.

"It happens because, during REM sleep, your body is basically paralyzed. It's called muscle atonia- that way, if you start dreaming about running, you don't actually start running in your bed." Stiles said and Scott nodded slightly, "That makes sense."

"But sometimes, your mind can wake up before your body does. So, for this split second, you're actually aware that your body is paralyzed." Stiles continued and Wren nodded in agreement. "And that's the terrifying part." Scott said. "It turns your dream into a nightmare. You can feel like you're falling, or like you're being strangled. Or, in my case, like you're at the center of a grove of magical trees where human sacrifices took place." Stiles said.

"You think it means something?" Wren asked as they walked through the school doors, "What if what we did that night... What if it's still affecting us?" Stiles asked he asked looking at them. "Post-traumatic stress?"

"Or something."

"But, you want to know what scares me the most?" Stiles asked as they sat down in class and Scott and Wren both turned to him worriedly, "I'm not even sure this is real."

All of the sudden Stiles shot up in bed with a loud scream of terror making his father run into the room. Quickly, Stilinski ran over, wrapping his arms around his son, who slightly fought against him. "Hey, hey, hey! It's okay! It's okay! You're okay!" Stilinski said soothingly as Stiles started to stop fighting.

🦊

"No, you're not. It's happening to you too. You're seeing things, aren't you?" Stiles asked making Scott eyes widen slightly. "How'd you know?" Scott asked Stiles as Lydia, Allison and Wren walked up to them, "Because it's happening to all three of you." Wren said making them all look at each other.

"Well, well, look who's no longer the crazy one." Lydia said as they walked into school making Wren chuckle. "We're not crazy." Allison said Lydia hummed and turn to them. "Hallucinating? Sleep paralysis? Yeah, you guys are fine." She said sarcastically making Wren nudge her with her elbow, amused.

"We did die and come back to life. That's gotta have some side effects, right?" Scott asked looking over at Wren who nodded. The bell rang making Stiles turn to them, "We keep an eye on each other. Okay? And Lydia, stop enjoying this so much." He said walking past her.

🦊

Wren sat down next to Stiles and glanced at the new history teacher. The school had to get a bunch of new teachers since Jennifer killed three of them and then died herself. "Good morning, everyone. My name is Mr. Yukimura. I'll be taking over for your previous History Teacher. My family and I moved here three weeks ago. I'm sure, by now, you all know my daughter, Kira. Or you might not since she's never actually mentioned anyone from school. Or brought a friend home for that matter."

Wren cringed as her and Stiles both glanced at each. A loud thud came from the back of the class making everyone turn to see a dark haired girl with her head on the desk, "Either way, there she is." He said pointing at her.

She slowly lifted her head up, giving a shy smile when she saw everyone looking at her. Wren smiled softly at her before turning back around then noticed Scott still looking at Kira with a small smile. After a few seconds he looked away and noticed Wren looking at him with a smug look, "Shut up." He mumbled making her laugh quietly.

🦊

"Not the steadiest hand for a superb marksman." Lydia said as looked over at Allison's shaking hand as they sat together in second period art class. "It's been happening for the past few weeks. Since that night." Allison said before dropping her paint brush into her paint pallet, causing red paint to splatter onto the paper.

Allison jumped, seeming like the paint triggered something until Wren ripped the paper off. "Start over." She said and Allison took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment before picking the brush up. She started painting again, this time without a shaky hand.

🦊

"Do you really think this is going to help?" Allison asked as Lydia walked back over to her and Wren after putting up a target on a tree. "I know that if you think it's not going to help, it definitely won't! So, get your head into it, shoot a few, and see what happens." Lydia said.

Allison picked up her bow and arrow and pulled back on the string with a very shaky hand before letting go. The arrow flew through the air and landed on the ground next to the tree making Allison sigh while Wren pursed her lips, "Oh..." She mumbled. Allison picked up another arrow and tried again but it hit the ground again.

"Maybe hold the string differently? Try the Mongolian draw." Lydia said making both Allison and Wren look at her with raised eyebrows. "What? I read. Try it!" Lydia said and Allison sighed before picking up another arrow and holding the bow horizontally. She released the arrow and yet again, it clattered to the ground.

"Maybe take a second to close your eyes and imagine the arrow going into the target. It's a mediation method I learned in my self defense classes." Wren said and Allison closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them. But almost as soon as she did her eyes widened.

"Did you see that?" She asked making Wren and Lydia glance around confused, "See what?" Lydia asked. Allison crouched down and picked up her thing of arrows before slinging them around her shoulder, "Wait here." She said making Lydia look at her crazy.

"Are you serious?" She asked and Allison glanced at them, "I'll be right back." She said before walking away. "She did not just say that!" Lydia said, glancing over at Wren who raised her eyebrows, "Getting slight deja vu..."

They waited for Allison to come back for a few minutes. All of the sudden Isaac came out of no where, catching an arrow that was about to hit Wren it making the sisters jump. Allison's eyes widened when she realized she almost shot her best friend, "Oh my god. Oh my god, Wren." She said and Wren sighed softly. "We really need to fix whatever is happening."

🦊

Coach blew his whistle for a while until Stiles jumped up, "Stilinski!" Coach yelled and Stiles nodded. "I asked you a question!" Coach said and Stiles looked at him wide eyed for a moment, "Uh... Sorry, Coach. What was it?"

"It was, Stilinski, are you paying attention back there?"

"Oh. Well, I am now..." Stiles said awkwardly making Coach sigh, "Stilinski, stop reminding me why I drink!...Every night. Does anyone else want to try the question on the board?" Coach asked while Stiles looked over to Scott and Wren who was staring at him worriedly.

"I'm okay. I just fell asleep for a second." Stiles whispered, "Stiles." Wren said making him look at her and she slightly shook her head. "You weren't asleep." She said and then nodded down at his notebook.

All over the paper was the words "Wake up!" over and over.

🦊

"Okay, so what happens to a person who has a near-death experience and comes out of it seeing things?" Scott asked as they all sat around outside at lunch. "And is unable to tell what's real or not?"

"And is being haunted by demonic visions of dead relatives?" Allison asked, "They're all locked up because they're insane." Isaac said making everyone give him a look. "Ha. Can you at least try to be helpful, please?" Stiles asked, squinting at him, "For half my childhood, I was locked in a freezer. So, being helpful is kind of a new thing for me."

"Hey, dude, are you still milking that?" Stiles asked and Isaac nodded, "Yeah, maybe I am still milking that." He said making Wren sigh softly and shake her head.

"Hi." A voice said making them all turn to see Kira standing at the end of the table, "Hi, sorry. I couldn't help overhearing what you guys were talking about. And I think I actually might know what you're talking about. There's a Tibetan word for it. It's called "Bardo." It literally means "in-between state." The state between life and death." She explained, looking at the six friends nervously.

"And what do they call you?" Lydia asked but this time Scott answered, "Kira." He said making everyone look at him with raised eyebrows while Wren looked at him with a knowing smirk. "She's in our History class." He said and Kira looked down with a small smile.

"Are you talking Bardo in Tibetan Buddhism or Indian?" Wren asked and Kira sat down next to Stiles. "Either, I guess. But all the stuff you guys were just saying? All that happens in Bardo. There are different progressive states where you can have hallucinations. Some you see, some you just hear. And you can by visited by peaceful and wrathful deities."

"Wrathful deities? And what are those?" Isaac asked, "Demons." Kira said making all their eyes widen slightly. "Demons. Why not?" Stiles said looking at everyone, "Hold on, if there are different progressive states, then what's the last one?" Allison asked.

"Death. You die." Kira said making everyone take a deep breath looking around at each other.

🦊

"It sounds like your subconscious is trying to communicate with you." Deaton said as he, Scott, Stiles and Wren walked into the clinic. "Well, how do I tell my subconscious to use a language that I actually know?"

"Do you remember what the sign language looked like? The placement and movement of the hands?" Deaton asked and Scott raised his eyebrows, "You know sign language?" He asked and Deaton nodded, "I know a little."

"Okay, the first one was like this. Then." Stiles said, demonstrating what he saw. "That's "when." Deaton nodded then Stiles did another one, "Then there was this, twice." Stiles said and Deaton nodded, "That's door." He said. "And this in between it."

"That's it?" Deaton asked and Stiles nodded, "When is a door not a door?" Deaton said making Stiles squint at them. "When is a door not a door?" He asked, "When it's ajar." Scott said. "You're kidding me. A riddle? My subconscious wants to tell me a riddle?"

"Not necessarily. When the three of you went under the water, when you crossed from unconsciousness to a kind of super-consciousness You essentially opened a door in your minds." Deaton explained. "So what does that mean? The door's still open?" Scott asked.

"Ajar."

"A door into our minds?"

"We did tell you it was risky." Wren said and they sighed, "What do we do about it?" Scott asked and Deaton sighed, "Well, that's difficult to answer."

"Oh, no, wait a second, I know that look. That's the- I know exactly what's wrong with you, but I have no idea how to fix it- look." Stiles said and Deaton sighed, "One thing I do know is that having an opening like that into your mind, it's not good. You each need to close that door. And you need to do it as soon as possible."

Stiles, Scott and Wren walk out of the animal clinic to see Stiles' dad pull up, "Dad, what are you doing here?" Stiles asked. "I'm here because I could use some help. Actually Your help." He said looking at Scott, "Why me?"

"Because eight years ago, almost an entire family died in a car accident. One of the bodies, a young girl named Malia, was never found. There's enough evidence to have me thinking that That a werewolf could have caused the accident, and then dragged her body away. If you could somehow get a lock on her scent if you could somehow help me find her body, it might provide the missing clue." He explained.

"But what if it was a werewolf?"

"Well, there's somebody out there who murdered an entire family. Someone who still needs to be caught."

🦊

Slowly, Scott, Stiles and Wren walked over to Mr. Tate's back door that lead into Malia's old room. Stiles started to open the door but it made a creaking sound making him freeze while they all cringed. He went to open it more and it squeaked  before he fully opened it.

They quickly walked into the room and Stiles instantly started tossing stuffed animals to Scott for him to smell. "All I'm getting is some animal smell." Scott said with a sigh, "What kind if animal?" Wren asked and almost instantly she was answered by a growling sound.

They froze for a moment before slowly looking over to see a rottweiler staring in front of him. "Dog." Scott whispered as the dog growled at them again, "Hi puppy." Scott whispered slowly. "Get rid of it." Stiles said.

"Me?"

"Yes, you! Glow your eyes at it! Something! Be the Alpha!" Stiles whispered as the dog growled again, "I can't... I don't have control..." Scott said making Wren sigh and pinch the bridge of her nose for a moment. "Okay, buddy, you're going to have to try something." Stiles said.

Scott held his hand out, taking a step forward, "Nice doggy." He said making Wren look at him in disbelief. All of the sudden the dog started barking making them all jump. "You guys are horrible at breaking in!" Wren hissed as Tate yelled for the dog to shut up. "Oh and what? You can do better?" Stiles asked and Wren nodded, "Probably!"

"Okay then go ahead." Stiles said gesturing to the dog. "Fine." Wren said before grabbing a Tony off the bed and taking a step forward towards the dog as he was still darling. "Apollo! Shut up!" Tate yelled as Wren slowly crouched down in front of Apollo.

"Hi puppy." She said in a soft but high voice before holding up the toy then quietly tossing it outside the room. The dog instantly chased after it making Wren and the guys sigh in relief. "Here, try that." Stiles said, handing Scott something else and Scott shook his head, "All I'm getting is the dog." Scott sighed, shaking his head.

🦊

Wren, Scott and Stiles hopped out of the jeep after pulling over somewhere away from Tate's house, to talk to Stilinski. "I'm sorry. I tried as hard as I could. If it wasn't so long ago, I might have been able to do it." Scott said and Stilinski sighed and shook his head.

"It's okay. It was a long shot. In fact, it was a pretty terrible idea. I think I just ripped a wound

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