tried to sit up, but her muscles were too weak, and the fatigue was too much.

“Erica…” she whispered, her voice hoarse. “Did it… work?”

Erica nodded, her face softening as she gently wiped the sweat from Gabriella’s forehead. “yea...yea it did”

[...]

As Gabriella finishs healing, they rush down to the first floor

As they reach the parking lot they saw Scott standing just past the parked cars and holding the flare in one hand with Stiles slowly making his way towards him as lydia and Allison watcb

Strangely, Scott was dripping wet. Literally soaked all over.

But the trail of liquid leading to a tell-tale ORANGE CONTAINER nearby tells them it's not water.

It's gasoline

One careful but deliberate step at a time, Stiles approaches Scott.

He reaches out. Scott’s fingers tighten around the flare.

But Stiles gently grasps it and slowly pulls it from his hand.

As the others breathe in relief, Stiles tosses the sparking flare aside.

Gabriella watches it tumble across the pavement.

Until a strange GUST OF WIND sends it rolling back, right toward the pool of gasoline.

“NO!” she screamed, taking off toward the flare and the gasoline. She was too far away. Too slow.

The flare hit the gasoline and ignited in a blinding explosion. A massive fireball erupted in an instant, engulfing Scott, Stiles, and Gabriella in a roaring inferno. The heat was suffocating, the flames licking at their skin with an unforgiving force. Gabriella could feel the heat searing through her clothes, the fire crawling toward her.

Her body tensed, ready for the impact, but as the fire surged, her mind raced with thoughts of Scott, Stiles, and the impossible pain of being caught in such a blaze.

Time seemed to slow. All she could hear was the crackle of fire, the sound of her heart pounding in her ears. She couldn’t see, couldn’t think—only feel the intense, burning heat surrounding them.

And then, just as quickly as it had erupted, the flames seemed to dissipate but before it did Gabriella saw A FACE with severe lacerations scarring the ashen skin, as if
it had been slashed over and over by claws. Its round eyes focused on Gabriella, the creature bares rotted teeth at her with

a hate-filled SHRIEK and then VANISHES into the shadows.

The world fell silent.

Allison, Erica and Lydia stood frozen, eyes wide in shock, certain they had just watched their friends burn alive. The fire had been so intense. There had been no way they could have survived.

But as the last tendrils of smoke rose into the air, something strange began to happen. The air shimmered around Scott, Stiles, and Gabriella.

A golden light flickered.

And then, out of the flames, three figures emerged, unscathed, standing within a force field of shimmering gold. Gabriella, Scott, and Stiles were alive.

But it wasn’t just the force field that was startling. Gabriella’s eyes, usually a sharp red, were now glowing a brilliant gold, flickering with an ethereal light. The gold seemed to pulse with an energy all its own, radiating warmth and power as if the flames themselves had forged something new within her.

They gasped in disbelief, their voices catching in their throats.

“They’re… they’re alive,” Lydia whispered, her eyes glued to the golden aura surrounding them. She couldn’t process what she was seeing. It was as though reality itself had shifted.

Erica stepped forward, her eyes narrowing in confusion and awe. She had no words—only the strange, electric hum of the air around Gabriella. The force field flickered and wavered, but it remained intact, protecting them.

Scott staggered slightly, his wet clothes clinging to him as he looked around, confused but alive. Stiles, equally stunned, wiped the soot from his face, his eyes wide with disbelief.

As the fire disappeared so did the force field and the gold in Gabriella's eyes

Erica ran to Gabriella hugging her “ your an idiot....why would you ran into that

What... what the hell is that? How are you... how are you all alive?”

Lydia, breathless, shook her head, her voice trembling. “What... what the hell is that? How are you... how are you all alive?”

Gabriella’s voice cut through the stillness, her tone stronger than before, though it was laced with exhaustion. “What... who the hell was that ?”

Gabriella looked back at the place she saw the disfigured face which was now gone

Scott and Stiles both stood off to the side, trying to shake off the shock, but even they were visibly unsettled by what had just happened. Stiles wiped soot from his cheek, glancing at Gabriella and then at Erica.

“Gabby, are you alright?” Stiles asked, his voice soft with concern.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Gabriella replied, but the uncertainty in her tone made it clear she wasn’t entirely sure what had just happened to her

Lydia stepped forward, her eyes scanning Gabriella, trying to piece together the puzzle. “You weren’t... affected by the fire,” she said slowly, her voice barely above a whisper. "And what the hell was that golden energy? It wasn’t just a shield, was it? It was like it was part of you."

Gabriella shook her head. “I don’t know,” she said, her eyes narrowing as she tried to recall what had happened in the moment before the fire. The memory was blurry, but there was a lingering sense that something had changed within her—something deep and ancient. “It was like... like something in me just... woke up. And I just... acted on instinct.”

[...]

With the bright sunlight streaming in through its windows, the door of the bus yanks open and Coach steps inside followed by the Cross Country Team.

Everyone pauses, however, to notice something odd...

Scott, Stiles,Erica, Gabriella, Lydia, Allison, Isaac and Boyd, all begin to wake up in the seats, clearly having spent the rest of the
night on 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"

While the team quickly fills the bus, Gabriella looks up to see Ethan approach "I don’t know what happened last night, but I know you probably saved my life"

Stiles spoke up from the seat behind Gabriella "Actually, I saved your life. But doesn’t matter really. Minor detail"

Ignoring him ethan turns his gaze back to Gabriella "So, I’m going to give you something... We’re pretty sure Derek’s still alive..But he killed one of ours and you know how that goes"

Gabriella sighs "he joins your pack And kills his own Or Kali goes after him and kill him"

Ethan gives a final nod and steps past Allison and Lydia’s seat.

Noticing something, Lydia stands "Coach, can I see your whistle for a second?"

Before he can respond, Lydia reaches for the whistle just below his neck.

When she lifts it a stain of PURPLE DUST is
revealed on his shirt.

"I want that back" As he turns, Lydia puts her hand over the whistle’s air vent and gives it a short breath.

With Gabriella and the others watching, she turns her palm up to show a bit of PURPLE DUST "Wolfsbane'

"Every time Coach blew the whistle in the bus--scott,Gabriella, Erica,Isaac, Boyd--"

"And Ethan"

"We all inhaled it" Scott realized

"You were all poisoned by it"

"That’s how the Darach got into their heads. That’s how he did it" Grabbing the whistle out of Lydia’s hand, Gabriella tosses it right out the open window. Then turns back to see Coach glaring at her

"I’ll buy you a new one"