єṅċһѧṅṭяєṡṡ - ṡ.ṡṭıʟıṅṡҡı

156

Scott hesitates for a moment before he turns and walks out of the room to investigate. Stiles follows after Scott and Faline to accompany them, but on his way to the door, he becomes distracted by the photos hanging on the wall next to it.

Meanwhile, Scott, still holding a lit flashlight and Faline with a ball of light in her hand, make their way down the stairs and back into the completely empty living room. They then enter the dining room, once again making note of the empty plates and glasses set on the table until the sound of footsteps nearby causes them to look alarmed and uneasy. Faline and Scott are about to follow the sound when they glance back at the table and realizes to both of their shock that the plates that were just on the table have vanished; had it not been 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.

Downstairs, Scott and Faline are walking through the dining room toward the kitchen when they hear floorboards creaking near the foyer, causing them to rush toward the sound in hopes of finding who is in the house with them. However, as soon as they turn the corner toward the door, they run straight into Liam and Mason, both of whom gasp in fright before realizing it is just Scott and Faline. All four of them catch their breath for a brief moment before speaking.

"What-what are you doing here?" Liam asks."This is Alex's house. What are you doing here?" Scott asks."This is where the compass led us" "What compass?"

Mason steps forward and holds out his right hand, which is holding a compass. Faline frowns when she looks at the compass and sees that the needle is spinning around, seemingly of its own accord.

"Why's it doing that?" Scott asks.

"I have no idea"

Liam pulls his phone out of his pocket and looks at the screen before holding it out for Scott and Mason to see. The compass app has been pulled up, but the needle on it is also spinning around, with a "??" in the centre where the direction should be indicated.

"They're all doing it," Liam says.

Suddenly, the compass in Mason's hand spins so hard that the glass face shatters, startling Scott, Mason, Faline and Liam, who had been watching the compass intently. When they hear a thumping noise upstairs, they run up the staircase to find Stiles in the middle of standing to his feet.

"What? What happened?" "He was here. He shot at me!" Stiles says, moving next to Faline and she wraps her arms around him.

Stiles points at the bullet holes in the door to Alex's room.

"It was one of the guys you saw in Alex's memory"

"The guy who took his parents?" Mason asks."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"

Scott, Faline, and Stiles share a terrified look before Stiles turns and runs toward Alex's room. As soon as he opens the door, they are all stunned to find that the room is completely empty-- every piece of furniture, every photo, and every toy has vanished.

"Holy mother of God," Faline whispers.

Night has fallen, and Stiles and Faline are walking together outside of the high school after having takeout. 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 says.

"Pensée a civage? It's French for "a lingering thought you can't reach."