the hunt • stiles stilinski [3]

four • relics

a week had passed since our visit to elias stilinski, and three more bodies had been discovered. each of them had their heads bitten open and their pineal glands missing. it seemed to be a common occurrence, something that had been going on ever since the ghost riders made their way to beacon hills. it was truly frightening, and another problem to add to the list.

now, i was gazing up at the ceiling of scotts living room. liam was placed on my right, scott to my left. on scotts other side were mason and corey. on the ceiling was. large black mark. there was a big circle, and coming from it were what looked like long cracks that led to one black nothing. it painted the ceiling, spreading out across it. it was kind of disturbing.

corey pointed to the black mark on the ceiling, asking, "that's how he got in?"

"what is it?" liam questioned.

"it's a point of impact from a lightning strike," mason explained. "usually you'd find charred spots like that on the ground after a violent thunderstorm."

"that's how the ghost rider got in. he rode lightning," scott concluded. he looked down at me and i nodded, agreeing.

liam glanced at us, the boy voicing, "if they can use the lightning to get past the mountain ash... no place is safe."

"what about the others?" corey asked, worry laced in his tone. "it's my fault they're marked."

"we'll find a way to protect them," i assured, sending him a soft smile.

"all of them," scott added.

later that day at school, scott and i had met up with lydia and malia. mason and liam went to the library to research more on lightning patterns. scott leaned against the wall, peering around the corner at lydia. i stood in between malia and scott, lydia stood on the other side of malia and pushed against one of the walls.

lydia handed me the student ID she had found and i took it slowly. the three of us gazed at it curiously. i flipped the ID card in my hand, my eyes examining it. it belonged to a sophomore by the name of jake sullivan, whoever that was.

"it's a relic," lydia explained.

"what's a relic?" malia asked, confused.

"an object with a fixed association to the past," i answered dryly, handing it back to lydia.

she nodded in agreement before continuing to explain, "jakes ID was left behind after he was taken. and gwen found her sisters bracelet on her bedroom floor."

malia, still confused, asked, "how can someone be erased, and still leave something behind?"

"a conservation of mass," lydia was met with blank stares from both malia and scott.

i sighed, explaining, "the total mass of any isolated system remains constant."

scott quirked a brow. "so the ghost riders have a weakness."

i stood straighter, a hopeful feeling running through me. my eyes widened slightly as i stared at lydia. "a relic would be proof that stiles existed."

"and maybe we can bring him back," scott added.

"essentially," lydia said, nodding her head.

"so where can we find a relic from stiles?" malia asked, shaking her head lightly in confusion.

"i think i know where we can start to look," lydia answered.

"after school?" scott asked, the boy not wanting to miss anymore classes. lydia nodded in response and took off down the hall towards her class. next to leave was malia.