hold me closer

46

"You saw a carousel?" I questioned, trying to picture what she saw in her vision.

"And a big sign that said 'Canaan' and people disappearing in clouds of smoke," she added.

"Do you ever have nice dreams?" Malia commented.

"We need to go to Canaan," Lydia said.

"It would be helpful if we knew anything about the place," Malia said, closing the laptop. "I keep calling the number for City Hall and no one answers. The only map I can find it on is thirty years old." She unfolded the map. "So far, the only thing I know about Canaan is where it is." She pointed to the red circle. It wasn't that far away from Beacon Hills. We were like neighboring towns, yet I had never heard of it before.

Lydia grabbed the map. "That's all we need to know."

We left the school. Just another few more classes on top of the thirty-something that I've missed this school year. As we went to Canaan, Liam was figuring out a way to catch a ghost rider. I slept most of the way since I was exhausted from healing Peter Hale, the psychotic nut job. Lydia had to shake me awake, though as I got a call from Ms. McCall.

"He didn't heal?" I questioned.

"He did," she replied. "But then it... unhealed. There's a toxin I don't think you got out. He's scheduled for surgery, but if they perform the procedure, it'll spread. It's a lot to ask, but can you come to the hospital?"

"Yeah, I, uh... " I trailed off, looking at the abandoned houses. "I'm about to take a make-up physiology test... I'll try come after."

She sighed. "All right. Good luck."

"Thanks." I hung up and looked at the houses again. "We'll need it."

I shook Scott awake and he slowly sat up, asking "Where are we?"

"According to the GPS, this is it," Malia informed.

I stepped out of my car. The trees were healthy but were overgrown. All of the bushes were. Many leaves were scattered around the ground. Cars were in driveways but were old and some had rusted. There was a large water tower in the distance. The buildings were dirty, the doors open, some windows smashed.

"This is it," I spoke first. "Canaan's a ghost town."

"I don't hear a single heartbeat," Scott said as we walked down the streets.

"I'm not catching any scents," Malia added.

"I wonder why Stiles would send us here?" Scott said.

Then the lamp post flickered on. Crows sounded in the distance. It couldn't have been any creepier. I looked up at the torn Canaan banner.

"This is the place I saw in the mirror," Lydia stated.

Scott, Malia, and I continued onwards. We cane to a picnic table. There were old newspapers that were browning. I picked up a few, reading the dates. The newspapers were in the late 1980s. It had been a ghost town since.

Then, I heard the carousel creak. We walked towards it, joined by Lydia. On one of the horses, red was coated on it. I tried reaching for Scott, realizing he was going to step on it. He tried but failed, causing the carousel to spin. It made a squeaking sound as it spun and all I wanted to do was get away from it.

As I roamed around, I saw a face in a house. I walked towards it, then it went away. I approached cautiously and extended my bo staff. I walked inside and standing before me was someone who should have been on the other side of the world.