How hard could it be? • LM / SS

Chapter 54

               "Cause I'm getting pretty
                         fucking tired."

Throughout the whole summer, Isaac had been helping Derek look for Erica and Boyd. They had had no luck, until Isaac went missing for a while. When he came back and didn't remember anything, they reluctantly turned to Peter to see if he could help regain the memories. Scott had asked Jade if she could do the memory thing she had mentioned during sophomore year, but she was only taught how to show memories, not unlock other people's. Their final option was putting Isaac in an ice bath and seeing if it could trigger his memories.

"How slow does his heart rate need to be?" Scott asked. He didn't particularly like the idea of this. There was too many things that could go wrong.

"Nearly dead," Jade replied bluntly. All heads shot up in fear. They didn't realise it had to be that slow. It was too dangerous.

"It's safe, though, right?" Isaac withdrew his hand from the ice.

"Do you want me to answer honestly?" Deaton questioned.

"No. No, not really."

A rubber glove snapped, catching their attention. Stiles was standing with a goofy grin on his face, clearly enjoying this more than he should. "What?" he queried. Sighing, he pulled it off, ignoring the glares from everyone.

"Look, if it feels too risky, you don't have to do this," Derek noted. Max was surprised. This was one of the rare times he'd seen the man show some worry for his beta.

Isaac took off his shirt, throwing it to the floor. He climbed into the bath, grimacing at the coldness. Although, the twins hadn't missed Scott catching a glance at Isaac's abs.

"You were staring," Jade smirked, nudging Scott in the ribs. "You're blushing."

"Shut up, it's hot in here."

"I bet it is."

Noticing Isaac struggling to get out of the bath, she left her teasing for later. There was plenty more time for that; a lifetime to be exact. The four teenagers and Derek grabbed the boy, shoving him into the water. He shot up, letting out a growl.

"Get him back under," Deaton ordered. If they couldn't do that much, there wasn't going to be much point in trying. Isaac fought desperately to get out of their hold, obviously regretting his decision to do this. No. He had to do this. It was for Boyd. For Erica. "Hold him."

"We're trying!" Derek yelled. Had that not been clear? They didn't particularly enjoy getting their clothes soaked.

"Relajar," Jade whispered. The boy stopped resisting, letting himself float to the top of the water. About time.

"Remember, only I talk to him. Too many voices will confuse him and draw him out," Deaton whispered.

The druid guided Isaac through the procedure while Jade attempted to keep her magic steady. She could feel her magic slip slightly when Isaac got more anxious. Derek started interfering, not stopping even when Jade sent multiple bolts of pain at him. What was he doing? He was gonna kill Isaac! Trust him to do exactly what he was told not to do.

The overload of magic was too much to handle; she lost her grip on Isaac. She jumped back in pain, a burn travelling up her hand. The pain of that was nothing compared to the final words Isaac had said. It was something that none of them were hoping to hear. Something they had been dreading to hear. The worst thing possible.

"A vault. It's a bank vault! I saw it! I saw the name! It's Beacon Hills 1st National Bank. It's an abandoned bank and they're keeping them locked in a vault."