Whose Eyes Were Red? [s.m][3]

chapter 16

 "I never said it back. I never said it back." She muttered, looking up at the three of them now. She had never told Stiles she loved him too. Levi felt the tears pool in her eyes as she shared the look with her best friend, completely understanding the pain she was feeling.

The moment was cut short, but a faint rattling sound as the green light around them started to get brighter as it shone through the cracks of the walls. They all stood up, Lydia taking the lead as the walked towards the door of the bunker.

She opened the hatch, moving forward and into the tunnel. At the bottom was a white light, and in the faintest of glows, Levi could make out the figure of a person.

"Stiles?" Lydia breathed.

//.//

"Stiles?" Lydia called out as the light fully vanished from sight. Levi swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat as she realised there was no sign of Stiles now that the light had faded away - just the empty tunnels before them.

"Lydia..." Scott gently murmured, knowing how much this was hurting his friend. While they could all remember Stiles now, there was little chance they might ever see him again since their original idea hadn't worked out.

"Where is he?" Lydia questioned, spinning to face the other three supernaturals in the tunnel with her. "It was working. You saw him, right?" She begged for a response, frantic and irrational as if she was trying to convince herself that she hadn't just imagined seeing Stiles in front of her.

"We didn't see anyone," Malia answered for her and Scott, but Levi wasn't so sure she agreed with their observations. She had definitely seen the figure of the boy in the glare, but maybe she had just been so desperate to have him back that she simply imagined it.

"No. He was here. I know it. Stiles was here!" Lydia insisted, not happy that her friends didn't believe her. She had seen him.

"I believe you, Lyds," Levi muttered, placing a soft hand on her back as they turned to head back to the bunker they were using to hide from the Ghost Riders. Scott and Levi shared a glance, and she could see nothing but the hurt and pain in his eyes from potentially loosing his best friend forever.

Malia sat with Lydia as they re-entered the bunker, Levi and Scott working together to close the large metal door. Levi heard footsteps, pausing for a second while Scott continued to push it shut.

Her ears were right, as the young beta of the McCall pack came barrelling into the gap between the door and the wall, his eyes wide and frantic as he studied his alphas.

"Liam!" Scott breathed, not having expected to see him again after their previous bad luck.

"There's something you need to see!" He threw out, looking frantically between Levi and Scott while not sparing a glance towards Malia or Lydia. They needed to hurry before the Ghost Riders got to them.

"You're still here?" Levi murmured, ignoring his demand as she tried to figure out how he had managed to stay away from their grasps.

"But everyone else is gone, all of them. They're all gone," Liam told the alpha couple, not having the time to deal with their surprise that he was actually alive and not in a separate ghost dimension. "Look, you have to come with me." 

"What is it?" Scott asked, not in a hurry to leave behind Malia or Lydia.

"I can't explain it. I have to show you."  

"Uh, all right. You guys stay here." Scott decided, turning to address Lydia and Malia who seemed almost confused at the situation that was occurring. Levi didn't blame either of them, she was also confused as to what was actually happening around them.