Gather The Ashes || Stilinski || Book Three

Forty-Three

SIERRA FOUND IT CONCERNING HOW EASY IT WAS TO SLIP INTO THE HOSPITAL.

After all the supernatural damage done in the past, Sierra at least expected to run into a few security guards. However, because of Melissa, she walked inside with Lydia and Stiles perfectly fine.

They headed down the back staircase, darkness greeting them when they made it to the bottom. Sierra nervously flicked her gaze to her strawberry-blonde friend.

Lydia held a determined look in her eyes and she walked with a mission in mind. The Dread Doctors were in the operating room, they had to have been. She wanted to know who they were messing with and why.

Stiles led the way with his phone flashlight. Then, when they reached their destination, he pushed through the door.

Only one light was on, giving the teenagers a dim view of the room. A patient's chair sat in the middle, surrounded by medical trays. Different cabinets were pushed against the wall and shelves were stocked with medicine of all sorts.

Sierra swept her eyes over the space as Lydia asked Stiles to turn on the lights. Like Lydia, she desired to know what the Dread Doctors were doing in the hospital. Except because she still hadn't experienced her repressed memory, she acted with more caution. Her hand remained slightly poised at her side in case something went wrong.

"Uh, not going on," Stiles reported, referring to the lights. No matter how many times he flicked the switch, they stayed off.

"Just go ask someone," Lydia said, walking further into the room.

Stiles furrowed his eyebrows. "I thought this was more of an auditory thing?" he asked.

"I still want to see what I'm hearing."

Stiles exchanged weird glances with Sierra, who shrugged her shoulders. When Lydia got into her banshee daze, she only understood so much. "Okay?"

"Try Melissa," Sierra suggested to him. "When I called her on the way over, she said she'd be on the third floor if we needed anything."

Stiles nodded and backed away to the door. "Okay. I'll be back then."

He left, leaving Sierra and Lydia alone. The true empath stationed herself at the door and leaned against the frame, remaining silent so Lydia could focus on her powers. The banshee didn't know exactly what she was listening for, but tuned in her ears nonetheless. Her feet moved slowly about the area, until she froze.

A beep.

Quiet and slow at first, creating a rhythm Lydia recognized. She turned her head, her sight falling to the heart monitor posted by the operating chair.

Sierra glanced away from the door just to see the dazed glaze over her eyes. Her breath hitched as she watched Lydia slowly make her way to the other side of the room.

Lydia narrowed her focus, concentrating solely on the heart monitor. It continued to beep, though it remained unplugged. A click faded in. An electric buzz that raised goosebumps on Lydia's arms.

"Hayden," the robotic voice of a Dread Doctor whispered. "Hayden."

Lydia swallowed hard.

Her hand reached down, picking up the wires hanging from the machine. Then, she saw everything.

Reality glitched.

A terrified boy she didn't know sat in the chair, his wrists and ankles bound. Even another leather band strapped his head. Tears trickled down his pale cheeks as he begged, "Please don't hurt me. Please, please don't hurt me."