Echo House

I sit on the animal slab while Deaton keeps flashing a light in my eyes and checking my vitals. "It doesn't make any sense. I thought you three closed the doors to your mind after Malia but it seems Scarlett's stayed open."


Scott stays his distance across the room. "What do we do?"


"I have no idea. I thought it was simple but Scarlett is much more complex than I've ever seen. From her powers to this. The mysteries never end with her."


"If we closed the doors of our minds, how can we close hers?"


"Maybe it's the fact that her door needs to stay open for some purpose. I just don't know what."


Scott takes me on the back of his motorcycle. I eventually figure out we're following the sheriff and Stiles. We ride silently as Sheriff Stilinski drives through the rain to a mental institution. Scott follows him on his dirt bike. I have to sit behind him with my handcuff hands around his waist. He put them there so I don't try to escape and 'do anything bad', as he said. We pull up to a creepy building with a huge gate entrance. Eichen House. They all step out. Scott pulls my arms up and runs over to Stiles, pulling me along. "Why didn't you tell me?"


"Because we wanted to avoid something like this," Sheriff Stilinski answers.


"Good job," I sarcastically say.


Scott yanks at my arm. "It's only 72 hours," Stiles says.


"Just to let you people know, this is the same place Baro, creepy and really crazy mental patient, came from," I say.


"He has a tumor filled with flies," Scott adds. "You don't know everything yet."


"I know enough. Nogitsune, kitsune, Oni...or whatever they're called."


"No, that's all surprisingly correct," Stiles replies.


"Scott, I saw an MRI that looked exactly like my wife's and it terrifies me. I'm heading down to L. A. morgue to talk to a specialist."


"Why are you putting him in here?" Scott asks.


"He's not. It's my decision."


"Stiles, we can't help you if you're in there."


"And I can't hurt you."


"Deaton has some ideas, Argent is calling people and Scarlett has actually has been doing some thorough research. We're gonna find something and, if we can't..."


"If you can't..." Stiles leans closer. "Then you do something for me. Make sure I never get out."


Sheriff gestures him to go in but I yell, "Wait!"


I break from my handcuffs. "Let me go. Check me in. I can protect him on the inside."


Sheriff and Scott exchange some looks. Scott nods slowly. I follow them inside and I'm out in a separate office. The lady asks me to remove all metal objects I have, after I fill out papers and get a verbal agreement from my mom. I take out my keys and money. I have to remove  my necklaces, ring, bracelets, and belt into a grey tray. She slides me some brown slippers. "No laces," the lady says.


I slide off my sneakers and take the slippers. "Alright, there will be no visitors, phone calls or emails allowed for your first seven hours here. Understand?"


I nod. "Got it."


She lays out the process of group therapy, meeting with a psychologist and a physical. I just nod at everything she says. She looks up and nods. A cold hand touches my shoulder. I slowly look up and one the attendants, a tall male is standing behind. He leads me up some stairs and stops at a room in a far corner. It is just  huge metal door. "It's been listed that you have nightmares and you scream. Normal patients get reported for misbehavior because of that. So you won't set off other patients, we're putting you where the room is sound proof."


He opens the door by putting in a key code. Five, seven, eight, three. He stands to the side and I walk in the room. It is empty except for a small window and a twin size bed. It has two blankets and one pillow. I notice a blinking red light next to my bed. "What's that?" I ask, sitting on the edge of the bed.


"That's how we know you're screaming," he replies. "Think of it as a baby monitor."


He closes the door and I hear him re-lock the door with a beep. I sigh and get under the covers. I feel a cold chill up my back so I pull the blankets all the way up to my neck. I close my eyes and, for once, I don't have a nightmare. I don't even dream. I wake up to the sun beaming in my face and a click by my door. The door swings open. The same guy from last night is standing there. "You can walk around, McCall."


I slide out of bed and stand to my feet slowly. "Just Scarlett."


He nods with a smile. I walk into the hallway and slowly make my way outside with everyone else. I walk outside and see all the other patients. They seem more crazy than me and Stiles combined. There are actually a few that look like normal people  but looks can be deceiving. I sit on the railing and stare at my hands. "Hi, there," a voice says.


I look up and a young boy in standing next to me. He is one of the people that look normal. He has nice bright blue eyes and a warm smile. "Hi..."


"You must be Scarlett, the screamer."


"How..."


He sits next to me, laughing. "My brother was the guy that took you to your room. His words did you no justice."


I look up up to him staring me up and down. "Um, thank you?"


"So...why are you here?"


"I have nightmares that seem real so I scream."


He just gives me a look. It can't be the worst he's heard but he does get up and leave. I see Stiles come around the corner with some boy. "Stiles!"


He sees me and looks like he has never been happier. "Scar."


He sits next to me and his little friend just stand there awkwardly. "Oh, Oliver, this is Scarlett. This is my, um, new friend, Oliver."


"Hi," he says to me. He turns back to Stiles. "You didn't tell me you had a hot girlfriend."


I feel my face turn red. Stiles looks at me and smiles. "She's not my girlfriend, dude," he replies. "She's my best friend and her brother is also my best friend."


Oliver nods and leaves. I turn fully to Stiles. "So, how has it been for you?"


"This place is not safe for anyone. We need to leave."


He starts walking to the phone. He is in such a rush, I have to try to keep up with his fast pace. While I'm walking, I turn the corner but I'm in a dark and cold room. I turn to go back but I slam into a heavy body. It's the nogitsune. He does not speak to me this time. He just grabs me by the shoulders and I flash. I'm back at my house. I gasp and look around. I count my fingers on both hands. Ten. None more and none less. I walk inside and my mother is doing dishes.


She jumps up and almost drops of plate. "Scarlett! You're home. I thought you weren't allowed to leave unless I checked you out. Are...you okay?"


I just sigh. From there on out, I didn't have control over my actions. "Mom, did you ever stop him from abusing me?"


She drops a plate in the sink. "What?"


"Did you ever stop him? When you heard your little girl, crying and screaming, what did you do? Did you bother to protect me? You just held Scott in your arms in another room and tuned out all the noise?"


She turns around slowly and keeps herself pressed against the counter. "Scarlett, I would never-"


"Never let anyone hurt me? But you did. I had to cover up bruises and scratches from him so no would know. I wore glasses because he hit me with a bottle."


I start to walk toward her but my knees give out. I fall the kitchen floor and pass out. I wake up in a dimly lit room. I turn around to find the bandaged man standing there. "He's asleep..." he whispers.


"Leave Stiles alone. He doesn't deserve this."


"You keep forgetting, Scarlett. This is what I do. I cause pain, chaos and strife. But I need a host to help me and it looks like Stiles is perfect. No one suspects the defenseless, pale human boy."


"They know. They're planning on killing you."


He starts stepping closer. "You won't let that happen, Scarlett. You're not my host but you are still a pawn."


"Is this a game to you?"


"Your friends and your brother are playing checkers when I'm playing chess."


He grabs my face. "Too bad one of the knights have to fall."


I snap back into reality. I have a knife sticking out of me. I lean against my door and try to catch my breath.  My mom is standing there, screaming.


Scott's POV


I park my dirt bike and run into the hospital. "Where's my sister?" I yell.


Two nurses come out. "She's in ICU, Scott," one says. "We're doing everything we can."


I'm forced to sit in the waiting room. I call Derek to sit with me. While I'm waiting for him, or some news on Scarlett's condition, I try to keep happy thought. I feel her pain. It's like the most heaviest weight on my shoulders. That's the hardest thing of having a supernatural twin. You feel their pain and they feel yours. That's why I try to keep myself from crying because she has to get through her own pain and not have mine added to it. Ten minutes later, Derek comes rushing in. "What happened?" he asks immediately.


I look at the lady who's sitting at the front desk and gesture to the door. We go outside so no one overhears what actually happened. "My mom said she came out of nowhere while she was suppose to be at Eichen House. She starts talking all this crazy about our dad then she took a knife and stabbed herself."


"Do you think it was actually her who stabbed herself?"


"Yes and no. Maybe that place got to her."


He takes a second to contemplate things in his head. "It could be the same thing that happened with Stiles, that night you said he twisted that sword."


A chill runs down my spine at the memory. The crazy look in his eyes. The nogitsune. "But the nogitsune can't possess werewolves, can they? Maybe it was just using her to get information or lure us into traps. Now, he doesn't need her. Why?"


"He has Stiles."


"He had Stiles before."


"Not completely. Now, he is vulnerable and unprotected at the institution. Stiles has no control of his body anymore."


My mom comes running outside. "She's stable but they said she might not make it through the night."


Me and Derek follow her to where she is. She has a cannula and a cord from every which way of her body. I hear my mom sniff and walk out. Me and Derek stand over her in silence for over five minutes. "She looks terrible," Derek says, trying to joke.


I scoff. "You should see her in the morning."


I take hold of her hand and it feel cold. I'm about to take her pain when Derek grabs my wrist. "Don't," he says.


I freeze, I'm scared to pull back or to go on with the process. "What?"


He gestures to Scarlett. I look over and I see her eyes fluttering. They start to slowly open. "Scott," she whispers.


Derek releases me and I bring my hand to her hair. "Hey," I reply with the softest voice I can.


"We can't help Stiles."


I give a worried look to Derek. "Scarlett, we can. We just need more answers."


"Stiles is the nogitsune now. He's...void."


"We still need to help him," Derek says.


"Scott, it's a game."


"A game?"


"He's playing a game. Don't let him win. Make...the move."


"What move?"


"Your divine move."


Her eyes start to glow and I almost scream. Her left eye is red and the other is blue. What the hell? Her eyes close and I hear her heart monitor make one long beep. I clench my fist and run outside. I feel my wolf side start to rip out of me. My twin sister is dead and it's all my fault. I let her slip through my fingers.

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