CHAPTER EIGHT
ALL HANDS ON DECK

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     Days after everything that happened at Eichen House, Alana Jane couldn't help but think about what Valack said before the Dread Doctors came. Apparently, she was supposed to be chaos because of the power she wielded but still didn't fully understand. If Valack did have any information that could help her, she was sure he was no longer an option. But if what he said was true and the book he wrote would open the eyes of anyone who reads it, then that was what she needed to do. Kira told her that she already printed copies so Alana Jane was going to have to ask for a copy so she could read it. Maybe it would help her understand more about herself and the kind of power she had.

     A knock on the door startled Alana Jane out of her thoughts and she sighed slowly through her nose as she looked at her father. "Stop staring at the wall and get to school," he said gruffly.

     Alana Jane swallowed thickly and grabbed her bag and keys. Once she was in the car, she put on a playlist and started heading to school so she could ask Kira for a copy of The Dread Doctors. When she glanced in the mirror, she saw a person's reflection in it. Her eyes were grey and her skin was pale and slightly rotted with decay. Alana Jane screamed as she floored the breaks and looked in the backseat. Her heart was beating wildly as she realized no one was there and turned down the radio. She grabbed handfuls of her hair as she leaned back in her seat while trying to compose herself.

     "It's not real," she whispered to herself as she put her hands back on the wheel and stepped on the gas pedal.

     She avoided looking in the mirror for the rest of the drive, afraid the corpse would appear again. When she did get to school, she stayed seated in the car to try and gather her thoughts. She closed her eyes as she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She kept repeating to herself that it wasn't real and it was just her mind playing tricks on her.

     Alane Jane turned the engine off and grabbed her bag and locked the car. She gathered her composure and headed into the school so she could just get the day over with. But first, she needed to find Kira and ask her for a copy of the book. And as she was walking to her locker, she noticed the girl in question with Scott. Alana Jane shook her head and walked over to them and tapped Kira's shoulder. The girl turned around and smiled when she saw it was Alana Jane and the latter tried to smile back.

     "What's up?" Kira asked.

     "I just need a copy of that book. Something about what that third-eyed creep said kept bugging me all week," Alana Jane said as her shoulders dropped.

     "Actually, we're all going to Scott's to read it and see if any of us remember something," Kira said and Alana Jane looked between her and Scott and shrugged her shoulders.

     "Sure, why not? Maybe it's better if we do it as a group since we don't know what these memories are or what could happen if we do remember them," she sighed.

     "That's true. Malia had a vision and nearly got hit by a car the other night. Actually, it wasn't a vision and was just a memory fragment," Kira said. "We'll see you in biology."

     "Actually, me and Alana Jane need to talk for a minute," Scott said and Kira nodded before walking to class.

     Alana Jane tilted her head and shoved her hands in her pockets as she looked at Scott who stood there awkwardly. No words seemed to come out and she rolled her eyes. "Spit it out, I don't have all day," she said and that seemed to snap him out of it.

     "Sorry. You just kind of remind me of a friend from junior year. She was also kind of a, um..." Scott trailed off as he tried to come up with the right word and Alana Jane just raised her eyebrows.

     "Stubborn? Hard-headed? A bitch?" she questioned nonchalantly.

     Scott cleared his throat and smiled awkwardly. "Not that last part but I guess you're kind of right about the other two," he said. "Actually, what I wanted to ask was why you still haven't said anything to anyone else."

     Alana Jane sighed through her nose as she looked at him while biting the inside of her cheek. "Because it doesn't matter anymore. The creepy 'doctors' in metal masks are targeting teenagers, experimenting on them and then killing the failures, which is all of them so far. This is much bigger than that so telling them has no point," she replied and shrugged her shoulders.

     Scott slightly nodded his head and looked down at his feet. He swallowed thickly as he looked up at Alana Jane and sighed quietly. "Yeah. You're right. Which is why we need all hands on deck if we're going to figure this out," he said.

     Alana Jane looked away from his face and her shoulders sagged a little. She took her hands out of her pockets and walked to class before she was late. When she sat down, she could sense a certain someone sitting down next to her and she resisted the urge to scoff and roll her eyes. When she turned to her right, she was now facing Theo who had that charming, boyish smile on his face.

     "This isn't biology, Leo. You don't need to sit next to me to make sure I don't flunk," she said as she turned back to the board.

     "First off, you know my name so you can stop pretending you got them mixed up. And second, what's wrong with wanting to sit next to a friend?" Theo asked with his signature smirk.

     Alana Jane sucked some air through her teeth as she looked at him. "I don't know how many times I have to say this before you get it through your thick skull, but we are not friends. You're just my bio tutor to get Mrs. Finch off my back," she said and ignored his quiet chuckle.

     God, he was so infuriating and she was pretty sure he knew it as well. He really knew how to get on her nerves and he seemed to be getting a kick out of it as well. Maybe if she just ignored him, he would go away but there was still the issue with biology and Mrs. Finch. Maybe she should just fill out the drop form and she wouldn't have to deal with them anymore. But then again, she didn't know what she would take instead and she needed these credits to graduate. And if she couldn't graduate, then she couldn't leave Beacon Hills. After all, leaving town and starting over was the ultimate goal. She couldn't do that if she failed.

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     Alana Jane stood with her arms crossed as she looked at the copies of the book on the coffee table. Everyone else was staring at the copies, each with their own thoughts. Alane Jane didn't know what they were thinking, but if reading would help with the hallucinations she had in the car, so be it.

     "My mom's book club usually has more wine," Lydia sighed.

     "To be fair, I doubt they were reading books that cause violent hallucinations," Stiles scoffed.

     "That's why Malia's here," Scott said.

     "So none of us go running into traffic?" Kira asked.

     "Or worse," Scott sighed.

     "Like what happened to Judy," Malia said and everyone turned to look at her. "Chapter fourteen."

     "This would be easier if Malia could just give us spoilers and our brains do the rest," Alana Jane scoffed while Lydia picked up the original copy of the book.

     "Maybe I should have my mother read it. She might remember a girl with a tail leaping off the ceiling and attacking everyone," the strawberry blonde said with a sarcastic smile.

     "That's only if it works," Stiles pointed out.

     Lydia sighed as she looked at the cover. "It has to," she said.

     "What does that mean?" Scott questioned.

     "I think I saw them during my surgery. When I look at the cover of the book, it's almost like..." Lydia trailed off.

     "Like a memory trying to resurface," Theo finished the girl's sentence.

     "Isn't that what Valack wanted when he wrote the book?" Kira asked.

     "Looks like Creepy Three Eyes might be onto something after all," Alana Jane chuckled dryly.

     "If they did something to me, I wanna know what it is," Lydia said.

     Alana Jane sighed as she picked up a copy of the book and sat down in one of the chairs. She immediately started reading the first chapter and hoped something would happen soon. She hoped the book would help her understand her power, her memories and herself. She tried to stay focussed as she read the words but what Valack said was still bothering her. The group spent hours reading until it was dark outside and the only thing Alana Jane could feel was tired and frustrated. Kira had gone off to take a nap and Alana Jane just wanted to burn the book. But instead, she got up and carried the book with her into the kitchen. She sat down at the table under the light and got back to reading the book. After more reading, her eyes felt heavy and her head felt light and fuzzy. She sighed as she put the book down and ran her fingers through her hair. She heard footsteps approaching and wanted to roll her eyes when Theo sat down adjacent from her.

     "Anything?" he asked but Alana Jane just shook her head.

     "What are you even doing here?" she questioned as she looked at him.

     "I came to read the book and see if anything happens," he replied.

     "That's not what I meant. I'm asking what you're doing here in Beacon Hills. Nothing good ever happens here," Alana Jane said.

     "I came for a pack and I heard that Scott was a True Alpha," Theo answered as he stood up and walked over to the coffee pot. "Want some?"

     Alana Jane smiled as she nodded and Theo poured a mug for her. "Thanks," she said as he put the mug down in front of her.

     "No problem," he replied.

     "Maybe you're not such a pain in the ass after all," Alana Jane said before taking a sip of her coffee and Theo's shoulders shook as he laughed but his face became serious as he looked at her.

     "What really happened between you and the pack?" he asked. Alana Jane swallowed thickly as she rhythmically tapped her fingers against the table. "They're all asleep if you're worried about them hearing you."

     "It's more about what happened between me and Scott and sort of Stiles, but mainly Scott," Alana Jane replied.

     "What happened?" Theo asked.

     "We all used to be friends but then we weren't anymore. I had an older sister. Her name was Ava Joy and we used to do everything together but she never knew about my powers. She had cystic fibrosis and was put on the waiting list for a lung transplant but she kept getting worse. When Scott and Kira were kidnapped by Kate Argent and her army of berserkers, Ava Joy was in the hospital but I went to go save Scott and Kira. After we saved them, I started to feel like a part of me died and then my mom called and told me Ava Joy was gone. I think I had a breakdown after that and the next thing I knew, the church we were in came crumbling down and everyone barely got out. We came back to Beacon Hills and Scott and Stiles told me we needed to talk. Scott said I brought the building down and nearly buried everyone under it," Alana Jane's throat tightened at the memory of what they told her after they came back from Mexico.

     "What else did he say?" Theo asked.

     "He said I was out of control and that keeping me around would put the pack in danger. I tried to tell him I didn't mean for it to happen but he said I couldn't be part of the pack anymore if I couldn't control it or one day everyone would die because of me. I thought Stiles would understand that I didn't mean to hurt anyone but he didn't say anything. Everyone else thought I left to learn control because that's what Scott told them. And weeks later, they all stopped talking to me and including me in anything and I was completely alone. My sister was gone, my friends were gone and my parents were so busy mourning their favourite child that they forgot they had another one. For weeks, I felt completely alone, like part of me died along with my sister, abandoned and betrayed. I gave up the last moments I could've had with my sister to save my friends because I knew they needed help. And when I needed help, I was cast away," Alana Jane said as she swallowed the lump in her throat.

     Her coffee had gotten cold by now but she couldn't find it in herself to care.

     "Why didn't you tell the others what really happened?" Theo asked but Alana Jane shook her head.

     "They all looked up to Scott and I couldn't bring myself to ruin that for them. I was also scared they wouldn't care because every time I was around them, I could sense their fear and hear their thoughts. They were all scared of me and worried I would have another breakdown and how it was probably a good thing I left the pack," she sighed as she got up and dumped the cold coffee down the sink.

     "You were right. Your friends were assholes," Theo chuckled.

     "They were scared. And when I look back at it now, they were right to be. I lost control and nearly killed them," Alana Jane said as she rinsed the mug and wiped her eyes.

     "You lost your sister and what happened was an accident. Even after they found out what happened, they should've been there for you. You could've stayed with your sister but you went all the way to Mexico to save them and they repaid you by kicking you out when you needed them most. Your sister was gone and your parents were too selfish to remember that they weren't the only ones who lost her," Theo said.

     Alana Jane shook her head as she turned around to look at him. "It doesn't matter anymore, Theo. What's done is done and we have bigger issues right now," she said as she picked up her copy of the book. "I'm going home."

     Before Theo could say anything, she was already out the door.