ACT THREE, CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Masked Shadow Men

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

     ANDI THOUGHT THAT MAYBE THEY WERE STARTING TO CATCH A BREAK. Scott giving into his werewolf side, facing his fear of turning into a monster, helped him close the door in his mind that was opened when he went under the water that night. Allison regaining her good aim and remembering why she was there helped close hers. Stiles was having trouble reading but after helping Malia and bringing her back to her father, he hasn't been having anymore trouble so Andi assumed his door was closed as well. It seemed like she could finally relax but then remembered her parents were still in town. Her father had been sleeping on the couch and her mother had been sleeping in her grandmother's room with her because Jasmine knew Andi wouldn't want either of them in her space. As much as it disappointed them, they couldn't push her any further than they already did. It didn't help that Andi could feel their disappointment oozing out of them and it left her feeling drained right before she had to leave for school.

     As she was walking, Isaac appeared next to her and she sighed in relief. His calmness and general happiness to see her replaced the feeling her parents disappointment left deep in her soul.

     "You look a little down," Isaac noted.

     "Remember what I said about suddenly being unable to block out other people's emotions, voices and things like that?" Andi asked and Isaac nodded. Andi sighed as she continued. "I think I'm losing control over my magic. I haven't told Grams yet because I don't think she can help with this one and this pendant isn't really doing anything other than adding magic from Grams and all our ancestors onto my own."

     "And you don't know why this started happening?" Isaac asked.

     "Not a clue. It's like everything I did and everything I learned to gain control and to become stronger is being undone and I feel like it's all falling apart and I can't fix it," Andi ranted as they kept walking.

     "I think you've had a lot on your plate lately. There was Scott, Stiles and Allison, your parents suddenly came to town unannounced and you were attacked by a coyote that was actually a girl," Isaac said and Andi sighed.

     "I've dealt with so much since I got here. Why am I suddenly losing control now?" she asked.

     "Maybe control is overrated. Maybe you could check out that ancient book locked in your basement. It might have what you're looking for," Isaac suggested.

     "And what if the answer is in the missing chapter someone stole?" Andi questioned.

     "You'll figure it out," Isaac answered. Andi sighed as they got to the school and Isaac nudged her arm. "Isn't your birthday coming up? I still haven't figured out when it is or I might have missed it and had no idea."

     Andi laughed as she looked at him. "Fine. It's tomorrow," she said and Isaac blinked.

     "Tomorrow is Halloween," he said and Andi nodded.

     "Yeah. I'm a witch who was born on Halloween. What are the odds?" she asked while laughing and Isaac grinned.

     The both of them stopped smiling when they saw the Twins talking to Scott and Stiles. Last time she heard, they weren't Alphas anymore. Now there were Omegas looking for a pack and it seemed like they wanted in with Scott and his pack. As they walked closer, they were able to hear their conversation and one of them was telling Scott that he had no reason to let them into his pack.

     "I can think of a few. Like the fact that you held Derek's claws out while Kali impaled Boyd. Speaking of Kali, what happened to that tuning fork she used that could've killed Andi that night?" Isaac asked with his arms crossed and Andi nodded.

     "I was wondering the same thing because personally, I would love to blow that thing straight to Hell," she said.

     "I'm sorry, but my friends don't trust you. And neither do I," Scott said before walking into the school.

     Stiles and Andi were walking down the hall when Stiles stopped at his locker. Scott was leaning against the nearby lockers while his gaze was elsewhere and Andi followed to where he was looking and smiled when she realized he was looking at Kira. That girl was at her own locker picking up stuff that fell out and Scott had a small smile of his own.

     "You're staring at her," Andi said and Scott looked at her.

     "Who?" Scott asked.

     Stiles scoffed as he looked at Scott and then at Kira and then at Scott again. "You know who, we know who. You like Kira," Stiles said.

     "Scott likes Kira! Scott likes Kira!" Andi teased him in a singsong voice as she nudged his arm.

     "Huh. Hard to believe you're an all powerful witch who can crush anyone and everyone with a single snap of her fingers," Stiles said and Andi chuckled.

     "So what if I like Kira? I doubt she feels the same way," Scott said as his shoulders sagged and Stiles wrapped his arm around him.

     "Scott, you're the Alpha. You're the apex predator. You're the hot girl that everyone wants to be with," Stiles said.

     "I'm the hot girl?" Scott asked.

     "The hottest girl," Stiles said as he walked away, leaving Scott and Andi there just as Isaac walked up to them.

     "I'm the hot girl," Scott said and Isaac looked at him, clearly confused about what they were just talking about.

     "Yes, you are," Isaac said and Scott grinned as he walked away.

     Isaac was smiling but was still confused. "What just happened?" he asked.

     "I don't know and I was standing there the whole time but basically, Scott has a little crush on our newest new girl," Andi said with a little smile.

     Isaac chuckled as they walked to class and sat down next to each other. Andi couldn't lie and say she hadn't gotten used to being a teenage witch. It definitely took her longer to adjust than it did for Isaac because he enjoyed being a teenage werewolf a little too well when Andi first moved to Beacon Hills. One thing she never imagined was that she would be a witch falling for a werewolf. And even though they did tell each other they liked each other, they never really explicitly said they were together. Now that Andi thought about it, that was going to have to be a conversation they definitely needed to have. She kept thinking about it but those thoughts were soon drowned out by others that weren't her own.

     She looked around while everyone else was writing in their notebooks, not a word coming from any of them. And yet, Andi could hear them. She couldn't even sort them or pinpoint which thoughts belonged to who and it was like there was a hurricane in her head. She exhaled slowly through her nose as she closed her eyes and tried to block everything out but it wasn't easy with the headache she was having. Everything was so loud and she could barely focus but when class was over, Andi quickly grabbed her stuff and left, not hearing Isaac calling after her. She found the supply closet and closed the door, hoping it would block out some of the noise. Her brain was running a hundred miles per hour with thoughts that weren't hers. Just as the door opened, Andi's eyes turned green and so did her fingertips.

     Suddenly, the noise got quieter and Andi's heart rate slowed down as her eyes went back to normal. She looked at Kendall who was holding both of her hands while looking at her with worry in her eyes.

     "Are you okay?" she asked.

     Andi sighed as she shook her head. "Everything was so loud I couldn't even hear my own thoughts and it's freaking me out," she said. "I think I'm losing control and I don't know what to do."

     "Just breathe. I know things have been a little crazy lately, probably more crazy than ever, but everything will be okay. Allison, Scott and Stiles are doing a lot better and Malia is back with her dad. You can relax," Kendall said and Andi sighed as she shook her head.

     "How can I relax when my parents are staying at my place and I can feel and hear everything they're feeling and thinking?" she questioned.

     "Sometimes when I feel like I'm losing my grip over my power, it helps to do the same thing werewolves do. Whenever they feel that they are losing control, they find an anchor to keep themselves grounded. It helps them stay human. It could be an emotion, a memory, a loved one, anything that helps them stay human. When I feel like I'm losing control, I use an anchor to help me get back that control. I think that's what you need right now," Kendall explained.

     "Was Isaac your anchor?" Andi asked as she leaned against one of the shelves.

     "No," Kendall replied as she shook her head. "What did Isaac tell you?"

     "That you weren't very nice and that he didn't wanna be with someone like that," Andi replied.

     Kendall bit the inside of her cheek as she put her hands in her pockets and avoided eye contact. "That's pretty spot on. I was horrible but I guess you already knew that. I wasn't always like that. Around the time I asked Deucalion for help, I was stressed about me and my family possibly being killed by hunters and I took it out on the people around me. And then shortly after you got here, Deucalion told me he needed my help or he would sell us out to the hunters. And then after that, Isaac broke up with me and said he didn't wanna be with me if I was gonna be horrible to everyone. Then he became a werewolf, started flirting with you and I hated you because I blamed you for Deucalion holding me hostage with that ultimatum and Isaac breaking up with me. The whole time, I thought I was the victim when our relationship ended but then I realized I couldn't blame him for calling it quits. There's no excuse for how I treated other people, especially you and I don't think I ever really apologized for it," Kendall's voice cracked as she finally looked at Andi who shrugged her shoulders.

     "To be fair, I also owe you an apology. I almost killed you twice," she said.

     "I had no right to antagonize you the way I did. Isaac is a great guy and he really likes you and I can't blame him. You care about your friends and would do anything to help them. He deserves someone like you," Kendall said.

     Andi sighed as she looked down at her feet. If what Kendall was saying about having an anchor was true, then maybe that was exactly what she needed to regain control over her power. But even the fact that she was getting advice from Kendall was a huge change from how much they couldn't stand each other when Andi first started going to school there. It was weird how the people she would try and stay away from are now her friends. Allison, Lydia and Kendall. A couple of months ago, Andi would rather have jumped out of a tree but now she was helping Allison with her mind, getting boy talk from Lydia and getting advice from Kendall on how to stay in control of her power.

     "It's so funny to me that if we never came together to beat Julia, we'd probably be battling it out with each other right now," Andi said and Kendall laughed as they left the closet.

     "If that was the case, one of us would be dead right now," she replied and Andi smiled. "If you had to choose what or who your anchor would be, what would your answer be?"

     Andi bit the inside of her lip as she thought about it. Out of everything that happened in her life and out of everyone she knew, there would only be a few that could possibly be her anchor. There wasn't a lot of thinking for her.

     "Either Isaac or Grams. Grams was the first person in my entire life to ever tell me the truth about who I was after my parents kept it a secret from me since the day I was born. She taught me everything I needed to know in the best way she possibly could and she helped me realize that I was just different in a way that many people wouldn't understand or believe. And Isaac? I don't even know why he insisted on talking to me or sitting next to me but he did. I didn't really trust him but he was still really nice to me. And then we started working together to help Jackson, find the sacrifices and fight the Alphas. He believed in me when I didn't believe in myself. I don't know what would happen if I didn't have either of them," Andi said while Kendall watched closely.

     "You know, the two of you combined are a menace to society," she chuckled and Andi looked at her confused.

     "What are you talking about?" she questioned.

     "A big, tall werewolf and a witch half his size is already warning enough that you two are a force to be reckoned with. You're also breaking the cycle of neutrality and hostility between witches and werewolves that has lasted for as long as witches and werewolves have existed. Also, when one of you gets in trouble, the other is not far behind. Remember when you punched me and then two seconds later, Isaac punched Ethan?" Kendall laughed and Andi smiled at the memory.

     "You guys had it coming," she replied.

     "I can't even argue with that," Kendall said.

     It always made Andi laugh to herself whenever she thought about how far she had come with Kendall, Allison and Lydia. Three people she never thought she would become friends with and now they were the ones who came to her aid whenever she needed it.

━━━━

     As much as Andi liked her friends, she really liked Kira. She couldn't thank her enough for how much her information helped them but Kira was also just a really kind and wholesome person who just wanted to make friends. Andi remembered when she was the new girl. She didn't trust anybody because of her experience at her old school but she couldn't deny that she longed for true friends who would never turn their back on her and that's what she got. She knew what it was like to feel alone in a new place, not knowing where to start and that was one of the reasons why she wanted to hang out with Kira more. Even though the two were different, she saw a little bit of herself in Kira.

     "What was it like when you first started going here?" Kira asked.

     The girls were sitting at one of the tables outside and Andi sighed as she went back to those first few days in town. "It wasn't good but it wasn't horrible. I had raging trust issues, I didn't know anybody here which did not help at all, some of the people who are my friends now used to be my enemies, it was a hot mess," she replied and lightly laughed to herself.

     "Wait, really? Your friends weren't always your friends?" Kira questioned as she leaned forward and Andi shook her head.

     "Nope. Kendall hated my guts, me and Lydia just couldn't stop butting heads and Allison wasn't exactly a friend at first but we did talk and then we didn't and then we became actual friends," she explained.

     "Wow. That's very interesting," Kira said and Andi nodded.

     "Scott and Stiles were always cool people and Isaac was just amazing all around," she said and Kira smiled.

     "Is he your boyfriend?" she asked and Andi looked at her. "I'm asking because you guys look at each other like there's no one else that matters and it's cute."

     Andi cleared her throat as she fidgeted with her fingers. "It's not really official but we did say we liked each other. I guess we just never really had a lot of time to make it official with everything going on," she replied and Kira nodded.

     "Well, I'm rooting for you two," she said and Andi smiled as her phone buzzed.

     She picked it up and it was a text from Isaac telling her that there was a situation and they needed her. "Speaking of Isaac, I need to meet up with him," she said and Kira nodded.

     "Remember! I'm rooting for you!" she said with a big smile and Andi laughed as she grabbed her stuff and went inside.

     She found Isaac, Stiles, Lydia and Allison in the hallway. She didn't even have to ask what was going on because Stiles immediately started explaining everything to her and with every word, she wanted to bury her head into the ground. After he was done explaining, she groaned as she rubbed her temples.

     "Let me go over that again. Some dude who killed four teenagers with a shrapnel bomb had a tumour that was filled with flies and he somehow woke up from anesthesia and is somewhere in or around the school looking for more teenagers to kill. Did I get that right?" she asked and Stiles shrugged as he nodded.

     "That is fairly close," he replied.

     "And this guy killed those kids because he said they had glowing eyes, which is exactly what Isaac and Scott have," Andi said as she pointed at Isaac.

     "Right on the money," Stiles answered.

     "And Lydia has been hearing the sound of flies all day."

     "Yep."

     Andi sighed as she placed her hands on her hips. "At this point, I might just kick this man in the face if I see him," she mumbled under her breath. "Do they know where this guy might be?"

     "They're searching the school," Stiles replied.

     "This man killed four kids and left a fifth one without legs because they were werewolves. He's probably out looking for you, Scott and the twins," Andi said as she looked at Isaac.

     "They'll search the school and if he's not here, that means he's somewhere else."

     "If he's not here, then he's close by."

     "You and Kendall also have glowing eyes and so does your grandmother," Lydia pointed out and Andi shook her head.

     "Grams hasn't used magic in months and he's not gonna waste his time on one person. Also, as far as we know, he killed werewolves, not witches," she said.

     "You guys should still be careful," Allison said.

     Andi sighed as she looked at the brunette. All the exits were blocked but Allison needed to go home to check the bestiary for anything about live flies coming out of a tumour so she had to exit through a window. Scott and Isaac went to go find Ethan and Aiden so they could use the man's scent to try and locate him somewhere inside the school. Stiles went with Lydia because she still had a strong sense that he was there because she could still hear the sound of flies buzzing and it was only getting louder. Andi wanted to try and see if she could hear him somewhere inside the school but she was worried that she would let too many voices inside her head. Even though Kendall gave her a piece of advice to use, she was still hesitant. She wondered if she could ask Kendall for help but Kendall wasn't a telepathic witch like Andi was so would it even work?

     Andi sighed as she went to an empty room and took a deep breath as she closed her eyes. She tried to focus on finding Barrow who was most likely thinking about kids with glowing eyes and bombs but all the different voices started to flood her head like she feared. She rubbed her temples as she tried to focus on Barrow while using an anchor like Kendall said. There were still a lot of voices but they were slowly starting to quiet down while one started to stand out. Just a little closer, she thought to herself as she continued to focus on that one voice until the loud ringing of the fire alarm pierced her eyes and she lost all focus.

     "Damn it!" she cursed through gritted teeth as she left the room and followed the crowd of students through the hallway. As soon as she saw Kendall, Stiles, Lydia, Isaac and Scott with the Twins she ran up to them. "Guys, he was here."

     "There's no way. We didn't even pick up a scent," Scott said.

     "I think I heard him. It was hard with so many voices and his was pretty quiet but I think it was him. I probably would've been able to find him if the fire alarm didn't go off," Andi replied with her arms crossed as she looked at Stiles who looked sheepish while scratching behind his ear. She rolled her eyes as she shook her head. "Forget it. We're not gonna be able to find this guy right now. For all we know, he could've left if he found out we were onto him and that the police are gone."

     "We should at least try to find more information on this guy and why he had flies bursting out of his tumour," Isaac said and Andi sighed.

     "You and I will go help Allison. That way if we do find something, we'll find it faster. The rest of you, find what you can," she said.

     "Since when are you in charge?" Aiden questioned.

     "Are you gonna argue or are you gonna find out more about this guy before he blows your legs off?" Andi replied with a pointed look. When Aiden didn't say anything, she scoffed. "That's what I thought."

     "I'm kinda getting used to your mean side," Isaac chuckled as the two of them headed to Allison's place.

     "I thought you said you'd be attracted to me without my mean side," Andi replied as she looked at him.

     Isaac smiled as he shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say? Plus, it's directed at them so it's fine," he said and Andi laughed.

     By the time they got to Allison's place, the sun was nearly set and they found the window to Allison's apartment. Andi used her magic to bring herself and Isaac up to the window but stopped when she heard a soft but obvious humming. Before Isaac could ask her what was going on, she focussed on the window until the humming stopped and they entered the apartment through the window and found Allison in one of the rooms.

     "How did you get in here?" she asked when she saw them standing there.

     "Through your electrified window," Andi answered.

     "Should've known that couldn't stop you," Allison sighed as Andi looked at the computer screen.

     "Anyway, I thought you could use some help to get things done a little quicker. Besides, I can read Latin and Isaac is basically the muscle," she said.

     "I can still help," Isaac chimed in.

     "Fine. You both can help," Allison said as she printed off some pages of the Bestiary and the three of them went to her room to start reading.

     Andi was sitting on the floor with her legs crossed while reading a stack of papers Allison printed. She tuned out Allison and Isaac as she flipped through the pages, reading every word and translating it in her head. She didn't even hear Chris opening the door and looking at her sitting on the floor as a bunch of pages levitated around her.

     "I know she's a witch but that's still a tiny bit weird to see," he said.

     "She put cracks in the road, Dad," Allison replied and Chris nodded.

     "Anyway, I need to talk to you. You two, just keep doing your research," he said as Allison got up and followed him out of the room.

     Isaac looked at Andi who was still focussed on reading the pages of the Bestiary as his phone rang. Scott was calling to ask if they found anything yet but so far, all they found was a tidbit about flies bringing messages to the dead or something. Andi didn't even find anything else to add to that but then again, flies bursting from a tumour in a human was strange, even for the supernatural.

     A little while after Isaac hung up the call with Scott, the lights in Allison's room started to flicker. "Andi?" he prompted.

     "Did you find anything?" Andi asked.

     "No, it's not that. Something doesn't feel right," Isaac said.

     Andi put all the pages down and looked at the flickering lights as she got up and stood next to Isaac. "Faulty wiring?" Andi asked.

     "Highly unlikely," Isaac replied as the lights went out and it was completely dark.

     "Welcome to our world," Andi sighed. She heard a strange sound right behind her and turned around but was faced with nothing. "Did you hear that?"

     "It sounded like wind but something tells me it's not the wind," Isaac answered as he also looked around.

     They heard the sound again as dark figures wearing masks appeared out of the shadows, surrounding them as they stood with their backs against each other. "Isaac, please tell me I'm not the only one seeing this," Andi said to him.

     "I see them too," he answered with his claws out while green currents danced between Andi's fingers and around her hands.

     "There's five of them and two of us. What are the odds of us coming out on top?" she asked.

     "Fifty-fifty, give or take," Isaac replied.

     "We should probably run."

     "Probably."

     "But we're not going to, are we?"

     "Nope."

     One of the masked shadow men charged at Andi with a sword but she threw him against the wall. Isaac was holding about two of them off while two more came for Andi but she disappeared before they could get to her and appeared behind them, blasting them off their feet. One of them subdued Isaac and his hand was hovering beside his head and two grabbed Andi's arms. Isaac was frozen while one tried to do the same to her as she struggled against their grip. Her pendant became brighter as every part of her eyes turned green as she stared at the masked man in front of her.

     "Not tonight," she growled.

     She broke out of their hold and a blast of magic pushed them away from her. Green lines travelled from her eyes down her face, almost like green veins on her face, neck and from her fingers up her arms. The five masked men disappeared into the shadows and Andi rushed over to Isaac as Allison and Chris busted the door open.

     "Andi, what happened?" Chris asked.

     "These men just came out of the shadows with swords and masks and they attacked us and one of them did something to Isaac," Andi rambled as she tried to shake Isaac out of his trance. "And how he's freezing cold."

     "Isaac, listen to me. You need to turn," Chris said as he started hitting Isaac across the face.

     "Do you have to hit him?" Andi questioned.

     Isaac's eyes turned yellow and shuffled away from Chris and leaned against the foot of Allison's bed.

     "Did you guys see them too?" Isaac whispered.

     "The five men that came out of the shadows?" Allison asked.

     "We didn't see their faces but their eyes were like a greenish yellow like a firefly," Isaac explained, his voice cracking as tears filled his eyes.

     Andi pulled him closer and wrapped her arms around him as he buried his face in her shoulder. She could feel his body shaking as she rubbed his back while Chris closed the window. "You said they came out of the shadows, right?" he asked.

     "Yeah. The lights went out and then next thing we knew, they were surrounding us and we were trying to hold them off," Andi answered.

     "Listen. I need you guys to keep this between us for a few hours," Chris said and the three teenagers looked at him.

     "You want us to keep this from everyone? Chris, these things just appeared out of the shadows and attacked us with swords. What if they attack our friends?" Andi questioned and she looked at him in disbelief that he would ask them to keep something this important from their friends and maybe even their family as well.

     "She's right, Dad. They could've killed them," Allison said.

     "But they didn't. And whatever they did to Isaac, they didn't do it to Andi," Chris replied.

     "Because I fought them off and they disappeared," Andi said.

     "I think there's a reason why they didn't kill you guys when they had the chance. And I think it's because they were after me," Chris said before leaving the room.

     "Andi, you said you fought them off and that's why they didn't get you?" Allison asked.

     "Yeah. I fought one off, one got to Isaac, two of them held me down and one tried to get to me as well. They had a pretty tight grip on me too," Andi answered as she looked at the bruising on her arms from when those masked shadow men held her down.

     "Whatever they did to Isaac, they tried doing it to you, right? And then you were able to shake them off and they just left," Allison said and Andi nodded. "Something doesn't feel right about this."

     "Andi fought them off. She's strong, what doesn't feel right?" Isaac asked.

     "It only took one to get to you but they needed at least three to try to get to Andi and still failed. And instead of getting the other two, they just left. I can't explain it but something about this doesn't feel right. We know Andi's strong but these things seem pretty strong too since they were able to subdue her for some time and leave bruises on her," Allison explained.

     When Andi thought about it, those things did seem pretty strong when they held her down. What if this was the moment she finally met her match?