CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE:
THE TRUTH

"ONE-HUNDRED AND NINETY-EIGHT?" Allison questioned the two has she dried her hair.

"Yes, and we're talking forty years. On average, that's four-point-nine-five a year, which is actually expected." Lydia told her.

"But who commemorates that with a framed number? Who does that? Who?" Elaine scoffed, her arms crossed over her chest.

"All suicides?" Allison frowned.

"Yes―︎hanging, throat-cutting, pill-popping, both-barrels-of-a-shotgun-in-the-mouth suicides."

"Wow." Elaine breathed, looking at Lydia with wide eyes. "That's violent."

Lydia suddenly frowned. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Allison exchanged a look with Elaine who just shrugged her shoulders. Lydia didn't answer. The girl walked towards the air vent, her head cocked slightly as she got up onto the bed, standing right in front of it with tears in her eyes, scared breath's falling from her lips, immediately alarming the two girls.

"Lydia?" Elaine quickly asked. Suddenly, a gasp fell from the girl's lips as she slapped a hand over her mouth backing away from the vent. The strawberry blonde quickly turned to look at the two. "Lyds, what is it? What happened?"

"Didn't you hear that?" She asked, her voice choked with tears.

"Hear what?" Allison asked, wide-eyed.

"The two people in the other room―︎they shot each other!"

"Lydia―︎" Elaine started only for Lydia to run out of the room, making both Allison and Elaine quickly follow her. "Lydia! What are you doing?!" Lydia knocked on the door, asking to see if anyone was inside.

"Hello?" Lydia called, but there was no answer. She quickly entered the room, only to find it empty, full of nothing but construction. "It had to be right here. It was a guy and a girl, and, I mean, they sounded younger, but. . .they were here.

"Hey, hey, hey." Elaine quickly shushed, placing her hands on both of Lydia's shoulders and getting the girl to look at her. "We believe you. After everything the three of us have been through together, we believe you." Lydia turned around with a sigh, examining the room for a moment before noticing something on the wall, she carefully walked up to it, before noticing that the lines in the wood, looked like that of faces.

The three went back to their room and Lydia immediately started putting her stuff together. "You know, there is something seriously wrong with this place. Hey, guys? We need to leave."

"But they were suicides, not murders, and it's not like this place is haunted, right?" Allison tried, glancing towards Elaine who was too busy looking out the window. Her eyes narrowed in on a figure that was standing in the road, looking at her. She frowned, cocking her head slightly.

"Maybe it is." Lydia snapped back. "You know, I bet that couple made their suicide pact in that very room! Maybe that's why they're renovating―︎maybe they've been scraping brain matter off the wood paneling."

"Maybe we should find out." Allison suggested.

"You guys go. I'm gonna. . . explore." Elaine told them. The two girl's looked at her for a moment before nodding their heads and walking out. Elaine turned back towards the window only instead to find a familiar figure standing there instead. Her mother. Her phone rang, making Elaine frown before picking it up.

"Hello?"

"El?" Rebekah's voice fell through the phone.

"Hey, mom. Is everything alright?"

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Elaine frowned.

"For making you see this." Rebekah whispered before suddenly a gasp fell from her mother's lips, and Elaine watched as something stabbed her through the stomach. The phone fell from Elaine's hands, her eyes widened in surprise as tears filled her eyes.

"NO!" The girl quickly ran from the room, running down the steps and into the parking lot, only to find her mother's body not where it had been moments prior. She swallowed, looking around before noticing her mother standing there again. Elaine spotted her before watching as the woman walked around the corner. Immediately, Elaine followed after her.

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Meanwhile, Stiles stood there with Allison and Lydia, his arms crossed over his chest. He wondered where his girlfriend was, but he knew she could keep herself safe.

"The last time I saw Scott act like that was during the full moon." Allison spoke.

"Yeah, I know. . .He was definitely a little off with me, too." Stiles nodded his head. "But actually, it was Boyd who was really off―︎I watched him put his fist through the vending machine."

"See? It is the motel." Lydia spoke, looking towards Allison. "Either we need to get out of here right now, or. . . someone needs to learn how to do an exorcism ASAP, before the Werewolves go crazy and kill us." The girl pulled a bible from the drawer, holding it up to the two.

"Okay, just hold on, all right?" Stiles calmly spoke. "What if it's not just the motel? The number in the office went up by four, right?"

"You mean, like three of them could be sacrifices?" Allison asked.

"What if this time, it's three werewolves."

"Scott, Isaac, and Boyd." Allison mumbled.

"Maybe we were meant to come here." Stiles suggested.

"But that doesn't explain the fourth." Allison pointed out.

"Yeah. . ." Stiles then paused.

"Stiles? What is it?"

"Alright, what I'm about to tell both of you can not be repeated, understand?" Stiles told them. The two girl's exchanged looks before nodding their heads. "When Elaine was dead, Rebekah was talking to me and Scott about something that's supposed to happen. But she told us she located Elaine's father, and it turns out he was a werewolf."

"But, Elaine's a witch?" Lydia frowned.

"Yes, for now. She's technically an inactivated hybrid. She hasn't triggered the werewolf side yet―︎"

"But she's still technically part werewolf." Allison caught on and Stiles nodded his head.

"So, Elaine's the fourth suicide?"

"Yeah, and where the hell is she?" Stiles asked.

"She said she wanted to explore." Lydia said. "So, can we get the hell out of here now? Please?"

"Wait, hang on. Let me see this." Stiles spoke, taking the bible from Lydia's hands. Stiles quickly opened the bible to reveal newspaper clippings. He took them out before reading them out loud. "'Twenty-eight-year-old man hangs himself at the infamous Glen Capri.'" He shook the bible, four more clippings falling from it and onto the bed.

"Oh, no." Lydia sighed. "Look at these two. They both mention room two-seventeen. These are probably all the suicides that happened in this room."

"So, if every room has a bible. . ."

"There could be articles in all the rooms."

Stiles sighed. "That's a beautiful thing. Most places leave a mint under the pillow―︎this one leaves a record of all the horrible deaths that occurred."

"What if the room next door has the one about the couple?" The three looked at one another before walking out and going next door, only to find the door locked. "No, that door wasn't locked before.

"Forget it. We need to get Scott, Elaine, Isaac, and Boyd out of here." Allison quickly ushered.

That's when they paused, hearing the sound of a handsaw. "I'm not the only one who heard that, am I?"

"It sounds like someone turned the handsaw on."

"Handsaw?" Stiles asked in disbelief. They quickly burst into the room only to see Ethan holding the handsaw, about to place it to his stomach. "Hey, no! Ethan, don't!" Stiles fought to get the handsaw from Ethan's hand. Lydia was quick to unplug the saw, stopping Stiles from landing on it inches from his face. They looked towards Ethan who's claws quickly appeared, and he started to claw at his body. Allison and Stiles were quick to hold onto his arms before sending him to the floor.

"Ah!" The boy yelled in pain  from hitting his arm on the heater before he looked at the three. "What just happened?" He stood up before running out of the room, the three quick to chase after him.

"Didn't you hear what I just said? I don't know how I got there, or what I was doing." Ethan said after trying to explain it to the three multiple times, running down the steps with the trio following after him.

"Okay, you could be a little more helpful, you know? We did just save your life."

"And you probably shouldn't have." Ethan answered before walking away.

"What now?" Lydia sighed.

"I'll find Scott―︎you guys grab Elaine, Isaac and Boyd. The best thing we can do is get them out of this place." With that the three went their separate ways.

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"Mom?" Elaine walked around the corner.

"Over here." Elaine turned around, finding her mother standing in the road. The girl frowned, walking up to her mother slowly. Rebekah turned towards her child, offering her a gentle smile as she placed a hand on her daughter's cheek. She looked so much younger. "Hello, my child."

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After Stiles apologized several times to Lydia for accusing her of being the one killing people, the girl was quick to make him shut up. "Stiles, do you hear that?"

"What?" Stiles frowned. "What do you hear?"

"A baby." Lydia answered, leaning down towards the ground at the sewer pipe vent that was on the ground. "I hear. . . I hear water running. She's drowning the baby! Someone's drowning!" The two had been quick to find Boyd's room, breaking into it only to find him in the bathtub, under the water with a safe on his chest keeping him under. They tried to remove it, but to no avail.

"Is he dead? How long can a Werewolf stay underwater?" Lydia panicked.

"You think I know that?" That's when he burned his arm on the heater. "Ow!" Then he paused. "Wait a sec―︎the heater. Heater. Ethan came out of it when he touched the heater."

"What?"

"It's heat―︎heat, fire. . . Heat does it, all right? We need something. We need fire."

"He's under water!" Lydia exclaimed.

"Yeah, I'm aware of that!" Stiles snapped before realizing. "Wait, wait―︎the bus! On the bus, they'll have emergency road flares. They have their own oxidizers. They can burn underwater."

"Go!" Stiles quickly did so, and nod moments later he was back with two flares in his hand.

"I got 'em. What do I do? How do I do this?"

"The cap―︎it's like a match. The cap's a match."

Stiles tried to light it, but kept failing to do so making Lydia anxiously yell at him. "I'm trying!" When he got it, he jumped in surprise before quickly placing it under the water. Boyd was quick to throw the safe from his chest, shooting up from the tub and letting out a breath. They then moved to Isaac who Lydia had found hiding under the bed.

"Hey Isaac. . .got something for ya." He quickly showed Isaac the flare, and almost immediately, Isaac snapped out of it.

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"What are you doing in the middle of the road?" Elaine frowned.

"I'm showing you the truth." Rebekah whispered. That's when a car appeared, Rebekah sitting in the front, driving it before she stopped and got out. She opened the back door, looking down at baby Elaine. "If there's a way I can keep you from taking on this curse, then I will do it." Her mother said before picking her up from the car. Elaine watched with tears in her eyes as her mother dropped her off. She didn't notice the car coming right at her, and she didn't hear her name being yelled at her.

"Mama. . ." She whispered her mother's name, taking a step forward as she watched Rebekah get back in the car before the car started forward. Just before she could get hit, Stiles was quick to grab onto Elaine and shove them both out the way. She blinked, looking around before noticing Stiles. "Stiles?"

"I'll explain everything, but right now, we have something bigger to worry about." The two quickly made it back to the parking lot only to find Scott there covered in gasoline with a flare in his hands. Immediately Elaine became panicked.

"There's no hope." Scott's voice broke.

"What do you mean, Scott? There's always hope." Allison told him, tears filling her eyes.

"Not for me. . . Not for Derek. . ."

"Derek wasn't your fault. You know Derek wasn't your fault." Elaine told her brother, her voice cracking as she took a step towards him.

"Every time I try to fight back, it just gets worse. People keep getting hurt. People keep getting killed."

"Scott, listen to me, okay? This isn't you, all right? This is someone inside your head, telling you to do this. Okay? Now―︎" Stiles tried, only to be cut of by the werewolf.

"What if it isn't? What if it is just me? What if doing this is actually the best thing that I could do for everyone else? It all started that night―︎the night I got bitten. You remember the way it was before that? You and me, we were. . . we were. . . we were nothing. We weren't popular. We weren't good at lacrosse. We weren't important. We were no one. Maybe I should just be no one again―︎no one at all."

"Scott, just listen to me, okay? You're not no one. Okay? You're someone. You're―︎Scott, you're my best friend. Okay? And I need you. Scott, you're my brother, all right? So. . . So, if you're gonna do this, then. . ." Stiles stepped forwards so that he was in the gasoline as well, making Elaine's heart break. She placed a hand over her mouth, trying to keep the sobs down as tear fell down her cheeks. ". . . I think you're just gonna have to take me with you, then." Stiles carefully took the flare from his hand, throwing it out of the gasoline. However, the wind picked up, sending it right back towards the gasoline making Elaine's eyes widen.

"NO!" She quickly shouted before diving forward and grabbing onto both of them, pushing them to the ground and out of the gasoline just as the flare touched it.

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They fell asleep on the bus. Elain leaning her head against the window with Stiles beside her, his head leaning backwards. Lydia and Allison were in the other seat asleep, and Scott was asleep in front of Elaine and Stiles. Isaac and Boyd were laying in the back. The group were woken up by the bus doors opening and Coach's voice entering their ears. He looked between the five of them before saying, "I don't want to know. I really don't want to know. But, in case you missed the announcement, the meet's cancelled, so we're heading home. Pack it in. Pack it in!"

That's when Ethan took a seat beside of Scott. "I don't know what happened last night, but I'm pretty sure you saved my life."

"Actually, I saved your life. . .But, not that it matters that much. It's just, it's a minor detail. . ." Stiles spoke up, earning a small smile from Elaine.

"So, I'm going to give you something. We're pretty sure Derek's still alive. But, he killed one of ours. That means one of two things can happen: either he joins our pack―︎"

"―︎And kills his own." Scott concluded.

"Or Kali goes after him, and we kill him. That's the way it works."

"You know, your little code of ethics there is sort of barbaric, just FYI." Stiles interjected as Ethan stood up and walked away.

"Hey Ethan, I wanted to―︎"

Suddenly Lydia stood up. "Coach, can I see your whistle for a second?"

"I'm gonna need that back." Coach told her before turning back towards Ethan as she sat down. She carefully blew inside of the whistle, only to reveal a substance come out of it.

"Wolfsbane." Lydia mumbled before looking over towards them.

"So, every time the coach blew the whistle on the bus, Scott, El, Isaac, Boyd―︎"

"―︎And Ethan."

"We all inhaled it." Scot spoke.

"You were all poisoned by it." Allison nodded.

"So, that's how the Darach got in their heads. That's how he did it." Stiles mumbled.

"I don't understand." Elaine spoke up, frowning. "Why did it affect me? I'm a witch, not a wolf." The group all exchanged looks before Scott looked towards his sister, shrugging his shoulders.

"Maybe you're allergic." Scott smoothly lied. Elaine hummed in response.

"Huh, maybe."

That's when Stiles was quick to roll down the window. "Hey, hey, hey, hey! Stilinski!" Right as they drove away, Stiles quickly threw the whistle out of the window. Elaine rolled the window up and looked towards Stiles, chuckling lightly before giving him a peck on the lips and leaning her head on his shoulder as she looked out the window, watching as the scenery flew by with a new sense of peace on her shoulders.