Morning had settled over Beacon Hills with a gray chill. Stiles's jeep stood on the street corner as usual; its engine was running, and that familiar rumble from the exhaust echoed through the neighborhood.
Scott dropped his bag beside him as he climbed into the back seat. His eyes were still heavy with sleep, but his mind was flooded with images from the night before. Sean stood at the front door, his phone pressed to his ear.
"Okay Mom, I get it," Sean said in a calm voice. "The files are at home. I'll grab them and come straight to the hospital." He hung up. Stiles poked his head out the window. "So? Are you abandoning us today too, big brother?" Sean nodded with a short smile. "Mom called. There are some files she left at home. I need to take them to the hospital." Scott leaned forward. "Are you okay?" he asked. "After last night—" Sean cut him off. "I'm fine," he said firmly. "You go to school. Keep your eyes open." Scott wanted to say something but decided against it. The expression on Sean's face was not open to discussion.
Sean went back inside, closed the door, and emerged a few seconds later holding a thin file folder. He walked up to the jeep and tapped Stiles on the shoulder.
"Scott is in your hands," he said. "Call me if anything weird happens." Stiles didn't joke this time. "Got it," he said with a serious expression. Sean stepped back. As the jeep pulled away, Scott looked back. Sean was standing on the sidewalk, the file tucked under his arm, watching them go.
When the jeep turned the corner, Sean turned and walked toward the bus stop.
Scott looked ahead. "Today..." he said hesitantly. "I have a bad feeling." Stiles gripped the steering wheel tightly. "Yeah," he said. "Me too." As the jeep entered the school road, Beacon Hills High School began to appear in the distance.
When Sean entered the automatic doors of Beacon Hills Hospital, the smell of antiseptic filled his lungs. The corridors were bustling as usual; gurneys, rushing nurses, whispered conversations...
But this time, something was wrong.
The moment he took a step, he felt a familiar pressure in his chest. It was as if the air had grown heavy. His heart sped up involuntarily. Sean stopped and looked around.
There's something here.
The feeling was clear. Not like a scream of a threat... more like something settled, waiting. Sean furrowed his brow. He put his hand to the back of his neck and took a deep breath. "Don't be ridiculous," he muttered. "This is a hospital." He pulled out his phone to call his mother. Just then, he noticed the feeling receding. He chose to ignore it.
"Sean!"
Melissa appeared from around the corner of the hallway. She was tired but smiling. She approached Sean and gave him a light hug.
"Oh, honey," she said. "I'm sorry. Things have been so busy lately. I keep dragging you to the hospital. Come on, let me buy you something." Sean shrugged. "It's no problem, Mom. You can call and ask me for anything, anytime. You know it's never an issue between us." Then, a short pause. "However," he said with a slight smirk, "I am a little hungry. If you're serious about buying, I'll take it." Melissa laughed. "Come on then. Let's get something from the cafeteria." They walked together. As Melissa headed to the counter to order, Sean scanned the surroundings. People... machines... sounds...
And suddenly...
That scent.
The expression on Sean's face changed. That familiar, unsettling scent reaching his nose.
Jackson.
"So you're here," he murmured to himself. "Scott must have really roughed you up." Melissa returned with a tray. "I have to go back in a bit," she said. "They're calling for an emergency again." Sean nodded. "Okay. I'll be here." While Melissa hurried off, Sean didn't pay much attention to the food. He stayed at the hospital, running to where the nurses called, carrying files, pushing gurneys. He helped his mother. But that initial feeling... it hadn't completely gone away.
It had just gone quiet.
At the same time, Scott and Stiles were standing in front of the principal's office at school. The door was ajar. Inside, Sheriff Stilinski was talking.
"...in the middle of the night," his father was saying. "We're looking for a rabid animal. The other half of the body is still missing." When the door closed, Stiles folded his arms irritably. "Great," he said. "I can't just sit here and wait while my dad is looking for something in the woods at night." Scott looked at him. "So... what are you going to do?" Stiles's eyes darkened. "I'm going to find the other half of the body." And before Scott could respond, he turned and walked away.
After school, Scott hopped on his bike, which Stiles had left in the back of the jeep, and rode toward the place where Derek was staying. When he stopped in front of the gate, he shouted:
"Stay away from Allison!" "She's innocent!" Derek appeared at the door. His gaze was hard. "Innocent?" he said mockingly. "I'm the one watching your and your brother's backs!" He took a step closer. "And you come here and yell at me?" Scott gritted his teeth. "Don't pull her into this." Derek shook his head. "You're so naive, Scott. You know the danger and yet you still act like a fool." Toward evening, when Scott returned home, he called Stiles.
"I caught a scent," he said in a whisper. "It smells like the body. At the place where Derek is staying." Stiles paused for a moment. "Are you sure?" "Yes," Scott said. "It's the same as the half we found in the woods." A short silence followed.
"We need to confirm this," Stiles said. "Let's go to the hospital. The morgue. We'll see if the scents match." Scott nodded. "Okay."
When Stiles and Scott entered the automatic doors of the hospital, the commotion inside immediately caught their attention. The sound of gurneys, announcements, and hurried footsteps... Scott's nose twitched involuntarily; it was too crowded for him.
"This is not a good idea," Stiles muttered.
Just then, they heard a familiar voice.
"Hey!"
Sean was coming toward them from the other end of the hallway. He was wearing a simple smock he used while helping the nurses, files in hand... clearly rushing from one place to another. He paused when he saw Scott and Stiles.
"What are you guys doing here?" he asked, furrowing his brow. "Shouldn't you be at school?" As Scott was about to say something, Sean signaled with his head to finish what he was doing. "Hold on, let me handle this." A few minutes later, he returned. "Okay," he said. "Now tell me. Why are you at the hospital?" Stiles scanned the area and lowered his voice. "The body," he said, short and clear. "The half-body we found in the woods." Scott added: "I caught the scent of the other half." Sean's face grew serious. He thought for a moment. "Follow me," he said in a low voice.
Without drawing anyone's attention, Sean led Scott through the back corridors and into the morgue. Stiles waited at the door, keeping watch. The air inside was heavy. Cold and metallic.
The moment Scott stepped inside, his face tightened.
Minutes later, the door opened.
Scott came out. His forehead was covered in sweat. His breathing was irregular. "It was it," he said in a low voice. "The scent... it was exactly that." Sean closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Okay," he said. "Then we wait for nightfall."
When night fell, the trio reached the grounds where the Derek Hale family estate was located. The trees were thick and silent. Moonlight filtered through the leaves with difficulty.
"This is exactly like a horror movie set," Stiles whispered.
They began to dig. The soil was heavy. Damp.
After a while, Scott stopped. "There's something," he said.
When they opened the earth a bit more... what emerged was shapeless at first.
A wolf.
But only half.
Scott froze. Stiles grumbled. "Are you serious? How can you confuse the scent of a human and a wolf, Scott?" Just then, Stiles lifted his head. "Wait... a second." He looked at the plants on the ground. He leaned down.
"Wolfsbane," he said.
Sean and Scott spoke at the same time: "Yes?" Stiles shook his head. "Have you guys really never watched a werewolf movie?" he muttered, half-joking, half-serious. He grabbed the weed and pulled it out by the root. Then he slowly drew a circle around the carcass.
There was a moment of silence. Sean and Scott continued to dig.
And then...
"Stiles," Sean's voice was low but clear. "Get over here." What was left under the soil could no longer be hidden.
A female corpse, missing its other half, stared back at them with hollow eyes.