Phoebe's POV:

"Is everything okay, honey?" Elizabeth questioned with concern. "As much as I appreciate you checking in, aren't your friends with you? Where are they? Wait, where are you?"

I nervously laugh. "Well, I'm supposed to meet them in the underground tunnels so...I'm sitting outside in my car."

"Should I be concerned about why you're there?"

"Liam thinks if we..." I pause, looking down to my hands in discomfort. "released Theo, he can help us capture a Ghostrider with the electricity he absorbed."

"Oh...and how are you feeling?"

"Is it selfish to say that I hope the plan doesn't work?" I mutter, propping my phone to lean against the car dashboard so I could listen to her on speakerphone. "I don't want him to come back here."

"I don't think it's selfish. You almost lost your life because of him. You're lucky...someone managed to pull you out of there. " She sternly states but the sound of Melissa calling her name in the background causes her to sigh. "Still looking!–Listen, Phoebe. Maybe you should talk to Hayden instead of keeping how you're feeling to yourself."

My brows furrow into confusion. "Is everything okay on your end? I heard Melissa."

"Since we can't send Argent into surgery, we're collecting special herbs to combat the venom in his system." The sounds of glasses clink together which soon followed enough with a groan.

"Is he going to be okay?"

"Well...given that if we don't find or mix the ingredients correctly, he'll die." She nervously laughs. "With Melissa's help, my chances of messing up are less likely to fail...I hope. I just can't find the Mel herb."

"Isn't that Celtic for something?" I question before I quickly look up the translation. "It's Celtic for Honey. A binding agent and--"

"A natural antibiotic. Phoebe, you're a genius!" She exclaimed before there is more shuffling in the background. "Got it! Phoebe, I have to go but again, don't feel ashamed and hide something that's a part of who you are. It's better to communicate with her so she isn't left out in the dark. Love you!" She quickly says, causing my eyes to widen in recognition at her words but the line clicks.

"You care about Hayden a lot, don't you?"

I look around in confusion. What the hell?

"What? Of course, she's my friend." The sound of my voice questions in confusion.

"Phoebe, you know I'll always be there for you, right?" The other voice asked once more. "So you shouldn't feel ashamed and hide something that's a part of who you are. It's okay if you like her."

I move to shove my phone in my pocket but my eyes widen at the sight of the palm of my hand dimly glowing.

I've got to get out of here.

Allison's POV:

I worriedly glance between Lenore and Scott, watching as he bashed his body against the door, tightly gripping onto the handle as he frantically tried to twist it open.

"Scott, open the door!" Malia scolded with annoyance, seeing as the door didn't even budge. "You're a werewolf."

"I'm trying." He grunted, continuing to bash his shoulder against the door.

I grab my crossbow out of my purse as I walk towards the window and slam the weapon against the glass. I expected the glass to shatter on impact but to my surprise, it remained intact. Not a single crack appeared.

"Let me." Malia whispered and I quickly step aside as she reeled her fist back. She sent it flying at the glass, but same as before, nothing happened. "What the hell is wrong with this place?"

"Lenore?" Lydia called nervously to the woman. "Could you unlock the door, please?"

"Now that you're here, you need to stay." Lenore's voice lowered. "Caleb likes you."

Lydia walked over to the woman, having her turn her back towards us. "And we like him! But we need to help our town. People are disappearing--" I quickly shake my head, signaling for her to reword her sentence. "Uh, leaving--I mean leaving. You could really help us."

"No one can help you." The woman shook her head. "If they want to leave, they're going to leave. They'll go, and they'll go, and there won't be anything you can do about it."

"Come with me."

I jump at the unrecognizable voice and turn, seeing the little boy from before standing in the doorway.

As Scott and Malia slowly followed behind Caleb, I glance at Lydia in hesitation, unsure whether or not it was safe to leave her with Lenore.

"Go." She mouthed with a small smile.

I nod and quickly follow after the others and carefully walk down the staircase that led further down the house until we stop at the door. Scott cautiously pushes it open and as if on cue, the lights above our heads flicker which left us barely any light from the small windows at the top of the plain walls.

I take the first step on the small set of wooden stairs and carefully walk down, but my eyes widen at the feeling of water sink inside my boots. "What the...?" I whisper, seeing as the entirety of the floor covered in water didn't phase Caleb who stood with his back towards us in the middle of the room.

Scott walks over the small toys sprawled across the floor towards the window. He stood on his toes, attempting to reach the latch to pry open the window but no matter how hard he tugged, it wouldn't budge.

"Caleb," Scott softly calls to the child who watched us with an unreadable expression. "can you help us find a way out of here?"

Caleb turns away to face the old tv propped up on a shelf once more but crouched down to its level. He grabbed a cassette from the side and inserted it into the DVD player, causing the monitor to reveal what seemed to be a video recording from a camera with the date 'AUG 12 1985' in the bottom-right corner of the screen.

The boy in the video revealed a playful, happier Caleb with a grin on his face as he blew bubbles towards the camera.

"You have to stay because Mommy said so." Caleb insisted with a small smile, continuing to watch himself on the television.

Malia nudged my arm, nodding her head towards Caleb. "You're nice with...people. Tell him we're getting out of here." She whispered, causing me to roll my eyes.

"Caleb, I'm very sorry but we can't stay." I softly answer. "We have to go home."

"This is home." Caleb replied but this time, his voice turned demonic.

Suddenly, the door slams shut which causes us to jump in surprise.

"Allison, did you see the date on the TV?" Malia whispered, tugging on my sleeve with discomfort and I nod. "Uh, Caleb? Do you know what year you were born?"

He slowly stands to his feet and turns to face us, my eyes widening in surprise at his appearance. Almost as if he had just been out in the rain, water now soaked his hair and his clothes.

"1976." Caleb simply answered, never taking his eyes off of us.

"And...when did you die?"

Instantly, water begins to pour from the basement door and down the small steps, along with the windows and walls trickling water at a steady pace.

"Guys..." I slowly trail, unsure of what I was seeing could be seen by Malia and Scott.

Scott immediately moves closer to Malia and I, attempting to move away from the boy but somehow, Caleb appeared on top of the steps.

"Am I having another hallucination?" Malia hesitantly asked with her eyes slightly widened at the sight in front of us.

"If you are, I'm having the same one." Scott retorted, briefly looking behind him.

Suddenly, the sounds of Lydia's familiar scream echoed around us but the cry alone caused my heart to clench. It was a cry I remembered all too well.

The cry...was it connected to Olivia? To Stiles?

"We've got to get out of here." Scott's worried tone broke me out of my thoughts.

"I know neither of you is gonna beat an eight-year-old's ass, but I will." Malia harshly remarked.

She moved forward with her claws extended but before she could even make it to Caleb, she abruptly stops with a choked gasp until her knees buckled to the water.

"You don't look so good." Caleb mocked with a smirk, watching as water spilled from her mouth. "Maybe you should sit down."

Phoebe's POV:

"Almost there." I panted as Liam and I try to match Hayden's speed-walk pace in the underground tunnels. "Last chance to bail."

"Phoebe, if we're gonna stand a chance, we have to do something drastic." Liam answered in which Hayden scoffs in response.

"There's drastic, and then there's this."

"But we need the bad part of the plan to make the good part work." Liam emphasized, making another turn at the intersection.

"You think she knows it's a bad plan?" Hayden asks.

"Of course it is!" I raise my voice, causing the three of us to pause in our steps. "Anyone would know that this is a bad idea! I don't think we should go through with it."

"Phoebe--"

I smack Liam's hand away. "No Liam! Look, I get it. You want to prove yourself to Scott but you have to understand that he almost killed us! He almost killed Scott and he deserves to rot for almost ruining our lives! He manipulated me into hating all of you and...every time that I close my eyes all I see is him, dragging me to the pits of hell as his one last twisted act."

I look away in shame but feel someone, most likely being Hayden, interlace their hand with mine.

"I don't want to see him again." I rasp in which I clear my throat. "I can't."

"He won't hurt you again." Hayden whispered, squeezing my hand in comfort. "I'll make sure of it, I promise."

"Which is why I have to ask you one more time." The sound of a sword clicking into place causes us to look up and meet Noshiko's neutral expression as she stood in the middle of the walkway in the tunnel. "Are you sure you don't wanna change your minds?"

"I'm sorry Phoebe." Liam whispers before he turns to Noshiko. "We don't know what else to do. It's like the Ghost Riders are unstoppable."

"They are unstoppable." She emphasized. "They've been riding the storm and taking souls since long before I was born."

"Yeah, we won't survive them." He says as the three of us take several steps closer to her. "Not without your help."

Noshiko takes a deep breath before holding out the sword to us. "Kira entrusted me with her sword while she's with the Skinwalkers. And now, I'm trusting you, because I believe she would want me to." She sternly states, making sure to look at each of us. "Do not mistake this for me agreeing with your decision."

"I understand." He softly answered. "Kira just...stabbed her sword into the ground."

"If you want to do this, you'll have to do it yourself." She bows her head downward in which Liam awkwardly takes from her hands before stepping around her. "Once it's done...whatever happens will be your responsibility."

"She...she didn't want to come." Theo's words echo in my thoughts. "She hasn't been really helping us look since you went missing and when I tried to get her to come, she shooed me off and said she was busy with school work...I tried everything but don't worry, I am the help."

I shut my eyes, attempting to dismiss the echoes but it felt like they were getting louder.

"If I'm going to hell, she's coming with me!" He angrily shouts as I desperately tried to crawl out of the hole, catching a brief visual of the people screaming in agony at the bottom of the pit. "Hell, even if I have to absorb every last bit of her energy!" He digs his claws further into my stomach, causing me to let out a cry of pain as I felt myself slip further and further away.

I can't.

I shoot open my eyes but to my surprise, watch as Hayden sprints toward Liam as he lifted the sword high. "Liam, wait!"

Before she could stop him, he digs the sword deep into the ground. Electrified blue cracks indent into the ground until they finally stop near the wall. A hand shoots out of the ground with its claws extended which causes us to take a step back, watching as the other hand came out of the dirt to push itself up from the hole.

The form slowly comes into view from the dust as they carefully stood up to their feet until they lifted their head with a sigh, revealing the sharp canines. Theo's eyes glow a bright gold as his stares meet ours, letting out a low growl.

He lunges towards Liam and shoves him against the wall, keeping his arm pressed against his throat.

"Theo! We're not trying to hurt you!" Hayden frantically calls out. "We're the ones that brought you back."

"Where's my sister?" Theo glared, his eyes wildly meeting each of us.

"Your sister's dead." Liam mutters in which Theo growls in response. "She died a long time ago."

"You killed her, remember?" I add, crossing my arms in discomfort. "Pulled out her...heart to give to the Dread Doctors."

"I'm gonna kill you two." He snarled. "I'm gonna kill all of you."

"Okay. Send him back." Hayden scoffed.

I snatch the sword from Liam's hand with a huff. "Agreed."

"You know what this does?" Liam questioned, seeing as Theo's eyes never left the sword until he slowly loosened his grip to take a step back. "We need your power to help us. Then, you can kill whoever you want. But, if you do kill us, you're gonna end up worse than ever."

"There's nothing worse than what I've been through." He muttered under his breath, causing me to roll my eyes.

"You ever hear about the Ghost Riders?"

Allison's POV:

I place a hand on Malia's back with worry. "Breathe, Malia. You have to breathe." I urge, her gasps for breaths becoming weaker in seconds and I worriedly turn to Scott, who was on the other side of her. "Scott, she's going to die if we don't do something!"

"Lydia!" Scott yelled out, quickly moving to go up the steps.

However, water started to spill from his mouth as well, making him stumble against the stairs with a choked breath.

"No, no, no." I whisper and pleadingly turn to Caleb. "Please, stop! You're going to k--" I cut myself off with a cough, feeling the liquid come up my throat which cut off the air-flow.

I shakily held my throat as water spilled from my lips, the burning sensation in my lungs becoming unbearable in desperation for air as I kneeled to the wet floor to hold myself up.

"What are you doing to us?" Scott wheezed, attempting to crawl towards me but his arms gave out which causes him to stop.

"You're drowning, just like me." Caleb smiled. "Now we can be friends forever."

I shakily pull out Olivia's bracelet from my pocket and hold it out for Caleb to see. "Caleb, Olivia's waiting for me...I can't die without seeing her again." I whisper, my vision blurring due to the amount of energy I was using to hold myself up. "She m-means the world to us."

I glance over to my friends, meeting Scott's guilt-written expression as he tried to reach for me until I turned back to meet Caleb's blank stare.

"I can't imagine living in a world if she isn't living in it with me."

He blankly stares at the bracelet in my hands and just as my hand drops to the ground so I could take my last strained breath, the water suddenly stops which was enough for me to breathe.

Malia and Scott let out gasps of air as well, looking at each other in concern before Scott frantically crawls to me.

He worriedly cups my cheek. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I'm okay, I'm okay." I whisper, despite the fact I still felt a little lightheaded. "Are you?" He nods with a small smile.

"Mommy says you can go now." Caleb called never taking his eyes off of the TV displaying the tape as the door behind us swung open.

Scott helps me to stand and the three of us quickly go up the steps, not bothering to spare a glance behind us and running straight back up the steps until we got to the hallway.

Thankfully, the front door was already wide open with Lydia waiting outside and we quickly run-up to her with a sigh of relief.

"Let's get out of here." Scott insisted in which Lydia and I nod in agreement.

"Yeah, absolutely." Malia grumbled in annoyance.

Though, Lydia pauses in her steps which causes all of us to turn and see Lenore and Caleb standing in the doorway with saddened expressions.

"You know, you can still come with us." Lydia softly spoke up.

Lenore sadly shook her head. "I couldn't leave Caleb.

"Lenore," Lydia shook her head with disappointment. "you know he's not real."

The woman looks down to her son who simply smiled as he met her eyes in which she does the same before looking back at us. "I couldn't leave Caleb."

I wrap my arm around Lydia's, tugging her backward with a sad smile. "Let's go home."

➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵

Heyyy!

Okay so I have a feeling I have to explain the moment with Phoebe in her car LMAO So the reason her hand glowed is because if you remember from the ending of the last book, the only way to save her was for Olivia to preserve the next holder for the Phoenix blah blah blah.

So because of that, Phoebe and Olivia are connected! She's ~channelin the ancestor without even realizing it~ if that makes sense?

Think of it as another way of ATLA where Aang connects with past avatars LMAO but in this case, Phoebe's looking at past memories.

That's all I got for y'all today! Thank you once again for the support in this book and Happy New Year! I hope you all have/had an amazing day! Bye!

~Cimbello