Allison's POV:

"So...you slept together and woke up to her being gone?" Lydia questioned as we pulled into Scott's driveway. "With a pillow under your arm?"

"Saying it out loud makes it sound worse," I mutter, shutting the ignition off. "But yes? Be honest, should I be worried?"

"Well..."

I lean against the window with a whine. "Lydia!"

"What? You asked me to be honest!" She exclaimed as I rub the side of my temples to soothe my nerves. "I've never seen you this worked up before. You feeling okay?"

"The easy solution is to blame the Anuk-ite but...since the armory incident where Scott, Malia, and Olivia got trapped, I've been having nightmares." I mutter, fiddling with my fingers to recall the memory. "Nightmares about not getting to Olivia in time."

"Alli..." Lydia whispered, reaching over to clasp her hand over mine. "She may not be able to resurrect from the dead anymore but you and I know that she's a fighter. Nothing that small is gonna make her stay down."

"But what we're up against isn't small. I-I..." I trail off before I shook my head, fighting the tears spilling from my eyes. "I can't live in a world if she isn't there with me. What if something happened to her and I wasn't there to stop it? Why couldn't she just wake me up?"

"Listen, you need to stop immediately assuming the worse, or else it'll drive you crazy about the 'what if's'." Lydia instructed as she patted my arm a few times. "You love her, right?"

I immediately nod. "So much."

"Then trust her."

I slowly nod with a small smile before wrapping my arms around her to pull her into a hug. "Thank you for always being there for me, Lydia."

"Of course. You would have been a lost sheep without me. I mean for god's sake, who else was going to be the one to help clean out your closet to choose better outfits for you to wear?" She sighed, causing me to let out a giggle as we pulled away. "Now come on, let's see if they're here."

"Do you honestly think they're here?"

"Well did Olivia seem like herself?" We step out of the car and made our way towards the backdoor before pushing it open. "Have you tried to call her?"

"Well there was a moment where she seemed distracted but then we...erm—"

Lydia holds up her hand with a wince, cutting me off from my sentence as I shut the door behind us. "Spare me the details, please."

"Other than that, I don't think so. The cell phone towers are messed up so none of my calls are going through."

"Scott?" Lydia called as we make our way through the kitchen and to the living room.

I furrow my brows in confusion at how quiet and empty the house is. "Is nobody here?" I question as we wander toward the staircase. "Scott? Olivia?"

"I wouldn't say nobody." A voice spoke from behind, causing me to unclip my dagger from my belt and throw it.

The person swiftly catches it in their hands but instantly I roll my eyes in annoyance. "Oh, it's just you."

Peter twirled the dagger in his hands with an unamused look. "Normally I'd be offended but I simply don't have the time for chitchat." He sighed as he handed me the weapon before placing his hands on his hips.

"What exactly are you doing here?" Lydia questioned, trying to catch her breath from the sudden scare.

"Looking for Malia. What are you two doing here?"

"Looking for Scott and the others," I pointedly answer as I gesture around Scott's living room. "obviously."

"Why?"

"Why are you looking for Malia?" Lydia countered.

He paused, almost as if trying to come up with an excuse before giving a small shrug. "...parental concern."

Lydia narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Huh."

"W-Why didn't you just call Scott?"

I tilt my head to the side. "Why didn't you call Malia?"

"This...we're not—this is...we're not getting very far with this conversation." He sighed in frustration. "I don't have time for sarcasm from the dynamic duo."

Lydia lets out a sigh. "We can't reach him."

"Well, I can't reach her, or anyone--there's reports that several cell phone towers in the area are down."

Lydia and I share a look. "Okay. That's definitely cause for concern." She muttered.

"It's more than that." Peter insisted, causing my eyes to widen.

"Monroe and Gerard." I realized and he nodded.

"They're cutting us off from the outside."

"And from each other." Lydia added.

Worry creased on Peter's profile. "Which likely means that they've already started amassing troops on their side."

"Then we'd better find ours."

Olivia's POV:

"Out of all places, he chose the sketchiest part of Beacon Hills?" I ask out loud, looking around the shipyard full of large steel shipping containers that were illuminated by the large overhead lights.

Suddenly, something slams against the container, and the three of us turn toward the sound, seeing Deucalion stare down at us on top of the tallest stack of containers with his cane in his hand.

"It keeps you on your toes." Deucalion casually answered. "Do either of you know the term for what I'm doing?"

"Echolocation." Scott answered without hesitation.

An impressed look appeared on Deucalion's expression. "You did your homework."

"I looked a few things up."

"And now you think you can learn in just one day what took me years to master?" He raised a brow.

"We were hoping for maybe a few highlights?" Malia nervously smiled.

"At least an advantage to fight the Anuk-ite without looking at it." I add. "Hell, we're desperate."

"Fighting blind is one thing--you haven't even learned to walk yet." Deucalion scoffed. "An orientation in mobility training specialists has to practice blindfolded with a white cane for at least one hundred and twenty hours before becoming certified!"

I wince. "So...what I'm hearing is our odds are still good?"

His expression remained unamused. "I can't teach you to walk and fight in less than twenty-four."

"Look, we know the odds are bad, but Gerard's got an army." Scott emphasized. "There's a creature that can scare ordinary people into becoming killers."

"A creature now capable of killing you with just a look." Deucalion slowly nodded. "You saw them, didn't you?"

Malia nervously swallowed. "We saw people turned to stone."

"So why aren't all of you running for your lives?"

"Because we don't run!" Scott confidently stated and I nod in agreement.

A proud smile appears on Deucalion's lips. "Now that sounds like an Alpha. Let's get started."

Phoebe's POV:

I watch the water bottle drop down from the vending machine but just before I could pick it up, a hand grabs my shoulder and yanks me back to hide behind the corner.

Before I could yelp, Liam brings a hand to his lips to make me stay quiet. "Sorry, I just--"

"Thanks for the heart attack!" I scold with a whisper and smack his shoulder. "What are you doing here?"

"I told him to meet me here." A familiar voice spoke up from behind him.

My eyes land on the figure and immediately I scrunch my nose in disgust. "You."

"Okay look, you might not be the biggest fan of me--"

"Definitely not." I harshly cut him off. "You and Monroe's hunters sent my dad and the rest of our friends to the hospital and killed Olivia's mom!"

"I swear that wasn't me." Nolan quickly whispered. "Once I found out what Gabe did, I knew this needed to be stopped. Monroe is taking it too far."

"How?" Liam asked with a glare.

"You see that guy?" Nolan discreetly pointed to a dark-skinned man in light blue scrubs who smiled at the child patient in a wheelchair. "That's why we didn't come in the front door."

"Who is he?"

"He's with Monroe. He was there last night, and he picked up a gun like everyone else." Nolan explained before pointing to another person, this time a younger pale-skinned blonde nurse in green scrubs who stood behind the nurse's station's desk, speaking with another coworker. "You see that nurse right there? She was standing right behind me."

I shake my head in disappointment. "That's the nurse who was supposed to bring in my dad's snacks to make sure he didn't starve."

"There's more than you think, and they're not just Hunters-- it's everyone and anyone willing to pick up a gun." Nolan continued to explain as he looked down to the floor in guilt. "Last night, they were teaching them how to use them, how to load clips, what to do if the gun jams..."

"Nurses?" Liam anxiously asked.

So much hatred and fear...this is what the Anuk-ite thrived off of. There's no way it didn't attend their meeting.

Nolan grimly nodded. "Everyone."

Liam turned around to meet Nolan's eyes with a sneer. "This is what you wanted to show me? That people hate us? I could have figured this out on my own!"

"It's not just that." Nolan quickly shook his head as he anxiously glanced between us. "Come with me, okay?" Just before I could object, the phone at the nurse's station rings which Nolan hurriedly gestures for us to follow. "Now!"

The three of us quietly walk past the nurse's station and continue our pace down the hallway and toward the elevators.

Nolan clicks on the fourth floor and the doors shut in front of us. The three of us awkwardly stood in silence and out of nerves, I kept my stares at my feet.

Maybe I should've stayed in the room with my dad.

Once the elevator reached the fourth floor and the doors opened, Liam tried to walk out into the hallway but Nolan quickly pulls him backward.

He peeked out the doors before he walks out the door himself with Liam and I following close behind to the intensive care unit.

There were three beds in the room where each one held an unconscious man hooked up to the IV drips and oxygen masks.

My eyes soften at the sight. "How long have they been in here?"

Nolan walked closer to the bed in the middle. "They brought them in last night."

"Who are they?" Liam worriedly asked.

"I-I don't know."

I walk closer to the nearest bed to get a better look at the IV bag, narrowing my eyes in suspicion at the color, and glance behind at Liam. "Seem familiar to you?."

"Do you know what that is?" Nolan anxiously asked.

Liam's jaw clenched in anger. "Wolfsbane."

Olivia's POV:

"Unfortunately," Deucalion sighed as he rested his weight on the cane. "there's one crucial difference to teaching you how to fight blind."

"We're not really blind." Scott nodded.

Malia furrowed her brows. "Why does that matter?"

"Unless you spend the next few days walking around with a blindfold," Deucalion began to step back and turn away from us. "all the Anuk-ite has to do is get you to open your eyes."

"So we keep our eyes shut." Malia spoke up as if it were the obvious solution.

"You think it's that easy?" Deucalion scoffed as he turned to face us once more. "What happens to your eyes when you're afraid?"

"They open wide?" I ask and Deucalion nodded.

"To gather more light and send more data to the brain so you can better handle whatever threat lies in front of you."

Malia scoffed. "I can keep my eyes closed."

"Well, go ahead." He gestured to Malia. "Close them."

As Malia closed her eyes, Deucalion bent over and picked up a large stone on the floor with a shrug. Instantly he flung it at the shipping container at our right and the abrupt sound startled Malia enough to open her eyes.

"So...does that mean she's--"

"She's dead." Deucalion cut me off, his expression shifting into exasperation.

"I get it!" Malia held her arms out in annoyance. "It's gonna be a lot harder than I thought."

"But not impossible." Scott emphasized. "What's next?"

Deucalion dug into his pocket and pulled out three pieces of long black material. "In schools for the blind, it's called sleep-shade training. We'll use regular blindfolds." He explained, handing us each a piece of the material. "And we'll start with echolocation."

"Sound." I answer with a small smile, remembering the time when I tried to do a bit more research about birds overall to see if they connected with the phoenix.

Deucalion nodded. "Then I'll show you how to use thermoception."

"Heat." Malia interjected.

"Equilibrioception."

Malia opened her mouth to speak but shrunk a bit in uncertainty to which Scott gave a small smile. "Balance."

"And proprioception."

"Pressure." He answered again and turned to Malia with reassurance, noticing her insecurity. "You did well."

I playfully roll my eyes. "Let's start this thing before I hurl." I mutter as I put my hair up into a ponytail before covering my eyes with the blindfold and tying it behind my head.

"Normal humans use echolocation by creating sounds, like clicking the tongue against the roof of the mouth." Deucalion continued but I could hear his footsteps move a bit away from us. "Since your hearing is a hundred times more powerful, you can pick up natural reflected sounds."

"And what about a Phoenix?" I ask as I held my arms out, hoping I was facing him. "I don't have heightened senses. Hearing specifically."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that, my dear. You control heat, correct?" He questioned and I nod. "Well then use that with thermoception. Olivia tracks the opponent's body heat while you two do the other."

Suddenly a loud clang causes me to flinch back. "Ah!"

"I definitely heard that." Scott muttered from behind me.

"But does it tell you where I am?" Deucalion spoke up but this time a bit further away from us. "Don't listen for me. Listen for the echo, the sound reflections. Use it to find me."

Once again he slams the container and I instinctively hold my hands in front of me out of fear.

"Remember. Sense the opponent's body temperature." I feel his cane harshly smack my hands and instantly I put them down to my sides. "You don't want to wildly throw fireballs in hopes it will strike your opponent. Unless you're hoping to burn the town to ashes."

"Didn't have to hit my hands." I mutter under my breath as I rub my hands with a pout.

"You both have superior hearing. Heightened abilities." Deucalion continued to explain and I pivot on my heel to follow his voice. "You need to focus it, like a weapon!"

He hits the shipping container again and his footsteps became fainter but I inhale a deep breath to focus.

Okay, heat. Focus on heat.

Almost as if it was a small light at the end of the tunnel, I could feel a faint warm presence being encircled with patches of the cold in pattern-like spots.

Like a maze!

I nervously take a few steps forward but instantly a cold presence approached closer to me in which I immediately step around before I continue walking along the path.

Suddenly I hear something smack behind me which is followed by a groan of frustration. "I'm not feeling so superior right now!" I hear Malia shout which caused me to snort.

Unfortunately, that alone broke my focus, making the temperatures disappear and I accidentally bump into one of the shipping containers. "Ow." I whine as I rubbed my forehead with a pained frown.

"Find me..." Deucalion taunted, smacking his cane against the shipping container again.

Okay, focus.

I try to pick up the temperatures again and this time feel the faint warm presence once more but it walked further away.

"Come at me!"

Even if what I sensed felt a bit of a blur, I slowly followed along the path, now and then feeling the walls to make sure I didn't bump into them until they eventually disappeared.

"Find me!"

The concrete shifted a bit upward but before I knew it, I feel a cane smack across my shin with enough force to make me fall face flat into the floor. Grunts from Scott and Malia soon enough followed after and I hear them collapse beside me.

I dizzily pull the blindfold above my eyes in confusion, meeting Deucalion's look of disappointment.

"How dead are we now?" Malia remarked in annoyance.

"Quite."

Allison's POV:

"They haven't been here." Peter spoke up once he finished looking through the exam room of the animal clinic but Lydia continued to anxiously pace back and forth.

"I mean, where else could they have gone?" I worriedly ask. " They weren't at Scott's, the nurse practically dismissed me when I asked if I could see Mr. Jimenez, and they weren't at Phoebe's house."

Lydia finally stopped pacing to turn towards us. "Maybe we should go to the school."

"Lydia," Peter sighed. "you never said why you were waiting for Scott."

"Now that I think about it," I slowly turn to Lydia in curiosity. "you haven't told me the whole reason why you wanted to tag along to find the others."

"Well I was going to but..." Lydia trailed off as her gaze landed on Peter.

"I'm right here!" Peter exclaimed in annoyance. "You're terrible at being discreet!"

She sets her hands on the table and leaned on it. "Are you sure you want to know?"

"Do I need to know?" He exasperated.

"Last night, I woke up saying two words that might just be from a dream..." She trailed off in discomfort. "or might be something else."

Peter raised a brow, waiting for her to elaborate but she stayed silent which causes him to scoff. "What two words?"

"Where's Jackson?"

"That is disturbing on multiple levels." Peter emphasized with an appalled look. "What else?"

Lydia worriedly turns to me. "You shot a golden arrow at someone burning but it was like they were losing control...and the only person we know who has been struggling with their powers the past year is--"

"Olivia." I whisper and she reluctantly nods.

"Who cares! Clearly, I can tell there's something about me you're not saying." Peter scoffed but Lydia's expression flickered in hesitation. "Lydia! Don't hold back on me. I've never held back on you."

"I saw you...turned to stone." She muttered under her breath, but Peter's eyes widen in shock. "I was walking through the school hallway covered in cobwebs but with each string I touched, I saw everyone else. Ethan, Jackson, Malia, Derek, Cora, and Isaac...then Olivia bleeding out to death with a golden arrow in her chest."

I felt my knees starting to buckle and I carefully take a seat on the chair. "I'm afraid to ask if there was more."

She hesitantly nods. "I was in a storage container. It was steel. There was a blue wall...a-and I saw Scott petrified into stone in the middle of these stacked storage containers. Everyone was turned to stone."

Peter looked at Lydia incredulously. "Do you ever see anything remotely optimistic?"

"It's optimistic if you prevent it." She remarked in frustration.

"We need to find everyone as soon as possible." I emphasize sternly. "It's a long shot but maybe they're at Eichen House or we can try looking down into the underground bunker?"

"Wait a sec. Storage contain--" Peter muttered under his breath before he shook his head. "Do you mean shipping container?"

Lydia's brows furrowed in thought. "Yeah. I was surrounded by them."

His eyes widen. "I think I know where that is."

A wave of relief fills in my chest. "Then you know how to find Scott."