f i v e

Everything blurs in and out of focus as her consciousness gradually returned.

Despite not being able to clearly assess her surroundings, Grayson knew enough from what she could see. She was in deep shit, and there was no chance that she would be saved by a knight in shining armour.

From the second she decided to leave the loft, her life became her own. Now it was up to her and her alone.

The dusty ground of the warehouse chills her to the bone, seeping through her skull and to her brain. But there was no strength left inside her body anymore.

There is a faint piercing noise in her ears, echoing against her skull like a parasite attempting to escape. And her head throbbed with each passing second, sending painful spikes throughout her body.

Time was slow, steady, and seemingly endless; merciless.

She was dead, so fucking dead.

24 hours earlier

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Isaac's eyes darted nervously from her frantic actions to her determined eyes.

Astrid shrugged as she packed her final things, wondering why he wasn't working on his investigation to find his friends. He's determined, spending countless sleepless nights attempting to find his friends' whereabouts; it made no sense for him to take time out of his day to annoy her.

She honestly wasn't even sure why she had unpacked her bag in the first place. Derek gave her the guest room and she took it without hesitation. Astrid rolled her eyes, promising herself not to trust so easily next time; they don't even know each other all that well.

"I'm not in the pack," she finally answered, after a pause. "Derek can't tell me what to do."

"So you're doing this out of spite?" Isaac exclaimed in disbelief. "Did he really offend you so much that you'll send yourself off to your death?"

She merely rolled her eyes at his questions, hiking the straps of her backpack onto her shoulders. "No, I agree with him. I know who Arielle was, not who she is."

Before Derek left, Stiles texted him, saying that Jacob Driscoll was found dead a couple days ago with his throat torn out. There's a possibility that Arielle might've killed Jacob, which got the attention of those hunters.

The truth was, she didn't know her sister any more than Isaac did. Arielle could be a cold-blooded killer or a drug dealer for all she knew.

"Then why the hell are you doing this?"

"I'm not delusional," Astrid started.

"You sure?"

She finally paused in her tracks, giving him a scalding glare. "I know Arielle could be a killer and I know hunters are after my ass. But I will not sit and hide while my sister gets hunted down by these people, not without giving her a chance to explain what happened. Evil or not, she's family, and family sticks together."

They were siblings, but Isaac couldn't fathom why she felt like Arielle's life was worth more than her own. They hadn't seen each other in seven years, it was unfair that she still cared so much. Some people are too blinded by the illusion of family to think rationally, he knew that.

"That's bullshit," he eventually said, shaking his head. His eyes refused to meet hers.

"And why's that?"

"You haven't seen her in years and you have no idea who she actually is. The last time you saw her was when you were eleven years old, so she's practically a stranger by now. This is about something other than the need to protect your family."

He was right, but she was too afraid to admit it. Astrid's real reason makes her a selfish and despicable being and saying the truth would do a lot more harm than good. She'd rather believe she's doing this because she cares, and not because she's terrified to live alone.

"I promise I'll be safe." She pushed past him, ignoring his statement on purpose. "Just leave alone, please."

He grabbed her wrist almost instantly, worry displayed on his face. "Are you still coming back? To... To help us find Erica and Boyd."

"Yeah, whatever." She yanked her arm away, but his grip only tightened. "I will, I promise. Can you let me go now?"

Isaac studied her frazzled appearance with a frown. Eventually, he let out a sigh of defeat and released his hold on her wrist. "What do I tell Derek when he comes back?"

"That you couldn't do anything to make me stay."

"He'll give me shit for letting you leave."

"I think you'll be fine," Astrid stated before rolling her eyes and running down the stairs.

It took everything he had to stay in the loft and not chase her down as her footsteps faded away.

Isaac had a horrible feeling in his gut. It was the same feeling he used to feel before werewolves and hunters came into play: back when he knew that there was nothing back at home other than the shell of the person he once admired; back when he knew the ink blots on his skin would never fully heal because they were inflicted by someone he was supposed to love.

He closed his eyes and leaned back against the doorframe of the guest room that belonged to the girl he barely knew.

She would be okay.

She had to be.

He shook his head softly, unable to understand why he even cared.

Present Time

Near-death experiences come with the Supernatural world. Surprisingly, Astrid only ever had one similar to it.

The ocean breeze blew softly at her hair, the salty air caressing her face.

Sunlight reflects off the waves that crashed against the shore, blessing her eyes with aesthetics. The soothing sounds of the ocean and the soft sand between her toes allowed Astrid to finally feel free.

A smile graced her lips as she studied her surroundings, happy that her dad finally agreed to go to the beach. All the young girl wanted to do was swim, despite her dad's direct orders not to.

And so she did.

Her parents were too focused on Evan and Tyler, her two older brothers, who were attempting to shove sand in each other's pants. They barely had the chance to look her way.

The ocean water was cool against her skin, calming the marks inflicted from the burning sun.

But she ventures further into the waters, not knowing the dangers. Too young to decide when to stop, Astrid keeps going until her toes are grazing the sand. And despite knowing how to swim, the waves were a lot stronger than the little werewolf.

It took her under.

She struggled to kick up to the surface as time seemed to slow, unsure if anyone would come to her aid.

The feeling of helplessness terrified Astrid to no end, making her promise to never feel like that ever again.

Yet here she was, drifting in and out of consciousness, unsure how much time she had left.

Unsure if anyone would ever come to her aid.

— A/N —

This chapter is a bit ominous haha. It took me a while, and a lot of editing, to finish this.

I think I'm proud of how this chapter turned out though

Also, I won't be able to update quickly anymore because this is my senior year of high school. I got so much to do!

I haven't written the next chapter yet but I'll try to publish it when this chapter gets 8 votes :)

11/17/2018