Destiny [D.H.]

84

Eliana's POV:

I stared up at the ceiling, seeing a discolored mark.

Corey pointed to a black mark on the ceiling. "That's how he got in?"

"What is this?" Scott and I wondered.

"It's a point of impact from a lightning strike," Mason replied. "Usually you'd find charred spots like that on the ground after a violent thunderstorm."

"That's how the Ghost Rider got in. He rode lightning," Scott realized.

Liam glanced at us. "If they can use the lightning to get past the Mountain Ash... No place is safe."

"What about the others?" Corey wondered. "It's my fault they're marked."

I shook my head. "Don't blame yourself. We'll find some way to protect him. If I have to-"

Scott cut me off. "No threatening, Ella."

I huffed and let out a sigh. "Ugh. Fine. You're no fun."

---

Scott and I met up with Lydia and Malia. Lydia showed us an ID card. "It's a relic."

Malia frowned. "What's a relic?"

"An object with a fixed association to the past. Jake's ID was left behind after he was taken. And Gwen found her sister's bracelet on her bedroom floor."

I frowned. "How is it that a person can be erased and leave something behind?"

"A conservation of mass. The total mass of any isolated system remains constant."

Malia nodded slowly. "So even the Ghost Riders have a weakness."

I smiled, turning to Lydia. "So, if we can find a relic, we have proof that Stiles existed."

Scott nodded. "And maybe we can bring him back."

---

I made my way home to do homework. Despite the current events, I still had school to focus on.

Maybe an hour later, Lydia texted me, asking me to join her at the school. Whatever it was, she sounded desperate.

---

As soon as I arrived, Lydia turned to me.

Ms. Martin walked up to the us and frowned at her daughter. "Were you tearing Claudia Stilinski's wallpaper?"

Lydia met her mother's eyes and said, "Yes."

She sighed. "Lydia, I'm getting concerned about your mental health."

"I'm fine. I heard a voice. No one else heard it."

Ms. Martin frowned. "Well, if Claudia is not hearing ghosts, maybe it's because she's not crazy."

I looked up at Ms. Martin. "Stiles isn't a ghost. Trust me on that."

"Sweetie, Stiles doesn't exist."

Lydia glared at her mother. "I'm isn't crazy. I was trying to find something Stiles left behind. I was looking for a relic."

"Did you?"

She shook her head. "No. Unfortunately, Mrs. Stilinski made me leave before I could find anything."

"Probably because you were tearing her wallpaper. Oh, sweetheart. I've known Claudia since high school. I trust her."

Lydia nodded. "Do you know what a confirmation bias is? The tendency to interpret information in a way that confirms a existing preconception."

Ms. Martin nodded. "Yes. It's a biased preconception."

"You're looking for proof to support what you already believe is true."

"Because you want it to be true."

Lydia pursed her lips. "Stiles is real."

"But do you believe there's a possibility he's not?"

I looked at my friend's mother. "Lydia believes he's real, and so do I."

---

The three of us headed to the hospital and explained to Melissa why we were there.

Melissa frowned. "You want what? You want what?"

"Claudia's medical records," Lydia replied. "Just for a minute. We know it's a lot to ask."

"It's up there. It's way up there."

Ms. Martin smiled a little. "As the more recently enlightened of the three of us, trust me. There are lives at stake."

Melissa sighed. "Letting the three of you look at private medical records is completely and utterly against hospital regulations. So, we better make this fast."

She looked up Claudia's records on the computer. "Sorry, guys. According to her medical records, Claudia never had children."

"Well, but she had..." I began.

"Frontotemporal dementia," Melissa finished. "There must be a mistake."

"How long ago? She seems okay now."

We looked at the records and Ms. Martin frowned. "Ten years? I'm surprised she's still alive, honestly. It's a miracle."

Argent was wheeled in and Melissa left. We rushed out and saw Scott and Malia.

Scott stood next to me and I asked, "What the hell happened?"

Melissa frowned. "He has blunt force trauma to his temporal bone, three broken ribs, and multiple surface lacerations which see to be from whip marks? What he needs is a lot of rest."

"What happened?" Lydia wondered.

Malia raised her eyebrows. "The Ghost Riders took everyone. We barely even slowed them down."

Scott turned to me and Lydia. "Tell us you two found something."

I let out a defeated sigh. "Well, we found out that Claudia never had children, so Stiles can't be her son."

"What about a relic?" Malia asked as Lydia and I shook our heads. "There never was a Stiles, was there?"

"It doesn't even sound like a real name," Scott mumbled.

I glanced at Lydia before I said, "We have to keep looking. Check the school records again. Or call Scott's dad..."

Malia shook her head. "We're fighting the wrong battle."

I shot her a look. "Actually, we're trying to get Stiles back."

"He's real," Lydia added certainly, "and I have no intentions of giving up on this."

Malia looked between us. "The Ghost Riders came back. We have no way of stopping them. And whatever they are, they're real. We can't keep chasing someone who isn't."

"He didn't leave anything behind," Scott said.

I let out a sigh. "Just us."