Creatures ~ Jackson Whittemore [Book 2]

The Supernatural Strikes Again

Maya groaned, throwing an arm over her eyes to shield them from the unbearable brightness of the lights. Have they always been this bright, Maya thought sitting up slightly as she tried to let her eyes adjust to what she thought was her bedroom. Confusion swept over her as she took in the hospital bed she was laying on and the thin white hospital gown on her body. Her head perked up when the door to her room squeaked open.

Darren dropped the bag of chips he had in his hand. His brown eyes staring incredulously at the sight of his sister awake. "Maya?" He was across the room in a few quick strides, wrapping his arms tightly around her as he buried his face into her shoulder. "You're actually awake."

"What do you mean actually awake?" Maya's brows drew together as she felt Darren's shoulders shake and the unmistakable feeling of tears soaking her shoulder. "Darren, what's going on?"

His eyes were wide when Darren pulled back to look at his sister. She looked rather dazed, but Darren was confused that she didn't even remember what happened. "There was an animal attack Maya. You and Lydia Martin both got brought in the night of the Formal." It didn't seem like his words were registering in Maya's mind. "You don't remember?"

Maya's lips slipped into a frown as she tried to fight the fogginess clouding her brain. There were little snippets flashing though her head. But try as hard as she might, the night in question was a blurry memory and nothing more.

Darren placed a comforting hand on his older sister's shoulder, a strained smile on his face. "Don't work yourself up about it. Maybe it's for the best that you don't remember." Maya nodded in agreement and her brother squeezed her shoulder before he got up from the bed. "I'll be right back, I'm gonna let the nurse know your awake."

Once he was out of the room and the door closed behind him, Maya swung her legs over the edge of her bed. Slightly wobbly and unstable on her feet, the teen stumbled over to the bathroom. Maya barely recognized the girl staring back at her in the mirror. Her normally tan face looked rather pale, scrapes marking her skin in red streaks.

"Huh." Maya noticed a bandage peaking out from underneath the shoulder of her hospital gown. She tugged at the fabric, peeling up the edge to catch a glimpse of the wound underneath. "Ugh, that's disgusting." Maya's nose wrinkled up as she tried to keep from gagging. The skin of her shoulder was a sickly mixture of teeth marks and dried blood, a lovely present from the animal that attacked her and Lydia.

Trying to forget about the grotesque sight, Maya turned the knob on the sink and let cold water flow out of the faucet. Before she could plunge her hands into the water, the clear liquid slowly began to turn pink and then became a dark mass of red. With a gasp Maya turned the handle, but the sink kept filling up with the red substance.

"No, no, no." Maya whispered, staring at the overflowing sink in terror. "Please let this be a dream."

A glint of white in the blood-red water caught her eye and hesitantly Maya took a step closer. The reflection of the moon was pictured perfectly in the center, ripples occasionally forming in its image as the water sloshed around in the sink basin. Entranced by the peculiar occurrence, Maya leaned in closer and as her hand neared the surface of the water, she heard a scream.

.........................

"Maya?" Darren knocked on the bathroom door softly. He peeked inside warily when the door creaked open. He walked further into the room, not seeing his sister anywhere.

The sink was still running and Darren reached a hand over and turned off the facet, he then took out the plug and let the water drain. Something in the mirror caught his attention and he whipped around towards the window behind him.

Blood was streaked across the cracked glass and strips of a familiar hospital gown were caught on the shards. The blood drained from Darren's face as he went sprinting out of the bathroom and into the hall.

"Help!" He grabbed onto the nearest nurse, "Please you need to help me, my sister isn't in her room and there's blood on the window." He rambled out frantically and the nurse could barely understand him.

"Darren? What's wrong?" He turned to find Melissa and Stiles coming around the corner. The woman gently grabbed onto his shoulder and pulled him away from the nurse. "Is it Maya, did something happen?"

The boy sucked in a harsh breath, "She's gone."

.....................

Nobody payed any attention to the pale boy running out of the hospital. Everyone was too concerned with the two girls that had somehow vanished from the hospital to be bothered by Stiles. He opened the door to his Jeep and shoved Lydia's bloody hospital gown into Scott's hands.

"This is the one she was just wearing?" The werewolf asked, unfolding the fabric.

Stiles nodded and reached into his pocket, pulling out a bloody piece of glass with some fabric wrapped around it. "And this is from the window Maya apparently hulked out on before she jumped through it." He handed the shard over to Scott.

Scott gave his best friend a sympathetic look. He knew it was hardest for Stiles since he'd been there seconds before the girls got attacked. "I'm not gonna let anyone hurt them. Not again." He promised, smiling sadly.

Tapping nervously on the steering wheel, Stiles nodded and gestured to the objects Scott was holding. "All right, just shove the things in your face and let's find them."

The Stilinski let out a noise of surprise when he turned on the Jeep, his headlights revealing Allison. The Argent looked distraught as she came over to the window.

"What are you doing here? Someone's gonna see us."

Allison shook her head, for once not consumed with concerned for her forbidden romance. This time she was too worried about her friends to worry about what her dad would do if he saw her with Scott. "I don't care - they are my best friends, and we need to find both of them before they do."

Scott gave his girlfriend a look, "I can find Maya and Lydia before the cops can."

"How about before my father does?" Allison asked him with a bitter smile on her lips.

Stiles leaned over towards Scott to look at the Argent, "He knows?"

The girl nodded, "Yeah. I just saw him and three other guys leave my house in two SUVs."

"Search party." Scott said sharing a worried look with Stiles.

Allison frowned, "It's more like a hunting party."

With a sigh, Scott pushed open the door for her and helped her into Stiles' Jeep. The tires squealed as Stiles pulled out of his parking spot, hitting the street at a speed that would probably get him pulled over. Scott's head was hanging out of the window as he tried to catch either girl's scent. The werewolf had a faint scent of Lydia near them, but nothing from Maya. Little did they know that neither of their friends were going to be found that night.