From Ashes ✗ Stiles Stilinski - Chapter 20: Chapter 20

Six Years Earlier
She moved like water – with an ease and grace uncommon among the other young girls. As if she was born to do this, to be a slayer. Sure, they were all born to be slayers, but this was certainly different. Every strike, dodge, and kick was so perfectly timed, no one could possibly tell they had all been training for just two years. The trainers were impressed, even when they attempted not to show it. The other girls, though bitter, were in awe. Maddie was not.
Ten year old Maddie fumbled a lot, sometimes even got scared and screamed. When she wasn't afraid, she was clumsy – at least, that's what the adults would say. They didn't think she heard but after she had taken to being on the quiet side after her first few weeks, she seemed to hear a lot. She began to believe that the universe had made a mistake making her a slayer, someone chosen for something so great. It simply wasn't her.
...No, not her.
Marie was another case entirely.
Anne Marie Drake was a twelve year old prodigy. She trained with the older girls sometimes and had, on occasion, beaten a few of them. She had a wide, triumphant smile each time and flipped her long blonde hair as she would saunter away. It was always a treat to watch her work, everyone always said. Maddie didn't seem to agree.
Maddie hadn't forgotten what Marie had done those first few weeks. She remembered the hurt and the laughter emitting from everyone else. She remembered the bruises that had stretched across her rib cage. Sure, time had passed and Buffy had told her not to hold grudges, but she couldn't help it. It was a black spot on her heart that spread with time and no words could stop it.
This is what she had resolved as she watched the girl in training that day. Her insides twisted painfully as she turned away and pushed herself roughly through the crowd. There was nothing good about that girl. Nothing nice or kind or compassionate. She was mean and cocky – and that was at her best. She hurt people that didn't deserve it.
I didn't deserve it.
That's what Buffy had told her, at least.
She sat in the back of the large stone castle, her hard gaze peering out beyond the moors to the cloudy sky. The sun was setting and the icy wind stung her cheeks as it blew past. Soon, being alone outside wouldn't be an option at all, what with winter settling in. She would have to spend her time with the rest of the girls. Maybe Buffy would let her eat with her, her sister, and Mister Harris. She decided to remind herself of that when she got back inside.
That was when she saw a shadow out of the corner of her eye.
Maddie's head perked up to find the familiar blonde curls blowing all around the face of a blue-eyed and unnaturally tall twelve year old girl. She bounced around a bit and kept her arms folded, probably to ward off the cold. She didn't wait to ask for a seat next to Maddie before sitting down, much to the younger girl's distress.
There was a long silence passed between them as Maddie's hands balled into fists while she still hugged her knees. Marie's legs stretched out in front of her, her feet moving left and right as she leaned back and propped herself up on her elbows. Neither girl looked away from the gray sky for what seemed like hours.
It was only minutes, though, before Maddie heard the familiar Southern drawl as Marie spoke. "Why do you always come out here?"
"To get away from you." There was no pause, no hesitation. The words spilled from the ten-year-old's mouth easily enough to startle the other girl. Up until that moment, the only emotions Madeline Hayes had seen from the girl she had dubbed her arch enemy were happiness and anger. Without looking, she knew that neither were present. Out of sheer curiosity – or possibly malice – she looked over at the older girl. She was still looking at the sky with her wide blue eyes, perhaps to keep herself from looking at Maddie with guilt. Without missing another beat, the tiny brunette continued. "Why are you out here?"
"I dunno," she answered with a shrug. "It was getting crowded. Too much stupid, ya know?"
Maddie didn't exactly know how to take that. Was she being called smart or maybe just not as dumb as the others? She didn't answer either way. She didn't care to answer. She was too infuriated by the inane mixture of laziness and arrogance. Stupid? She was one to talk.
"Hey."
This seemed to catch Maddie's attention, causing her to glance back over at the older girl. In her hand, she held two packets of Reese's, passing one of them to Maddie. The girl nearly caught it before it bounced off of the side of her hand and to the grass. Marie laughed a bit as Maddie picked up the bright orange packaging. They hardly went beyond their headquarters, so candy was a luxury for the older girls and the trainers usually, with a treat here and there when Willow stopped by. Her eyes widened and she looked back at Marie. "How'd you get this?!"
"Field trip. I got to tag along for 'Outstanding Merit' or somethin' dumb like that. Don't really remember." The blonde tore open the wrapper with her teeth and threw the paper cup behind her as she bit into the chocolate.
Maddie watched her with a frown. So careless. How could this girl be so special? "I kind of hate you."
There it was again – another carefree smile. There was no hint of anger or hurt. In that moment, Maddie knew the difference between the two of them. Marie glanced back over at Maddie with her wide, toothy grin. "S'okay. I kinda hate me too."
Maddie watched the girl in between eating her own peanut butter cup. In between the hate, something else seeping through. Curiosity.
It was not the last time they sat out in that field together.
Six months later, right before summer crept up on them, Marie had finally apologized.
Maddie's hands were stuffed in her pockets as she watched Stiles meander over to the vending machines. His mouth stretched open in a yawn as he reached in his pocket. Maddie rocked back and forth on her heels quietly and impatiently as Stiles put change in the machine and idly pressed some buttons. The silence had gone on for only a few minutes and they both seemed to agree on not making any small talk. Maddie was horrible at small talk – besides, it would probably end in arguments and violence anyway.
She looked over at the machine to see a Reese's package almost fall before it got stuck on the wire. Stiles pressed the button again, several times over with no change. He gave an exasperated sigh and muttered, "...Seriously?"
Maddie's dark brown gaze shot back over to Stiles hitting the glass of the machine. "It's just candy. Put another quarter in and get another one."
"I don't have another quarter," he argued. In a split second, his head turned towards her and his eyes turned slightly hopeful. "Wait, do you have quarter?"
She scowled at him, not bothering to look. "No."
He rolled his eyes and huffed before turning back to the machine. Grabbing the top of it, he began shaking the whole vending machine. Still, the candy did not move.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Maddie said, watching him warily and taking a step back.
He stopped shaking the machine and turned to her for a second. "Do you have a better idea?"
"Go home and get actual food?" she offered. He glared and looked back at the machine with contempt. Suddenly, he grabbed both sides of the vending machine and did what appeared to be an attempt at a lift. Maddie, watched him carefully, as if trying to decode something. She didn't get it. More, specifically, she didn't get him. She couldn't decipher whether he was ridiculously intelligent or dumb as a rock. If anything, that in itself infuriated her. The machine rocked dangerously further towards Stiles and Maddie took another careful step back, pulling herself away from her thoughts and into reality. "You're going to hurt yourself doing that."
"Maybe if you -" He pushed all of his body weight against the machine as it swayed. " – helped out –" He pushed again. " – a little bit – "
The vending machine rocked a bit too much and tipped toward him as it began to fall over. He reached to stop it but instead was pulled out of the way by the hood of his jacket. The machine toppled over with a loud crash, leaving Maddie with a flat, annoyed glare and Stiles with a wide eyed look at the mess. Letting go of his jacket, Maddie turned her attention to Stiles again, sighing. "You know, I kind of hate you."
"Yeah, you don't even believe that one," Stiles mumbled, a familiar edge in his voice as he began to try and pick up the impossibly heavy machine.
Maddie was slightly taken aback by the comment as she opened her mouth again to attempt a retort but nothing came out. She clamped her mouth shut once more and proceeded to glare at him.
That's when they heard it.
A scream.
If there was one thing Maddie had become familiar with over the past eight years, it was shrill, terrified screams. Of course, this was different – not only different, but unlike anything she had ever heard. It was...deafening. As the shock of it coursed through her, the truly horrifying part dawned upon her: it was coming from the direction of Lydia's room.
"Lydia," both she and Stiles muttered to themselves as they bolted in the direction of the noise. Maddie moved as fast as she could, leaving Stiles to fall behind, but she had no time to think about that as she made her way around the corner of the corridor. The slayer nearly ripped the door off the hinge as she sprinted into the room, her eyes wide and alert. Behind her, Scott's mother and another nurse had only just opened the door before Stiles pushed through them and past Maddie. She managed to stop short of the shower as the water continued to run and Stiles opened the curtain, revealing the empty tub. The slayer's heart continued to race, panic throttling her.
"Look," Stiles said quietly, calling her attention. Maddie followed his stare to the open window, revealing nothing but darkness that stretched through the dense woods in the distance.
"This has to be illegal."
"Yeah, well, do you have some secret brilliant plan? If so, now's the time."
"I'm just pointing out the obvious."
"And you do that spectacularly, thank you! Now, c'mon, Scott's waiting!"
Maddie sighed and followed Stiles out of the hospital room, as he hid the slightly bloody fabric behind his back. The petite brunette huffed and walked alongside him, in an effort to hide the nightgown as well. "If we get caught, I'm blaming you."
"Yep, and I'm sure that defense'll work on the police, too." Stiles turned the corner sharply, not bother to look over. "Besides can't you use you're Slayer powers to just, you know, knock them out long enough for us to get away?"
"I am not using super strength to get you out of trouble!"
"Us. To get us out of trouble." He threw her a side glance. "You helped. You're an accessory."
She grumbled a few curses under her breath as they continued down the hall to find Sheriff Stilinski and Melissa speaking and talking quickly.
"Let's get an APB out on a sixteen year old red head. Any other descriptors?"
Without a second's paused, Stiles interjected. "She's five-foot-three, green eyes, fair skinned, and her hair's actually strawberry blonde."
The Sheriff's eyes narrowed on his son. "Is that right?"
Stiles nodded. "Yeah."
In the blink of an eye, the Sheriff's hand grabbed the back of his son's neck and dragged him off. Both Melissa and Lydia's father looked over at Maddie expectantly. She forced a thin smile and half-waved. "Hi."
Once the two Stilinskis' conversation had ended, Stiles was pushed in the direction of the exit by his dad. The Sheriff managed to also give Maddie a chastising look as he spoke to his son again. "And make sure Madeline gets home as well, got it?"
"Right!" Stiles agreed before waving Maddie over. "Time to go, Mads!"
Maddie felt a sharp jolt of annoyance and glared at Stiles before quickly turning to the adults, giving them a casual salute. She quickly joined the pale, scrawny boy as they walked past the ruined vending machine that was still face down on the floor. They both stiffed at the sight of it and kept walking to the exit.
Once they finally sped out into the brisk winter air, Maddie punched Stiles arm. He jerked away instantly and gave her a shocked glance. "Ow! Are you freaking kidding me?! That was just starting to heal from the last time! What'd I do now?!"
"Don't call me Mads!" she replied through gritted teeth.
Looking rather confused and angry in his own right, he glared at her. "What?! Why not?"
"None of your business!" she snapped. This garnered another strange look from the boy, which she returned with a scowl. "Just...don't!"
She walked ahead of him, towards the blue jeep that Scott was already settled in. Stiles rolled his eyes dramatically and followed, getting in the driver's side after the slayer stumbled to the backseat. He handed the nightgown to Scott without a word.
Scott took it and looked up at Stiles. "This was the one she was just wearing?" Stiles simply nodded, looking a bit withdrawn, something that Scott could easily tell. "I'm not gonna let anyone hurt her. Not again."
"Alright, just shove the thing in your face and let's find her," Stiles replied, sounding a bit dejected. It wasn't but a second later that he switched on his headlights and was startled by a frantic looking Allison heading towards the car.
She bolted to Scott's side of the car as the werewolf sent her a worried glance. "What are you doing here? Someone's gonna see us."
"I don't care. She is my best friend and we need to find her before they do," she argued, a mixture of concern and determination in her eyes. She even shot Maddie a look as the slayer slouched in her seat and stayed silent.
Scott looked a bit confused. "I can find her before the cops can."
"How about before my father does?"
Stiles looked over as well now. "Wait, he knows?"
"Yeah," Allison replied. "I just saw him and three other guys leave my house in two SUVs."
Scott looked over at Stiles, panic dawning on his face. "Search party."
"More like hunting party," the youngest Argent said.
Scott turned his attention back to his girlfriend. "Get in." He opened his passenger side door almost instantly and Allison awkwardly climbed into the back, next to Maddie who was clearly not fond of this idea by the glare she was sending the girl next to her.
In a flash, Stiles revved the engine and sped off into the night as fast as the speed limit would permit him to – and maybe a little faster than that. It only took another minute or so before he spoke up again. "Alright, but if she's turning, would they actually kill her?"
"I don't know! They won't tell me anything, okay?" Allison went on, the edge in her voice get worse as she went on. "All they say is we'll talk after Kate funeral when the 'others' get here."
Stiles glanced at her in the rearview mirror. "What others?"
"I don't know. They won't tell me that either." Her unease was clearly getting to her now as she spoke so fast, her words slurred together a bit as she spoke.
"Other hunters," Maddie spoke up finally, feeling she might have something useful to add. "And an Argent. They didn't say a name, but it's a 'he' and your dad was talking about him like he was the black plague or something."
"What?" Allison turned to the slayer, her eyes wide with shock. "Wait, how do you- when did you find this out?"
Maddie shrugged. "Like, this morning."
"And you were planning on telling us when?" Stiles asked, sounding a bit unnerved himself.
"When you guys decided to ask me." She noted the two deadpan looks she was receiving. "What? You people interrogate me almost every day. It's not like you wouldn't have found out."
"Okay, both you and her family have some very serious communication issues to work on." Stiles looked over to his best friend. "Scott, are we going the right way?"
Scott, on the other hand, had his head out the window as he continued to sniff the air. "Take the next right!"
"This is a terrible idea!" Maddie added with a curious look to Scott and back between Stiles and Allison.
"Thank you so much for your constructive input," Stiles quipped, looking back quickly at her before settling his eyes back on the road. "Do you have a better plan?"
Maddie stayed quiet and rolled her eyes. As they drove further into the darkness, her own uneasiness began to take over amoungst all the chatter in the car. This was her fault. She had made the mistake of allowing Lydia to get hurt and now she was missing. If they couldn't find her in time...she couldn't think about that. They would find her alive. They had to.
Still, she couldn't help the bad feeling in her gut telling her things were about to get much worse.