They were the only ones left.
After days on end, the djinn had managed to capture most of the pack, all while eluding everyone else. Nearly everyone Lucy cared about was missing; not only missing, but captured by a supernatural evil, and in terrible danger. Their research had given them all a good enough idea of what the djinn was likely doing to everyone; that the creature was trapping them in their own minds, forcing them to endure their worst fears, and keeping them captive, all while feeding off of their energy. Not only was everyone suffering emotionally, but Lucy knew her friends would be suffering physically, as well. They had now gone days without food or water, and while the werewolves bodies would be doing the best they could to heal them, even they would likely be struggling. The humans and witches would be even worse off, and were possibly experiencing dehydration and starvation. The entire situation had left Lucy feeling sick; sick with worry and fear, sick with guilt that they were trapped and that they hadn’t been able to find them, sick with anger at the creature that was doing this. Not only had the djinn put Finn through this once, but now it was taking what was left of his pack once more, and it had taken nearly all of Lucy’s pack, as well. She knew Cora and Natalie felt the same, and poor Cameron, who had only just learned the truth about this world, had already lost her best friends to this danger. It was horrifying and heartbreaking and terribly unfair.
Whispered conversation with Natalie the night before had brought them to what seemed to Lucy to be the only possible option. Searching in groups, large or small, hadn’t yielded any results. The djinn seemed able to mask tracks and scents, and was probably, if Lucy understood correctly, using dark magic to actually conceal it’s location altogether. They had a general idea of where it might be: Duncan, Rollin, Scott, Allison, Malia, Stiles, Rory, Sandy, Trina, Daria, Katie and Riley had all disappeared from roughly the same location. It was highly likely that the djinn had created it’s lair somewhere near, if not in, the ravine in the woods. However, simply searching had only led to more people being captured, and the djinn seemed too fast, and too overpowering, to evade. They probably would not be able to find everyone else without being captured.
So maybe that was the best plan. To be captured.
Lucy walked into the living room where the others were, in the apartment that had become their home base since all of this had started. Taking a deep breath, she looked around at each of her friends before explaining the idea.
“We have a pretty good idea of where the djinn is– here,” She explained, pointing on the map, where many marks had been made to indicate that people had been taken from that location. “It is probably hiding out somewhere near the ravine, or possibly in the ravine itself. Now, we know that everyone who has been taken, has been taken whether they were in a big or small group, and if we go towards the ravine…well, we probably will be, too. But…maybe that is what we should do. The djinn is going to try to capture us either way. But if we go into the woods preparing to be taken, with a plan as to what to do after we are taken, we might be able to rescue our friends. Natalie can explain how the dream root works, but if even one of us can pull ourselves out of our hallucination, we can use the dream root to rescue each other. Natalie thinks she can pull herself out of one. So if Natalie does, and then uses the dream root to rescue someone else, and then both of them go on to rescue two more people, and so on…I think we can save everyone.” Lucy took another deep breath, wrapping her arms around herself to stop her shaking. “I know it sounds crazy. But it also sounds like a plan the Argents would have come up with.” A small, shaky smile briefly crossed her face. “I won’t hold it against anyone who doesn’t want to do this plan. I don’t think anyone will. It is crazy and dangerous and really, really scary. But I know this is what I want to do. I want to save my family, my friends…my pack. They, and you guys, mean the whole entire world to me. I love you so much. And I am willing to do anything to help everyone. I have hope that we can do this.”
Once they left the apartment, Lucy kept her bag of supplies close as they made their way through the woods. She was quiet on the walk; it was hard not to keep her mind from racing. Not only was she thinking of everyone else who was already in danger, but she was thinking of the people who were with her now, too; the brave, strong friends of hers, who were all willing to take this risk to save the people they loved.
A sudden rush of fear swept over Lucy as they approached the ravine, and she felt her stomach flip and her eyes fill up with tears. Despite instincts that told her to run, warn the others, or bare her fangs, she did none of that; she knew they could all feel it, too. Instead, she forced herself to move forward, gripping her bag tighter and trying to see past her tears. She was going to get to her friends. And this was the only way. Her vision blurred, first from tears, then, suddenly, everything went completely dark.
Cora couldn’t help but think back to the moment Lucy suggested this plan, the blonde standing there with her arms around herself to try and hide her shaking. Cora had found herself holding back, wanting to scream out that there had to be another way. That sacrificing themselves had to be the worst possible idea. But, another part of her knew, there was no other way. Regardless of whether they gave themselves up or not, they’d end up there either way. At least this way, they might be able to save everyone. Save the town. Again.
It was eerily quiet as they all moved through the woods, three werewolves, a witch, and a human. None of them said a word, and Cora imagined that they were all thinking of the ways this could go wrong. Of all the ways they’d loose.
The closer they got to the ravine, the worse all of these messy feelings got. Fear, and anger, and uncertainty, and anxiety, and heartbreak. She glanced around at her friends, they all looked how she felt. And that’s when she knew, it was here. And then there was nothing.
Even though she and Lucy had come up with the plan of being captured on purpose, it still sounded absurd. She listened to Lucy explain the plan. As she had expected, nobody had seemed to argue. She had rather hoped someone would jump up and shout ‘No! I have a better idea!’… but of course nobody had. Deep down, Natalie knew this was the only way.
After Lucy had finished talking, Natalie gave her what she hoped was an encouraging smile. She then passed handed a small vial, each with a tiny bit of clear liquid contained within it, to each of the packmates that were left with trembling hands.
“Each of these vials contains a liquid version of dream root.” She explained. “This solution is going to help us enter into each others’ dreams. You can get the solution into your system by a few ways. One is as an eye drop. You will need two drops, one in each eye, to properly absorb enough of it. I will warn you - it stings… a lot. Another way is to place two drops under your tongue. It is bitter, but not awful. It is a little slower this way, but only by a little. There are also a few nasal spray bottles floating around on some of the others. One spray should be sufficient. The final way is by injection - this is the quickest way, but most difficult, because it needs to go into a vein. If you miss the vein, it will take at least thirty minutes to set in. Unless you know exactly how to hit a dehydrated vein, it is probably best to choose another method. However, Scott, once awake, knows how to do this and if he can, will probably be able to help.” Natalie paused for a breath. “Once you realize the dream isn’t real you are able to escape it…” Natalie hesitated. “By dying.” She held up her shaking hands in preparation of panic from the others. “Just like in regular dreams, you wake up before you die. Trina and Katie dreamed up a cliff and jumped off of it, and that jarred both of them awake.”
“When you wake up, you will need another dose of dream root to be able to enter into another person’s dreams. It takes effect quickly, but that also means it doesn’t last long. I know several others have some of the solution on them - Trina, Katie, and Riley should have some, as well as Rory and Sandy. Once we are out of this though, we don’t have any more.” Natalie paused, not feeling the need to add anything about being careful or not dropping any. Everyone here was well aware of the dangers. She waited for confirmation that everyone understood before continuing. “Lucy is right, this is a bat-shit crazy plan. But we are strong, and we can do this.”
Natalie all but trudged through the woods. she felt as if she didn’t have enough will power to force her legs forward, yet she still walked. It was bad enough to be hunted, and this was worse. She wasn’t just being hunted, she was walking directly up to the hunter. She could feel everyone’s anxiety, their anger, their terror. It was a horrible feeling, but she felt confident in knowing that this was in fact real.
Then, not only did she feel the terror in herself, but she felt it in everyone else too. It was unbearable. The fear shot through every part of her body like millions of piercing needles. Natalie blacked out before she hit the ground.
Finn had been fighting memories since all of this had started, but they had gradually getting worse. Flashes from when he was young, of being tied up some place damp. Of somehow fighting his way out but barely being aware enough to remember how. An excruciating pain shot through his left hand as they made their way through the woods, and he fought it. It had been a long time since he’d suffered phantom pains in the hand he had lost. But he supposed, it was the memories that brought that back. That somehow, something in him was trying to get him to see how he’d gotten away. How he’d really lost his hand, something he’d never been able to remember.
He felt himself pulled out of his thoughts and memories when a shock of terror ran through him. He knew this was the moment. He didn’t look back at the others, he didn’t need to see. He had seen enough. So he closed his eyes, and waited.
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