#sterekweek16

“You should go out. They’re waiting for The Spark,” Scott said from behind him and Stiles knew. His friend was right but … something was holding him.

“Everything alright?”

Scott stood beside him now and Stiles felt his intense gaze on his own face, while the drums kept repeating their wild, calling rhythm in the background. Shouts and laughter rose above them filled with freedom and detachedness and something more unsettling. Something more uncontrolled.

“Yeah….,” he eventually answered slowly.

He didn’t feel like it. None of them felt the spirits tearing at him tonight. None of them heard the warning in all the noises or saw the shadows as clearly as he did. It was Halloween and this night belonged to the spirits. This night he’d lose all his powers and be more helpless than any other man in camp.

“Hey…,” Scott started hesitantly and by the way how he hesitated Stiles could already tell what was coming. “If you don’t wanna do this-”

“I do,” he cut him off firmly. His forbidden offer rejected Scott fell silent again, while the drums kept their demanding rhythm, getting louder and louder, all the screams more and more frantic with each second. And Stiles heard the blood rushing through his veins start to whisper.

He did. He did want this but it was only half the truth.

“Who wouldn’t?” he went on, trying to overtalk the rising whispers. “I am about to be sacrificed to a monster. That’s technically the epitome of happiness.”

Scott didn’t answer but again he could feel his friend’s eyes on him, even though Stiles still refused to look at him. Instead he was staring right at the fabric of his tent’s wall, air filled with the shouts and screams and the constant, never stopping rhythm of the drums but they both knew that wasn’t what he was looking at. Stiles’ eyes hadn’t been normal since the day he’d touched the Otherworld and they weren’t to be limited by a simple piece of fabric. So in fact he was staring right down onto the frantic mass on the landing, their people, their family and friends that were still dancing their way up to a climax Stiles had feared his whole life.

BAM bam bam. BAM bam bam.

“I just…..,” Scott started but apparently didn’t know how to finish. Stiles didn’t care. The whispers in his veins were much louder and he could feel his legs start to tremble while his eyes scanned the crowd. The blemished masks they wore seemed to get more and more alive with each blow the drum sticks made. Each spin their loose limbs seemed to move more independently and Stiles saw the grotesque faces staring up at him start to grow eyes, all of this invisible to everyone but him. If he didn’t know it better he’d believe the reaching of their taunting shadows to finally get a grip of him an optical illusion but he did know better.

BAM bam bam. BAM bam bam.

Truth was a sacrifice had to be made. Innocence had to be paid.

Beside him Scott sighed almost soundlessly but only almost. There was nothing that was to be kept a secret from The Spark and Stiles felt Scott’s tension as strong as his own. A voice rose above the others again in a scream that was strangely familiar and foreign at the same time. His father’s voice was already half taken by the euphoria of the spirits.

“It’s supposed to be all fine at dawn,” Scott said to Stiles but the words seemed to reassure him more than they could do for Stiles. And probably that was the only intention he’d had because there was nothing they could do for Stiles anymore. Both knew whether they liked it or not it had to happen.

Stiles didn’t even look at Scott once, his magic vibrating, eyes locked onto the fabric of his tent’s walls, staring right back at the masks below. One of those monstrous faces was real, ready to savour him with burning red eyes and long claws piercing through his skin, the monster inevitably sinking deeper and deeper into his helpless body.

Unable to hold it Stiles shuddered and the mere second he did everything collapsed into chaos.

Fires burst into heaven with loud growls, within seconds the shadows grew hungrily to giant creatures of evil under alien voices screamed. Even the whole forest shuddered with him through the bushes, the trees and the vibrating earth below them.

It was all gone the moment Stiles snapped back into control in mere reflex and none of the dancing crowd seemed to have noticed.

“Stiles!” Scott hissed. “You sure you can do this?” His voice almost trembled but once again only almost. “Because that definitely didn’t look like it!”

“Yeah. Sorry, I got carried away.”

“Dude, you get carried away out there the whole thing is gonna eat you alive!” Scott bursted out and it really didn’t do a thing to cheer him up. But Stiles couldn’t blame Scott for losing it. The first time he had felt the powers rising and seen the horrors of the Otherworld he’d never been the same, so all he did was to grip his best friend's shoulder and finally return his gaze.

“It will be fine,” Stiles promised. “Help me get ready.”