A Graveyard of Skin and Bones

by Leta_b

Summary:

Theo had thought about leaving Beacon Hills before the hospital—quiet, passing thoughts that flickered in the back of his mind. But deep down, he knew he wouldn’t go. Not yet. Not while everything still felt unfinished.

Then he took Gabe’s pain.

It hit harder than he expected. Raw. Unfiltered. Like holding someone else’s scream inside his chest. It cracked something open—something he’d been holding together with silence and denial.

And suddenly, staying felt impossible.

So he left.

No goodbyes. No explanations. Just motion. Just escape. Follow Theo as he steps into the unknown, chasing distance, clarity, and the pieces of himself he’s never dared to face.

Notes:

Heyy, y’all hope you like it. English is not my first language. I apologize ahead for any typos.

Chapter 1: Remember thy faults

Summary:

Something touched his shoulder, making Theo jump to his feet and turn around. There Liam stood with his hand outstretched with a sad look on his face. “ Theo, hey are you okay?” he asked.

“It is awful to want to go away and
to want to go nowhere.”
-Sylvia Plath.

 

——————————————-

The smell of gunpowder, wolfsbane and blood was all Theo could smell. If someone would’ve told him this morning, when he was woken up by a deputy that he would be in a blood bath with hunters at Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital fighting side by side with Liam again. Theo probably would’ve laughed in their face.

Because when Theo woke up this morning he had one plan in mind. That plan being it was time he left Beacon Hills. The reason it was time was because he realized that none of the McCall pack would see that he changed and all he wanted to do was help. Since he came back he had no desire to take over the pack or to be a part of it. Sure, he had a very small wish that maybe they could forgive him and he could be part of the McCall pack again, for real this time. But Scott and everyone else made it very clear that it will never happen.

Theo spent all morning thinking if it was truly a good idea to leave. Sipping on cheap gas station coffee parked in the preserve hidden behind trees. Inside his truck that was riddled with gun shot holes and broken glass.

He thought back to when he first came back to Beacon Hills. All his big plans and how excited he was to finally have something that was just his after so many years. Friends, family, somewhere to actually stay and to be accepted. To have his decisions be his and his alone. But most of all he wanted was to be away from the Dread Doctors clutches. But really the thing he wanted most in the world was to be free. To be free from the pain and the guilt.

However, his plan did in fact not work and he became one of his biggest fears a failure.

Then Theo got sent to hell and over 836 times his sister took her heart back from his chest. He realized maybe he went about it the wrong way. The Dread Doctors taught him that trust was meant to be used for his own gain, for their gain. Nevertheless, that’s not how trust works and deep down Theo knew that. He knew what he was doing to the McCall pack was wrong just like every pack and every other person he’s used it against before then. Theo wanted to be selfish. But the last time Theo was selfish, was when he believed the Dread Doctors could cure him so his parents would stop hating him, and anyone could see how that turned out.

Then he got pulled out from hell by Liam and he had to find some way to get them to let him stay because Theo never wanted to go back there EVER. Most of the McCall pack wanted to send him back. As soon as they saw that he was brought back.

All of them except for Liam wanted to send him back down there. Even Scott, which isn’t very surprising, Scott let Kira send him down there to begin with. But when Theo looks back on it now, he deserved it to some extent. He did kill Scott, Josh, Tracy and Tara as well as many more before even stepping a foot back into Beacon Hills. Theo had never been good with feelings. He didn't grow up in a very good home and then he went and lived with psycho doctor scientists who thought feelings were pathetic. But for some reason, the few times that Liam stood up for him in some small way, made Theo feel as though he owed Liam.

That feeling never changed no matter how many times Liam threatened to send him back or told him how much he regretted bringing him back throughout the time the Ghost Riders were in town.

But then the Ghost Riders were gone, and it was as though the McCall pack forgot about him. Even though they forgot about him, he still stuck around. Theo kept telling himself throughout the months since then spent living in his truck, eating the most unrotten food, he could find in a dumpster that the reason he was still in Beacon Hills was just in case the pack needed help. Which was just him lying to himself and the sad part was Theo knew he was lying to himself. He just didn’t want to admit it because it was something he knew he could never have or deserve. So it was just best to lie to himself.

Then that brings him back to 3 weeks ago when he was trying to go back to bed. After yet another nightmare about Tara. He’d been trying for two hours but he couldn’t. Theo’s truck smelled too much like fear and loneliness. Just before he was about to give up and just go out into the preserve in full shift for a run. When Theo felt something crawling up his arm, he looked down and saw a small black spider moving up his arm and for a brief moment the fear lessened yet most of all he didn’t feel so lonely. But it only lasted a brief moment. Due to the fact that the spider went into his skin. Theo prides himself on his logic and he knew that wasn't good and that’s how he ended up at the vet clinic.

When he left the vet clinic parked behind an abandoned gas station. He stared at Scott’s contact number until Dawn, but he never hit the call button. Because Theo was scared. Scared that Scott wouldn’t pick up.

Which brings him to when he got captured by some of Monroe’s hunters and got tortured with those two obnoxious betas from Satomi’s pack. Theo knew nobody was coming for him. So when he smelt burning plastic, Theo knew he had to do what he’s great at. Pissing people off.

Once Theo was able to break free he was going to leave the betas but a little part of him felt bad to just leave the two of them there so out of the kindness of his heart gave them a ride. After that brought him face to face with Theo’s second least favorite person in this town, the Sheriff and that’s how he got put in a holding cell for the second time in one year. However, this time it was for something he didn’t even do. It took him baiting the two wolves to get them to admit that he had no part in the murders, for the Sheriff to let him out of the cell.

Right before Theo was going to exit the sheriff station. He caught a certain beta’s scent and in a moment of stupidity, he followed it. He didn’t just find Liam, he was also met with the majority of the McCall pack. Theo almost walked away. However, he wouldn’t have been able to get out. Due to the fact that the whole sheriff's station was surrounded by hunters. Wanting the two betas Theo had helped out of the warehouse.

But of course, Scott being the kind true alpha, he wanted to save them instead of just giving the two betas to the hunters. Theo wanted no part in that suicide mission to get them out alive and he made his opinion known to the pack. Except for when Liam looked at him and Theo could see the fear and desperation in those ocean eyes. It had taken his breath away. In that short moment he knew he would do anything, not to ever have to see that look in those eyes again. That's how he got involved in helping Scott’s pack once again.

Then Theo thought back to what happened at the zoo with Liam. About how anxious Liam was when they first got there. Then came the murderous rage, he’d never thought Liam capable of. But at the same time Theo also smelt the fear rolling off of Liam like a second skin. Something happened at the zoo that didn’t involve the hunters, not even that little wannabe Hunter from Liam‘s high school. It didn’t take a genius to figure that out. Even now as Theo is thinking back on it. He is still impressed at Liam‘s restraint. It surprised Theo that in the midst of Liam‘s fear induced rage, he did not kill the wannabe hunter.

Seeing Liam smashing, his hand against the wall to try and stop himself from killing the kid. Awakened something in Theo, a protectiveness he hadn’t felt in a very long time. Theo knew he had to do something to stop Liam from hurting himself. Theo also knew that if Liam hurt or worse killed the kid, he wouldn’t be able to live with that guilt. Theo had to knock Liam out five times just to get him back to the truck.

When Liam woke up for the sixth time as Theo was driving them back to town, he could just smell the guilt coming off Liam. It twisted something in Theo’s stomach. So for one of the first times in Theo’s life, he wanted to make someone feel better. So he told Liam what he has told himself for the past 10 years. You could only feel one emotion at a time. Surprisingly, it actually seemed to help Liam because the scent of guilt lessened in the truck.

That night as Theo was dropping Liam off at the vet clinic to meet up with the rest of the pack. Liam paused, halfway out of the truck and turned back to Theo with a strange look on his face.

“Give me your phone.” He demanded, holding out his hand.

“What?” Theo asked, lifting a confused brow.

Liam rolled his eyes and demanded again. “Give me your phone.”

“Uh, why?” Theo questioned, bewildered as he pulled his phone out of his pocket.

“So I can give you my number, idiot.” Liam answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Theo didn’t know what to say to that so he just handed his phone over to him, then stared at him as Liam typed his number in.

“Call me or text me if you get into any trouble,” Liam said as he slammed the truck door. Theo watched Liam‘s back speechless until he got through the doors of the clinic. As he watched him go, a flicker of something sparked in him, it also came with a pool of fear.

The next day when Liam and Theo got teamed up to go and try to get more information out of some of the younger hunters at the school. They decided to split up and look for them.When Theo didn’t find anything. He went to go look for Liam and followed his scent which wasn’t hard because he knew Liam scent like the back of his hand.

The blonde's scent led him into the boys locker room. When he turned the corner, he was met with Liam smashing a teens head into a mirror almost hard enough to crack a skull. The anger and fear in the room was nauseating. It was much worse than at the zoo. Theo knew he had to do something to stop Liam before his perfect restraint failed.

Therefore he started running his mouth to try and distract Liam. Long enough to anchor the angry beta to get him to see reason. Theo expected a fight, not for the blonde to ask him why he kept trying to save him.

Theo never answered. Not because he didn’t want to, but because he didn’t know what the answer was.

Later, Theo went back down into the tunnels for the first time in almost a year with Mason to find a kid named Aaron, who they think is one of the halves of the Anuk-Ite. During their time down there, Mason brought up what Theo did last year and all the other horrible things he’d done. Theo knew it was coming; it was just a matter of time. Nonetheless. It still kinda hurts being reminded of all the bad you’ve done to just one pack. However, what hurt the most about that whole conversation was when Mason brought up trust and how it’s one of the most important things to a pack. Little did Mason know that Theo already knew that. But the icing on the cake was after they had fought Aaron. Mason was injured, and Theo tried to take his pain. It didn’t matter how hard he tried or wanted to, he could not take Mason‘s pain.

Then Mason said “ You can’t take pain, if you don’t care.” There wasn’t even an ounce of hesitation in his voice. That one sentence made Theo feel confused and lost. Because Theo did care. Maybe just not in the ways others do.

After Theo carried Mason out of the tunnel and into his truck, Mason called Liam to tell him that they were on their way to the hospital. Liam picked up after the second ring.

“Hey Mas, did you guys find Aaron?” He asked

“We did, but he got away,” Mason responded then added. “ Look dude, Theo is dropping me off at the hospital. I’ll tell you more about it if you can meet us there.” He finished with a pained gasp.

“ What happened? Was it Theo?” Liam fired off, voice growing angrier with each question.

Theo’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. He couldn’t understand why his chest tightened at that last question. He indeed knew Liam didn’t trust him all that much, even so he still thought that maybe there was a little bit of it between them, especially with what happened at the zoo. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mason side-eye him for a moment before replying

“Liam, I’ll tell you all about it at the hospital. Just meet us there, please” he pleaded.

“Yeah, yeah okay man. I'll be right there.” Liam promised before hanging up.

Once they pulled up to the hospital Theo parked his truck at the emergency room entrance, got out and helped Mason out and into the lobby. As soon as they entered, nurses surrounded Mason. Theo didn’t know what to do so he turned around and walked away when he got back into his truck, he saw Liam and Corey pull up. Theo caught Liam‘s eye. The blonde paused and started towards his truck. Theo didn’t let him get close. He put the truck into drive and drove off. Refusing to look in the rearview mirror.

That was the last time he’d seen Liam or any of them McCall pack for that matter. It’s been two days since then and he hadn’t heard anything.

After the last few days, what changed? Why did Theo want to leave so badly now? Just a few weeks ago he wanted an opportunity to help Liam and his pack. Now he just felt lost.

He got snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of ringing from his phone. Theo looked down to see who was calling and it was Scott’s name shown bright on the screen. Theo hesitated for a moment. Then he slid the green button and brought the phone up to his ear. Scott’s voice filled his truck.

“Theo I need your help, it’s Liam.” Scott said frantically.

At Liam‘s name, Theo started his truck. “What do you need me to do?” He asked. Already changing the gears to drive.

“I need you to go to the hospital to find Liam and the others wherever they are and get them out.” Scott begged.

“Am I buying you time to make a plan or to get help?“ Theo inquired, turning onto the main road that leads straight to the hospital.

“Both,” he replied

Theo didn’t get a chance to reply. Scott already hung up.

When Theo first got to the hospital, his first instinct was to pinpoint Liam’s heartbeat and follow it. Once Theo located it, he hopped into the elevator and hit the button for the 5th floor. As the elevator was going up Theo kept listening to the blonde's heart and when he heard it starting to pick up. Panic rushed through him, So Theo started listening to Liam‘s surroundings and that’s when he heard the talking and the shift of steel presumably from guns.

And what he heard made his hand shake and his heart drop. Before Theo could even come up with a plan the elevator doors opened. The chimera didn’t even hesitate before jumping into action and pulling the beta into the elevator and hitting the emergency button. As soon as the doors closed
Liam turned to Theo, his eyes going wide.

“What are you doing here,” the beta whispered, surprised.

Theo wanted to be brave and tell Liam it was because he was worried about him. But Theo is not brave.

“I was just asking myself the same thing,” is what came out instead.

Liam rolled his eyes, as he turned away from the chimera and pressed his ear up against the elevator door.

“Are they still out there?” Theo asked.

Once Liam nodded his head yes.

Theo caught Liam's eyes and said “I’m not dying for you.” as soon as that sentence was out he knew it was a lie. The chimera heard his own heartbeat skip.

“I’m not dying for you either.” Liam shot back holding the eye contact.Theo was still zeroed in on Liam‘s heart and he didn’t hear a skip. And that broke something deep in his borrowed heart. Just as Theo was about to make a rude comment, Liam added “But I will fight with you.”

With that Liam hit the open door button on the elevator, and Theo had no better choice but to follow. As they charged at the hunters.

After the last of the hunters were taken care of the silence stretched on for a moment until it was broken by the static of a walkie-talkie and Monroe‘s voice over it.

“This is Monroe. Someone report with the status update. Now.” Crackled through the walkie. “Someone talk to me. What’s happening, someone answer me.”

Theo followed Liam to one of the knocked out, hunters. Liam grabbed the walkie off the hunter as Monroe kept begging for someone to answer her. All he said was two words.

“You lost,” the walkie went silent after that. After a moment, Liam threw the walkie-talkie back down, stood up and walked over to Mrs. McCall. Theo was about to follow when out of the corner of his eyes. He saw that teen, Gabe from Liam’s school. Smearing blood across the floor as he crawled towards a medication cabinet. Something about seeing this kid because that’s exactly what Gabe is: a kid , a child soldier, a pawn in an adult war. Who probably didn’t even fully grasp what he was doing. Dying; propped up against a cabinet alone and scared.

Watching that brought up the same feeling Theo had when Tara was dragging him down into the skinwalker prison.

The chimera looked around towards the others to see if any of them were going to help the kid. But all he saw was them looking at Gabe with pity in their eyes. Just like the McCall pack did to Theo when he was being dragged by his sister.

Theo couldn’t just stand there; he had to help Gabe somehow. He moved slowly towards the kid as he he knelt down, in front of him Gabe spoke,
“ It hurts, it hurts so much,” he gasped out.

Theo didn’t know what he was doing, but he had to help somehow. So he took Gabe’s wrist with shaking hands as soon as he did black veins crawled up his arms, and it was as though a floodgate of emotions ran through the chimera it took his breath away and made his eyes burn from unshed tears.

When the black veins disappeared he gently laid Gabe‘s hand down in his lap. “Does it still hurt?” Theo whispered.

“No,” he breathed back. A second later, Theo listened as Gabe’s heart stopped.

Knelt on the floor in the hospital staring at a dead kid. Theo thought he was gonna die too. He couldn't breathe, he couldn’t think it felt like he was drowning or in a bad dream where there was only darkness. He wanted to run and hide. He needed to get out. To get away from the darkness.

The-o….

The-o…..

Theo…

 

Something touched his shoulder, making Theo jump to his feet and turn around. There Liam stood with his hand outstretched with a sad look on his face. “ Theo, hey are you okay?” he asked.

Theo looked around him, and he saw Mason, Corey, Ms McCall and Sheriff Stilinski were all staring at him with worried looks. It made fear shoot up his spine.

“I-I-I’m…I need to go,” Theo whispered and didn’t stick around to see if Liam heard him. The chimera tripped into the stairwell and bolted, taking the stairs two at a time. The only thought in his mind was that he needed to get out, he needed to get away.

As soon as he was outside Theo rushed to his truck digging inside his pocket for the keys. Yanked the door open, climbed in and started his truck putting it straight into drive. And headed straight for the main highway to leave Beacon Hills.

He didn’t take a deep breath until he passed the town sign, “ You Are Now Leaving Beacon Hills, Come Again Soon.”

Chapter 2: Dry Miles

Notes:

Didn’t exactly edit this very well, but I hope you guys enjoy it!

Lost.

Will I ever be happy? Will I ever be fine?
I lost my hope within this time.

I tried my best to be okay,
But I never felt that way.

I was on my way to a new beginning,
Then this depression started getting in.

Now I feel sad for a while,
Waiting for the day, I will smile

-CB

 

—-———————————-

 

A few miles past the sign, Theo broke. Sobs ripped through him violent, guttural, like something feral clawing its way out. His knuckles whitened on the wheel, then slipped as he scrubbed at his face, not caring if he veered off the road. The tears didn’t last. They curdled into laughter sharp, breathless, manic. It poured out of him like poison finally purged.

He didn’t know what snapped, just that it did. And for the first time in years, he felt weightless.

He drove fast, chasing that feeling like it might vanish if he slowed down. No orders. No guilt. No claws in his back dragging him to the past. Just Theo, the hum of the engine, and the road stretching out like a promise.

By the time the gas light blinked red, the sky was bleeding into dawn. He coasted into a forgotten town and pulled up to a battered Circle K, the kind that looked like it hadn’t seen a health inspection since the Reagan era.

For the first time since leaving Beacon Hills, anxiety crept into his chest. Thoughts swarmed. The one that scared him most: What the hell am I doing?

He couldn’t breathe. Resting his forehead against the steering wheel, he brought his right hand to the left side of his chest. Two fingers tapped against the stolen heart, syncing with its rhythm. Tap once. Tap twice. Repeat. Again. Again. Slowly, the pressure eased. His breath came back shaky, but there.

He needed a plan. Plans were something Theo was good at.

First things first: he had $300 left from his emergency stash the one he’d hidden back when he was ready to bolt if the pack plan failed. It used to be $700, but gas wasn’t cheap. Neither was the laundromat.

Theo was paranoid about running out of fuel. He used to buy granola bars or canned goods, but eventually had to choose between food and shelter. Logically, he chose shelter especially since deputies woke him up two or three times a night to move his truck.

None of that mattered anymore.

Theo could feel the exhaustion from last night’s fight weighing on him. The pain lingered too three bullets in his left shoulder, one in his right thigh, and one just above his right kidney. They’d healed over, but he could still feel them shifting beneath the skin.

He needed rest. A real plan. But first gas.

After filling the tank, Theo pulled on his hoodie and headed inside.

The door chimed. The store looked like any other gas station. Empty, except for the clerk at the register late 40s, beer belly, balding salt-and-pepper hair, oversized glasses, and in Theo’s honest opinion, a truly unfortunate porno mustache. He was reading a newspaper.

Theo’s gaze dropped to the front page: The Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Shock hit first. Then excitement. He’d driven all the way to Nevada Las Vegas, apparently. The Dread Doctors had never bothered with Nevada. Which meant no one here should recognize him.

He moved toward the restrooms. Relief washed over him when he saw it was a single-stall bathroom lockable. Good. No need to explain why he was digging bullets out of his body.

On the downside, heightened senses made public bathrooms a special kind of hell.

Theo scrunched his nose, turned, and locked the door.

Once he was sure he was alone, he stripped down to his boxers and began searching his shoulder. He massaged the area until he felt the first bullet. With a flick of his thumb and pointer finger, his claws extended. He sliced into the skin and dug it out. Then repeated the process again, and again

Slowly, he watched as the skin knitted itself back together. Once it did, he moved on to the wound above his right kidney. That one took more digging. He was satisfied only when he flicked the bullet into the sink and watched again as the skin sealed itself, inch by inch.

He saved his right thigh for last. Theo was pretty sure the bullet had hit bone ricocheted, shattered. If that was the case, it was going to be a pain in the ass to get out.

He sliced open the skin where he could feel the fragments lodged deep and sank his clawed fingers in. Pain flared, sharp and electric, but he didn’t flinch. The bullet had hit bone, just as he’d suspected. He could feel the jagged pieces, some embedded so deep they scraped against his claws. One shard was lodged in the bone itself. He had to wiggle it free, slow and steady. It felt like an eternity passed before he got the last piece or what he hoped was the last piece.

As his skin healed itself again, Theo stared at his reflection in the mirror. He didn’t recognize the man staring back. Ten years of captivity had carved something out of him. Sure, he was free now. But at what cost?

He didn’t know where to go. Didn’t know what he wanted. He was out of his depth. And then came the flood of what-ifs.

He brought two fingers to his chest, tapping in rhythm with the beat of his heart.

Tap once…tap twice.

What if…

Tap once…tap twice.

What if…

Tap once…tap twice.

What if…

Tap once…tap twice.

Over fifty more what-if scenarios ran through his mind. But one thought broke through the haze:

Even if any of those things happened—Scott, Argent, hunters, enemies—he was going to enjoy this sliver of freedom while it lasted.

He shook the thoughts away and turned on the faucet. Mechanically, he started cleaning the mess in the sink. Then he moved on to himself, wiping away the sweat and blood. When he deemed himself clean enough—or as clean as one could get in a gas station bathroom—he pulled his clothes back on and stepped out into the store.

The chimera skimmed through the aisles, not planning to buy anything—until he passed the protein bars and his stomach growled. He tried to remember the last time he ate, but his mind was too scrambled to pin it down.

He grabbed a few of the cheapest bars in the largest bottle of water he could find. Nevada was a desert, after all dehydration wasn’t a risk he wanted to take.

At the counter the clerk looked up from his paper “Rough night?” he asked

Theo blinked, “Huh?”

“You look like shit, bud. That’s why I asked if you" The clerk clarified, nodding his head towards Theo.

“Oh uh I guess you could say that.” Theo replied, setting his purchase on the counter.

“ I get a lot of people in here, after rough nights up in Vegas” the clerk said, putting the bars in a bag. “But I do have to say not many of them look as roughed up as you”

“Which exact part of Nevada is this?” Theo asked, taking $20 out of his wallet.

The man squinted “You’re in Spring Valley, right now which is about 20 minutes outside of Vegas,” He replied.

“I see, thanks” Theo breathed out

A strange look formed on the man’s face “You all good there kid?” He asked, handing back the change.

“ Uh y-yeah fine.” Theo stammered

“ You don’t sound too sure?” The man asked again.

Theo‘s jaw tightened. “Yeah, I’m sure. Thanks,” he said with a faint smile.

He grabbed the bag off the counter and headed for the doors, pausing when a display of pamphlets caught his eye. He skimmed through them quickly, snatching a few that looked useful and stuffing them into his hoodie pocket before stepping outside.

Back in the safety of his truck, Theo tore open a protein bar and inhaled it in three bites. He reached into the bag for another, then hesitated. Better to ration them who knew when he’d get more.

Exhaustion crept in again. He needed rest. Theo pulled out the pamphlets and flipped through them, searching for a place to park and sleep for a few hours. One caught his attention: Valley of Fire State Park.

According to the pamphlet, he could drive the main road and park at hiking spots or overlooks for free. Sounded perfect.

He reached for his phone to type in the address then froze. His eyes widened at the flood of notifications lighting up the screen

8:32 Missed Call: Liam

8:36 Liam: Hey Theo are you okay? Why'd you leave the hospital?

8:57 Missed Call: Liam

9:01 Liam: We are headed to the school to meet up with the rest of the pack. If you wanna meet us there?

9:43 Missed Call: Liam

9:48 Liam: Where are you?

9:54 Liam: Are you headed to the school or not coming?

10:49 Missed Call: Unknown

10:55 Missed Call: Liam

11:00 Missed Call: Liam

11:24 Liam: Dude, please pick up your phone!

11:32 Missed Call: Scott

12:26 Liam: Please call me back when you can or at the least answer my texts.

1:04 Scott: Hey man is everything ok? We are kinda worried about you.

1:09 Missed Call: Liam

1:14 Liam: This really isn’t funny, answer the damn phone man!!!

4:52 Liam: Theo are you in trouble or just ignoring my messages?

Theo doesn’t know what to think. Scrolling through all the messages and missed calls. He could not comprehend them. Liam hates him. He’s made that very clear. He only tolerates Theo because he’s useful like the rest of the McCall pack does and honestly, he couldn’t blame them since that’s all he’s been for the last 10 years of his life. Growing up with the Dread Doctors there were only two options: be useful or be a failure. Why did Liam care where he was? Why was Scott asking if everything was okay? And what did Scott mean by they’re kind of worried about him?

Scott hates him or at the very least should and he would have every right to that hate. Theo killed him and almost destroyed his pack. He didn’t deserve any kind of worry from Scott or Liam or any other member of the McCall pack.They probably just want to make sure he’s not up to something. A weird feeling went through his stomach, one he hadn’t felt since before the Dread Doctors at that.

He didn't know how to respond to all of Liam‘s messages or if he even should. Just to bite the bullet he typed in two words “ I’m fine,” hitting send before he could overthink.

Just as he was about to google the State Park, his phone lights up with Liam‘s name. He stared at it mouth agape until it disappeared and then lit up again. With a shaky finger he slid the green icon and brought the phone up too, his ear.

“Where are you?” Liam demanded, voice rough with exhaustion.

“I’m sorry,” Theo said, clearing his throat. “I didn’t have my phone on me.”

“What were you doing that you couldn’t keep your phone on you? Is it Monroe’s hunters? Are you—”

“Liam,” Theo cut in, sharp. “Why did you call?”

There was a pause. Then Liam’s voice turned clipped. “You disappeared. No one knew where you went. I figured I should check.”

Theo scoffed. “Check that I’m not causing trouble?”

“Check that you weren’t dead.”

Theo’s tone flattened. “Would that really matter to you?”

Silence.

Then Liam said, quieter but firm: “I don’t hate you, Theo. But I don’t trust you either.”

Theo whispered more to himself. “I know.”

Liam didn’t respond right away. Theo could hear faint voices in the background—Mason, maybe Scott. Someone laughed. It felt distant. Foreign.

Theo’s voice sharpened, brittle around the edges.
“You don’t have to pretend to care. I get it. I’m the liability you check on when things go quiet.”

Liam’s reply was flat.“That’s not what this is.”

Theo scoffed, but it lacked bite.“Then what is it, Liam? Guilt? Obligation? Some twisted sense of pack loyalty?”

Liam’s voice tightened.“It’s not loyalty. It’s not guilt. You vanished after the fight at the hospital, and I didn’t want to find out you were dead through a news alert.”

Theo let the silence stretch. “ Would’ve been easier if I just hung up,” he said finally.

“You think I wouldn’t care?” Liam’s voice was tight, like the words cost him.

Theo’s tone dropped, quieter now. “I think you’d move on. That’s what people do.”

Theo stared out into the desert, the sky bleeding into pale orange. The desert stretched out in every direction, empty and endless. Like the desert was waiting for someone just as hollow.

Then Liam asked, softer. “Where are you?”

Theo hesitated. “Somewhere outside Reno.”

“What are you doing down there?” Liam asked.

“I don’t know. I just needed to leave,”

Liam‘s voice lowered, cautious.“ Was it because of what happened at the hospital with Gabe?”

“No.” Theo bit out, then quieter he added. “ Maybe I don’t know. I just needed to leave. I had to get out.”

Liam didn’t respond right away, after a bit of silence, he cleared his throat. “ Is that how it works? You vanish every time it hurts?”

Theo didn’t answer immediately. His fingers tightened around the phone, knuckles pale. “I didn’t plan it,” he finally said. “I just… couldn’t breathe anymore.”

Liam exhaled, slow and sharp. “You think I could?” He paused, “ We’re in a war, Theo.”

Theo flinched at that. The silence stretched between them, tight and loaded.

“I’m not asking for you to understand,” Theo muttered. “ I'm not even asking you to forgive me.”

“Good,” Liam said, voice clipped. “ Because I don’t.”

Theo blinked. The words echoed—not loud, just deep. Like they’d settled somewhere behind his ribs and refused to leave.

He wanted to speak. Wanted to explain. But he didn’t know how to name the ache. How could he tell Liam? That he was lost.

That he hadn’t known who he was since he came back from hell. Or maybe he’d never known before it. But instead, he stayed quiet. The silence stretched—long, brittle. Like if he moved too fast, it might shatter. The wind scraped against the truck, dry and mean. Theo didn’t feel it. Didn’t feel much of anything.

He thought about saying something. I’m trying. I didn’t ask to come back. I don’t know what I’m supposed to be now. But the words felt too big. Too fragile. And Liam had already hung up.

Theo stared at the phone. No dial tone. Just the kind of quiet that made you wonder if you were still real.

He set the phone down on the passenger seat, the screen still glowing faintly. It felt stupid—how something so small could carry so much weight. Liam’s voice. The silence. The ache. Theo leaned back, eyes on the horizon. The desert didn’t offer answers. Just space. And maybe that was enough.

Theo picked up the phone again, then reached for the pamphlet. He typed in the address of the park. Theo started the engine. The truck rumbled to life, loud against the silence. He pulled out of the Circle K lot, gravel crunching beneath the tires, and turned toward the open road. Toward the park. Toward whatever came next.

The road stretched ahead, cracked and sun-bleached, winding through scrub and dust. Theo drove with one hand on the wheel, the other resting near the pamphlet, its edges curled from heat and wear. The address glowed faintly on his screen, but he barely looked at it. He didn’t need directions. Just distance.

The desert blurred past—flat, lifeless, indifferent.
It reminded him of the void. Not the one underground. The one inside.

He passed a rusted sign for the state park an hour later. The letters were faded, half-swallowed by sun and time. He turned off the highway, tires crunching over gravel, and followed the winding path toward the entrance.

There were no other cars. No hikers. No noise.
Just wind. And the low hum of something unsettled in his chest.

He parked near the edge of a trailhead, the kind that promised scenic overlooks and quiet places to think. Theo didn’t move right away. He sat there, engine ticking as it cooled, staring out at the jagged hills and dry brush. It was beautiful. But it also felt wrong.

He stepped out of the truck. The heat hit him like a wall, but he welcomed it. At least it was real. Dust rose with every step, his sneakers scuffing the dry earth. He didn’t know what he was looking for. Maybe a place to fall apart. Maybe a place to think.

He walked until the truck was a speck behind him, swallowed by dust and distance. The trail sloped gently upward, winding through scrub and sun-bleached stone. His breath came easy at first. Then it didn’t.

It wasn’t the heat. It wasn’t exertion. It was something else—tightness, low and persistent, like a fist pressing against his ribs from the inside. He stopped, hands on his hips, trying to breathe through it. His fingers trembled. He looked down at them, surprised. Like they belonged to someone else. Like his body had decided to speak without permission.

The wind picked up, tugging at his shirt, whispering through the brush. He closed his eyes and let it pass over him, hoping it would take something with it. The pressure. The weight. The thing he hadn’t named yet. But it stayed.

He kept walking, the trail winding through dry brush and jagged stone. The sun hung high now, casting bright light across the rocks. His legs felt heavy. His chest still felt too tight. The pressure hadn’t eased it had just dulled, like a bruise settling beneath the skin.

Up ahead, tucked beneath a crooked juniper, was a bench. Old. Splintered. But it held the promise of stillness. Theo sat. Then he slumped. The heat pressed against him, but he didn’t care. His body sagged under the weight of everything he hadn’t said. He didn’t mean to close his eyes. Didn’t mean to let go.

But the quiet was too much. And for once, he didn’t fight it. He slipped into sleep.

He was in the morgue again. But this time, it wasn’t tunnels it was something deeper. Older. The walls pulsed like veins. The air was thick, wet, wrong.

He moved, but the ground beneath him shifted soft, like flesh. Every step sank. Every breath tasted like rot.

Voices whispered from the dark. Not words. Just sounds. Scraping. Breathing. A laugh that didn’t belong to anyone he knew.

Then light flickered brief, sharp. Tara’s face.
Bloodied. Blinking. Then gone.

Theo turned, heart hammering, but the space behind him had collapsed. No exit. No sky. Just walls that breathed and a ceiling that dripped.

“You were supposed to stay buried,” Tara’s voice rasped inside his head. He clutched his chest, but it kept speaking.

“You crawled out. You brought it with you.”

Hands reached from the walls dozens. Not grabbing. Just touching. Cold fingertips brushing his skin like they were trying to remember him.

He screamed, but it came out silent. Like the air had swallowed his voice. Then the ground split open beneath him. He fell. Not fast. Not far. Just enough to feel like he’d never stop.

A tap on his shoulder jerked him awake, breath catching in his throat.

“Hey—son?”

Theo sat upright, lungs burning. The sun had shifted into early evening. An older woman stood nearby, wearing a faded park ranger uniform and a cautious expression. “You alright?” she asked. “You’ve been out here a while.”

Theo blinked, heart still racing. The dream clung to him like a second skin. When did he fall asleep? “Yeah,” he rasped. “Just needed a minute.”

The ranger nodded, but didn’t move. “Well, if you need water or shade, the visitor center’s just down the trail. Don’t push it.”

Theo gave a small nod, barely more than a twitch. His fingers wouldn’t stop shaking. He didn’t know if it was the dream or something older something that had followed him out of hell and hadn’t let go.

The ranger turned and started down the path. Theo waited until her footsteps faded, swallowed by wind and brush.

He stayed seated. His breath came in shallow pulls. Muscles taut. The dream lingered wet, sour, alive. Like it had stitched itself into his skin.

He stared out at the horizon. The desert stretched wide and indifferent. The bench creaked beneath him, brittle wood threatening to give beneath his weight.

He thought about staying. Just sitting. Letting the silence take him apart piece by piece.

But silence wasn’t peace. It was pressure. It was a memory with no voice.

Tara’s voice still echoed in his head. “You crawled out. You brought it with you.” He didn’t want to hear it again. Not here. Not in the quiet.

Theo stood, legs stiff, body reluctant. He walked back to his truck like something unseen was tethered to his spine pulling, not guiding.

He exited the park and merged onto the main road.
The miles slipped by in silence. Then he passed a roadside diner. Closed. Windows boarded. A plastic cow out front, sun-bleached and smiling.

It looked like it had been smiling for decades.
Like it knew something he didn’t. Like it didn’t care.
The sun dipped low behind him, casting long shadows across the highway.

The city hit him like a punch to the senses. Vegas rose ahead like a mirage—bright, pulsing, alive in a way that felt wrong. Theo gripped the wheel tighter. The lights blurred at the edges of his vision, too sharp, too fast. He didn’t belong here.

Neon bled into the windshield, casting fractured colors across the dashboard. Reds. Blues. Sickly greens. The kind of light that didn’t illuminate—it distorted. Theo blinked against it, jaw tight, fingers clenched around the wheel like he was bracing for impact.

Billboards loomed overhead, flashing promises of escape: Live Free. Win Big. Forget Everything.
He almost laughed. Almost.

The Strip pulsed with life—cars honking, music thumping, people spilling onto sidewalks in glitter and sweat. Laughter echoed from somewhere he couldn’t see. It sounded too sharp, too clean. Like it had never known grief.

Theo rolled down the window. The air was thick with heat and perfume and something sour beneath it all—exhaust, desperation, old dreams rotting in the sun.

He didn’t belong here.

But he kept driving.

A man in a gold suit danced on the corner, waving a sign for a casino buffet. A woman in stilettos stumbled past, mascara streaked, phone clutched like a lifeline. No one looked at him. No one saw him. And that was the closest thing to peace he’d felt all day.

He turned off the Strip, down a side street that smelled like fried food and regret. The buildings here were older, quieter. The lights didn’t scream they flickered. A motel sign buzzed overhead, half the letters burned out. Vacancy.

Theo parked beneath it.

The engine ticked as it cooled. He sat there, watching the neon reflect off the rearview mirror. His face looked wrong in the glow too pale, too hollow. Like the city had already started to erase him.

Vegas didn’t care if he was broken.
Vegas didn’t ask questions.
Vegas just kept glowing.

Notes:

Let me know how you guys liked it!

I’m almost done with the third chapter I probably won’t post it until I start the fourth. 😁