Alone

The first thing I did was pack a bag. If I was going to get any answers about what was happening then I needed to make my way to New York which was seemingly the centre of all chaos and where this all started.

As I was putting my bags into my car, along with enough food to last a long drive (going by plane was out of the question due to the circumstances) I heard my phone start to ring. It took me a few seconds to hunt for the device but when I finally checked the caller ID I almost collapsed out of relief.

I was not alone yet.

The caller was my aunt on my mother's side, who coincidentally lived in New York, along with her nephew - from my uncle's side - Peter. She and my uncle Ben had taken Peter in when his parents had died tragically in a plane crash when he was little and now lived alone with Peter after Ben had been shot and died a few years ago.

"May!" I cried out in sheer relief when I finally answered the phone.

"Thank god you're alright. I don't know what I would have done if you were gone as well." She said in reply, causing my eyes to widen in sudden worry.

"As well? Where's Peter May?" I asked, panic gripping me once more.

"He's gone. He went on a field trip to MoMA with his class and I haven't been able to get a hold of him since. I think he's vanished Stiles, just like all those other people."

"Oh May," I said, putting the phone on speaker as I jumped into the driver's seat of Roscoe, "I'm on my way to New York, okay, to find out a way to stop all of this and bring everyone back. I'll be there soon alright? Just stay at home, don't go out. I don't want anything to happen to you too."

"Okay Stiles, and be careful. Text me when you're near and I'll send you my address. See you soon."

After saying my goodbyes she hung up the phone. I was truly thankful that she lived in New York as it would solve the problem of where I would stay although at the same time it scared me. The thought that May had been right in the middle of what people were referring to as an alien invasion (once again) was worrying, and I was just thankful that she seemed alright.

We would fix this together.

...

Throughout the drive, I had a first-hand glimpse of all the chaos outside of Beacon Hills. Forests had been decimated due to planes and cars crashing after those controlling them disappeared and people were lying in the road, injured or mourning lost ones that had either been killed during all the devastation or disappeared like, what seemed to be, half the world's population.

The sights that I saw on my journey I knew would haunt me for a long time to come. The pain that surrounded everyone was worse than anything supernatural I had faced with my friends and that scared me more than anything, especially since none of them were here to help.

I was still grieving the loved ones I had watched disappear. Somehow the entirety of the pack was gone, along with most of their families. The only person I knew that was still around - besides my aunt - was Coach. This revelation, although comforting in the thought that someone familiar was still around, didn't help my current situation in trying to bring everyone back, especially as he remained ignorant to the truth of the supernatural population in Beacon Hills, and his inability to offer any real assistance to my mission.

I was surprised to find that Deaton was gone too. I was not sure why but I had always believed that Deaton was immune to the threats facing Beacon Hills, as he rarely got involved and was never targeted by the Ghost Riders, the Benefactor or anyone else (aside from the Darach), despite his obvious links to the supernatural community and our pack.

By the time I had finally arrived in New York, I was thoroughly exhausted. It had taken me roughly five days to get there due to the long distance and the number of cars scattered across the road. Thankfully the jeep hadn't broken down on me (if that had happened I was sure I would have started crying) but due to many owners no longer being around, almost every motel was closed and I was glad that I had packed blankets and my trusty pillow - that I couldn't sleep without - so that I could sleep in my backseat before eating and driving off the next morning.

Driving into the city was a weird experience. The streets were void of their usual traffic and instead, cars were parked haphazardly along the road, many crashed into each other, most likely after they had had no driver to control them. All around me I could see ruined buildings but couldn't tell what was from the invasion or from the devastation once people started vanishing into thin air.

The usual travel time to Queens through Manhatten was severely shortened and I found myself outside May's apartment building in no time (she had sent me her address that morning) and the second I stepped inside I could see her running down the staircase to greet me.

"Stiles! Oh my god, Stiles! How are you?" She asked as she embraced me, both of us sobbing as we gave each other much-needed comfort after recent events.

"I'm fine May. Well as fine as I can be given the circumstances..."

"What happened to you back home Stiles? This is the lowest I've seen you since Claudia-"

This was my turn to start sobbing again.

"Oh May! They're gone. They're all gone. All my friends... dad... everyone... and now we're all each other has left!"

The next hug seemed to last much longer than the first and eventually ended when May persuaded me to grab my bags from Roscoe so we could go into the apartment and talk more comfortably.

After making our way up the stairs from the lobby we eventually made it to her front door and, after I was settled in and May had made us each a cup of tea she sat opposite me on the sofa and asked me the question I knew she would, after all, she'd known me all her life, and I was very much my parent's son.

"Why are you really here?"