Chapter Text
Black eyes, boring into his very soul.
This is what you wanted? You wanted me dead? Do it, coward. Do it yourself, you weak little puppet.
She was accusing him with every single breath she was taking for the last time as the roots hugged her body, in a way he used to hold her, the earth quickly swallowing her figure, but those eyes, they remained unphased, no other emotion just pure rage. You did this.
Tyler woke up covered in cold sweat, a morning routine he didn’t really want to keep for the future, but clearly his mind had other plans for him. Every single night the same dreams alternated, as if laughing at him: hey, at least it doesn’t get boring. You have a variety of torture. He could not tell which one was worse: when he buried her alive or when she saved his life?
“Tyler?” It must have been that time again. Time to wake up, and crawl out of bed to spend yet another day of doing nothing beside regretting his whole existence. That also was an unexpected addition to his daily routine along with the nightmares. “Are you here?”
“As if I have any other place to be,” he murmured under his nose, opening the door to his small— shed? God, he couldn’t really call it more than that with his sorry bed in the far corner, a bathroom in the back and table in the middle with some shelves around the room and those hideous hunting relics. There was a time he quite liked hunting ─ or at least he pretended so he could have one thing to share with his father ─ but after being on the other end of the gun, he had a change of heart so to say.
“You know, you can take those off, right?” Capri followed his gaze and looked at a deer's head with disgust. “God knows, I wouldn’t blame you.”
“I’m sure you’re not here to discuss the interior design of this place,” Tyler turned around to sit at the table, his voice a little too offended for nothing. On his defense, he did have a rough night with those nightmares. And week. And months. To be fair, he just had it rough as long as he could remember even as a normie.
“Tyler, you know why I brought you here,” Isadora sighed and took a seat across from him. For one split second he felt bad about making this so hard for her. But just for a second, before getting annoyed again.
“No, actually I don’t. You just talked about a support system, and a place without a master, so forgive me if I feel there are a few missing details there.”
“They wouldn’t be missing if you just let me show you the colony and explain everything!” The look on her face was pretty telling of how she was slowly losing her patience and that almost filled him with satisfaction. Getting under somebody’s skin like that was becoming quite addictive for him. Except, it wasn’t the same if it wasn’t─
Tyler shot out of his chair and shook his head, as if that could get rid of her face. She was haunting, no, taunting him even when she was nowhere around. He started to busy himself with the horribly old coffee maker in the corner that was supposed to be his kitchen.
“It’s been two months, Tyler. I thought if I gave you some time you would come to us on your own, but I feel like you don’t want anything or anyone anymore,” all she earned in response was a dry laugh. “Yes, I understand you had been through a lot─”
“You do, hah?” He turned around to face her, hands deep in his pockets to not give away the trembles. “Which part do you understand exactly? The part where my father hated me whole life for something I didn’t even know about? Or the part where I was used like a puppet and then locked up because of a woman I trusted? Oh, no, you must mean the part where I got my mother back and then had her betray me and then watch her choose to die instead of staying with me?”
“I understand pain, Tyler, and despite all the pain that you were put through, I still think there is so much more for you out there if you could just let it.” She looked truly sincere, but again so have Laurel and his mother, even Wedn─ right before they betrayed him.
“Like what?”
“You are strong, you did what most Hydes never can: broke your bond with your master. Not once but twice! Do you have any idea how rare that makes you?” Her eyes almost shined with excitement.
“Did me a lot of good, hah?”
“It set you free,” Isadora gave him a small smile, and stood up to take a few steps to the door, but then turned back. “I meant it when I brought you here: all I want is for you to find a place where you can find out who you are, somewhere safe where you can find your own strength with the help of other Hydes. You might have lost your family, but you can still find a new one with the pack.”
She didn’t wait for him to respond. Her voice was still echoing in the room as the word family left a sour taste in Tyler’s mouth that he tried to wash off with the horrible coffee in his hand. God, he missed the Weatherwane.
He was tired, so exhausted, so done. But Capri was right, if he was just going to give everything up and live his ─ apparently quite short ─ life in misery, why did he even take her up on her offer? Why drive all this way here? He hated when people did that, knowing him better than he did. He could have just stayed in this place, not interacting with a single soul ever again, but the idea of just staring in front of him, shutting the world out was too familiar. He saw it for years. And he was never going to be like his father.
So two days later, before Capri could show up to his place, he sat in front of the door and waited for him.
“Ready?” She asked and didn’t even try to hide her smirk. She knew he would finally give in, and he hated that she did.
After a loud enough groan, he stood up and followed her towards the main house and the rest of “camp”. “So where do we start? Are we going to hold each other’s hand before saying grace to the great Hyde ancestors? Or are we going to sing together as we sit in a circle?”
“Funny,” was all she reacted before looking around and grinning wide. “We can start with meeting some of the pack, they are in the main house having breakfast.”
The growl of his stomach gave him away before he could lie that he wasn’t hungry. There was no point in delaying the inevitable so he just shrugged. He needed her to know, he was giving this a fair shot but it didn’t mean he was buying into any of the we are a big happy hyde family thing. He’s been there, done that, and thank you very much didn’t want a second round.
She held the door for him, waiting for him patiently to make the decision to go in there on his own, not because someone told him to or because it was expected of him. Only when he was already walking past her did she whisper: “Oh, and for your information, we do sing together in choir, and yes, sometimes we sit around the camp fire and sing there too.”
The smile on his face was immediate and strange, but definitely welcome.
“Everyone, please, let me introduce you to Tyler G─” she fell silent the second she heard the sharp inhale at the mention of his last name. It was still a fresh wound, the Galpins, the Nights, the Addams’... he just wasn’t ready yet. “Tyler.”
Why did it feel like the first day of school as he stood there, awkwardly waving to the dozen people sitting at the table.
“Ugh, hi,” he finally found his voice and quickly scanned the people staring at him. Some kind and welcoming, some not so much. Especially the guy at the far end of the table. As if he could hear his thoughts, he stood up and walked up to him.
“Tyler, this is Darius,” Capri introduced them to each other then, looking over Darius’ shoulder, she nodded to a man at the back door. “I will have to take care of something, for now just─ get to know each other?”
Both young men nodded and watched her walk off, before turning their gaze back to one another. The air felt charged, almost like there was smoke filling his lungs as the moments stretched on between them.
“So are we going to eat today or should we leave the room to the two of you?” A brunette girl, around Tyler’s age, with glowing olive skin pointed a baguette at them. “You know some of us have work to get to.”
“Yes, Naya, we know because you keep reminding us every hour,” Darius gave her a tired look which was clearly part of their usual dynamic because Naya threw the piece of bread at him which he caught with a snort. “Still a horrible aim, but your strength is getting there.”
Darius walked back to his seat which gave Tyler just enough time to take a good look at him. He was taller and more muscular than him, and definitely older, maybe mid twenties, but the eyes? They looked like they lived 5 lifetimes already, and none of them were good for him. That, Tyler could understand, so when he nodded for him to take a seat at the table, Tyler did it without hesitation.
This must have been the first actual meal he had at an actual dinner table in a very long time, Tyler thought, as he leaned back in his seat. It was almost absurd to listen to these people talking, joking and laughing around him while he just sat there like the outcast of outcasts. Great, just what I needed.
“Coffee?” He was deep in his own thoughts he only heard Naya’s voice after she probably offered him the coffee a few times. Everyone was looking at him as if they expected him to hyde out right then and there and start trashing the place. Maybe he should have, just for the fun of it all. But truth be told since that night, he couldn’t even think of transforming let alone doing it. It was like trying to keep everything that happened locked in with his other half: as long as it didn’t get out, nothing that happened in Jericho could touch him. Kinbott used to have a word for this, but he couldn’t remember, and forcing his memories was never a good idea, considering how easily some unwanted ones could be unearthed if he wasn’t careful enough.
“Ugh, yeah, sure, thanks,” he raised his cup towards her and tried a smile that must have looked like he was in pain because everyone at the table laughed.
“God, I haven’t seen someone this wound up since Jacob was caught with that normie boy,” Naya laughed as she put the coffee pot down.
“Hey, you promised not to bring it up again!” A kid with dirty blonde hair and arms so thin Tyler thought they would snap quicker than a twig, raised his voice. That must have been Jacob then.
“No, it was Capri who promised, I never said shit!”
Everyone laughed and started chattering about that accident, while Tyler tried to shake off the weird feeling that this whole situation was drenched in. He could feel their hydes but he couldn’t explain how. There was a resonance, a sort of almost heat-like energy coming off of all of them. Until his mother showed up at the graveyard he never met another Hyde and God knows he didn’t really have the chance to study what it felt to be in the room with her with the chains and his crazy zombie uncle added to the scene. Jesus, that sounds even worse when put like that. He could have sworn if it wasn’t his life, he would have never believed that things like zombie uncle happen.
He took one sip of his coffee and immediately regretted it.
“Sorry, forgot to mention, our espresso machine is broken, Charles already ordered a new one but only gets her next Monday, so all we have is drip,” Naya explained and kept on drinking her own, already reaching for the pot to refill it. How?
“Yeah, that’s okay, this is fine,” he nodded and took another sip, this time ready for it.
“I know what you feel,” one of the kids turned to him on his left. “Trust me, I am not a drip guy either, you know some people say it’s for people─”
“─who hate themselves and know their lives have no real purpose or meaning,” he continued without a second of hesitation. Just as the words were out did he realise it. Shit. All that time, all those days fighting to keep her off of his mind, but failing to save his night from her face haunting him. Gone.
“I was gonna say it’s for people who don’t know what real coffee is but I like yours better,” the boy pat Tyler on the back and stood up, clearing his plate, the others slowly following his suit. When he walked over to the kitchen sink, the kid just took it, and pointed to the board above saying Isaiah: dishes.
“Oh, thanks,” Tyler nodded and turned around to leave and look for Capri, but instead got hit with a cannon ball. Or more like a barely four-foot tall, big brown eyed, brunette, who couldn’t be more than 8. “Hi there,” he helped the little girl stand still after their collision. “You okay?”
“Uh-ah,” was the only response she deemed needed because after that she laughed and ran around him to the back of the building. Since others were already sitting and chatting outside, and Capri was nowhere to be found, Tyler had no better idea than to follow the little cannon ball.
“Hey, Tyler, come here,” Naya patted the log next to her. She seemed to be clearly the only welcoming one in the pack so it would have been stupid of him not to accept her invitation.
“Listen, if you play your cards well, I might sneak in some contraband for us from work,” she smirked and Darius shook his head. “What?”
“It’s just coffee, Na, and you make it sound like we run a prison here,” he looked up to Tyler, his eyes immediately hardening. He clearly had a soft spot for the young girl next to them. “I don’t know what Isadora told you, Tyler, neither do we know what brought you here, but it’s important for you to know: you don’t have to stay. This is not a prison no matter how the jokester is making it sound like. It has to be your decision, you need to want to stay. If you do, you’ll become part of something that is singular.”
“What exactly does that mean?” Rubbing his face, Tyler sighed. He was tired, so so so tired. “What is this place? What is this whole hyde pack without a master? And─”
“Your questions will be answered in time,” Darius gave him the first honest smile since they met. “I know how frustrating it is not knowing everything, how could you trust any of us, how could you feel safe, but I can promise you: no one here will ever harm you. If we start turning on each other, we are all dead.”
“Yeah I heard that one before,” he huffed and spotted the little cannon ball in the back. He might not get the answers for his questions, but damn it if he was just gonna go back to his room like a bad kid without getting something. “How can a little kid like that just run around a dozen Hydes? Aren’t you afraid she’ll get hurt?”
“Sarah?” Naya let out a little laugh, and looked at the girl so fondly, if Tyler didn’t know better, he could have sworn that it was her sister. “After what she’s been through, this place is a playground for her. Plus once Jacob scared her and her hyde slashed him so bad he couldn’t walk for weeks.”
“She a hyde?” Tyler’s eyes were so fixated on the little girl, she stopped in her place and looked almost scared. She couldn’t be. “But she is just a child─”
“She is the youngest to ever change in camp, most of us got luckier and only got our first transformation way later,” Darius explained. “It is quite common for us to hyde out around the age of 16, all the changes in your body and life, it can cause a lot of radical emotions and next thing you know, you slashed your best friend’s car because he said he was now a cool kid who cannot hang out with the weirdo.”
“Very tragic indeed.” Naya picked up a piece of wood and tossed it at his face. “Whatever any of us had been through, Sarah will always win the who-got-it-worse competition.”
A petty voice in his head told Tyler that his story might be the one that could actually change that, but when the little girl ran up to them, he realised: he didn’t want this to be his life. Constantly dwelling on how shitty cards life dealt him, and for sure Sarah didn’t want that either.
“But wait, where are the parents?” He just realised at least 5 or 6 of the people around them were under the age of 18, including him, still a few months away from his birthday, but not a single adult in sight. Maybe that’s where Capri went with the other guy?
“You are pretty new to this Hyde thing, aren’t you?” Naya asked earnestly, clearly hoping he would say no. But when he nodded, her face dropped. “Why do I feel like I am telling a kid that there is no Santa?”
“Santa?” Sarah’s eyes snapped up from the drawing she was making with a twig in the ground at their feet.
“I was just telling Tyler how good you were this year, so Santa is definitely planning something special for you, S,” Naya laughed and shooed her off so they could talk in peace. “There is a lot to learn and even more we don’t even know about the Hyde condition, Tyler, but I think it’s safe to say that, we are usually not planning our retirement years as most of us don’t make it that far.”
“Speaking of retirement,” Darius checked his watch and he was on his feet. “We gotta go unless you want to lose your job.”
“Oh, shoot, Nelson will kill me if I am late again,” Naya checked her pocket and grimaced at her phone. “Yep, 4 missed calls. I am sor fired.”
“No, you’re not, trust me, he adores you,” Darius tried calming her down while also making sure she hurried after him. “See you later, Tyler, welcome to home sweet home!”
The stupid smile on his face seemed to be contagious because Tyler mirrored him, not knowing what the hell he was actually smiling about. He didn’t really learn anything, on the contrary he was even more confused than ever, and still.
“Hey, Ty!” Naya ran back from the house. “What do you want: one of those fancy cappuccinos or a quad? I’m gonna grab you one after my shift at the cafe, as a welcome gift. So?”
“Quad?”
“Okidokie!” And she was gone but her laughter was still ringing in his ears.
Home sweet home, Darius said. And to be truly fair, did he have any other choice than give this a shot?
His eyes followed Sarah’s drawing, absentmindedly answering her questions like: What’s your favourite colour? Yeah, I love green too. Do you like dogs? Oh, I want a dog named Elvis, too! You like drawing? Never tried baking ’cause the kitchen is offlimits, but sounds fun. Until his eyes finally found Capri and the man ─ Charles? ─ walking back towards the main house from the woods. They were in deep conversation, she was clearly explaining something very passionately, but he seemed sceptical. This is it! Tyler stood up and quickly made his way towards them hoping to catch some parts of what they were saying.
“─I do not agree with this, Isadora, it’s too dangerous,” the man sighed.
“I need you to trust me! I will figure something out but no one can know until then! Make sure she is not found or─”
Just when he was about to get close enough to properly hear everything, Sarah yelled his name: “Tyler, look, I finished my drawing!”
“Tyler, hi!” Charles stepped in front of Capri and offered his hand, that Tyler took hesitantly. “Welcome to Woodstock.”
“We have some things to take care of, I see you already got to know Sarah, our precious girl, you can ask Jacob or Isaiah to show you around, and talk to you after dinner, okay?” That wasn’t really a question though, Tyler could tell, Capri was looking everywhere frantically but his eyes, and was already half way to her car when Tyler managed a weak okay.
Safe haven for Hydes, my ass, he thought right before deciding, he was going to figure out whatever she was hiding by the end of the day or leave this place for good.
The day wasn’t as bad as Tyler expected, and if he was truly honest, he felt the sting of sadness when he watched the boys play on the old X-Box, or when Sarah begged him to tell her what kind of cakes he baked before. It felt strange and familiar at the same time, and he knew he could get used to this life. Except outside the doors of the main house, Capri was hiding secrets, they were in the middle of the forest hiding from the world, and he still had a thousand questions about this place and himself. Letting himself get lost in the illusion of a nice life was simply not an option. He made a promise and he was going to keep it.
When the sun started setting, Naya and Darius arrived and the whole group started fooling around camp, playing instruments ─ Darius was surprisingly good on his guitar ─ and just filling out the time before dinner.
The others were too busy to hear when Capri’s car rolled in, or maybe his hearing was just a little bit better than theirs, but when he saw her walk around the house in the same direction as in the morning, Tyler knew this was his chance. Without alerting anyone, he made his way towards the main house but changed direction at the last second then hurried after Capri in the darkness of the woods.
His mind kept conjuring up pictures of Hydes being hidden and chained in a cave, her giving them orders like her own little army doing her bidding, and the thoughts quickly took over his logical thinking. He could feel the trembles of a transformation coming just because of the ideas in his mind. When the sight of a cage-like building started forming in front of him, he knew betrayal was waiting around the trees, but this time he was ready. He wasn’t the stupid kid anymore who trusted anyone, and look! He was right!
There were whimpering sounds coming from the dark as he walked closer and closer, Capri’s voice clearing as he got within earshot.
“It’s alright, I know this is scary, but we’ll figure something out! I already have a few leads, I’ll continue my research tomorrow and talk to some people, just stay calm okay─”
If Tyler spent one rational thought on what he was hearing, maybe he could have realised that he was wrong, but by that time, anger and disappointment took over him and he was half-way transforming when he finally stepped out from behind the last trees, revealing himself to the woman that promised him a safe harbor.
“Tyl─ Tyler? What are you doin─ Tyler, please, I can explain, just calm down,” she raised her hand as if signaling surrender. She was a werewolf, but it wasn’t a full moon, she was no match to him, it would be quick work, not even too messy, he pondered. And then his eyes finally got used to the dark enough to see the creature in the cage.
No.
That’s not possible.
It wasn’t a full moon, how?
His transformation got snubbed out like a candle in seconds as his eyes found the creature’s and they shared a long look filled with many emotions running through them both. Shock, fear, disbelief and─ pain. He saw it clearly in her eyes, the same way he used to see it in his own when he looked in the mirror.
The name rolled off his lips softer than he ever said it before: “Enid?”