Chapter Twenty - Six ✧Oh, How The Mighty Fall✧

Hayden's nose had stopped bleeding, at least for the time being. Still, both of us knew that mercury oozing out of her body wasn't a good sign and we needed to something about it. For right now, that meant Hayden and I were hiding out in a janitor's closet as Hayden dapped at the mercury staining her skin with a tissue and I kept looking down impatiently with my phone. 

"Did he text you back?" Hayden asked, probably noticing the fact that I couldn't go more then three seconds before anxiously checking my phone. 

The 'he' in question was Liam. While Hayden had initially not wanted me to tell anyone and rush to the bathroom and brush this whole thing under the rug, and I had told her that in my experience with supernatural mayhem that occurred in Beacon Hills, that was not a real solution. So, begrudgingly, Hayden agreed to let me send Liam a text to tell him that we had a bit of a problem with Hayden and that I needed him to meet me. 

There was a soft knock on the door which caused both me and Hayden to jump. Exchanging a quick look with Hayden, I moved towards the door to see who was on the other side. 

Almost as soon as I cracked the door open, Liam was sliding through and squeezing himself into the tight closet and next to me. Without even acknowledging Hayden, he looked at me with eyes filled with concern. It felt almost like instinct when he cupped his hands over my face and I gently put my hands over his in an attempt to hold them and calm him down. 

"What's wrong?" Liam asked. His voice was quiet but urgent. "Are you okay? Do you feel okay?" 

"I'm fine," I assured him. Then I nodded over to Hayden, who Liam finally decided to acknowledge. "I don't think she is, though. We were talking earlier and her nose started bleeding. But it wasn't just blood, it was mercury." 

Liam's hands fell from my face as he look like Hayden curiously, almost as if he was expecting more Mercury to start spewing from her. "That's not a good sign," He agreed. Then, with a frown, he turned to look back at me. I already knew what he was going to say before it left his lips. "Wait, you were talking to her?" 

Hayden looked fairly offended, which was understandable because from her point of view it just sounded like Liam was being rude. However, I knew Liam was just worrying about me and the whole death omen-thing that had happened earlier, especially since Hayden seemed somehow intertwined with my upcoming death. He hadn't explicitly said it earlier, but I knew he really didn't want me around Hayden. 

Something told me that not talking to Hayden between classes wasn't going to do much to delay the inevitable, but I hadn't tried to convince Liam of that earlier. 

"Bigger picture here, Liam," I reminded him. Liam looked at me as if he couldn't think of something bigger then what I had told him about Genvieve earlier, which was fair, but I was choosing to focus on the problem that was effecting my friends a bit more seriously at the moment: The Dread Doctors. 

I sighed in defeat, knowing that I was asking a lot from him when I tried to pretend that I wasn't potentially in just as must danger as Hayden was. I also knew there was no way I could make him really understand that I something in my gut was telling me not to be afraid right now. It was the same gut feeling that told me the reason why Genevieve had chosen Allison to show herself to me as was because Allison had died bravely, and I knew that. 

It was almost like Geneieveve was trying to lure me to my death and the friendly face of Allison Argent was her siren call. And while that thought should've been haunting, I still couldn't make myself even try to focus on the fear I shoudl've had. 

"The mercury isn't a good sign," I reminded Liam. I tried to speak calmly -which wasn't really a skill I was versed in- in hopes that I wouldn't make Hayden any more afraid then she already was. "If she'd bleeding Mercury, the Dread Doctors are probably going to be coming for her soon. We need to figure out a plan to protect her." 

"I can do that," Liam offered. I knew it wasn't because he suddenly was on great terms with Hayden just because they shared some trauma, but because he was trying to protect me. 

No matter what, Liam was always going to do what he thought was best for me. I gave him a small weary smile, and reached out to hold his hand. 

"Liam, I want to help," I told him. 

"I know, I know," Liam nodded. "But Corey is here too, remember? If Hayden's condition isn't looking so good, who's to say Corey isn't going to be getting worse, too. You should go find Corey and make sure he's still okay, Hayden and I will get out of here and figure something out." 

I wanted to argue with that idea, but Liam did have a point. Plus, I knew Liam was going to do whatever it took to find a way to seperate me from Hayden. 

Finally, I nodded slowly at Liam. Then, I looked over to Hayden, who was looking between the two of us in confusion. She had no idea that she was somehow entangled with my death, mostly because I felt like that was a pretty big burden to bare, but she clearly could tell that there was something more going on right now. Still, if she had any questions she didn't try to verbalize them. 

Giving Hayden the kindest smile I could muster at the moment, I gave Liam's hand a squeeze before moving towards the door so I could leave and find Corey. 

Before I could leave, Liam wouldn't let go of my hand and pulled me back towards him. He seemed to either forget that Hayden was in the small space with us, or he simply didn't care, because as soon as I got close enough Liam used his free hand to move my face towards his so he could kiss me. It was a quick kiss, but the moment didn't end when he pulled away from me. When I opened my eyes, his were already looking at me carefully. There were nearly a thousand waves of worry splashing around his ocean eyes and I hated knowing there was nothing I could do to calm them. 

"Be safe," Liam whispered. 

I nodded, knowing I couldn't verbally promise that I would be because, well, it probably wouldn't be true. Liam took a moment to look at me for a little bit longer, as if he thought he'd never get the chance to again which was a thought I couldn't bare to let sit in my mind for too long so instead I kissed him one more time. When I pulled away, I didn't give him a chance to stop me this time as I hurried out of the janitor's closet. 

When I was in the hallway, I allowed myself to have a moment to take in the emptiness. And I don't just mean the emptiness of the hallways as every other student seemed to actually be in their classes, but also the empty feeling carving itself into my chest. Maybe I wasn't fearful right now, but I did feel uneasy. I couldn't shake the feeling that something big was about to happen. 

As my mind began doing what it did best (meaning begin to fill itself with absurd scenarios of how everything could go wrong) my hands managed to take out my phone and dial Mason. I knew he should have free period, but I didn't expect him to answered so quickly. 

"Mason! Hey are you-"

"I'm with Corey," Mason explained, cutting me off before I could even ask the question. I noticed the sheer urgency in his tone immediately. "Something's wrong. Like, really wrong. We're in the weight room. Other people are looking and he's- well, it's bad Charlotte." 

"I'm on my way," I assured my friend. There was really no need, for me to say something else, so I just hung up the phone and hurried to the weight room. 

Luckily, Mason and Corey's location wasn't far from where I was, and I got there just moments after I'd hung up the phone. Unluckily, Corey's condition had long surpassed 'bad' when I got to the weight room. 

Corey was currently hunched over on the ground next to some weights. Other kids watched as Mason stood next to him, trying to apparently soothingly pat his back as Corey hacked and wheezed. While the noises that he was making already didn't sound good, the sight was much worse. Black blood and silver oozed passed Corey's lips until what seemed like the entire front of his body was covered in the two truly horrifying substances. 

When I knelt down in front of Corey, I really wasn't sure what I should do. I tried to tell the other people in the room to get back, but my voice was weak and generally pretty nonthreatening. Mason and I exchanged a horrified look, before trying to coax Corey to get up and get out of the view of bystanders. Corey responding to our coaxing by spewing out more mercury and blood. 

Suddenly, I was lightly being tugged back. I started to argue, before seeing the guy telling me to back up was in uniform. Somebody had called 911, which generally would've been the smart thing to do. However, right now the hospital didn't seem like the right place for Corey to be taken to, mostly because we already knew the Dread Doctors had no problem going there themselves. 

There was no way Mason and I could stop them EMT's from getting Corey onto a gurney, unfortunately, so instead we followed after them in a hurry as Corey called to us and begged us to help him. The EMT's promised that they were going to help him as the got him to the ambulance, but Mason and I knew that the help they were offering wasn't what Corey needed. 

"He just started bleeding everywhere," Mason was explaining. I looked over at him and realized he wasn't talking to me. Scott and Theo had apparently heard the commotion and had come to see what had happened. 

Scott's eyes darted from Mason to me, and he seemed to be hurriedly scanning both of us. For the first time, I realized we both had Corey's silver and black blood splattered over our shirts. 

"Scott, we have to follow him," Theo suggested. 

I looked away from the mess on my shirt so that I could look up at the true alpha. Scott wasn't answering Theo though and was instead was watching in horror as  a shouting Corey was being loaded into an ambulance. 

"Scott, we have to help him," I agreed, not with Theo but with the fact that we couldn't just let Corey be alone at the hospital. Scott didn't seem to hear me, and I frowned before stepping in front of his eye line. "Scott, come on," I urged. "We need to  do something. Now." 

"Scott," Theo called out. "This is what you do!" 

Finally, Scott seemed to be hearing us and he backed away from the ambulance. Still seemingly in a daze, he allowed Theo to tug on his arm and guide him away. Before heading after them, I looked over at Mason, who was staring down at his hands that were still covered in black and silver gore. 

I didn't want to leave him, not like this. The notion that something big and bad was happening was buzzing in the back of my mind again. I felt somewhat guilty but I knew I had to leave. I wasn't sure where I was supposed to be right now, but something told me it wasn't here. 

When Theo glanced over his shoulder and saw that I had caught up to him and Scott, he raised his eyebrows at me. "Are you sure you want to be apart of this?" He questioned. 

We were standing outside of his truck now. I nodded before opening the door and getting in. 

✧✧

The car ride to the hospital had been nothing strange, to say the least. 

I didn't know what had been going on between Scott and Theo before the incident with Corey, but they had apparently been about to talk to something that seemed important. Scott had tried to ask Theo what it was that Theo had wanted to tell him, but Theo assured Scott that they could talk about it later. 

And when Theo said that to Scott, I had caught him looking back at me in his rear view mirror. I didn't know what to make of the look, or if it had really been directed towards me or if it had been just a look in the mirror to see the roadway behind us. What ever it was, it made the feeling of impending dooming that was already looming over my shoulders feel a thousand times heavier. 

The horrible event that I felt coming had caused the return of the voices swirling around in my head. They were once hissing omens and warnings to me but this time they spoke in so many different voices and at so many different times that I couldn't make out what any of them were saying. I was only beginning to feel confident about one thought. The bad event that my entire body was preparing for? It didn't just involve Hayden, it involved Theo too. 

I wanted to make Theo talk. I wanted to know what it was that he could only tell Scott. I wanted the people around me to start talking again and I wanted the feeling that none of us were in this together any more to go away. Most of all, I wanted to feel apart of something instead of feeling like Genevieve Carodine had risen from the dead to pull me away from everyone and to a destiny I was starting to have second thoughts about, mostly because I didn't understand what anything meant anymore. 

The voices were echoing in my head. It felt like they had kicked out my brain just so they had more room to march around my skull and chant so indistinctly that I couldn't tell what they were saying anymore. Suddenly it was becoming harder to have an independent thought of my own. 

I didn't realize that I'd been tightly closing my eyes until they were quickly reopening at the sudden stop of Theo's truck. We had just parked at the hospital. Scott hurried to get out of the car and as I unbuckled to do the same, I looked up and caught Theo's eye in the rear view mirror once again. But before I could even try to read his expression, he was out of the car. All to suddenly I realized that the voice in my head had disappeared. 

Scott and Theo hurried into the hospital and I hurried to keep up with them. Despite the fact that it seemed calm from the outside, the halls of the hospital were sheer chaos. For some reason I wasn't surprised. It was easy to spot the gurney that Corey was supposed to be on because it was still covered in the black and silver substance that he had been throwing up. 

However, Corey himself was no where in sight and instead there was a hallway that looked like it had been rampaged stretching out in front of the three of us. 

"They're already here," Scott murmured. I looked over to him and saw that his gaze wasn't directed towards at the disheveled gurney and instead at a nurse that was trying to help a patient back into their overturned wheel chair. 

"This wasn't them," Theo disagreed. His gaze was resting on the EMT's who had brought Corey in and now looked a little worse for the wear. 

I didn't exactly feel great about it, but I was once again agreeing with Theo. 

"Corey did this," I sighed. As I said his name, I felt like he was somewhere nearby but even as I scanned the hallway, I couldn't see him anywhere. In his state, there was no way he had managed to get too far, though. 

"We should split up," Theo suggested. He looked at me and then to Scott as if to read our thoughts on the idea. 

Scott nodded slowly. "Yeah, okay. Charlotte come with me." 

Scott had begun to reach out to grab my arm so we could separate from Theo to look for Corey, but I quickly took a step back. Scott then looked up at me in confusion, which I couldn't blame him for, but right now I wasn't the one that needed a body guard. Corey needed us to do whatever it takes to help him, not almost what ever it takes. And that meant all of us splitting up. 

"That wouldn't be splitting up," I told Scott. His expression was confused and once again we both we're having to deal with the fact that there was a very big disconnect between the two of us. "We all need to try to find Corey," I explained. "I'll call you if I find something." 

Scott didn't try to argue with me and I didn't try to mediate the hurt look I had caused to spread across his face. I knew he thought things were falling apart right now, that the pack that had once defeated assassins and werejaguars were no longer able to work together. And as much as I hated to admit it, I also had the feeling that that was true. But there was nothing either of us could say right now that would take back the levels of distrust that had piled on all of us, so instead we all went in our separate directions. 

I had been in the hospital enough times to know mostly where I was going. I had also hidden in the hospital from darachs, alpha werewolves, and assassins, so I thought I had a good idea of where Corey might've gone, but every corner I went to seemed to be empty. Needless to say, I was beginning to feel a bit stressed out by the entire situation. 

Of the many doors that I opened on my  devastatingly uneventful hunt for Corey, I had come across many people who looked at me like I was crazy. The look was probably something I'd earned. However, it wasn't until what felt like the twelfth door I opened that I saw a familiar face. 

Genevieve. 

I had grown so accustomed to the whispers wrapping themselves around me that I didn't realize the voices had come back until they silenced themselves in her presence. The door to the hospital room shut suddenly behind me. 

There were tears in my eyes. Maybe, despite my best efforts, I was still afraid of a little bit of everything. 

"What's happening," I whispered in a raspy breathe. 

"I'm checking on you," Genevieve explained. The form of Allison Argent that she was once again possessing flickered in front of my eyes. "I know this is the scariest part every time." 

I wasn't paying attention to what she was saying. I couldn't, not when she was flickering on and off like a light that was about to go out. Or maybe I was the light that was about to go out. Suddenly, the thought of my own mortality was becoming a little too real. 

"They're here, aren't they? The Dread Doctors, I mean." 

Genevieve nodded her head. "They are. And they're killing that boy Corey as we speak." Genevieve saw me back up towards the door and knowing I was going to try to leave, she added, "You can't help him now. You can't save everyone. But you must remember that you should still try." 

I shook my head. The few tears that had gathered in my eyes began to race down my cheeks. "Why am I here, then? Why won't you let me go and try to save someone for once." 

Allison -or I supposed Genevieve- had a saddened expression on her face. It was like her eyes held pity as she looked at me but her smile formed the ghost of something akin to a hopeful grin. I didn't know what to make of anything I was looking at. I didn't know how to feel, other then completely and utterly confused and suddenly very, very,  alone. 

"I'm here to remind you that you have a much bigger role to play then any of your friends can imagine, but you have to fight for it," Genevieve explained. 

She took a step towards me and reached out for my hand. I was only somewhat surprised that I could actually feel her. What did shock me was the fact that her hands were warm, a little bit hot, even. And the warmth from her hands quickly trickled to my hands, like she was transferring it over to me, and felt it begin the crawl up my arms and spread through my body. It was a weird feeling to say the least, but it also didn't feel wrong. It made me feel a little bit more courageous  and a little less like everything was spiraling out of control. 

"Charlotte," Genevieve softly called my name. "You need to remember that I am here for you. That feeling in your chest right now? That bravery and power you feeling churning inside of you? You will feel that and so much more once we're together, like we're meant to be? Remember that. Remember that in the end, I am there for you." 

The body flickered in front of me once again, but this time the flickering ended with Genevieve's disappearance. I looked down at my hands, half expecting to see something other then the hands that I had always drawn with. But there were still just my hands, and yet they felt so different all of a sudden. I felt different. 

Taking a deep breathe and then exhaling slowly, I turned towards the door. When I walked back out to the hallway my name was immediately being called. I looked around in confusion, not sure for a moment if it was a real voice or a voice in my head until I saw Theo Raeken pushing past nurses to get through the hallway and to me. He didn't stop until he was standing right in front of me, and there was a look of urgency in his eyes that I wasn't expecting. 

"Haven't you heard from Scott?" Theo asked quickly. 

I frowned and pulled out my phone, no missed calls or messages. I tried to quickly slip my phone back into my pocket but I knew Theo had seen my blank screen. What ever Scott had to say, he felt like he had to tell Theo before me. 

"Did he call you?" I asked Theo. I already knew the answer, and I had a feeling I could guess what Scott had to say, too. 

"Yeah, he said he found Corey," Theo explained. 

"Let me guess," I interjected. "The Dread Doctors got to him." 

The urgent look in Theo's eyes flickered for a moment. Whether he wanted them to or not, his eyebrows raised in intrigue. 

"How did you know that?" Theo questioned. 

I pointed past him and to the elevator doors at the end of the hallway, which were currently having a fit opening and closing. "The light's have been flickering for the past few minutes, too," I clarified. "I figured that could only mean that the Dread Doctors are here. And if they're already here while we don't have Corey, I can only assume that means were too late." 

Theo's eyes continued to stare at me for a few moments more. There was something about his expression that I could read, and that made me not trust him. He was usually so obvious about what he was thinking, but now I had no idea. 

"Scott found him downstairs in the garage where they park the ambulances," Theo finally explained. "Think we should head down?" 

"There's no point, he's already dead," I murmured. I knew I sounded uncharacteristically insensitive, but Genevieve was right. I needed to focus on the people I could save. I looked back at Theo and realized he was already waiting expectantly for what I had to say. "We need to get back to Hayden," I decided. "I'll call Scott and tell him to meet us at your truck." 

✧✧

When we got to school, the three of us once again split up only to find out that Liam and Hayden were no where to be found. I was entirely surprised that Liam had taken her away from school, especially after Corey had been taken away after quite literally spewing mercury. However, what I wasn't expecting was the fact that Liam wasn't answering his phone. That was what I would consider a really bad sign given our current situation. 

We had regathered and recollected our thoughts. Where could they have gone? Where would Liam have taken Hayden to keep her safe? I had no idea, and it seemed like the others were having just as good of luck in trying to think where they could be. 

Then, I realized that there was one familiar place Hayden might want to go. Somewhere no one else would be right now. Sinema, the nightclub she worked at, should be empty. 

And so I told the others that's where I thought they may have gone. As quickly as we had gotten to the school, we had left. All I could do on the ride over was pray that my idea wasn't totally wrong and that I hadn't led us all astray. 

When we walked into the night club, it was completely dark and I felt the hope begin to drain from my body. Then, scenes from The Night Of The Living Dead flickered onto one of the walls. With this light, I could make out a figure that I knew instantly was Liam, and I felt a short lived wave of relief wash over me. I say short lived because just as soon as I caught a glimpse of him, he was being thrown to the wall by a Dread Doctor. 

A second Dread Doctor emerged from the shadows, this time heading for Hayden. Both Scott and I rushed forward. Scott immediately attacked the Dread Doctor as I jumped towards Hayden and grabbed her arm. 

"We need to get you away from here," I told her. 

The two of us weaved through the fight that currently consisted of Liam and Scott each going up against a Dread Doctor. It was an awful sight that matched the awful realization I had that there was currently a Dread Doctor that was unaccounted for. As Hayden and I pressed ourselves against a brick well to get as out of the way as possible, I looked around hastily for the third Dread Doctor. 

It could be anywhere. It could come from us and we wouldn't know it until it was too late. 

I looked back out at Scott and Liam. They were already getting weaker as the Dread Doctors landed blow after blow. I couldn't just sit there and watch the two of them get torn a part as I waited for the third Dread Doctor to come and do the same thing to Hayden. 

My eyes scanned the room until the caught a glimpse of the pipes weaving themselves across the ceiling. Somehow, I knew that there was water in them. Before I could even think of what I could do with the information, the pipes burst and water spewed from them. Even more miraculously, the water poured it self down in the middle of the room, right in-between my friends and their foes. 

Liam looked back at me and it was then I realized that I had a hand up, directed toward the ceiling. I don't know what I did or how I did it, but now there was a torrential downpour (which really shouldn't have been able to come down with such immense pressure from those pipes, but I wasn't going to complain) and I knew that I had somehow been the cause of it. 

I rushed forward and pulled Liam, who had fallen to the floor, back away from the water. Liam leaned back against my chest, his breathing labored and his head falling into my shoulder.

"Did you do that?" Liam eventually gasped. He moved his head so that he was looking up at me. Even in the dim light, his  blue eyes were practically glowing. 

"Did I forget to mention that I think Genevieve transferred some kind of power to me when she started reaching out to me," I murmured sheepishly. Liam looked at me in shock, not able to think of a proper follow-up question to that revelation. 

 Prying my eyes away from Liams, I looked over to Scott, only to see his glowing red eyes glaring at my makeshift waterfall. Naturally, right where Scott was looking, a hand reached out from behind the waterfall. It was a hand that could only belong to a Dread Doctor, and the water would not keep them back. 

An arm pushed it self through the water, and a new body appeared between Scott and I. It was Theo, his eyes glowing yellow and his teeth bared. He looked down at me and growled, "Go get Hayden." 

Liam pushed himself off of me wearily and got back to his feet. When I got up, he moved towards Hayden but I put a hand on his chest. 

"I'll stay with her," I told him. Liam frowned over at me. "Scott and Theo are going to need you." 

I didn't give Liam any time to argue as I took a step away. Just as I moved back towards Hayden, a Dread Doctor broke through the water right in front of us. Liam quickly put his body in front of mine as I forced myself to come to terms with leaving him like this. 

When I got to Hayden I could tell she was terrified. This entire fight was happening because these people covered in metal wanted to kill her, so the feeling was justified. Still, I reached out and offered her my hand, giving it a quick squeeze that I hoped might do something to reassure her things might be okay. 

"How can we get out of here?" I asked. I surprised myself by how calm and firm my voiceHayden just stared at me, then at the Dread Doctors. Her expression looked hopeless. I gave her hand another tight squeeze and urged, "Hayden! I need you to think. We need somewhere to go, or even hide?" 

Hayden blinked a few times and I knew it was her attempt to keep tears at bay. She was over whelmed and I wasn't sure I had enough strength for the both of us to get through this. 

"There," She finally said. Her head nodded towards a doorway behind the bar. "There's a hallway back there that will take us to the office. It's pretty secure, I think we could hide in there." 

Having no better idea, I tightened my grip on Hayden's hand and we hurried to the hallway. Beads hanging from the ceiling kept obstructing our view but I was so sure we were going to make it. Sadly, the plan to hide failed almost immediately. Emerging from the hallway we were just about to go into was the missing Dread Doctor. 

Moving faster then I ever have in my life, I quickly tugged Hayden behind me. She grabbed tightly onto my arm, but she didn't move from where she was. 

Knowing I was the only thing between Hayden and this Dread Doctor, who was closing the already small space between us quickly, I acted on pure instinct. The memory of the Berserker in Mexico flying backwards and away from me after I had been so overcome with emotion when I thought Derek had died resurfaced in the back of my mind. 

This time when I raised my arms out in front of me, I was very aware of what I was doing. I concentrated all of my energy and suddenly the Dread Doctor wasn't coming towards us. No, it was being pushed backwards by some force I was creating that I'm pretty sure was wind, but I'm honestly no even sure what exactly allowed me to do what I was doing. What ever power source I had created wasn't strong enough, though. 

The Dread Doctor took a step forward. It took a lot of effort, but it was once again coming at us. I surged my arms forward, hoping that what ever I was doing would be enough, but I could feel my body slowly being drained of energy. The more my still very confusing powers waned, the closer the Dread Doctor got. 

Then, suddenly, my arms were being pushed aside by the Dread Doctor. The last bit of strength that I had left slowly drained away just as I felt a metallic hand tighten around my throat. 

[an] sorry but I want to continue to keep hayden and liam enemies (or more like frenemies I guess) for a while longer at least because I think it makes their story line significantly more interesting then the random snog fest jeff threw at us whOops. also this chapter is so long and i'm sorry but we're almost getting to the part I have been waiting to be able to write for ages! 

also shameless self promotion (kind of?? not really but oh well) but the new cover is the first new cover for this book in YEARS and I made it myself and im actually v proud of it so yeah I hope you enjoy! 

question - am I really about to kill of my main character?? is this the end of charlotte lahey??