"We're all human, aren't we? Every human life is worth the same, and worth saving."

— J.K. Rowling

/ / h a r r y / /

I enter my apartment and toss the key on the counter. From where I'm standing, I can hear the pain in my ass talking to himself. He was talking to himself when I left and I've been gone for more than two hours. New marked ones are always the hardest to work with. I walk into the living room to find him up and moving about.

"Where is Zayn?" the man paces back and forth and tugs at his hair. "Zayn wants to know where he is." He stops and looks at me. "Is Zayn going to die?" At this point, his eyes have widened. "Because Zayn doesn't want to die!"

I run my fingers through my curls and smirk, "No." He lets out a sigh of relief and I laugh. "Not yet."

He shrieks, "What?"

"We all die in the end, Zayn. So, yes, you're going to die. In fact, we're all slowly dying. But if you do exactly what I tell you to do, you won't have to worry about me killing you."

His voice is small, "Zayn wants to go home. Please? Take Zayn home right now. Right now!"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," I shake my head. "You have no idea how ungrateful you sound. Your home is here." I refer to the small apartment that we're standing in. "Unless you want me to take you back to the mental hospital where you should be."

"No!" he yells and runs at me. I'm prepared to hit him but he drops to his knees before me. He wraps his arms around my waist and I have to take a few steps back to regain my balance.

I push him away, "Don't think you have the right to touch me, fool."

"Please!" Zayn begs. "Don't send Zayn back!"

"Don't forget what I've done for you. I saved you from the security guards when you broke free from the hospital. I helped you even though you were used as bait. I saved you for such a good purpose and you repay me by being ungrateful."

"Zayn...is not bait."

"You aren't bait now," I smile. "But you were before."

"Zayn doesn't understand."

I pat his head, "Poor Zayn. You don't even understand. Louis and Evelyn used you."

He shakes his head, "Louis didn't use Zayn. He set Zayn free."

"To be used as bait!" I yell.

"Louis is Zayn's friend!" he yells back and in this moment, he's tugging at his hair and his eyes are watery. I show him no sympathy.

"You don't have friends, Zayn. People with a mental disease such as yourself aren't capable of having friends."

"No!"

"Yes," I shake my head. "It's sad, yet true." In the back of my mind, I can hear the screams of Evelyn. She's practically calling me to wherever she is. "We'll talk later. There is somewhere I have to be."

"Okay," Zayn scoots away from me. I pull my shirt over my head and start taking off my pants. Zayn shields his eyes and I laugh. His awkwardness humors me. Holding onto my clothes, I smile as I can feel my pale skin turning black. "Can Zayn open his eyes?"

"Go ahead," I say but by the time he finds within himself to do so, I'm already gone.

• • •

I stand in the middle of the woods with my clothes clutched to my chest. The wind blows and it makes me shiver. Closing my eyes, I force myself back into my human form and put the clothes back on. There's a pack of cigarettes tucked in the back pocket of my jeans and I pull it out. I light up a cigarette and start walking. My destination isn't too far and if I hurry, I will make it there just in time to see the shocked facial expressions on my marked ones. I wrap my arms around myself and duck to avoid the tree branches from hitting me in the face. I pull the cigarette out of my mouth and let the smoke run out of my mouth. The cave comes into view and I put the cigarette back into my mouth. I cannot help the smile that forms on my face as I get closer to the cave entrance. Three hideous creatures block my way and I pull a knife out of my pocket. Running with full speed, I throw the knife at one of them and it falls to the ground screaming and howling. Evelyn looks up first and her eyes widen.

I clap my hands, "Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

"What are you doing?" Louis snarls. My smile deepens and I kick the creature on the ground. It doesn't budge and the others start to growl and hiss a fit.

"Oh, hush up, will you?" I laugh and fight the urge to grab my stomach. "You'll join your friend soon enough." They don't quiet down and I place my hands on my hips as I approach them.

"What's he doing?" I hear Evelyn.

Saving your ass.

"Beats me," Louis replies.

You never know anything.

I get close to them and tilt my head back so that I can see their slimy faces. "I believe you have something of mine." I blow a puff of smoke. "And I want it back." None of them move and I shake my head. "I'll just take them, then." I turn to leave when a sharp pain enters my left shoulder. My cigarette falls to the ground and I'm filled with rage.

"No!" one of the creatures yells.

I slowly turn around, gripping my shoulder, "You made me drop my cigarette. Bastard." I look over my shoulder to make sure Evelyn and Louis are gone. They're just sitting there. "What the fuck? Get out!" They hesitate. "What the hell are you still going in here?Go!"

Louis is the first one up and he grabs Evelyn, throwing her on his back. He runs out of the cave and I'm all alone with these bastards. I massage my injured shoulder and exhale, "I told you to simply scare them, not kidnap them and bring them to a bloody cave! Idiots! All of you!" They only hiss and snarl. "We can either do this the easy way or the hard way. I can't have you following my food and I won't let you take them back. I need their fear, you see. Take them, you die." I stop talking and laugh. "What am I saying? You're going to die anyway. I'm going to kill you!" They begin to scream and I throw my head back, roaring with laughter. "Yes! Yes! Please do so! Scream so that the worlds beyond the realms of earth can hear how pathetic you are!"

I'm punched in the face.

"No!" they scream in unison.

I grip my jaw, "Is that all you've got? Show me the monster that you are!" None of them move and I break into bursts of laughter. "You're not monsters at all! You're cowards! You don't deserve to be here." I don't bother stripping from my clothes. As my skin turns black, they look more and more confused. A smile forms on my lips and I slowly shake my head. "Tsk, tsk, tsk."

"Agh!" a creature screams and charges at me. I outstretch my claws and feel myself ripping its skin. It screams and tries to stagger back to the others. I have a tight grip on it and I cannot look away from the blood. It's all over my hand now. I twist my hand and it howls, squeezing its eyes shut. Another tries to run at me and I move out of the way just in time before it can touch me.

My fingers dig deeper into the flesh and I look at the rest of them, "Do you really want to test me? After seeing what I'm capable of, you still want to try and defeat me? It's impossible!" I let the creature slip from my fingers and it falls onto the ground. It will eventually bleed out and die. I shake my hand, letting the blood on my hand hit the ground. A smile forms on my lips as I turn pale. I feel the curls forming on top of my head and I laugh, "Take this as a lesson, boys. Don't start a battle that you cannot finish. Leave my marked ones alone and I may not kill you. Who knows? I may come back one day and kill you out of boredom." I pull a cigarette out of my pocket and light it. I wave goodbye to the creatures and turn to leave. I walk towards the dead creature to retrieve my knife when there is a sharp pain in my stomach.

The cigarette falls from my mouth and when I look down, I see a tree branch sticking out of my body. My shirt's stained with blood and I slowly turn around to see which of the bastards stabbed me. They're all backed against the wall and their eyes are wide. I open my mouth to speak, but I cough up blood instead. I place a hand on my chest and wait for the coughing to stop before pulling the branch out of me. Throwing my head back, I scream as the pain is unbearable. The branch is covered with my blood and I toss it on the ground.

I yell, "You can't kill me!" They whimper and I clutch my stomach. "I won't be killed by a bunch of amateurs! I won't be killed by you jackasses!" More blood comes out of my mouth and I wipe it with the back of my left hand. "I'm immortal! I can't die!" I yell the last part for me to hear. I cannot die...I cannot be killed. It's impossible! My knees buckle beneath me and I collapse. I hit the ground and let out a groan. I need to get back into my natural form. I'll heal and I will be all right. The pain gets worse and I begin to turn. I watch my skin turn black and I feel the curly hair slowly disappear.

"No!" a high pitched scream makes me squeeze my eyes shut and I hear running. A foot makes contact with my head and I grunt. My eyes open and I frown. I'm not back in my normal formation. I roll over just as the green creature tried to kick me again. It screams and jumps at me. I try to roll over again but it lands on top of my wounded stomach. My mouth opens in a silent scream and I gasp for air. "No!"

"You...can't...kill...me..." I manage to say as I spit the blood out of my mouth.

"No!" it slams its fists against my chest and another runs in our direction with the branch that I pulled out of me. It drives the branch into my chest and it is suddenly harder for me to breathe. I am coughing up too much blood.

I smile at the creature that just stabbed me, "I'll be joining you in Hell...monster." Its face twists with anger and it pushes the branch deeper into my flesh. I look down at my skin and it is pale again. I've stopped changing. The pain is too much and I look at all of them, "I...will...come...back..." I pause and take a deep breath. "...and...when...I...do...you're..." I spit out more blood and the pain in my chest grows. "...all...going...to...die!"

My back arches upward and I vanish from the cave.

• • •

I wake up on something soft and don't hesitate to open my eyes. I'm still in pain and it's still too hard for me to breathe. I look around and see nothing but white. A light is flashing in my eyes and I squint them to get a better look at what is going on.

"How's he holding up?" I hear a masculine voice.

"We were able to stop the bleeding but he's lost so much blood," a woman replies to him.

"Let me have a look at him."

"Go right ahead."

A door opens and I sit up on the bed. Dizziness overwhelms me but I ignore it. The man enters the room and closes the door behind him. He smiles at me and I do not return it, "Mind telling me your name?"

I hiss, "Fuck you."

"I'm Dr. Payne and I'm willing to help you out, sir. You were found on the side of the road with several wounds. Want to explain what happened?"

"Doesn't matter."

"And why is that?"

"I'll heal."

Dr. Payne laughs, "At this rate, you could be here for a while. So, please cooperate and tell me your name. This will make everything so much easier."

"Fucking off will make things so much easier."

"Sir—"

"Doctor," I mock.

"I could just look you up in the system just by getting your fingerprints."

I roll my eyes, "Harry."

"Pardon?"

"My name is Harry, dammit!"

"Harry...what?"

"That's none of your business." I snarl. In fact, I don't have a last name. My kind don't get last names.

"Should I get your fingerprints, then?"

"Styles," I blurt out and lie. "My last name is Styles."

"Great. That's a start. Now, Harry, what happened to your stomach and chest?"

"The Devil was paying me a visit."

He sighs, "I'm being serious."

"As am I. Once I'm healed, I'm coming for you, Dr. Payne. You won't even see me coming your way. I'm a very sneaky man, you see. Ah, but when you do see me again, I won't look like this."

"With the condition that you're in, I wouldn't recommend plastic surgery."

I yell, "You idiot! I'm a demon! And once I turn back into my natural form, I'm going to rip you from limb to limb! When they find you, you'll be in a million pieces!"

"You're out of your mind," Dr. Payne says and his voice is shaky. "It's just a side effect of your medicine. Don't worry. You should be fine within the next hour or so."

"Oh, but Dr. Payne, that's where you're wrong. If anyone needs to worry, it should be you. I mean, you are going to die."

"I'll go see if Nurse Hudson has your room together," he murmurs and hurries out of the room. 

I lay my head back against the pillow and take a deep breath. I'm going to be all right. Once I heal, I'm getting the fuck out of here. It won't take me long to heal. I give it until two days from now. I'll be able to turn back into the true me and get out of here. And if anyone tries to stop me, I'll kill them. I'm not like my marked ones. I don't belong in a...a hospital. My hands ball up into fists and I grit my teeth together. I don't belong here! A white blanket covers my legs and I kick it off of me. My chest and stomach feel tight and I pull the blue shirt over my head. There's tight bandage wrapped around me and I exhale. Right in the middle of the bandage, there is a red spot. I highly doubt that it isn't blood. I reach to unwrap the bandage when the door opens again.

"Oh, no! Don't mess with your bandages!"

I shoot her a glare and her eyes widen, "Would you rather me bleed out into the bandages until my wounds get infected?" I can hear her swallow and she hurries toward me. She unwraps my bandages and I look down at my body. Her hands shake as she tosses the bloody bandages into the trash and gets the new ones out.

"You're a very brave man," she says as she applies the new bandages. It's too tight and I look at her with the worst facial expression. She ignores me and keeps talking. "You were in pretty bad shape when you got here. Boy, there was blood everywhere."

"Not so tight!" I snap and she flinches. I cannot hide my smile. I can sense her fear. If she was mine and if I wasn't injured, her fear would be all mine. Another dish to add to the buffet. "How long am I going to be here?"

She freezes, "D-Did you say something?"

"Don't test me, woman."

"I-I didn't hear you."

"How long am I staying here?" I repeat.

"I...I...I..."

"God, stop it with the stuttering. You sound like a child who just learned how to speak."

"I—"

I roll my eyes and lunge forward, my hands wrapping around her neck. Her quiet screams only motivate me to complete my task. She gasps and I twist her head, watching her fall onto the ground.

"Bitch," I say and step over her lifeless body.