chapter eleven, BURNING FLESH

☾ ☾●☽ ☽

Noah Hall

I drive down the main road in town and roll the windows down a bit to let some cool air in. I still have yet to tell anyone, other then Liam what's going on with me. In all honesty I'm terrified of what's going on.

I know my mom has been wanting to talk to me, and I kept blowing her off, so maybe it was about this. But that makes me even more worried. What if this is serious, what if someone did something to me? I don't know what to think anymore.

I take a deep breath in and out and close my eyes just for a brief second. When I open them I see someone in the road and hit my breaks.

My eyes widen and I stop the car. I lift my hand from the wheel and jump out of the car. As I step out I smell burnt skin, char, and smoke. "Are- are you okay?" I ask as the person limps closer to me.

I squint my eyes and take a closer look at the person who seems to have smoke covering their completely naked body. "Perish?" I exclaim.

"I need you to take me to the station" he says firmly. "Are you okay? What happened?" I ask. "Take me." He demands. I nod and he gets in my car.

I quickly turn around and head to the station. I look over at him and look him up and down. "Are you hurt?" I ask, even though I can smell and see that he's fine. Although the amount of rage coming off him is making me anxious.

"I was just burned alive." He says plainly and stares out the front window. My eyes widen and I pick up the speed.

We get to the station and he jumps out of the car. He walks into the station and I blink my eyes. What the hell just happened. How is he not dead. Whatever he is there's a reason he's on that dead pool. Maybe this is it...

I get out of my car and follow him inside I see him run after his partner and I quickly grab his arm and hold him back. Mr. Stilinski rushes out of his office and Lydia and Stiles follow.

Stilinski helps me grab Perish and he yells. His partner pulls his gun out but perish points it at the ceiling, resulting in a small part of the roof falling into us.

Perish pushes us off him and punches his partner in the face. His partner points his gun again but it hits the sheriff in the arm. Lydia screams and holds his arm. "You're supposed to be dead" His partner yells out.

Perish continuously hits him, over and over again until the floor is coated with his blood.
  Perish finally stops and stands up. He takes a deep breath in and looks at us. He nods and sits down.

☾ ☾●☽ ☽

Derek holds Perishes hands and looks at them "you were completely in the fire?" He asks, perish nods. I look between the nod and bite my nails "do you think you know anything Derek?" I ask through my fingers.

Derek shrugs. "And he covered you with gasoline, all of you?" Derek asks. "My entire body," perish answers. "Aren't his hair and nails supposed to be gone? Like completely?" I ask. Derek nods "they'd be dead" he states.

Perish looks between us and furrows his brows "I was set on fire, all of me should be dead." He states. "Not if you're like us" Scott speaks up. I look over at him and furrow my brows. He nods and I look back at Perish.

"Like you?" He wonders probably thinking we're all crazy.

"I don't think he's like us" Derek says calmly. "Then what is he?" I ask. "I'm sorry, but I have no idea." Derek states. I sigh and look to Lydia. "Do you have any idea what he could be?" I ask her as she looks him up and down. "None." He says and looks over to me.

"You knew about Jackson, and Kira" Scott says to Derek "both of you did," he adds and looks at me. I shrug "I only knew what my mother told me, which was only what my father told me..." I explain "and that was what my mother taught him and that's all I know. I don't know anything about him" Derek adds and crosses his arms.

"Do you think there would be anything in the bestiary?" I ask Derek he nods "possibly, have you tried Argent?" Derek asks Scott. "He hasn't answered and I don't know where he is" Scott explains.

"Hang on, what's a bestiary?" Perish asks, he pauses then shakes his head "actually that's not even my first question. Just...just tell me one thing." He says. We all nod and listen to his request.

"Are you all like Lydia?" He asks. We all look at each other with confused expression then look back at him. "Like Lydia?" Scott asks. "Are you all psychic?" He corrects. "Psychic?" Derek laughs and Perish nods.

"Not exactly" Scott warns. "Okay, then what are you?"

Scott closes his eyes and after a moment he opens them again, revealing his red glowing eyes.

"Wow" Perish breaths.

I hear my phone ring and check the screen, I see my mom calling and I answer it. "I'll be back" I say to them.

I walk out of Derek's apartment and stand in the hallway.

"Hello?" I say. "Hey, I know you've got a lot going on but we really need to talk, before I go on my work trip" she explain. I sigh and rub my eyes. "I know mom, I know. I have a lot of questions" I breath.
   "I know honey, and we should have talked about it along time ago. I'm really sorry" she states.

"Look I have to go, but I'll be back home later okay?" I say. I hear her sigh and then she laughs "fine, be safe. Come home soon" I hang up the phone and walk back into the apartment.

"What's a Kanima?" I hear Perish asks. "We'll get back to that" Scott says and sits beside him. "What all did you tell him?" I ask and stand next to Lydia.
   "Everything." Derek answers.

"Look Perish, everyone like us, on that list has supernatural abilities." Scott states. "But I don't even know what I am" he states. "I'm pretty sure they don't care" I laugh. "How many professional assassins are we talking about?" Perish asks.

"We're starting to loose count" Lydia says. "More show up everyday." I add.

"But is it still just professionals?" Scott asks. "I don't think Haighs has ever tried anything like this before." Perish adds. "If that's true does that mean anyone could get the list now?" I wonder. "How easy is it to get this list?" Perish asks.

"Who knows now, I mean how did anyone get the list in the first place?" Lydia wonders. I shrug and shake my head. "This is getting so complicated. We need to end this." I state.

"Noah's right, it's starting to get out of hand, if we don't figure something out soon, who knows what will happen" Scott says and crosses his arms over his chest.

"Is there a way to see who has the list?" Perish asks. "No, if there was we would've been more prepared when killers came after us" I say sarcastically and shake my head.

I look down at my watch and see it's getting pretty late "hey guys, I have the head home" I say to them. They all nod and Derek walks towards me.

"Bye" I say to then as Derek walks me out.  
   We step into the hallway and Derek looks down at me. "Are you okay?" He says deeply. I sigh and nod. "You seem anxious" he states. "I've just had a lot going on recently but I'm fine, I promise." I say. He nods and brings me into a hug.

Derek usually knows when I'm not telling the truth. Usually he's right, and usually he knows I'm lying when I say I'm fine. But I'm glad he dropped this, because I truthfully have no explanation for how I'm feeling.

I leave his building and drive home.

As I drive up to my house I see the lights off. Mom must have gone to bed. I walk inside and set my keys on the table next to the front door. I walk into the living room and head to the kitchen.

I open the fridge and grab a water bottle. I close the fridge behind me and walk back into the living room. I freeze when I hear a noise from my moms office. I squint my eyes and set my bottle down.

I slowly inch towards her office at the end of the hallway and slowly open the door. I hear a machine running and furrow my brows. I turn my head and see her printer, printing off multiple pieces of paper that have now fallen onto the ground.

I kneel down and grab one, I turn it over and my face drops when I see the dead pool. I go to the printer and see it's off but still plugged in. I pull the plug and quickly grab all the papers.

What the hell.

☾ ☾●☽ ☽

I hold my bag over my shoulder and head to the field. I yawn and set my stuff down. I see the familiar girls from last years team stretching on the field.

I look around for our soccer coach but don't see her, I furrow my brows and I walk towards the girls "Good morning" I say. "I don't know where Coach Jade is but until she gets here, everyone start with a lap" I instruct and they head off.

I look around for coach and I when I don't see her still, I head to my phone. Usually she's always the first one here.
  I look up when I see someone walking towards me and my face drops when I see Malia.
"Malia?" I exclaim. "I can still tryout right?" She says and I nod. "I didn't think you'd want to... after" I say but pause.

She nods and crosses her arms "I'm sure you had your reasons" she says firmly and drops her bags on the ground.

"Okay well, Coach Jade is running late it seems soo I made them run a lap." I state she nods and we run with the rest of the others.

I look over at her as we run and I sigh "I'm really sorry Malia" I state "don't apologize. I said it's fine" she says and speeds up.

After a few more laps I stop and so do a few others "we can stop now. Grab some water" I state.
  I walk back to my bag with Malia and look up and see Jade walking our way. She fixing her ponytail and speed walks to the field.

"Everything okay Jade?" I ask. She turns to me and I see her cheeks red and her lip stick slightly smeared. I lightly laugh and point to my lip to tell her she's got some lipstick where it shouldn't be.

"Thank you, and uh, yes everything is fine. Did you run laps?" She asks quickly changing the subject. I nod.

"Good let's each grab balls" she yells loudly.
   I look over at Malia and we both laugh as she walks away. "Who do you think she was with?" Malia asks. "Probably coach" I joke. Malias eyes widen and she snaps her head to me. "Really?"

I nod and slap my forehead. "Last year a freshman saw them talking in his office and apparently they were getting really close together" I laugh.

"Wow, good for coach" she states.

I turn back to her and step closer to her, making sure no one can hear us. "Last night, something weird happened" I explain. She furrows her brows and looks around "what?" She asks.

"My printer was printing off multiple papers of the dead pool" I state. "Why?" She asks. I shrug "I don't think I'm the only one though." I say. "Last night a deputy tried to burn Perish alive"
"Was he an assassin?" She asks and I shake my head.

"This makes this entire situation completely worse." I whisper. Now anyone could have the list, and anyone could attempt to hurt the people on that list. This is terrifying.

Tryouts went on for about an hour and when it ended we all headed to the girls locker room.

We quickly change and Malia and I walk out of the locker room and I put my bag over my shoulders. "You did good today" I say to her. "It was fun." She exclaims.

She looks up and sees Stiles at the end of the hallway. He stops and she stops, making me stop. I look between the two as they look at each other and Malia walks up the steps.

I look at Stiles as she disappears upstairs and I roll my eyes. I look past him and see Liam walk in. He looks upset.
I furrow my brows and walk towards him. Stiles stands beside me and we watch as Liam walks right past us, disregarding our presence.

He looks around the hallway and walks towards his locker. I grab onto his shoulder and he gasps. "Liam." I state in a worried tone. He looks at me and sighs in relief.
"You good there buddy?" Stiles asks. He nods and looks around. "Just tired" he says and leaves.

Stiles and I look at each other then back at him as he walks away.

"That was strange" stiles says. "You know what else is strange" I state and turn to him. "You and Malia not talking." He rolls his eyes and walks past me.

"Noah, I already told you I've tried" he whines "clearly not hard enough" I groan. "What else can I do?" He spits. "Anything." I state firmly.

"I've tried everything. So if you come up with anything else let me know" he says. I sigh and shake my head "I'll try and talk to her, because she seemed fine this morning at soccer tryouts" I state.

His eyes widen and he stops walking "she tried out?" He asks happily. I nod with a smile. Stiles really does care for her. Always.

I look past Stiles and see Liam talking to Mason. I listen closely and hear Liam's heartbeat pick up in speed. "He's sweating" I mumble under my breath. "What?" Stiles says with widened eyes.

I keep my eyes on Liam and start to walk away "see you later" I mumble to Stiles.

I follow Liam down the hall as he makes his way to the boys locker room and call him before he walks inside. "Liam" I call out before he fully walks in. He stops and turns to me.

"What's up?" He says and walks towards me. "Are you sure you're okay?" I ask. He nods "yea, hey I'll see you later. okay?" Liam say quickly. I furrow my brows and nod.

Something is definitely up with him.
As I'm about to turn away I see Scott walk out.

I smile at him and he smiles back. "What are you doing here?" He asks. "I was trying to talk to Liam, but he walked away" I explain as we walk back down the hallway.

"I think something's wrong. He seems stressed." I state. "About what?" Scott asks. I shrug "I'm not sure, he wouldn't talk to me. Do you think you could talk to him? He looks up to you." I state.
Scott nods "I'll talk to him after first period" he states and I nod. "Thanks" I say and walk up the stairs.

I turn around and quickly grab Scott's arm before he turns away. "I forgot to tell you" I whisper. He furrows his brows and nods. "Last night something really weird happened"

☾ ☾●☽ ☽

I put my phone in my pocket and walk back to Scott. "Hey" I say and he turns to me. "Anything?" He asks. I shake my head and cross my arms. "Lydia and Stiles checked with Perish, everyone on the new list is already dead." I explain.

"Why would there be a list then?" Scott wonders "I don't know." I say.

The music being played becomes louder and I look around us. I see Malia jumping around and hit Scott's shoulder. He turns and sees her.

We walk towards her and she smiles. "What are you doing here?" I ask. "Getting drunk" she answers and holds out her flask. "You know you can't get drunk right" Scott laughs and points to her drink.

Malia stops jumping and turns around. She points and I follow her finger. "Tell that to him." She says and I see Liam drinking from a bench next to Mason.

I turn to Scott and sigh "did you talk to him?" I ask.
"Yea, and all he told me was about the list. And that's when we found out his and your price went up." He states. I nod and look back at Liam.

"I'm going to go talk to him." I state firmly.

I walk down the grass and go towards the table he's sitting at. "Hey" I say loudly over the music. Liam turns to me and nods. "You said we'd talk later" I say he nods and looks me up and down "well we talked." He states and stands up. He pushes past me and walks off.

I look down at Mason and he shrugs "he hasn't been talking to me either." He states. I nod and sit beside him. "He's not okay right now, But he won't say why" I say. Mason nods "I can tell something's wrong too" Mason states.

"Can I ask you something?" Mason asks and I nod. "Are you guys, like a thing because he won't shut up about you but he also won't tell me if something's happening either" he states.

I shake my head "no, no, we're just friends. You have nothing to worry about." I state. Mason nods.
  "I promise you there's nothing there, he's like my little brother." I state. Liam feels like a kid to me, I feel so protective over him. The thought of being with him like that is just...well I don't know.

Not that I dislike Liam, he's cute, really cute, and so kind. But I don't know. He's just..., well maybe there...no.

"You're in my spot" I hear from behind me. I furrow my brows and look up. Liam stumbles closer to me, almost falling over, but I catch his arm as he falls.

He slowly looks up at me and our eyes lock. The faint light of the bonfire illuminates his face making me have to lean closer to him to really see his face.

I blink a few times and stand up tall as I clear my throat.

"Liam how much did you drink?" Mason asks. "You told
me to get shit faced, but I haven't had enough to make me feel like this" he says as I help him stand up.

I take a deep breath out and my vision starts to blur. I stumble back into the seat and Mason grabs my arm "did you drink tonight too?" He asks. I shake my head and Liam grabs onto my hand. "What's going on?" He asks.
"I don't know." I groan.

I intertwine our fingers as he holds my hand and I don't let go in fear of one of us falling again.

I squint my eyes and turn to Scott, Scott looks over at us and he walks Malia over here.

"What's happening to us?" I ask Scott. "I don't know" he groans through his teeth. Malia sits beside Liam and I and Scott looks over at Mason. "Has he drunk anything else?" Scott asks. Mason shakes his head.

I turn to Liam and lean towards his ear "We can't get drunk Liam" I whisper to him. He furrows his brows and holds his stomach "what do you mean?" He asks. "We heal too fast to be subjected to alcohol poisoning" I explain quietly.

Scott slowly looks over to his left but my head hurts to much to follow his eyes. He snaps his head back to us and groans in pain "it's not the drinks" he states "It's the music."

Scott stands up but slowly starts to sway side to side. "I have to...we have to..." he starts but his words start to slur.

"I have to turn off the music. Don't let them out of your sight." Scott says firmly to Mason.

Scott leaves and Mason kneels before us.

"What's going on?" Mason asks me, knowing he isn't getting an answer from Liam. Suddenly the pain worsens and my hands start to shake.

I feel a tight grip on my arm and look up to see security guards standing in front of us. I try and listen to what they're saying but can't make out anything.

I feel myself lifted from the bench along with Malia and Liam and we're carried away. My hand slips away from Liam and I furrow my brows.

"Hey...stop" I mumble.

"Stop..."

"Please"

My voice becomes slower and slower with each word.

Suddenly I'm dropped to the ground and look over and see Liam. My eyes widen and I reach for his hand. I feel his fingers slowly move in mine but he seems to be too weak to move.

I feel liquid poured onto me and I slowly sniff to see if I can make out what it is. When the smell of gasoline burns my nostrils my eyes widen and I slowly crawl more towards Liam.

"Wake...up" I groan and push his chest. I look behind me and see Scott trying to pull himself up.

"What's happening?" I ask him through a shaky breath. "I'm sorry" Scott pleads. "I can't fight it" he groans in pain.

I hear the music outside stop and my vision becomes perfect again. I feel my strength back and I see Scott grip the man's hand in which he's holding a lighter.

Malia and Liam wake up and anger runs through us. I help Liam and Malia up and we lunge towards the guards.

Derek and Braeden walk into the hallway and help with the heavy lifting.

When the two knock out the others Derek helps Scott up, "what happened to the gun?" Scott asks.

"You're covered in gasoline" Derek states with the shake of his head.
    I turn to Liam and look him up and down "are you okay?" I ask him. He nods and grabs my arms "are you?" He says with a worried tone and looks at me closely. I nod and pull him into a tight hug.

I wrap my arms around his head and he rests his head on my shoulder. I feel him sigh in relief and he holds onto me tightly. He definitely needs this hug, we both do.

I pull us apart and look him in the eyes. "I'm taking you home" I state. "Right after we go find Mason and tell him you're alright" I explain.

I turn to Derek and Braeden and slowly nod "thanks for the help" I say goodbye to the others and we head out the door. "I know you don't want to talk right now Liam, but please know you can always talk to me." I whisper to him as we walk back out to the main area of the bonfire.

"Sorry I've been such an asshole" he states and rubs the back of his neck. "Don't worry about it."