I turned my body over just out let out a deafening scream. Thank god we live in the forest... My back still hurt from last night, that was one hell of a lacrosse game. It wasn't even a game, just the tryouts. I wouldn't have expected to take such a blow. I tried to get up but I couldn't, the pain just built up and up. I gave up and relaxed my muscles. Ahh... That felt better. I stared up towards my ceiling. The fan was twirling ever so slightly. There was a sudden knock on the door and my mum walked in.
"Hey kiddo." she whispered. "You alright? Cuz you didn't sound alright."
I shook my head slightly.
"Yeah, let's take you to the hospital and get your back checked." she said reassuringly. "I'll just go downstairs to get changed, and I'll come back up to get you." and she left the room, closing the door slightly leaving behind the smallest gap. I absolutely hated it, the door is either fully opened, or fully closed, never in the middle, personally I would get up to close the door properly, but considering my situation, I decided not to. I tilted my head to the side and saw my bedside clock, only just to realize that I didn't really have much available neck movement either, the pain was excruciating. I decided to give up, i'll just lie here, didn't need to move yet. I was about to dose back off to sleep just as I heard the door bell ring. Who's here so early? and on a school day?
"Just a minute!!" my mum yelled. I could hear her heels on the oak wood floor. The lock to our front door clicked open, there was a bit of chatter but I couldn't make out any of it into words. My mum walks up the stairs, those heels sure are loud.
"Hey mum? Who was--" I was stopped just to see Lydia's face as the door creaked open. She smiled at me.
"I'm too young to be your mum Ryland haha." she replied with a giggle. Well.. This was embarrassing...
"I...I... thought my mum was coming up. Don't you have class?"
"I have a free first period so I decided to come check on you, and with your mums permission, take you to the hospital too. I told her when we talked for a bit downstairs, I can take care of you, I've seen worse before." She started to walk closer, the smell of perfume grew stronger. It smelt like lilies and buttercup, it was so relaxing. "Here, let's help you up. By the way, what does your mum do? She's dressed so formally, it's a great look on her."
"Oh yeah." I coughed "She's a lawyer here, the company she worked at allowed her to move here since the new branch just opened recently. She's the director of Beacon Hills Law Firm, a branch of the parent company."
"That's amazing! Is that what you're going to be when you're older? A lawyer just like your mum?"
"A lawyer? Me? Hah good one." I joked.
"What? No I wasn't kidding. Stiles used to talk about being a detective, something along the lines of what his father does. I was just wondering if you would too."
"Eh. I'd personally never see myself as a lawyer, I don't think I could handle the stress considering panic attacks are quite a major part of my life." I slipped on my shoes and she helped me off the bed. "Don't let the little things affect you okay? We're always here for you!" she vowed.
I gave her my thanks and she pulled my arm over her shoulders and walked me out of the room. We hopped down the stairs, trying so hard to not trip and fall, and towards to front door. Lydia turns her head to notify my mum. "Bye Amanda!! We're leaving now!!"
"Thanks love" she yelled back. We walked towards the car and she helped me into the passenger seat, she got on herself and we took off into the woods towards the town.
"Hey Ryland, what does your dad do? He's off to work awfully early." My face started to go white and my face went blank. I didn't know what to say and I felt like I was going to break down. I held it together and answered to the best of my ability.
"Ummm..." My breathing sped up. "He d....d...died a few years back...He died to like, a coyote or a cougar or whatever. There were claw marks all over him..."
"Oh my god Ryland. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry! I didn't know." her face went red with embarrassment.
"No! Don't worry about it okay." I started to calm down. I've never talked about this stuff before, I don't really like talking about my dad. I didn't know him that well, never really got to. There was a bit of awkward silence in the car until it went over a speed bump. I yelped, I was going to faint. The pain, it was too much. Lydia turned to look at me, and before she said anything, I blacked out.

The car arrived at a halt and my whole body lunged forwards with my chest being caught in the seat belt. I choked and felt my ribs cracking. I started to cringe and the door swung wide open. My eyes weren't entirely open but it looked like two people in white coats, they both had name tags. I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate on my hearing. I heard the voice of a woman and the voice of a man, there was some talk about bringing me to the emergency room, and I heard the screaming for a gurney. They put their arms under mine and pulled me out of the car slowly. I heard the woman say something on the lines of "I know this one..." or something to that extent. I really couldn't hear anything, I felt like I was going to pass out again. A third person in a white coat walked near and grabbed my legs, he lifted my legs up onto the gurney and placed me down. The gurney went up a slight slope and a blast of cold air hit me. I slowly opened my eyes, I saw the long ceiling lights, they shot past me, one after another, I was moving wasn't I? There was a lot of noise in the hospital, the phone calls didn't seem to end, doctors and nurses were running around the place and the screeching noise of the gurney wheels just kept squeaking. My ears started to ring so I tried my best to ignore everything that happened around me. The doctors pushed the gurney into a room, I could feel the doors slamming onto the gurney, the whole thing shook. I flinched, I started to take deeper breaths to compensate for the unbearable pain. In through the nose, out of the mouth, in through the nose, out of the mouth. I kept thinking too myself, it was a technique to calm me down that my mum taught me, ever since I started getting panic attacks. I felt relaxed, pain, not so much, it was still there, but I didn't notice it as much, until they lifted me up, over the railings and back onto the bed. "ARGHHHH!! STOP!!!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.
"Hey, hey hey... Relax. We're going to administer some local anesthetic and start the operation okay?"
"What?!?! What operation?!?!?? What are you doing to me?" I started to panic.
"You have multiple foreign objects lodged into your back Ryland. We need to operate immediately."
I started to freak out. What foreign objects? What happened to me? It was just a lacrosse tryout... Before I knew it a needle was inserted into my arm, I turned my head to look back up towards the ceiling, the doctors lamp shone so brightly, I counted down from 10...9...8...7...6...5...4... . I was out.

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I opened my eyes, I was on the field. I turned to face the scoreboard. There was 20 seconds on the clock, our team "Home" were two points off from gaining the lead, if only I shot from the two point line, I'd get the two points, and win it for Island. I'd be the school hero, we'd be champions for another year. The thought kept entering my mind, and it didn't leave, I was so determined to get the ball into the goal, and do it alone.
"Captain! Pass the ball! Pass the ball! I'm open! We can win this!" one of my teammates screamed. I ignored him and kept running towards the two point line. I could see two players from the opposite team ready to tackle me. None of them wanted to score, all they wanted was to stall the game, after all, they were in the lead by two points. 15 seconds left. Everyone was screaming at me to pass, I'm not going to, I am the one who's going to score this, I am the one who's going to win it for us. 10 seconds left, the cheering got louder and the screaming did too.
"PASS THE F*CKING BALL CALIX" the coach bellowed. "YOU CAN'T DODGE THOSE TWO. THEY'RE THE BEST DEFENDERS OF THE CENTURY"
I drowned out the voices, it was just my breathing, and the crunch of the AstroTurf under my feet. Time seemed to slowdown as I planned my move. I jumped up ready to take the shot, crosse drew back, ready to shoot. I let out a roar, I could see the ball ready to leave the crosse. I was so sure of it, I was going to win this, I was going to be a hero!
There was a sudden sharp pain in my chest and stomach, their crosse sticks were pushing against me. I lost my grip, the crosse fell out of my hand, the flipped me over and I crashed into the ground. I turned my head, the timer just reached 0 and the whistle was blown. I faced the other way to see my crosse with the ball on the ground. F*ck. I dropped my head and dug myself into the 'grass". I.. I ruined it.. I ruined it.. I ruined it... It's over, my life, my career. I didn't bother getting up, I didn't bother looking up. I waited, I waited for the lights to turn off. I couldn't let anyone see me, not at this state, and not after what I've done. I felt a tap on my back, I hesitated to turn but I did so anyway, it was the opposite team's coach. "Thanks for the win kiddo." he joked. He pushed my head back into the 'grass' and walked away snickering like a total idiot. I laid there for a good 10 or 20 minutes, I had thoughts running through my mind, I felt so down, so worthless, and in some ways, so isolated, I've never felt this way since the first day of school at Island High. Coach had such high hopes for me, he was the only teacher who gave a sh*t about me, he was the only teacher who cared. He put so much effort into training me, so much time spent on me, only to know that I threw it all in the trash. I let him down, and I let him down big time, it wasn't some minor error, it was an error I knew that would haunt me for the rest of my life. The lights cut off and I pulled myself off the ground. I looked to make sure no one was around me and I walked back home from the field. "I'll get my bag tomorrow. I rather not see anyone right now" I murmured to myself.

It was a horribly dark and lonely road home. I still remember going out with the team after, having awesome food. Last year we had Mexican, coach treated us to dinner and it sure was one of the best that I've ever had. This year, it was different, I walked home alone. The walk seemed much longer than usual, I didn't have anyone to talk to. it was just awfully lonely. I got up and onto the sidewalk, it genuinely felt like it was hours. It was painful, emotionally and physically. My chest still hurt from the crosse stick, I tried to ignore it, thinking about it won't do me any good, so I just left it. I stepped up onto my lawn and up the stairs. My mum opened the door, she asked me something but I didn't pay attention, I just walked down the corridor towards my room and shut the door behind me. I didn't eat, and I couldn't sleep. My horrible play was stuck there, in the back of my mind, it haunted me.
I missed the three days after the game, I couldn't just hide at home for my entire life, that wouldn't benefit me at all. I walked to school, the bus didn't seem like an option right now. I arrived the school campus, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at me. I felt like I didn't belong here anymore,I felt isolated, I felt like the new kid again, the kid with no friends, no life, no future. I didn't have anyone, I kept walking and I started to hear the things that everyone was saying about me.
"Isn't he the kid that ruined the lacrosse team?" one kid said.
"Yeah, coach ended the team because of him. He said he couldn't keep playing a sport that ruined the school's record." the other replied.
I felt horrible, I ruined coach's dream, his dream of managing the best lacrosse team in the area, and hopefully, the world. He wanted so much for me and the school. It killed me to know that my selfish move wrecked his hopes and dreams. I kept walking further into the school. I started to hear the mockery, and it wasn't even subtle. This one kid Charlie walked up to me. "So Mr Calix. What does it feel like to throw your entire career in one stupid move?" he mocked. I couldn't handle it anymore, I ran. I ran towards to boys toilet, the cubicle door slammed open and I closed it behind me and made sure it was locked. I sat on the toilet and started to cry. I sat there and didn't move, lesson after lesson. The day passed and all I did was sit and cry. I felt like any second now I was going to run out of tears and blood was going to pour out instead of water.
"Ryland? Ryland you there?" someone asked. His voice was so recognizable, I feel like I know him from somewhere. "Hey come out, I talked to Mr Hevin (School Principle) and he said I can go home with you, you're feeling so much stress right now and it's best that you stay home and rest."
"Mark? Is that you?" I wept. Mark's my best friend.
"Yeah man. It is. Now get out, lets go home. We can play League of Legends. I need a duo partner, nearly at plat man!!" Typical Mark, all he thought about was League of Legends. I unlocked the door and we walked out of school. It was nice to have a friend. I thought I would have lost everyone around me, I'm so lucky to still have him as a friend. The walk home was so much more enjoyable than the last time I walked home. I had someone to talk to and it was an enjoyable stroll home. We didn't even go near the topic of lacrosse or the team or coach, we just bantered about the random things in life, movies, songs, games etc. I had an enjoyable time. He came over to my place and, like he planned, we played League of Legends into the night, until the phone rang. Mark picked it up. "Hello? Who is this?" he asked. A woman spoke through the phone. "Oh hey mum!.... oh......oh okay...... Yeah I'll come home now.... okay......okay...... see you soon!"
He turned to look at me. "Hey Ryland, I'm going to go now okay. We have relatives over and I really should be there. I'll see you another time?"
"Yeah sure. Thanks for coming! Appreciate it." I answered. Deep down I really didin't want him to go because then I would feel alone and useless. I waved my goodbye and walked back towards my room. Oh! It's already 11? I jumped into bed, pulled the covers over myself and flicked the light switch off. I let out a sigh of relief and went to bed.

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My eyes parted slowly as a light shone brightly into them. I squinted as I tried to let my eyes adjust to the light. As the light intensity decreased, I looked around me, I was in the hospital. So the operation was a success. The doctor walked in, I looked at her name tag. "Melissa McCall". "Heey." she slurred. "How are you feeling? Better?"
"Much, thank you. By the way, you're Scott's mother?"
"Yeah I am! You know Scott?"
"Mhmmm. I moved to Beacon Hills yesterday, It was my first day."
"Your first day, and you're in the hospital already?" she laughed.
"Hah. Yeah, it was lacrosse tryouts. I got hit on the back with the crosse."
"Oh wow. Speaking about getting hit, did you know there were plastic splinters in your back? Didn't you notice from your bed?"
"What? Really? I was hit that hard? And umm.. No I didn't notice, my bed sheet was black, so I didn't notice any blood at all. Oh crap! That means Lydia's car would have blood stains on it. I should call her now and say sorry." I tried my best to sit up and grab my phone that was on the table in front of me. Melissa placed her hand on my chest and lowered me back down.
"Relax. We called Lydia about what happened to you, and your mum knows as well. Sadly she's at work right now but she said she'll come tomorrow morning to pick you up and take you home."
I let out a sigh of relief.
"Now I'm going to go out on a limb and say Scott did this to you." she inferred.
"How did you know? Did this happen before?" I had a brainwave, I remembered Liam talking to me about how this happened to him when he first joined the team. Scott injured him, because he was potentially better than him. "Was it because of Liam?"
"Good guess. I know my son too well to know that he gets defensive when someone threatens his position as captain in the lacrosse team, he holds his position really highly. I just hope he doesn't mean to kill. Get some rest okay? You mum's going to come in tomorrow to take you home."
"Thank you Dr. McCall!"
"Oh stop it you.. Just call me Melissa, we're all family here!" she started to blush, put my board into the slot and left. Just as she left, Scott walked in. He had a very concerned look on his face. He closed his eyes for a second and exhaled.
"Ryland. I... I'm really sorry for nearly killing you back there. I don't expect you to forgive me and I understand if you're mad at me as well. I shouldn't have been so defensive about my role. I talked to coach about it and he's happy to give you the role of captain, only if you want it." I was so shocked, I didn't expect Scott to come, and even if he did, much less apologize.
"Scott. Stop apologizing, it's okay. I'm still alive right? Another thing, keep the position as captain, you've been great for so many years, there's no need for you give it up. You're a great captain, and that's what's important."
He gave a sigh of relief and smiled. "Thank you Ryland. I appreciate it. Anyway, how are you feeling?"
"Ehh. The back hurts a bit but your mum said I should be out tomorrow."
"Well that's great, you can be back in school the day after right?"
"Yeah I guess so."
His face started to blush. "I.. I wanted to apologize for trying to kiss you, I should have asked if it was okay for you or if you didn't mind."
"Hahaha! I've dated a guy before, if that's what you're trying to get at."
"I guess that makes me feel better."
"To be perfectly honest, you're quite cute! Not that I've known you for that long but, it feels good to have someone interested in you, you know? I've missed the feeling of being loved."
"Hasn't anyone shown you affection like I have before?" he starts to move in closer.
"Well, not like how you have, I suppose. Ever since I broke up with my ex boyfriend, I haven't really thought about love since then. I never saw it as important or something that I needed in my life. It was an addition to my life, not a necessity."
"Well.. Would you mind if I kissed you? We were sort of, interrupted last time..."
"Aren't you dating Kira?"
"Yeah but to be perfectly honest with you. I feel like our relationship is parting, I don't love her like when I used to, I didn't have that obsession over her now compared to when I first met her. I really miss the time when she was all shy and timid, now I feel like she's over the top and bubbly. I mean, don't take me wrong, it's nice to be open and happy and cheerful, but I didn't fall in love with this trait, I fell in love with the quiet and timid Kira."
"I don't mind the kiss.. I just don't want you -.." in one swift motion he moved his head in. Our lips met, my eyes shot wide open, I was shocked at first but I slowly relaxed and my eyes shut. My lips parted and my head tilted slightly to the right as my nosed brushed over his. I shifted my head up a tad bit to suck on his upper lip, they're so soft, so tender. Our breathing slowed down, I could hear his heart beating, it beat quicker and quicker as the time progressed. His arm eased around my body and down my waist, he started to pull me off the bed and closer to him, his grip tightened and he pulled me tighter, closer. Our lips parted, and I opened my eyes to see him staring back at me.
"Thank you Ryland." he said as his cheeks grew red. "You're a really good kisser" he says as he starts to blush really hard.
I slowly lie back down on the bed and gave him a wink. "You're not so bad yourself hmm?"
Scott starts to blush even more. "Aww thanks.. I think I better go now haha, my free period is nearly over."
"Yeah sure! Quick question though, did Liam come to school today?"
Scott's face lost it's colour, the blushing stopped immediately and his smile slowly disappeared. He seemed distressed but he answered anyway. "Umm. I think I might have seen him this morning, but I can't be too sure."
"Well, thanks anyway! Get going Scott, don't want you to miss your lesson!"
"Bye Ryland! Get well soon!" He gave me a wave and left the room. I couldn't stop thinking about Liam though. He's been so sweet, so kind and just really really nice to me ever since we first met. I really would have expected a phone call or something to that extent. He's done so much for me, and I can't tell if I've done something wrong or if something in his life has come up. He's probably in class I kept thinking to myself. I picked up my phone and checked for any messages. There was a text from Lydia.
<Hey Ryland. How are you feeling? Sorry I can't be here to say hello and check on you personally, somethings come up in school but I really do hope you're feeling better. I heard the operation was minor so that's great. You should be out soon am I right? When you're out we can go somewhere and celebrate with the pack with drinks and food. Once again, get well soon and congrats on making the team! Take care!>
Aww that was so sweet. I started to type up my response.
<Hii! I'm feeling better thank you and it's ok, school's more important. Scott's mum said I'll be out tomorrow, and I should be in school the day after and yeah we should celebrate. I'd love that! See you soon!>
My phone made the "whoosh" sound and I put my phone back down onto the table. I looked around my room, it was pristine and everything was bright white. The curtains by the window were tied together with white rope, and the widows themselves were were so clean you wouldn't notice they were there. There was a really calming aroma, a sort of flower, but it had a really recognizable smell, something I knew that I would never forget. It was so serene, so silent, the only sounds that you could hear were the occasional walking of the doctors and nurses outside and wind that blew through the open window. I decided to break the silence and I started to play some music from my phone. Nothing too loud, I didn't really want to annoy the other patients on the same floor as I was. AWOLNATION's Hollow Moon (Bad Wolf) came on Spotify radio, I would say it's a little mix of pop and punk, it has a really nice tune to it too. The music was really relaxing, it set my mind at ease and it allowed me to clear my head and relax a bit. I haven't had times when it was just the music and I, it was comfortable and I really enjoyed it. With our day to day lives, we never get to listen to music for music it's always been a way to past time or to party to.

It was only 6pm but I was getting tired. I turned off the music and laid my head on the pillow. It was so soft, so fluffy. But I need my pillow. I can't sleep with someone else's pillow. Even if it was soft and fluffy, I need my pillow. Ah whatever. I turned and turned until I found a position that was relatively comfortable. The bed was nice but there was just, something about the pillow that didn't feel right. I decided to flip the pillow upside down, granted it was much colder on the other side, there wasn't much difference. It just wasn't as flat because I haven't slept on it yet. I tried different sleeping positions and eventually finalized on curling into a ball. The fetal position was a position that never failed on helping me sleep, ever since I was a kid. I closed my eyes, cleared my mind and tried to sleep.
I got around 30 minutes of sleep before the door creaked open. I ignored it, thinking it was Melissa just checking up on me. I was finally comfortable, I took a deep breath and carried on sleeping. Seconds later I felt a damp cloth on covering my nose and mouth. I tried to scream but nothing came out, I couldn't scream, I couldn't talk. I started to shake vigorously trying to get the cloth off of my face but someone had both my arms and pinned them behind me, I couldn't move. My phone lit up and I had a quick glance. It was Liam. Liam was calling me. My movements eased up, It was chloroform wasn't it... My body broke down and I passed out.

I took a deep breath and gasped for air as if I have been holding my breath for years. I couldn't see anything, something was tied over my eyes. I tried lifting one arm to remove the blindfold but my arms were tied together and fastened behind my back into the spine of the chair. I tugged and tugged but nothing. I tried twitching my face to see if I could remove the blindfold even a tiny bit just so I could see where I was, it was on so tight. I bent my body forwards and lifted my knees up. It felt so close, I tugged against the rope tying my let's to the chair. "Unnggggg" I panted. It's no use. Hey at least the chair's decent. The room echoed with my breathing, I tried to concentrate on my senses, there was a really strong smell of wood, it smelt like the wood you would meet at a carpenters factory, making furniture etc. I could very faintly hear footsteps and it seemed like it was coming closer. The steps were spaced quite widely so I expected him or her to be walking slowly or if not, that person must have really long legs. The individual let out a cough, I instantly knew it was a man, he had a really gruff tone when he coughed and he cleared his throat after. He came closer, he started to crack his knuckles, one by one. I couldn't stand knuckle cracking, I flinched as he cracked each individual knuckle. "Can... can you please let me go? I didn't do anything." I pleaded.
"Mr Calix. We're not here about you, we're here about your father." he explained. His voice had a really strong British accent, somewhat soothing yet frightening at the same time.
"What? Why? My dad's dead.."
"That's exactly the point. Do you know what killed him?"
"How the f*ck would I know. Let me go!" I started to twist and turn, I grunted and stopped moving. I shouldn't be wasting energy, I'm going to need it to get away. If I ever got the chance.
"You saw the body, what did it look like?"
"It looked like my dad you jerk. Now let me out of HERE!" Another guy walked up behind me, he was much bigger judging by the loudness of his footsteps. He grabbed the back of my neck and held a knife to the front of mine. "Answer properly." he murmured. I couldn't really make out what he said, his voice was really deep. I started to shiver, I was so scared.
"Okay.. Okay... Just... Please don't... Please don't hurt me.."
"Good. What was on the body?"
"Umm..." I was breathing uncontrollably, pausing to sniffle slightly in between phrases. "There were claw marks.... The Doctor said.... it would have been a wolf or a coyote...."
"Thank you. Let me introduce myself. The name's Thomas Knight of the Knight family. We're a long generation of hunters." his partner sheathes his knife and walks back a few steps.
What? "So you're here to kill the coyote or whatever that killed my dad?" I was so confused. "What's the point? It's been so many years, it's probably dead already."
"Ahh Ryland. You're so clueless. Didn't you do any research before you moved here?"
"Yeah I did, but it didn't mention anything about the weirdos who kidnap teenagers to give them a history lesson. I think they might have left that out on the reviews..." I didn't feel as scared as I was before. He needed me, he can't kill me.
"Only if you insist, let's have a little history lesson shall we?" he said in a sly tone. "Beacon Hills at first seems like your normal, ordinary town in California. Little did anyone know was that Beacon Hills was a beacon. Ironic isn't it. A beacon to what you may ask. A beacon to the supernatural. You see, underneath it all, Beacon Hills sits on one of the largest and strongest forms of telluric currents that all reach one location, a sacred druid meeting place. We call that, the Nematon. The Nematon is a massive tree stump, it was the sacred meeting place of the druids. If you didn't know, druids were priests of an ancient Celtic religious order, they were teachers, healers and even poets. The Nematon hasn't been 'active' for many years until three teenagers from Beacon Hills decided to kill themselves and come back to life, the sole purpose to find the exact location of the Nematon, this one act caused it to activate. The beacon is now live, and many different supernatural creatures come here. Your dad died here didn't he, during a business trip a few years back?"
It was so much to take in, supernatural beings? Here in Beacon Hills? That was a bit over the top. This might be one of Scott and Liam's stupid jokes. I decided to play along. "Yeah he did.."
"Your dad didn't die from a coyote or whatever animal you thought of. Your dad died from a werewolf attack."
"Hahaha. You're joking right? A werewolf attack? Mr. Knight, I've read about mythological creatures and there is a very good reason why they're called mythological creatures. They're myths, they aren't real."
"You think I'm joking but I can safely say that there are no coyotes in Beacon Hills, or Beacon County for that matter. You sure you haven't seen one? Coloured eyes that change spontaneously? Supernatural abilities, reflexes, strength?"
A memory instantly shot into my mind. I flashed back to the first day of school, spending time with Liam during our free period. The rugby call that flew towards me, he shouldn't have been able to catch it, it's practically impossible for one person to have reflexes that fast, and most importantly, his eyes turned gold when he caught the ball. The same gold from the eyes in the woods. Could it be? Could Thomas be telling the truth?
"It rings a bell doesn't it. So tell me, where are the werewolves?"
"We... We don't have any werewolves in our school..."
I heard a lot of ruffling, he was moving his shirt around. Before I knew it, I felt something on my forehead, it was cold, it was circular. I heard the gun cock and I jumped.
"PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DON'T. PLEASE DON'T! I'LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING I KNOW. JUST PLEASE DON"T HURT ME." I begged.
"Then tell me." as he pushed the gun further into my head. "Tell me, or I'll shoot."
I whimpered like a little puppy. I started to shake, tears started to seep into the blindfold, it was getting damper and damper. I was about to let all loose when I heard someone screaming in the background.
"Mr Knight! MR KNIGHT! Intruders, code red, CODE RED! Samuel is dead and Tommy is not responding to his radio.
"Well well, looks like you get an extra five minutes of your life, to ponder about where you went wrong."
I'm going to die, my life's over, I'll die here, just like my father. I felt my blindfold loosen and eventually tugged off my face. I slowly opened my eyes, it was pitch black, the room I was in was as dark as being blindfolded. The only light that appeared was a slither of light from the gaps in the ceiling.
"Ryland?" he whispered.
"Who is it? Please. Let me go."
"It's me. Liam." as he moved to the front to untie my legs. I started to sob. I'm not going to die. Not yet at least.
"Oh my god you don't even know how happy I am to see you. How did you find me?"
"I called you a few hours ago, I wanted to ask if you were available to have dinner with me but you didn't pick up and that's not a Ryland thing to do, so I went over to the hospital to check on you. When I got there you weren't in the bed. I immediately called Scott and lucky for you, he has an amazing sense of smell. The Knights, the people who kidnapped you, they use a special type of chloroform, one that they made themselves. It has a very distinct smell and we knew where to go."
"Then where's Scott..."
"Oh he's the distraction."
"What? Does he know karate or something?"
"Something like that." he looked up and saw Scott running towards him. "SCOTT!"
"RUN! LIAM RUN!" he yelled. Liam tried to pull me off the chair but didn't notice the rope tying my stomach to the spine of the chair. "Ugh! I'll get you out okay! Just wait." I rolled my eyes and turned to look at Scott. Why is he on all fours? He turns to face me and stands up, I jumped. I couldn't believe my eyes. His eyes were bright red and they glowed so brightly in the dark, similar to what I saw on Liam and in the woods, but just, red... He had fangs protruding from his mouth, they looked razor sharp and they reminded me of the wolves from the nature channel. I looked down at his hands, his nails, his nails were so much longer than a normal human beings nails, they were dripping with blood as if he clawed at someone. His face was morphed, I squinted my eyes trying very hard to see in the dark. The face resembled Scott but the bridge of his nose was much wider, his face was so much more defined and muscular, he had sideburns and lastly his eyebrows were much thicker! I kept denying the fact that I saw what I saw, I didn't want to believe it, I didn't want to believe that there was such as thing as werewolves. Werewolves belong in fantasy, in mythology, not in the real world and definitely not here with me! I turned to look away, for this one time, I wished I was dreaming, I wished this wasn't real.

Was it all real? Did Thomas actually tell me the truth, is there really such a thing as werewolves. Did I just see one? Or was this a very elaborate practical joke that's played on all the newbies of the lacrosse team. I decided to look over again to see if this was all a dream or a massive joke. No. It wasn't. Scott turned to face Liam and let out a mighty roar. It was absolutely deafening, I wanted to cover my ears but my wrists were still tied together behind my back, I wished Liam untied me then talked and explained, that way I could be running for my life not sitting in the middle of an inevitable fight that was about to happen.
A stampede of men came running into the room, I turned to have a look, there were at least a dozen of them running with knives and machetes. Thomas appeared out of the crowd holding a pistol. Probably the same one he threatened me with.
"Why thank you Mr Calix. I knew you would come to some use. Now I'm going to give you the privilege of dying with your best and only friends, and surprise surprise, they were werewolves this whole time, and they didn't even care enough to share this secret with you. Such friends aren't they."
I turned to look at Scott and Liam, Scott didn't bother looking over but Liam turned to face me. He started to mouth the words: "I'm sorry."
His neck snapped to the left and his jaw started to twitch, his two canines started to grow in front of me, they started to resemble fangs, exactly like the ones on Scott. He closed his eyes for a second and when he opened them, they were a strong shade of gold, somewhere near the amber range. I started to have flashbacks, back to the time when I was in my room, looking out the window. It was Liam wasn't it, Liam was outside my house. Liam was watching over me. The sudden feeling of love rushed through my body, I felt warm and cared for, something I've never felt for in so long. Liam looked up towards the ceiling and let out a roar, he looked back down and his nasal bridge widened, his face, like Scott's was more defined, more structured than it ever was. He swayed his head towards the left and looked back towards Thomas and his team of hunters.
Thomas started to laugh hysterically. "Did you really bring a beta? Don't you think that's a waste, and just to save this one kid. This worthless, fatherless, lifeless soul, one that will never achieve ANYTHING in life." he said mockingly. I already was terrified but, my heart just sunk. It felt like Thomas was chipping at it, a bit by bit until there was nothing less.
"He's not worthless." Liam scoffed. I lifted my head up slightly to see what he was going to say. "What's worthless is your plan to get rid of every single one of us. You can kill us, but there is always going to be more, there is always going to be someone out there who will find you, someone out there who will kill you, and end your, what should I call it... Legacy?.. When you're begging for mercy under the claws of an Alpha, you'll know true fear, you'll finally know, as a hunter, what it's like, to be hunted."
I felt a tear roll down my right cheek, his speech was so inspirational, sure it wasn't much, but it was enough to anger the hunters. Thomas smirked and raised his pistol. "Me? Hunted? Sure." he twisted his body towards me, aimed the gun and he pulled the trigger. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. No wait.. I'm not dead. It was silent, soundless, not a single sound but the rapid pounding of my heart. I opened my eyes, everything was sideways, or maybe I was on my side. That's a more logical explanation. My ears started to ring, it was a constant high pitched tone, and ringing that never stopped. I stared looking around for Scott and Liam, they were nowhere to be seen. I shuffled on the ground, trying to pivot on the knot that the hunters tied. My hearing was slowly returning to me, I could hear the yelling and the screaming of the hunters, not the mention the thundering roars of Scott and Liam.

I still couldn't get my head around the fact that there are werewolves in this world. I thought back to just minutes ago, when Thomas mentioned how Beacon Hills was in fact a beacon, a beacon for the supernatural, bringing them all along to this one location. I wasn't really sure what to expect, if werewolves are in fact real, who knows what else could be out there. A banshee? I joked to myself. I didn't ponder on it too hard as the pistol caught my eye. I started to shuffle towards the gun, I felt like a worm on the ground, just twisting and turning, ever so slightly getting closer and closer. I turned my head to see what everyone was up to, nearly all the guys were down. I looked at Liam and shrieked. "LIAM BEHIND YOU!" I yelled. It was too late, the knife dug into his back and he let out a yelp. He fell on his knees to take a breather and got back up. He dodged the punches that the hunter threw at him, his eyes flared, jumped up and did a butterfly kick. The hunter fell to the ground, he spat out some blood along with a tooth, turned to face Liam and got back up. Liam reacted quickly and slashed the hunters chest, growled as he grabbed him by the shirt and punched him repeatedly till he was knocked out. He let the hunter fall to the ground and pulled out the blade from his back. Gross. He turned around and leaped towards the next guy.
I turned to look back at the gun, it was still there, but so far from my reach. I kept twitching and turning, trying to nudge myself closer and closer to the gun. "Come on. Come on. I can do this!" I kept saying to myself. I stopped to take a breather when Scott falls on the ground beside me. His breathing was slow and detached, his breathing would stop for a while then continue. I didn't know what to do, I was lying there with him about to start panicking. There was a sudden crash through the window and a sleek black wolf shoots in. He gives out a howl and Scott shoots back into motion. He took a deep breath and started pant. The wolf walked over to me, it had bright blue eyes, it looked me straight into the eyes. Was this another werewolf? Scott growls at the wolf, it pulled it's tail between his legs and reared back. It was scared, scared of Scott. It turned around and joined the fight with Liam. Scott got up and untied me from the chair and cut my hands free with his claws. They're much sharper than the kitchen knives I've got at home, that's for sure. Maybe I can ask him if he can cut my steak. No wait. I can ask Liam when we ever go to dinner, like he originally planned. I crawled out of the chair and rubbed my wrists. They ached so badly, the ropes were really tight on me. I went on all fours and crawled over to the gun. I was just about to grab it with my right hand when a sleek brown Oxford stood on the gun. I looked up and I saw Thomas staring straight back at me. He had blood dripping from his nose, he wiped the blood on his sleeve and smiled at me.
"Oh Ryland. I was right wasn't I. You're worthless, fatherless. Remember that amazing Island High game you played?" He bends down to pick up the gun, unloads it to see many bullets were left. "Hmm. Two shots, not bad." He cocks the gun and points it at my head. I could see my life flash before my eyes, I could see my hopes and dreams, all over. Scott see's Thomas and I, he runs towards us ready to lunge. He makes the final leap with his claws extended, ready to slice. I felt so relieved to see Scott, never thought I would ever think that way.
I felt an arm wrapping around my neck as I was yanked over to the left. I looked back and Thomas was going to use me as a body shield. I look at Scott, my face full of distraught. I'm going to die, not by Thomas, but by a werewolf.. Death on its own was scary, but being sliced in half, but someone I call friend. Scott noticed that he was going to kill me instead of Thomas and he dropped his feet onto the ground to try to slow himself down or possibly re-align himself. It was too late, I felt his claws enter my stomach. I twitched and gasped for air, Thomas lost his grip and I fell onto the ground. Scott immediately retracted his hands and caught me before I hit the floor. I started loosing the feeling of my toes, the numbness started growing on me up my legs and towards my waist, it stopped there, which was there the blood started to seep out of my wound. I was pumped with adrenaline, it didn't hurt as much, it was just really hard to breathe, it felt like as if I were drowning, I was gasping for air. Liam turned around, he was back to his human form. He saw me in my state, ran up to me and fell onto the ground weeping. "Ryland...Why... Scott... Please.. Do something... Please... I beg of you..." he sobbed as he sniffled between each pause. I couldn't move, I couldn't speak, I just tried my best to breathe, occasionally looking down at my stomach to see if the bleeding got worse. I had a blank expression, one might say it was the expression of shock and fear, I thought of it as blank. Scott puts me down and lays my head on Liam's lap. He looks down at his hands and starts to panic. "What... What have I done? How did it happen?" he blurted. Liam places his hands on my stomach, hoping to slow down the bleeding. I let out a a colossal scream. OH MY F*CKING GOD THAT HURT! I could feel it now, the pain, it burnt, I started to cry, I still couldn't feel the lower half of my body. The pain got stronger and stronger, I felt like I was loosing consciousness. My vision started to blur and my head got heavier. Is this what it's like to die?

"Scott. Please. I can't let him die. I... I.... I love him Scott.. Please.. For me... I..." he sobbed. He grabbed my right hand and held it tight, leant forwards and kissed me on my forehead. "Please.. Please... Scott... Please... Anything..." he pleaded.
"I.. I know what you're thinking about. The bite could save him, but if he's not strong enough, he could die from it too.." Scott gulped. "I really don't trust the odds Liam. I really don't.. As your Alpha I really advise against this."
"And as your beta, I'm begging till the end of the world. He's dying, it's worth a shot." he pestered. "Please. Scott please." My hearing slowly faded, words became mumbles and my eyesight was practically gone. I couldn't see much but just a dark blur. My breathing slowed down, I didn't have the energy to carry on, I closed my eyes and tried to calm my mind. It's over Ryland. What's mum going to think about this? First dad, now me? She's gonna be devastated, she can't live alone, I've seen it happen and she doesn't fair well... My mum means the world to me, I can't let her suffer like this.. A tear seeped out of my left eye and it rolled down my cheek. My body started to break down, I could hear the faint sobbing and screams of Liam. He grabbed onto my shirt and clenched the fabric between his fingers, tugging and shaking hoping I would wake up. I felt his head lay on my chest, I wanted to say goodbye, but I couldn't, I couldn't make a single sound, I couldn't move a muscle. I'm sorry Liam. I'm sorry. I thought to myself. I felt as if my body and my soul were parting ways, This is it isn't it? It's the end..

I relaxed my body, there was no use fighting it. I felt to arms on my shoulders, someone pushing down on me as four fangs penetrated my neck.

Sorry Liam. Goodbye mum. I love you.