DEAD MAN!
CHAPTER SIXTEEN.
thana sparrow.

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄

ADRIAN AWOKE TO COLD STONE PRESSING AGAINST HIS SQUISHED CHEEK. His eyes blinked open and closed a few times, getting the chills as he struggled to regain his footing. When up, he released a shaky breath and rubbed his arms. It was a cold, chilly night.

Adrian couldn't recall the moment of ever leaving Stiles' home, especially after the moment the two had shared probably not too long ago. Yet, he could still feel the cold pavement against his bare feet, and the nipping of the night air.

Where am I? Adrian thought, looking around with an expression of a lost puppy. He walked backwards, trying to take in as much as he could as a clue for where he was.

"Stiles?" Adrian called out, hearing the name roll off his tongue and echo through the empty night. Nothing seemed to even move for a moment, until a rustling came closer . . . and closer.

The Martin's first thought was to defend himself, but with what? He had nothing useful to his disposal. And with whatever lurks being right around the corner, he had little to no time.

The redhead spun round at the snap of a twig, fists raised as he glared at whoever was there. It was a lady. It was the samd lady from the school car park Adrian had seen when Stiles got Scott beaten up for the truck incident.

She said nothing to him. And, for awhile, that's all the pair did; until Adrian opted to speak. "Um, hello. I'm lost. Where am I?" It wasn't his best attempt at a conversation, but it was all his simple mind could conjure at the time.

The lady didn't reply. She blinked a few times before walking past Adrian and to somewhere else. This sparked Adrian as curious, his feet following the lady. "Hey! Where are you going?"

Another one of his questions went ignored as the frail lady raised her shaky wrinkly hands to push open a metal gate. Adrian cringed at its screeching; sounding ten times worse at night as he followed through.

There was a sign sticking out on the walkway of the place the old woman had taken him too, allowing Adrian to feel even the slightest bit of relief on his whereabouts. That relief, soon turned into an uncomfortable fear.

BEACON HILLS CEMETERY.

Even the sign chimed a shimmer of cold fear down the teen's spine as he followed the lady; a bit more slow and hesitant in his steps. He looked around only to be met with a gravestone every turn; each reading a lost loved one.

"Never been much of a fan of cemeteries." Adrian tried to make conversation again, even attempting his weakest chuckle yet as he scratched the back of his goosebump-risen neck.

"omnis creatura, solus moritur."

Adrian stopped in his tracks, his eyebrows becoming tighter. That language. He had definitely heard that one before. The only thing is . . . Adrian wasn't fluent in any language except English. "What?"

The lady slowly turned round again, stopping right in front of a grave. Adrian seemed like she was staring through him as if he were a piece of glass. "omnis creatura, solus moritur."

"I-I don't-" Adrian stammered, blinking rapidly as he shook his head. "I don't know what that means. Tell me what it means."

"omnis creatura, solus moritur."

A groan of frustration was released from the teenage boy, his hands running through his hair. His voice rose at the older woman, but she was unfazed. "Tell me! Tell me what it means!"

"omnis creatura, solus moritur." The lady repeated, stalking forward until she was right by Adrian's side. She set a hand on his shoulder, making the redhead's whole body feel cold as she raised a finger to the grave she was stood by.

THANA SPARROW.

"I still don't understand." Adrian told the woman, shaking his head as he desperately turned to her. "Who is she? Who are you? What's happening to me?"

The lady's face slowly itches closer until her weak breath was fanning his ear. It took awhile for her to speak, but Adrian felt all the wind knock out of him when she did. "Awake."

Adrian gasped loudly as he sat upright, panting as his eyes stared widely at the wall in front of him. A frantic Stiles was by his side in seconds, calling his name as he grasped onto him. "Adrian! Adrian, it's okay! It's me! It's me!" The boy shouted when the Martin caused a struggle, his movements slowly devouring as he met his eyes. "It's just me. What happened?"

Adrian looked down at his bedsheet covered legs, shaking his head as he tried to breathe normally again. "I don't know." He declared, shaking his head slightly. Stiles gulped as Adrian turned to him, feeling his hands shake with fear. "I think you should call Scott."

❚ ❚ ❚

"omnis creatura, solus moritur?" Scott repeated for the tenth time since this morning when the two boys had come clean of the redhead's problem, sharing his weird dream. "What does that mean?"

Stiles exhaled loudly, running a hand over his buzzed hair. "We don't know." He glanced over to Adrian, who was sat by the hazel eyed boy's bed, playing with his fingers.

Scott's eyes darted between the two boys, eyes wide. "Why didn't you guys tell me?! I'm the first person who should know about these things between us three."

"I didn't think you would care." Adrian grumbled, earning a confused look from the McCall boy. The redhead sighed, looking up to meet his brown eyes. "You were stuck up with Allison and the Alpha- mainly Allison."

Scott's shoulders slumped in defeat, guiltily looking between the pair. "I'm sorry." He apologised, looking over at the bitten teen. "Let me see your mark."

With the werewolf taking a seat next to him, Adrian began rolling up his sleeve to reveal a bandage which he slowly peeled off. When the mark was revealed, all Scott could see were just three regular bite marks.

"It's been half a day and I'm still not healing." Adrian frowned, feeling the two best friends share a worried glance with one another. "If I was a werewolf, I would've healed by now."

"Maybe your body is immune somehow." Stiles tried, clicking his pen as he waved his hands around.

"No human being could've healed that quick." Scott shook his head. "Plus, the bite mark hasn't fully healed . . . so I'm not even sure you're changing."

"What about dying?" Adrian immediately said, a tired look on his face. He felt like all hope was lost, that this was his end and he had to live with it.

"No." Stiles was quick to interject. The boy shook his head. "You're not dying."

Scott and Adrian didn't say anything in fear of upsetting the buzzcut teen more than he already was, but their shared looks said it all.

If Adrian Martin's body rejected the bite . . . who knows how long he had left. At this point, he was a ticking time bomb, just waiting until his time was up.

❚ ❚ ❚

Due to Beacon Hills High School's instability and the events of last night, a notice that the school wouldn't be open until Monday was sent out. Normally, Adrian would see that as a godsend. He would normally be hanging around with Toby or practicing lacrosse . . . not laying down on Stiles Stilinski's bed listening to the furious tapping of a keyboard.

"One day, you are going to break that computer, Stilinski." Adrian rasped out, pointing a weak hand out. "And I'll laugh."

Stiles scoffed, shaking his head. He didn't take his eyes away from the computer, but still kept up conversation. "Shut up and drink your water. You need it."

"Okay, mum." Adrian groaned, picking up the cup Stiles had left on his nightstand for him. He took a few sips, laying his head back on the pillow. "Find anything yet?"

"Nope." Stiles shook his head, popping the 'p' as he continued to type away. "I've been looking through everything; nothing."

"What about seeing an old lady in your dreams leading you to a cemetery?" Adrian deadpanned, staring at the ceiling. He wanted nothing more than to sleep but that wasn't an option right now apparently.

"Nothing." Stiles stated, turning round to face the tired teen. "The dream was obviously a clue for you. She was trying to tell you something."

"But what? That my days are outnumbered?" Stiles gave him a glare, making Adrian sigh. "Sorry, I forgot. I'm not dying." He rolled his eyes sarcastically.

"You're not." Stiles shook his head, hearing the redhead scoff quietly under his breath. "Adrian, I'm serious. It's not going to happen."

"You don't know that, Stiles." Adrian seriously stated, crossing his arms as he shook his head. It grew silent between them, Stiles seeming lost in thought.

Keen to get off the topic of Adrian Martin's possible death, Stiles changed the subject. "So . . . apart from the weird supernatural dream you've had, is that all that's been bothering you?"

"What else could possibly be bothering me?" Adrian found humour in his words, letting a small chuckle escape as he closed his eyes.

"I don't know. Maybe . . . the kiss we had."

The Martin boy choked on air, sitting up straight again. The kiss. How could he forget?! He had kissed Stiles Stilinsk; the boy across the room from him right now.

"Adrian? Adrian?" Stiles' voice raised to gain his attention, proving he had zoned out yet again. Stiles looked worried, and the redhead didn't know if that was for his well-being or his thoughts on the kiss. "You alright?"

"Y-Yeah." Adrian gulped, scrambling for his phone in desperation for a distraction. He was surprised to see a few missed notifications from his family; most from his sister. "It's Lydia. I should probably get home, I've stayed long enough. Tell your dad thank you for letting me stay."

Stiles frowned, ready to stop the boy. He hadn't gotten the answer he wanted. And by the looks of it, he didn't seem to be getting one any time soon. "Adrian-"

"I gotta go. Bye Stiles." And just as quick as The Flash, Adrian Martin was zooming away from the Stilinski household once more.

❚ ❚ ❚

Toby Valack had spent most of his day off in the library and his room. He liked a peaceful day in, and intended to keep it that way by watching a movie with some snacks. Unfortunately, things don't always go your way when you have Adrian Martin as a best friend.

"Toby?! Toby?!" The shouts rang through the hallway, making the blonde jump as the door busted open to reveal a disheveled, panting Adrian. "I need your help."

The blonde looked shocked, scanning him up and down with a judgmental expression. "I'll say."

Adrian ignored him, striding to sit by his bed. "You know almost everything about everyone in Beacon Hills, correct?" He panted, taking a gulp of Toby's drink.

The blonde remained unfazed, taking another bite of his popcorn. "I'm knowledgeable if that's what you're inquiring."

"I need your help on finding information on this woman called Thana Sparrow; it's important." Adrian told him, his breathing slowly coming back to normal.

Toby's normal face came into place, a look of confusion on his face. "Thana Sparrow? You've never heard the story of Thana Sparrow?"

Adrian froze, hesitating before slowly shaking his head. "No. Why? What happened to her?" He scooted closer to the boy.

Toby by now had abandoned his popcorn to turn his full attention to his friend, explaining the story to him. "She used to work around the school years ago; I think she gardened or something. Anyway, one day, she started to go mental- saying she started seeing things."

"What things?" Adrian pressed, licking his lips as he watched Toby recall the events.

The Valack boy turned his head, his brown eyes boring into his. "Dead things." He let his words hang around in the now thick air, thankfully unaware of the unsettled friend beside him. "She claimed to be seeing people who weren't really there; she claimed to see the dead. She warned everyone in town of a monster; a monster with red glowing eyes that would come for us all."

The Alpha. Adrian's mind immediately clicked, his mind too scared to think more for the truth. "How did she know? How did she see it?"

"In her dreams apparently." Toby shrugged, looking unsure himself. "Of course, no one believed her. She was the town's loony, people were wanting to send her to Eichen." Toby froze at his last words, squeezing his eyes shut before opening them again. "They never got the chance though . . . as she was found dead the morning they were going to admit her."

"Who killed her?" Adrian was glued in. His mind kept wandering back to the lady he had met in the cemetery, feeling something odd in his stomach.

Toby shook his head. "That's the thing. No one knows. It's remained a mystery for years here in Beacon." Getting off his bed, Toby walked over to his bookshelf with Adrian in tow; digging through its contents.

Toby's hand clutched onto an old looking newspaper article, handing the roll of paper over to his friend. "Here." Adrian looked at the boy unsure, but Toby smiled and nodded in reassurance. "It's not much more than I already told you; but i hope it will help with something."

Adrian took ahold of the article, unrolling it to reveal big black printed letters for the title.

THANA SPARROW: THE LADY WHO CRIED DEATH!

"It's quite sad really. Most people who knew her before she became crazy actually considered her a really nice lady." Toby smiled, rubbing his arm.

Adrian was too focused on the article to listen to more of Toby's tales, his eyes glued to the words on the page. A picture was displayed on the far right side of the front page, the redhead's jaw dropping.

No. He denied in thoughts, believing his mind to be playing tricks on him. It can't be.

The old woman in the cemetery was staring right back at him just like she was in his dream. Only this time, she was smiling. She looked a lot less zombie-like too; her face looking more happy and less deranged.

Thana Sparrow. Adrian thought over and over in his head, the pads of his fingers caressing the newspaper. What are you trying to tell me? He thought.

"And it didn't help with her name either." Adrian hadn't even realised Toby had been ranting until he lifted his nose out of the paper, seeing the blonde shiver. "Even her name gave me the chills."

"Why?" Adrian frowned, looking from the old woman picture to his best friend.

"Adrian," Toby frowned, as if disappointed in his knowledge on the situation. "Thana means death."

That was like a rock to the stomach. The bite. The non-healing. The flashes. The dream. The cemetery. The old woman. The gravestones. All of it contained one big topic; death.

"Thanks for this, Toby. Really." With a nod of gratitude, Adrian was rushing off again. "I owe you!"

Toby Valack watched him leave confusedly, considering shouting after him before ultimately deciding to leave it and go back to his movie and popcorn.

Unbeknownst to the blonde, just as the redhead was about to run off into the distance . . . a searing pain shot through his right arm. Adrian cried in agony, his feet slumping so he slammed on the hard pavement ground. The pain was just like it had been that night in the school; making Adrian fear the worse.

Was this it? Am I dying? Who'll be the one to find me? What will they name my death as? Adrian couldn't help the frantic thoughts of his life coming to an end from entering; only making matters worse.

Adrian didn't remember doing so, but he must've passed out for a few seconds due to his head now in a dipped down position. Lifting his head, Adrian's eyes were wide as he grabbed onto his right arm.

With Stiles having ripped off the bandage earlier, Adrian's arm was left bare and exposed to the naked eyes. His skin looked smooth and untouched, the bite marks completely vanished without a trace.

The Martin gaped at his arm, running his fingers over where three bite marks from an Alpha used to be. What is happening to me?

A U T H O R. N O T E
wow, my chapters are getting shorter and shorter. i don't know whether that's good or bad; really depends on how you look at it.

i hope i'm doing this discovering the supernatural thing and adrian's problems correctly. he's a little bean who i will protect with my life.

you know who else is a bean . . . toby! he is beauty. he is grace. he will tell you about death straight to your face. :3

GIF MADE BY ME !
━ R O S C O E O B R I E N