CHAPTER FOURTEEN » MUSE
"This is gonna hurt like hell."

☽

"I couldn't catch a scent," I told Liam as the two of us came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs. He sighed exasperatedly, running a hand through his dishevelled hair.

There was a slight thud as Mason also came hurtling down the stairs at full speed, almost tripping as he reached us. "Library's empty."

"Gym too," Corey added from the other corridor, eventually coming to a stop beside the three of us.

"Aaron's the only one I can't get a hold of," Liam said, his worried eyes scanning over all three of us.

I thought for a moment. "Anyone checked the parking lot? See if his car's still there."

My answer came in the sound of squeaking shoes against the floor as the boys immediately began sprinting down the corridor as fast as they could.

Liam burst through the doors at full speed, the rest of us following closely behind him. My heart was pounding furiously, and as soon as Liam shouted out that he'd found Aaron's car, my fear intensified even further.

I started to slow down, panic soaring through me as Mason and Corey rushed to double check.

"Yeah, I think this is it," Mason confirmed, his face completely falling.

Liam glanced up, nodding me over. Hesitantly, I began to head towards them, only halting at the sudden sound of multiple gunshots. "What the hell was that?"

Corey looked at me strangely, his eyebrows drawn together in confusion. "What was what?"

"You didn't hear that?" I questioned, my voice seeming to come out as an afraid whisper. I glanced around.

"Hear what?" Mason questioned.

I squeezed my eyes shut, shaking my head as if it would make my moment of madness go away.

Flash.

I jolted out of my state, feeling very unsettled. The worried glance the three boys shared didn't go unnoticed, but I didn't even get the chance to reassure them before I saw it again.

An arrow sliced through the air, knocking straight into a body. An angered growl sounded from him, his eyes glowing brightly. He took off through the woods again, but they were coming after him.

They were coming after Brett.

"Bex?" Mason had appeared in front of me, reaching out an arm in an attempt of comfort. "Bex?"

"Holy shit," I breathed out, the intensity of the vision leaving me slightly dazed.

"Was it a vision?" Liam questioned, concern knitted in his expression.

"I– I've gotta go," I stumbled out, attempting to move past the three of them, until they all began to close in on me.

"Hey, what's going on?" Mason asked softly, placing his hand on my shoulder, likely to keep me where I was.

"I need to go–"

"Hey," Liam started, the firmness in his voice causing me to meet his deep blue eyes. "Remember what you said earlier about us being a team? Yeah, well this is one of these moments where we've got to work together."

"Yeah, yeah, you're right," I told him, feeling a burning itch to get away and run straight to help Brett. "But we can't be in two places at once. That's why you've got to figure out what's going on here and I'm going to sort this out–"

I started to brush past them all, rushing down the steps. "Becca," Liam warned, and I stumbled slightly trying to turn around to face him again.

"I'll call you," I assured, not bothering to wait for any of them to respond. My main concern right now was Brett, and also the horribly uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.

~

In the time it took me to get deep into the woods from school, the sky had darkened a fair amount. I'd called Brett multiple times, thirty two in fact, but to no avail. I hadn't managed to pick up a scent, which had caused me to doubt myself slightly. But my visions had never lied. He had to be here.

Liam had called me a few times, but I hadn't responded, even though I'd promised I would. And I hadn't called Scott either. But with the way things were going, it was likely I'd have to get them involved at some point. The only other person who I had been in touch with was Venus.

Suddenly, I felt my foot catch on something, and I quickly grabbed hold of a nearby tree to stop myself from falling.

"We've done this before." I pricked my head up, recognising the voice within seconds. "We know what we're doing guys."

I rushed to my left, pushing through a couple of bushes as I stumbled towards my brother, Malia, Liam and Brett's little sister Lori. So they did know.

"Hey–" I called out, carefully stepping over a few fallen branches. "Hey, thank god you're here."

"Becca?" Scott breathed out, relief flooding from him. I made my way over, giving the four of them a small smile in greeting. "I've been so worried, I thought you were with Brett–"

"No, I've been looking for him," I replied, my eyes landing on an arrow in Liam's hand. "You've found stuff? You think you're close to finding him?"

"Not much yet," Scott answered, giving me a sympathetic look. "But we're gonna keep looking."

"I've called Venus," I informed, my eyes finding Liam's. "She's gonna perform a locator spell."

"That's good," Scott said, nodding along. "That's really good."

"But we can't wait around for ages," I said, looking over to assure Lori, who had been stood quietly. "We still have to keep looking. Whatever it takes."

"Wait," Malia suddenly interjected, looking up at us. "How come I can't catch a scent."

"He's masking it," Lori responded, a small smile on her face.

"Can someone tell him not to?"

Liam had been fumbling with the arrow in his hands for the duration of the conversation, but he suddenly snapped his head up, as if he realising something. "He went this way–"

Without a seconds hesitation, Lori began to follow, as I shared a look with Scott and Malia before heading that way with them.

As my eyes scanned along the ground, I noticed that there were more than just two footprints buried in the ground. There were three – which meant there was more than one person after Brett.

But worst of all, I also realised what else we were following.

A trail of blood.

~

"His trail's gone," Malia stated, as the five of us kept our eyes on the ground. I bent my knees, crouching down, my hand hovering over the mud and dirt. She was right. There was nothing.

"Uh, maybe he just stopped bleeding," Scott countered, causing me to look up at him, arching an eyebrow.

"I–I think we should split up," Liam said, glancing to me and then to Scott, as if asking approval. "Lori, Bex and I go this way, you guys go that way."

"Or maybe we go in four directions?" Lori suggested, her eyes flitting around the group. I could sense her desperation to find her brother, hell, I could feel it, but we had to be smarter about this.

I made brief eye contact with my brother before shaking my head firmly. "I think that's a bad idea."

"Agreed," Malia added, nodding at me. "I think we should stick together."

"We have the advantage," Liam argued. "It's five against one–"

"Not if we split up."

I glanced over at Liam. "Also, it's not just one–"

"Right, I've been doing this the past three months without your help," Liam told Malia, tilting his head to the side, not seeming bothered that he'd just interrupted me completely. Malia quirked an eyebrow at him. "I think I can make a decision."

"Well, if you're deciding to do something stupid and die then go ahead," she replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes in exasperation.

"Plus, it's not just–"

"It's one hunter," Liam interjected again, causing me to let out a harsh breath of air. "Just one amateur that doesn't know what they're doing."

"Scott," Malia snapped exasperatedly, obviously having become irritated by Liam. My brother turned his attention back to the four of us, and Malia motioned her head towards Liam, as if signalling him to say something.

Scott turned back to what he was doing, brushing over a print in the dirt with his hands. "The hunter," Liam said, taking a step forwards. "He's covering his tracks."

I opened my mouth to correct him, but Scott got there first. "There's another."

I exhaled heavily. "And that is exactly what I've been trying to say for the past five fucking minutes."

"You saw them?" Scott questioned, as the others' eyes all fell on me.

"No, I noticed the tracks a while back."

"Two of them?" Malia asked.

"Maybe more," Scott corrected, and I nodded along in agreement. Just because we'd seen two other sets of footprints in this direction, didn't dismiss the fact there could be others out there.

"How many hunters have you seen out here before?" Lori wondered. Scott and I shared a knowing look.

"A lot."

"Still wanna split up?" Malia said, crossing her arms over her chest as she narrowed her eyes at Liam.

"We can deal with it," he replied, his words actually making me want to face palm. "We just need to find Brett's trail."

"No we don't." Lori's voice caught my attention, and I glanced over to see she was staring at something in the ground. My eyes followed the direction she was looking in, landing on a small pile of rocks. "Rock balancing. Satomi taught us," she informed, excitedly whipping her head back around to face us. "It's him, and I know where he's going."

~

"What the hell is this?"

"He's been poisoned," Lori informed, holding out her hand for the rest of us to see; a dark, black, sticky substance coated her fingers.

I reached for my phone from my back pocket, only to shove it back inside in frustration, still having gotten no word from Venus. If Brett had been poisoned, that meant we were running out of time.

"That's why he's not healing," Scott confirmed, as my eyes fell to the puddle of the poison on the floor.

"What if he only has a few hours to live?" Lori shot back, her voice wracked with nerves, which didn't exactly help my worries. I really didn't want to think about what state we might find Brett in, and where we'd go from there. One step at a time.

"If we howl we can find him," Liam blurted, as I looked up at him questioningly.

"Absolutely not."

"Agreed, that's too risky," Malia chimed in.

"Who cares about the risk," Lori but back, her voice raising slightly, laced with impatience and panic. "He could be dying!"

"Look," Malia said, stepping forwards to get a closer look at the substance on the floor. "He's still moving."

"We just need time to think," Scott said, glancing over at me. "And time for Venus to do the locator spell."

"I need him to know that I'm here," Lori countered, her round eyes wild with desperation. "That I'm coming for him."

"Yeah, Lori's right," Liam added, turning to my brother. "He has to know we're here."

"Liam," I cautioned, realising exactly what he was about to do. "Liam don't–"

He turned away from us, as Malia also shouted for him to wait. Instead he threw his head back, letting out a loud roar, the sound carrying and vibrating throughout the tunnels.

"Nice one dumbass," I snapped, storming in front of him. "Now you're gonna get us all killed."

"At least he knows we're here," he retorted. "We'll have a better chance of finding him–"

"What hell of a chance do we have finding him if we're dead?" I snapped back, not even noticing that Lori had started to rush off until Scott placed a hand on my shoulder, stopping me from saying anything else.

"It's done now," my brother said, beginning to usher me forwards. "Let's just concentrate on finding him."

I nodded slowly, shooting a glare at Liam as the four of us began to follow Lori, who was walking at a pretty fast pace a way ahead of us.

"Why didn't he answer?" She suddenly blurted, only half turning around to address the rest of us.

"Maybe he didn't hear us," Liam suggested as we turned the corner. "Maybe he can't."

"Lori, no!"

I froze on the spot, suddenly noticing the thin trip wire Lori had just jolted with her boots.

Before any of us could move, an arrow came flying from the opposite direction, plummeting straight into my brother and pinning him back against the wall.

"Scott!"

I rushed forwards, coming to a stop as my hands hovered over the wounded area. Malia, Liam and Lori stopped beside me, as we all watched Scott apprehensively. We were going to have to pull the arrow out.

"Just do it," he said through gritted teeth, his words sounding strained.

"This is gonna hurt like hell," I told him, wrapping a hand around the weapon, the others following suit. "Ready?"

Liam kept his hand placed firmly on Scott to keep him still, whilst the rest of us began to pull the arrow. I winced, doing my best to ignore my brother's grunts of pain, and also trying to ignore the sound of the weapon tearing through skin.

The arrow began to feel looser, and with one final yank we managed to pull it out. I let go almost immediately, trying to catch and steady Scott as he began to stumble to the ground.

Malia quickly discarded the arrow before kneeling down beside me, in front of Scott, pressing her hands against the wound to slow the blood loss.

"They knew we were coming," my brother said with a grunt, his eyes squeezing shut in pain.

"Don't talk," Malia told him. "Just heal and let us figure this out."

"He's been a step ahead of us the whole time," he replied lowly, glancing between the two of us.

My head began to rush slightly, as my surroundings started to spin. I gripped Scott's hand tighter, either that or he squeezed mine tighter, as my eyes fluttered shut, in hopes everything would remain still again. 

"I'm sorry but I can't wait around, we have to go," I heard Lori say, her words sounded distorted.

"We still have the numbers, three and two. We're faster, and stronger," Liam added on as I squeezed my eyes shut tighter, the words pulsing through me.

I heard Scott start to say something else, but I was taken away from reality, and taken outside of these tunnels.

Car tires screeched along the road, with blinding headlights that stunned two figures in their path, knocking them to the ground. Blood. Destruction. Screams. Roars.

Death.

When the vision ended, jolting me back to the situation at hand, I expected it to all pass over me quickly. Instead, this time, I felt like I'd just been the one impaled by an arrow.

I felt a cold, icy chill in my blood, coursing through my veins, running through my entire body, and sending shivers down my spine. The world felt dark, and cold, and...unsettled.

"We need to stick together," Scott said, as I began to stand up, shaking my head firmly.

"No, we need to go," I glanced back at Lori, knowing she was on the same page as me. I shouldn't have dismissed the idea this whole time. We really were running out of chances.

"Bex–" Scott started, but Liam quickly interjected, meeting my eyes.

I gave him a look, trying to communicate how urgent this was, but by the way he was looking at me, I guessed he'd already caught on. "I'll go with you."

"You don't know who they are," Scott ground out, his eyes wide and pleading. "Or what they're capable of."

"Look, I know who we are," Liam said, bending down beside my brother. "Especially when it's someone innocent. When it's someone alone. When it's one of our friends."

"Scott," I started gently, meeting his eyes. "I know what we're up against, okay? But I did not run blindly into the woods to find him not knowing what might go down." I moved so I was crouching beside him, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We need to go. We really need to go. Right now."

"You had a vision?" Malia asked, and I turned to look at her, giving her a small nod as a reply.

"Okay," Scott finally gave in, seeming to notice the looks passing between us. "Go, go. All of you. I'll catch up"

Liam and Lori began to race ahead, but I paused for a moment, still feeling hesitant to leave my brother alone like this. I was desperate to save Brett, to rescue him from whatever was going to happen. The horrible feeling that came over me was giving me the creeps, and I wanted it gone. But I wasn't prepared to leave my injured brother to bleed out.

"Go with them," Malia told me, quickly glancing between Scott and I. "Go. I got this."

"Both of you," Scott said, straining slightly. "Both of you go."

"Becca," Malia began, ignoring my brother's orders completely. "Go, now. I'll look out for him, okay?"

I swallowed thickly, glancing between them both before nodding. I could trust Malia. If they came into any trouble, I knew they'd be able to make it through together. They'd be able to save themselves.

But now I had to save Brett.

I began to jog to the other end of the tunnel, where Liam and Lori had just turned a corner. I took one final glance behind me at Scott and Malia, who both appeared to be watching us leave. 

I still felt unsettled by my vision, and my instincts told me it was something bad creeping up on us. I didn't want to presume the worst, but somehow it was all I could think about.

We could lose Brett tonight.

"Which way?" Liam asked as him and Lori came to a sudden stop in front of me. "There's got to be something."

I started to slow as I reached them, feeling my phone vibrating in my pocket. "Guys," I spoke up as I pulled my mobile out, catching their attention. I held it up, showing Venus' contact name flashing on the screen. "I think I got something."

I swiped the answer button across, moving the device to my ear. "Vee?"

"I think we've found him," she rushed out, and I heard paper rustling about on the other end of the line. "He's been in the same spot for a while, in the tunnels."

"Yeah, we're there right now."

"Send me your location," she instructed, and I quickly pulled the phone away from my ear, swiping to my maps to message her the location. "Okay," she began, pausing for a few moments. "Okay, follow my directions."

I waved Lori and Liam over, listening closely as Venus directed us either left or right. As we seemed to near closer, I began to pick up on a slightly masked scent. It was becoming harder and harder to keep my fear at bay, and I began to move faster, every echoing footstep spiking at my anxieties.

"I can hear something," Liam stated, tilting his head to the side as he seemed to listen. "It sounds like–"

Lori's expression brightened. "A heartbeat."

I found myself sharing a look with Liam, whilst Lori dashed ahead without a seconds thought. I listened out carefully, also hearing the slow, tired heartbeat in the air. We followed after Lori, the three of us emerging into a smaller tunnel, where a figure lay slumped against the wall.

I slowed to a stop, breathing out heavily as Lori rushed forwards, throwing herself down beside her brother. "Brett!"

"You found the rocks," he said quietly, sounding exhausted as he offered his sister a small smile. His head lolled against the side of the wall, and his eyes were half shut in exhaustion. His face was completely covered in dirt and grime, and dark blood from the poison leaked from his eyes, ears, nose and mouth. He really didn't look good.

"Yeah," Lori replied with a gleeful smile. "I found the rocks."

Brett smiled again, something unspoken shifting between the two of them. I found that I'd unconsciously moved closer to them both, and Brett's eyes soon shifted to me as he let out a choked laugh. "Bet you thought you'd finally be rid of me."

"You?" I raised my eyebrows, moving forwards to take his hand. "I could never be rid of you. You linger. Like a bad smell," my lips tugged into a grin, as Brett watched me with an amused look in his eyes. "Speaking of which, you smell awful, by the way."

He shook his head slightly, giving me a weak smile. "I'm on deaths door and you're bothered about how I smell?"

I rolled my eyes, flashing him a grin as I squeezed his hand tightly in reassurance. "Don't be so dramatic."

Our gazes lingered for a few moments longer before his eyes began to wander past me, a confused expression forming on his face. "Liam?"

"Hey, we're gonna get you out of here," he said, leaning to take Brett's hand. With help from Lori and I, the three of us began to help him up.

"You're a dumbass...for doing this," Brett told Liam, his voice straining slightly as he wobbled, stumbling against Lori, who took his arm to steady him.

"Is that your way of thanking me?"

"No," Brett breathed out heavily, grinding his teeth together as a pained look washed over him. "That's my way of calling you a dumbass," he nodded, his voice softening. "But thanks."

A noise sounded from the end of the corridor, capturing my attention. I stiffened, turned my head slowly, to be met with a bright flash of white light.

My eyes burned slightly at the brightness, as small dots plagued my vision for a few moments. A hissing noise began to sound, as smoke started to billow from each end of the corridor.

"They're coming!" Lori warned, grabbing hold of Brett tightly, her eyes wide in alarm.

"Go, I'll hold them off," Liam said over his shoulder.

"Go," I added on, nodding towards Lori, motioning for her and Brett to get out. "You have to get out! I'll be right behind you!"

The screeching noise that ruptured through the tunnel was one that I'd heard before, and it hurt majorly, as if the sound alone was ripping my eardrums to shreds. As we moved forwards, Liam and I both held our hands over our ears, desperately trying to mask the obnoxious sound.

I closed my eyes, focusing on getting ready to shift as Liam let out a loud roar. His footsteps thudded loudly down the corridor, and I began to follow, turning the corner just as he threw the device against the wall. It smashed into a few smaller pieces, allowing the loud noise to finally come to a stop.

I imagined there would be a blissful silence around us, but a fainter, irritating ringing in my ears was still present. And it soon hit me that something didn't feel right.

"There's nobody here," Liam realised, looking between each end of the corridor. As I followed his actions, I realised he was right. By now, the hunters should have come out to attack us– that's why we'd shifted, expecting a fight.

But we weren't going to get one.

We weren't going to get one because it was a distraction. And that must have been why I still didn't feel completely right about the whole situation. One of us should have stayed with Brett and Lori.

"Holy shit," I breathed out, instinctively reaching for Liam's arm. "We have to go. We have to find them. Now."

Liam obliged, immediately running along with me. I kept a tight hold of him, tugging on his jacket every time he hesitated going down a different tunnel to the one I was heading for.

"You know where you're going?" He called out, as I slowed down slightly, debating between going left or right.

I ignored his question upon hearing the awful screeching noises again. Another ultrasonic emitter flashed in the distance, and I frowned, following that one, only for it to lead to another. "They're trapping them!" I yelled over the noise to Liam, my legs feeling as if they were burning from the speed we were running at. "They're luring them in!" I cried out. "Lori! Brett!"

"Lori, wait!" Liam shouted out along with me, the two of us calling their names out numerous time, our panicked and frantic shouts blurring into one. "Lori!

I began to come to a stop midway down a corridor and I let go of Liam, glancing around my surroundings as I tried to catch my breath. A rush of cool night air had started to fill the tunnel. "The vision you had," he blurted, as my eyes fell on a ladder. "What did you see–"

A car.

"Holy fuck," I raced to the ladder, placing my foot on the bottom rung. I squeezed my fingers against the rusted rails as the rungs squeaked under pressure. I began scrambling up the ladder as fast as I could, my feet constantly slipping due to my frantic rush.

The seal at the top had already been opened, and the outside breeze was spilling in, sending shivers through me.

Liam's shouts flew into the air, beginning to blur with the sounds of car tires squeaking and squealing against the road.

"Wait!" I screamed, the word flying from my mouth before I could stop it. I threw my hands over the edge, my palms meeting with the rough gravel of the road. I kicked off the ladder, hoisting myself up and throwing myself onto the ground just as bright, yellow headlights blinded me. "No!" I moved to scramble onto my hands and knees, feeling the material of jeans tear from the harsh contact on the road surface. The skin on my palms began to rip, splitting from the force I used to pull myself from the ground. Two figures stood in the way of the headlights, hands entwined, bodies stiffened in fear. "Move!"

Everything was moving slowly, and I was surging towards them, screaming their names, but it was too late.

The loud thud from the contact of the car sounded in the air, shattering my heart. The force had knocked Brett and Lori to the pavement barely moments before I reached them. And everything just stopped.

"No, no, no," I whispered the words to myself as I dropped to my knees beside them both. I reached a hand out, my trembling fingers brushing over Brett's hands. His eyes were half closed, an expression of agony twisting in his face. And the blood – there was so much blood.

"Hey," I spoke gently, watching as his lips parted, a quiet groan escaping him. "Hey, come on. Don't do this to me," my voice had began to shake, choked and strangled cries catching in the back of my throat. "I will be so freaking mad if you die on me. You hear me?"

There was a small tug at Brett's lips, and he slowly began to lift his eyelids. My breathing hitched. A gentle tear began to slide down his face, slipping in between his slightly parted lips. "I hear you, princess."

His words felt as if they had knocked all the air from my lungs. I lowered my head, squeezing my stinging eyes shut for a few moments. I then cast my gaze down to my hand which was rested Brett's cheek, watching the darkness running in my veins slowly disappearing.

In realisation, I let out a shaky breath, my heart plummeting as I began to hear his own heartbeat begin to slow down. It was all I could concentrate on.

"Just close your eyes," Lori had spoke up softly, almost soothingly, but her words had soon began to get tangled with emotions. I glanced up at her for the briefest instance.

Brett's eyelids fluttered, slow and gentle tears running down his face. His thumb brushed lightly against my hand, but the hint of the smile ghosting on his lips had started to falter. His head began to fall back, a final breath escaping his lips, along with the last faint beat of his heart.

Lori's breath caught as she began to register the moment, resting her head against her brother's chest, soft cries escaping her whilst she held him one last time.

Slowly, I moved closer, pressing my trembling lips to Brett's forehead, remaining frozen in the moment, unable to let go.

"I couldn't take away his pain," Lori  whispered, her words pulling me away. I swallowed the heavy lump in my throat, moving back to take her smaller hand in mine. Her skin was cold, ice cold, and as we both looked down, we realised that I couldn't take her pain either.

A sob slipped from Lori's lips, one that was raw; full of fear and hurt. One of an innocent girl, meeting the harshness of reality too soon.

"It's okay," I spoke quietly, taking a tighter hold of her hand as I gave her a reassuring smile. "Just close your eyes, Lori. You'll be okay."

Softly, she nodded her head once more, letting it slowly fall back against her brother's chest. Lori began to close her eyes, letting a few silent tears escape down her cheeks. Her grip on my hand soon began to weaken, and I found myself listening to her heartbeat, listening until it faded.

I stifled a small cry, unable to tear my gaze away from them both. And as much as I tried to hold it in, I couldn't. Wall by wall, layer by layer, began to melt away as a painful scream burst from my throat, blending with a loud roar from someday else. Liam.

I soon felt a presence beside me, somebody wrapping their arms around me as my body shuddered, wracked with sobs and pained screams that I could feel in every inch of me, in every single bone of my body.

"Hey," Venus whispered in my ear, her voice quietly calming and soothing, but it wasn't enough to take away the pain. "You're okay, you're okay." I pressed closer to her, gripping her tightly as my cries became muffled against her jacket. "I've got you, you're okay."

Another angry, loud roar ripped through Liam again, filled with so much pain, so much hurt. The skin on the back of my neck tingled at the sound, which traveled through the night, and I managed to move myself away from Venus, my eyes finally landing on their surroundings.

Vehicles had come to a stop either side of us, their headlights acting as a spotlight. People had come to the street, and stood watching, staring. Whispers of confusion, panic, and fear filled the air, as all eyes fell on us – and more specifically, Liam. He was stood in the middle of the road, completely wolfed out, his jagged teeth gleaming in the headlights.

My mind swirled, unable to comprehend everything. I cast a look back to Brett and Lori, feeling as if my heart was about to burst from my chest. I was trying desperately to convince myself that it wasn't happening, it wasn't real.

But it was, and it was happening; it was all unfolding in muse avenue.

❥

A/N

rip