Zoe POV:

My head was whirling so fast I thought I might vomit my lunch up. First me, now Noah, both of us with the shocking veins running through our body.

My jacket had covered up the ones on my arms and at first they were very pale, so I had just brushed it off figuring it was me just being a bit dramatic. But then as I went to the bathroom during lunch period I realized they were worsening quickly. The red streaks were now on my things and starting to run across my shoulders. As I had been examining myself in the bathroom, Piper had barged in knocking loudly. Of course my stupid ADHD brain couldn't comprehend the fact that I wanted to be alone and opened the door. The second It opened Piper came in.

"Girl what the hell did you do?" She questioned seeming semi murderous, making me flinch back.

"Uh pretty gem?" I squeaked timidly. What can I say all 5"3' of Piper was absolutely terrifying.

Piper pinched her nose, reminding me of a mother irritated with her child, which only added to my embarrassment. "Explain. With more than just pretty gem." She stated firmly, her intense green-brown eyes staring at me.

I managed to explain it to the best of my ability, the new job, Amira, the burning pain, and the shadow I saw in the window. At the end Piper looked like she was questioning my sanity, which at this point so was I. Okay scratch that I'd been questioning it long before then.

"Zoe how the hell do you end up in messes like this?" she sighed suddenly sounding like I'd shaved ten years off her life.

I sighed and felt my legs sliding down, causing me to flop gently on the bathroom floor. I rubbed my temples. "I don't know Pipes. I just wanted a normal year." I mumbled in sudden exhaustion as she joined me, my best friend letting my much taller frame slump against hers, despite its weight. "I didn't need some fucking red veins. What I need is good grades and a non shitty and dramatic year."

Piper POV:

I was getting seriously worried now. My best friend, the girl who's been like a sister to me, just told me a pretty gem is giving her these weird heat flashes and cramps. I rubbed her back, as she tiredly closed her eyes and leaned into the touch.

"This sucks," she hissed as another wave of pain crossed over her, making her wince.

"Sounds like it," I murmured back, surprising at how much body heat she was producing. I rested they're with her for a couple moments before I left to head back, so that the others wouldn't wonder where we'd gone. Zoe had nodded at this and said to give her a minute to pull her shirt back on.

I sighed as I weaved my way through the cafeteria ignoring the freshman that attempted to flirt with. Ok I mean some of them were ok looking, but the habits of slapping door frames and moaning every ten minutes didn't exactly scream attractive.

"Is she good?" Asked Sadie worriedly as I walked back to the table. Her multicolored eyes held a nervous shine that sparked a curiosity within me.

I smiled trying to relieve some of the tension. "Yeah, just you know, girl things."

"Oh," she mumbled flustered as her cheeks reddened a bit. I slid back down into my seat and gave her a friendly nudge with my shoulder. "I don't bite you know."

"I- uh didn't think you did it's just well-" her cheeks turned as fiery red as her hair. "The other girls tend to uhm stay some stuff," she muttered clearly embarrassed.

I frowned these hadn't been said directly to my face. Unfortunately, by that point Zoe and Noah had both returned to the table. Also meaning Zoe couldn't keep her mouth shut. Zoe eyes darkened in fury. "Just to be clear," she called gaining the attention of the entire cafeteria. "Anyone who talks shit about my best friend is saying it too this whole table. So kindly shut your traps before I break your nose. Is that clear." The entire cafeteria muttered stuff under their breath, before making a smart choice and dropping their gazes. I couldn't blame them, I'd seen Zoe willingly tackle people twice her own weight if they decided to screw with any of us.

I face palm, feeling my cheeks tinge with slight embarrassment. "Zoe... you are way to protective for your own good."

She looked at me like I'd just said the most absurd thing. "Being protective?  Some assholes don't know who you are." She scoffed her green-blue eyes icy.

I rolled my eyes. "Watch yourself Zoe, one of these days you might pick a fight you can't win." The statement sounded like a joke but I was actually serious. Zoe wasn't going to come out of these fights if she kept picking them, some of the kids around here were insane, with their pockets loaded full of drugs, vapes, and switchblades. Briarwood might look peaceful on the outside, which it was, but the high school was a completely different story. I could remember kids getting pulled out of fights daily and once a black market for drugs. Giving Zoe one final stern glare I turned to Sadie. "What did they say?" I asked her curiously.

She hesitated chewing at her lip. "They said that you and Trevor were still together, but that you only wanted him for his money."

I nearly flinched at the name. Trevor and me had dated on and off last year for a couple of months before we broke it off. Something just wasn't clicking for us. Unfortunately he managed to play the victim card and claimed that I cheated on him with one of his former friends, Danny. I felt a scowl form on my lips, as Zoe went tense in her seat next to me. Noah dark brown eyes showed a mixture of hurt and confusion, while Leo and Sadie were both looking at my sympathetically.

I pulled it together and scoffed. "We'll we're not. He lost me the second he started sleeping with the other juniors." It came out a lot harsher and hot tempered than I had intended.

Sadie jumped at my harsh tone. I touched her arm "Jesus I'm sorry baby." Sadie stared at me probably wondering what the hell that moodswing had been.

I blushed with embarrassment. "Sorry force of habit." I mumbled. While to the rest of the school I was quite intimidating, Over the years I had sort of earned the mom title for our little group and upon seeing Sadie sitting with us it just came naturally.

Sadie blinked before shrugging and going back to her lunch.
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The rest of the day went by relatively fast with us all only having three classes left after lunch. Eventually it was time to go home so I grabbed my black Nike backpack and slung it over my shoulder.

I met up with my little lunch group outside of the school, Zoe said she had plans to swing by the little hardware store and grab something to eat before work, which I thought was a bit weird, but I let it slide considering she'd be at work for a quite a while.

The old-fashioned bell on the door made a pleasant chiming sound, as a streaked gray-haired man waved hello. Zoe immediately led us straight to the back and was browsing some beef jerky when suddenly something slimy hit my foot. I looked down and saw a yellowy-green slime covering my sneaker. I cringed at the slimy feeling of the stuff; it reminded me of hair gel.

"Eww," Leo muttered in disgust, trying to keep anymore from getting on his already soaked sneakers. I had to agree with him the stuff felt gross and smelt horrible.

"Uh shop keep?" Called Zoe. "I think your janitors missed a spot. Shop keeps?" She called again as there was no response. I looked over and realized than the kind man had vanished.

Just then there was a bang and I felt myself go flying forward and getting a mouthful of sawdust off of the ground. I coughed harshly struggling to clear my throat of the plentiful sawdust. My body was coated in.

"Ugh what the hell?" Asked Noah struggling to sit upright. I looked slightly to the left and caught sight of the ugliest thing I'd seen in my life.

It was massive, and had a hunched over back that contained what looked like a giant gumball on its back, except it was clear and filled with the same slimy stuff that we had just stepped in. On its face were bulging, watery, red eyes and a sickening amount of tentacle like hair, the rest of its body was a hairy lime green color.

"You have the marked among you!" He snarled. "Give them to me and I may spare the rest of you." It's voice was an awful tone of a gurgle and rasp, and saliva dropped down from its chin.

"Look I don't know who the hell you are or what a marked is, but you've got the wrong place. This is Briarwood the most interesting them happening this time of year is leaves falling off of trees." Zoe said her hands in the air as she tried to reason with it.

"Don't lie to me girl!" It bellowed and thrust one of its hooks like hands out sending a slime ball hurling straight towards Zoe and Noah.

"Zoe! Noah!" I screamed, trying desperately to get them to move.

The twins crossed their arms in front of them and with a thunderous bang the slime hit. Massive amounts of blue and red power waves rippled all around knocking everybody off their feet, including the monster. Straining to push my eyes open I noticed that the monster was gone and that the others were unconscious. My own deep brown eyes were threatening to fall closed again, but painfully I managed to keep them open, at least for a little bit.

A thundering of footsteps made my eyes shift slightly. I could make out a man and a woman, the women being the taller of the two with skin several shades darker than my own.

"Abby it's worse than we thought," murmured the man a rasp marking his voice.

The women- no Abby, I corrected myself sighed. "I know Peter. As much as it pains me to say I think we need to bring them back to the Beast Cave."

My eye twitched in confusion. Beast cave? The hell was a beast cave? I felt my eyes slowly begin to seal, the world slowly becoming narrow slits.

The last image I had was the dark-skinned woman gently scooping me up, with all the gentleness of a mother.

Then I blacked out