LOST SOULS!
CHAPTER FIVE.
purity.

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THE AIR BETWEEN THE MARTIN SIBLINGS WOULD BE DESCRIBED AS NOTHING BUT AWKWARD AS LYDIA DROVE AROUND BEACON HILLS, HER BROTHER SHIFTING IN HIS SEAT UP FRONT. It didn't help either that the radio wasn't working . . . leaving the two in the utmost painful silence they had ever been in together. Seriously, it was far more worse than when neither of the pair would fess up who broke their mother's favourite- and very expensive- vase when they were kids.

Thankfully- or unfortunately for the male in the car- that silence was soon to be broken with the humming of Lydia Martin's starting words. "So . . . are you actually going to tell me why you haven't came in the past few days and why mum has been freaking out, or are we just going to keep pretending that I'm stupid and don't notice?"

"I seriously hope you're considering the second option."

The female Martin was quick to cut any comedy her brother was trying to make out of this conversation, as she closed her emerald eyes shortly with a tone as sharp as a knife. "Adrian, I have been worried about you, mum and even myself for days now so don't even try to joke about this!"

The boy's gaze went soft at the teenage girl's words, quickly stirring his head in her direction with a parting frown. "What happened?" There was a hint of hurt/guilt trialing in his voice, his mind shaming him. Was he not there when he sister needed help?

Lydia released a deep, tired exhale as her fingertips patted against the steering wheel. She pursed her pink, glossed-over lips. "N-Nothing. Nothing happened." The strawberry blonde repeated her earlier actions, the car slowing down slightly. Thankfully, the road was pretty empty. "Please . . . just tell me what's going on for once."

Adrian took in her deepened green eyes and immediately knew his gut would kill him if he dared to chance a lie. Plus, this was Lydia Martin; the girl was basically a professionally trained sniffer dog when it came to these things. There was nothing he could do . . . other than tell the truth.

"You know . . . some things aren't always what they appear to be." Adrian began with a hoarse voice that surprised even himself as he felt his mouth go instantly dry the minute he spoke. "You know, sometimes you spend most of your life believing in one thing when in reality you were only being fed lies."

Lydia's brows knitted together as she looked fixedly towards him, her mouth hung open slightly as she did the slow blinks. ". . . I'm not following here."

The opposite redhead cursed under his breath, knowing that his mind only had so much lame interpretations to break the news in a much lighter load to give; and he was running out quick. "What I'm trying to say is that sometimes, we believe things which aren't true. And it is only when we grow older that we learn maybe we should've believed something different from the start- like we should've known something from the start."

". . . have you been drinking again?" Lydia didn't seem too amused, the disappointing lace in her words making the bubbling agitation the redhead had fuel up until it couldn't contain itself any more.

"Jesus Christ, Lydia! I'm not drunk! I'm just trying to tell you gently how someone else's' genitals entered mum to make me!"

Adrian let out a quick noise of alarm as the Martin car being driven by his sister immediately swerved, sending the boy flying back against his seat as they pulled up into a random parking spot. He breathed heavily, his heart thudding in his chest from what could've been quite possibly his final end.

His sister rolled her emerald coloured eyes at the boy's reaction towards the sudden park, clambering out of the car and slamming the door shut. When she began to stride away quickly, her brother was right on her tail by chasing after her and calling her name. "Lydia, wait! I worded that completely wrong!"

"No shit!"

"Just, please, let me explain!" Desperation filled from within the male Martin boy as if he was pleading in a life or death situation, his breathing now harder to find as it wasted away in the tense air. "I-I know what you must be thinking and I get it! I haven't known any longer than you have!"

"So that justifies not telling me and just running out?" Lydia criticised his actions, folding her arms- a habit she had learnt from their mother.

"I needed time! I know it was a coward move, and I wished I could've had the strength to stay . . . but I didn't- I still don't think I have it." The honesty in his words made his voice tremble, a shaking hand beginning to hold his other one only to reveal it was coated with his own sweat. "I'm sorry." He confessed, feeling his words flow through to her ears in the bitter night wind.

Lydia stood still on her feet for a few seconds before a twinge of emotion appeared on the crevice of her face. It was only when her lips parted did Adrian release a breath. "How . . . How did you find out?" Her voice came in a quivering yet somehow still calm voice, her hands clenching beside her . . . and her brother knew it wasn't the affects of the wind. "W-Who is he?"

"It- it was some Frank dude. He- He sent mum some poetic-like love letters declaring his undying love for her and-" It was a shame, because it seemed as if Lydia was tuning into every word rolling off his tongue . . . until someone caught the boy's eyes. A figure. A figure which moved so fast; yet still unmissable with his dirty-blonde hair that the redhead could identify in any crowd. ". . . Toby?"

Lydia seemed rather perturbed by his brother's unforeseeable action, hollering his name through the night air which went through deaf ears with the way the boy picked up his pace as if in a great hurry . . . and, to Adrian, he was in a great hurry.

The other redhead didn't even take notice to the fact that instead of pulling up in the closest corner shop, they had arrived at the Beacon Hills Community Pool as he ran like his life depended on it.

Adrian wasn't even sure what he would find once he reached the boy . . . but he just knew he had to see for himself. He had to see if it was really him.

A rapid, sharpening pain came to his neck before lightening . . . but that didn't stop the boy from choking on the blood that rose up in his throat as it began to spill from his mouth.

Adrian heaved and coughed as he landed on all fours right in front of the local pool, spewing crimson coloured blood into the chlorine water as it spread/expanded until it touched the surface of something . . . or someone.

Inchmeal, he raised his head little by little until his eyes became level with the motionless body lying face down in the pool. It was hard to even recognise the gasp that escaped him due to the blood flooding from his mouth.

Lydia wasn't far behind him when she saw her brother fall to his knees, bending down to his level. Her eyes widened in horror at the unhealthy amount of blood he was spewing up, her hands beginning to tremble as she touched him.

More terror came when Lydia saw the body in the pool, hurriedly looking between her sibling and the water before she grabbed the soaked shirt of the body and flipped it over, a sigh of relief escaping her lips when they saw it was a dummy.

However, through his coughs, Adrian's neck still continued to feel light as if something was flowing and seeping through a cut . . . and his blood ran cold when a crimson liquid covered his sister's hands.

Pulling away from the guard, the Martin siblings stiffly turned round . . . and an answer came to the boy of the pair as to why he was currently choking on unsuspected blood.

The lifeguard decked out in his chair lay lifeless, his lifeless stare giving the two a good look at his slit open neck and the red liquid coating him.

What came next was unexpected for Adrian as Lydia let out an ear piercing scream that would put any human to shame. The redhead feared for the better health of his ears as his green eyes scrunched shut, covering them with his hands.

He had never heard his sister scream like that before . . .

❚ ❚ ❚

"Adrian? Lydia?" The rushed out voice of Stiles Stilinski- who was currently jogging out of his jeep to them- yelled out to the Martin siblings consoling one another. When he reached them, his fingers brushed against his boyfriend's forearm. "Are you guys okay- woah! Your mouth!"

"Hot, right?" The redhead rolled his eyes in a sarcastic manner, using his long sleeves to wipe the now dried blood off of his reddened mouth. "My abilities really kicked me in the ass with this one."

"What do you mea-" Adrian used two fingers to direct Stiles' face in the direction of where the lifeguard still lay hunched over lifeless in his chair. The teen's face fell immediately as he gulped. "Yeah, all right. I'm gonna call my dad."

"Lydia already called 911."

Stiles' neck did that cute little turtle snap as he blinked slowly, a look of offensive frustration crossing his face. "You called the police before you called me?"

Lydia still shook with fear while her brother gave his boyfriend a 'are you serious right now' look as she stared wide eyed at the ground. "We're supposed to call you first when we find a dead body?" Her shaky voice questioned.

"Yes!" Stiles yelled after looking at the Martins for a split second, eventually calming down- just slightly- as he whipped out his phone. "I need to tell Scott about this."

"Adrian," his sister's disturbed words of trauma gained his attention straight away, watching with careful eyes as his sister's plump lips quivered. "Y-You said . . . you said Toby's name before running off. Why . . . Why did you say his name?"

Adrian felt the heart in his chest grow heavy, making him feel like the blood was going to come up all over again. It didn't- luckily- as he stared at his sister with a dazed look, his mind elsewhere.

Truth be told, the teen himself was beginning to question why he had said it. After all, it maybe could've been some weird side affect to his abilities before connecting with a dead person. Toby Valack was dead, and Adrian had failed in bringing him back . . . right?

"Yep," Talking to their werewolf friend on the phone, Stiles ran a spastic hand through his brown, thickened locks. "throat ripped out, blood everywhere. It's like the freaking Shining over here. If two little twin girls come out of the woods, start asking me to play with them forever and ever, I'm not gonna be surprised," Scott must've said something on the other line which resulted in a pause. "make sure it was them? Scott, who else is going around ripping people's throats out?"

"Did I miss something last night?" Adrian walked up behind his boyfriend, leaning his chin on the teen's shoulder as he looked down at the phone.

Stiles lowered the device and turned to face the boy. "Yeah. Cora Hale, Derek's younger- and very werewolf-like- sister. Scott wants to make sure Boyd and her are the ones who did it."

"This keeps getting better and better. If he stinks of rotten corpse, I'm out." Adrian huffs as they leave Lydia by herself for a split moment, approaching the hunched over lifeguard.

The couple took note of all the blood trailing down the dead man as the redhead was reminded of the metallic taste of red liquid on his tongue, adverting his eyes. A certain glimmer on the man's hand caught his attention, noticing it was the only thing unmarked by blood.

The Martin couldn't help but snort when he realised what the item was. "A purity ring. Who the hell even wears those? What a loser."

Stiles shrugged, his words fading to a mumble. "Some people do it. Ya know, as a sign of dedicating/saving yourself for that special someone."

"It's stupid." The boy criticised, shaking his head with a rather rude scoff. "Just have sex- throw in a bit of whatever you're into- and move on."

The Stilinski boy paused his inspection to give the boy an odd look, lifting a slow brow. "Whatever you're into?" He quoted.

Adrian shrugged, the words rolling off his tongue smoothly. "Yeah. Ya know, the dirty stuff, if you like it. Ropes, ties, handcuffs, ga- shouldn't we be focusing on the dead body in front of us right now!" He cut himself off, shutting his eyes as he gestured wildly to the gruesome scene in front of them.

Stiles nodded, but from then on it seemed he was almost distracted by something . . . and so was Adrian.

The ring made him think back to his boyfriend's missing childhood friend, Heather . . . and how she was very keen to lose her virginity to Stiles.

Adrian had learned over his short period of time dealing with the supernatural that things always seemed to find a way to link together somehow . . . so if both of them were virgins; what could that mean?

And, more importantly, what could that mean for him?

❚ ❚ ❚

"You didn't have to follow us home." Lydia told Stiles as she flicked on her bedroom light, her and the Stilinki boy trailing in.

"I just wanted to make sure you both got in okay." Stiles defended, sighing when he heard faint grunts coming from the window. "Plus, having your boyfriend sneak into his own house by climbing through a flipping window does not help one's anxiety!"

"Oh, boo-hoo, so sad." Adrian mimicked as he clambered up and heaved himself into the room, the young Stilinski helping him up while his sister just watched with an unamused face. "Besides, we had a police escort, Sti. Pretty safe to say we were fine."

"I know the inner workings of that force, all right?" The spastic boy protested, his arms waving slightly for emphasis. "They're not nearly as reliable as people think."

Lydia hummed, making a face as she pursed her lips. "Well, you didn't have to follow me into my room." She told him, turning to the couple.

"Well, I . . ." Stiles trailed off, his neck doing his usual snapping movements as he eyed his boyfriend; who also seemed to be agreeing with his sister. "Uh, yeah, other than making sure Adrian got in safely . . . I don't have an answer for that."

The Necromancer of the three threw his head back with a groan. "Of course you do! You've been dying to ask how me and Lydia ended up finding that body, dumbass!"

"Wha- and make sure you're okay!" His boyfriend was quick to defend himself, not even denying the dying question he had been following the Martin's around like a lovesick puppy for.

"Well, the answer is, I have no clue how I ended up finding that body." Lydia's shaking voice brought the two boys back to their current situation, watching as her green eyes dazed over as she looked to her carpet floor. "I didn't even know where we were until I got out of the car."

"Yeah, but the last time something like this happened," The Stilinski boy deeply frowned as he began placing the pieces all together, looking between the two Martins uneasily.

"I know." Lydia agreed, looking up at the two boys with a somewhat shaken fear. "Derek's uncle."

Adrian sighed when he too fit the pieces, all of it linking to one specific person who they just couldn't seem to steer away from. "Peter freaking Hale."

❚ ❚ ❚

"Hey," Melissa McCall spoke through to the young teenage couple as soon as she looked up from her files and saw them stagger through the hospital doors together. It was a rather short greeting between them before they were moving away from the reception area. "over here. And if you tell anyone I showed either of you this, I swear to God, I will kill you both painfully and slowly."

After that very severe warning, the woman began to lead the two boys down the hallway while stealing cautious glances around. Stiles was first to ask the question both him and his boyfriend were thinking. "Why do you want to show us a body we've already seen?"

"Because you haven't seen everything." The mother of their best friend derived, leading them into the morgue. Adrian immediately felt his powers kick in ever so slightly as a cold edge came to him, his body feeling weak as he leant against the wall for support.

Noticing this, Stiles gently cupped the boy's forearm and scanned his face for any signs of pain. "You don't have to stay here if you don't want to. I can give you the keys to wait in the jeep, if you want." He suggested.

The redheaded teen was quick to deny the offer, shaking his head. "No. No, I want to stay and find out what's going on . . . for myself and Lydia."

Huddling closer together, the young couple followed Melissa to where she stood near one of the metal tables in the centre of the room where what appeared to be a body lay underneath a thin, white sheet. Adrian grimaced when the dead body of the lifeguard was revealed, his injuries now being seen in full detail minus the blood.

Seeing a dead body with pale, lifeless skin with sunken areas around the eyes while looking for supernatural clues was never something Adrian would think he would be doing in his free time . . . or any time at all. In fact, he didn't think he would be doing any of this!

"See this around his neck?" Melissa directed them to a rather thick line around his neck with her gloved finger. "That's a ligature mark. That means he was strangled with something, like cord, rope."

"Kinky." Adrian commented, hoping his words would somehow distract himself from the odd feeling he was receiving surrounded by dead bodies.

If it weren't for the situation they were currently placed in, Stiles might've laughed at his boyfriend's voice. Unfortunately, he couldn't seem to peel his eyes away from the lifeguard. "Ah, okay, wait a second. What kind of werewolf strangles someone?" He confusedly pondered with blinks. "You know, that's not very werewolf-y."

"My thoughts exactly," Ms McCall nodded to the boy before focusing back on the dead man- more specifically his head. "and then there's this."

The two boys beside the woman shuddered and made noises of disgust when the lifeguard's limp head was tilted to reveal a small chunk had been taken out of the side, just above his ear. "God, man, what is that? Is that brain matter? Yeah, it's brain matter, of course."

"What a fun job you have, Ms McCall." Adrian groaned as he hugged an arm round his stomach, doubling over slightly incase he vomited.

Melissa didn't even seem dazed by the horrific scene she had just shown the two boys, carrying on with her inspection. "See the indentation?" She directed them, the couple braving to look. "He was hit in the back of the head, hard enough to kill him. In fact, any one of these things could have killed him. I mean, someone seriously wanted this poor kid dead."

"Yeah, the guy was wearing a purity ring. A purity ring!" The redhead repeated in another attempt to crack a joke, stopping his nervous chuckles when Melissa and Stiles gave him a look. "Sorry. So, what you're saying is that this couldn't have been Boyd and this Cora chick's doing?"

His boyfriend nodded, answering for him. "They couldn't of done all that. So maybe this is just one big murder." He theorised, his mind searching the depths of his brain for suggestions. "I mean, maybe it's just some random coincidence."

"I don't think it's just this one." Melissa testifies, eyeing the man and his injuries as if she knew something they didn't.

"Oh no, what else happened?" Adrian tiredly ran a hand over his face, his whole face mushing together.

"That girl over there," The Hispanic woman nodded over to another metal table not too far from the one they were currently at. "She's got the exact same injuries." She moved over to said table, peeling the cover over the body off.

When the dead body of the girl was revealed, Adrian's mouth hung open in shock at the somewhat familiar face he had not been expecting to see.

Moving his green eyes off of Heather's dead body, the Martin boy glanced at his boyfriend and immediately felt destroyed at the sorrowful look the hazel tone of eyes held. In hopes of vanishing the now tense air and sight that would probably plague Stiles Stilinski for awhile, Adrian hurriedly pulled the cover back over Heather. He ignored the chills that ran through his spine at the action, doing it nonetheless for the sake of his boyfriend.

Melissa was surprised at the sudden action caused by the redhead, watching intriguingly as Stiles huddled closer to the teenage boy and embraced him tightly in a deep need of comfort by stuffing his face in his neck. It didn't take long for her to realise as her mouth popped open in horror at what she had done. "Oh, my god. Did you two know her? I am so sorry. I didn't even think."

"I was . . . I was at her party." Stiles' voice came out rather hoarse as he felt his boyfriend rub his back slightly for comfort, an action he appreciated as he knew how Adrian could get when it came to PDA. "It was her birthday. Her name was Heather."

Meanwhile, the Martin was in the works on connecting the dots. He remembered how adamant Heather had been on her birthday with the way she had kissed Stiles, Adrian himself had even noted on it . . . Heather wanted to lose her virginity to his boyfriend. And, if the lifeguard wore a purity ring . . . he was yet to lose his too.

"Oh my- Melissa." The Martin gained the attention of the Hispanic woman, interrupting her halfway through speaking to Stiles about calling his father as he was a witness. "Has anyone else been in here today? Anyone dead, missing or anything related?"

"Uh, no, no bodies, but, um" she thought for a second, her eyes wide in a statement that she had something. "Two girls. They brought the first one in, Caitlin, for a tox screen, and then I overheard that her girlfriend, Emily, just disappeared. I mean, they were out in the woods and ugh-"

"Have they found her?"

"I don't know." The woman answered, lost on where the boy was going with his suspicions.

"Is Caitlin still here?" The redhead wondered, taking a few light steps forward.

"I think so."

"Melissa," Adrian latched onto the woman's shoulders, an urgent look in his eyes. He couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit excited. I mean, this was the first time he was onto something. "I need you to tell me where she is."

❚ ❚ ❚

After a lot of chaotic explaining of his theory, Adrian had eventually managed to make his boyfriend understand what he was suspecting and the Stilinski believed him to be onto something. After all . . . one's an incident, two's a coincidence . . . and three's a pattern.

Melissa kept watch by the door for the two boys as they spoke to Caitlin, watching her play with her hands as she sat up in the hospital bed. "We weren't doing anything that bad. I mean, I've camped out there plenty of times."

"Right, but why tonight?" Stiles pried, scratching his chin slightly.

Caitlin's reply came with a shy mumble. "We wanted to be alone for one night. Emily lives with her mum, and I have three roommates. Not exactly romantic settings, you know?"

"How long had you two been together before-" His boyfriend gave Adrian a slight nudge in warning as the boy dropped his head and shut up.

"Three months."

"And you wanted to make it romantic." Stiles assumed with all they had gotten so far, his eyes squinting slightly as the wheels in his head turned.

"Yeah . . . I wanted it to be special."

"Special?" Adrian immediately chipped in before he could help himself, trying to link anything to his theory. When Caitlin slowly nodded at his empathised words, the redhead felt a pang of sympathy for her as he filled in the blanks. "It was her first time, wasn't it?"

"They're going to find her, right?" Caitlin didn't give an answer and she didn't need too, both boys already knew. Her face was scrunched up in a will not to cry as she looked between the young couple.

Neither said a word as Adrian's mind wandered astray. Part of him was glad his theory was becoming more and more possible . . . but the other part of him was scared.

After all, Adrian himself was yet to loose his virginity . . . and he wasn't sure if his boyfriend was the same. If either one of them were to end up having the same fate as the lifeguard, Heather and now possibly Emily . . . they had a real problem on their hands.

❚ ❚ ❚

After talking to Caitlin, Stiles was quick to call up Scott- who met them at the hospital as soon as he could. The werewolf himself had also informed the two boys of his long nights hunt spent with Derek, Isaac and Chris in finding Cora and Boyd. Thankfully, they had succeeded which must've been a positive for the tanned boy . . . until his two friends had told/shown him everything they discovered.

"So Boyd and Cora might not have killed anyone?" The Filipino boy summarised, a certain hope glimmering in his dark brown eyes.

"You're gonna wish they did," Stiles muttered to his best friend as he covered the bodies with matching marks, Adrian shifting awkwardly as he did so. He didn't think he'd ever get used to seeing dead bodies.

"Why?"

"That is still a work in progress," The Necromancer of the three replied, biting his nails slightly as he looked down at the covered dead people. "but we think there may be a pattern occurring."

Stiles nodded along and continued with a more in-depth description of what the redhead was getting to. "The other girl out in the woods, Emily, eventually they're gonna find her. She's one of them. Emily, Heather, the guy Lydia and Adrian found at the pool."

"All three of them had something in common . . . they were all virgins. And they're all going to be found with the same three injuries, strangled, throat slashed, head bashed in. Stiles called it the threefold death."

"So if these aren't random killings, then what are they?" Scott questioned his two friends, a certain edge to his voice as he looked at the boys for answers.

Neither Adrian or Stiles rose their heads as their eyes stayed glued to the bodies. The redhead of the couple was first to speak, him and his boyfriend sharing a mutual look of sad agreement. "Sacrifices."

"Human sacrifices."

A U T H O R. N O T E
well, my writing marathon is going off to a great start- mind the sarcasm. seriously, there's so much i want to get to in this book but my bad writing is just holding me back. send help, pls.

just a quick disclaimer too. i have nothing against purity rings/saving yourself for marriage. it's your life/body and do what you want with it.

regardless, i hope you enjoyed this chapter and will stick around for future stidrian scenes to come. thank you for also getting this book to 3k reads! it means a lot and i love seeing that you guys are liking the story so far! love you!

GIF MADE BY ME !
━ R O S C O E O B R I E N
( 4.7k words )