"Is three enough?"
"Depends how many cameras they have. But I think so."
Yesterday, after the whole fiasco between Brayden and Addy, she had slept the whole afternoon and night. Liam stayed too, partly because every time he went to get up, Addy would start waking up and pull him back.
She was mentally exhausted. Nightmares filled her dreams: some with Garrett and some with her brother. Most, however, were about Liam. He would get hurt and there was nothing Addy could do to help him. She would be frozen in the spot, unable to move until he let out his final breath.
Addy didn't tell anybody about the nightmares, but they stayed in the back of her mind all day. Stiles called in the afternoon, telling them to meet at Scott's house. Addy made the mistake of telling him that Liam was already with her when he was going to call him next. She could hear the loud laughter on the other end of the phone and knew there was no getting out of the embarrassment.
Brayden wasn't in the house. He probably went over to Luke's. The Conway household had Brayden over nearly as much as Luke was at the Ryder's. Addy was over a few times too, mostly when there was a party being thrown. His mother loved her and her brother. Sometimes she felt like more of a mother than their own.
She left a note on the table: 'I'm sorry. You know I didn't mean it. I'll be out for the day. Don't worry, I'll stay safe.' She made sure to add extra little smiley face at the bottom.
Since Liam's house wasn't too far away, they stopped there so he could get a change of clothes. Addy apologized the whole way there that she was sorry. Neither one of them said anything about the almost kiss, but the tension was noticeable. There was an unspoken agreement that they would never talk about it again.
They didn't exactly have a ride over to Scott's house, so after a very short, annoyed call from Stiles, he came to pick them up. He grumbled the whole way there, complaining about freshman and how they really needed to find a way of transportation. Addy rolled her eyes, she was not about to ride her bike everywhere.
Addy sat in the back of the jeep, and when Stiles tried starting up a conversation, she immediately shut him down. It wasn't until they got to Scott's house did she started to talk. The girls were already there by the time that they arrived.
"Are we really doing this?" Liam asked. The plan was stupid. Addy wanted to smack all of them until they finally agreed not to go through with it. Of course, it wasn't up to her, but it still didn't make her any less worried.
"We're doing it. Tonight," Scott assured. The five of them stood around the square table, three laptops sitting in front of them. Brayden would be severely mad if he found out their shared laptop was being used for criminal use, even if it had the potential to save tons of people.
"Have you guys done something like this before?" Addy asked. It was dangerous, reckless, and stupid – pretty much describing the group of people.
"Something dangerous? Or something idiotic?" Stiles questioned.
"I think it's a yes to both." Kira was fairly new to the group too. She still had a few months advantage on the freshmen, and from what she knew about the last year, Scott and Stiles definitely did stupid things. It was for the greater good, but it was still stupid.
"You don't have to be a part of it if you don't want to," Scott said. He looked between the two freshmen. They weren't holding hands like usual, and he could smell the tension. Scott picked up on their relationship the moment that he saw the two together. He knew that they would be good for each other, he just wasn't sure if they had seen it yet.
"I'm not scared," Liam exclaimed.
"Well I am! What the hell is wrong with you people? God, I don't understand how the hell you can do this!" Addy confessed. Her arms were swinging all over the place to emphasize her point. She nearly hit Stiles in the face, and rested her hands against the table before she actually did hit someone.
"We're not going to judge you if you don't want to do it, Addy," Scott informed.
"No, because if I'm not here, then if you do something extremely stupid – more so than this plan – then I can physically hit you for being stupid to do something more stupid than this stupid plan which is really stupid, making me want to hit you for being so stupid," she rambled.
"What?" Everyone around the table was confused at her outburst, even Stiles, who was trying to figure out exactly what she meant.
"It's a stupid plan!" Addison shouted. It wasn't that hard to comprehend.
"Look," Stiles continued on, ignoring everything Addy just said, "if we do this, we don't know what's coming for us. You know that, right?"
"How do we even know something's definitely coming?" Kira asked the unsaid question. Addy was bouncing up and down on her toes. She was stressed out, which could easily be seen by the others. The price on her head was nearly as big as Scott's and he had years of experience dealing with dangerous things.
"Because the tape from Garrett's bag said 'visual confirmation required.'"
Addy had forgotten about the bag of money. The half a million dollars stashed under Scott's bed. That money could cure all their problems if they were greedy enough to take it. The problem was, it wasn't theirs to take and everyone in the pack was too honest to steal it.
"Simon said the same thing. He couldn't get paid by the benefactor until he had proof that you guys were dead," Stiles added. She didn't know who Simon was, but apparently he had tried to kill them. She wasn't surprised that they still didn't tell her anything. She still didn't know how the benefactor even got all the money.
"So the idea is, what if you kill someone on the deadpool, but you can't send the proof?"
"You don't get paid,"' Addy finished. No proof, no money. Simple. "But how does that get us any closer to the benefactor?"
"He still needs to know if the target is really dead."
"Especially if it's someone high on the list." Stiles glanced at his best friend. He didn't like the plan either, but he knew Scott would be okay. He always was. He survived everything thrown at him: the kanima, the darach, the alpha pack, the nogitsune.
"So if he wants visual confirmation..." Liam trailed off.
"He's going to have to come get it himself." Scott nodded. Addy didn't know how he was so calm during the whole thing. Kira was literally going to put him so close to death, his heart would barely be beating. It would kill any human in an instant, and probably even Addy or Liam.
It was still early in the day. They were going to wait until it was later at night. There was more of a chance that the benefactor would come in the dark rather than the day. If he came.
Stiles went off into the living room to call Malia; they had been fighting apparently. Addy didn't know why. It was probably just something stupid. Kira was in the bathroom, leaving Scott, Liam, and Addy in the kitchen.
"Okay, what's going on with you two?" the alpha asked. The chemo signals they were giving off was actually starting to give Scott a headache. He didn't want to ask when the others were in the room but with only the three of them there he felt as if they would tell the truth.
"Nothing!"
Scott chuckled. "You know I can tell when you're lying, right?" Both of their heartbeats rose when they replied. He thought it was cute how they were acting all nervous around each other. It reminded himself of how he was around Allison. "And I can also smell the tension rolling off you guys."
"It's nothing, Scott," Addy sighed. Her curly hair was up in a ponytail, and her leggings she wore were switched out for skinny jeans. Liam's hoodie was returned to him, and she wore a simple black shirt with her leather jacket.
"It's obviously something if you're so worked up about it," he urged. He heard over the phone with Stiles that they were both at Addy's house, so he knew something was up between the two. As long as they had known each other - which really wasn't that long - they had never fought or argued about anything.
"It's not!" Addy snapped. She stormed out of the room and sat on one of the steps of the stairs. She was frustrated with the whole plan, her brother thought she hated him, and she really wanted to kiss Liam but didn't want to ruin the friendship they had.
Liam sighed as he sat down in the chair. "Brayden and Addy had a huge fight yesterday, and it was my fault." He fiddled with the end of his hoodie string. Scott sat down across from him. He was genuinely worried about them. "It couldn't have been that bad. What did you do?"
Liam's cheeks flared up. He did not want to talk about how he wanted to kiss Addy with his alpha. "No-nothing," he stuttered. Scott gave him a look, and he admitted what he did, "I tried to kiss her yesterday, and her brother walked in."
His whole face was red. It was embarrassing to talk about his almost first kiss. Scott laughed and patted his back.
"Look, if the reason her brother got mad was because of you, then you have nothing to worry about, okay? It's an older brother thing. If you had a little sister, would you want them going around kissing boys?" Scott asked. He didn't have a younger sibling, but he was older than Liam and understood how protective big brothers were.
"No," Liam admitted. He wouldn't want his little sister going anywhere near boys. He understood where Brayden was coming from, but he also knew that she was old enough to make the decision of wanting to kiss someone. It wasn't like they were going to go the whole way. They were too young for that kind of thing still.
"There you go."
Kira walked into the room, Addy by her side. They had gone through much of a similar conversation as the boys. If Liam really liked her, he would try to kiss her again. She didn't have anything to worry about. Although the more she thought about it, the more she wondered is she really wanted him to kiss her. The friendship they had was perfect and Addy didn't want it to end over some miscalculated feelings.
"I should call my mom," Kira said. "She's going to know how to do this better than any of us."
Stiles was in the room now too. His hand shook at his side. Malia hadn't answered his call. He was worried that she was going to hate them – him mainly – and work with Peter.
The sun set sooner than Addy wanted. It was dark out, and the four of them surrounded Scott, who laid on his bed. Stiles left with Argent to set the cameras up at the hospital. Addy paced back and forth, and Scott was sure if she continued there would be a hole in the floor.
"Are you guys totally sure about this?"
It was a question that hung in the air. They were all nervous about it, but they were running out of options. With more and more people trying to kill them, they needed to finish off the benefactor and his little business.
"I think they're nervous. Maybe you should tell them it's going to be alright," Kira said. She wanted to hear it for herself. It was terrifying. If she messed up, Scott would be dead – actually dead.
"It's going to be alright."
It didn't reassure Addy at all. In fact, it made her feel worse. The monotonous voice made her realize Scott was scared. And if he was scared, they should all be petrified. She stopped pacing, and scratched at her wrist, drawing blood yet again.
The metallic smell filled Liam's nose, and he knew it was coming from Addy. He gripped her hand tight, allowing the shallow cuts to heal.
"So, you've done this before?" Liam asked.
"I've seen it done," Kira's mom spoke. In her long lifetime, she had never taken the task upon herself, finding it too dangerous.
"Is that just as good?"
"No," Mrs. Yukimura bluntly said. Kira muttered something to her that Addy couldn't quite catch. "Good, this is a terrible idea."
"I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks that!" Addy shouted. Kira rolled her eyes at the two.
"Do you want us to do this without you?"
Her mom sighed. If they were going to do it against their will, then they may as well get the help. "Put your hand over his heart."
Kira did as she was told, and before she could touch Scott, he grabbed her wrist. "Hold on. While I'm out, am I going to feel anything?"
Addy sighed. She thought he was going to back out. She was hoping he was going to smarten up and not risk his life.
"It might feel like you're dreaming," Mrs. Yukimura explained. Scott asked the question that was on her mind.
"Good dreams or bad?"
"I suppose that depends on you."
Addy couldn't watch as Kira brought her hand down. She turned towards Liam and nuzzled her head into his neck. The embrace was tight and loving. Addy tried blocking out the sounds of electricity, but they were soon replaced by Scott's pained gasps.
Addy just went with the flow as they drove to the hospital. Kira was going to be the one to call 911, while the other three would be waiting. It went by in a blur for her: the waiting, seeing Scott's dead body in the morgue, Melissa's screams and cries. They were fake, too. She was in on the whole plan. Of course she was; it was her son that was 'dead.'
Melissa walked into the morgue, rubbing her eyes as she wiped away the tears. "I still hate this plan. I mean, this is significantly terrifying. He looks dead."
That was kind of the point. He needed to be dead for the benefactor to come. If he comes, Addy thought again.
"Give me your hand." Mrs. Yukimura stretched out her hand. Melissa hesitantly stuck her hand out. It was placed onto Scott's heart. She was terrified when she didn't feel a heartbeat. "Wait for it."
And then she felt it. A single heartbeat that let her know that her son was still alive. "Is that enough to keep a werewolf alive?"
"Enough for an alpha."
"How much time do we have?" Scott's mom asked. Addy was curious, too. She never knew how much time Scott had until they were forced to bring him back.
"Forty-five minutes." That wasn't a long space of time. During school, forty-five minutes felt like hours, but now, that seemed like seconds.
"What happens after that?" Melissa questioned.
"I bring him back the same way," Kira answered. Addy sighed. She didn't think Melissa meant it like that.
"I think she means what happens if you don't bring him back in time?" Addy looked for Liam's hand, without looking down. He could sense her distress, and grabbed her searching hand. Their hands fit well together. His hands weren't much bigger than hers, but they were a lot more callused. With all his hard work for lacrosse, they've hardened up.
"No one's told her?"
"What? What happens after forty-five minutes?"
"He dies."
Addy jumped as her phone went off. She had a text from Stiles. It was a quick text, half of the words either shortened or misspelled. She rolled her eyes and nudged Liam. They were supposed to meet up in one of the empty rooms their laptops were set up in.
The kitsune, the werewolf, and the unknown met up with Stiles. Argent went up to the roof to get the cameras connected to the computers. They stared at the blank screens, waiting for his call. It finally came, and they all pressed the same little button on the keyboard.
Each computer was divided into four sections, each displaying different part of the hospital. Addy's eyes constantly stayed on the morgue. It was a quiet, regular night at Beacon Hills Memorial. No one knew that a potential mass killer was going to show up, and it was going to be kept that way for the night.
"Is that supposed to look like that?" Liam asked, pointing to the camera the farthest distance from Addy. It turned fuzzy, then completely blacked out.
"No. No, it's not."
"Where is that?" Addy asked.
"The roof. Someone's going to have to go check it out," Stiles said. Kira quickly volunteered. She was tired of sitting around watching the screens. "Whoa, whoa. This might not just be a malfunction."
"That's why I'm bringing this." Kira lifted the small blanket off what she held to reveal her sword. Addy had never seen her use it, but it must be pretty cool, like out of an action movie. She also hoped that Kira wasn't going to need to use it.
"I'm coming with you." Liam trailed after her.
"I'll go too," Addy added. The more the merrier – or safer, at least. She didn't want to leave Stiles by himself, but no one was going after him. He was human.
"No." Liam stopped her. He wasn't going to let Addy put herself in danger without a way to protect herself. He had claws, she had smoke – whatever that meant.
"Liam..."
"No, just stay here. Watch over Stiles."
Stiles looked offended. He could handle himself just fine. In fact it might even be better for him if Addy left. Then, he wouldn't have the chance of being in the same room as an assassin again. Once was enough for him.
"Fine," Addy agreed. "But Liam?" She knew it wasn't going to be a malfunction. It was Beacon Hills; there were no coincidences. Addy lightly pressed her lips to his cheek. She could feel the heat radiate off of him. "Be careful."
"You're both coming right back! Immediately," Stiles shouted as the two ran out the door. He sighed. "Kids."
"You do know that Kira is older than you, right?"
"Shut up," Stiles snapped. The two bickered every time they were in a room together but in the end of it all, she knew that he cared about her. He leaned back in the chair where he sat and looked over at Addy. "What's wrong with you?"
"What?"
"I mean you keep fidgeting, like, more than normal," Stiles explained. She had been on edge all day. At first, he thought it was because of the plan, but it seemed to be more than that. Addy muttered a 'nothing,' although it was easy to tell she was lying. "Come on, Ads. You can trust me."
"I know I can," Addy mumbled. "It's just, I had really vivid nightmares last night – mostly about everyone getting hurt – and I'm just scared, I guess. They felt so real."
They had been in the back of her mind all day, making it hard to focus on anything. Stiles stood up from his spot and gave the younger girl a hug. He knew what it was like to have nightmares like that – a little too well, actually.
It was a few minutes after they left that the power went out. Every light flickered, and the screens went fuzzy.
"Shit, shit, shit," Addy muttered, pulling away from the previous hug. Stiles pressed a few keys, but nothing was going to work. It was the power, not the cameras. He picked up his phone and dialled Argent, although he didn't pick up.
"I'm going down to where Scott is, you coming?" Addy shook her head. She was going up to the roof where Liam and Kira were. Whatever was going on up there had to be the cause of the power going out. Addy was worried about the two, she knew that they could handle themselves but it still didn't mean that they couldn't get hurt.
"I have my phone," Stiles told her. They ran in opposite directions, leaving the computers on the bed. There wasn't much time until they had to revive Scott. If Kira were to get hurt, then that meant that Scott wasn't going to make it back either. She couldn't lose two of her friends.
Addy ran down the hall and up the stairs. She swung the door to the roof open, just to see Liam being flung against the wall. Someone – no, something – was dodging the hits of Kira's sword. It was massive, taller than any person she had ever seen, and Luke's dad was six foot seven. It was covered in armor made of bones, with a skull as a helmet.
"What in the holy hell is that?" Addy gasped.
"Addy! Get out of here!" Liam yelled. She ignored him and helped up a knocked down Kira. The boned creature lunged at her. Addy barely missed the hit as she rolled away. Her eyes were glowing their bright peach. Her heart was racing and she could feel the adrenaline pump through her veins.
Liam went after the creature again, his claws swiping against the bone. It tossed him to the side and his head painfully hit against the wall. As far as it seemed, the creature could not be stopped. They needed Scott there, they wished that Scott was there.
"Liam!" Addy stood up from her spot. She was scared, really scared. That's all she seemed to be feeling lately – scared or sad. She didn't exactly have a weapon to defend herself, but she did have quick reflexes. It seemed to help as she dodged all the swings of the monster. She had never before done half the moves she completed.
It was a mix of bends, rolls, and actually a flip or two. Then, the berserker caught her off guard. Its hand wrapped around her neck, and lifted Addy of the ground. She was thrown across the roof. The floor connected with her back, and her head lolled to the side.
Addy groaned as she stood up, and Kira got thrown to the ground again. They just couldn't beat this thing. "Liam! Addy! Run!"
Liam ignored her. He charged, but instead of hitting the berserker, he jumped up on the electrical box. He roared, which Addy found more attractive than it should have been. He leaped onto the creature, but his hold didn't last when he was knocked down, so hard that he wasn't conscious anymore.
Addison Ryder was furious, she was worried, and she wanted this thing dead. It was hurting her friends and wasn't going to stop until one of them was dead. After making these amazing friends, she knew that she couldn't lose them to something like this. Blood rushed to her brain and her fists were clenched at her sides.
Kira was shocked. She didn't know exactly what Addison could do. Scott told her about how she started smoking, but she wasn't just smoking. She was on fire – literally. The smoke that came off her skin turned into a bright orange flame. The dark roof top was now lit bright and all eyes were on the fire.
Addy was the fire.
Liam sat up dazed. His eyesight was blurry, but he was drawn to the glowing blur. Addy moved with amazing skill. The berserker couldn't get a single hit on her. Liam's vison cleared, and he noticed that not only was Addy glowing with the fire, she sustained it. It wasn't just a random flame. It was a sword and shield. Her hair was glowing bright orange as it flew around when she rolled away from the berserker's blade.
Addy didn't know what she was doing. She just let her instincts take over. She let out a war cry – a mix of a scream, and her yelling 'come on!' It might not have been because of her, but the berserker stopped its attacks. It suddenly turned around and left. Addison stood there, her body heaving with every breath.
"Addy?" Liam stood up. He wobbled when the world seemed to spin. The flame around Addison died down, and so did she. She fell to the ground. She was weak, tired, and her bones felt like they were jelly. Whatever she had done to herself had used up the last but of energy that she had left in her.
Liam rushed over to her and scooped her up in his arms. Her skin was still hot, so hot that it burnt his arms. She seemed fine, though. There were no burn marks, and the small cuts she received already healed. Her powers had just gotten more confusing, but the two were happy that she had done what she had done.
"Scott," Addy mumbled. She knew there wasn't much time left for him.
"Hey, it's okay. Kira left. She's gonna bring him back." He groaned as Addy still burned his skin. "We're going to get you to Melissa, and she's going to help you, okay? Just stay awake for now." He didn't say anything about what had just happened. He didn't really even know what just happened.
Liam trekked down the stairs. Addy was starting to cool down. Any person who hadn't just seen what happened would assume that she had a deathly fever. He was scared that she was going to die. Anyone normal would been have severe damage if they were on fire that long. He finally found Mrs. McCall. She was leaning over Kira's mom. She was bleeding from a deep wound to the stomach.
"Liam?" His head snapped towards the familiar voice of his step-dad. Dr. Dunbar was confused as to why he was holding Addy. "What the hell happened here?"
"Just help me get her off the floor." Melissa was covered in blood, along with the floor. The two ladies must have had a similar mishap with the mysterious creatures. Addy and Liam still had no idea what they were, and a serious explanation was needed.
Melissa pointed off to an empty room to leave Addy. Liam didn't want to leave her, but someone needed to tell Kira about her mom. He ran down to the morgue. When he found her, he looked at Kira with a sad look. "What?" She asked.
"It's your mother. She's hurt."
Scott nodded at her. She needed to get to her mom; it was more important. He was fine now anyways. She passed by Liam, who was itching back to get to Addy. "Liam, wait! Where's Addy?" The alpha looked at his beta with concern.
"I don't know what happened," Liam blurted out. "She just– it was–" he didn't exactly know how to explain it. Scott was going to have trouble explaining how he came back to life. He needed to see Addy, though, especially since Liam was having such trouble explaining.
"Go. We'll meet you up there." Liam ran up the sets of stairs; the elevators were taking too long. Melissa was over Addy, checking her vitals. Liam's arms were still healing from the burns he received, and Melissa noticed them.
"What the hell happened?"
"I-I don't really know," Liam stuttered.
"She's burning up." Melissa placed a hand on Addy's forehead.
"No, she was burning." Liam shook his head. "She was-we were fighting those things, on the roof, and she just started to flame up. That wasn't the only weird thing."
"There's something weirder than being on fire, and not having any scars?" Melissa scoffed. She was getting tired of finding new supernatural things and no one knowing what the hell was going on.
"She-she made like a sword and shield out of the fire. And she was fighting like she's spent years training," Liam explained. Addy was dead to the world. The only reason Liam knew she was still alive was that he could hear her heart beat. He was worried about her, she had done it to protect them. "Do you know what's wrong with her?"
"I think she's just exhausted. Don't worry, Liam. She just needs rest." Melissa smiled. Though she didn't know nearly enough of the supernatural to tell the truth, that was her best - and most hopeful - guess. They didn't need Liam getting worked up over nothing. "What happened to your arms?'
"Addy," He simply answered. Picking her up had burned his skin, he hand't noticed it until it was pointed out. Slowly, the skin healed but it was painful to the touch. Much like the girl beside him, he just need some time to recover from their traumatic night.
"Go home, Liam. Get some rest. I'll get Scott to watch over her," she said.
Liam's eyes were drooping, and he could have fallen asleep any moment. He didn't want to leave Addy, but with his dad's shift being over, he didn't have much of a choice. "You're going to make sure she's going to be okay, right?"
"Go home, Liam."
^^^^
Word count: 4985
March 10, 2016
Lots of stuff happened this chapter, and I hope you all enjoyed it. Lots of love <3