"Liam, you better get your ass up or else i'm going to drag you out of bed." I crossed my arms as Liam groaned, turning his back towards me. "No, i'm sick."
Scott had sent me over to Liams to try and convince him to come to school. He had been too frightened to go due to Corey and Nolan's meeting in the library.
"You're not sick." I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, i'm like deathly ill." He faked coughed and I kept my glare on him.
"It's serious." He continued. "I think it's the flu."
"It's not flu season Liam, it's spring time." I opened his blinds and he groaned.
"Uh, then I probably have pneumonia." I sighed, sitting on the edge of his bed. "Liam, you're a werewolf; you can't get pneumonia." I said. "But you know what you can get is in trouble for being late to school. So come on, let's go."
Liam shook his head, pulling the blanket over his head. "I don't think I should go to school, or outside, or anywhere, ever again."
I shook my head. "Liam, no one gives a crap about what you think okay? Because you have to go to school. All you have to do pretend like nothing happened?"
Liam shot up, eyeing me. "Pretend? I'm just supposed to pretend?" He questioned me; a frown across his face.
"Think of it when Superman gets caught with his glasses off. You know, he doesn't give up. He puts them back on and says, i'm still Clark Kent."
"You want me to wear glasses?" Liam asked and I rolled my eyes. "This is why you should go back to school; and not be Clark Kent, be Liam Dunbar."
"Just like how Superman has to be Clark Kent, like Spider-man is Peter Parker, and Captain America is just Steve Rogers." I explained but Liam just sighed.
"He doesn't have to pretend, everyone already loves him. Unlike us, who everyone hates." He paused. "They hate us for trying to save their lives."
I nodded. "You're right. We are trying to save lives. Which is why you're gonna get up and go to school and pretend like nothing happened. Because if you don't, more people could die."
"Because of me." He stated and I shook my head.
"I didn't really know Brett and Lori. Well, not like you did. But I know you." I paused, letting out a sigh. "And if you're afraid of seeing more of your friends die, you'll go."
After making sure Liam actually went to school, I met up with Scott at the bunker. We walked into the bunker, joining Argent, Lydia, and Malia. Scott wanted to get advice from Argent about Gerard and his new apprentice.
"Brett and Lori didn't just die." He started. "They were murdered. Killed by the new hunter in Beacon Hills." He stated, not taking his eyes off of Argent. "You know, when he took out the Hellhound, we thought that it was luck. That we were dealing with an amateur. But now we know that whoever this new hunter is, he has a teacher."
"Gerard." Argent said breathlessly. "Which means this is my fault. I'm the one who let him go." He sighed and Lydia shook her head. "You couldn't have done anything."
"He could've killed him." Malia pointed out, earning a glare from Lydia. "Just saying."
Lydia shook her head. "We're not executioners."
I shrugged my shoulders. "We are when it comes to a supernatural war."
"That's why we're going to make peace." I stifled a laugh. "With Gerard." Scott turned his head towards me. "Aubrey, you know what's coming, we all do." He paused. "We keep using the same word."
"War" Argent stated and Scott nodded his head.
"So what stops a war from happening?" Malia asked; her eyes glancing between the four of us.
"A peace summit." Argent answered as Scott nodded. "Right."
"We meet face-to-face with Gerard. Find out what he wants and then we stop all this before it gets any worse." Scott said and I rolled my eyes.
"Last time Gerard was at his so called peace with Deucalion, he blinded him and then killed everybody else, including his own men."
"I'll go." Argent interrupted. "I know he's not going to kill me."
"You sure about that?" Malia countered as Argent shook his head. "Not really."
"All we need to find out is what he wants. Then we can bargain." Argent said.
"Even if he does agree, his terms might be difficult to meet. I mean this is Gerard we are talking about." I stated. This guy was the one that split the body of a werewolf into two parts and was proud of it.
"Well, that's why is a negotiation. Argent pointed out. "I don't expect to get anything without giving something up."
"Then you're gonna have to figure out just how much you're willing to give and how far you're willing to go to stop a war from breaking out." I said as he nodded.
"How do you know she isn't just going to shoot us right as soon as she gets here?" I asked Lydia, pacing around the room and she rolled her eyes. "Even a new hunter wouldn't be that stupid."
Scott had informed Lydia and I that the guidance consoler, Monroe, was the new hunter we were after. Since Gerard declined our peace summit, we'd have to take a step lower than the boss; his assistant.
Monroe entered the room. "You wanted to see me?" She questioned as Lydia turned around and she gasped, looking between the two of us.
"Sorry, I must be in the wrong place. Someone said Ms. Martin was looking for me." She said, about to turn around.
"Oh, it's the right place, wrong Ms. Martin." Lydia flashed her a smile and Monroe chuckled.
"I know who you both are, Lydia, Aubrey." She said, looking at the both of us.
"So, what am I here to talk to you about?" Monroe questioned, crossing her arms over her chest defensively. "Coexistence."
Lydia's answer made Monroe laugh. "Coexistence? For people like you and people like me. That's a bit of a challenge." She paused. "Especially, considering people like you aren't quite the same as people like me."
I rolled my eyes, slightly laughing. "That's usually where coexistence breaks down. Two species that don't get along learn to live with each other."
Lydia nodding agreeing. "When we highlight our differences."
"What is it you guys really want?" She asked bluntly. "We want a peace summit," I replied. "We asked Gerard and he refused."
Monroe shook her head. "Then you got your answer."
"Which is why we are asking you to convince him to meet." She said and I nodded. "You could be the only one to stop this war from happening."
"What if I don't want to?" Monroe countered, causing Lydia to roll her eyes.
"You didn't become a guidance counselor to hunt people. You're supposed to help them." She pleaded and Monroe shook her head, turning around towards the door.
"I'm sorry. I can't help with this." Lydia quickly grabbed her arm, causing her to turn her head. She shot a glare at Lydia, ripping her arm from her grasp.
"Is that how you do your predictions? You have to touch someone?" She asked and Lydia shook her head. "No."
"Then how do you do it?" She asked Lydia. "How do you know who's gonna die next?"
"There doesn't have to be a next, on either side." Lydia sighed. I took a step closer towards Monroe.
"Please, convince him to meet with us."
"Fine. I'll meet with Scott. Only Scott. Tonight at the tunnels." She grabbed onto the doorknob, exiting the room.
"He's going to catch our scent," I whispered to Malia as we trailed behind Scott in the tunnels.
"That's a good thing," Lydia stated. "Then he will know if something goes wrong, we'll be here to help."
Scott turned the corner and I heard his footsteps stop. At first I thought he smelt us, but then he quietly sighed. "I thought we were here to talk peace." He said, peaking my curiosity.
I peeked my head around the corner, noticing Monroe, along with 2 other guards, who held large guns in their arms.
"I agreed to come. I never agreed on peace." A guard came from around the corner, standing behind Scott, holding an electric stick.
"If you brought them, I guess Gerard is here too, isn't he," Scott questioned. As if on cue, Gerard walked into view, standing next to Monroe. "Right here Scott." He said, smirking.
Scott shook his head, facing Monroe. "Whatever he's told you, there's another side of the story."
"Isn't there always?" Monroe questioned. "What were you hoping for here, Scott?" She asked and Scott sighed. "I was hoping to talk reasonably."
"Trust me, he's not the kind of person that you want to follow. He's gonna lead you off a cliff." He stated and Gerard stifled a laugh.
"Following me? No one here is following me, Scott. I'm merely an adviser." He stated and Scott glanced around at all the guards before turning back at Monroe. "This is all because of you?"
Monroe nodded. "That's right. You're negotiating with me, Scott."
Scott nodded. "Okay. Tell me how to settle this. What do you want?" He asked.
"I want to see a werewolf beg for peace." She answered and Scott nodded. "Fine. Okay. I'll beg. I'll do whatever you want. Just tell me that we don't have to kill each other. That we can find a way to make peace."
Monroe rolled her eyes. "That wasn't quite what I was hoping for." She muttered.
"People are dying."
"They've been dying. You only care now because it's your people." I heard Malia growl from behind me as Monroe spoke.
"You have to want someone other than seeing us all dead. What if we leave Beacon Hills? All of us?"
Monroe slightly chuckled. "If you leave, we'll follow you. We'll hunt you down until every single one of you is gone."
"Some of us have actually been protecting you," Scott said and Gerard took a step forward. "Don't listen to him."
"He wants you to be afraid. But you shouldn't be afraid of us. We protect people. People like you."
I watched as she frowned, keeping her eyes on Scott. "People like me? You don't know anything about people like me." Her eyes bore into Scott.
"Then help me understand," Scott said. Tell me what made you hate us so much."
Monroe was silent for a second as if she was in deep thought. "I don't think you want to press that button, Scott."
"Something happened to you didn't it." He said breathlessly. "Something bad."
Monroe slightly shook her head. "Bad doesn't even come close."
"There was a faculty meeting that ran late one night." She started. "We were complaining about the new course rubric. I thought that was the worst thing i'd have to deal with that year. I was wrong." She paused, taking a deep breath.
"We all heard it." She said. "This sound coming out of the shadows. Probably an animal, they said. But nothing like anything i'd ever heard. When it moved, it moved faster than anything i'd ever seen. I saw teeth and claws, fangs." She shivered, her eyes slightly turning glossy as her knuckles turned white from gripping onto the gun she was holding.
"And there was blood everywhere. I couldn't believe I was still alive." She closed her eyes for a brief moment.
"If one of us had been there-"
"You were there Scott!" Monroe interrupted violently. "You and the deputy. Don't you remember? Did you even think to check if anyone was alive?"
Scott slowly shook his head. "I didn't know."
"You didn't care," Monroe said bluntly. "How many people have to die so you could keep your secret? So you and your friends could carry on as if nothing ever happened. I was there. Lying under those bodies. Hiding and waiting for someone to finally find me. " She loosened her grip on the gun.
"You shouldn't have come alone, Scott." Monroe said as the guards started closing in on Scott.
"That's it." Malia growled, her eyes turning bright blue as she passed the corner. I could feel my eyes change with rage as I turned the corner with Malia, tossing the guard into the wall, causing everyone to look at me.
"He didn't," I said, narrowing my eyes at Monroe.
I narrowed my eyes, standing beside Scott, glaring at Monroe. She held her gun up at me, cocking it back.
Scott held his hands up. "Hey, we didn't come here to fight."
"Then you came here to die." Gerard said and Malia growled. "We're trying to protect you."
"You might wanna control your Betas, Scott." Gerard said. "They could get you all killed."
"We're not the enemy." Lydia panted. "There's something else going on. We don't know what it is but we promise you, there's a bigger problem."
"Something worse than supernatural cannibals?" Monroe questioned and I furrowed my eyebrows, confused.
"Yeah, I know everything now. Wendigos, Oni, Werecoyotes. People being murdered as human sacrifices?" She spat and Scott sighed. "We tried to stop those."
"And how many people lost their lives while you were trying?" She countered. "Too many."
"It was twelve." She said and pointed back at the guard to her left. "His son was one of them. His throat was cut and his head bashed in." She then pointed towards the guard on her right. "HIs brother was a deputy. Gutted and torn apart. The official report read Animal Attack."
"It's amplifying their fear." Lydia breathed as all guns now pointed at us.
"You've all lost somebody and you wanna get revenge, I get that." Scott started. "But just listen to me. Something escaped the Wild Hunt."
"Scott it's here." Lydia panicked, glancing around. "It's here right now." She yelled.
"What?" Scott questioned as the guards turned around, suddenly firing their guns.
"Get down!" Scott yelled as bullets sprayed throughout the tunnels. I knelt down to the ground, dodging the bullets that came flying at me. Ducking behind the corner, I huddled up against the rest of the group.
"What are we supposed to do now? Sit here like ducks?" I asked when suddenly the hatch above us opened up. "What the heck is that?"
"Back-up," Lydia muttered as a flare came down, along with a body. The man looked up, revealing Parrish, his eyes a bright orange. He let out a loud roar, grabbing onto the flare.
He walked into the hallway, past all the bullets. He grabbed onto the gun, throwing the guy to the side as he walked up to the faceless creature, causing all the fear.
He screamed as he shoved the flare into the creatures neck, causing a bright light to illuminate the tunnels.
I covered my eyes as the tunnel grew dim once again. Parrish stood in the middle of the clearing, the creature on the floor, motionless.
Scott frowned as he stared at Parrish. "Hey." I muttered, placing a hand on his shoulder. "They didn't come to negotiate. You did everything you could."
He looked up at me, slightly shaking his head. "No, not everything. Not yet."
Happy belated new year everyone, I hope everything is going well for you guys. Let me know what you thought about the chapter <3
Wordcount: 2544