Laws of Nature [2]; Liam Dunbar

eighteen: the beast

Marlow and Riley pushed open the doors to the school, allowing Stiles and Hayden to carry Liam inside. They rushed into the nearest classroom. Marlow could still hear the Beast roaring outside. It was closing in on the building.

"The desk, the desk!" Stiles instructed.

Stiles and Hayden put Liam on the table. Marlow could hear people screaming and running all around outside the door. Her heart raced as she looked down on Liam's chest. It was covered in slashes. Deep slashes. Liam screamed, clearly in pain.

"Liam," Hayden said.

"I'm okay. I'm fine." Liam insisted.

"Oh, God," she gasped as Hayden pulled the strips of ripped fabric from his jersey off his chest. The wounds looked much worse than she thought. Riley gagged next to her, turning away from Liam. Marlow rubbed her back, trying to keep her from throwing up.

"What? Is it bad?" Liam asked worriedly.

"No," Hayden replied.

"Very," Stiles added.

"So bad!" Riley insisted. "I think you might die, honestly."

"Okay. Okay." Hayden chimed in. "What do you guys usually do when this happens?"

"Oh, I usually pass out. And I think I still might do that," Stiles replied. His eyes went glassy and Marlow left Riley's side to steady him.

"Stiles!" Hayden yelled.

"Okay, okay. Okay. Scott did this with pain. He could trigger it. Pain makes you human."

"He's already in pain." Hayden needlessly reminded him.

"Right, okay, but maybe adding a little more could help take away the pain," Stiles told her.

Liam sat up with a start, screaming out in pain once more. Riley pushed Hayden out of the way. "I'll do it!" she yelled frustratedly. She pushed Liam back on the table. Putting her hand on his chest, she closed her eyes to focus her energy on his wounds.

Marlow watched as Liam slowly calmed down. Her heartbeat steadied as Riley worked her magic. People outside were still screaming and Marlow felt as though she needed to go and do something. She and Riley shared a look. Riley nodded at her. "This could take a bit."

"I'll go outside and look for the others," Marlow announced as she rushed towards the door.

Stiles dashed after her, blocking the door before Marlow could exit the room. "Are you out of your mind? In case you forgot, there is a Beast out there!" he yelled. Marlow rolled her eyes, a sigh escaping her lips. "I know, I don't need to tell you. I just..."

He sighed, throwing his hands in the air defeatedly. "I'll be careful. You just make sure Riley and Liam stay safe." Marlow assured him. She pulled him into a hug. She didn't want to leave. She would have much rather stayed and made sure everyone was safe, but she needed to know her friends were safe.

They pulled apart and Stiles reluctantly stepped away from the door. Marlow turned around one last time, watching as Stiles walked back over to her friends and Riley was still busy healing Liam. She sighed, hoping everyone would be okay, and then walked out of the door.