FORGOTTEN SOULS || Isaac Lahey [1]

eight.

The next day at school, Dani found it difficult to pretend everything was still normal. She was anxious in the halls when walking to her classes, felt a spike of fear every time she passed Erica in her leather jacket, and found she jumped at almost every unexpected noise. It helped having Hayes or Scott or Stiles walking with her, but during lunch she watched the three leave the cafeteria. They didn't show up to classes for the rest of the afternoon.

When they were home that night and their Dad had gone to bed, she demanded answers from her brother. Hayes explained that they realised who Derek would be targeting next and went to see if they could intercept the bite. It was someone named Boyd; he worked at the ice rink and was the person who gave Stiles the keys the night they snuck in. Stiles went to his home where he was met with Erica, who dealt with him. Scott and her brother found him at the ice rink. They had tried to talk him out of it, only to find that Derek and the other two members of his pack were there, and Boyd had already been given the bite.

She couldn't help but laugh when Hayes then went on to say Erica had pulled a piece out of Stiles' jeep and left him in a garbage bin. It was horrible, yes, but picturing him fumbling his way out was pure gold.

After handling the situation with Derek, both Scott and Hayes were injured, so they went to the animal clinic where Scott worked so they could patch themselves up. But it seemed that his boss, Deaton, knew a lot more than he had previously let them believe. He patched them up and sent them to hide just moments before Allison's father, Chris, and her newly arrived grandfather came in with a handful of other hunters. They had been able to listen in on the details.

This cut, on the back of his neck, Deaton had started. Precise. Almost surgical. But this isn't the wound that killed him. This had a more...interesting purpose.

Relating to the spine? Gerard, her friends grandfather, then asked.

Deaton nodded. That's right. Whatever made this cut was laced with a paralytic toxin potent enough to disable all motor function.

"So the cut on the back of the neck completely paralyzed the guy," Dani cut him off for clarification.

Grimly, Hayes nodded before continuing on. He described the horrific claw marks that had shredded the mans torso and internal organs to ribbons. These are the cause of death, Deaton explained. Notice the patterns on each side?

Five for each finger, Chris had nodded.

Apparently, Gerard was swift to correct him. Each claw.

As you can see, Deaton then carried on, it dug in and slashed upward, eviscerating the lungs and slicing through the bone of the rib with ease. Chris asked if he had seen anything like it in his career, and Deaton had shaken his head.

Any idea at all what killed him? Chris then asked.

No. Deaton took in a breath. But I can tell you it's fast, remarkably strong, and has the capacity to render it's victims essentially helpless in seconds.

If you're saying we should be careful, we get it, Chris had muttered.

Hayes said that Deaton had taken the time to look each of the seven hunters in the eye. I'm saying you should be afraid. Be vary afraid. Because in the natural world, predators with paralytic toxins use them to catch and eat their prey. This prey wasn't eaten. That means whatever killed him only wanted to kill him. In fact, killing may be its only purpose.