Sirens (Theo Raeken) [1]

Liars

I'm not dead.

I'm not dead.

I'm not dead.

I recite the phrase like a prayer. An anchor. My eyes can only register the red of the inside of my lids. They feel crusted shut, sealed shut.

I hear voices but I can't make out who is talking and what they are saying. The sounds are muffled like I'm underwater. My lips struggle to form the correct sounds of his name.

Because even though he tried to kill me, even though he took my neck in his hands and throttled me with his own hands, I still care. And I still want him.

And I hate myself for it.

A blow across my face sends a sharp pang of pain that reverberates all through my body. I let a whispery groan escape through my parched lips. "Theo?" I murmur.

I will my eyelids to flutter open. The light is too harsh and my body feels cold as if I am, in fact, a corpse. Brett looms over me, his expression sour.

A mortifying mistake I've made has just hit me. I called out for Theo, not Brett. I blatantly disregarded Brett as soon as I had woken up. "Brett?" I ask, my voice still sounding like sandpaper against wood. I brush my fingers against my neck. There's no evidence of what just happened. "Where did Theo go?" I ask, my bottom lip quivering.

Brett puts a hand under my arm and lifts me. "He's still with Stiles."

I look at him blankly. "That's...Thats not possible," I say slowly.

"Arden, you've just woken up and you're probably not think -"

"He tried to kill me!" I say, my eyes wide. I try to rip free of Brett's arms, but he grips me by my waist and holds me back. "He tried to kill me," I say quieter this time. My voice is hoarse and defeated. I retreat and slump back into Brett.

"Look at me, Arden," Brett says. He turns my face to his. "You were hallucinating. It was your imagination."

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," he asserts.

"Where...Where are the others?" I ask, peering over his shoulder.

"Same thing happened to them," he says. "Mason's with them."

"Was it them?" I ask. "The Dread Doctors?"

He hesitates. "Yeah," he says softly, as if I can't handle it.

Hayden and Liam. Oh my god. I'd left them. If the Dread Doctors were here, did Parrish's invention work? I'm up and bolting down the hallway before Brett can do anything about it. I already know what I'm going to find when I enter the locker room.

But I still have to check.

A push the door open with such force that the door slams against the wall next to it. I ignore Brett calling for me to stop as I scour the room.

Smears of blood are strewn across the lockers and floor. On the floor are the debris of Parrish's device. Liam and Hayden are gone.

I slam my fist into the locker next to me. I keep my head down as I swear over and over under my breath. I can't handle this. I can't have people relying on me. I draw back my arm to hit the locker again. Brett's hand locks around my wrist before it has a chance to slam against the metal.

"Your hand," he says. "Give me a look." He guides my hand towards him and uncurls my fingers. My knuckles are split and crimson blood oozes out of the wounds. I wince when he brushes his fingers over the lacerations on the back of my hand. "Here," he mutters and cups his hand over mine.