5sos Shorts

"The Hunter" m.c.

I'd always believed in odd and unlikely things. I knew there were demons among men and angels and monsters, too. I just didn't realize how close to me they really were. Not until tonight, at least.

"Michael?" I breathed his name quietly, opening my porch door slightly and poking my head out to get a better look at him.

"Think I could come inside, Maisie?" Michael's question came out raspy and tired. I turned to the side and flipped on the light switch for the porch.

"OH MY-" Michael flew forward and clasped his hand over my mouth to stop me from continuing and I froze, my words dying in the back of my throat. My heart beat wildly in my chest as I took in the sight of him. His pale skin and green hair were covered in blood and a strange black liquid with the same consistency. It was pooling at his feet, running down his arms and soaking through his clothes.

"P-please, Maisie." He sputtered, and more blood trickled from his lips. "I need help."

"Take off your clothes." I ordered him.

"What? Wh-"

"Michael!" I exclaimed, cutting him off. "I can't have you staining my carpet with blood and... whatever the hell else you're covered in."

"More blood." He informed me gruffly, then pulled his shirt and shoes off. I went to the kitchen and pulled a large bowl from a cabinet and a washcloth before filling it with water and soap. I carried it carefully across my carpeted room and set it down outside just in time for Michael to add his pants to the pile of clothes on my porch table.

"Wash your arms and legs down before you come in." I instructed, then sat down with my bum on the carpet and my legs on the cool concrete. Michael sighed, then winced and fell to his knees. I was up again in an instant, helping him onto the porch chair. "What the hell happened to you?"

"I'm going to wash you down. I can't see where you're hurt when you've got all this shit on you." I spoke in frustration as I dipped the washcloth into the water and wrung it out before going to work scrubbing him from his thighs down to his feet, and then from his shoulders to his hands. Michael was in a daze, his eyes glazed over as though his thoughts were far, far away from where we were.

"It's demon blood." Michael blurted as I began rubbing down his neck and to his torso. I paused what I was doing and my eyes met his.

"Demon blood." I repeated simply. He nodded slowly, holding my gaze. I decided against speaking for the moment and pulled him into my apartment, flicking off the porch light in fear of somebody seeing the new stain on the concrete. I poured the now red water I'd been using to wipe him down over the pool of blood and watched as the color bled across the ground and into the rocks. I pulled the door closed behind me and locked it before turning to face Michael.

"You can go take a shower now." I allowed. "I'll grab you some of Luke's clothes."

"Do you believe me?" Michael asked, his voice small.

"You know I believe in demons, Michael." I told him.

"But do you believe me?" He repeated desperately. gripping my shoulders and forcing me to look him in the eye.

"Yes." I whispered, and I wasn't lying. I could feel tears forming and I pushed him away. "Now go shower. Please. I need to think."

"I'm not one of them. I just kill them." Michael attempted again, but I put my hand up to signal his silence and he shut his mouth and nodded before disappearing down the hall into my bathroom.

I just kill them. That sentence whirled around my mind. Of course I believed in demons and such, but I also believed in delusions and mental illnesses and there was definitely a chance that I was aiding and abetting a murderer. I shook my head. Michael would never kill anybody. I just kill them.

God dammit, why did he have to say that? I walked into Luke's room and pulled out a shirt and a pair of jeans, then mindlessly opened the bathroom door to set them down and came face to chest with a very naked Michael.

"MICHAEL!" I shrieked, jumping out of my skin before scurrying to the other side of the door and slamming it back shut. I could hear him laughing on the other side despite my wild heart thumping against my rib cage. I could feel myself start laughing along with him and after we'd both calmed down I sighed and pressed my cheek to the door while I waited for him to get dressed.

The Michael I knew wouldn't hurt anybody. Nobody who didn't deserve it, anyways.

There was a thud. I threw the door back open to find Michael on the ground, bleeding from his side. I dove down beside him and turned him onto his back carefully so I could get a good look at it.

"Um-Michael?" I addressed him.

"P-please Maisie... you've gotta help me." Michael whimpered quietly.

"You need stitches, Michael! I can't help you! I need to get you to the hospital!" I rambled in panic. I made a move to run for my phone, but Michael caught hold of my leg and I looked back at him in confusion.

"Maisie, you can't call anybody. I need you to do this for me. Please." He spoke weakly.

"Okay..." I relented easily, my eyes filling with tears as I tried not to panic and ran around my apartment trying to find the necessary tools. By the time I was kneeling down beside him again with the needle in my hand and the thread from a medical kit I thought I'd never use, I hadn't calmed down very much.

"Talk to me or I'll never get my hand to steady." I prompted, pulling the lighter I kept in an old empty tampon box in the cabinet under my bathroom sink and proceeded to let the flame lick the needle.

"What about?" He asked, closing his eyes as sweat dripped down his brow and I positioned the needle at the top of the gash in his side.

"I think you've got a lot of explaining to do." I spoke with a nervous laugh. He began to laugh but the pain cut him short.

"Can I get some sleep first?" He requested, then winced as I finally began stitching him up as best as I could. I let out a short sigh before giving him a look.

"Of course you can" I confirmed. "You're probably going to have to wait until I'm finished here, though. Wouldn't you say?"

"Do you have to be so sassy right now?" Michael asked, rolling his eyes as I finished up. I helped him up and supported him as I steered him to my room and let him carefully lay down on the bed.

"Don't strain yourself and call me if you need to get up for anything, because I'm not stitching you up again if you pop your stitches. I will bring you to the hospital if you do. I'll see you in the morning, Michael." I spoke as I walked down the hall and to my room.