I know it's been a while since I've updated. I apologize. Here is the next chapter.

Thank You: MJR for reviewing :)

Thank you to those who have favorited and followed the story as well.

Chapter 21

Stiles slid into his seat, breathing heavily. He bounced his knee up and down, his brow breaking a sweat. His clothes hung on him disheveled. He tapped his thumb on top of the desk, staring at the blackboard. He didn't even have his bookbag.

"Hey man, you okay?" Scott asked, taking the desk beside him.

Stiles nodded, gulping. His throat was painfully dry.

"Yeah. I uh, didn't get a lot of sleep last night," he said, fixated on the board. He blinked rapidly. Licking his lips, he leaned forward. His attention was everywhere and was nervous.

Scott watched him closely. Stiles's head twitched and his eyes widened. He was seeing something.

"Anybody else see that," he mumbled, straightening up uncomfortably.

He looked around terrified. He held the edges of his desk tightly. People were turned in their seats talking to one another. Some were writing in their notebooks or opening their textbooks. Stiles looked back at the board, terrified.

"Nobody sees it," he breathed.

"Stiles," Scott said.

Stiles didn't respond. He cowered down in his seat, shaking. Scott looked at the board. It was blank.

Melanie coughed as she put her books into her locker. Two of them came unlodged and fell to the floor. She grumbled unhappily and picked them up. Then looking back into her messenger bag again, she paused. Her glasses were missing.

"What? No, no no, I didn't forget them," she said, looking through every pocket aggressively.

They weren't anywhere in the bag. She huffed annoyed. The late bell rang, dulling her hearing for a few seconds.

"Crap," she muttered.

Coughing, she slammed her locker shut and hurried off to her first period. She rubbed her eyes then blinked several times, nearly running into the classroom door in the process. Her eyes were stung from dryness. Eye drops didn't help any. She blinked rapidly. Her nerves were shot, making more and more restless with each class. Her back itched unbearably. She tensed up, trying not to reach back and scratch it. The feeling was like dozens of spiders skittering across it. Her mouth hung open a little. Shallow breaths in and out. She shook.

In the middle of fifth period she rose her hand.

"Yes, Ms. Rouxe?"

"Can I please use the restroom?"

The teacher nodded. Melanie grabbed her books and rushed it out of the classroom. She looked over her shoulder. There was nobody sharing the hallway with her, but she could feel something. Her flip flops thwacked loudly down the hallway. She scratched below her jaw then quit instantly at seeing a strange black vein on her fore arm. It was small, two inches up near the crease of her elbow. The shape resembled an earthworm and wiggled like one too when she flexed her muscles.

She stopped walking. Her mouth twisted as the vein spread down to her wrist like lightning.

"What's happening to me," she cried.

She dropped her books at seeing it spread. The veins looked like vines now. She backed up, her arms outstretched, terrified. The distance, as short as it was, didn't make the black veins go away. They spread all over her arm.

"I have to get it out. I have to-," she mumbled.

She scratched her forearm, digging into it hard. Skin peeled up and got stuck underneath her nails. Her flesh grew pink then red. Blood started to seep through. Melanie didn't stop. She couldn't. The vines kept growing and turned even blacker. She had to get them out.

She fell back against the lockers, causing her to wince. The crawling feeling faded, but she kept on scratching, not noticing that Aiden and Lydia were coming down the hallway.

They didn't appear on her radar. She stopped for a second, breathing heavily. Her eyes burned with a sense of crazy. Deep underneath her skin, where the vines were, her skin stung. She blinked rapidly. Her eyes stung too.

"Melanie?"

Melanie continued scratching her forearm mindlessly. No matter how much she dug into her arm, the vines weren't coming out. More epidermis was torn away and deeper layers were shown. Much more and she'd start to reach muscle.

"It won't come out," she said, her voice raspy and terrified. "It's in there."

Lydia saw her arm dripping with blood. Melanie didn't look at them. She didn't even register their presence. This thing in her arm was going to kill her. They didn't matter. She dug her fingers into her arm even more and hissed, keeping her jaws clenched. Her fingertips were slippery with blood.

"Stop, you're bleeding," Aiden said cautiously. His arms rose to assure her that he wasn't going to hurt her, but she didn't notice. He grabbed her hand, stopping the self-abuse.

Lydia noted the mixture of blood and epidermis under her nails then looked at her forearm where several scratches were inlaid. They oozed with blood and the scratches looked like an animal mauling. Melanie breathed in and out harshly. She yanked her hand futilely trying to free it. Her breaths grew more ragged, her shoulders rising and falling quickly as if she struggled to breathe. Her hair shadowed her face. Her head shot up instantly. Her eyes were black, like oil was reaching each corner of them. Lydia covered her mouth horrified, silencing her scream. Blood trickled from Melanie's tear ducts. Melanie grabbed Aiden's arm tightly with her free hand and threw him effortlessly down the hall. He grunted, landing on his back.

Lydia rushed to his aid. Melanie stared at the two confused and plopped to the floor and continued to scratch her forearm, mumbling to herself, "I have to get it out. I can feel it. It's right there. Just a little…deeper."

The blood dripped from her jaw onto her light blue shirt, staining the sensitive fabric. She sniffled, digging even harder into her skin. The sound of books hitting the floor echoed down the hall. Lydia looked back over her shoulder. Isaac stared at Melanie expressionless and frozen at the zombie-like sight that sat crumpled forward on the floor. He ran past Lydia and Aiden and scooped Melanie up into his arms. Melanie looked up meeting his eyes, but didn't stop raking her chipped, reddened nails across her flesh. A helpless whine fell from her lips as he picked her up.

"It's in there. It won't come out," she sobbed.

Lydia watched him take off towards the exit with her. She glanced down at her hands. There was a small streak of Melanie's blood visible on her ivory skin, just below her thumb.

Stiles stared at the board. His face contorted with discomfort. He's stared at the last four boards in the last four classes like this. His stomach rolled disgustingly again. It wasn't hunger and it wasn't vomit. He gulped and gripped the edge of the desk. Something was in there, crawling around. It had legs.

"Are you alright," Scott asked from behind.

"I don't think so. I can feel it inside of me," Stiles breathed.

He glanced down and watched as his stomach lurched unmeasurably. He shook. Lifting his shirt, he gasped horrified. Dark vines crept across his abdomen. Jumping from his seat, he landed on the floor and stumbled backwards.

"Oh god," he shrieked, clawing at his stomach.

It was just beneath the surface. A little scratching would get rid of it. He could pull it out. His stomach lurched again, sending an agonizing sensation through him.

"Stiles," Scott yelled.

"Get it out!" Stiles yelled. "Get it out of me!"

Students jumped out of their seats and crowded towards the front of the room away from Stiles. He writhed on the floor.

"Everybody, stay in your seats!" the teacher yelled.

Stiles's body arched into the air, his nails digging into his stomach. Scott grabbed his arms and pinned them down to his sides, but his strength was short lived. Stiles threw him backwards and retreated to the corner of the room. Baring his teeth, he pressed into his stomach and scratched, mumbling to himself.

Scott looked back at Ethan and Allison right behind him. Their mouths hung open just as horrified. This was unlike anything they'd dealt with.

"We have to get him out of here," Scott said.

Both of them nodded and grabbed Stiles. He tried to fight them off.

"Hey! Where are you going?" The teacher yelled after them. She held her cell phone in hand.

An ambulance pulled up onto the sidewalk in front of the exit. The group averted their eyes and kept moving for Stiles's jeep. The paramedics rushed into the school with a gurney.

"What's wrong with him," Ethan asked. He tightened his grip on Stiles.

"I don't know, but Deaton might," Scott replied.

He unlocked the trunk and Ethan put Stiles in the back then climbed in.

"Don't let him—"

"Try to tear his insides out? Yeah, I'll work on it. He has some weird strength," Ethan said. He grabbed for Stiles's arms. He grunted after getting punched in the jaw. His eyes flashed for the first time since the night in the woods. They were a vivacious blue. He swallowed back the rage that tempted him to snap Stiles's neck and shoved his hands to his sides forcefully.

Scott shut the door and rushed to the driver's side.

"Wait!"

Allison spun around. Aiden came running toward them with Lydia in his arms shaking.

"What happened?" Allison asked as she opened the back door. Aiden slid her in gently.

"I don't know. We saw Melanie in the hall, and she was acting weird—" he stopped at seeing Stiles. "She was acting like him. What is going on Scott?"

"I don't know. Get in. We're going to get answers."

"Text Isaac. He took Melanie," Aiden said.

Allison paused before shutting the door.

Isaac took Melanie. Things were fine after Melanie left the hospital. They were almost normal. He was acting weird again lately. He avoided anything about Melanie when she came up in conversation. There was tension between them. He wouldn't talk about it. She wouldn't talk about it. Allison knew she wasn't the only one who noticed it. There was a barrier preventing her from connecting with him lately.

Getting to the vet clinic, Derek, Isaac, Cora and Melanie were already there. Cora and Derek were trying to hold Melanie down. She growled at them to fix her. Deaton stayed back in the corner as they tried to calm her. He came out to the front and saw Stiles and Lydia. Blood streaked down Stiles's face.

All three of them were crying out in hysterics. Lydia didn't have the blackened veins like the other two, but blood did curve over her cheeks.

"What's wrong with them," Scott asked as he helped Ethan pin Stiles down to the mobile exam table next Melanie.

"I don't know. I haven't seen anything like this before," Deaton replied. He shone a small light in their eyes. There was no response. Each of their eyes were shiny black. No pupil registered.

Allison watched Isaac. He glanced at Stiles and Lydia, but ultimately remained focused on Melanie. She lurched and fought against Derek and him trying to get loose. Cora moved around Allison to help hold Lydia down on her small table.

Scott ignored his cell phone as it vibrated in his pocket.

Stiles roared angrily, "Let me out of here!"

Veins bulged from his throat and forehead, his face turning a deep shade of red.

Isaac stared at Melanie. She whimpered and pled with Derek to help her. She even pled with him. He sighed heavily, wishing there was something he could do to stop this weird infection.

He held his chest. Tightness grew, pushing against it, making it hard to breathe. His face pinched together as each breath got shorter. Derek wiped the bloody tears from Melanie's cheeks, but more came down. Allison moved over to help Ethan hold Stiles down. His stomach was covered in scratch marks. Cora and Aiden were handling Lydia. She shook uncontrollably and was screaming at something on the ceiling that was staring at her.

"Isaac, help us," Scott exclaimed, keeping Melanie's arm to her side.

Isaac looked back at her. He'd let go of her, not realizing it. He swayed. His eyes glowed fuchsia as he stared at Melanie, petrified. Everybody knew what they were doing to help except him. His stomach twisted painfully. She couldn't die. The very thought made him furious and something else…he wasn't sure what, but if she died so would he. He could feel it in his gut. There was a connection, a strong one that he couldn't deny anymore. He wouldn't make it if she didn't.

"Isaac," Deaton said, looking at him worriedly.

He grew pale and dizzy.

"Isaac," Allison said next.

Isaac's breaths grew more difficult. Reaching out for the nearby counter, his fingers caught it, but it didn't matter. His eyes rolled back and he collapsed to the floor, hitting his head off the edge of Stiles's table.

"Somebody grab him. Put him on the bed in the other exam room," Deaton said.

Derek and Aiden grabbed him by the arms and dragged him out of the room. Deaton's eyes followed them, his stare lingering on the empty doorway. Scott yelled, pulling Deaton back to the main problem. Melanie had punched across the face, yelling viciously at him. Taking a syringe, he stuck the needle into the arm Melanie had scratched and was still trying to. Blackish ooze came out. It was thick. Melanie's whole body began to convulse then.

"What is that," Scott asked horrified. He held her down.

"I don't know, but Scott, if we do not find out what is happening to them, they are going to die," Deaton said.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Review?