Chapter six: Managed

Scott had been at Kira's house for hours now, and the only person coming near the house was a pizza delivery guy. Isaac and I had started playing cards in my car, though we were still actively listening and looking out at the house. Allison's bestiary search wasn't successful so far, she texted every other hour, but most finds were too general. Basically, we could be up against anything.

It must have been about half past seven when Isaac's head jerked up and he slowly turned to look out of the back window. "Someone's coming."

I looked back as well, not seeing anybody. There was movement in the corner of my eye, and I turned to see the gaunt face of William Barrow. "Shit!" I scrambled back in my seat, thankful that the door was locked on the outside. Behind me, Isaac, opened the door and got out. This distracted Barrow enough for me to be able to swing the car door open, pushing him back, and then quickly closing it again.

"Call 911!" Isaac shouted as he ran at Barrow, who lunged at him with what looked to be a cattle prod. Just as I pulled out my phone and dialed the number, one of Barrow's swings connected, sending a jolt of electricity into Isaac's body.

"I see what you are." Barrow's voice was shaky, like he was on the verge of crying. He held up the prod again, ready to strike. "You're trying to stop me from getting proof! Telling the world!"

"Fuck." I put the car in reverse and got some distance in.

My phone call connected. "911, what is your emergency?"

"My friend is being attacked by a man with a cattle prod. I- I think it might be William Barrow."

"Okay, stay calm, the police will be on their way soon. Is the man armed?"

Isaac had shaken off the blow and was now fighting back. My stomach dropped as I watched him turn, his eyes glowing. I covered my phone's microphone and opened the window. "No claws, Isaac!"

I put the phone back to my ear.

"Ma'am, does he have a weapon?"

"Uhm, he has this electric cattle prod… I have my gun with me. Can I shoot him?"

"I would only advise doing so if your friend cannot get hit."

Barrow ran towards Isaac, pushing the cattle prod into his stomach. When Isaac fell, Barrow made sure to bend down, so it kept connecting.

"No, no, no…" I threw my phone down, put the car back in drive and slammed my foot on the gas. There wasn't much distance to build speed, but it was still a pretty hard hit. The cattle prod skidded over the road, harmlessly sparking onto the asphalt. I laid on the horn hard and long, hoping to draw Scott out of Kira's home.

Thankfully, Scott came running out within seconds, Kira closely behind him. Scott raced over to help Isaac, who was trying to keep Barrow pinned to the ground. I breathed a sigh of relief and stepped out of the car, taking my gun out and pointing it at Barrow. A flash of light caught my eye. I turned my head to see Kira standing in the middle of the road, hands reaching out to the cattle prod.

"Kira be careful, that-" the words died in my throat as I watched Kira grasp the prod. Instead of the electricity sparking into the air, the light seemed to draw into her without causing harm. "What the fuck…" Kira saw it too, eyes wide but seemingly unable to let go. After a few seconds, the sparks stopped flowing, as if she'd drained the entire thing.

Police cars came flying around the corner, sirens wailing and lights flashing. Within minutes, Barrow had been cuffed and the rest of us were taken to the sheriff's station for questioning. By none other than Agent McCall.

Said agent was now staring down Scott, Kira, Isaac and me as he leant against the sheriff's desk. Sheriff Stillinski was in the room, which provided some comfort. "So, why were you there?" agent McCall asked.

"We were just driving home," I said, "Isaac had to… pee. Barrow jumped at him from out of nowhere. I called 911."

McCall looked at Isaac, one eyebrow raised. "And that's how you recall it as well?" Isaac just nodded, so he turned to look at his own son. "And you were?"

"Having dinner at my house," Kira filled in.

"Sushi" Scott said, and at the same time, Kira said "Pizza." They eyed each other and both corrected themselves, saying the opposite thing. There was a pause. "Sushi and pizza," they said in unison.

"Alright." he turned back to me. "And you hit him with your car?"

I nodded. "Seemed like the safest option. I didn't want to risk hitting Isaac with my gun."

"And that's when you laid on the horn?"

"Yes, sir."

Agent McCall sighed. "You all got very lucky, I hope you know that. Now get home, there's a curfew as of tonight."

We all eyed each other oddly, but slowly got up to leave. Scott was called back at the last second, so Isaac and I waited in the parking lot with Kira so she didn't have to be alone. She spent a full minute staring at her own shoes.

"That was quite something back there," I said, breaking the silence. "How did that not hurt?"

Kira smiled and let out an awkward laugh. "I don't know what you mean."

"With the cattle prod. It looked like the electricity was just pouring into you." I narrowed my eyes. "Did that ever happen before?"

"Like I said, I don't know what you're talking about." Her voice jumped a bit, panic seeping in. At that moment, Scott came walking out of the building.

"Ready to go home?" he asked Kira, who nodded eagerly. We said our goodbyes, and Isaac and I got back into my car. I watched as Scott and Kira drove off on Scott's motorcycle.

"What kind of creature can absorb electricity?" Isaac said, unknowingly voicing my own thoughts.

"No clue," I admitted, "maybe Allison's bestiary proves to be more useful for this one." Isaac's face lit up, though he quickly tried to push his excitement back down again. I laughed. "Alright, I'll drop you off at her place. So you can help each other… study."

Speaking of studying, I still had plenty of that to do myself. I hadn't done shit today and desperately needed to catch up, so I went upstairs to do just that as soon as I got home. Or at least I planned to, but Stiles was waiting for me there, demanding an explanation on what had happened.

"I don't think Scott's dad bought everything we said, but he at least can't prove that we're lying. They'll find out about the blood and the message in the chemistry class soon enough, we might get called in for further questioning."

"Yeah, about that message," Stiles said, fidgeting with a piece of red thread in his fingers. "Somebody left that there for Barrow to find… who?"

I felt like slapping myself. I hadn't even thought of who had written the message, but why would Barrow leave a clue on who he was planning to kill? "Somebody with access to the chemicals cupboard. A teacher?"

"Maybe…"

"I really hope not, I don't think I can handle an evil teacher again. I'm almost failing class enough as it is." I sighed and pulled out my biology textbook. "I'm going to be locking myself up in this room until I get my shit back together."

"So you're not coming to Danny's blacklight party tomorrow?"

I shook my head. "I will catch up on this homework, even if it'll be the death of me."

~o~

I should really learn to keep my mouth shut. The next day, when everybody else was at Danny's party, I had kept my word and was busy studying. I was actually focused, which is why I didn't fully notice the first time an ice cold breeze hit my neck and the light in the room flickered. The second time, my head shot up and my eyes darted around the room. Two figures dressed in all black with grimacing black masks stood in the middle of the room, heads turned towards me. Shadows whisked at the edges of their body, like flames.

I tried to shift, but the figure to my left held up his arm, and I felt myself freeze. The other stepped closer, putting their face up to mine. Behind their mask, a green light shone where its eyes should be, right into mine. The gaze was intense, like it was staring straight into my sould. Then I sank into a cold darkness.

I slowly awoke to find myself propped upright in bed, blankets wrapped around me. Still, I felt like I was frozen to the bone. In the corner of the room stood Stiles' father with his phone at his ear.

"No, there was nobody here. I heard some noise and she didn't reply when I called, so I went to check. She's freezing, has this ever happened before?" He paused as the person on the other end of the line spoke.

"I'm awake," I croaked, pulling over his attention. I managed a small smile. "I think I'll be fine."

The sheriff made his way over and handed me a mug he'd been holding in his other hand. It was filled with coffee, a warm welcome to both my hands and my stomach. "She's awake, she says she is fine. Just drive safely, okay?" He paused and then sighed before handing over the phone to me.

"Hello?"

"Are you okay?" Stiles' voice came from the other side. "Dad called, he said he found you passed out on the floor."

"I'm okay," I assured him, "But I do have something to tell you. And the others. I'll wait until you're home."

"Okay, okay… I think I have something to tell them too."