THE BOY WITH THE BLADE

It was quiet at night. Leo liked the sounds of the woods at night. Even if he was trapped in some creepy looking house, with an unconscious J lying on the floor. Leo had tried his best to keep J warm, as well as treating the wounds. Unfortunately, his expertise in healing could only take him so far.

Next mission, he was going to make Angela give them a healer. No excuses.

Leo had already sent the signal. He was hoping that he would see it soon enough. Leo hadn't wanted to contact him, but he was out of options, and he was worried about J.

If things hadn't gone so bad in the sewers… Leo should have made J wait in the hole they'd been in. If he had, he could have easily cut through the Hunters, even if it meant losing control for just a few minutes.

He didn't want to give in while J had been beside him, though. He was worried that, in the blind rage, he wouldn't be able to distinguish J from the Hunters. That's why Leo had held back the darkness that had been calling to him, to let it in. And now, J was hurt because of him. It hadn't seemed so bad at first, but it was beginning to get worse. J was also slipping in and out of consciousness.

Why had it gone so wrong?

"It's them," J said as he leapt upward. "No more running. We have to fight."

"J, no, get down!" Leo yelled, reaching for J, but he was already beginning to transform. Leo had seen him do this many times, but he was surprised by what form J decided to take. Leo knew this form very well.

Kanima.

J leapt onto the walls towards the Hunters, who looked surprised by what they'd seen. Leo couldn't blame them – the first time he had seen J in his Kanima form had been terrifying. Then again, he didn't know it had been J at the time.

Leo stood up, reaching towards his back with his left hand and pulling out his katana. If things were going to get ugly, then Leo might as well let loose – as loose as he could, without having to worry about J. He would make sure the two of them got out of this, no matter what. Even if Leo had to slit the throat of each and every single Hunter in this tunnel.

He could already feel the darkness seeping into him. So long as he could control it, as long as he wielded it and didn't let it wield him, he would be fine. He could feel his free hand becoming more like a talon, and his face felt tighter. Leo never had any desire to see how he looked when he used this power. He could tell by the looks of other what they thought he looked like.

Demon.

If J hadn't already taken the attention of the Hunters, Leo might have felt insulted that they were staring at him with panic in their eyes. Luckily, this gave him an advantage. If they were focusing on J, then Leo would be able to have a field day.

He moved as quickly as he could, seeing that J had already sliced the back of one of the Hunter's necks, making them fall to the ground in a paralyzed state. Good. That would be one that Leo wouldn't have to kill. He hated unnecessary killing.

Leo focused on the tallest one of them, an Amazonian looking woman. If things were different, Leo might have thought this woman was an Amazon, and maybe they'd even be friends. He'd already fought alongside an Amazon before. But this woman was his enemy, and he kept that thought in his mind as he moved his blade downward on the woman's right arm.

It seemed as if there was a delayed reaction, as if she didn't feel at first. And then, she began to scream.

Leo wasn't sure which had been the trick to causing a panic amongst the Hunters: J in his Kanima form, or him, slicing off body parts of the strongest looking members in this pack. But sure enough, chaos formed. Leo could hear gunshots and arrows and many other things. Leo moved quickly, maneuvering through the Hunters and occasionally dipping himself into the shadows. He couldn't do another Jump, but at least he was still able to navigate himself in darkness. That gave him a huge advantage these Hunters couldn't understand.

As Leo moved through the Hunters, he moved his blade as gracefully as he could, feeling blood spraying him and the feeling of his blade cutting through flesh and bone easily, almost carelessly. As much as Leo wanted to pretend to hate it, he liked it. He enjoyed fighting, and even more, he enjoyed how it felt to plunge his blade into someone else. But not nearly as much as he enjoyed showing his talons into someone.

And so, as he moved on to the next Hunter, he plunged his free hand forward as harshly as he could. He felt it go through the man's chest with a thrilling crunch and mixture of other sounds –and the man gasping.

Leo might have felt like celebrating in that moment, maybe even laughing. It might have made the Hunters even more scared, made them begin to run away.

That is, until he noticed that some Hunters were beginning to run away. But not away from Leo. No, they were running at him, and then past him. Leo looked around for the first time, not paying attention to only attacking the Hunters, when he saw why they had been running.

And then Leo wanted to scream.

Amongst the bodies of Hunters – Hunters that Leo knew he had killed – he saw J fighting It.

It was huge, taller than any man or woman Leo had ever seen in his life. It was very muscular, and the way it moved, Leo thought he felt the ground shake. But that wasn't what truly frightened him. It was what was on It.

It was covered in bones, wearing them like armor. It even had a helmet to shield its face, a helmet that was a skull of some sort of animal. Leo didn't bother trying to figure out what animal it was then and there. He was too busy noticing It swat J aside like he was nothing, and hearing J hit the wall with a bone sickening crunch.

Beserker.

He knew that's what it had to be. Leo had heard of them. Angela had forced all of the students to study multiple supernatural beings and creatures. Leo hadn't memorized them all, much to Angela's annoyance, but Leo knew this creature. It had always scared him, and as of late, he had been seeing weird skull creatures in his dreams, along with other horrid things.

Leo didn't want to believe this was real. But he also knew he had to act fast. The Beserker was moving towards J, one of its bone claws still plunged into the body of some Hunter that had been in its way, dragging the body along its side. And J hadn't moved from where he'd hit the wall and landed on the floor, but he was no longer in the form of the Kanima. He was completely normal and still. That scared Leo more than anything else.

The darkness was swelling in him now. That was a drawback with this power – it was as linked to him as his emotions were. And as he was internally raging, the darkness was fuming on him. He could feel a dark aura covering his skin, and he felt odd twists in his body, twists he was sure he'd never felt before, like his body was shifting into another form.

He didn't care. This thing… he wasn't sure how to kill it, but he was going to damn well try, or at least subdue it. Then, he'd grab J and run like hell, try and get them as a far away from here as possible.

Leo grabbed his sword with his left hand and returned it to its sheath on his back. He would use his true strength for this. As he put the blade away, he felt his left hand beginning to change as well, just as the rest of his body had already began to.

Then, he ran at the Beserker in a full rage, ready to destroy the monster.

It had been days since then. Leo wasn't sure how many, truthfully. Both his phone and J's were dead, and he'd been drifting in and out of sleep, trying to keep watch, to keep guard. Leo was worried that if he slept too long, something would come and strike them both while they were weak, be it the Hunters who had ran off, the Hunters that hadn't been at the slaughter, or another Beserker.

When Leo heard footsteps approaching the house, he perked up immediately and grabbed his blade, yanking it out of its sheath. He knew that it hadn't been the smartest move to pick this house to rest in. But the Hale house had been the closest form of shelter to them when Leo and J had managed to make it out of the sewers.

Leo was expecting help, he was waiting for him to come, but that didn't mean whoever was approaching was the man he was waiting for. Anybody could be roaming around the woods right now. It was nighttime, and in a smalltown like this, Leo was certain that there was probably a group of drunk bored kids somewhere, debating about either crashing the school this late, or the "haunted" Hale house.

Or worse. Maybe it was one of the Hales. Leo did not feel like having to deal with one of them.

That was why, when the front door of the Hale house opened, Leo was surprised by what he saw. It wasn't who he had sent for, nor a group of drunk kids, or one of the Hale men.

It was a girl. A girl about his age. She had long, wavy brunette hair with blonde highlights in them, and she was wearing a plain pink top and blue, damaged skinny jeans. She looked as average as they came.

But Leo didn't let down his guard as he gripped the blade in his hand. He could smell her – the scent of her. She's wasn't human, not completely.

"Who are you?" Leo asked. "Why are you here?"

"Those exact words came into my head right now," the girl replied with a snarky attitude. "I happen to live around this area. I come wandering through sometimes on walks. Sometimes runs."

"This is private property," Leo replied.

"Exactly. This property belongs to Derek Hale," the girl responded. "And I happen to know him. Should I call him? I'm sure he'd be very upset to hear some random boy was in his house, threatening people with some weird sword nonetheless."

"This is a katana," Leo replied.

"You sound just like that Kira girl," the girl responded, sounding exasperated. "There is no difference."

Leo stiffened. He'd done his reading before he and J came here. Kira and Derek were part of a group, and if this girl knew both of them, that would spell big trouble for him and J if she blabbed.

"Fine, I'll tell you who I am if you do. Just don't call anyone," Leo replied.

"I won't," the girl. "My name is Malia. Now, you are-?"

"Leo," he replied hesitantly.

"And the other one?" Malia asked. "I can hear him breathing, even if I can't see him."

"He's my friend. No one important. We came here to…" Leo tried to think of an excuse, any excuse. "We came here to elope. But now he'd sleeping, and I'm keeping watch just in case his psycho dad tracks us down."

Malia stared at him with an incredulous look. Clearly, she did not believe a single word he was saying.

That was why Leo was surprised when she turned around and began to leave.

"Well, have fun having sexy times with your boy toy. And don't worry, I won't tell anyone you were here," Malia replied back, shutting the door behind her as she left.

Minutes passed by, and once he was certain she was gone, Leo went back to the other room with J. While that hadn't been an interaction he had wanted, it could have gone worse. He was sure of one thing, however. He hadn't been lying when she said she wouldn't tell anyone they were here. He could hear it in her voice.

Leo was about to sit down by J, to tend to his wounds again, when he heard someone approaching the house again. He knew better than to expect Malia. These footsteps were different – they were familiar, and Leo felt a huge sense of relief wash over him.

There was a knock, and Leo yelled "Come in!"

"I hope I'm not late," the man replied. "I came as quickly as I could once I got your message. Though, I must admit, I don't know how you knew how to reach me, since I have no idea who you are."

"It doesn't matter," Leo replied. "I know who you are, Deaton. And I need your help. My friend in the other room is badly hurt, and you know who he is. His name is Jackson Whitmore."