Hunted
Pairing: Liam Dunbar x reader
Warnings: Swearing
Chapter: 6.04
You were thankful Scott’s mom hadn’t returned from work yet; you didn’t want to be there when Melissa McCall discovered the large black scorch marks on her ceiling or when Liam went to a party in her house. You were collecting red cups and other trash that was scattered across the living room and tossing them into a black bag.
Realizing you’re the only one cleaning, you drop the bag and say, “I’m gonna need some help if we want this done before Scott’s mom gets home.”
Hearing multiple heartbeats racing in the next room, you go through and see Scott, Liam, Mason, and Corey staring up at the ceiling. You walk towards them and gulp down, “That’s where the ghost rider came in. It looks like it was burned.”
“Usually you'd find charred spots like that on the ground after a violent thunderstorm.”
Scott’s eyes widen as he processes Mason’s words: “That's how the Ghost Riders got in. He rode the lightning.”
Liam tenses, “If they can use lightning to pass the mountain ash...”
“We can’t hide from them. Nowhere is safe.”
“What about the others?” Corey asks. “It's my fault they're marked.”
“Hey, it’s not. We are all still learning about the ghost riders.”
“We'll find a way to protect them. All of them.”
Although Scott was determined to save everyone, you still doubted it could be done. Breaking the gloomy atmosphere, you pull two black bags out of your pockets and shove them at Mason and Liam. “Come on, we better clean this place before Melissa kills us.”
Scott gives you an appreciated nod.
—
Frustrated, you shove your phone into your bag before going to join Liam and Mason in the library. You hadn’t heard back from your dad in a couple of days and were starting to become worried.
The first thing you notice sitting across from Liam is the frown on his face as he stares at the book in front of him. You felt bad for Liam; he still blames himself for what happened at Scott’s party. “The k-index quantifies the horizontal component of the earth's magnetic field.” He bites on the end of his pen, looking lost in a deep thought, before asking, “What’s a k-index?”
“It’s a scale that meteorologists use to measure thunderstorm activity,” Mason explains. “So, a k-index value less than twenty meters means no activity, and above thirty-five is severe.”
“How bad is it?”
"Well, your average storm has about ten thousand lightning strikes. In the past three months, the average storm in beacon hills has been five thousand.”
“What’s it reading now?”
Mason types onto his laptop and brings up what he’s looking for: “It’s at fourteen. We’re clear.”
“If a spike in the K index means more lightning, we could know if they're coming.” Liam says, sounding unsure.
“That’s good. As long as it stays low, we’re good.”
Just as the words leave your mouth, Mason’s computer starts beeping. A few students turn and glare in your direction as he struggles to turn it off. You can’t see the screen, but sensing how anxious they are both becoming, you know it’s something bad.
“What’s wrong?”
Mason gulps down, “Oh, this is really bad.”
Under the table, Liam links his fingers with yours, attempting to comfort the both of you the best he can.
—
You pace back and forth up the hallways of Beacon Hills High School. You keep glancing back over your shoulder, waiting to see someone standing there. You didn’t know how to describe it, but you just had a feeling that you shouldn’t be there alone. Someone else was supposed to be with you, helping you.
Stiles.
That could maybe be the answer if you knew who Stiles was.
Liam and Hayden had managed to get everyone who was at the party, aside from three lacrosse players, into the underground tunnels. Your uncle Chris and Malia were staying with them underground to keep them safe.
Since the majority of the lacrosse team and coach were in the boys locker room, you couldn’t go in to help try and persuade the players to leave. Hearing familiar footsteps, you turn and see nobody, yet you have the feeling someone is standing right in front of you.
“Stiles,” you whisper. “Stiles, can you hear me?”
“Lu, who are you talking to?”
“No one,” you mumble. Turning back around, you met a confused-looking Mason’s eye. “Where’s Scott and Liam?
“They are playing the game.”
—
You sit beside Mason on the bleachers, cringing as coach becomes more and more angry. The Bulldogs had scored three times, and your school's team hadn’t had one goal all game. You weren’t happy about Liam being out on the lacrosse field, but they reasoned it was the only way to keep the other players safe.
“What are you doing out there?! i'm gonna kill the three of you!”
“Look how red coach’s face is,” you whisper. “He looks like he’s gonna blow.”
“This is the worst ga—“ Mason doesn’t finish his sentence when he notices Scott and Liam looking at him from across the field. “But of course we have bigger things to worry about.”
Over the cheers and boos of the crowd, you hear someone saying your name; they were calling for you. Suddenly sensing who it was, you stand up, and Mason takes your hand to gain your attention. “What is it? What do you hear?”
“My dad's here; he’s with Parrish. He needs to talk to me.”
“Want me to come with you?”
“Find Hayden first, and then I’ll meet you inside. Liam and Scott will call if anything is wrong.”
You sprint from the bleachers towards the high school just as the light rain becomes heavy, soaking your clothes almost immediately. You burst through the doors. “Dad, dad?”
Derek appears behind you and pulls you into him. “We need to go.”
“What?”
“Kate’s coming. We need to go now.”
“But I—“
“The ghost riders are afraid of hellhounds, which is why I called Parrish.” Placing his hand on your back, Derek starts moving you towards the exit. “I’m parked outside. Soon as Liam is here, then we are leaving.”
“Liam is coming?”
He pushes the main doors open and says, “Liam will stay with you while I come back and help Scott and Chris with the ghost riders.”
On the opposite end of the hallway, you hear Hayden and Mason’s voices; they sounded panicked. You spin back around, “Somethings wrong!”
A brunette woman overtakes your friends while running in the hallway but is shot by one of the ghost riders bullets and disappears. Turning into his hellhound form, Parrish is shot by one of the ghost riders. The flames surrounding his body turn green, and he falls back, but is only momentarily stunned before getting back up.
The ghost rider turns its body to face in your direction and aims its gun at you. Growling, Derek shoves you forward just as the bullet skips past where you stood seconds before.
Parrish grabs the ghost rider from behind, giving Hayden and Mason a chance to run by it without being attacked.
You go to run outside but are pulled back. “There’s more out there, fuck.” Being faster than you, Derek takes hold of your hand and keeps you beside him. “Go to the nearest classroom and lock yourselves in.”
Mason’s eyes were widened with feet and adrenaline; he looked as if he were going to throw up. “The science lab is just down the next hall!”
The four of you make it to the classroom. Mason slips and falls. Derek, let’s go of your hand to help him up. Just as you’re about to step inside, a black cord tightens around your ankle. You sink your claws into the side of the door to fight against the ghost rider trying to pull you backwards.
You let out a piercing scream, “Dad!”
The ghost rider pulls on the whip, dragging you along the floor. Expecting to be shot, you squeeze your eyes shut, but they quickly open when the pressure around your ankle disappears. Derek had cut the cord with his claws before lunging on top of the ghost rider.
“Dad!”
Hayden yanks you backwards into the classroom. There’s a bright flash of lightening, then the ghost rider disappears.
sams-sass