EL Official BK5 Chapter 5 - I Stalked the Quiet Kid (pt.3) (Patreon)

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The clatter of hockey sticks on ice and the building cheers of the crowd filled the arena. It was a weekend home game, and if our team won, they would progress onto the semi-finals, but it had been a while since that had happened. During the game, I sat with the other cheerleaders waiting for the halftime show. We were talking amongst ourselves about class and the upcoming prom, but my focus gradually strayed.

My gaze drifted across the crowd. Most of the people in attendance were family members of the players, teachers, or locals from the community dressed in the school colors of red and white. However, eventually a woman in the crowd caught my attention, her brown hair, gray eyes and swollen belly were unmistakable, Hadrian’s step mom.

She sat two rows back, rugged up with a scarf that bore the school's emblem and an oversized soft drink in hand. Beside her was an asian woman with bleach white hair, a taller man with the same brown hair and gray eyes, and another man who I recognized to be the same one that had taken Hadrian home when he was suspended—‘Eric’. Only, this time his hair was combed back and his right eye was covered by a medical patch as he leaned back in his seat bored.

I couldn’t say what drew my gaze to them. They blended in seamlessly without Hadrian’s white haired uncles present, and behaved like any other family would, but once I knew they were there I couldn’t take my eyes off them. Hadrian’s step mom and the man next to her stood and shouted each time our team got a goal, while the asian woman beside her politely clapped. Eric on the other hand, showed little enthusiasm, he remained relatively still, only giving any emotion when the other man jeered him.

“-...I’m going to ask Hadrian to prom…” the sentence drew me back into the conversation.

“What? Why?” I asked lost as I refocused.

It was Lily who spoke, and she looked awkward when questioned, “Well… He’s tall and kind of hot, so I figured why not? I don’t think he has a date yet.”

I didn’t have an answer for her. Lily was pretty with red hair and dark brown eyes. A light dusting of freckles decorated her cheeks and I had no doubt he would say yes to her, but that bothered me for some reason. It was only then that I realized I didn’t want him to go to prom with her, or anyone else really. I had changed my mind about him somewhat since he handed me his report.

It was a hand written, three page document outlining his research in factual order. Of course it was by no means a complete essay, rather the information he would need to write out in a paragraph form, but his handwriting was delicate calligraphy on paper and the intelligence behind the formatting was unmistakable. Reading through it I had decided he wasn’t as dumb as I thought, rather he just didn’t know how to write for academia…

“What do you mean I have to write it differently?” he had asked with soft confusion as we sat together in the library.

“Well, you’ve written it all out like a report.”

“You said that’s what I should do,” he complained as his brow furrowed ever so slightly.

“Okay, yeah, but that wasn’t what I meant. You’ve written this clinically, all the information is there and easy to read-”

“So what’s the problem?”

“You have to write an essay like a story.”

Hadrian stared at me blankly and I averted my eyes from his lavender gaze, “If you were telling someone about this, how would you say it to make it interesting?” I mumbled and he exhaled slowly.

“Why does it have to be so specific?” he grumbled exasperated and I struggled to find a good reason.

“Because… it just does?”

Hadrian took a deep breath in, “Fine…” he sighed as he began to pack up, “Thank you, for looking it over, I should be alright now.”

“Wait-” I started without thinking and he paused.

“Is there something you need?”

“Do you mean you don’t need a tutor anymore?”

He blinked surprised, before his expression softened into a smile, “Passing one paper won’t fix my grades overnight.”

“...So… same time tomorrow then?”

“I can’t tomorrow, but soon, I don’t want to get kicked off the hockey team. We might actually win this year.”

We hadn’t actually set another day yet, but I liked the time I got to spend with him, and I didn’t want to see him at prom with someone else… Still, it wasn’t like I’d asked him yet, I didn’t even know how. Would it make it too awkward?- The halftime airhorn and a flurry of movement around me interrupted my thoughts.

It took me a moment to catch up to join the others in the halftime show, and as I hurried onto the ice I watched Hadrian move over to his family. The tall man gave him a fist bump, while his step mom latched onto him, almost pulling him down. Eric tapped Hadrian’s skate with his boot as he gave some comment that made Hadrian scowl briefly and in response the woman shooed him away like a plucky mother hen.

I thought then that maybe I was wrong, it looked like Hadrian got along with his step mom. The group spoke readily among themselves, although I couldn’t make out what was said at a distance, and gave Hadrian food before letting him return to his team. He disappeared into the locker rooms and I was mildly grateful, at least Lily couldn’t ask him to prom while he was in there.

In the following half of the game, our team was doing well, leading by a few points most of the way. It was almost boring. However I noticed Cassandra speaking with one of the opposing team members. Her eyes moved to Hadrian briefly and it wasn’t long after that the same man she’d spoken to crashed into Hadrian. Hardened plastic collided with unexpected force and fresh blood splattered.

Both boys were taken off the ice by medics, though not without argument, “What the hell is your problem?” Hadrian demanded as blood trickled from his brow.

“My problem? You hit me!” the other boy lied and for the first time, I saw Hadrian beginning to lose his temper.

His eyes contracted to narrowed slits and he clenched his teeth. For a moment I thought it had been a trick of the light, but it was unmistakable. His eyes were feral, like a fox’s and his expression held murderous intent. His hair moved as if disturbed by a breeze and it was only when another voice spoke up that he settled.

“Hadrian,” Eric warned as he made his way down from the stands.

“What?” he snapped back.

“You’re at school,” the man answered blandly and Hadrian took in a deep breath to calm himself, allowing the nurse to dab his split brow.

When everything was settled neither Hadrian or the guy who ran into him were allowed to continue the match. Eric stayed close, while the other man stopped Hadrian’s step mom from waddling down the stairs to him and I went to find Cassandra.

She was lurking near the locker room doors and I confronted her immediately, “Why would you do that?” I demanded.

“Do what?” she asked flatly.

“You told that guy to hit Hadrian!”

“No I didn’t.”

“What is wrong with you?!” I hissed, shoving her back.

“Wrong with me?” she snorted, “You’re the one making big eyes for him, he’s not even human.”

“You’re insane.”

“No I'm not! I’m telling you, I dated him for two years. I know who he is! Not some dumb quiet guy, he’s manipulative and cunning. Everything he does is calculated, you really think he needs a ‘tutor’? He’s just playing a game with you!”

“Do you even hear yourself!? You attacked him in the hallway, now you set some dude onto him, he says he doesn’t even know you!”

“‘Doesn’t know me?’” she scoffed, “I said I’d show you proof, so here, enjoy.”

Cassandra pulled a square piece of paper from her handbag and threw it in my general direction as she stormed off. It fluttered to the ground and I floundered in disbelief as I tried to gather myself. I couldn’t comprehend how someone could be so crazy, that was until I bothered to look at the picture.

It was an old fashioned polaroid, ripped down the center and stuck back together with tape. In it, was a mousey blonde girl with an air tube under her nose. She was laying back on dark grass with her arms extended out to take the photo, and laying beside her was an older boy with unmistakably white hair and purple eyes.

In the flash of the camera his slitted pupils reflected back red and the picture around him was grainy, a kind of faded white like radiation damaged film, but it was definitely Hadrian. I stared at the photograph for a long moment trying to determine if the picture could be fake or not, but a tiny hand written date in the bottom right corner caught my attention. According to it, the photo was taken three years prior, and I didn’t know what to make of that.

Our team won the match that day, and for the following week I avoided Hadrian, and Cassandra. I didn’t know which of them to believe, or even what to believe. It consumed my thoughts, it didn’t make sense at any capacity and I jumped startled when an arm blocked my path.

“What did Cassy say to you?” Hadrian asked calmly. He was standing directly in my way and I didn’t know what to say, “Mia, you’ve been avoiding me since the game, I know she spoke to you.”

“Nothing, I've just been really busy,” I lied without making eye contact, “I have to go, sorry.”

Awkwardly I twisted myself under his arm to continue on, and he didn’t follow.

It plagued me for days, the thought that he might be either someone, or something monstrous. At night I dreamt of him standing in a dark hall. His limbs popping and cracking as they distended into sickeningly long attachments, and a smile spreading from ear to ear on his face as his perfect teeth gave way to mangled fangs…

Maybe I’d just watched too many movies by that point, but it kept me awake thinking about it, so when a rock hit my window, my eyes snapped open. Silence filled my room as I waited, and after a short moment, a second rock bounced off the glass. My heart beat in my throat and I turned toward the window slowly, as if moving less would make me disappear.

However, cold relief turned my sweat to ice as Cassandra stood in my window. She wore dark clothing and the street lights highlighted her silhouette perfectly. “What are you doing here?” I hissed through my teeth, pulling on my robe and opening the window just enough to talk through the gap.

“I need your help,” she whispered urgently.

“Go away.”

“You’ve been avoiding Hadrian, you believe me, so help me prove it.”

“I’ve been avoiding you as well,” I stated pointedly.

“Yes, but I’m not the one that’s an actual monster.”

I moved to close the window again without hearing her out and she put her hand in the way.

“There’s a party tonight, in the woods. The whole hockey team will be there, including Hadrian, we can prove he’s something else.”

“Are you insane?!” I sneered.

“No look! I have everything we need in my backpack, silver, crosses, holy water and sage!”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, and as I shook my head she continued, “Even if you don’t believe me, don't you just want to know? Come on Mia, people are going missing, we have to do something.”

“People going missing is exactly why we should avoid the woods,” I muttered mostly to myself, but it was already too late for me. I didn’t really think he could be anything, however, the opportunity to prove that to myself tempted me and I reluctantly got dressed and crawled out my window.

Cassandra had driven to my house and we took her car up to the national park. We drove down the long dirt roads with our headlights dimmed, and parked beside the twenty or so other cars already there. A low bass pulse thudded through the trees, and we followed the sound without hesitation.

As we grew near the rowdy echo of others talking and the clank of glass bottles reached us. Light from a fire filtered through the trees and shadows moved as bodies passed in front of it. Everyone was drinking, talking, singing or making out, and we joined the commotion completely undetected.

I had never been to a party like this, but some of the other cheerleaders were there, as well as a large number of people I didn’t know. Cassy and I slinked through the party like ghosts, turning down the occasional offer of a drink as we began our search. At first we couldn’t find Hadrian, and I was starting to doubt he was even there, afterall, none of his cars had been among those parked.

However, even in darkness his white hair stood out and we found him off to the side. He was leaning back against a tree, just out of the edge of the light talking with a girl. Her hair was auburn in the dim light and I recognized her shape. It was Lily and she was pressed up against him, standing on her toes with her lips hovering near his.

Hadrian’s hands were at her waist and he smiled when she spoke. I wasn’t sure I wanted to see it when they kissed. She was practically climbing him, tugging at his clothes and resting her hands on his belt, but it was Cassandra who looked even more upset.

“Maybe we should just go?” I offered quietly.

“No, we have to watch him, wait for him to be alone.”

“I don’t really need to watch that…” I mumbled, but Cassandra turned back regardless.

However, she gave a small start and I followed her gaze, the pair had vanished. In the brief time that we discussed it, they were gone and seemingly nowhere in the immediate area. We spent close to twenty minutes searching, before finding Lily back beside the fire. She looked somewhat dejected, downing another drink before she noticed us.

“Mia! You came!” she explained excitedly, then scowled as she noticed Cassandra beside me, “Why are you with Crazy Cassy?”

“I’m not-” I assured quickly, “Ahh, but have you seen Hadrian?” I took the opportunity instead, deciding she was probably too drunk to remember I was there later.

“Oh, that guy… Yeah, he went… that way,” she gestured vaguely in the direction of the woods, “Said he heard something, or something, went off to investigate...” Lily trailed off as her speech slurred. She seemed to think about something for a long moment before giving a short laugh and continuing, “I thought we were gonna do something, then he said I was too drunk. Can you believe he said that to me? What a loser.”

“How long ago did he go?” Cassandra pressed, and Lily pulled a face.

“How should I know? A while ago, I guess.”

Cassy moved without another word and I hurried after her, “Wait, we can’t just stumble off into the woods.”

“We’ll only go as far as we can see the fire, he’s out there, I know it.”

She was getting more and more delusional by the second, “No, we’re going home. I want to go home.”

“Too bad I have the keys.”

“Cassandra,” I hissed, irritated. Maybe she really was crazy enough to fake a photo.

“Just give me ten more minutes, I-” she stopped as the faint echo of a scream in the night air reached our ears.

It left us both frozen in disbelief, and straining to listen. A tense moment passed before the sound came again, it was unmistakable, a woman’s scream that cut off abruptly. No one else seemed to hear it, or at least, no one else reacted. But Cassy began running in the direction of the scream, and I went after her without thinking it through. If nothing else I thought I could stop her, this wasn’t something we should have been dealing with.

It’s common knowledge that when you hear strange sounds in the woods at night, you don’t run after it and before long, we were lost. The light from the fire had faded into the distance long ago. Only the faint even beat from the speakers gave any semblance of security, but it was impossible to tell which direction it came from.

When at last Cassandra stopped running, and I was able to catch up to her I grabbed her arm, “Are you actually INSANE?” I shouted, “Running off into the woods like an idiot-”

Cassy clamped a hand over my mouth, “Shhhh,” she whispered, “Do you hear that?”

She was trembling as she spoke, and swallowing deep breaths to quieten herself as she nearly suffocated me. “No, I don’t hear anything,” I muttered, shoving her hand off so I could breathe.

“I heard a crunch…”

The hair on the back of my arms stood on end, “That’s not funny.”

“I’m serious, just listen…” her voice held the quiet whimper of fear and I involuntarily held my breath as I listened.

Slowly, the sound came to me. Something nearby was eating, teeth scraped against bone and flesh tore. Heavy thuds of meat being moved, hitting the ground and being lifted again drove my imagination wild. Had we stumbled across a bear? Something in the surrounding darkness moved and I cursed myself.

This was all Cassandra’s fault, but I was the one stupid enough to try and help her. I should have just let her run off on her own. Now we both stood immobilized, only the huff of our ragged breaths and the sound of blood slurping broke the silence of the woods, and I had no idea what to do.

Beside me Cassy moved, slowly sliding her backpack off, and unzipping it with unbearable loudness. I don't know why I hoped in those moments that the holy water she brought might actually work, but instead she pushed a cylindrical metallic object into my hands. It was a flashlight, and I realized she had given it to me because she was too scared to turn it on herself, unfortunately, I was also too afraid to turn it on.

Instead, we waited, huddled together trembling as undefined shapes moved through the trees. I couldn’t tell if they were real or not, but the voice that spoke undoubtedly was.

“You can’t do that here,” it was Hadrian, and his voice originated from the opposite side to us.

The crunching stopped, and an eerie silence followed before an answer came, “Who are you?”

“Doesn’t matter who I am. This area is protected,” Hadrian spoke with an unfamiliar cold tone of authority.

“Protected?” a third voice snorted, “No one has come to stop us now have they?”

Hadrian didn’t answer, however a thin line of blue light began to snake its way through the trees. Illuminating the ground and surrounding area as it grew in intensity. It was beautiful in a way. It twisted and shimmered, reflected off the pooled blood in the dirt and over the leaves as it carved out the scene before us.

Two other men with long white hair, pointed ears and bright yellow eyes were crouched over the fresh remains of a woman. Crimson liquid dripped from their chins and stained their teeth. The body before them was mangled, unrecognizable as human if not for the arm bone cleaved of flesh sticking out of what remained of her arm at a right angle.

Across from them stood Hadrian, his expression was calm, though his lip was pulled upward in slight disgust. The blue light was coming from him, and moved in a neat circle around his feet like an eerie flame.

“Lord Nathaniel enforces the law,” Hadrian stated firmly at last and one of the other men stood.

“And what would you know about him?” he asked with narrowed eyes.

“I know he won’t tolerate you hunting in a protected area.”

The man tilted his head curiously, and a lock of his long hair fell over his shoulder as an energy ignited around him as well. It was more solid looking in comparison to the ethereal waves from Hadrian, and seemed to burn darker with some substance. “You’re quite young aren’t you, boy?” he mused and the light around Hadrian began to move more quickly.

“Leave this area,” Hadrian repeated firmly.

“Or you’ll do what?”

Again Hadrian chose not to answer and the man chuckled.

“I suggest you leave, boy, we’ll do what we like. We’re not done hunting, two fresh little things have come to us.”

“You’ve already killed three, you don’t need to kill anymore, it’s excessive.”

“The young are so full of hopeful ideals, aren’t they?” the second man spoke as he too began to stand, “If prey walks freely to us, who are we to refuse it?”

It was only then that Hadrian’s eyes flicked to us and cold dread flooded my spine. I had thought by keeping quiet and still we would go unnoticed, but he knew we were there, and I had no doubt that the other men were talking about us.

“They are protected,” Hadrian said firmly.

“By whom?”

“Lord Nathaniel.”

“I don’t see him here, do you?” the first asked bemused.

“Nope, I only see this kid,” the second responded with equal entertainment.

“Could he be lord Nathaniel?”

“They do say he’s young.”

“What do you say then, should we see if we can overthrow his rule?”

“It would be something interesting to do now wouldn’t it?”

As the men spoke they moved closer to Hadrian, spreading out to surround him like wolves hunting and he watched them carefully. The light surrounding him flared brighter as it ocellated more rapidly. “I’m not lord Nathaniel, but if you touch me, he’ll-”

“He’ll what? If he’s not even here, there’s nothing he can do right?”

The first man moved to slice Hadrian with a long thin blade, and he responded in an instant. With the flick of his wrist the pendant on the bracelet he wore landed in the palm of his hand and extended out into a full length sword, allowing him to block the attack. Sparks shed as the metal collided and Hadrian took a step back.

That was the first time I had ever seen him look anxious and as the second man moved to attack him as well, the fight began in earnest. Blue energies flared and metal scraped against metal as they fought. Although it was little more than a blur of motion to me, Hadrian moved quicker than the men, deflecting incoming strikes and using his energy to keep distance between them.

He danced between the trees and more than once they hit nothing but tree bark. I couldn’t imagine where he had learned to fight like that, or what the blue light really was. However, as the men grew accustomed to his style they changed their tactic and for the first time a blow hit.

A blade connected with Hadrian’s, twisting it away, while a secondary attack hit his side. In that instant his energy boiled, and the light was blinding as it pushed them apart. Still, his blood spilled, pouring out onto the foliage below as he held his side.

“You shouldn’t just keep standing there, you should run!” He addressed us for the first time, but neither Cassy nor I moved.

I couldn’t even process what I was seeing enough to process what he was saying, let alone will my legs to move even as the men split up. One remained with Hadrian, keeping him trapped with the threat of sword, while the other advanced on us.

“I told you to run! Go in opposite directions!”

When he spoke that time, my body moved on it’s own, as if his words had spoken to my nervous system directly. However, I got not further than a step before new instructions came.

“Stop.” The order was short, simple, and immobilizing, spoken by the man nearest to us.

“You care about these humans so much kid?”

“No, I don’t care about them at all,” he hissed.

“Good, then you won’t mind watching as we eat them.”

“You can’t, this area is protected!” Hadrian insisted.

“And you’re the only one who has a problem with that, but don’t worry, we’ll kill you after.”

Hadrian bit back whatever he was going to say, thinking it through before speaking again, “If you kill my pets, I won’t forgive you, and if you kill me, my family won’t forgive you. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know a child was born, I’m that child and my family is the Klein family.”

This gave the men pause, and they hesitated contemplating, “They wouldn’t let a noble child out here.”

“Fine. If you’re willing to bet on that, why not kill me first then?”

The man nearest to him snorted, “Fine, if that’s what you prefer-” he stopped as Hadrian moved. Pulling a knife from his boot he flicked a wad of dirt into the man’s face and drove the blade into the back of his knee. It happened so quickly that I wasn’t sure I had seen it at all, but as Hadrian ripped the knife out the first man he threw it at the second.

It hit in the crook of his elbow joint and he staggered back surprised as Hadrian ran directly at him. He knocked the man’s legs out from under him and was prepared for the next attack as he switched to hand-to-hand combat. The interaction only lasted a moment before the men regained themselves, but something had changed.

They were no longer jovial, a hatred had settled in their eyes and as each recovered the blue flame around them doubled. It swirled their hair and billowed out, forcing the leaves away in a rush of air.

“Enough games,” the first spoke with blunt intent and Hadrian stepped back, gathering us behind him.

“I’ll keep them distracted, you need to block your ears and run, don’t stop until you reach the road,” Hadrian told us quietly.

“Y-you’re bleeding…” I murmured, I couldn’t peel my eyes away from his side. Blood soaked his shirt and the side of his pants. He was trembling just slightly and I knew he couldn’t keep fighting.

“That doesn’t matter, do as I say.”

“B-but how are you going to-”

“How are you going to do anything to help? You’re just getting in the way, both of you, now go!”

I wasn’t allowed the chance to respond before the men attacked. They rushed us from either side and as Hadrian pushed us back he couldn’t avoid them. Their energies were overwhelming, they smothered Hadrian’s and stung when it touched my skin. Both men connected with Hadrian and he coughed blood as they slammed him into the ground. The crack of bones breaking was sickening and I thought they would kill him right then.

Instead, a new energy descended. It obliterated the surrounding area in a blinding wash of electric blue light and the force of it pushed me back. For a time I couldn’t make out which way was up or down. My ears rang and my head swam with disorientation. Nearest I could think of what happened was that someone had dropped a nuke on us, and it wasn’t until it dimmed that I was able to see what had happened.

The immediate area was leveled, trees were broken off at a select height creating a small clearing directly around us and as I blinked hazy shadows came into focus. There were so many of them. Hadrian lay on the ground where he had been before, only now his father was with him. The man’s hands glowed and his focus was unwavering as he worked on the wound to Hadrain’s side.

Meanwhile, others stood near. Two people I recognized, Eric, and the tall dark haired from the hockey game, and beside them two I didn’t know: two identical looking men stood with swords drawn, one had long flowing hair while the other looked like he’d stepped in something bad.

The men who had attacked us were also present, or rather what remained of them was. They lay in crumpled bleeding piles of scorched flesh and didn’t move. Eventually Hadrian began to sit up, though he winced as he did and the tension in the air dissipated somewhat.

“You should never have been here,” his father growled.

“I asked mom…”

“She doesn’t understand how dangerous-”

“Markos, relax, he’s fine,” Eric interrupted, earning him a stern glare.

“He could very well have not been.”

“He needs to be allowed to have experiences for himself-”

“Eric, enough,” the man with shorter white hair spoke calmly and Eric fell silent.

“You alright?” the other dark haired man asked more gently as he crouched down with Hadiran.

“...I’m fine..” he mumbled dejectedly.

“You did good…”

“Do we have to tell mom?”

“Secret is safe with me.”

“Thank’s Charles…”

“What about them?” the man with long white hair interrupted and I felt five other pairs of eyes turn to me.

Silence followed his question as they all stared, it was like they had forgotten we were there and now that they had remembered, none of them quite knew what to do.

“Who are they?” Charles asked awkwardly.

“Girls from my school,” Hadrian answered, and expressions changed. Charles looked ashamed, averting his gaze, while the long haired man looked almost sorry. Meanwhile both Markos and the other white haired man shared a knowing look without showing any expression.

“You can’t just kill them,” Eric spoke up, stepping in front of them.

“Move, don't make me ask you again.”

“Nathaniel, they didn’t do anything.”

“Innocence isn’t the question. Safety is.”

“There are other ways.”

“Don’t argue with me about this.”

“You’re making a mistake, I know you don’t want to do this.”

“What I want also doesn't matter.”

“Nathaniel,” Eric repeated through clenched teeth.

“What would you have me do then?” he snapped back.

“Erase their memories, I can write the spell.”

“Tempering with memories is dangerous.”

“I’ll make it a tight seal.”

The pair glared at each other a long moment, before Nathaniel turned back to the others, “Take Hadrian home. Eric and I will handle this...”

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