They burst into the changing rooms and slammed the doors shut. Scott turned the lock until it clicked.
"Call your father," Scott said immediately.
"What? And say what to him?" Stiles asked, panting.
"I don't know—tell him there's a gas leak or a fire! If that thing sees the police, maybe it'll back off—"
"Or maybe," Stiles cut in, "it'll turn into the freaking Terminator and kill every cop in Beacon Hills — starting with my dad!"
Scott blinked. "Well… they have guns—"
Asher looked at him, dead serious. "Really, Scott? Guns? Against that thing? Even Derek can't be hurt by normal bullets. You think the Alpha's gonna care?"
Scott hesitated, frustration in his tone. "Then we have to find something—"
"Derek's car!" Stiles said suddenly, eyes lighting up. "We could get out, grab the keys from Derek, and—"
He stopped mid-sentence, remembering the blood, the way Derek fell.
"And get away," he finished, quieter now.
"With him as well," Scott added quickly, hope in his voice. "He's still alive."
"Yeah…" Stiles said, clinging to that thought. He stepped toward the door and reached for the handle—
"Wait!" Asher, Scott, and Erica said at once.
"What?" Stiles hissed, startled.
"Did you hear that?" Asher whispered.
"Hear what?" Stiles whispered back, irritation creeping in. "Why am I the only one normal here?"
"Shh." Erica held up a hand, eyes narrowing toward the door.
The four of them froze.
Silence.
Then — creak.
The door handle turned slowly.
They all backed away, inch by inch.
And then—
CLANG!
Stiles lunged for the nearest locker, yanking it open with a metallic crash.
"No! What are you doing?!" Scott whispered harshly.
"It's gonna hear us!" Asher hissed.
Stiles dove inside and slammed it shut.
Scott panicked and followed, throwing himself into another locker.
Asher pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's gonna hear our heartbeats. This is pointless—"
He didn't finish. Erica grabbed his arm and yanked him into her locker. She shut it tight.
"Erica, what are you—"
"Shh." She silenced him with her fingers against his lips, eyes locked on the slits of light between the locker vents.
The door creaked open.
Footsteps echoed against the tiles. Slow. Heavy.
Someone—or something—was walking inside.
Asher could hear every heartbeat around him.
Scott's was hammering.
Stiles' was practically rattling metal.
Even Erica's was trembling beneath his chest.
The footsteps got closer.
Then stopped.
Right in front of Scott's locker.
Through the narrow slit, Scott saw a pair of eyes.
Human.
The locker door swung open—
"AHHHHHH!"
Scott screamed. The man stumbled back.
It was the school's janitor.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU KIDS DOING IN HERE?!" he bellowed, clutching his mop. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!"
He started shoving them toward the exit.
"Wait—please, just listen—" Stiles tried, but the janitor wasn't having it.
"I SAID OUT!" he barked, pushing them into the hallway and slamming the door behind them.
Then—
A roar.
A terrible, guttural, inhuman roar.
The door shook violently.
The janitor's hands slammed against the small glass window — blood smearing down the pane.
"NO!" Scott shouted, sprinting toward him.
"Scott, don't!" Stiles grabbed his arm, pulling him back just as—
CRASH!
The locker room door shattered outward, splinters flying. The janitor's body tumbled lifelessly to the floor.
For one breathless second, they stared at him.
Then, with a violent jerk, the corpse was yanked back inside.
The Alpha's roar echoed through the hallway.
"Run!" Asher yelled.
And they did.
They sprinted through the hallways, shoes slapping against the tile, until they reached another exit. Scott and Asher immediately grabbed the handles and yanked.
Nothing.
Scott growled, throwing his shoulder into it.
Once.
Twice.
The metal groaned, but the door didn't budge.
"What?!" he shouted, panic breaking through his voice. He tried again, harder this time, slamming his shoulder into it until the hinges rattled.
Finally, he managed to wedge a gap wide enough to peek through.
"What the hell—" he gasped. "It's a… dumpster?"
He turned to the others, sweat glistening down his temple. "He trapped us in."
"Clang!"
Stiles rammed the door again, jarring everyone out of their thoughts.
"Stiles, stop!" Scott hissed, grabbing his arm. "He'll hear us!"
Stiles froze, gulping air. "Okay, okay! Sorry! Sorry…"
They turned back down the hallway, the flickering fluorescent lights throwing restless shadows along the walls. Each step echoed like a countdown.
"I'm not dying without losing my virginity!" Stiles blurted suddenly.
Scott shot him a look. "You're not dying, okay? Nobody's dying!"
"Yeah, well, that's what everyone says before they die!" Stiles snapped.
"Guys…" Asher's voice cut in, calm but low—dangerously low.
He was staring out the windows.
Scott followed his gaze—and froze.
Across the courtyard, on the opposite roof, stood the Alpha.
Massive. Still. Watching.
The creature's glowing red eyes locked onto them.
Then—it moved.
A blur of muscle and claws, sprinting across the rooftop straight toward them.
"RUN!" Erica screamed.
The group bolted down the hall.
SHATTER!
Glass exploded behind them as the Alpha crashed through the windows, shards raining like knives. The beast hit the ground on all fours with a deafening thud, snarling as it chased them.
"Down the stairs!" Asher yelled.
They dove for the stairwell, nearly tumbling down the steps two at a time. The air grew hotter, thicker, until they stumbled into—
The boiler room.
Pipes hissed around them. Shadows stretched in every direction. It smelled like rust and old fire.
They darted behind the heavy machinery, crouching low.
No one dared breathe.
For a moment—nothing.
Then…
Roar!
The Alpha's growl filled the room, vibrating through the floor, through their chests.
It was here.
Inside with them.
To be continued...
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Sorry if I made you wait so much for a new chapter... I've been really busy with school those days, hope you can forgive me.