A/N: Yoooo... I guess I'll have more to say later. -shot-
In Terms of Survival
Chapter 1: Dying to Live
Blood splattered across the screen in a morbid fountain of gore, spewing from the undeads' hapless victim in an almost artistic pattern beyond the glass. I could have laughed, the death was so generic. Several people trapped in a mall. Chock-full of zombies. If that wasn't generic, I didn't know what was. As the set of survivors slowly dwindled from assembly to the final two (a male and female, of course), I began to question why I even bothered to pick this title up at Blockbuster.
What was the name again? I reached over and grabbed the plastic case off the coffee table. Zombie Apocalypse IV or some stupid, again, generic title. I looked back up at the screen just in time to watch the final scene. Boy holding Girl. Girl dies. Boy yells, looking up at the ceiling of the multiplex as the camera zooms out and towards the roof from the pair. Zombies surround them. Boy stands. Camera zooms in on his right eye, showing the massive amount of combatants he faces. Boy says some stupid line. Boy turns psycho-killer and goes kamikaze on the horde. Screen fades to red rather than black due to the sheer amount of blood painting the pixels. Credits roll.
After predicting the end of yet another "horror" movie, I rose somewhat gingerly from the tan futon and padded across the hardwood floor towards the pale beam of light from the cracked bathroom door. Immediately blinded after pushing the door the rest of the way open, memory guided my outstretched hands to the edge of the sink, where I stood still until my vision returned. As the white began to dissolve into individual colors, I blinked, peering up into the fractured mirror resting just above the sink. Watching as white melted into ebony streaked in scarlet, I frowned into the glass, observing the purple-black circles beneath my eyelids appear as well. I turned the faucet onto its coldest temperature, all the while hoping that those circles were just my imagination, and quickly splashed water onto my face. I looked up again.
Shadow the Hedgehog stared back at me. Or rather, my very exhausted image. The bruise-like signs of my insomnia were way too much to ignore. And yet, I didn't feel like sleep. I was a livewire, full of bright and bouncing energy. Even in this state, I could run on. And on. And on for days. Weeks, even. But, I felt like collapsing. I couldn't remember the last time I had actually slept. Falling asleep was hard, but staying there was even more difficult…
I decided that I'd had enough. I slipped my power restraints from my wrists and strode more determinedly back into the living room, half-slamming the bathroom door. Without bothering to take the time to unfold the futon into its bed form, I simply placed the wristlets on the coffee table before me and flopped down onto the futon, studying the refractions of the DVD's main menu in the gold of the wristlets, feeling the energy begin to drain away. Sighing in content, I resolved to further lull myself to sleep by turning the TV onto the local news. I smirked, rolling onto my back as the middle-aged man onscreen discussed various topics in such monotone that they all quickly began to run together. Up until he said "sickness".
My ears pricked up involuntarily, reflexively. Displeased, I slitted one open at the man, glaring as if my eyes could burn holes in his chest through the screen. However, Ben continued blabbering. Huffing irritably at my own curiosity, I reached over to the remote and tapped the volume '+' button a few times.
"…number of cases continues to rise. The current death toll stands at nine-hundred and sixty-eight. CEDA officials have set up treatment facilities in the following locations. If you or anyone around you begin to experience the symptoms of the flu, please don't hesitate to call the toll-free number now scrolling across your screen. Symptoms include, but are not limited to high fever, coughing, sinus pressure, irritated skin, large welts or wounds on the body, severe nausea, and vomiting." Ben just wouldn't move on.
What should I care? I'm the Ultimate Lifeform. I can't get sick. I scoffed, jabbing the power button, instantly drowning myself in darkness, with the only source of light a soft bluish glow from the streetlamps beyond the window.