Viral Creed
Once again: I own nothing except my own character.
On with the show!
Jake woke with a start, remembering where he was, that there where ghosts around and that he was trapped in a room with a crazy bitch talking to them. It was pitch black, so there was no telling what time it was... or what was possibly lurking around him.
"Cat" His voice came out as a scared wheaze. "Cat!" He tried again with slightly better results.
"What?"
"Are you awake?"
"No. I'm answering you in my sleep." One could practically hear my eyes rolling at the question.
An odd noise startled us. We both jumped, but he screamed like a little girl. I took my phone out of my pocket and turned on the flashlight to look around. Sounded like someone trying not to laugh.
Nothing different from what I could tell. "La Volpe? Are you still here?"
"Oh, dear God I hope not!" Jake squeaked, covering up another noise.
"You realize that he knows the way out of these catacombs, right? So shut up and pray he hasn't moved on and left us to follow."
Sounded like a strained moan, then something brushed against my arm. I shone my light toward it and found nothing but the hand of Volpe's corps. I was beginning to think maybe I'd laid closer to it than I'd originally thought, then it moved, reaching for me as there was another groan.
"Oh my God! ZOMBIE!"
"I shone the light up to his face as Jake began freaking out again. Sure enough a set of eyes, very much alive , were looking back at me from the withered skull. I set the phone aside so the light reflected around to light up the room a bit more.
"Well, this is a first." I noted as I moved closer to Volpes' corps. He was trying to move, trying to speak, but it seemed rigor mortis was still in effect. All he could do was take shallow breaths and look at me with frightened eyes. "It's alright, Volpe. Try to relax. Everything will be alright."
I cupped his face gently, trying my best to comfort him. His skin felt like tissue paper that would tear with the slightest touch. It was quite interesting to see how alert he was and how his eyes were able to dart about seemingly unhindered whilst he struggled to even breath.
I was so happy when Jake fainted. Dear God, he's annoying. "That pretty face truly is his only asset."
I received a snort of laughter in reply and tried to play it off like I'd meant to say that aloud.
Slowly, little by little Volpe was able to move. A sharp gasp of pain came out when he moved too quickly and tore the paper-like skin.
0
I'm surprised at how long Jake was out. By the time he'd come back to, sunlight was making its way through a crack in the celing, lighting up the room quite a bit and Volpe was able to move enough I could help him sit up.
Jake saw him sitting up and decided to play panic-y hero, grabbing at a stone while shouting, "Cat! Get away from that thing! It's going to eat your brains!"
"And you plan on doing what, exactly?" I asked, eyeing the manner in which he couldn't pick up the stone.
He stopped, tired. "Was going to... smash its skull in...?" An embarrassed smile showed he had good intentions.
"Maybe he'd have a chance to if his leg wasn't caught." I motioned toward the debris that had caused the untimely death. "Maybe you could impress me with those big muscules and get him out?"
"Why would I do that?"
"What's more impressive? Someone playing hero by killing something that can't defend itself- metaphorically speaking" I added as I received a dirty look from Volpe. "Or saving the princess from something that is actually, possibly dangerous?"
Volpe continued giving me an incredulous look at the reference to myself as a princess, while Jake tried to show off by lifting the heavy rock enough for me to slide the man from beneath it.
"What?" I asked as the look continued... Perhaps it was because I'd equated him to some kind of small helpless animal? "Hey, what better way to get a muscle-headed pretty-boy to help, that to appeal to his overinflated ego?"
He gave a thoughtful shrug and sounded to be saying "true" as Jake objected before heading to a corner of the room.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"I gotta take a piss."
I gasped in mock horror, "And leave your scent for the monsters to follow you home?"
That stopped him- I don't want to be stuck in there with that damn smell.
"Maybe you should clean up that mess you made. The sooner we get out, the sooner you can go pee without the monsters coming after you."
Volpe shook his head as the moron quickly zipped up his pants and began clearing the exit. He shot me a look that I interpreted as "I can't believe that worked / I'm so proud of you"
"Whoa..." The new location I'd dragged him to and the angle of his head had the light reflecting the vibrant color perfectly. "Your eyes are amazing." They were a beautiful violet- my new favorite color.
0
Jake was too chicken shit to go near Volpe, and the man was still having trouble moving, so I carried him on my back as he pointed us the way out. I was really surprised by how light he was, being so much taller than me. Then again, I had to remind myself that he was nothing but skin and bones- quite literally. Thankfully he'd loosend up enough to talk properly.
Jake took off as soon as we reached civilization. I have no idea where he went and I really don't care. Thankfully, night had fallen again, making it easier to get to the hotel unnoticed.
Volpe was fascinated by the cars and lights. The city had changed more than he could have ever imagined.
"Mind if I ask how old you were?" It was something that had been eating away at me all day. His spirit looked to be in mid to late fourties.
"Thirty seven. You are?"
"Guess." I giggled. I do so love knowing how old people think I look.
"Fifteen?"
"Twenty-five"
"No."
"Si! Are you from here or...?"
"Si... Oh! Mi amico, Lorenzo lived there. He was a blacksmith... Not the best quality but he turned out pieces quickly. And Ercole, he was terrible with the violini. He would always play this corner and the shopkeepers would pay him just to STOP playing." He chuckled at the memories. "Stella and Salvaza, twins, would play the best pranks on the guard. Rob them blind and leave them so confused they did not remember which is up."
When the hotel came into view, he pointed toward it, "I lived in this building here... This is where you're staying?"
"Sure is. I'll run and get us some food after you've settled in, alright?" I entered through a side door and pulled out a keycard.
"What's that?" He asked as I put it in the door.
"It's the key."
"This was my appartment." He told me as I set him on the bed. He looked around as though he wasn't sure if he was happy to see how things have changed or sad that it did change.
I gave him the tv remote and showed him the basics before washing up a bit and heading back out.
0
I returned from gathering food to find Volpe flipping through the tv channels. His head snapped up the moment he smelled food, a large smile across his face.
"Sorry, not much was open."
"Bene, bene!" He happily took the offered bag, eagerly digging out the contents to inspect. "So long as it's food, I will be happy."
"Just don't eat too fast. I don't want you choking and dying on me or anything."
He chuckled around a mouth full of frenchfries before cringing at how salty they were.
I drew him a bath while he ate, finding my food half-gone by the time I returned and pretended to be upset. I'm glad he had such a good sense of humor, though he was a bit shy about me helping him to the bath. His muscles were so atrophied, he could barely hold himself to sit up.
He took one quick look at himself in the mirror and made it a point not to look again.
"The way things seem to be going, I'm sure you'll fill out and be back to your handsome old self in no time." I tried to reassure him, but his smile was only halfhearted, as if he knew I was lying and only telling him what he wanted to hear. I left him to bath in peace while I finished what he'd left of my meal and decided not to say anything about the quiet sobs that came from the bathroom.
There was no way I was letting him back into his old clothes. They were filthy and torn and falling apart. No. Not happening. No clothing stores were open at that hour, so he just had to make due with a pair of my lazy pants... that fell right off his thin hips.
He gave me a look as I helped him adjust the waistband. "Hey, you'd be laughing too if it were someone else." He was trying hard to stay mad, but was no match for the softness of the bed and was out before his head hit the pillow.
0
He woke the next morning to find himself alone. It was around noon, but who really cares when you've just come back from the dead?
I returned as quickly as I could to find him pouting at me playfully, "You left me!"
"You needed clothes." I pulled out a pair of pants and threw them at him. He was happy to find they had a drawstring and insisted I turn around so he could change.
"I can do it on my own, thank you. I just needed a good night's rest to move about."
"Alright, if you say so. I was just offering." I turned on the tv to find News on every station.
"E la storia piu alto di oggi: New York City: Manhattan Island e stalo oggetto di attacchi terroristici e di quarantena e stata posta a tutti gli effitti. Il terrorista testa si dice che sia uno di Alex J. Mercer..." The reporter prattled on, only catching my attention at the name.
"Volpe, what are they saying?"
He finished tieing the drawstring on his pants, "Eh... That some Alex J. Mercer has been suspect of terror attacking an island and they have placed the island under quarrantine." He translated for me. "Is there something wrong, signora?"
"I have family there." I told him half truthfully, sitting at the edge of the bed. My phone dinged a text allert, causing Volpe to jump and hiss in pain.
"Dio! I think I just reopened that wound from yesterday... What was that noise?" He craddled his side, applying pressure to the reopened wound.
I read the text quickly, a small smile pulling at my lips as I dug out some bandages. "I just received a message is all. Here, let's get that fixed up."
"A message? What did it say? If you don't mind my asking."
"That my assistance is needed on a project... If you don't mind my heading off for a bit." I tightly wrapped the gause around- I wasn't going to dare use adhesive bandages on his fragile skin. "There you go."
"Grazie. It is alright, just don't be too long, please?" He gave me a puppy look and batted those big pretty eyes, playfully.
"Alright, fine!" I laughed, "I won't be more than a few hours."
0
If Volpe thought I meant some kind of innocent art project, that's not my fault. I never said what KIND of project.
I ducked into a tight ally, clutching my package firmly.
Poor guy's got enough to deal with, being a zombie and all, he doesn't need to get mixed up in this.
I ran som more and found myself back in the catacombs - perfect!
Just have to wait to make sure I wasn't being followed any more, then I opened the package to find a black vial marked "Blacklight"
The next few hours were going to be excruciating, but well worth it.
