Adric's eyes fluttered open, and his world was dark. The chill of night had fallen upon him and his body was shaking. The sun was no longer illuminating the field of the elementary school, and above him, he could see little white dots in the sky that were stars. The day flashed through his head in a dizzying blur. The events of the past few hours flooded into his brain and he jerked awake. Sudden realization baptized his face with fear and twisted it into frightened knots. He covered his head with his hands and rolled over. Bloody black slime was stuck to his fingers and was now cold in the soft breeze that blew through the field. His body was covered in zombie vomit and snot, and he forced himself to keep from screaming. I am alive... I am alive? How am I alive? Doesn't matter, I am alive.
He sat up wiping the black goo on his chest as he did so. The cold air had made his legs and arms stiff, and it hurt to move them. His joints were locked in place from the cold. Around him, all of the sounds of night brought the area to life. Crickets chirped everywhere. Their song sounded over the hushed breeze, like one continuous note that would rise and fall, as if it were breathing. The area was alive around him, but no ghouls were there. Apparently, they had left to try to find the cat.
Adric felt weak, and dizzy. The parasite had already been in his body for over two hours, and deep down inside he knew that he was doomed to become a ghoul, like all the others. Still, he tried to stand. Shifting his weight to one knee, and keeping his hands on the ground for balance, he pulled himself part way up. A sudden twisting pain in his belly sent him back to the earth, and out of nowhere nausea hit him like a punch in the gut. He puked up Mrs. Dahlin's cooking on the grass for a few moments until nothing was left in his stomach. Then he was dry heaving, unable to control himself. He wanted to vomit, but nothing would come. Then the dizziness returned but more intense this time. Even lying on the ground, he had lost his sense of direction.
Adric fought to get to his hands and knees. His breathing was heavy and the sickness of the parasite seemed to work against him. His goal was nearby and he wanted to reach it. He crawled toward the dark school building that was barely illuminated by the moon overhead. The pavement of the parking lot was still slightly warmer than the air. His hands hugged the warm cement as he pulled himself along. Small pebbles and dirt stuck to his palms, but he did not notice. His eyes were squinted, trained on the front entrance.
Little by little, he made his way closer and closer to the school, until he was just a few feet from the doors. The sound of footsteps came from behind him. A ghoul had decided to come investigate. Adric froze in his crouched position, unsure of what to do. Should he allow himself to be eaten alive by this ghoul, or crawl inside the school and slowly become one, himself? He stayed still and waited for the lumbering zombie to make its way over to him. It approached clumsily and sniffed the air. He knows I am here, Adric thought. The curious zombie stopped promptly, a foot away from Adric, and reached down to touch him. Adric shrank away from it to avoid its crusty hand, and crawled for the door of the school slowly. When he turned back to look, the ghoul had seemingly lost interest, and was already walking off into the light of the moon.
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The inside of the school was pitch-black. Adric navigated through the hallways bumping into walls, and dragging himself past classroom doors that were all locked. Eventually, he could crawl no further. Collapsing on his side, he relaxed a little and curled up in the fetal position. His cheek rested against the floor, in the middle of the empty hall. He shivered, and twisted, and shook. Then more vomit came, followed by more dry-heaving.
His pained moans could be heard echoing down the hallway, and he felt claustrophobic being surrounded by surfaces on all sides. It was as if he was wrapped up in the pain, and unable to move.
A spasm shot up his back and he curled, stifling a scream. He could hear the sound of his own cries so closely, and he felt pathetic. Tears began to flow down his cheeks more easily than before, and they warmed his face. His eyes burned.
The stomach acid and filth began to sink in deeper, and he whimpered passively, unable to prevent the parasite from traveling deeper and deeper into him. All of his fear had been replaced with helplessness, and loneliness.
I'm going to die here, he thought. It was the sad truth. He was ready. He had come a long way, and saved his friends that he had met back at camp. It was time to die. Might as well do it on my own terms. He produced a folded knife that he had found in Mr. Benson's garage. Though he could not see it in the darkness, he could feel the smooth heavy shape of the handle in his hand. It was warm to the touch from being in his pocket all night.
Adric flipped the blade out to admire it with his fingers. He closed his eyes and ran his hand up the length of its edge, careful not to cut himself just yet. It was a smooth, sharp, magnificent thing. He fondled the blade in silence for a few moments, lamenting his own death. This knife ..This lovely blade. It was his way out ..His escape.
He let the edge of it slide over his arm, gently gliding over his skin. Then he applied more pressure and it sunk deep into his forearm. His warm blood flowed freely from the wound, and dripped onto the floor.
Bliss.. He had done it before. There was no pain. The cut released him from the world, and he began at the top of his arm again to start another stroke. He carved his veins once more, but a little aggressively this time, and giggled softly. It is over now. No more worries. The crimson gushed from him quicker.
Adric made the euphoric feeling last as he sliced himself up, laughing to himself quietly, in the darkness of the school building. A swirling sensation tossed him about through his deep, troubled mind. He flew through his life re-living each memory in the blink of an eye. He cried and growled and snorted and hollered, remembering the best of his experiences, and the worst.
Then his strength began to fade and the spinning colors started to dim. His mind settled into cold blackness and he laid there motionless. The night went on without him and early in the morning Adric's body stirred. It stood up and swayed from side to side in a daze, then began to march in no particular direction through the halls of the school like only a ghoul could.
He was gone again, and would not wake up for much longer this time.
..three days, to be precise.
