Chapter 14~ Of Memento Mori
PREVIOUSLY, ON BECAUSE OF A FIGHT, BELIEVE IT OR NOT
I ignored the last sentence and asked another question. "So what's the plan after this? Where am I being relocated to?"
The smirk on his face grew. "The one place where it would be practically impossible to find people in the middle of a crowded city."
"And that would be...?"
"San Fransisco."
-.-
I gazed at the vanity in front of me; lips were glossed, eye makeup was applied, my hair was pinned into a messy bun. A simple black dress and matching flats adorned my body. I actually looked pretty.
Pretty was a horrible adjective to use in a case like this.
The funeral was to start in an hour. It was going to be a small one, with only F-his closest friends and family. God, I couldn't even say his name without bursting into tears.
The night at the hospital had continued to haunt me for the last week. After confirming his death, I couldn't remember anything that happened afterwards. Iggy had told me that at the sight of the corpse, Ella fainted. Even my brother, who was as hard as a rock, broke down at the state of his close friend.
That night, everyone had lost someone. To some people, a student was gone. Others had lost a colleague. One lost a son, another person lost a neighbor. The town lost a citizen.
I had lost my best friend.
My head dropped to my hands and I fell to my knees. I didn't cry, though- I lost all my tears long ago. Instead, I inhaled deeply and just tried to empty my mind of everything that had happened lately, and try to forget everything.
Forget him.
Forget his smirks.
Forget his obnoxious behavior.
Forget how he used to run his hands through his hair when he was nervous.
Forget his stupid right hook.
Forget the familiar chuckle that I just heard again.
...
Wait a second.
The familiar chuckle that I just heard.
No, he was dead. It couldn't be...could it?
Heart thumping loudly, I gulped and shakily turned around in a slow manner, afraid of what I might see. Sure enough, there he was leaning against the door frame like always. "Maxie," he greeted.
"F-Fang?"
"No, you idiot, it's the tooth fairy." Yep, that was him.
I rushed to him and wrapped my arms around his neck, feeling faint. "Oh, my God. You're still here, oh, thank God," I breathed. In turn, Fang wrapped his arms around waist and I gave a content sigh. He was alive. He was breathing. That was all that mattered at the moment. "I thought you were gone."
Suddenly, he pushed me away and grabbed my shoulders. "Wake up."
My eyebrows furrowed. "What?"
"I said, wake up," Fang deadpanned.
"W-what are you talking about? I am awake," I insisted.
If he heard me, he gave no sign. "Get up, Max, it's time to go to my funeral."
Then something happened that made me recoil in horror. Fang began to cough loudly and doubled over. "Maximum Martinez, get up now," he said between coughs. He removed his hand that had covered in mouth.
It was dripping with blood.
He started to transform. Cuts and bruises appeared everywhere on his arms and once flawless face. Fang's clothes begin to rip and tear in places, becoming stained with red. A thick gash appeared on his cheek and a black eye formed. His arm twisted in a wrong angle and the maroon liquid began to appear from his hairline.
I stepped back. "Wha-what's happening? Fang, what's going on?"
"Wake up, Max, or else you might be late to my funeral!" I bit back a shriek as his skin turned black and began to disintegrate, the rest of his flesh following suit.
Soon enough, there was nothing but a pile of black dirt and scraps of clothing. Raising a hand to my mouth, I screamed in terror.
That's when my vision turned black.
My eyes opened. My breath was coming out in pants and I was sweating. Someone was shaking me. "Max?" Ella's voice called out. "Get up, the funeral starts in an hour."
I propped up on my elbows, the sunlight coming from the windows causing me to squint. Relief flooded through my body. It wasn't real, it was just a dream. "Ella, how long have you been trying to wake me up?"
"For almost ten minutes. Are you okay, Max? You were writhing and yelling in your sleep, I was getting worried."
"Yeah, I just had a really bad dream. Don't worry, I'm fine now."
"Good." Ella got up from the edge of my bed. I noticed she was dressed up in black like I was in my nightmare. "Now go get ready, we're leaving in thirty minutes, alright?" She walked out of my bedroom, leaving me alone.
I took my time in getting up, feeling a sense of déjà vu, like I had gotten up for his funeral before. And I did do it before. In my nightmare.
The event was being held next to the town graveyard. It was at the edge of a big forest that bordered the cemetery. The weather was warm that day and the sun was out. It shouldn't be this nice out, I though bitterly. Not today. I was in the front with Ella, Iggy, and Nudge. Fang's mom wasn't there; she was too depressed to come and stayed at home.
A microphone was set in front of the chairs for people to give speeches. Behind it was a closed coffin, waiting to be buried. I shuddered when I thought about what was inside it.
Within a couple minutes, the small mass of people assembled to their seats as one of Fang's old teachers rose to the microphone and began his eulogy. "We are gathered here today to mourn the loss of Nick Walker," he began reading from his note cards. "Mr. Walker was a beloved son, a wonderful friend, a student of our school, and a citizen of the town. He was a polite young man, known to keep mostly to himself. Ever since he moved to this city, everyone was enchanted by his kind and wonderful personality..."
I stood abruptly in the middle of his speech; I just couldn't take this. Fang was closed off, no one bothered to care about his personality. I knew him best, and I'm pretty sure that the speaker disliked Fang.
Forget this. I had better things to do than sit around and listen about who Fang wasn't.
No one noticed my leaving, for they were too busy listening to the eulogy. Slipping away unnoticed into the nearby pines, I began to walk by myself. Birds chirped from the branches of surrounding trees, and I could hear squirrels scuttling from place to place.
I continued to stride meters, not caring if I got lost. That's what a cellphone GPS is for. Taking a deep breath, I exhaled, remembering how Fang and I once explored this section before. Soon the whole forest was quiet as I kept walking.
Out of nowhere, I heard leaves rustling and the snap of a twig. My heart raced; someone else was here too. "Hello?" I called out. There was silence. "Is there anyone here?"
The taciturnity continued and I, thinking it was probably was a squirrel, shrugged and continued to walk.
FANG POV
My foot snapped on a twig and I hissed at the loud sound it had made. Max turned around in alarm and I quickly hid behind a tree, praying I won't be seen. I had been doing a good job earlier in avoiding her; to me, silence was key.
"Hello? Is there anyone here?" she yelled. No...just me, I thought. After listening for a few seconds, she turned around and left. I sighed in relief and snaked away from her to put distance between us.
I didn't leave for San Francisco yet. He wanted me to, but I ignored his instructions and stayed to see my funeral. After all, everyone wants to know what their funeral would be like.
Mine was complete bullshit.
Before leaving for the event, I had disguised myself and stayed in town for a few hours, overhearing that is was supposed to be a small occasion. Not even; there were jocks there from my school who I barely recognized. And only the uptight, boring people of my life rose to the mic—obviously not those who I liked.
So it was then that I had decided: fuck it. I wanted to be anywhere but here. Little did I know that a certain person had a similar idea. When I saw the flash of blond in the forest, I knew I had to see her. I didn't have to talk to her, but just seeing her face again would be enough for me.
Now it was officially time to leave.
Colorado Springs, I bid thee adieu.
Author's Note:
Tada! Guys, ya'll are amazing at reviewing and reading and I'm so glad that there are people like you in this world. I'm sure Aliza thinks so too. RIGHT ALIZA?
So 25 reviews for the next update? So 210?
Also, I posted a new story called Paralyzer. Review on that, tell me what you think. Check out the poll on my profile and I updated JLAAST finally(: So review!
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