Fight to Survive, Vincent, Part 3

Vincent awoke in a shroud of darkness and quiet. He remembered he was in church, but why was it so dark? Then he remembered his conversation with Matt.

"Oh, shit," he uttered, wincing a bit upon remembering his surroundings. Vincent looked at his watch: 10:30, PM. "Why didn't that jackass check inside the church?" he growled as he hurriedly threw on his coat, gloves, and hat. He ran down Middle Path, looking for Matt, listening for any signs of a party in the residences.

"Damn it all," he spat, cursing Matt's characteristic lack of logic. He found no sign of any sort of gathering; strange for a Friday night like this, he thought. Giving up, he walked the long way back North, to his room, morose at the lost chance to hang out. He tried to bring his mind to happier things, to lighten his mood; music, the singing group he was in, his somewhat warm room and bed, and…

"Vanessa…" he sighed. His heart sank further than it had before. He had held feelings for Vanessa Romero for so long, but he had never said anything to her, and he had lost his chance; now he was in college, three hours away, and the next year, she was going to be going away to, to God knows which college, maybe hundreds of miles away. He could not drive her face from his mind, and he bowed his head to the wind and marched on.

He was about to cross the last street on the way to his dorm when he heard from behind him a noise. He turned around and saw a person standing behind him, 20 yards away at least. They were walking slowly, and seemed to be limping.

"Hey, you," Vincent called out to the person, "are you alright? You look like you're hurt…"

The figure stopped moving and looked up, standing stark still. Vincent couldn't quite make out the face through the snow, but he was almost sure it was a man, and a strange one at that. He was acting unusual, almost disturbingly so. Then suddenly, the person let out an unearthly, tortured groan, and, limp seemingly forgotten, broke into a full sprint in Vincent's direction.

"What the…?" Vincent started, but couldn't finish out of surprise by the sudden change in behavior. He stepped to a side, making way for the man—he was sure it was a man, from the noise he had made—who was now barreling down the sidewalk at a break-neck speed. The more he stepped aside, however, the more the man's direction turned, and he kept coming right at Vincent.

Then, the stranger passed under a street lamp, and Vincent recoiled in horror; the man's face was a grotesque mask of dark, foul looking skin, contorted with intense, almost bestial rage. Vincent stepped back, and he slipped on a patch of ice, falling backwards just as the man was feet from him. The stranger tried to stop, but slid as well, and tripped over Vincent's form, flying several yards away, into a tree.

Vincent shoved himself to his feet and tried to see where the man had gone, and saw that he was already getting up, and beginning to bear down on him again. Ready this time for the man, he jumped to the side, and the man slid past Vincent again. Having seen enough, Vincent made a break for the nearest building

"Get the fuck away from me!" Vincent yelled, dashing for the door. He could hear the man's unsettling utterances through his pounding feet, his racing heart, and his intense breathing. He reached out for the door, opened it, and yanked it as hard as he could behind him. It slammed behind him, and then it slammed again as the man rammed into it full force. With a sickening sound, he flew into the bar between the two doors; Vincent was certain he heard the frightening crack of human bones breaking on the metal. The man stopped, and the doors held. Vincent cursed the man again and bolted up the stairs, not stopping until he reached the top floor and crashed through the door, almost taking out a girl exiting her room.

"What the hell is your problem?" she screamed, and marched away indignantly. Vincent fell against the wall and let himself slump to the floor, exhausted, heart pounding. He could still hear the insane man beating his probably broken arms against the door. And then, just as suddenly as he had charged, the pounding stopped.

Vincent held his breath, not daring to think that he had gone away. He must have opened the door, he thought.

"Shit," he swore again as he jumped to his feet and walked towards the door to the stairs. Reaching out his hand, he opened the door and looked down into the stairwell; no one there. Going down the stairs, he saw no one, and he saw no one as he ran back to his room, where he shut the door behind him and quickly locked it.

Vincent sat down again at his desk, and he signed into his computer, trying to return as best he could to a normal routine. Signing into AIM, he got an instant message from Vanessa.

HPLovercraft (10:47:01 PM): hey there

HPLovercraft (10:47:07 PM): how have you been?

Lizard64summit (10:47:11 PM): hey

Lizard64summit (10:47:14 PM): i've been better

HPLovercraft (10:47:26 PM): aww, is something wrong?

Lizard64summit (10:47:35 PM): i just got attacked

HPLovercraft (10:47:47 PM): holy shit, no way!

HPLovercraft (10:47:50 PM): when?

Lizard64summit (10:17:56 PM): just now

HPLovercraft (10:47:58 PM): where?

Lizard64summit (10:48:16 PM): i was coming home, and this guy just fucking charged me

HPLovercraft (10:48:17 PM): how?

HPLovercraft (10:48:20 PM): damn

HPLovercraft (10:48:26 PM): who was it?

HPLovercraft (10:48:29 PM): do you know?

Lizard64summit (10:48:30 PM): i have no idea

Lizard64summit (10:48:59 PM): he's some strange looking fucker with a limp, except when he comes at you like a fucking stampede

Lizard64summit (10:49:05 PM): he didn't look right

Lizard64summit (10:49:13 PM): he sounded like some sort of monster

HPLovercraft (10:49:29 PM): you're alright, aren't you?

Lizard64summit (10:49:41 PM): yeah, he didn't get me, but it was fucking close

HPLovercraft (10:49:56 PM): wow. things have been way too weird today

Lizard64summit (10:50:07 PM): he chased me into this building, but i slammed the door

Lizard64summit (10:50:16 PM): he ran head first into it, i heard bones break

Lizard64summit (10:50:27 PM): but he kept banging on the damn door

Lizard64summit (10:50:37 PM): for ten minutes almost, and then he just fucking left

Lizard64summit (10:50:42 PM): didn't even open the door

HPLovercraft (10:50:50 PM): god, what has gotten into people?

Lizard64summit (10:51:26 PM): i know, some reporter in columbus got attacked, and there have been crazy attacks going on here too. some students got put in the hospital

HPLovercraft (10:52:31 PM): yeah, i read an article on it. some people got attacked at Starbucks today, too. i was on my way to interview for a job when i saw it on the news.

Lizard64summit (10:52:40 PM): what?

HPLovercraft (10:52:51 PM): yeah

HPLovercraft (10:52:54 PM): it's freaky

Lizard64summit (6:52:57 PM): no kidding

HPLovercraft (10:53:06 PM): people have just gone nuts or something

Lizard64summit (6:53:13 PM): that's for damn sure

HPLovercraft (10:53:41 PM): oh, i have to go. there's someone at the door.

Lizard64summit (6:53:50 PM): alright. i'll talk to you later

Lizard64summit (6:53:54 PM): and, vanessa?

HPLovercraft (10:53:57 PM): yes?

Lizard64summit (10:54:06 PM): please be careful

HPLovercraft (10:54:20 PM): i will be. you take care of yourself, too, okay?

Lizard64summit (10:54:24 PM): sure thing

HPLovercraft (10:54:35 PM): alright, good night. i'll talk to you later

Lizard64summit (10:54:38 PM): good night

Vincent tried to get his mind to focus on something other than his attack, but homework and distractions weren't helping him. He decided he had better just go to bed, and he got up from his desk and lay down under his covers, thinking of his assailant, and how insane he had looked when he had run under the light. There he had never seen anyone who looked like that in his life, and it scared him. He turned over, trying to clear his thoughts. His shifted itself to thoughts of Vanessa, the once light day dreams now darkened with concern for her safety; if attacks like this were happening everywhere, Vanessa was at risk, too. Vincent couldn't stand the thought of losing her, and he tried his best to drift again into the embrace of sleep.