Zeds

'Maggots'

After a long time of suffering and losses, my friends and I decided to hang out at the most random place we could find. For us, that meant going to the abandoned house next to the ruined apartment buildings at night. With curtains instead of doors, poor lighting, and ripped apart couches, the living room looked like a place where homeless people lived. And now, we did.

We drank down our sorrows with lots of orange soda pops (in spite of our pain, we knew better), put on some music, and lit a fire in the middle of the sitting area. I counted at least 6 of us, of which I only recognized Taly, my brother, and I. I somehow knew the rest were my friends too, and I felt that we'd been together through thick and thin for a very long time.

I was sitting next to my brother while the other guys danced around like idiots. They were making a wreck of the place, but I couldn't care less. We did go there to do precisely that, so... just, let off some steam. I turned to my right and saw Taly lost in thought, looking at the fire.

-So, you feel any better yet? Away from everyone? -I asked her.

She was quiet for a few minutes.

-Not really. This won't bring me back my dad. -She was holding back tears.

-I know. I know. At least we can chill here without anyone bothering us, right? -I swallowed a lump in my throat.

-I guess.

We remained quiet. It felt pointless to try and be happy. I reminded myself that nobody in that room was ok, that we were there because we felt like garbage, and that nobody was going to help us.

Suddenly, one of the guys handed me a small paintball gun while laughing.

-What's this for? I didn't even know you brought these.

-It's for shooting through the window, dummy. We can do whatever we want tonight!

He shouted as the other guys howled at... something. I don't know. I looked at Taly again as she shrugged her shoulders. We smiled at each other in agreement.

-Let's do this. -I said.

So, we started shooting at crashed cars outside of the house, targeting the tires, car windows, trash cans, etc. One of the guys screamed "Yeah! Heck yeah!" about 100 times. We had fun. The downside was that the nosy neighbors called the cops and with them, our parents.

Time fast-forwarded into 2 counseling guides sitting with us in that same house, bargaining with us to come out of there and stop trespassing, being so loud n' reckless, and tearing the place appart. That was quick. Still, we weren't even doing anything wrong!

-Thank you for letting us in. We think that... -They started talking.

I ignored them.

I was too busy looking outside the window when something caught my attention. In the same trash cans that we were shooting at before, there were some weird looking maggots moving around. Brown and yellow, slimmy, and thick, they were quickly multiplying until they filled the container and started dropping around.

-Uhm, guys... -Instinctively, I grabbed my paintball gun.

I started to talk, but time fast-forwarded again. I was in a police car with my parents, just outside the house, when I saw several police officers running towards a fire that began by trying to contain those disgusting maggots that kept multiplying themselves by the second.

-Mom, dad, I...

-Are you ok? -They asked me.

-What's going on? -I squirmed in my seat.

I didn't have any cuffs on, so I moved around looking through the windows, looking for my friends. I couldn't see them, but I saw other police cars around. Maybe they were in there.

-We can't hold-ah! -The police officer was pulled downwards by the creatures.

He tried to push them away by kicking and hitting them, but he couldn't. Instead, he was grossly consumed by the maggots, disappearing completely into their grumble with horrifying screams.

-Run, run! -Another one shouted.

We stepped out of the car and ran towards a technological/chemical facility that was either in repair or in pre-inauguration stage, because there were very few people there. It was after midnight, after all. One of those people was, apparently, Tony Stark.

My parents were suddenly no longer with me, but my friends and I reunited. Running away from a literal floor of maggots, we climbed up several scaffoldings that were inside of one of the factory's bodegas. We hold on tight to them, but some of my friends screamed and panicked so much that they fell down into the sea of maggots. I was horrified too of course, but I tried not to lose my focus.

Stark also climbed up one of those, but one closer to a higher floor level of the facility.

-Here, grab my hand! Just don't agitate them. -He said to one of my friends.

As the genius he was, Stark noticed that noise only provoked them more to move and attack us. So he helped my friends climb up with him in silence, as well as some police officers. When it was my turn, however, one of the workers started panicking.

-Wait, no-shh! -I told him to calm down, but he wouldn't listen.

-I can't, they're so many! AH! I can't hold on!

He fell down pulling me with him.

-Oh crap.

Luckily, I didn't fell right into their grumble, but the other guy did. With no time to help him, I ran towards the exit because they were quickly catching up to me. I ran and ran until someone fired some energy blasters at the maggots and freed me from being eaten. It was a redheaded woman, with a full-body black suit. I was extremely grateful, but I still had to get away, so I kept going towards what know seemed to be a maroon colored hill right in front of the factory.

-What are you doing? Help us! -She screamed at me.

Another girl, who I didn't recognize, was also there helping. This one could fly and had a yellow suit with wings, and she kept shooting at the worms too.

-Where are you going?! We-ah!

The redhead was interrupted. She was bitten by some maggots, who then started to crawl up on her. She shook some of them off, but they where starting to gain territory.

What did she mean by help them? I couldn't do anything!

-Just let-let it all out! -The redhead said.

-Let out what? I don't even know you!

I was starting to feel even more agitated and scared than before. I tried to keep running, but my legs were slowing down and getting extremely heavy.

-Your anger! You know this, this is how you do it, now let it all-ouch!

-No, no, I'm-I can't do that! What are you even...?

Frustration was getting the best of me, at the same time I got further away. I wanted to cry.

A maggot bit my leg. And it hurt a lot. I felt like I was getting shot at. Then another, and another...
I turned to see the two girls and they were right, they did need help. Sadly, I was starting to give in to the heaviness of the creatures.

-I, I can't...

Flashbacks of my pain began to overwhelm me. The death of friends, break-ups, running away, feeling alone... I just wanted a loose, fun night. And then these... these maggots decided to take the lives of more of my friends? To make me feel worse? Suffocating me and burying me in this... this...

I let out a scream so loud it hurt my throat. With it, a blast of firey orange energy bursted from my core, clearing me from the crowd of worms that was consuming my body. I was know levitating, angry, and very determined to kill these little aliens.

I was still a little freaked out, though. I mean c'mon, maggots? Eugh. If I thought about it too much, I couldn't fly steadily and sort of "tripped", so I tried to not overthink it.

A vision appeared in my head, one where I was seeing that exact moment from far away. I saw myself still floating, but now wearing a burnt orange leather coat and black pants paired with a dark orange leather vest top. It made sense but it also didn't.

I don't know why, but I immediately thought: "So this is how I transform". What?

-I'm ready now, what do I do? -I asked the redhead as I blasted more creatures with my fire.

The lady with wings and her smiled proudly at me.

-What?

-We knew you'd figure it out. -Said the brunette.

-Just because I remembered what I can do doesn't mean I know it, you know?

-Well... you're not gonna like it.

The redhead turned to see the inside of the factory, where the maggots were trying to eat their way up towards Stark and my friends. Something clicked in my head. I knew what I had to do.

I let myself drop to the floor and stomped my feet.

-Hey! Come eat me you freaks!

I wasn't even finished when they were already coming at me.

-And there they come. Run, guys!

The three of us ran towards the hill I was going before. The swarm was almost catching up on us, but that's was sort of the point. We stopped once we were far enough, and had to let them crawl up on us for as long as we could.

Once they did, I let out another powerful energy blast to burn as many of them as I could, and just as I did...

I woke up.