Fever Dream Red

34

We went into a clothes shop. The usually filled floors were empty except for the mannequins, dressed prettily, but not in apocalypse attire.

I rifled through the clothes with my newfound sense of freedom. Sunny joined me, and we compared outfits and recommended things for each other. We could take anything we wanted. Who was there to stop us?

We were happily getting along. I had chosen some jeans and a few tees. I firgured that I could still run in jeans if I had to. I also figured I needed some more tees.

I was just grabbing some more underwear when I heard the sound of posh shoes on shiny floor.

I froze. Every cell in my body screamed. It was Nik and his men. They had caught up with us. It was all too good to be true.

It wasn't Doug's or Alfie's posh shoes. They had changed out of their flash suits at the car.

It had to be them.

My eyes connected to Sunny's across the cloting rack. We were two frightened deer finallt caught in the headlights.

A million scenarios played out in my head. Most of them turned out awfully.

We could move into the changing rooms, but I decided that was a pretty awful idea. We would be cornering ourselves in. We were practically giving ourselves up.

My eyes then connected to Doug and Alfie. Doug put a finger to his lips, as if it wasn't immediantly obvious we weren't supposed to say anything.

I couldn't find Skye with my eyes. I wondered where they were. I worried where they were. They didn't even seem that interested in the clothes.

The person walked forward, and me and Sunny ducked our heads below the clothing rail.

Sunny found my hand, and I wasn't shocked to find it trembling. I grasped onto it, trying to anchor her into safety.

I don't think it worked.

"Well, well, well." The man greeted us menacingly.

I knew who it was at once.

Nick.

Why would he be out looking for us? Wouldn't he leave that for his men? I didn't know.

The sound of his voice made my skin crawl. I didn't really know why.

"Where are you all? I know you're here." He wondered along the clothing rails. Me and Sunny slunk into the comfort of the cloth like little kids. The sense of nostalgia distracted me from the situation for a few moments.

"Come out. Please. I 'm a busy man. I'm too busy for these games. Just show up and all of this silliness can be over."

"I am, you toad!" We heard a clumsy clunk and a groan, presumably from Nick.

Me and Sunny peered over the rail.

Skye was holding what seemed to be a crowbar. Nick was on the floor, his face distorted in grotesque pain.

It seemed that Skye had whacked Nick with a crowbar. I couldn't blame them.

We all looked at each other in shock. Then, we  ran out of there, me still clutching my clothes and Skye still clutching their bloody crowbar.

We ran along the road for a good ten minutes, until my breathing was ragged and I had no choice but to beg to slow down.

We slowed down to a jog, which allowed me to grab a bottle of water I had grabbed in the store. I was grateful for myself then.

Alfie kept checking cars on the way to see if they were locked. If they weren't, we automatically had a ride.

"Score!" Alfie yelled at us. We turned around to see his holding a car door open in victory.

We needed no invitation: we climbed in.

Alfie was the only one who had any idea on how to drive a car, so he took charge.

The car was a musty dusty brown. It was crinkled and rusted, but it was unlocked. That was all that mattered to us.

Alfie's driving was not up to scratch. He kept stopping and starting. His moves were swervy and his turns were either sharp or slow. In short, in the ordinary world I would not trust him to drive.

We got to the suburbs of Albermis eventually. We got to quite a posh bit.

"I've heard about this place." Doug started. He was about to say either the most stupid thing ever heard or the unintentionally smartest thing ever heard. There was no in between.

"Apperently if you go any further it gets proper fancy. Like gated community fancy."

Doug looked at Alfie in a pleading way.

Alfie slowly nodded.

" Nick isn't anywhere to be seen. I think I've lost him. We might as well check this thing out."

Doug was like an excited child on his birthday.

Doug fed Alfie the directions, and I couldn't help thinking that they would make a wonderful married couple. It seemed to me like they were in love. Platonical? Maybe.

We came to a gate. We could see properties inside the fenced off area, and the gate had a buzzer and everything. As the sun was setting it became floodlit.

Luckily the gate hadn't been left open. Someone in their haste for safety left the gate open.

Their mistake.

We parked the car and sashayed into the place, happy with how well the end of the world was now going for us.

We tried the door of the first property. It didn't open.

That was until Doug smashed a plant pot against the window.

"What? It's not like anybody's coming back to live here."

We climbed through the broken glass and came to a fancy porcelain white kitchen.

I was walking up the stairs to the bedrooms when the stench hit me. Rotting flesh invaded my nostrils and made me want to gag.

I proceded nevertheless, and what I saw at the top of the staircase will scar me forever.

A woman sat at the top. It wasn't a woman. Sores and scars and red and blood and tissue and whatever laced into whatever skin she had. She couldn't speak. She just looked at me with pain in her eyes.