Extraterrestrial

Chapter 7: let me outtt

Remember when I said I wasn't going to take the risk to go out, leave the house? Uh, apartment? Well... I think I should retract that statement. I might've gotten a little bored. Even with having such a spacious house to live in plus all the fancy facilities that comes with it like the pool and the gym. I know, it's kinda hard to believe. But believe me, spending two weeks cooped up in here is enough to make me go insane.

Having all your friends die on you does that sometimes.

Everyday I wake up and I repeat the same routine. I can slack off or work my ass off but it doesn't make much of a difference. Everything I do feels inconsequential. I feel as though my life as it was had ended and now I'm stuck. Doing whatever I can just to get by. This ain't it. I know I'm meant for more. I miss my old life. The dreams that continue to haunt me each night reminds me of that and I fear it's been getting worse with each day.

Every moment that passes me by, I wonder how much longer I have to keep this up. I can't stay in here forever. Other than the internet and the news, I had no way of knowing the comings and goings of the exploding apartment incident. That was old news and people have seemed to move on with their life. As people would, but not me. My life quite literally ended then. I had to do something. I couldn't just sit around, I can't let them win now.

That is definitely the thoughts of the old rebel in me.

I paced around the kitchen as I thought about this. Drinking my cup of water after placing my empty plate from breakfast into the sink. Sip. Maybe... I could go out and just unwind a little. Sip. Maybe somewhere nearby like a park or a rooftop. Sip. Nah, not any abandoned buildings. At least not anytime soon, I just survived one collapsing on me. Sip. Don't wanna go wandering in another. Sip. Maybe. Gulp. Maybe I could even swing by my place just to check out what of it is left. If any of my stuff hasn't been thrown out by good ol' Mr Henry, the old landlord. Always was a grumpy old fella, that one.

I downed the rest of the contents in my cup. I could really use some clothes right now and I really miss my old drip. The ones with the smell of my own detergent, the ones that makes me feel at home. Yeah, all this thinking is just making me make up my mind. The temptation is strong enough to thwart my resolve to lay low.

There's no way I'm not going now, I thought as I placed the cup into the sink as well.

I glanced around to look at the clock on the wall. By the time I leave the house, I would be able to avoid the early rush hour traffic. That fact alone simply adds fuel to my fire. I'm getting out of here no matter what.

With that in mind, I got dressed at the speed of light. Excited to get my release, physically and moreso mentally.

Walking down a street, the address seems familiar. Then I remember it was a street I used to frequent a few years back when I was still in college. I let my thoughts wander along as I went down the memory lane.

I haven't heard from their parents but how could I have? I don't know any of their family members that well although I did used to drop by Jeff's a lot since he was the only one still living with his parents and was by far the homiest. Aaron lives on his own in a one room apartment while Rina and Trish share a studio somewhere in the same district.

On a whim, I find myself walking towards one of the places I have not thought of going since... their deaths. In the past, I've never really had anywhere to call home yet Jeff's house was one of the only places that I've felt truly at home, despite only been there a handful of times. I was never one to visit my friends' homes except this one time. I'll just pass by this one time. I wasn't sure what I expected from visiting them but surely it wasn't this.

Despite the short amount of time since Jeff's passing, the house looks... different from how I'd remembered it. It was messier than I remembered it to be. Not the normal homey mess they used to always have. It was more chaotic, cluttered and all over the place mess. The flowers in the windows have wilted away much like the occupant currently sat slouching over the porch steps. Smoking a cigarette with an ashtray stuffed full next to her. Jeff's mom looks worse for wear. She was a woman who kept everything in an orderly manner but now it's as though she just kept everything.

Seeing her and the house in that state throws me into a dark mood, my shoulders starting to tremble with an uncontrollable sense of guilt. I wrapped my hands around myself and turned away from her house. Walking as fast as I could to get away. I walked faster and faster until I was running. I didn't know where I was going. I just knew I had to get away. But no matter what I did I couldn't get the image of her slouched figure out of my head. I want to go home. Home...

The tears in my eyes blurs my vision. My feet slows. Home is where the people are. Mine are dead. All I have is James now.

Wiping away the tears with my hands, I see something that I thought I'd only dreamt about. My hands were glowing.

They look green. The greenish hue throbs in my veins bringing back the dreamlike memories of me running from the men in suits. And then I remember his eyes. James, he knows.