All Which Remains

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Arron

Living with Ramelan. Living with Ramelan. For some reason, that thought confuses me. I can't quite wrap my head around this situation. Living with a guy that hates me seems a little weird, but I'm going to risk getting kicked out. I'd have to live on the streets if that happens. What a scary thought— No, stop. You can't go down that road. I look up ahead at Ramelan. In the moonlight, his hair looks out of place with his dark skin. The whiteness of his hair severely contrasts with all of his features, but it's amazing how a person can still look so beautiful. I look down at my feet. Wow, how can I think about him like this? The person I wish I never met. Well, maybe not that I never met him, but I wish that I didn't have to rely on him so much— I slapped my cheeks. Nothing good can come of thinking like this, so shut up, self. I should focus on something else. Something to keep my mind off of how hot— Shut it. I look around.

We're walking down a small road lined with houses. The moon is full and bright against the sky. The stars are shining so brightly that they seem almost fake. The yards were so perfect; the grass cut so clean. Suddenly, I feel sick to my stomach. Something tells me that I'm not supposed to be here. Something is off. Something is wrong. I quickly catch up to Ramelan and ask him if we're near his house. He turns to look at me. His skin is rotting and his eyes are sunk into his head. Dark holes fill in where his eyes should be. Black liquid is spilling out of every crevice on his face. Dripping from his eyes, nose, and pores. I scream and stumble back. He lumbers toward me, then lets out a screeching cry into the night. The doors to the houses open and people... no, they aren't people. These creatures cross their front yards to reach me.

I get up off the ground and start to run. The creatures and Ramelan slowly start to chase after me. I'm sure that I'm going to get away. They're so slow. I look ahead, and suddenly, more of them come from up ahead and surround me.

"Damn it," I say as I try to fight them off. I'm not a strong person. All of my attempts are feeble, and I know it. As I slap a creature in the face, another one grabs my arm and bites into it. Hard. I scream. There's a burning sensation all up my arm. Fuck. I try to shake it off, but I have even less strength than I did before. Others grab my remaining limbs and start to consume the flesh that covers them. The pain is incredible. I don't even have space to feel anything else. Just pain.

Pain.

Pain.

As I'm slowly being eaten alive by the creatures, I look between their tangled mass of legs and see Ramelan looking back at me. He smiles. Ink drips out of his mouth and spills onto the ground in a pool at his feet. A shiver runs down my spine, and the burning sensation turns to cold in an instant.