The Ink Infection [Brief hold and Editing]

Chapter 13

"Jack?" I whispered, slowly walking towards the bars. "Is it really you?"

"Yes, it's me," he said, motioning me to come closer. I took a hesitant step towards him. Was it really Jack? Why was he in the cell? He wasn't infected, was he?

Suddenly, he fell on the floor and started to convulse, white foam bursting from his mouth.

"JACK!" I screamed, rushing towards the bars.

"Neil!" Cody shouted, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

I looked away from the writhing Jack to Cody. 

"Can't you see Jack? He needs help!" I yelled back.

Cody looked at me, confused.

"Neil, it's not Jack," he said, worriedly.

I turned my head back towards the cell, but saw a small black-haired boy writhing on the ground. It wasn't Jack. I stumbled backward. What happened? I was sure it was Jack in the cell.

"Are you okay?" Cody asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Y-yeah. I'm fine." I said as I kept looking at the small boy in the cell.

"I think you're hallucinating," added Kevin, sadly pointing to my head. "From when the guard bashed your head into the ground, I think your head is in deep trauma right now. Considering that you've been hit on the head multiple times today," he added.

I sat down heavily on my stool, looking down at my notes.

- Very sensitive to light or sound.

- Eyes will turn black, and their bodies will be covered in black veins.

- Always have black liquid (???) coming out of their mouths.

Kevin started to scream, and I looked up at him. A pencil was stuck in his palm, dark red liquid oozing out from the wound.

"Kevin?" asked Cody, walking towards him. Kevin looked at me as Cody passed in front of me. Kevin's eyes suddenly turned black. He snarled, revealing rows of white, sharp teeth.

I fell from my chair, sweeping the pencil in front of me in an arc. He snarled and leaped at me, tackling me to the ground.

Was this a dream? It has got to be a dream, or a hallucination. Yes, you're probably hallucinating, I told myself. Kevin's right, I probably did hit my head too hard. 

"You monster! You allowed all of this to happen, you piece of trash!" he screamed, biting down on my neck.

I screamed as I felt something get injected into my neck. Darkness flooded into sight, and I was surrounded by blackness.

--

"NEIL! NEIL!" a voice shouted.

I slowly opened my eyes, my vision blurry. I could barely make out the outline of the table, and a face looked at me.

"Neil?" the voice asked.

I blinked my eyes and squeezed them, trying to see who the person was.

"Derek?" I asked, squinting my eyes.

"No, try again," said the voice, as the person shook his face.

"Jack?" I tried again, looking at the blurry person.

"Guess your head really got messed up," said the same voice.

My vision cleared slowly, and I saw a freckled face in front of me, his eyebrows furrowed in concern.