The World Is Ugly

If I Fall

~Nine years earlier~

Neither Frank nor Mikey had slept that night at all. Gerard said he'd be gone for a day or so, at the very most.

It had been three days.

Staying in the shelter Gee found was driving them insane. No food, barely any water, and no Gerard.

Where the hell was he?

They both knew that BL/ind was bad. Gerard had made that clear to them. And that they posed a threat to outcasts like the three of them.

But Frank and Mikey figured, what was the worst that could happen if they went to look for him?

It wasn't like they had an army of monsters or something, they were just a company.

And Gerard was worth any risk posed by a stupid company.

So they went out.

Possibly the worst idea they'd ever followed through with.

-

Mikey tugged at his beanie, adjusting it until it was even on his head.

Despite how much hair grew over his scar, he refused to leave the house where someone might maybe catch a questionable glimpse of his battle scar from when his house collapsed on himself, Frank, and Gerard.

So, beanie it is.

Frank grabbed his arm and pulled him out the door. He had Gerard's revolver in his belt loop, which he totally knew how to use.

"We'll be fine, Mikes. And he'll be fine too, just wait."

"Fine, fine, okay. We'll go."

"Don't act reluctant. We both know you got as much sleep as me last night, which is none, and we're going to solve that."

Mikey let out a deep, nervous breath and followed Frank out the door.

-

They'd been trudging through the desert for what felt like hours now, and still no sign of Gerard.

Frank was ahead of Mikey, the blazing sun barely seemed to bother him.

Suddenly, Frank gasped. "Mikey, come here!"

Mikey did his best to jog up behind his friend, looking around. "What?"

Frank pointed off into the whirling sand, to the faded silhouette of what looked like a person.

"Do you think that's him?" Mikey asked eagerly, wondering what Frank was getting at.

"Could be, let's go!" He ran across the dry ground, Mikey stumbling behind him.

But soon, Frank's vision was clearer. He stopped.

"Mikey, there's two..."

"It could still be him...?" Mikey replied with a hopeful tone that would get him nowhere.

"No. Look."

Only one figure was close enough for any facial features to be specified, but it was clear.

The creature's black hair was wild, matted against its head. Its skin was abnormally pale, not even off-white, just about as white as possible. The eyes were black, ears pointed.

But the most horrifying feature on its face by far was the grimacing, bloody smile cursing its face. Teeth, sharper than knives, standing out amidst the red, but the bleached white teeth were stained with the same red that haunted the creature's mouth. 

And it was staring directly at Frank and Mikey.

It was approaching them, quickly, and Frank gasped. He grabbed Mikey's arm turning away and attempting to scramble away.

But Mikey fell on something sharp, and the creatures were running now, and Frank struggled to pull him to his feet, but his shin was bleeding, the blood soaked through his jeans and he groaned. He stood up, Frank's arm around him, as attempted to limp away from the creatures, who were just breathing on their necks.

Frank groaned in frustration as he looked back, the creatures no more than fifteen feet away.

They'd pulled ray guns out now, and suddenly, they were trying to shoot.

The boys dodged as many as they could, but suddenly something pierced Frank's  foot.

They both fell to the dirt.