Unstoppable: Revitalized

-18-

God, I hope nothing happens today...

The events in my head kept looping against my better wishes, my brain wanting me to suffer more than I already was

I've done some things I never would've done before. Is this adapting, or is this me lashing out? I wasn't born like this. I'm a good kid, I know I am. I know I am. I have to be. I have to be good. Deep breaths, Adam. 

Despite the changes, I noted the same feeling that I felt every time I walked in here: Sad. I felt it here, felt it at home, felt it everywhere, no matter how hard I tried to fight against it, anger and sadness seemed to sit inside my body. Nothing made me laugh with true joy, smile with true happiness, or anything like that. Sighing, I tried to focus back in as I walked through the hallways, trying to blend into the crowds of students. It became difficult with the unwanted attention I acquired. Every kid seemed to know my face as some spread or scowled. I kept my head low, and my voice quiet.

At least my bruises healed. Things could be worse, Adam. Think about that. You could be dead, or in jail, but your not. Your here. 

Wandering through the packed halls and empty classrooms, I put two and two together to figure out where I wanted to go. I whirled past people, cheering or jeering, shrugging off people grabbing me or lights flashing on me, and came to the long corridor. The same one from yesterday. The science corridor.

I should turn around. Curiosity kills the cat...

I went to spin towards class, before my feet carried on, practically marching towards the room.

But satisfaction brought it back.

I got halfway there, before a crystal clear shot of Liam's broken, bloody body started to sear itself into me. All I could see was the damage, the blood...

Why? Why did I do that to you? Why didn't I run, or why didn't you run? Why didn't I let you? God, what's wrong with me? How evil do I have to be before I get my fill? Not even just Liam, but Poppy too. No one comes back from dying... Well, I did, but Poppy isn't me.

I stumbled, catching myself on the wall and carrying on, ignoring the weird glances from a few students, blinking heavy as I slowed down, gripping my knuckles against the concrete for support. I'd started sweating heavily, struggling to breathe, a few sounds of me heaving as it all came back: My body being ripped apart by Nusanda, the knife covered in my blood, Poppy's burning body, Liam's corpse, everything. It took me over, forcing me to my knees as I stopped, breathing erratically, hands on the back of my neck. I kept breathing harshly, unable to stop, until I finally began to push it all back down, feeling my breath hitch and slow as I stabilised, one final, deep, long breath letting me stand back up. It took me a second to realise I'd stopped just outside of where I wanted to be:

The Drug Room.

The door looked the exact same. No damage, no new marks, no nothing. Not even a little soot. It was as if no one had ever been in there. The glass even survived, no shattered pieces in it either.

Either we were real close to what I caused, or I've finally lost my mind. I'm hoping for the second one.

I tried the lock, but it wouldn't budge, even after a few good turns on the handle. Muttering a few words, I turned to head back to class, and stopped, confusion and worry sliding it's way through me as I noticed something unusual. The corridor seemed to extend, the end impossible to see as I began to walk, the speed quickening until it came to me running, trying to escape until I smacked my head on a doorframe, sending me spiralling to the floor, shaking my vision up as I stood back, rubbing my forehead. Through double vision, I could finally see someone walking towards me, showing me I was at least still somewhat sane. I couldn't make anything out at first, but the closer they got, the more I realised how impossible it was.

Average face.

Ten steps were all that stood between us.

School uniform.

Seven.

Buff arms.

Five.

Brunette hair.

Three.

No... It can't be. It's impossible. I watched you burn, I WATCHED YOU BURN!

Poppy, as real as I was, stood in front of me, emotionless and still. My brain turned to mush, my mouth slacked, I froze up completely, my brain trying to do too much at once. She looked me up and down, before smiling and filling the gap between us, our breath the only thing between. She wrapped her arms around me, burying her face in my chest. 

"I- I killed- Get off- get- GET OFF!" My words, barely getting out of my throat, seemed to clog against each other. I felt restrained, stuck in place as I tried everything to force her off me, but she wouldn't let go. She seemed to have vices for arms, keeping me pushed against her as I succumbed to the panic, screaming for help, but no one came. She seemed to let me yell, and as I looked back down, trying to fight against my fear, it only added to it: Her face, the one I'd watch burn, had twisted into a primordial mess of flesh, bones, teeth, everything, swirling around her portrait. A high-pitched, shrill scream came from her direction, the unrelenting sound telling me she didn't need to breathe, before a thick, black liquid began to emerge from behind her body, swirling below my legs and climbing. Every part of me it touched began to burn fiercely, as if I was back in the Drug Room itself. It got to my waist, and my torso flopped to the floor, intestines and guts sliding out of the bottom of my body, her new power eating my lower half entirely. The pain was almost impossible to take as I watched half-eaten food and streams of blood decorate the floor. Poppy, or whatever was left of her, seemed to reel in satisfaction, knowing I was completely at her mercy, letting me revel in the pain. The last thing I saw was her moving face, the features constantly moving as the liquid sank into my eyes, my roar of agony the final noise to fill my now ringing ears.