Unstoppable: Revitalized

-36-

I immediately slunk back round the corner, the fatigue beating me down instantly replaced by pure and utter fear as I heard one of them knocking on my door, knowing not even my home was safe.

I need to kill them.

'No. No, you must not.'

What? Why?

'We are in a very open area. Secondly, the human leading them has the ability to make me near impossible to repair our body in quick time. Patience, Adam. Our time will come.'

But we could make everyone here-

'There is no need to remove life unless it is intrinsically necessary.'

I gnashed my teeth, waiting for two worlds to collide as I snuck my head round, letting me see somewhat: The Boss took point, Oscar behind him, as they continued to smash their knuckles into my door, no one daring to answer. I could hear some form of conversation going on, but had no clue what was being exchanged as time dragged on agonisingly slowly. Finally, they both turned as I darted my head back, stepping into next door's hedges, trying to remain as silent as possible. I held my breath as they passed, neither of them stopping to look as I crept forward, peering to see them turn back towards Moresby. I took a deep breath, taking a few seconds to calm the shakes that had overtaken me, allowing my body to calm down. Leaping out of my cover, I sprinted towards my door, finding my key under a brick as par usual, before unlocking it and rushing in, slamming it behind me hard. I kept both hands on the door and my head down, sweat beginning to drip down me as I gave myself a second. 

It's okay, it's okay. I made it. Everything's fine. Thank god.

Locking my key behind me, I spun round, only to find something flying towards my head sideways, knocking me against the door and causing my vision to spin as I brought my hands up to me, pathetically trying to defend myself. The weapon cracked against the side of my skull, the pain indescribable as I fell to my knees, trying to keep my body protected as well as I could.

"It's me! It's me! Relax!" I yelled as blood lined my lips. Lowering my hands, I found Poppy in front of me, hands wrapped around a claw hammer as she stood firm, her knuckles white and her face firm. The hammer had a few flecks of fresh blood on it, as did her shirt. The numbing had immediately creeped in, and I thanked my lucky stars for it.

'Thank no one, Adam. This is me.'

"I thought you were Oscar. Thank god. I'm surprised they didn't see you." She spoke calmly, as if she didn't just try to put a crater in the side of my skull. I shook my head a few times, letting the dizziness wear off before taking her hand, letting her help me up.

"I'm surprised too. I hid, they missed me. Why were they here anyway?"

"We have no clue at all. Callum left me to guard the door in case they broke through." As if by magic, Callum appeared halfway down the stairs, sliding something into his trousers as he hit the bottom, looking me up and down. His gaze suddenly shrouded me in shame as I realised the danger I'd put everyone in, just for my own gain.

"You got caught, didn't you?"

I didn't answer, keeping my head down as a running drop of blood began to work it's way through my hairs, entangling itself in the live mass of brunette locks that needed cleaning. Callum grunted, following it with a heavy exhale through the nose as he stomped into the kitchen, leaving me with Poppy. I gave her a look, and she simply responded with brushing her index finger against my cheek, catching a droplet trailing down the side of my cheek. I exchanged nothing more as I headed up the stairs, pulling my body into the shower, cleaning every inch of skin and hair I had, before towelling myself off and wrapping one around me. Moving into our shared room, I quickly changed into something easier to move in, before bundling my old clothes, and a few of the others I'd gotten ruined, in a bag, leaving them by the door.

I'll burn them later.

I slept for the remainder of the day, opening my eyes around night time, the moon illuminating the area around me. Yawning, I grabbed the bag, taking it downstairs, noting the quiet in the house. Each step seemed amplified, despite me walking through these same rooms a multitude of times in my life. The only difference was these rooms were no longer just mine. The food wasn't just for me. My clothes weren't the only ones stored here. We were together, like a family. Sure, a partially dysfunctional family, only brought together by circumstance, but a family none the less.

Everyone else hit the hay early too, I guess.

Finally checking my phone as I closed the back door behind me, I noted the time. Eleven forty one, Sunday.  

Well, there goes my weekend.

I took the clothes to the back of the garden, pulled out my fire bin and a few bricks to stand it on, and set it up. Throwing the clothes in there and dousing them in lighter fuel, I lit a small piece of paper I kept with my supplies, before flinging it into the bin as the small spark grew into a raging mix of beauty and agony, the flames licking the night sky as I pulled over a chair and watched. I'd grabbed the packet of smokes Callum gave me on the way out, letting me reach into them and pull one out, lighting it as I watched the fire pulse and shift, turning my brain off for a short moment.

"Burning the evidence. You really are like the old me."

I didn't need to spin around to know who was with me as they pulled another chair up, sitting next to me.

"Couldn't sleep?" I asked. Callum snorted, before a lighter flicked, filling the silence briefly.

"Nope. Not even slightly. So, what happened?"

"Callum-"

"I'm sticking my neck out. You shouldn't be alive. Nor should Charlotte, or Poppy, yet here we all are. The least you could do is tell me what happened."

I let the crackle of the fire fill the air for a few moments, thinking of how I'd explain all of this.