Our Foundations from Decay

Frank POV 52

God fucking dammit.
I'd have slapped myself right then and there if my hand wasn't frozen stiff, clutched around my sopping backpack as it dripped into the dirt beneath me. Huffing out an abhorrent laugh, I glared up into the sky for the first time all evening.

Oh.

The ache in my legs and the itchy grime coating my skin almost seemed to disappear for a moment as my dark eyes reflected the millions of glittering lights in the night. Back in New York, you'd be lucky to catch even a glimpse of the moon- polluted smoke and toxic fumes fogging up the city sky.

I took a moment to breathe, falling back onto the solid ground. The forest around me could have been beautiful if it wasn't so damn freaky; perpetuated by the shadows looming all around me, tricking my mind into thinking there was something out there that I didn't want to find.

Calm down Frank, calm down.

All of a sudden, a horrifically loud screech called from above me, echoing like a ear-splitting curse.

"AH! What the fuck?!" I yelped, leaping to my feet, spinning around in a frantic circle and oh my god I was going to die-

"Hoot Hoooot."

My face dropped and I let out a heavy sigh, snapping back to reality as I dragged myself over never-ending forestry.

The headache chasing me seemed to be relentless, weighing down on my temples as I pushed down any thoughts that weren't 'left foot forward' or 'the sun sets in the east'. When the sky finally began to drip with the promise of rainfall, my mind encroached on every feeling I was desperately trying to avoid as my eyes suddenly caught the grey surface of a road, barely visible in the dark.

"Please let this lead to somewhere with people." I prayed out loud, stumbling onto desolate tar and gravel.

So, I began walking.
Minutes, hours.
Only the noise of my feet hitting ground.
Then silence.
I picked up the pace, flinching at the howl of a coyote.
More silence.

As rain poured down in buckets of sorrow, I broke out into a sprint; the melancholy that sat heavy in my throat inching closer to catching me.

It was so goddamn quiet, and I was so incredibly alone.

Heaving in breaths of the cold night, I suddenly heard a sound. A strangled sob that I knew wasn't coming from anyone else; the kind that rocked through my whole body and gripped over my lungs, forcing me to run and run but never breathe. Now shaking, I pushed even harder- body burning more than i'd ever felt before.

Just keep going, don't think, don't stop, just keep going-

But then one stray rock on the highway was enough to send me stumbling, foot caught as I crashed into the ground.

And I finally broke.

"F-fuck..." I choked out between the tears streaming down my face, mixing with the rainwater that clung to my skin. "Wh-what the fuck am I doing...?"

I rolled onto my side, curled up like roadkill on the edge of the highway. I'd figured that maybe someone would actually think I was roadkill, and decide to drive right over me. Would anyone even notice? Would anyone come looking for me? I'd already lost my dad; and I'd somehow managed to fuck up with Gerard.

"Gerard..." I whispered into the night, shivering where I laid. "God I miss him."
My confession was met with another flurry of tears I couldn't wipe away.