Blurry

Forgotten

Marie didn't even give herself time to recover from her whiplash as she bolted out from the car and turned to see what she hit. Please be a squirrel, just a squirrel, just a-

Limp in the middle of the road laid a monster, curled up in a broken little ball, motionless. Marie felt the vomit build up in her stomach as she ran forward, kneeling beside the figure to see more clearly just how bad the damage was. It was a skeleton, rather short in stature, but he didn't seem to be a child either. He wore black shorts that clung to his hip bones and a simple gray t-shirt, looking as if he had just awoken from bed. One of his purple slippers remained loosely on his foot, the other upside down a couple of feet away after the impact.

"H-Hello!?" Marie shook him terrified, hoping he'd wake up. At this point, she wouldn't be surprised if she had killed him. His skull had a large splintering crack in it, fractured and looking ready to fall apart. It would've been bad enough to see that on a person, but on a skeleton, where the bone was all they had... His gray shirt was starting to turn crimson from the center, blood seeping through the thin fabric. Skeletons bleed? Oh God, oh God..!

"H-Hey, can you hear me!?" Marie tried shaking him again. "Oh, please don't be dead.."

The skeleton's eyes finally at least twitched in response. Marie let out a slight gasp of relief. "It's okay, you're okay."

"Wh-Where.." He winced, the slits of his open eyes slamming shut in pain as he clutched his chest. His mind was racing. What happened, where was he? Marie hushed him, laying him back down gently and looking over his wounds. "Y-You're okay, you're fine... Can you tell me your name?" She just wanted to keep a conversation going, keep him awake.

"M-My name? I'm... I'm..." A sinking feeling filled his chest. "O-Oh God... m-my name, I-I..."

Marie cursed herself. "I-It's okay, we'll figure it out, no worries.."

"What h.. happened...?" The skeleton opened his eyes slowly, his breathing heavy. He could barely see a thing, his eyes refusing to focus. Marie squirmed uncomfortably. "I uh... may have... hit you with my car..."

"Oh.... well that's a cartastrophe."

"I-I'm so- pfft what??" Marie grinned.

"What, is my humor a surprise?" Despite the agony that he was in, he managed a shrug and a grin. Marie let out a rather conflicted laugh, not sure whether to be relieved or even more concerned. "Oh gee, I had to go and hit a comedian."

"Considering I don't remember anything about anything or anyone, I don't mind a bit of humor to lighten the mood." He tried sitting up. His eyes widened, a new surge of pain building up in his chest. He choked, coughing up gushes of blood. He fell back onto his side, wheezing, his body shuddering with every wave of pain. "A-Agh-! ....l-less... humorous...."

Marie quickly put a hand on his shoulder, a new surge of panic washing over her. "Shhh, shh, don't get up, don't get up..." Seeing that his eyes were shut tight from the pain, she carefully found the hem of his shirt and pulled it upwards. If she hadn't felt guilty before, she certainly did now. Almost all of the skeleton's ribcage was cracked and splintered, a couple of ribs almost entirely broken off and barely even attached, all covered in the same thick crimson liquid. But the worst sight was his soul. It was glowing rather weakly, seeming to shudder with every weak gasp he took, with splintering cracks all across it. "Oh, God..."

"S-Snooping, are we...?" He managed a weak smile. There was blood still dripping down his chin. She didn't laugh this time.

"I-I need to get you to the hospital..!" Marie was already pulling her phone from her pocket but shuddered as a bony hand suddenly gripped her wrist. "You can't stop me, you need help!"

"I-I... don't know why I tried..." He looked concerned and confused, his hand slowly releasing his grip on her wrist. He watched weakly as Marie dialed the three numbers on her phone, eyes starting to close as she explained the situation to the operator.

"N-No, I don't know who he is, he doesn't even know who he is, I- H-Hey, don't you pass out on me!" Marie dropped her cell as she tried to keep the skeleton's eyes open. There was a loud crunch as the phone screen splintered and shut off. She didn't notice. "Stay awake, stay awake.."

"Darker... Darker..."

"What? I didn't get that..! Fuck, open your eyes!!"

The world became a black blur as unconsciousness crept over the skeleton once more.

Marie let out a panicked scream. The rain was pouring harder now, and the skeleton's blood was turning the runoff into a red river. Marie took her sweater off and gingerly lifted the skeleton into her arms. She pressed the bundle of her once favorite apparel item to his chest, watching as the blood began soaking through it. She pressed more firmly, and the bloody stream flowing from his wounds seemed to slow down. "You're not dying on me..." She whispered, shaking. "I won't let you..."