(Zack’s point of view):
Breathe in… Breathe out…
I blinked a couple of times, as I stared out blankly across the kitchen floor. My mouth was dry, and my heart was beating faster than I ever thought was possible. As much as I tried not to think about it, the image of that creature tugging at that man’s guts right outside, kept flashing through my mind. I couldn’t shake it. The only thing separating us from that “thing”, was a measly wall, and that’s what got my heart racing. This wasn’t like some joke on an episode of Punk’d. We weren’t on a set of a horror movie. This was really happening, and I had a hard time letting everything I just witnessed sink in. My rising heart beat pumped loudly through my veins…
The sound of Jack and Alex shoving the dining table, and chairs against both doors, pulled me back into what was actually happening. They frantically forced any piece of furniture that was heavy enough, in a pile against both entrances. I sprawled out against the lower cabinets, underneath the island, and watched in silence. There was nothing else I could do. My mind was in shock, and my body wouldn’t budge. I had no idea how they both managed to think clearly after what just occurred.
My eyes kept shifting back to Rian’s body on top of the opposite counter. After he had spit up blood all over himself, he fainted, and without a second thought, we all three rushed him into the kitchen. We didn’t even think of that creature, as we heaved Rian on the counter, and started throwing obstacles in the way of the doors. I watched his red-stained shirt rise up and down. He was slowly becoming greyer, and his lips were beginning to turn a light tint of purple. It gave me cold chills just knowing that there was something terribly wrong with him. My stomach flipped, because I knew if we didn’t do something soon, Rian could possibly die.
The noise of piling objects subsided, and I realized that Jack and Alex had finished blocking the doorway. I didn’t speak, but let my eyes follow them both as they quietly crouched down, and made their way over to where I was, underneath the counter. Alex, still being bitter over the argument we had, leaning up against the opposite cabinet. He could be childish when he wanted to be. I rolled my eyes, as Jack planted himself next to me. We didn’t speak for a while. What could we possibly say? We all saw the exact same thing outside, and no matter what we said, it wasn’t going to make what was happening, any more normal. We’d probably end up screaming pointless profanities at one another, until the creature figured out where we were and broke down that barrier. Id rather not speak at all, and have my life, than speak, and end up being murdered due to our strong opinions.
Jack reeked with sweat, and was panting loudly from beside me. I shot a quick glance at Alex to notice he had become pale. The first thing that came to mind, was that he was catching whatever Rian had spreading throughout him, but Alex wasn’t necessarily grey. He looked exhausted, and all the color had drained from his face, but completely normal compared to Rian.
“I’m sorry…” I finally spoke. My voice sounded extremely loud in that silent kitchen, even though my voice only rose above a whisper. Jack repositioned himself, and Alex scanned my face. “I didn’t mean what I said back there. I was just stressed out. You’re still the leader of this band.”
Due to the circumstances, I didn’t really expect any sort of emotion from Alex. “Nah, I know. I’m sorry too. It just freaked me out to see you losing yourself. It was weird seeing you get scared, and I didn’t know what to do.”
I ran a shaky hand through my sweaty hair. I don’t think I’ve ever been that happy to end a fight with Alex. “No hard feelings?”
He shook his head, and for a split second I saw a grin start to form, but it disappeared just as soon as it appeared.
