The Infected

Unedited. Chapter eight. Meeting the man.

Chapter 8 meeting the man.

I lean towards Mark's ear. " They have a telepath, be careful" I whisper, and he nods slightly.

The voices are getting closer " He knows!" the same nasally voice exclaims. The footsteps halt, and several horrified gasps can be heard.

" Where is the boy?!" a deep, booming voice demands in a fit of rage. It was so loud I could've sworn it made my ears bleed. I could feel a headache beginning to form.

The sound of flesh hitting cement made all three of us still, and not even a second later, a wail of agony echoed throughout the building. I cringed slightly.

" I told you to keep an eye on him! He's an important asset!" the same deep voice roared in anger.

The sickening crack and crunch of bones being snapped and crushed could be heard clearly even without my ability, and the metallic scent of blood exploded into the stale air.

My heart beats faster and apprehension. I have to get them out of here fast before things get nasty.

I take a few precious seconds to look both of Jaymie and Mark in the eyes, they reek of fear, but their eyes hold a look of resolve. It makes my heart ache.

I shake my head of the emotion. " Look, both of you need to run, I don't have complete control over my abilities. Do you understand?" I whisper as softly as I can. They nod weakly. I sigh in relief.

" I'll distract them for as long as I can, , please, stay safe and stick close to the shadows. They will protect you. I promise." I whisper and take a deep sniff to memorize their scent before I push off of them and turn.

Mark grabs my arm, slightly surprising me. "What is your name, young man?" he asks, to which I jerk out of his grasp.

" It's Nick." i mutter before I take off in the direction of the commotion, I faintly hear the sounds of their footsteps getting further away, over the pounding of blood in my ears.

I slide to a halt once I'm in full view of the group, my heart beating a mile a minute. The sight I see is enough to make bile rise in my throat, and I've seen some pretty gruesome things in my life.

The man who I saw walking with Laurine earlier had his hands completely crushed, and his arms and legs had the bones snapped in such a painful way that they were jutting through the skin, their whiteness was a stark contrast with the deep crimson of his blood, which was pouring out profusely.

" My god..." I whisper in shock. All but one of the group members had snapped towards me.

"There he is!" Laurine squeaks, her voice quivering.

They start towards me,but a deep chuckle stops them dead in their tracks." nice to see you chose to join us, Nick"

I squint at the silhouette of the man who's shaking with surprised and pleased laughter. He steps out from the shadows. It's him. The one who turned me. My blood freezes.

"Won't you stick around this time Nick? I find myself quite enjoyable to be around, you know" says the man, gradually getting closer to me.

I gulp. " Sorry, but my mom told me not to play with strangers." I say weakly, backing up several steps before coming to a halt. The familiar feeling of not being able to move washes over me. He's must be using his abilities again.

He strolls towards me, seemingly without a care in the world. I growl at him in warning.

"My my, how could I forget such an important detail, how inconsiderate of me." he pauses a few feet away from me, in deep thought. " My name is Josh, if you must know. I'm 26, a leo born in August, my favorite color is navy blue, and if you really want to know, I have-" I cut off his rant before it can get too creepy.

"I don't care! Let me go, you creep!" a bite out of him and freeze even further when his carefree demeanor instantly shifts to one of a seething rage.

" I'm the one who turned you! I'm the one who's given you a chance of surviving in this world, don't you dare speak to me like that!" he says with such force that spit flies from his mouth and onto my face.

I silently glare at him and he looks down at me. And unreadable emotion swirling in his eyes as they flash from aqua blue to crimson red.

And this was the second time I interacted with that man, although the first one hadn't been as verbal.