Parasite

Walking in the sewers with a skin-eating parasite is something I never wanted to do. But we didn't have much of a choice. We were running away from the camp that once kept us safe.

We walked for two days through the sewers to find the safest spot to set up camp. A few of the boys helped carry the supplies.

"Ow," one of the boys moaned.

I walked over to the boy. The parasite had eaten his skin around his hands completely and only the bones were left, or what stayed attached. I retrieved the water bottle from my bag and a pill from the plastic container The boy grabbed a cup from the bag he was hauling and, I filled it with water. I gave the boy the pill and he plopped it in his drink. The water turned a dark shade of pink. He drank it slowly.

"This is stupid" Markus was angry, "We shouldn't have been kicked out! It would have been better if they just burned us alive as they planned!". In the past, he had tried to find different ways to kill himself. He was one of the worst cases I had ever seen. His left arm was completely gone and the skin on his chest was disappearing fast. I felt sorry for him. He had only us, and very little will to live. I found him like a baby in an abandoned house and I had cared for him as my son.

We started walking again and didn't stop until we made it to the perfect spot. An open area with a ladder that leads to the overground. The area was very grey except for a wall full of graffiti and the light streaming in from the gutters above. We set up the tent in a corner where the sun could hit it properly. For the next few nights, I slept on the ground next to Markus.

I had nightmares most nights, about my sister, Evelyn and the scarf she gave on Christmas the year before the disaster. It was a grey scarf with my name stitched along the edge in a stylish font. It looked new and beautiful as it once had been. Suddenly, the scene changed. I was in a testing lab, wearing my scarf and a lab coat. I remembered this day. There was a small kid sitting in the room. His eyes were glossed with white. I approached him slowly and he shot his head around aimlessly. I had managed to get hold of his arm. No! don't do it! I tried to scream. The kid became violent and flailed his arms everywhere. He pulled off my scarf and scratched my neck.

"No!" I yelled as I swung my hand up to my neck. My scarf was still there, wrapped around my neck. I was in the tent. Everyone was asleep still. I walked outside to get some fresh air. The moonlight beamed through the gutters above, and there was a small pitter-patter of rain splashing into small, moonlit puddles. I took off my scarf and investigated one of the puddles. The refection showed the giant infection, from the Dermaosta parasite, on the side of my neck which was slowly climbing to the bottom of my jawline. No one knew I was infected, Well, not after Evelyn tried to throw my scarf in the fire when I tried to protect the other infected. I was out-casted.

Suddenly, I could hear heavy breathing and fast footsteps approaching our camp. I stood up and walked towards the noise. Evelyn.

"Run!" she yelled, "the fire is following".

"What!" I was surprised to see her at all.

"Can't you smell the smoke, Catherine?" I didn't realise the smell until she said. It was getting stronger and the area started to fill with smoke. The others must have smelt it to because they all ran out of the tent in fear. We were choking on the smoke. The exit wasn't too far away so we all tried to scramble up the ladder to safety. The youngest went up first while Markus was helping the others at the bottom. I could see the flames now and there was only Markus left to go.

"Wait! You forgot your scarf" He yelled over the roaring fire. I tried to stop him, but he already jumped into the flames. He started climbing the ladder again, he was holding my scarf. He threw it up to me, but something grabbed his leg and he was pulled back into the fire. He only had us as a family. And now he was gone. I couldn't help the tears.

Something tapped me on the back. Fear coursed through my body as I turned around slowly. We were in the centre of another camp of survivors.

The End