Town Darkness

Chapter Six

       Mat and Ethan sat on the floor, as Mat used the gauze from the medkit to bandage the burn on Ethan arm, he hissed and yelped in pain each time Mat would wrap over it. "Stay still, it needs to be covered completely, I'm no doctor, but even I know that."

       Nate, Jack, Mark, and Felix all discussed their next move. "So, we need to find the quickest route out of here, but we don't know what we'll encounter out there, so we need to choose who's going to have what."

       Mark handed the hunting rifle to Felix. "Think you could use this?" Felix flipped the bolt handle up and pulled it back, then pushed it forward and slammed it down, an arrogant smirk on his face. "Pretty sure I've got it covered." Mark nodded.

       Mat finished wrapping Ethan's burn and packed the medical supplies back up, sighing slightly. He looked tired and worn down, they all looked that way. "Ethan... how much do you know about what's going on here."

       He looked at Ethan questioningly, but he was certain that he wouldn't get an answer. He was right. "I... I can't say, I really can't. I'm sorry." Mat nodded, and stood up, holding his hand out to Ethan to pull him up from the floor. Mat spoke in a low, hushed tone for only Ethan to hear.

       "I don't know if you've had the fever before or after the burn, but I did notice the coughing... and the blood, or whatever it is. Are you going to be alright?" Ethan swallowed hard, not knowing how to answer. Was he going to be alright? He honestly didn't know, he could always hope that he would be, but hope in this place dies fast. He nodded, to alleviate Mat's concern.  They joined the rest of the group for the discussion.

       "Nate, open up the map so we could plan out the route." Nate nodded, pulling the tourist pamphlet out from the back pocket of his jeans. He opened the tri-fold and flipped it over to the map on the back, a look of confusion across his face as he stared down at it. "What?" Mark said, puzzled, the map contained only one route, which led from the sheriff's station to a local hotel. "But, this can't be right. Nate, try another pamphlet." 

       He grabbed all the ones he could find, each of them showing the same route on the same map. The others sighed frustratedly, "So we have no way out of here?" Jack questioned, looking at Mark. Mark seemed to be the most angered of them, he slammed his fist down on the desk, causing the others to jump. "Goddamn it! We need to get the fuck out of here, but we can't go blindly." 

        While Mark was ranting about their current situation, Ethan examined the area around the burn on his arm. The veins around the area were darkening, spreading the darkness faster. He was beginning to already feel the effects, his mind was becoming hazy, as he started feeling sicker. His temperature, instead of increasing, was now decreasing rapidly, causing him to shiver.

       "Ethan!" Mark shouted, noticing him not following along. If anyone knew anything helpful, it had to be him, after all, he hadn't been telling them everything. But now he was going to have to, if they were going to ever have a chance to make it out alive. "Ethan? Man, are you ok?" Jack placed his hand on Ethan's shoulder, turning him to face everyone. He stared blankly, his eyes seemed glossed over, and he was unresponsive. 

        "What the fuck... is he okay?" Ethan suddenly turned in Felix's direction, his head tilting to the side, and answered him in a monotonous tone. "The Lost... okay? It's never okay." Jack stepped away from Ethan slowly, fearfully, as Ethan began to laugh maniacally, almost demonically, causing the others to look at him in horror. "You're all going to die here, and it will be the Lost's fault! He'll feel so guilty, he'll want to join you in death!" 

       More laughter echoed through the station, until it suddenly cut off. Ethan fell to his hands and knees, coughing up black blood-like liquid. It pooled on the floor, staining his hands. He looked up at his friends, breathing heavily, seeing their horrified expressions, and knew exactly why. "Been a while...since... that happened." Nate looked at him, confused. "Excuse me... but what? What the hell just happened?"

       Ethan sat up, pressing his back against the cool wooden wall, taking in deep breaths. His head pounded from the worst migraine ever, and his hands shook uncontrollably. The others looked at him anxiously, waiting for an answer. "Do we have to like, exorcise you or some fucked up shit like that, because I don't think any of us are equipped to handle that." Ethan shook his head, "I wasn't possessed, not really." 

       Mark stepped forward, cautiously. "What would you call it then, because I know for damn sure it wasn't you. Those weren't things you would say, so what was it?" Ethan sighed, raking his fingers through his hair. "Please... we need to know, Ethan." Jack pleaded.