De Pride Isle Sanatorium

Chapter 15: Nightfall, part two

"Ah! The night bell has rung! Goodnight, my dears. It's time for bed! Sweet dreams!"

The night bell continues to toll a few more times before finally stopping. Screams begin to fill the entire dormitory. "And it begins..." Jaxton says, standing up. He walks over to a bed and sits on it. Marissa and I just stare at him as his head twitches again. He notices us and just smiles. "Hey, listen guys. I'll be okay. I won't turn tonight!" He says. Then he looks at Marissa. "You know I won't. I'll get holy water." He then looks at me. "Trust me, Johnson. I'm not going to turn into one of them."

Should I trust him? I mean, he has been nothing but kind to me ever since I got here. There's no reason for me not to trust him, right? I stare at him. "I trust you." I tell him. Jaxton smiles. It's like those three words brightened his entire night. I hear a thud behind us and I jump. I turn my head to the sound and see someone on the floor. The person quickly gets up and starts banging on the door. "LET ME IN! THEY'RE COMING!" The patient begs. She looks very terrified. "PLEASE-"

"No! Go away! I saw you earlier! Your head was twitching! You're going to turn into one of those disgusting cannibals!" Marissa yells at her. The girl stops banging on the door and glares at Marissa. She starts to shake the bars on the door. "OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!" The girl then looks over to her right and starts running and screaming. Someone then darts after her.

"We should've let her in." I say.

Marissa and Jaxton look at me as if I was crazy. "Are you stupid? She was going to turn tonight- UGH!" Marissa stops talking and grabs at her head. "Blur two..." She says. "We really need holy water." Jaxton says.

"Yeah, you think, Jaxton?" I say sarcastically. He starts to laugh. "Whoa, attitude!"

"How are you so positive? How are you laughing right now? People are being eaten!"

Jaxton stops smiling. "Johnson, I've gotten used to this. I would like to spend my time here being who I am instead of constantly mourning those who have turned and those who have died. You need to learn that too."

"Why? This is inhumane!"

"We know. Like we said, we cannot do anything about it. It's better just to try and humor yourself rather than just sitting around moping all day and night." Marissa says, glaring at me. I shut my mouth. They all seem to be annoyed with me being upset with how positive they are acting during this. Maybe they're right. Maybe I'll just have to get used to it...

I look down.

It's just hard to be positive. Especially when people are out there getting eaten in front of your eyes. Is this what's it going to be like every night? People turn and then people start screaming and begging for help?

Iron doors begin to open. "The nurses are here." Marissa points out. "They come every time we scream. They always hit the cannibals and take them somewhere.. Not sure where."

"Isolation I think? Isn't that what Sam said? He turned a few nights ago." Jaxton asks.

"Possibly."

I finally stand up and walk over to a bed. I lay down and turn my body away from Marissa and Jaxton. I stare at the wall. "...You okay, Johnson?" Jaxton asks.

"No. I don't like hearing people scream about how they're being eaten."

He doesn't say anything else. I hear some rustling. I then feel a hand on my shoulder. I twist my torso a little to see who is touching me. "It'll be okay. I'm here." Jaxton says. He smiles at me, but then he stops. His eyes widen and he quickly grabs his head. "Ugh! Oh no..." He groans. I quickly sit up and watch him as he fumbles backwards and falls onto a bed. "Jaxton! Is it what I think it is..?" Marissa asks. Her voice seems to be laced with worry. Jaxton just groans as if he's in pain. "Murmuring... I hear murmuring..."

I gulp. What blur is he on? Two? Three? I don't remember if he told us or not. "...It's over. This is my fourth blur."

Fourth? Is that bad? It has to be right..? He said that the more blurs people have, the closer they are to-

I gasp. Jaxton's head starts to twitch more. "Jaxton... your head.." I say. I'm not sure if it was a good idea to point that out. "Don't mention it, okay? I hate seeing that worried look on your face." He says. He looks away from me and stares at the door.

Should I comfort him? I feel bad. I made him feel self-conscious. I didn't mean to point out the twitching. I'm just worried. I'm worried he is going to turn tonight.

No one else says a word. It's quiet in our dorm. Aside from the nurses yelling "hiyah" and the occasional cannibals hitting the floor after being whacked. I stare at him. "Jaxton-"

"Let's just try to sleep, okay? I'm going to." He lays down and pulls the bed sheet over his head. Marissa stares at me and gets up. She walks over to a bed in the corner of the room and lays down. It feels awkward now. I don't know what to do. I look over at Jaxton.

Should I talk to him or should I leave him alone? I open my mouth to speak, but then I shut it. I lay back down and close my eyes.