Jason dragged himself along the ground, too exhausted to
walk, too tired to talk in anything above a moan as he shuffled through the
night. He ached inside, the emptiness of who he was consumed him. He finally
breathed a sigh of relief as he made it to his apartment before the sun rose, accidentally
slamming the door as he collapsed against the thin wood. He pulled out a bundle
from his coat and, going to the small kitchen of his apartment, he prepared his
breakfast. While the raw meat sizzled in the pan, he opened his laptop, a
treasure he’d found pieces to and managed to piece together with the piecemeal
knowledge he retained from his old life. He sighed as he hauled his carcass to
the kitchen, too tired to bother with anything more than a shuffle.
“what am I even doing with my life? I have nothing left, no
family, no friends. Everyone left me because of who I am. I feel so empty. No one wants to talk to me,
I hurt everyone around me.”
He found his only solace in sitting on the ragged couch in
the murky darkness of his living room, typing on his computer using the
neighbors’ wi-fi, again curtesy of the skills he barely retained. Chat rooms
were the one place people still talked to him, anonymity making conversation manageable.
Recently he’d found a group of friends who he really felt at
home with. They would discuss their inability to talk to other people, how
their looks kept others from liking them, and mostly how they all felt so empty
and lifeless. Jason found his friends were his only comfort from his life, he
could talk about his confusion, his fear, things no one else would understand.
One day, after they had become fast friends, one of them
suggested a video call. Jason protested, but they all assured him they wouldn’t
judge him. They were all friends, they all had the same problems, and they
would accept him.
Jason smiled, “the
same problems. They’ll accept me” Hope soared in him as he accepted the
video call. The webcam light flashed, and the voices came through.
“Hey!”
“oh my gosh, I didn’t expect your voice to sound like that.”
“This is so cool!”
“Hey Jason, your room is too dark, I can’t see you.”
“-uh, sorry. Give me a second.”he rasped, and then grunted as he stood up
and shambled over to the light switch by the door. He sat back down and then
stiffened as he saw the others.
“They said we were the
same”
He saw their faces, smooth unbroken skin, shining eyes,
smiling teeth.
And they saw his face.
The cracked skin, the patchy hair, the red, bloodshot eyes,
the occasional gap where teeth should be, and the dried scabs all along his
neck and jaw.
Shocked gasps came through his speakers before he slammed
the laptop closed.
“they said we had the
same problems”
His broken chest heaved a sob as he staggered out of his
room, walking down the stairs, ignoring the screams as the day-dwellers saw
him. He’d never gone out during the day before, but now he didn’t care. He was
well and truly alone.
“They said we were the
same”
Screams continued to echo in his head, somewhere sirens
sounded, rushing to deal with the infection threat within the city. He didn’t
care. He hadn’t cared for a long time, but he’d lost what comfort there was in
his life. He was alone.
Completely dead inside.
Points: 296
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